Boatnik

Last Saturday morning I awoke with the pleasant sound of my back cracking as my nine year old graanddaughter turned me into an unsuspecting trampoline. After wrestling and carrying on for a little I promised to get out of bed and was left to myself to lick my wounds. Looking outside at the weather over a hot cup of coffee I made plans to raise the idle on the Dodge a little because the lights would dim so badly when I let off the throttle. I really had it way to low.
At the early hour of 11am I pulled the Dodge part way into the garage. I am just too lazy to clean off the back wall to allow the luxury of pulling the whole truck inside on such a beautiful day. Ther was a little breeze and it ws 55 degrees. Besides even if I did there wouldn't be enough room to really work on the truck. The truck is about 18 feet long and the 20 foot garage measures 20 feet on the outside . Close the door and it is like working on a submarine. Well, I popped the hood open and got out the drop light, found a power cord and set the light in the engine compartment. Then I set it again. I finally got it to stay where I wanted it to find out that I shadowed myself so bad I couldn't see anyway. Moved the drop light and hung it on the hood hinge. Now I remembered something that Wannadiesel told me I should do. Pull the plunger out of the shutdown solenoid and flatten the end so I wouldn't have to buy a new one? Yeh that had to be it, so now I am staring at the critter. It seems easy enough. 15/16 in. wrench and spin it right out. WRONG! Didn't he say something about moving, no grinding a bracket. Yeah! That was it, I need to remove some metal from the IP bracket so I can get the wrench on the solenoid! Sure looks awfully close to the fuel lines, don't it? Hmmm I got these old egg crates here and fashioned me a guard to prevent accidentally hitting the fuel lines with the wafer wheel and commenced to remove a half inch off the top of the bracket, without hitting the fuel line . Now the wrench slips nicely over the solenoid but I can't move it. The intake pipe to the manifold is in the way and so is the throttle bracket. No problem, a little wrenching and that small bit of interfernce is out of the way. I even stuffed a rag in the intake to prevent any foreign material from getting in the engine. Now the wrench still won't move. I see it is hitting in two places. Man its getting cold in here. I didn't remove enough bracket AND it is laying hard up against the fuel lines that I tried successfully to not cut with the grinder. WOW the wind is really picking up. Well I carefully notched the bracket and then put a torch to the wrench to give it some offset to clear the fuel lines. While all this is going on I am repeatedly being called away by my XYL and my granddaughter to do more important tasks of grandparenthood. And lunch. Guess i will turn on the heater and look, IT is raining in my tool box! I successfully removed the shutdown solenoid and performed the necessary surgery to the plunger,ie flattened the end and reinstalled same plunger into the pump.
Now to raise the idle...........The best way to do that, me thinks, is to turn in the fuel screw . Not being one to be too conservative when it comes to HP. I give it another full turn. Reinstall the throttle bracket. Squirt some lube into the vent and reinstall the little rubber thingy that keeps dirt out of the vent and make darn sure there are no tools near the fan. Go inside and do more grandfather duties and return to start the engine. Did I mention I replaced the electrical connectors to the shutdown solenoid and the cold start solenoid? They were getting kind of weak and really needed it. Then I jumped in the seat and crossed my fingers that it would idle without tossing the pistons through the roof. I turned the key and it didn't start. I then stepped on the throttle a little and tried again. It bucked, belched and ran rough blowing white smoke across the neighbor's yard. Then the panic attack hit...........THE RAG! . I reluctantly, with much reservation, looked and there was no pipe hooked to the manifold elbow and the rag was GONE! I was sick. So I carefully looked and I could see the rag down in the elbow. Retrieval was easy. I then hooked up the boost pipe and crossing my fingers I cranked it over again. The feeling I had when that engine purred into life is indescribable. No damage had been done.
So the moral to this story is....... If you are gonna be dumb, don't take off the preheaters. That is what stopped the rag from doing any damage to the engine. Do any of you guys have these kind of problems?

Underpsi

I can't think of any good stories of wrenching on the truck right now but there is one about doing an oil change on my dads 69 Dart. So i drove it up onto the ramps and did the usual deal of pulling the plug and droping the filter. Then i slid out from under it and cleaned some chrome engine parts, blew out the air filter and then got it ready to pour the oil in. So i go and get 4 litres of oil to start. Before i pour the oil in I button on the new oil filter and proceed to poor in the 4 litres of oil. I know that the car will take atleast 6 seeing how it has a deep milodon oil pan so i go get another 2 litres and pour it in. Then I check the dip stick to make sure there was enough on the dip stick so i could start it and get the oil circulated through the filter and so i could back her down from the ramps. Well i look at the dip stick and it showed really low. So i stuck it back in and checked it again. Well it still showed low so i figure hmm maybe it takes more then i thought so i poured a bit more in and while i was pouring it in it finally occured to me why it was taking so much. I jumped under the car and threw the plug in to try to save some of that fresh clean oil coming out of the oil pan. man i felt dumb We all do it one time or another we just get caught up in other things then we over look things. Its just like when you can't fine that darn wrench and your looking for like half an hour and decide screw it im gonna start on something else and then you realize its right infront of your face where you would expect it to be.

