Most embarrassing DIY maintenance moment

[a64pilot]

Steve, you weren't in an M1?
Cause M60 guys were DATs, but M1 guys are now CDATs


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[tankersteve]

Yeah, M1, M1IP, M1A1, M1A1AIM, M1A2. However, the truly computerized M1s are the M1A2 SEPv2 and v3. Those have a silly amount of computers. The first SEP tanks introduced the need for an AC system to cool the computer systems. The nice thing about the older M1A1s is that you, or maintenance, could actually fix stuff that was broken. On the new stuff, you just swap out LRU cards, hopefully having the right ones in stock.

I had a negligible amount of time around M60A3s. I now work in TRADOC as a contractor, trying to develop a new vehicle system for the OPFOR at the CTCs.

Tankersteve

[CaptWil]

Well today I think I won the best prize for stupid.... spent the last week sanding mast down, etch spray then primer, sand and finally when dry coat with 2 part epoxy
Next day I was a bit confused why the paint was still tacky, oh well another 24 hours I convinced myself..
You guessed it, another day and still tacky.... went back to my paint mixes and voila.... wrong hardener.... used antifoul hardener in my Topcoat paint mix.... worse in the paint shop I asked if the cans of antifoul and topcoat were correctly stacked up, which a yes prompted me to use a marker and put 1/1, 2/2 etc on the relevant stacks...
Did I check before mixing? NO cos m stupid and trusting
So hard lesson learned and now the messy job of removing that goo, mast luckily only 16 meters
Cheers
Will

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by CaptWil

Well today I think I won the best prize for stupid.... spent the last week sanding mast down, etch spray then primer, sand and finally when dry coat with 2 part epoxy
Next day I was a bit confused why the paint was still tacky, oh well another 24 hours I convinced myself..
You guessed it, another day and still tacky.... went back to my paint mixes and voila.... wrong hardener.... used antifoul hardener in my Topcoat paint mix.... worse in the paint shop I asked if the cans of antifoul and topcoat were correctly stacked up, which a yes prompted me to use a marker and put 1/1, 2/2 etc on the relevant stacks...
Did I check before mixing? NO cos m stupid and trusting
So hard lesson learned and now the messy job of removing that goo, mast luckily only 16 meters
Cheers
Will

Oh man that sucks... I ain't done it... but know of a few people who have made the same error... The big insult is that now you need to spend money for paint and hardener all over again...

[HappyMdRSailor]

Well...

I wish I had a video or pictures to share... It would really help... But...

The other day I was ready to finally put the flip boat in the water... (shameless plug link) http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...bo-170944.html

All I needed to do was buff out one last compounded gel spot, and set her on the trailer... So of course I'm wearing "good clothes" not work on the boat clothes...

The spot was about 2' square and on the flat bottom, so I'm using a "cot style chaise" to lay down on, working up... I was loading up the buffer with 3M, holding it in my lap/stomach... Now when I say buffer... I mean Dewalt 849X with a 9" pad... Enough torque to start a diesel, and spin down takes longer than a Nam era Huey...

Set the 3M down, and yep... the buffer started to fall/twist... grabbed it with my thighs/knees and.... simultaneously hit the trigger... No hands on the running buffer, and before I could say "sh...".... It climbed up my (nice) shirt, not stopping at the collar... and proceeded to buff my face and glasses...

All I could do is smile and think... "I'll never be able to repeat that one"!

[socaldmax]

Hopefully, you look 10 yrs younger after the facial scrub!

[socaldmax]

I've got a bunch of submarine mishap stories.

This guy I worked with named Ed was walking past the sail (superstructure) and 2 guys had just unbolted a 60 lb steel plate called a sail plate. They lost control of it and it fell several feet and bounced off of Ed's head, bounced off of the deck, and ended up on the "camel" in the water. Ed lost consciousness for a few minutes and went to the hospital. They released him a few hours later, proclaiming he had the hardest head they'd ever seen!

A month or two later, Ed was a roving watch at night, and a hatch fell on his head as he climbed a ladder. The hatch had a sharp reinforced "X" shaped brace on the bottom, which the sharp point hit Ed square on the top of the head, knocked him out cold and he fell about 6 ft to the deck. He was passed out cold for probably 2 hrs before we found him. Again, he went to the hospital, and he ended up seeing the same doctor he saw the last time.

The doctor told him something like, "I know I told you that you had the hardest head we'd ever seen, but tell these guys to quit trying to kill you!!"

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

Hopefully, you look 10 yrs younger after the facial scrub!

With Happy? Ha Ha Ha Not a chance

I do have it on good authority though that people have been saying he is absolutely glowing

[ontherocks83]

When I was a kid, the family car had a small coolant leak so my dad asked me to go top off the coolant before my mother took the car out in the morning. Did you know that at night in the dark the coolant overflow bottle cap is easily mistake for the windshield washer reservoir cap? Ya neither did I until my mom used the washer to clean the windshield and it just smeared and made it impossible to see out of.

[socaldmax]

We had spent 6 months at sea, mostly submerged, and had completed what is called a "clean sweep" of our patrol area. Traditionally, the Commodore rides out on a torpedo retriever to greet us a few miles outside of buoy SD1 and brings a broom, which gets taped to the periscope. He then rides in with the Capt. up in the bridge as we tie up to the pier.

The Capt. wanted to make a great impression on the Commodore, but we had been submerged for a log time, so there was some slime and missing paint all over the outside and in the bridge trunk. So he ordered the quartermasters (who plot our course on charts and keep the deck logs) to go into the bridge trunk and bridge area and paint it all with 2 part epoxy to make it look new.

