Smashed/broke thumb pulling engine from my 07 Cummins. Blocks 1100 pounds. Was guiding it out with my hand, stand wheels slipped a bit, thumb got caught between block and firewall. Lucky I still have it....nerve damage but it moves ok to use lol
What's the worst you've hurt yourself working on cars?
- Thread starter ripcord
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Hopefully you feel better. That's awesome that you did not become addicted to the pain medication. Our country is in an opioid epidemic. I didn't want to have any part in that. Take care and be safe
Had a jack fail and drop a front axle right on my big toe while I was mocking up the suspension. Lower BJ nut square on it. Non steel toe boots.
Picture smashing a grape. Was bad enough it made the nurse trainee/aprentice/whatever they're called puke when they were trying to kinda put it together.
Was a fairly new 3 ton Craftsman jack. Was trying to slowly lower. Turn the handle a bit, nothing, more, nothing, more, nothing, more and BOOM... slammed down in a split second.
Took me out for a while, happened Feb 2005 I think and i was in crutches through that summer..
Ended up needing surgery a year or so later to remove the bone fragments.
Still bothers me a bit now
Picture smashing a grape. Was bad enough it made the nurse trainee/aprentice/whatever they're called puke when they were trying to kinda put it together.
Was a fairly new 3 ton Craftsman jack. Was trying to slowly lower. Turn the handle a bit, nothing, more, nothing, more, nothing, more and BOOM... slammed down in a split second.
Took me out for a while, happened Feb 2005 I think and i was in crutches through that summer..
Ended up needing surgery a year or so later to remove the bone fragments.
Still bothers me a bit now
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Torn oil filter sliced my thumb half off.
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
Brake fluid in both eyes. One of the very first times ever doing a brake job, then bleeding the brakes.
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I was replacing my front struts on my 08’ Pathfinder. My hand slipped off the ratchet I using and hit the concrete at a weird angle. I look down at my hands and see blood, as it turned out my I ripped my whole finger nail off. Had to go to work that day too. It was painful.
I hardly ever wear mechanics gloves but I think I would seriously try to get in the habit if I was a pro and doing it for a living.
When I worked at a small mechanic shop back in the late 80's I was changing the oil filter on a car (I don't remember what kind) and my right hand slipped off the filer wrench and I ended up slicing the top of my right index finger open. Bled all over the place and needed about 8 stitches. That really sucked.
Pressed fit. Early in the release of these front wheel drive cars, Chevrolet hadn’t sent any of the Kentmore special tools yet. Using a chisel to knock them out. The race shattered. Maybe exploded wasn’t a good word to use…
I wear nitrile gloves not the regular mechanix gloves. Less exposure to chemicals
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Ironically I do it for a living currently. The only difference is now I have a lift and I’m more aware of my surroundings!
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My 2nd worst injury was at a golf course, I was changing out the rake attachment on a Toro SandPro. My wrench slipped and I whacked the tip of my finger on a piece of metal. Finger nail ended up falling off a few months later.
That was last week when I thought I had cut off the tip of my third finger on my left hand or crushed it severely. I went to turn the crankshaft in my engine and had my hand on the block as a crank counter weight came by. I was on the ground in an instant, rolling around for minutes on end, thinking of the movie "The Enemy Below" and the kid on the depth charges.
I was working on a gauge cluster and it was easier to fix the wire while do the soldering with the cluster inside the car instead of on the bench. I tinned the wire, put the soldering iron down, then positioned the gauge cluster properly and held the wire up to the connection point, then reached down to pick up the soldering iron..... and picked up the wrong end. Let out a 120db version of the forbidden king daddy of expletives that to this day is still echoing around the hills in SE Indiana. I couldnt have had it in my hand for more than 1/3 of a second but man did that hurt, and burn deep. Red skin, then white skin, then blistering, then peeling....bet I dont make that stupid mistake twice.
Reading this thread I am somehow reminded of a certain Black Knight.
Probably my ego, lol. I find it hard to imagine anyone else in the world could be any slower than I am doing mechanical car work. Then, just when I am almost done, I drop a socket down in the engine compartment and spend an hour or two finding and retrieving it because I fear it will abrade something to cause my engine to blow up.
I've been fortunate to only receive minor cuts, scrapes, and burns over the decades (knock on wood).
I've been fortunate to only receive minor cuts, scrapes, and burns over the decades (knock on wood).