Always diagnose the problem before you fix it...

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BaileySims
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Always diagnose the problem before you fix it...

Post by BaileySims »

Famous last words to live by. Should have remembered this before pulling the transmission in my wife's suv. Oil appeared to be leaking from between the trans and motor. Turns out the damn oil filter is behind the engine sitting above the transmission that has been leaking the whole damn time. 20 minute job turned into a 20 hour job. I will live by this phrase forever now. Thanks petros.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: Always diagnose the problem before you fix it...

Post by Petros »

my favorite saying to newbie do-it-yourselfers. yup, I learned that one the hard way too.

oil leaks are especially easy to assume you know where it is coming from, there are a few obvious places (seals, o-rings, etc) where it comes from, and a lot of other non-obvious places that leaks all over and fools you on where it is coming from. been through that scenario more than a few times too.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
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CathodeRayTube
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Re: Always diagnose the problem before you fix it...

Post by CathodeRayTube »

I changed my oil stoned once and dumped about 3 quarts of new synthetic oil out on the ground with the drain plug missing...
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irowiki
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Re: Always diagnose the problem before you fix it...

Post by irowiki »

CathodeRayTube wrote: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:29 pm I changed my oil stoned once and dumped about 3 quarts of new synthetic oil out on the ground with the drain plug missing...

Not as bad as the guy on here somewhere who decided to do an oil change and a coolant flush at the same time while drunk and swapped the fill.
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Petros
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Re: Always diagnose the problem before you fix it...

Post by Petros »

I once put a set of rings in an engine upside down (markings were not clear, and little instructions booklet showed 12 different type of ring styles!).

Engine ran good but pumped oil out the exhaust like a hydraulic pump. I got to rebuild it over again. made sure rings were in correctly this time!
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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