Amateur hour at the E-tek Shop...

[e-tek]

Needed to change thr EGR valve on my 06 Dodge Caravan......20 minute job - right?

After removing the exhaust to intake tube I plugged the hole with some blue shop towel - so nothing could fall in. Always thinking ahead.

Of course the bolt that holds the EGR to the block was seized....so I tried some WD40, then PB Blaster....then decided only heat would work, but being too close to plastic parts to use fire, I decided to run the engine to heat it up.....

Insert major SUCKING sound here..... Nooooo!!!!

Oh well - I wanted to re&re the GD Intake Plenum today anyway....

Yep, there it is....some of it anyways...

After removing some of it with pliers, some with the vacuum and some with the air hose, I hoped for the best and buttoned it back up, finished the EGR swap, then sprayed a can of Carb Medic down the TB to try and get the rest of it through the system. Seems to have worked.



I'm going back to metalwork.....

 

[ratdoggy]

That really *****Get it?
You aren't the first or the last to do that kind of stuff...

 

[neel2008]

nom nom nom motor like shop towels lol should have taken video of the exhaust on start up...

 

[raskal]

be thankful you didn't use one of those new-fangled carbon fiber shop towels!

 

[George in Rancho Cordova]

My son borrowed my Suburban and left the gas cap at the gas station.
He stuffed a blue paper towel in the filler neck, unbeknownst to me.
I replaced the lost cap & went to gas up before a trip, & the nozzle kept clicking off.
Gosh, did he fill it up, and the gauge didn't know what to do?

We took off & got about 125 miles on Thanksgiving eve. The thing quit & wouldn't start.
Got towed to where there was light & started diagnosing.
The fuel pump & line from the tank to the pump were fine.
When I pulled the hose between the filler neck & the tank, there was a blue paper towel preventing the tank from being filled!
That only cost a tow, a pair of jeans, a dinner, a trip to the laundromat and a night in a motel in beautiful Fresno, CA.
We barely made it to Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[ddawg16]

See what happens when you try to be careful?

 

[sdguy55]

Not that you could have used this method anyways but when working on trucks and have to open up the air system at all i always put latex gloves over the openings where the pipes and pipes themselves. I think it gives a better seal than a shop rag or shirt and you cant stuff it in accidentally and forget about it.

 

[Responder]

Man, I thought that I was the only one that **** like that happened to!

 

[oilslick]

Sort of related, I found a shop wrag in the valley of a 305 once, it was real crusty!

 

[Cougar]

That's funny.

Reminds me of the time I was installing a new toilet.
Removed the old one and stuffed an old towel in the drain to block the sewer smell.
Got the new toilet installed and flushed it.
And then rememered I never took the towel out of the drain.
Not too big of mess, job just took twice as long.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Aw man Ed! Did you have one of your multiple TV's on at the time?
Thats funny!

 

[TRC51]

Well.... this thread makes me feel better. Sometimes feels like "Amateur Hour" is a weekly program in the story of my life.

 

[GarageEnvy]

Etek, if it makes you feel any better, I stuffed a shop rag in a valve cover to replace a breather that popped out while running the dunes at Pismo. I forgot about it and drove 3 hours with it in. I parked the car and 10 minutes later had a fire under the hood. Apparently oil soaked rags are flammable in a hot engine compartment. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy.

 

[GGB]

I'm betting that 95% of us "pros" have done something like that.....

The other 5% are liars!

(to paraphrase Mark Twain)

GGB

 

[JC23]

What? Is that some new kind of recycling?

**** happens...I have ll sizes of screw ups in stock! No waiting, no back orders!

 

[e-tek]

Well thanks guys - at first I thought "Don't put it on GJ - there's Pro's on there!"....but then remembered most of you don't really know me!!!!

I appreciate the support tho!!

 

[Kevin54]

The fourth T-Bird my dad and I restored....we had just finished up replacing the water pump on it. After a long day I went home. When I went up to my dad's the next day to help him out on the car, he asked me to listen to the engine. He said that it's got a real weird sound. I fired it up and heard nothing like I have ever heard before. We had it running two days prior and everything sounded fine other than a small miss to it. Dad had taken the top off of the carb to see if the float was sticking, and in doing whatever had managed to drop a check ball from the carb into the intake. All I can say is, it's too bad there were not digital cameras back then. It's amazing what a 1/8" diameter ball can do to a piston and not get stuck between the valve and seat. The top of the piston looked like the dimples in a golf ball. Once we tore everything apart and got the check ball out, the carb rebuilt, it ran like a charm.

