Ball Ache (The Automotive Kind..)

Right then good people of CGTI - This thread is for those unfortunate souls that have been on the receiving end of the feared and dreaded automotive ball ache.
Please tell us of situations where something has disintegrated, burned/melted, flew off at the speed of light, fallen into something deeper than a black hole and has left you holding the last shreds of your sanity together and wondering just how good your vehicle fire insurance protection really is.

Photos would be a bonus but are my no means compulsory as we completely understand that you may not have the patience or prowess of Lord Lichfield when you've been kicked squarely in the automotive nuts!

 

Here you go!. My Kuga Powershift ballache.. Worth a read.

https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/mk2-kuga-powershift-title-edited.508672/

 

Like the time I took the gearbox out of a non drivable Camper, to do a clutch cylinder, which is a huge Ballache, about a day of slogging, and its a 2 man lift, and still dodgy at that.

Put it back together, test drove it, to find the owner had damaged the gearbox, but was somehow oblivious, so I had to take ot out again.

 

Can we brand an entire car and all associated activities with it, a ball ache?

If so, below:



Looks nice, right? It wasn't.

Bought late one night after a couple hours road trip and was sitting on the fence but Mrs was started to grumble about how long it was all taking to view etc so ended up just buying it and driving home.

Indicator lenses fell out on M62 on the journey home and I drove over them both.

Seller "couldn't find" the log book, no problem I thought I'd just apply for a new one. It came and it turned out to be a cat C write off with 29 previous owners (my fault for not checking but still)

One day back wheel fell off leaving me stranded miles from home. Previous owner fitted adapters for wheels with mismatched Cross threaded cut down bolts hence the mishap.

Wiring was like a rats nest, re did it all.

Bought new coilovers, took for MOT and one of the bodies detached from the piston en route. Seller wouldn't accept return as fitted for all of about half a mile.

Spent an absolute fortune getting it half decent then decided to sell, guy fell on love with it and set off to Scotland from Halifax, 2 mins into the journey rings to say he filled it up and fuel pissing out.

Drove to meet him jacked up on widowmaker to have a look it promptly fell off the jack which pulled the skirt off and creased the back quarter.

Gave the guy a few hundred quid back and sent him on his way. Not sure if he even made it home...

 

My goodness thats some determination. I'll be surprised if anyone tops that

 

Truly Herculean levels of Ball Ache Keith!

 

Mk4 escort gearbox, on my own, back in about 1999, started about 7.30 in the evening, finished at 2.30 am, nothing went right, including it would spin over but not fire up, but could bump it, a very thin wire from bulkhead to engine had decided to hide from me in the wee hours.
A 2 hour job became 7, and had to go work next day still.

 

Many moons ago in the evening changing a mini cv joint thing fell apart bearings everywhere in a gravel drive had to have the car for work the next day Try finding small bearings under a car with a torch in the pitch black.

 

Right in the plums!!

 

Straight to the love spuds!

 

Here's my contribution: Took my gauge cluster apart to install glow gauge faces and broke the rev counter pin. It took me almost a week to figure out what I had done since I did the same thing on the second set of clocks I own so I thought this was normal. To think I did all this so that I could see by gauges better at night, which I can now but not I can't see the needles at night.
View attachment 33595 I also broke the part of the blue ribbon the connects the top right bulb

 

Right to the groin...ouch!

 

Well you could try recommissioning a Golf that's been sat on your drive for nearly 20 years..

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/golf.124285/

 

I think out of all the things I've done this has to be the most soul destroying of all.

Hot air gun and scraper, 3 hours of inhaling paint thinners, just when you think you've finished you find some more and that's just half the floor done..

What an A-hole of a job, give me some more sills and jacking panels to weld in
.

One half in Epoxy Primer, one to go..

 

If that's anything like removing the underseal underneath the car then without a doubt it is pure Ball Ache..

 

Added mine here: https://www.clubgti.com/forums/index.php?threads/i-vote-we-have-a-dedicated-ball-ache-thread.293544/

 

My 8V was oiling up the number 3 plug quite badly. Assumed it was the piston rings so pulled the motor and box. Stripped the motor, got it acid dipped then rebored with oversized pistons and NEW RINGS, polished crankshaft and all new bearings, cleaned and painted it and cleaned some more. Got it all back together and after all that time and money number three plug still oils up to sh!t. Must be the valve guide seals. Whoops!

 

Looks good though.

 

All excited to fit my new Bosch EV14 injectors and they're 10mm too short!.

I had an inkling they would be but still a pain, ordered some adapters but would have like to got out for some tuning runs today..