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Today I fucked up: seriously damaged my BMW while trying to fix it

downbound123

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2017
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I suppose a pyrrhic victory is still a victory...well done
 
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richaceg

Well-known member
Feb 11, 2009
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So you shot yourself on the foot the first time and thought it would be a good idea to do it again and shoot your other foot...brake your cars to a mechanic and save yourself money and time.....
 
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Tiger

Well-known member
Aug 20, 2013
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Very sorry to hear this.
No offense, but just from the first three items that you've listed, you really shouldn't be working on your car.
YOu should have stopped working on your car long ago.

I totally understand the pride of working on your own car and successfully fixing it, no matter how small the job.
But after several costly mistakes, you should have learned that DIY jobs of this complexity if beyond your ability and skill level.

The key is knowing what type of job is beyond your level, and letting an expert handle it.

Give it up and find a mechanic that you can trust. For you, this will save you thousands, not to mention the time that you'll save by letting someone else do it for you.
Congrats to OP on finally fixing the car

I'm gonna chime in and say, everything and any skill can be learned, but pros have the time and the experience and the proper tools to do it faster and better and sometimes safer. And if you mess up, it'll be cheaper to use the pros than DIY

The best thing is to make friends with a neighbour who has tools and has time to show you what you're doing once. It's much more reassuring to see a friend do it, or at least if something goes wrong, he can drink a beer with you and together you can commiserate and scratch your balls and your head to consider the next move

YouTube gives newbs too much confidence in thinking they can do anything easily - remember most of those videos are edited like crazy

Finally, remember breaking clips and shit are part of the package... half of my engine bay has busted clips. Zip ties are your friend. I have almost cracked my windshield too, @stinkynuts so I laughed when I saw your list. Rusted bolts are part of life, lots of banging and torching and swearing are allowed.

I'd say keep at it, it is fun and satisfying when shit finally gets done. And then spend the $$ you saved at the mechanic on your fav incall
 
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stinkynuts

Super
Jan 4, 2005
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Congrats to OP on finally fixing the car

I'm gonna chime in and say, everything and any skill can be learned, but pros have the time and the experience and the proper tools to do it faster and better and sometimes safer. And if you mess up, it'll be cheaper to use the pros than DIY

The best thing is to make friends with a neighbour who has tools and has time to show you what you're doing once. It's much more reassuring to see a friend do it, or at least if something goes wrong, he can drink a beer with you and together you can commiserate and scratch your balls and your head to consider the next move

YouTube gives newbs too much confidence in thinking they can do anything easily - remember most of those videos are edited like crazy

Finally, remember breaking clips and shit are part of the package... half of my engine bay has busted clips. Zip ties are your friend. I have almost cracked my windshield too, @stinkynuts so I laughed when I saw your list. Rusted bolts are part of life, lots of banging and torching and swearing are allowed.

I'd say keep at it, it is fun and satisfying when shit finally gets done. And then spend the $$ you saved at the mechanic on your fav incall
Thanks, man.

Yeah, those Youtube videos are very misleading. They make things 10X easier than it seems. A rusty bolt, or a brake clip that is impossible to get off and put back on, a sensitive piece that breaks, etc. make the job infinitely harder. I found myself making multpile trips to Canadian tire to get tools that may or may not work to get the job done.

But in the end the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from doing it myself was a great feeling. I wish I knew people who could help me.

As for my commiseration, I suppose posting on terb has allowed me to "vent" and seek consolation, advice, and encouragement.

The money saved is a bonus, but not the main goal. The increase skills and lessons learned have empowered me. I hated that helpless feeling going to oil change shops and being overcharged and ripped off for simple things like oil changes, filter replacments, etc. Not to mention the hassle of making appointments, waiting, dropping off my car, etc.

I broke a lot of things, but also learned a lot. I think that's part of the learning process.
 
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curvluvr

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2017
1,247
882
113
Well, honestly it's not


Thanks, man.

Yeah, those Youtube videos are very misleading. They make things 10X easier than it seems. A rusty bolt, or a brake clip that is impossible to get off and put back on, a sensitive piece that breaks, etc. make the job infinitely harder. I found myself making multpile trips to Canadian tire to get tools that may or may not work to get the job done.

But in the end the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from doing it myself was a great feeling. I wish I knew people who could help me.

As for my commiseration, I supposePosting on terb has allowed me to "vent" and seek consolation, advice, and encouragement.

The money saved is a bonus, but not the main goal. The increase skills and lessons learned have empowered me. I hated that helpless feeling going to oil change shops and being overcharged and ripped off for simple things like oil changes, filter replacments, etc.

I broke a lot of things, but also learned a lot. I think that's part of the learning process.
You may have learned a lot, but at what price? After messing up so many things and paying dearly for it (like changing wiper blades and cracking your windshield), you may not be that much better off.
If you've overspent thousands of dollars because of your mistakes, has that truly made you a better mechanic?
The danger is that you could be addicted to that sense of accomplishment and the desire to consider yourself as "handy".
This can lead you to make even bigger and more costly mistakes... like those guys on those home reno shows who end up taking down load bearing walls without knowing.

I totally understand the helpless feeling of being scammed at some garages. But now that you know some basic auto mechanics, you're less likely to be ripped off.