We arrived early, surfaced, the QMs jumped in there and slapped a bunch of paint around and the Commodore arrived with his best dress whites and the broom. The Commodore and the Captain both climbed about 20 ft up the ladder through the bridge trunk and arrived up in the bridge, covered in wet black epoxy paint!

Yup, you guessed it, in their haste, they forgot to add the hardener to the paint!

We could hear the Commodore having a very loud discussion with the Captain about knowing that the boat had been at sea for 6 months, so he fully expected to see a sub covered in slime and missing some paint, not a freshly painted boat that was going to ruin his dress uniform!

It took the QMs forever to clean up that mess and live that one down! LOL

[ontherocks83]

In my early 20's I had an 04 Mustang GT that was my pride and joy. I had purchased a timing advance kit that replaces the main crank pulley with an adjustable one and replaces the crank pick up sensor with a new one. I was working at a car dealership and after hours they would let you use the lifts until sales closed. So I install the pulley replace the sensor and zip tied the leads from the sensor in place all nice neat and professional like.

I pulled out of the dealership doing the best Dale Earnhardt Jr impersonation that I could and when I made a hard swerve the engine died. I coasted into the parking lot right next to my work and crawled under the car to have a look. (have you ever tried to crawl under a mustang with out jacks? ya it sucks)

I then realized in my infinite wisdom I had zip tied the wires for the crank shaft sensor to the sway bar and when I made a hard turn the suspension flexed ripping the wires out of the sensor.

The worst part was after I got them back in just enough to get the engine started, I had to slowly drive back to my work and ask for a pin kit to reattach the wires to the sensor, having to admit to my coworkers what I had just done And of course one of my coworkers made sure that by the time I got to work the next morning EVERYBODY knew what happened.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

Hopefully, you look 10 yrs younger after the facial scrub!

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

With Happy? Ha Ha Ha Not a chance

I do have it on good authority though that people have been saying he is absolutely glowing

HA!

Good thing I shaved that day, or it woulda been bonnet fuzz chin time!

My glasses cleaned up nice tho... filled some scratches...

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

I've got a bunch of submarine mishap stories.

This guy I worked with named Ed was walking past the sail (superstructure) and 2 guys had just unbolted a 60 lb steel plate called a sail plate. They lost control of it and it fell several feet and bounced off of Ed's head, bounced off of the deck, and ended up on the "camel" in the water. Ed lost consciousness for a few minutes and went to the hospital. They released him a few hours later, proclaiming he had the hardest head they'd ever seen!

A month or two later, Ed was a roving watch at night, and a hatch fell on his head as he climbed a ladder. The hatch had a sharp reinforced "X" shaped brace on the bottom, which the sharp point hit Ed square on the top of the head, knocked him out cold and he fell about 6 ft to the deck. He was passed out cold for probably 2 hrs before we found him. Again, he went to the hospital, and he ended up seeing the same doctor he saw the last time.

The doctor told him something like, "I know I told you that you had the hardest head we'd ever seen, but tell these guys to quit trying to kill you!!"

Originally Posted by socaldmax

We had spent 6 months at sea, mostly submerged, and had completed what is called a "clean sweep" of our patrol area. Traditionally, the Commodore rides out on a torpedo retriever to greet us a few miles outside of buoy SD1 and brings a broom, which gets taped to the periscope. He then rides in with the Capt. up in the bridge as we tie up to the pier.

The Capt. wanted to make a great impression on the Commodore, but we had been submerged for a log time, so there was some slime and missing paint all over the outside and in the bridge trunk. So he ordered the quartermasters (who plot our course on charts and keep the deck logs) to go into the bridge trunk and bridge area and paint it all with 2 part epoxy to make it look new.

We arrived early, surfaced, the QMs jumped in there and slapped a bunch of paint around and the Commodore arrived with his best dress whites and the broom. The Commodore and the Captain both climbed about 20 ft up the ladder through the bridge trunk and arrived up in the bridge, covered in wet black epoxy paint!

Yup, you guessed it, in their haste, they forgot to add the hardener to the paint!

We could hear the Commodore having a very loud discussion with the Captain about knowing that the boat had been at sea for 6 months, so he fully expected to see a sub covered in slime and missing some paint, not a freshly painted boat that was going to ruin his dress uniform!

It took the QMs forever to clean up that mess and live that one down! LOL

These are awesome stories!!!

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

When I was a kid, the family car had a small coolant leak so my dad asked me to go top off the coolant before my mother took the car out in the morning. Did you know that at night in the dark the coolant overflow bottle cap is easily mistake for the windshield washer reservoir cap? Ya neither did I until my mom used the washer to clean the windshield and it just smeared and made it impossible to see out of.

Good thing the car wasn't low on diffy juice!

Musta been a mess...

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

In my early 20's I had an 04 Mustang GT that was my pride and joy. I had purchased a timing advance kit that replaces the main crank pulley with an adjustable one and replaces the crank pick up sensor with a new one. I was working at a car dealership and after hours they would let you use the lifts until sales closed. So I install the pulley replace the sensor and zip tied the leads from the sensor in place all nice neat and professional like.

I pulled out of the dealership doing the best Dale Earnhardt Jr impersonation that I could and when I made a hard swerve the engine died. I coasted into the parking lot right next to my work and crawled under the car to have a look. (have you ever tried to crawl under a mustang with out jacks? ya it sucks)

I then realized in my infinite wisdom I had zip tied the wires for the crank shaft sensor to the sway bar and when I made a hard turn the suspension flexed ripping the wires out of the sensor.

The worst part was after I got them back in just enough to get the engine started, I had to slowly drive back to my work and ask for a pin kit to reattach the wires to the sensor, having to admit to my coworkers what I had just done And of course one of my coworkers made sure that by the time I got to work the next morning EVERYBODY knew what happened.

I'm not even going to comment on how eerily familiar this feels... to somebody else...