I don't know what ever happened to the car as it exchanged hands a few times, but if anyone ever tears into the engine, it will definitely be a WTF moment.

 

[38Chevy454]

E-Tek, been there and done that myself. You are not alone. We get so involved that we do not remember the piece of towel/rag, until too late!

 

[Az Scooter]

I am more worried that you let the lovely Mrs. E-Tek drive in an 06 Caravan. The rest is just stuff that happens.

 

[tcianci]

Since this has turned into a confessional... I just put a timing belt into my daughters 2000 Ranger. In order to hold the crank from turning while removing the balancer bolt, I cut the serpentine belt, wrapped it around the crank pulley and tied it off to the sway bar. Once the job was done I reversed the direction of the belt so that it would hold the crank from rotating while I tightened the bolt. Well, I did that just fine and then went to start the engine. I got a partial turn out of the starter and then the engine stopped. What the heck I thought, So dopey here hit the key again, this time the engine roared into life but the engine was shaking and making the most god-awful noises. I ran to the front of the truck only to see the serpentine belt flailing at about 800 rpm, beating the **** out of the lower radiator hose, the ****** cooler lines and anything else in the way. It was kinda like a weed whacker. I felt exceedingly dumb after that one!

 

[HOTFR8]

Ed, What happened ? Oh well we all make mistakes.

You reminded me of this >
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=rOSkGW_lEhc&NR=1

You are a Daft Punk Ed for making that mistake, you are human after all

 

[e-tek]

I am more worried that you let the lovely Mrs. E-Tek drive in an 06 Caravan. The rest is just stuff that happens.

HaHaHa - funny! Mrs E absolutely LOATHES the Caravan!! To add insult to injury, it has a - GASP! - cracked windshield! She calls it the Getto-van....

I've driven one since 1992 when my first job after university gave me one as a company car. I was able to put all my camping gear, bikes, golf clubs and triathlon gear in it. I could camp in it. Contrary to their poor image, I used mine for ACTION and even scored many times in my Caravan (remember the song "Chevy Van"?)

Nowadays, it's still my compnay can and with it's "Stow and Go" seats, I can use it to haul everything from plywood, kids, engines, bikes, car parts and more. To me it's an enclosed truck. I tow trailers and campers with it and pull my '46 Merc truck home whenever it fails. Mrs E-tek drives a Mini-Cooper, so guess what she has to drive when she wants to move anything bigger than a breadbox?

I love my Caravan.....Mrs E-tek doesn't want to be seen in it

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

When I was a kid someone put a large maple leaf in the gas tank of my Dad's '59 Chevy truck tank. Truck ran fine until gas got low then the leaf would get sucked down to the outlet and truck would act fuel starved and "run out of gas".

Short version? Fuel filters changed multiple times, carb came off a couple times, intake off, fuel lines swapped, fuel pump, swapped, tank out twice.

On THIRD time with tank out my Dad's looking in it with a flashlight and BARELY sees the corner of the leaf. When he'd drain the tank the leaf would adhere to somewhere on the side of the tank! This is when I learned my most uh..."descriptive" cuss word vocabulary,

My son borrowed my Suburban and left the gas cap at the gas station.
He stuffed a blue paper towel in the filler neck, unbeknownst to me.
I replaced the lost cap & went to gas up before a trip, & the nozzle kept clicking off.
Gosh, did he fill it up, and the gauge didn't know what to do?

We took off & got about 125 miles on Thanksgiving eve. The thing quit & wouldn't start.
Got towed to where there was light & started diagnosing.
The fuel pump & line from the tank to the pump were fine.
When I pulled the hose between the filler neck & the tank, there was a blue paper towel preventing the tank from being filled!
That only cost a tow, a pair of jeans, a dinner, a trip to the laundromat and a night in a motel in beautiful Fresno, CA.
We barely made it to Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[jhelrey]

I might have left that paper towel there... it is paper after all

 

[HOTFR8]

so guess what she has to drive when she wants to move anything bigger than a breadbox?

I love my Caravan.....Mrs E-tek doesn't want to be seen in it

So does she drive the Merc pickup then ?

 

[e-tek]

Since this has turned into a confessional... I just put a timing belt into my daughters 2000 Ranger. In order to hold the crank from turning while removing the balancer bolt, I cut the serpentine belt, wrapped it around the crank pulley and tied it off to the sway bar. Once the job was done I reversed the direction of the belt so that it would hold the crank from rotating while I tightened the bolt. Well, I did that just fine and then went to start the engine. I got a partial turn out of the starter and then the engine stopped. What the heck I thought, So dopey here hit the key again, this time the engine roared into life but the engine was shaking and making the most god-awful noises. I ran to the front of the truck only to see the serpentine belt flailing at about 800 rpm, beating the **** out of the lower radiator hose, the ****** cooler lines and anything else in the way. It was kinda like a weed whacker. I felt exceedingly dumb after that one!

