Technical Car guy? Could you do this crap and sleep at night?

Trying to install a trans dipstick and found this. Blows my mind. People worry about where you buy your tools, there's no need in being an idiot.

 

Nails and a lugnut, geez

 

I would go over that car from top to bottom before driving it, after seeing what the previous owner did to it.

 

Pitman arm nut

 

After 50 years of working on cars I could write a book. A VERY LARGE BOOK! And the worst part is many where driven like that! Larry

 

Nails hold houses together and lug nuts hold wheels on. What's the problem??

 

Very creative that's for sure!

 

YOWZA!

 

I see a brake hose hanging so I’d guess everything was done just to make it steer on to trailer or around the yard

 

I have done similar things to get my Jeep and Pickup out of the woods. You can think up some crazy stuff when your miles from help, especially pre cell phone. Would not consider it as a permanent fix though.

 

Holy deathtrap, Batman. We need to stop the Joker from working on cars.

 

That's not the case. Yeah the brakes haven't been addressed. But i was told the steering is done. It's all good. I knew better. Trust that nothing leaves my shop that isn't 100%. I have a soul

 

Yeah so have i

 

That is scary, this kind of scary!

 

Used to be a lot more common than today.

 

I've seen scary crap like that over the years, thankfully my mind has blocked the memory. Bob

 

OK, I'm also guilty of using a nail as a cotter pin

Was at an out-of-state car show with my old '32 and went to back into my spot...but it wouldn't shift out of drive...and the key wouldn't shut it off in drive. Had the wife get out and pull the coil wire. Somewhere, during the trip, I sheared the cotter pin off the bottom of the column shifter rod that hooks to the C6 trans linkage. Had the right replacement washer in my tool box, but no cotter pin...so I used a nail and bent it over. It's been in there for over 10 years now...forgot about it until I saw this thread. Hamtown Al now owns it...probably should mention it to him.

 

It's not the nail as the cotter key thats the problem, it's the fact thats there's NO nut first!! The nail is taking place of the NUT and cotter key...

 

I have had people try to get me to do that shit.

 

I have no problem with using a nail instead of a cotter pin. I live about 40 miles from a parts store. The lack of a nut, that scares me, though I have done my share of trail, or "nighttime ain't no time to be in this part of town" repairs

 

That whole car is scary, you definitely don’t want to meet it going down the road

 

Believe i can fix it brother, it'll be ok

 

Never saw a nail holding a stack of washers with no nut on before but I could have filled a pound coffee can with the nails I pulled out of spindles and steering linkage over the years.

That one has a serious look of slap it together to get rid of it or pull it out of the garage or pull it out of the field where it had been sitting with the linkage apart.

I'd check every inch of the car safety wise as you don't know what else you will find that is suspect.

 

Even when a genuine this-is-the-real-deal honest Injun' cotter pin is used, I've seen them just stuffed and bent over, by professionals. It made me wonder what the deal was. I couldn't come up with a decent explanation.

Either he was never taught how to install one correctly and he doesn't know how, or worse he knows how and he's lazy and just doesn't care? Neither answer is too comforting. It's not too much to ask for basic maintenance to be performed in a competent, workman or best practices manner.

 

Well I'm over that "find him and choke the life out of his lying ass" moment and now it's just like oh well, 2 steps forward ya know. Hell yeah I've used a nail when i didn't have a cotter pin, but i used it to hold a castle nut! My fault for seeing a 57 wagon and not looking farther. No big deal. I'll fix it right. It's just proof that not everybody needs to work on cars.

 

"I'll just botch it up to get me home...…" Famous last words.

 

Like I said on the other thread, as long as it's a USA made nail, you're good to go!


I've pulled many of them out of old pulpwood trucks, but they always had a nut under them!

 

Well , I guilty in a sort of the same way also . Old big cube Harley ripped rivets out of the rear sprocket that holds it to the rear drum . Let out the old rocker , gas it up chain spinning like a hay bailer , and ain’t squat happening . WTH ! Tore it apart and an old Dude watched me , off the porch to the garage , he comes back hands me some nails and a hammer . “ Use these to get home , go a bit easy on her and she will not let you down . I’ve used them myself to fix her up and get home .” I shoved the nails in , bent them over , got her all back together . Lit the wick and eased her home . Nails replaced with bolts and extras in the bag from them on ! Amazing how easy it was to learn a good lesson years ago .

 

I think the previous owner was saving up for a replacement part from The Hoffman Group.