Doh! Gas in the gas hole, oil in the oil hole...

[Crack_Tan]

...and coolant in the coolant hole. One of my wife's employees mentioned yesterday that the oil light in her daughter's car went on and that for some reason (?), she got confused and poured antifreeze into the engine. Hmmm, now she's notice it's knocking. Gee, wonder why... BTW: I feel guily relaying this story, but man...what was she thinking?

 

[Crack_Tan]

Oh, while I'm piling-on... She actually poured the coolant into it the next morning AND THEN let it idle to warm-up for 20 minutes. Honestly, I don't know how it kept running.

 

[LTVibe]

Forgive me for this blatantly sexist observation: Women + cars =

 

[MN Driver]

Some people put "woman-owned" in the classifieds or online ads. I find it something to avoid, unless they have all the service records and they don't seem dopey. It's a mistake IMO to put that in those ads. Could just be an iffy-lube car too. Did that oil get changed out right away?

 

[D189379]

I once watched a woman pour windshield washer fluid in her radiator after she argued with me about it for 2 minutes. "My husband said...." was her arguement. I was working at a gas station at the time and she even had the nerve to call my boss and let him know how confrontation I was and that the customer is always right! Ignorance is bliss I guess.... And I saw the car 2 days later on the side of the highway with the hood open. I wonder what could have possibly gone wrong?

 

[Crack_Tan]

quote:

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Did that oil get changed out right away?

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Well, sort of. I should have been more specific: After the twenty-minute "warm up" with three-quarters of a gallon of antifreeze, the temp gauge was shouting "Hey you, look at me!" The girl had enough sense to not drive it and somebody changed out the fluids the same day. Oil filter? Who knows... Anyway, the knocking was heard with fresh oil in the engine (not just coolant). With regards to windshield wiper fluid, they seem to be making it in as many colors as the antifreeze guys are. Makes me wonder if anybody is scamming Walmart with $.99 wiper fluid returned in $8.99 antifreeze jugs. Something else to worry about

 

[Pablo]

IMHO there are some men that are REALLY stupid about cars, too. Most women don't care and/or no one showed her which hole..... It's funny to me when a guy says something like "You fixed your clutch cable yourself?"......as if it's magic.

 

[Touring5]

Reminds me of a funny story (details may be blurry after so many years). It involved noted automotive writer Denise McCluggage and a Saab 99 (I believe that is the model). The early Saabs had 2-cycle engines, and the oil was stored in a holder that looks like a six-pack. You poured in a can (cans ?) of oil into the fuel filler when refueling. She decided to have a little fun with some guys at a filling station by pretending to be the ignorant female. She told them her car needed oil, but she didn't know where to put it. The guys spend a while looking for the oil fill and gave up. She then said something like "I guess I'll just put in here" as she poured it into the fuel tank. The guys thought she was stupid, but the joke was on them. She drove away and they were never the wiser.

 

[Racerjk]

Thank goodness for my wife! She's fairly knowledgeable about cars! Once I show her how to do something, she gets it down pat!

 

[jamesn]

i use a sharpie marker and mark the oil and washer fluid and radiator overflow with it. i gives me a little peace of mind with my wife. years ago she said that there was something wrong with the car. one of the dash lights had been on for a few days. you guessed it. the oil light.

 

[Al]

Oh G0D..I'm ashamed I live in Pa. Just like her. I thought this could only happen in California. My wife would have enough sense to never attempt do do anything under the hood. I'm very comfortable knowing that she knows absolutely nothing. If I die there is a trusted garage a few miles away.

 

[daemonite]

My girlfriend was raised right, her dad taught her what and what not to do when she was a ltitle girl. Makes my life easy, she can change a flat, change her oil, and even flush her own radiator if it came down toit (yet she still makes me do everything...)

 

[nortones2]

My mother had to do all the maintenance round the house, especially electrical. Dad couldn't change a fuse. That she left Ireland and worked in England in WW2 as an electrician's mate and as a munitions worker (fusing shells) helped I guess. Neither knew anything about cars - except that "Ur" VW Beetles were the car of choice in sub-zero climates.

 

[Shannow]

When I worked in a service station, I saw many things. One day a woman poured water into the crankcase, then was confused to see oil floating to the top. So she asked what oil was doing in her radiator, and we fixed it. Engine didn't run on the mix. Another guy put 12 litres of oil into his Mitsubishi 4cyl. I tried to stop him, but the customer DOES know best, as he forcefully pointed out before driving off in a clattering, smoking heap. A guy who put a butane lighter end on under the handle of the petrol pump so the it would keep filling while he went wee-wee. A guy who blew up two bike tyres by running the air hose flat out. Another guy who came in with a car looking like a matchbox car (no flat on the bottom), because he did the same as the aforementioned bike owner.

 

[vwoom]

Hahah..one time I helped two of my former classmates(both dating)in an old nursing class. One day, I found the girl in the parking lot(phat, btw )having loud noise troubles with her old Exploder's ps system. Just then, her hubby(feeling "Mr Macho" in class..)came back from a Rite Aid and bought a bottle of those off-rack red Prestone ps fluid, opened the bottle and noticed that he poured the liquid..inside the brake fluid reservoir. I then politely corrected the guy that he'll risk ruining the brake sys(not to mention his gfs' safety). I told him to immediately remove the wrong fluid out..but he said in jest, "Hey, I only poured a little so I'm sure there won't be any problems!..". Yeah right, just to make him look good in front of her gf ...and this moron just got a new '05 Camry then. Feeling pointless to discuss engines to Mr Macho here, I then turned to the girl and pointed to her where all the vital fluids are in the engine and to monitor their levels often... When I stressed on the importance of oil in her motor..she then opined, "Oh, I didn't know oil is needed..". [ December 25, 2005, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: vwoom ]

 

[Gary Allan]

A buddy, since departed, got a $1000 repair bill due to his wife and daughter adding power steering fluid to the master cylinder. They were trying to save dad from doing it. The thing was, it wasn't low on PS fluid. They saw that the master cylinder was low ..and since it was near(est) the steering wheel ...they figured that this was what it was

 

[Cutehumor]

Just ANOTHER reason not to buy a used car

 

[97f150]

A buddy, since departed, got a $1000 repair bill due to his wife and daughter adding power steering fluid to the master cylinder.

quote:

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My boss poured ps fluid in his master cylinder and couldnt understand why he didnt have any brakes.

 

[AcuraTech]

We once had a guy come into the shop saying that he had "mistakenly" poured Drano into his radiator. Something about being in a hurry in the morning and reaching under the sink and grabbing the wrong bottle.

 

[BigAl]

quote:

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$1000 to flush out the brakes?

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Nope. If left in for any period of time, the oil would ruin anything rubber in the master cylinder, wheel cylinders, brake calipers, proportioning valve, and ABS system . . .maybe even the hoses. I'm sure there were lots of parts to replace.