Ouch!

My son borrowed my Suburban and left the gas cap at the gas station.
He stuffed a blue paper towel in the filler neck, unbeknownst to me.
I replaced the lost cap & went to gas up before a trip, & the nozzle kept clicking off.
Gosh, did he fill it up, and the gauge didn't know what to do?

We took off & got about 125 miles on Thanksgiving eve. The thing quit & wouldn't start.
Got towed to where there was light & started diagnosing.
The fuel pump & line from the tank to the pump were fine.
When I pulled the hose between the filler neck & the tank, there was a blue paper towel preventing the tank from being filled!
That only cost a tow, a pair of jeans, a dinner, a trip to the laundromat and a night in a motel in beautiful Fresno, CA.
We barely made it to Thanksgiving dinner.

Double OUCH!

 

[machine_punk]

I love my van, no matter what anyone else says. Mine is a full-size '90 E350, though. I leave the two back seats out most of the time, which leaves me room for 8 passengers and 8 bicycles, AT THE SAME TIME. Lockable storage, baby!

(OH...the van came with a 351W...so I actually get to use mine, instead of storing it on an engine stand)

I had a similar 'DOH' moment a few weeks ago. At 22 years old (and only 15K real miles), the water pump seals on the van finally gave up the ghost and started leaking enough that I had to top off the cooling system before every trip. So, I yank the water pump, thinking it will be a 5-hour job. Except for this one bolt which seized. Ended up being a 21 hour job for me, even with help from the kids and their friend. My mistake? Not double-checking the work of teens. The bolts holding the cooling fan on were not tight enough, shredding the fan belt and stranding all of us an hour from home. Thankfully, we had AAA...or that would have been a $500 tow home.

M_P

 

[santagary]

I mounted the radiator fan backwards on my Austin Healey in the rush to finish the restoration and had a major overheating issue in Pagosa's 4th of July parade.

 

[dlc]

Could have been worse. You could have spent days putting a lift kit under your truck and not be able to get it back through the garage door (not me of course)

 

[e-tek]

(OH...the van came with a 351W...so I actually get to use mine, instead of storing it on an engine stand)
M_P

Got me there!

I mounted the radiator fan backwards on my Austin Healey in the rush to finish the restoration and had a major overheating issue in Pagosa's 4th of July parade.

Could have been worse. You could have spent days putting a lift kit under your truck and not be able to get it back through the garage door (not me of course)

 

[Cobra6]

I am more worried that you let the lovely Mrs. E-Tek drive in an 06 Caravan. The rest is just stuff that happens.

This - and with a broken windshield?

At least with all the bad stuff you have a great cheerleader.

 

[ed_v]

I think we've all had many days like that E-tek. It keeps us humble I guess. Like yourself, I prefer the bodywork and fabrication. I'd blow my brains out if I had to work on late model cars everyday.

Ed

 

[e-tek]

This - and with a broken windshield?

At least with all the bad stuff you have a great cheerleader.

Well she doesn't HAVE to use the Caravan - we were going to go all pretentious and buy an Escalade, but she thought it was too big and I didn't want to get it dirty, much less beat on it....so we stick with the Caravan. But if it makes anyone feel better, it is a fully loaded GRAND Caravan!

It keeps us humble I guess

 

[onewaydave]

So you are human. I was wondering.

Dave, just can't stop laughing. No not at you, at the shared experiences in life.

 

[krivasgarage]

Almost did something similar when I changed the timing chains on my SRX - I was using blue towels to clean the head and keep gunk from draining down into the block. I only saw one of the leftover towels when I was reviewing pictures before buttoning it back up. Now you know why a nurse is assigned the task of counting sponges in the operating room.

 

[boatmark]

Reminds me of the story of the starter and my neighbors Caravan. He was a fireman, but not the brightest bulb in the package. And definitely not mechanically inclined.

I pull into the driveway after work and see him wrenching on his wifes Caravan jacked up in the driveway. I go over to see what's up.

Long cursing tirade about a bad starter, and how he replaced it and it was defective, now the second one is defective and he wants to burn down the parts store. His wife is just listening to this whole tirade and aparently has been most of the day, and asks me to look at it. Two minutes diagnosis says the only thing wrong with it has been a dead battery.

Doh! His wife lost it. I'm really glad I didn't have to spend the evening in his house . . . .