Dumb Tech Stories from a Ford blog site many years ago. Names were removed to protect the guilty:
I had one tech remove the top nut from a taurus front strut without the spring compressed, his impact gun hit the celing and came down on the hood of the car. only thing hurt was his pride luckily.
One of our techs forgot to pump up the brakes and proceeded to back straight through customer lounge. Luckalily nobody waiting at this time. Nobody hurt just his nerves shot took rest of day off.
Had a tech at the last shop change a map. sensor on a van. Key was on, battery connected, and van in reverse! He touched the starter wire. Van started, dragged him across the shop. Peeled off the drivers door, and slammed into the lube cube. How he didn't get killed was a miracle.
Had a lube tech take a customers probe out to check for brake noise, flipped car 10 times over a hill. Also had a tech that worked on an escort for no headlights for 2 days, had whole dash and wiring ripped out, forgot to check the bulbs first!!!
Had a tech do a coolant service on one of the older turbo "Mazda" Probes. He suposedly filled the engine with coolant through the upper radiator hose. Started engine and it ran for about ten seconds before it seized. After a quick investigation, found out that he actually poured coolant in the turbo inlet hose. Engine hydraulicked and bent the rods.
Saw smoke comming from techs bay across the shop so i investigated and found a 12 volt battery charger hooked up to a 12 volt cordless drill battery pack!!!! Tech said "yeah but i had it on slow charge"
At another dealer of course.... We had a tech flushing a cooling system out on a 92 GT mustang. He was at the end of the shop where the water hose was. The next thing you heard and saw was two streams of water coming out the tail pipes... Thats right !!! He cut into the smog pump hose instead of the heater hoses.... The cleanest exhaust in town........
In the late 70's I accidentally left an air hose connected to a power brake bleeder and pressurized fluid to the master cylinder caused the hose to burst and it sprayed a fine stream of brake fluid up into the air raining down on three cars. The next day they went to wash the brake fluid off the cars everywhere a drop of fluid was the paint come off down to the bare metal. Huge expensive Mess thank goodness for insurance!
This tops all these storys we had a tech whos been working for a couple of years at a ford dealer. then came here for about a year .his last week here he installed upper control arms on a expdition on the wrong sides and let the car go after the align.then he installed a window reg on a crown vic ,it fell out the next day when the cust opened the window he installed wrong size rivets.then to top it off he did intake gaskets on a 3.8 windstar and started it up motor started knocking and oil light came on then died they suspended him for a week. another tech took it apart found three rags in eng rapped around bal shaft rags pieces every were blocked oil pickup tech removed eng and did a complete rebuild. other tech came back worked a day then quit, couldnt take the other techs RAGGING on him!!!
tech. perform a head job on a car and left shop rag in the cylinder and put back together knowning it was there after he put it back together and drove the car trying to burn the rag out and came back with one less piston..
SENIOR MASTER TECH MACHINING ROTORS WITH AN ON THE VEHICLE LATHE, GOT TOO CLOSE & SHIRT GOT RIPPED RIGHT OFF OF HIS BODY, LAUGHED UNTIL WE ALMOST WET OUR PANTS
before i came to ford i was at gm and the tech next to me was named ruffis he was supposed to be a hot shot, well a few weeks later i watched something that caused a serious laughing spell that almost killed me ,,,,,an rv was towed in with no forward or reverse. Ruffis gets it, while it was running in the center aisle he was trying to check press in trans ,,,,well he finally checked fluid level,,,,,,low,,, well he started to put fluid in and away she went in reverse the funniest thing about it was that he grabbed the front bumper trying to hold it from entering the streetit kept going ,,,,, i still remember the look on his face ,,, it landed across the street smashing a wholesale unit,,,,,,,,,
IM A MORON. I RIPPED A 5.0L ENGINE OUT OF A BRONCO AND TORE IT APART. ORDERD LONG BLOCK AND ALL OTHER PARTS. FORGOT TO GET APPROVAL FROM THE CUST FOR THE JOB, GOD I LIKE TO WORK FOR FREE!!!
We had a tech that was putting a timing chain in a 5.0 truck, i walked by his stall, he was putting the belts back on, i ask him what he had done to the truck, he said" i just put a new timing chain and gears in this truck", so i ask him, what did the timing chain and gears on his benk go to...you know the rest.....
Had new tech just hired during firestone recall saw all of use using knife to cut the side wall with air in it. well he got a firestone steel tech that he needed to change tires on didn't know about valve core could be rmoved cut tire with 80 psi in it sounded like bomb sent of in shop. sent him to hospital to get checked out. he was ok cause he showed up back at work to hours later
We had a tech using a 1/2 impact, with a 1/2-3/8 adapter, a 3/8-1/4 adapter, a 6 inch extension and a 1/4-3/8 adapter w a 10mm socket on the end. I didnt even bother to ask what he was doing.
