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righty tighty, lefty loosey

GTPWombat

GTPWombat

New member
So I work at a place where people can work on their own vehicles without bringing their own tools. So every day we get someone who doesn’t know how to use a wrench. The old “righty tighty, lefty loosey”, does not apply to these guys. They will be using the wrong tools or better yet, a ¼ drive ratchet on lug nuts trying to torque them down.
I teach a lot of people how to change their fluids and half shafts and what not. Some don’t listen to directions or think they are right and pass me off as an idiot. Here are a couple examples from yesterday.
This guy comes in with a BMW and changes his oil. He asks for a torque wrench to put is oil plus back in. His overly expensive BMW how to manual tells him to torque to 20 foot pounds. I set it for him because he doesn’t know how to set it. I go to help someone else and he calls me back over. He sheared off is oil plug in his pan. He says it just snapped. I look at the torque wrench and sure enough he played with it and set it to 90 foot pounds. He said that 20 looked too light so he just turned it up a bit. Lucky for him I am a pro at fixing screw-ups.
Guy number two yesterday came in with a 1999 GP GT to change his oil. Fine. Then he comes back with a fuel filter and a transmission filter and fluids. Fine. He has trouble getting the quick release fitting off so I show him how to do it. Happens all the time so it’s no big deal. My only problem with this guy came when he was pulling out the trans filter. I told him to pull it straight down so he didn’t make a mess. Sure enough it breaks free and he turns it away from him and directs all that trans fluid at me. Now I have this huge fluid stain on my brand spanking new summit racing shirt. No apologies or even a “man that sucks”. He just laughs.

He was talking smack about how his GT was fast. He was talking crap. How he has beaten SRT-4s and what not. I played it off like I thought he was cool. He asked what I had and I just said a sedan. So I closed up shop and he follows me out to the main road going off base (it’s a 4 lane at 65mph). Soon as we got out of the front gate he wanted to do a 40 roll. I agreed and burned him, bad. He needed a serious driver mod (he had no control over his car). I hope he realized I was playing with him from the start. Not a kill I know but he had it coming.
 


Thats wassup man.I wish i had a place like that around here where i can just work on my car in a place with help and supplies the tools but oh well.Lol i like the end i bet the kid was still in high school
 
Where do you work? I would love a place like that to do my own work with hands-on help available if I need it, lol.

Never heard of anywhere like that around here..
 
we have one around here that does that, but ive never been there. been tempted to call them and ask if they have an alignment rack for me to use.
 


I can relate to overtightening something though, my dad's saturn has the cartridge style oil filter. Supposed to be something very low (under 20lb-ft) set my torque wrench to that and snap
 
Nice kill. It's amazing how some people are complete idiots, but have no clue they are. Here's your sign!
 
dmahlikGT said:
i bet the kid was still in high school
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Nope he was in his early 20's and active duty air force

SDGTP99 said:
More proof that most BMW owners are a-holes'.
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Fact good sir, fact

FriboRage said:
Where do you work?
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I work at the Auto Hobby Shop on an Air Force Base. Lots of tools, lifts, hoists, special tools, air tools, tire changing equip, and great lift prices. I love my job. We just get a bunch of "special people" in the shop. I like teaching others about repairing their cars. I just can't stand the select few.
 


Talking about people who don't know how to use tools, how about people who don't know what tools are?

Years ago, I was 19 or 20, I worked at West Virginia University as a Engineers Assistant at the on campus Engine Research Center. I was essentially a glofied baby sitter for engineering students who also worked there.

Anyway, I was in the dyno bay, changing out exhaust catalysts and needed a 9/16 wrench. I told the student (I won't mention nationalities and make myself look racist) that I needed the 9/16 wrench. He said "OK, no problem"

Two minutes later hae came back holding a hammer.

That is the honest to God's truth.
 
when i was roofing, i've sent "the new kid" many of them, off the roof to get me a left handed screw driver, a roll stretcher, and left handed hammer a number of times, and 90% of them go and look for the stuff, 15 minutes later you look over the edge of the roof and see them ripping the tool box apart still looking for nothing.

these are people who claimed to have had roofing experience mind you.

so hard to find good people.
 
scottydoggs said:
when i was roofing, i've sent "the new kid" many of them, off the roof to get me a left handed screw driver, a roll stretcher, and left handed hammer a number of times, and 90% of them go and look for the stuff, 15 minutes later you look over the edge of the roof and see them ripping the tool box apart still looking for nothing.

these are people who claimed to have had roofing experience mind you.

so hard to find good people.
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Ah reminds me of many stories from the ERC.

The best one of those was when we sent the one kid we called Lucky to get the credit card so he could get spark plugs for the Cummins.

He came back downstairs, card in hand and asked if we needed anything else. We stared for a second, then laughed. We asked him if he told Tom (our boss) what he was going to go get.

When he said no we told him to go tell him. A minute later Tom came out onto the catwalk laughing. Lucky didn't find it as funny.
 
stealthee said:
Ah reminds me of many stories from the ERC.

The best one of those was when we sent the one kid we called Lucky to get the credit card so he could get spark plugs for the Cummins.

He came back downstairs, card in hand and asked if we needed anything else. We stared for a second, then laughed. We asked him if he told Tom (our boss) what he was going to go get.

When he said no we told him to go tell him. A minute later Tom came out onto the catwalk laughing. Lucky didn't find it as funny.
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lol. I wonder how many people are reading that one trying to figure out what's wrong with buying spark plugs.
 


i love those places literally ever single tool in the world but the one next to me charges up the ass so all my buddies just come to my house and work on cars
 
i like when you see someone working on their car or what ever, and they try almost every socket in the box on the nut/bolt till they get the right one, box wrenches too.

and think to yourself, now this guy never even fixed a flat tire on his bicycle.
 
I enjoy the humor when newbs tell me all they need is a place and I let them work at my place.

The other night a guy was half under his car and tried to stand up when there was an odd noise. He was working on a dipstick bolt that's between the ac compressor and starter (Bonneville only thing). I laughed and said, "it only tingles for a moment". Kept on doing my thing.

BTW, you guys know how there's tons of GP's out there with stripped or broken bolts in the strut tower to radiator support braces? Torque spec is something like 15-20ft lbs.
 
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