The DUMBEST things you've found done to engines

[Chickensoup]

Well, I was working on a costumers Kawasaki riding lawn mower and behold! For I fixed the issue!

LMAO!!

Some goon thought it was an good idea to thread in a compression tester adapter between the plug and the cylinder head

So I called him and he says, " i put the adapter in there because the plug was fouling".


Turns out he just had weak spark. The end.

Now, I would love to see some dumb and stupid things you guys have found done to engines. Vw, chevy, lawnmowers, I dont discriminate
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-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[jspbtown]

Ah yes...the old spark lug anti-foulers


https://www.autozone.com/ignition-tune-up-and-rout...AGPSPN=pla

[Abscate]

I found a Subaru engine some had wrapped a VW around it.

Sorry, too easy.
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.ssS!

[Zundfolge1432]

Here’s some really stupid shit, but what about the fools that believed and used it? I remember seeing this as a kid and even then I couldn’t believe how gullible a person would have to be. Of course there are other examples of snake oil but this has stayed with me. https://www.thejunkmanadv.com/the-junk-mans-blog/mechanic-in-a-can

[Glenn]

This was posted buy a Samba member a few years ago.

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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[mark tucker]

oh boy I dont think I have the time or energy to list them all...one that stands out is the case clearanced by a expurt with a hammer and chizzell.... another is a set of chevy heads that were cleaned with those scotchbrite disc on die grinder for cleaning gasket material....well they do remove metal..like about .070" worth of reserfacing to get them to be able to seal the head gasket...,then there is the oe vw, cw 86 stroke crank with the oil holes welded up..... and there is the 78.4 cw crank with the thrust cut at a angle....then there is the 6 cylinder ford inline with a 6" hole in the side all epoxied up from a preivious rebuild where a rod went through. the owner never knew it was like that when he brought me the engine to machine.... and oh somuch more... fiber glassed vallys in 340 mopar v8 to cover the 8" freeze crack...solder for piston rings....( a budy in highschool in japan, his rings did not come in and he wanted to hear it run with new works cylinder&piston&pipe..... I think it did about 2 sec worth of burpppp!!that was some funny shit watching him do it, the rings cams in the next day. and oh somuch more, like bubbas porting service....I just thorw those types of heads away. you cant fix stupid.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

another shop was cheaper for a 60k service on a '16 C300.

3500 miles later "my car is running funny"

you don't say

how do you like saving money now?

not only was it the wrong plug...brand and heat range it wasn't installed properly. guess that is why I was more $$ huh buddy?

yes, that is a hole in the piston. you can see the ring. these engines are made of glass, so no used one for you. 12k+ labor please
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[Chickensoup]

all good stories so far. the soldered ring story and upside down sump plate are especially halarious but, i remember seeing someone install a trailer hitch onto a baja bugs oil pump a few months ago here on the samba. anyone remember that one?

working in the small engine repair buisness, you come across a lot of stupid crap. a very common one seems to be that people think if you take the air filter assembly off, the mower will magically run again hense why 75% of the push mowers i receive, are missing the filters.
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-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[Da TOW'D]

we found the deflector plates that are usually under the cylinders were installed on the top
no wonder it over heated
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'57 type 1 Blackberry
'58 SC Ruf
'62 type 3 Notch
'92 Eurovan Willy DD
and NUTS

[cdennisg]

I tore a VW engine apart back in the early 90's that had a hand carved wood dowel pin holding a main bearing in place. Ran fine. Top end was bad.
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nothing

[oprn]

[Ceckert64]

I saw this at a car show a week or two ago

Why do you need two fuel filters let alone both in the engine compartment. Also the oil pressure adapter was sketchy and there was oil all under.