YOU KNOW THOSE HUB CAPS THAT LOOK JUST LIKE THE CAST RIMS EVEN DOWN TO THE CROME LUGNUTS, EXCEPT ON THE HUBCAP THE LUGNUTS ARE FAKE AND DON'T HOLD ANYTHING. I USED TO WORK BESIDE THE FRONTEND TECH- WE WOULD HANG HIS TROPHYS ON THE WALL WHEN HE POPED ONE OFF A HUBCAP UNTIL HE WAS TOPPED BY A NEW HELPER THAT REMOVED ALL 4 OFF OF A FAIRMONT HUBCAP AND ASKED WHY THE TIRE WOULDN'T COME OFF
Had a tech trying to start a topaz after replacing the engine after a couple hours walked by and saw a starter under his bench well !!also had a tech replace the intake gaskets on a 3.8 cougar and the car came back the next week knocking because he left wrags in the lifter valley and the camshaft whipped the engine full of lent.saw a tech drive into the shop and the tire followed him in.
Had a tech do an engine job on a F150 had hood off after repairs installed hood did not tighten bolts customer driving 55mph down road hood flys off hits town cop car that was driving by, flys through air hits 3 parked cars at muffler shop 1 was Mustang convertible just repainted there to have custom exhaust put on. Mustang own by our last service mananger (while he still worked here).
WE HAD THIS STUPID ASSET KID WORKING FOR US . I MEAN THIS KID WAS STUPID. I HAD AN EVAP LEAK ON A CAR AND THIS STUPID ASSET KID WAS WORKING WITH ME. I BEGAN TO SMOKE TEST THE CAR AND THE ASSET KID SAW THE SMOKE AND RAN AND GRABBED THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND SPRAYED THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CAR DOWN.
Years ago at a Dodge dealership I worked at a line mechanic was working on a school bus. Tech was notorious for a bad temper. He must have worked for 45 minutes trying to get the rear axle to release by beating on it with a 32oz ball peen hammer. At this point he totally lost it and beat the side of the bus with the hammer and then tried to throw the hammer through the window into the body shop. He missed and hit his brand new Snap-on tool box right on the drawers. Good thing he did miss because he would have killed who ever was on the other side of the window. He got a week off without pay for this explosion.
Had a truck that was towed in for not staying running tech insisted pcm was fried by aftermarket remote starter and replaced pcm when that didnt fix it he said that one was fried also by the remote start after 4 pcm's he found the crank trigger wheel was cracked.
There was a "tech" that used to work here that was swaping engines on a 98 cobra mustang. he got the new engine in and started swaping parts over. I walked over to look at the new enging when i noticed something strangly different about the new engine. Mind you he had already swaped over some parts that would swap over. well i asked him if he noticed anything different about the new engine. He said no so i had to point out that he had a regular 2 valve engine by showing him the single cam in each head but he still didn't comprehend that so i showed him the difference in the blocks. he had to sit there for a couple of minutes trying to figure out what i just show him. Long story short He don't work here no more.
We had a lube tech (for only a couple weeks) that did a rotate on an F-series and installed one of the front wheels on backwards and did'nt notice. But the customer did when they returned after installing his spare because the valve stem was ripped out of the rim from hitting the calliper.
speaking of trailer wiring saw the results on day when the turn signal is conected to the trailer brakes......excitings tire squeel...driver said he couldn't let off the brke pedal because he got stuck to the steering wheel everytime it flashed
HAD NEW QUICK LUB TECH CHECKING TIRE FOR LEAKS BY SPRAYING DOWN TIRE WITH SOAPY WATER AND WATCH FOR BUBBLES LIKE HE SAW THE OTHER QUICK LUB TECHS, CAM BACK AND SAID COULDNT FIND LEAK. I WENT TO CHECK IT, HAD TO EXPLAIN TO HIM NOT TO TAKE TIRE OFF RIM, SHOWS UP ALOT BETTER IF IT HAS AIR IN IT.
we "had" an mlr student doing the first oil&filter, air filter on a cobra,waiter knocked it out in record time,customer came back 19 minutes later "recheck lacks power since serviced CHECK ENG.LITE ON" student cried" could not have been my fault'.i got the tickett cleared the lite &took the air filter out of the plastic bag!!!!!!!
