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Things Not To Do

Started by lalessi1, 2021-01-12 16:14

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lalessi1

2021-01-12 16:14 Last Edit: 2021-01-12 16:19 by lalessi1
Okay, I have been on a " automobile journey" lately. As some may remember I "blew" a head gasket on my FE and I was diligent in replacing the right side gasket. All was going well, albeit slow, until I finished up and tried to start the engine....

Do not assume the engine is out of gas just because the gauge reads empty. (The engine was firing)

Do not add gasoline from a can that has been in the garage for while even if you convince yourself it is "pretty new". (Could have been very    old.)

Do not leave the ignition on (if you have a Pertronix pickup) while trying to confirm fuel pressure and timing especially if a battery charger is connected. (Blew the Pertronix module and the engine stopped firing.)

Do not add a gallon of ethanol to a drained fuel system in an attempt to get rid of residual water (that you put in the tank ) and run the electric fuel pump. (The Holley fuel pump will not pump alcohol without completely failing.)

If you do these things it will take weeks to get the engine started, you will loose sleep, feel stupid, spend money on things that you broke and question why you even like cars at all!

On the other hand she sounded SO GOOD when I drove her to the gas station this morning.... 8)

Lynn

djfordmanjack

#1
2021-01-12 16:32
Hurrah Lynn !
The way your story started I was expecting, the shop and house have already burnt down .... :003:

so your ending was only half bad. glad she's running again !

CobraJoe

#2
2021-01-12 16:59
Is it just me, or do "we" do these things more often as we get older?
When I was fourteen years old, I was amazed at how unintelligent my father was. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was astounded at how much he had learned in the last seven years!
'15 F150, '96 Bronco, '39 Ford Coupe, '17 Escape, '57 Fairlane

RICH MUISE

#3
2021-01-12 17:27 Last Edit: 2021-01-12 17:34 by RICH MUISE
Sounds like one of my escapades! Since Gunter brought it up, I never did tell you guys how I almost burnt up my car and probably my 1957 house with it.

You remember how I lost my engine because of not doing any of the things you're supposed to do after an oil change, like checking oil pressure, checking for leaks, MAKING SURE THE OLD SEAL FROM THE FILTER WASN"T STILL ON THE BLOCK.
Well, when I had the engine out, if you remember, I decided to redo the steering shafts and u-joints to improve the ranges going to the rack. While I was doing that, the hydroboost was in the way, and after looking at it, I figured I could just unbolt it and move it out of the way with the flexible ss hoses still attached to everything except of course the pump. To move it out of the way, I unbolted the MC so I wouldn't have to undo the brake lines, and just flipped the hydroboost over and towards the front. My battery was disconnected, but still in place. The connecting rod from the boost to the pedal, unknown to me came in contact with the + terminal on the battery. 10 minutes later, something bit me on my left arm when I was working on the steering below. Just thought it was something sharp on the boost unit. A few minutes later the ss fluid hose started smoking and I realized it was glowing red. Just as I noticed that, the inner Teflon(?) on the ss braided hose melted and started leaking power steering fluid. Then it burst into flames. Fortunately, none of the burning drops ignited the puddle now formed under the car. My fire extinguisher was not where I thought it was!! Seemed like forever before I remembered I kept one on the floor in the back seat area of the car. In reality, it probably was no more than 1/2 minute, but I was panicking. The car was on jacks, so couldn't be pushed out of the garage.
Had to replace the power steering line that originally caught on fire, repaint part of the inner wheel well, replace a few o-rings in my now leaking hydroboost (metric o-rings btw), clean up the mess from the fire extinguisher, kick myself a 1/2 dozen times. Took me another 4 or 5 days to get back to where I was. I now have no less than 4 fire extinguishers in my garage.
Are ya feeling better, Lynn?   I have no competition in these matters, lol.
I can do this, I can do this, I, well, maybe

djfordmanjack

#4
2021-01-12 17:38 Last Edit: 2021-01-12 17:40 by djfordmanjack
woohoo Rich, that story just earned you another applaud !  :002: :003:

In the end this is not funny at all and glad that you were ok and it only cost you a few days of work and smaller parts!

So in a way, to now, make Lynn and Rich feel better, here is my attempt to blowing up the house.
I was cleaning some stuff with Brakleen, and since I try to keep the basemnt shop orderly, was spraying towards and collecting the debris in my scrap metal can. That worked like a charm. Unless 10 minutes later I had forgotten about the brake cleaner and got out my angle grinder. You know that I want to keep my shop clean, so I aim at the scrap metal bin...... wooooooom ! pretty hairy situation, but no fire in the end. just a cloud of dust and a few shrapnel metal pieces flying around.... :005: :003:

CobraJoe

#5
2021-01-12 17:50
not to mention it turns into Phosgene gas!
When I was fourteen years old, I was amazed at how unintelligent my father was. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was astounded at how much he had learned in the last seven years!
'15 F150, '96 Bronco, '39 Ford Coupe, '17 Escape, '57 Fairlane

djfordmanjack

#6
2021-01-12 18:00
Yes Joe, but I have always been using Chloride free cleaner for that reason! So I am only half dumb. :003:

CobraJoe

#7
2021-01-12 18:03
My turn to be dumb; ask me how I know? Years ago I cleaned up a greasy part that needed to be welded with Brake Clean, for some reason I couldn't breath after the first pass....   :dontknow:
When I was fourteen years old, I was amazed at how unintelligent my father was. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was astounded at how much he had learned in the last seven years!
'15 F150, '96 Bronco, '39 Ford Coupe, '17 Escape, '57 Fairlane

djfordmanjack

#8
2021-01-12 18:07 Last Edit: 2021-01-12 18:09 by djfordmanjack
wow, yes, Joe...no fun ! people have actually died from this ! When you read about it. I believe the Phosgene is only activated by the electric arc when TIG or MIG welding. The gas is actually what killed thousands of soldiers in WWI.

CobraJoe

#9
2021-01-12 18:13
Yes sir, good ol' Mustard Gas, and that is exactly what I was doing, MIG welding. This was 25-30 years ago, I had no idea at the time,(no internet) but I'll tell you what, I didn't know what it was, but I NEVER did that again!
When I was fourteen years old, I was amazed at how unintelligent my father was. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was astounded at how much he had learned in the last seven years!
'15 F150, '96 Bronco, '39 Ford Coupe, '17 Escape, '57 Fairlane

thomasso

#10
2021-01-12 23:17
Years back i was replacing the valve cover gaskets on my 928 Porche, 32 valve front engine.  It was a PIA. Anyhow when reassembling I started the fuel rail line and forgot to tighten it.  Car wouldn't start and thinking it just need more cranking I kept cranking until the explosion and fire which engulfed the whole stall. Miraculously I knew where my extinguisher was and was able to extinguish the flames quickly. Back then I wasn't aware of how much fuel the electric pump could pump. Only damage was the hood liner.  There was probably at least a gallon of gas still puddled on the floor.  Took hours for smoke to clear.  Always have a large extinguisher or maybe two.
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