On my bug when I got it the carb was wired open and was pretty well Jerry rigged with a spring too. I guess they forgot the clip for the cable and the choke was broke

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1964 sunroof Beetle Restoration "Herbie"
“Joann” 1970 Elm Green Squareback
1972 Sierra Yellow Tin Top Westfalia Camper
“Fitz” 1971 Westfalia Poptop

[EverettB]

[mark tucker]

he's just headed to the vw club BBQ....I do however like filters after the pump before each carb and one before the pump.
Ive also seen valve notch oriented pistons in backwards....( big block chevy with compound canted valves.) NOS plated on upside down so they spray up&out of carbs.... stoner with $70000.00 show,street,drag car (64 chevyII) put on 4 oil pans all leek like hell,changed gaskets many times on each....I crawled under it to have a looksee.....he neglected to put the cam plug in when he took it off the engine stand .and to top that off to put it in the engine has to come out or the trans has to come out....did I say it was a oh so sweet show car? and the trans cross member was now welded in and smoother over.....cant remove trans.....and you cant fix stupid on dope.
I dont remember what it was but the valve keepers on upside down....
if you know what a vibratory cleaner is and how to use one...this is something not to try... clean valves in it with steel meida....at around 2000 miles it cam in with some ticks....the valves were like rat tail files.and they had eaten through the guides,I would estimate in another weeks or so they would of struck antifreezze!! it came from a local machine shop...with a expurt drunk owner. he said the night shift did it....ya right.of coarse it was a 24 hour a day machine shop paying $5~7 a hour to the local GI's to do shit at night.....yup thats what they were doing for sure!!!.
the first FE style ford engine I had ever seen some 40+ years ago was bored, not honed, not bored to the bottom and assembled how I do not know, they had to pull start it.... the bottom of the cylinders with the step shaved off the skirts....you can not fix stupid.
Ive seen trick race castings( expensive ones) destroyed by moron with die grinder trying to save $$ porting them him self....

[Zundfolge1432]

Anyone here ever made a mistake?

[Chickensoup]

[Ceckert64]

[cdennisg]

[Ceckert64]

Oh, I have a great one I forgot I might have to add a picture. I have a 1942 Farmall McCormick super M that I got for free. My parents bought a piece of property and the guy made the trails on with this tractor, he said he’d give it to us when he died but he decided to just give it to us since he couldn’t use it anymore, great guy. Anyways, he didn’t have a ton of money when he got the tractor so there was little money for repairs, but he did have a welder I have no clue how it works still. Literally everything is welded on it, the pedals have been rewelded on, the piece that hold the wheels on are welded, the seat is welded so it’s not adjustable, he said he had to weld on the engine, even the carb is welded/brazzed I went to replace the oil filter and there was a sock over it, the is an oil line that is purposely pinched off. The fuel shutoff is a water shutoff valve. Half the wires have no insulation on them. One of the front wheels has to be mounted on backwards and the hub it mounts to has a notch in it for the valve stem. The weird thing about it is is that if you dare fix something it makes it worse and it gives you issues. It still runs, I tried to fix the starter on it and he’d been in there once before and it was pretty messed up and now it shorts. I’ve changed engine oil but dare not change tranny oil, all 13 gallons of it! Probably hasn’t been changed much... when I got it he said he hadn’t changed oil on it in 20 years. But by some miracle it runs. I’m pretty sure the hydraulic front arms and blade are home made too...
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1964 sunroof Beetle Restoration "Herbie"
“Joann” 1970 Elm Green Squareback
1972 Sierra Yellow Tin Top Westfalia Camper
“Fitz” 1971 Westfalia Poptop

[oprn]

I bought a McCormick W4 off an old lady for $100. Her son-in-law was running the farm but abandoned his wife and jumped ship. Went to pick it up and found it hooked up with a belt to grind grain. The inspection cover for the water jacket was missing - found it in the long grass - rusted through.

How long did he run that thing with no coolant in it? #2 spark plug had to be cleaned about every 6 hours. #3 needed it about every 30 hours, it went through about 1 quart of oil every 2 hours or a crankcase full a day. When the blue smoke stopped pouring out of the exhaust it was time to add oil! I pulled the pan off and found about a gallon and a half of solid, old grey sludge in it. Dug it out with a putty knife. All the electrics were stripped off.

The amazing part? Set the choke, one flip on the crank, take the choke off, turn the switch on and it started on the second flip of the crank... every time... summer or winter! Never did put a starter on it. Didn't need one.

Dumb thing I did? Oh ya! I was using it to drive a buzz saw to cut fire wood, forgot to take it out of gear, gave it a flip... Do you have any idea how fast a 10 foot gap can close up... even in first gear? Holy crap!

Got lucky and made it out. Not by much! Tractor mounted the buzz saw like a lovesick puppy... have pictures to prove but Everette will take them down. It's not a VW!