Boatnik

Been there, done that too! I only lost two quarts because I heard something running into the drain pan.

Sometimes I gotta ask...........Why am I doing this? Supposedly we all can learn from our mistakes. I wonder how many mistakes it is going to take for me to be a rocket scientest?

smokin05

i got one .....about the fourth or fifth 350 cheby i built ...i thought i was hot stuff slapping these puppies together and making them go fast w. lots of internal goodies....well i got in a hurry(very worst mistake that can be made) so its going together crank pistons heads oh yeah and the timing chain ...well guess what there is a crank gear that drives the cam via the "timing chain" this crank gear has a funny little dot on it and there is also a keyway ....when it is installed "properly" the dot is about 10-15 degrees roughtly clockwise of the key way if your looking at the front of the engine...when you install the cam gear and chain you just line up the dots...simple enough right...well i for some stupid reason put the gear on backwards!! this gear is really hard to get off w/out breaking it... very hard race gear double roller( two sets of theeth) they dont like pullers! so in my infanate wisdom i thought this will be cool cause i can still see to line up the dots! and thats just what i did! man i built the hole thing prelubed/preloaded the valves set the timing on the stand( just rought ..enought to crank i am thinking) intake all of it...i fill it w/ coolant, belts the whole deal! and go to start it and to my amazement the first fire this thing made was about four feet tall right out of the carb. well i think this thing hang on 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 no all the wires are right..again big fire...this goes on and on tell i all the sudden look down at an old 327 crank laying in the floor(w/ the pain in the butt gear still on it and relized what i had done.....and i had to do it all over ..all the way back to the gear witch broke naturaly!

Boatnik

Yes haste makes waste, especially when you get thirty more years older. If I could remember them all I could write volumns, but alas, I suffer from CRS.

Underpsi

Lol ya hopefully we learn the first time right?

Alec

Did you ever hear the one about the fellow who pushed his truck out of the garage . . . and down the hill into a parked car while he was measuring the toe-in . . . amazing how fast she started moving when those rear tires dropped off the apron

wannadiesel

Or how about the guy who offered to do his brother's brakes and busted a drum on a Sunday afternoon.

Tuckerdee

My buddy couldn't figure out why his rear tires were soooo out of balance. His little Toyota truck bounced visibly going down the road. He said it feels like the lug nuts are all loose and like the wheels are going to come off. He said he tightened them up real good just to make sure. I go over to his house, take a look-see at his wheels, and ask why it is that he has put the lug nuts on backwards with cone facing out? He claims he was sober when he did this. But I have my doubts.

ChrisLib

How about the guy who started his truck after adjusting the valves...and THEN realized he left the ratchet and socket on the alternator nut Thank goodness the ratchet was in freewheel direction

Underpsi

that would have looked kinda cool with the ratchet flying around

loch

LMAO at least it aint just me. Went to work this morning to discover we arent working today. After getting my pay i proceded to head to town. I glanced at fuel gauge and it read 1/4 so i think to my self ( self get fuel) about that time a cough and shes dead. Hum whats up now, so i get out crack filter line pump the lever a few times , amazing no fuel, so i sat down tried crank it and nothing, glanced at the gauge again and its on zip. So being 6 miles from closest fuel stop.

Now did you know they dont loan gas cans anymore, so after buying 1 1/2 glns and a 9 dollar gas can, i'm walking back (no one stops BTW) did i mention its 30 degrees and a brisk 30 MPH breeze ? So i get to the truck, after resting a half hour (im old) i pour it in and set can in back( crawl under the truck to retrieve my new 9 dollar gas can lid. Then i smelled something odd, lifted the cap to my nose, the unmistakable arouma of unleaded plus.

By this time i'm tired and getting rather irratated, setting in truck i lean my head back and DOH i see my cell phone, well after dialing every number in my memory, i proceed to walk back to fuel stop. Get my fuel and again start my trek back to the truck (its not getting warmer). So upon my arival to the truck i crawl up and relax a minute (im getting older fast), and admire the pretty orange tag on my window from the area highway patrol, saying move it or else.

So i drain the gas out and put diesel in after a few cranks and a rest in between she fires up. I then head to the fuel stop to fill her up, after fueling i go in to give them my weeks pay, after dropping 60 bucks i stagger back to the truck, fire it up reset the odometer, look over and my wait to start light is flashing, its still flashing.

I put it in drive and drive as fast as i can home and i aint leaving again.
PS anyone know why wait start light is flashing ?

gerry

I think I have all of you beat ...

I had a 79 chevy 4X4 with a 4" lift.. I carefully tilted the garage door back and forth to get the truck in the garage without hitting the roof. Then Proceded to install a 3" body lift in the truck.... Need I say more???

loch

uhm ok yours is the best

boiler-rat

lmao Yea, yours takes the cake!