Had a master tech take out front axle shafts and test drove it not to say he did not get far 2 front tires came off passed him up front rotors came apart fender needit to be replaced this is a master tech lol
How about this one. New Mustang convertible comes in for window hitting on the roof when closing the door. Are shop's genius tech goes to fix it by opening the door, and putting all of his weight on it to bend the hinge. This is a big guy 250-300+ lbs. I get the car when it comes back. Still doing the same thing. Removed the panel and found the window unbounded from the regulator, and door hard to close.
Had a guy one time do a bunch of driveline work on an older F series, customer mae it about 30 yards out of our parking lot before the drive shaft fell off. Customer wasn't too happy walking back in. Also once I biffed during a basic aftermarket fog lamp installation on a Mustang. Accidentally tapped into the wrong wire for power and the fog lights wouldn't come on unless you hit the washer jet button.
I watched a tech changing the front motor mount on a Tempo...guess he broke one of the studs on top, I just happened to be watching him..silly me...he did work right across from me...anyways...I was thinking to myself...well how is he gonna fix that? Well to my astonishment...I watched him go over to his box...get out the tube of super glue...and proceeded to glue broken stud back on to motor mount and let dry, then pulled vehicle into customer parking. Guees he thought that's why there were more than one stud on mount...in case one of them broke during replacement.
Tech was working on an early Crown Vic say around '90 or so...anyways it came in for a No-Start...he determined that it wasn't getting power to alot required components...ign. switch, coil, etc...so he pinpointed his lack of power to the fusible links by the solenoid...so he proceeded to strip back some of the insulation of the fusible links and since they don't butt connecters that big...he found the next best thing...A 3/4" diam. hose clamp and clamped all the wires together and used about a roll of electrical tape and insulated his masterpiece! Wrote his story and returned car to customer! Needless to say came back on the hook approximately 2-3 weeks later with same concern...No Start!...Boy were we all shocked!....LMAO!
We had an asset tech a few years ago (still with us--brave guy) who was working on a vehicle and scratched the side mirror. He was in a panic, but the tech he was working with told him not to worry. He went on to convince the asset tech that the easiest way to fix it was to lick the mirror. After 5 minutes or so about the acidity of saliva and chemical reactions, there stood the tech, licking the mirror to buff out the scratches. That story still gets a good laugh at the Christmas parties.
Thanks all, young tech checkin for spark crown vic,lays across rad jumps starter rely,see ya!! key on in rev! much damage. tech not hurt
WE'VE HAD SOME REAL 'WINNERS' AT THIS DEALERSHIP AS WELL. A GUY OVER-HAULS AN 8.8" REAR-DIFF, AND INSTEAD OF SETTING THE PINION ROLLING-TORQUE TO 29 INCH-POUNDS, HE SET IT TO 29 FT.LBS. LET CUSTOMER HAVE VEHICLE (TECH DIDN'T ROAD TEST, HIS WORK WAS "TOP-NOTCH"), VEHICLE WENT AT LEAST A WEEK, CAME BACK WITH A MIS-FIRE COMPLAINT , ANOTHER TECH WORKED ON IT AND NOTICED A REAR-END NOISE ON HIS TEST-DRIVE HMMMM. ANOTHER REAR-DIFF OVER-HAUL ON AN F-150 CAME BACK A DAY LATER. CUSTOMER WAS HAULING TRAILER AND REAR-END LOCKED UP, TWISTED THE SNOUT OFF OF THE PINION AND ROTATED THE WHOLE HOUSING ON THE LEAF-SPRINGS. I THINK I WOULD HAVE (censored) MY PANTS ON THAT RIDE!
YEARS AGO, AT ANOTHER DEALER, TECH ?? INSTALLED A REMAN LONG BLOCK IN A BRONCO 2, COULDNT GET IT STARTED, CLICKED, WOULDNT "TURN OVER". AFTER 4 HOURS HE INSISTS THE REMAN ENGINE IS SEIZED, NEEDS ANOTHER ONE.. WE CHECK IT OUT, AS HE IS HITTING THE REMOTE STARTER FROM THE FRONT OF VEH, "SEE, ITS LOCKED UP, SEIZED.. WE REACH IN THE VEHICLE AND TAKE IT OUT OF 1ST GEAR,THAT SHOULD DO IT, LUCKILY HE HAD THE E-BRAKE SET TIGHT. !!! COUPLE MORE LIKE THAT AND HE WAS AXED.
Had a kid helping me do a trans. service on a towncar. I hooked up a remote starter button and told him to get the drain bolt faceing down so we could drain the converter. He couldn't get it to stop where he wanted it, so he got the idea that he would stop it with a small pry bar when it came by!!! He made a trip to the dentist for a tooth repair!!!!!!!!!
