Worst customer screwups?

[John in MA]

Just something I've been wondering about for a while. A lot of dealers I've talked to have mentioned how they hate working on stuff that has been repaired by amatures. I've never had any problems fixing my equipment, but I'm curious to hear the worst cases you guys have encountered. I mean really horrible things done by inept shade-tree mechanics.

So?

 

[Tony Snyder]

Boy, I don't know where to start.

The little boy peein in his dad's gas can has to be the funniest. His dad asked him, Josh did you pour your pop in dad's gas can?(he had Mountain Dew) The boy said, No dad I didn't. We were standing outside the shop looking at what I had poured out of the tank into a glass jar.Plug was wet, but with something that beaded up on gas.

The boy goes to the truck and comes back with mom for to explain the joke.

 

[Tony Snyder]

Second one, I have told a couple of times.

Its about the boy who had the oil injected Yamaha dirt bike and thought his dads new Partner worked the same way.

 

[JimL]

I had a lawnboy pushmower in the shop. It wasn't getting gas, the tank was full. I pulled the hose off and nothing came out. i looked and it was full of this pink colored rubber. So was the carb nipple.
i pulled the carb and the entire thing was filled with it, every little crevis.

I emptied the tank and found the metal piece that was oncee in a screwdriver handle.


Ordered a new carb, fuel tank, and fuel line and he was all set.

 

[tree monkey]

trying to pull pintched saw out with tractor,
molassas in oil tank,
deisel fuel in gas tank,
removing clutch with 3/4" drive impact,
sticking screwdriver in exhaust port to remove clutch,
if a screw can be forced in a hole it fits,
gutted chain breaks,
using anything for mounts,
mushroomed crank ends,
removed seal with screwdriver leaving grove in crankcase,
blocked impulse hole with homemade gasket,
carb kit put in wrong,
removed fuel filter to see if it ran better,

just a few
latter scott

 

[My2cents]

Two incedences come to mind. First being the wrong plug, It was far to deep resulting in contact with the head of the piston. The Kid explained "I just wound not turn over"! Second using a torque wrench to tighten a plug. READ THE FINE PRINT :Inch pounds not Ft pounds!

 

[Robert]

removed seal with screwdriver leaving grove in crankcase

How do most mechanics remove oil seals when the saw is not being disassembled? I was going to buy one of those handy Stihl seal pullers to replace the seals in my 090 but the mechanic at the dealership said it was a waste of money and for me to just pry it out with a screwdriver - that's the way he does it. Now I've done this before on cars when there wasn't a shiny, polished crank in the way but this made me nervous about scratching the crank. He said not to worry, it wasn't that easy to scratch it. Three hours later, after heating the case with a heat gun, I finally got one of them out without damaging (I think) anything. I'm sure it's much easier for you folks that do it every day but I'm still wondering if that seal puller might be worth it. I'm assuming it will work on most any brand of saw?

 

[My2cents]

A piece of thin walled pipe with a outer thread turned onto it.
You actually thread the pipe into the metal part of the seal. As you thread the pipe it pushes the soft part of the seal inward a little. One full turn then you wiggle and pull outwards. It works great and you don't come in contact with either the crank or the outer seal surface.

 

[mikey]

Yeas ago, I worked at a motorcycle dealership as a mechanic.A customer had come to pick up his machine and found the battery dead.We offerd to charge it but he ask for some rope and said he would charge it after he got it home.We assumed the rope was to tie the motorcycle down in the truck.About 15 mins. later he walks back in all skinned up and bleeding and says he would come back later for the bike.He had tried to pull the bike(with his friend driving the truck)to start it.

 

[bwalker]

I saw a guy cook a outboard in a most amusing way. The motor wouldnt start so he got his freind to spray a squirt of ether into the carb while he pulled it over. The thing would fire for a few seconds or so and quit. The guy then told his buddy to keep spraying the ether till he told him to stop. The guy cranks it and imedeailty the motor pegs what sounds 12k RPM and then abruptly makes a squeking noise and quits. Seized it solid. I also seen another guy a different time do the same thing with a orv.

 

[tree monkey]

tree climber 165's muffler mod on his 260 pro.