"Know your limit, play within it" really applies here. Know what you can safely do, and do those things well. Know what is risky for you to do, and farm it out to someone you trust.
We call can't be experts at everything.

FWIW, The only thing I do on my car nowadays is change my own snow tires, wiper blades, air filters, and I top up my windshield washer fluid. My mechanic does everything else.
When I was younger, I've changed transmission fluid and changed brakes.
I changed my rear brakes a long time ago, only to screw it up because my pads (non-OEM) were too thick, and the pads were tight on the drum (yes, I backed off the adjuster completely). After wasting several hours struggling with it, only to have to get it towed to my mechanic to fix what I f**ked up, I swore never to do that again.
 
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stinkynuts

Super
Jan 4, 2005
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You may have learned a lot, but at what price? After messing up so many things and paying dearly for it (like changing wiper blades and cracking your windshield), you may not be that much better off.
If you've overspent thousands of dollars because of your mistakes, has that truly made you a better mechanic?
The danger is that you could be addicted to that sense of accomplishment and the desire to consider yourself as "handy".
This can lead you to make even bigger and more costly mistakes... like those guys on those home reno shows who end up taking down load bearing walls without knowing.

I totally understand the helpless feeling of being scammed at some garages. But now that you know some basic auto mechanics, you're less likely to be ripped off.

"Know your limit, play within it" really applies here. Know what you can safely do, and do those things well. Know what is risky for you to do, and farm it out to someone you trust.
We call can't be experts at everything.

FWIW, The only thing I do on my car nowadays is change my own snow tires, wiper blades, air filters, and I top up my windshield washer fluid. My mechanic does everything else.
When I was younger, I've changed transmission fluid and changed brakes.
I changed my rear brakes a long time ago, only to screw it up because my pads (non-OEM) were too thick, and the pads were tight on the drum (yes, I backed off the adjuster completely). After wasting several hours struggling with it, only to have to get it towed to my mechanic to fix what I f**ked up, I swore never to do that again.
Yes, as the saying goes, "a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing."

These small accomplishments can lead to a false sense of competence and complacency. Like the many guys who carelessly work under their car that is jacked up, but without vital safety precuations such as jack stands, chocks, backup systems. If a piece of clothing gets caught in a running engine, it can choke you to death, or tear your arm off. A person with zero experience really shouldn't be doing something that someone who spent years training, has hundreds of hours of experience, and passed all the test to become certified, and the tools and resources (other experienced workers) is doing. Just like people shouldn't be diagnosing and treating diseases on themselves.

However, everything is a balance. With proper precautions, I believe that the risk/reward ratio is worth it for many simpler tasks. I will reserve the more complex ones for the pros, and not fall victim to the dunning kruger effect.
 
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massman

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2001
4,590
3,094
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UPDATE:

After hours of work, and getting my hands greased up and washed several times, I finally got the coil boots out of the sockets. I replaced both ignition coils, and the check engine light is off, and the car runs great.

To access the coils, I had to remove the air filter, engiine cover, and unclip several other parts. Then I used WD 40 to loosen the rubber. I drove around to warm it up too.

Then, using a flashlight to look into the ignition coil chamber, I used a long pick tool to go around the boot and loosen it up. Finally after much tugging and more maneuvering with the tool, I was able to remove the boots. I can't tell you how satifsying it was to remove them.

Although the outuside housing of one of the ignition coils was warped and damaged, it seems to still allow the coil to fit properly, and so far so good.

It was a huge pain in the ass, lots of yourube videos, lots of trips to Canadian tire for tools, and in the end I did save a tiny bit of money. But next time I need to replace the ignition coil, I will know what to do.

The tool that made the difference to get the boot out was the long pick like tool (kind of what oral hygenists use to scrape your teeth). The curved end is good at grasping the boot and pulling it. Also, a flashlight was important to see exactly what I was doing.
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jeff2

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2004
1,546
836
113
There used to be a car inspecion centre on Horner avenue called Priority Plus which I believe closed many years ago and I think moved to Woodbridge and that may also be closed now.
But for around $ 100.00(discount for CAA or APA members) you could get a full car inspection and unbiased opinion because they did not do any repairs. In fact, if you went ahead and had the repairs or maintenance done somewhere else, you could go back to them and they would check if it was done right.
 
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JaimeWolf

Meretrix Fututor
Aug 19, 2017
1,682
732
113
I hope you retorque those lugnuts after the first 100km. Every November and April when drivers change over, there a few tire separations on the QEW due to bad workmanship.

My regular mechanic swapped my tires over for $20 (Special Price) and Balanced them for $60. I would say the money was worth it.
Lug bolts, because German engineering... That means you need another dowel tool to hang the wheel on the hub while you thread in the bolts.
 

Tiger

Well-known member
Aug 20, 2013
956
331
63
Lug bolts, because German engineering... That means you need another dowel tool to hang the wheel on the hub while you thread in the bolts.
Meh
Usually you can hold the wheel with one hand on a tiny circular lip on the hub, and work quick enough just get the top bolt in with your other
And, I've broken a few studs/lugnuts in autocross events, but only one lugbolt (admittedly the lugbolt was harder to drill out and replace than the studs which are fairly easy)
 
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