Had a tech that was supposed to be replacing intermediate exhaust pipe on a f-150 once. He got his torch and goggles out and proceeded to cut the pipe off except he cut thru the driveshaft
WHILE IN TECH SCHOOL HAD A GUY WORKING ON HIS OWN CAR. COULDN'T GET OIL FILTER OFF, I TOLD HIM TO JAM A SCREWDRIVER THROUGH IT TO TWIST IT OFF. HE DID AND IT CAME OFF LIKE A CHARM. BUT GUESS HOW HE PUT THE NEW FILTER ON? WONDERED WHY HE HAD AN OIL LEAK. WANTED ME TO BUY HIM A NEW FILTER
Knew a tech who did a rear diff. Pulled car out, didn't make it around corner. Tire and axle was sticking out about two feet, forgot c clip. Worked with new tech grad. Did rear drum brake job. Tested it on rack with only drums on. One came flying off like a killer top. People ran like mad. Did it again a week later, fired.
How bout this, Had a couple of techs felt like playing baseball!!! So they rolled up a ball of duct tape, grapped there longest pry bar and started the fisrt inning. Well much to my suprise, i walked out into the shop, saw the pitch, the tech missed the pitch, the pry bar slipped out of his hand and stuck right into the door of a windstar!!! Oh happy day!
Here's one on me - putting a transmission in an f-150 with a 4.6L. I started the lower two bolts on the starter, then fed my arm up to start the third. Left my arm there to guide the socket onto the top one. Left my arm there holding the socket while tightening the bolt. As the bolt got tighter, the starter started to draw up, closing the gap that my wrist was in. Got the bolt tight, and was unable to retrieve my hand! Called to the tech beside me (the same one who set the car on fire in my previous post) to bring some yield or silicone spray. He sprays some on my hand and after much pulling, got my hand out. He asked me why I didn't just loosen the bolt and I told him "do you realize how much of a (censored) it is to get that bolt in?" We laughed about that for several days. I also accidentally put washer fluid in a mustang that had some gas in it. I had a cold that day and couldn't smell. It was blue, so I didn't think anything about it! The service advisor helped out a lot by saying (in front of the customer) "what if that guy had been smoking?? he could have set his car on fire and died!" Thanks alot!!
A tech got a Ranger with a 4.0 ohv. w/5spd. manual trans. and had to do an oil pan gasket on it. Now grant it I know there are a couple of ways to get the clearance you need to get pan out of the truck...like R&I engine for one...but the tech had his own idea of getting it out...he was bound and determined to get it out without removing engine or the transmission, total in car repair is what he was aiming at...so, as he's thinking out his game plan for this, the sparkle in his eyes as the light bulb went on...he come's up with his way of gaining access to removing oil pan...he proceeded to literally use a cut off wheel and cuts the bottom half of the bell housing off...well to his surprise...he finds out that the flywheel is there and in his way...much to his dismay...he ends up pulling the trans. out anyway. Brilliant!!!!!
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. ONE OF THE TECH'S WAS PUTTING IN A CLUTCH IN A TANDUM AXLE LTL 9000 AND HE COULDN'T GET THE INPUT SHAFT TO LINE UP WITH THE DISC SO HE HAD THE TECH NEXT TO HIM JUMP UP IN THE CAB AND BUMP THE KEY, WELL THE ENGINE STARTED, NOW THE GUY UNDERNEATH IS TRYING TO KEEP THE TRANS ON THE JACK AS ITS FLOPPING ALL AROUND WHILE THE GUY IN THE TRUCK IS TRYING TO SHUT IT OFF. THIS TRUCK HAD A AIR ACTIVATED FUEL SHUTOFF AND THE SYSTEM WAS OUT OR AIR. ANOTHER TECH RAN OVER AND HAMMERED THE FUEL LINES OFF THE INJECTION PUMP. NOBODY WAS HURT THANK GOD. THEY BOTH HEADED TO THE RESTROOM TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES.
This ones on me. I had a customer with a '76 911 Turbo. He wanted an electric mirror mounted on the pass side. I looked all over the lot for another 911 with dual mirrors. Couldn't find one so I carefully measured where the drivers mirror was, Drilled 3 large holes on the pass side, mounted the mirror and finished the wiring. Just as I got in the car the Owner of the dealership asked how it was going. (the customer was a personal friend) As I looked over at the mirror the A-pillar was right in the way. The car went to the body shop to have the holes filled, door repainted and a new decal installed which took about 3 weeks. When I got the car back the dealer owner pulled his own turbo next to my stall and said "GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME." His 911 had two factory installed mirrors but wasn't there the day I first started the install.
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