Up, between the air vents right behind the windshield, I noticed a little round piece of plastic which looked like i could pull it off of the dash. Curious as I was, I pulled it off and determined it was just a plastic cap, the hole maybe for some option I don't have. Upon attempting to snap it back in, i dropped it right down the air vent. A few months later, and many miles of "rattle rattle rattle," and a full remove and replace of the whole dash, the plastic cap is now safely back in its original spot.

Have you made any dumb moves like this lately?

 

i drop things in my screws and **** in my engine bay all the time and they get stuck on the plastic tray thing majob at the bottom till the fall out driving.

 

One of the plastic hinges of the gas cap assembly popped out, trying to get the assembly out without dropping the gas tube (whatever it's called) isn't a good idea! Now I need a new one, it works, but I know it's broken!

 

Myla,

Since getting an oil leak fixed a couple of weeks ago I've become obsessed with being on the lookout for drips.
I go out everymorning in my robe and curlers and crawl down to drag a sheet out from under the engine and check it. My husband is doing the eye roll thing and I feel so dumb but I can't stop it.

 

I was filling up the other day and when I was putting the cap cover back it seemed to stick a little. So stupid me pushes on the cap cover and sheared off the rubber cord that keeps the cap attached to the car. Now I have to stuff the cord in there carefully or the cap won't lock. I suppose I might as well cut off the rest and be done with it.

Can't wait to fix this one. Sheesh.

 

i bought one of those febreeze liquid air fresheners that attaches to the vent (well every vent besides the mine) threw it on top of the dash where the big oval vent is. it ate the paint off of it....

 

How about getting gas, forgetting to put the cap on, driving through the car wash and then running over the gas cap. The cap was over $50 to replace ; (

 

It was not in the mini thank god, but I once drove off with the nozzle still in the gas tank. It wasn't too ugly surprisingly.

 

Thought it'd be a good idea to touch up all the little chips in the paint on my front bumper the other day. Turns out the touch up paint texture doesn't match and it's REALLY noticeable.

 

Thought we could list and sell our 9500 mile Mini on eBay and get what NADA and KBB suggested prices are.

 

Lost my $200.00 sunglasses. can't believe how stupid I am!

 

It's okay Kathy you're in good company around here.

 

 

i took off my tach gauge to install my boost guage. of course i dropped a torx bolt right inside the gap between the steering column and the dash. that was a year ago, and i still hear it rattle around every slow hard turn i make!!

 

Won't be installing any boost guages but I've made a mental note of the torx bolt,,just in case.

 

Does choosing the wrong garage count? Couldn't get ahold of Way so I went with a local, highly regarded import garage - big mistake.

Kevin

 

Last night I changed my oil (for this first time, only had the S for 2 months), and I thought when reinstalling the filter it was getting tighter than it should. Put the oil in, backed the car off the ramps, and let it run... for 20 seconds until I saw a sea of German Castrol on my driveway.

Found out the O-ring got caught in the threads and cut in half. Thankfully I only lost a quart, and all was ok.

 

How about forgetting the drain plug after a quart or two. Yes I did...

I spun an M7 crank pulley on the crank shaft yesterday. Luckily it didn't do anything to the shaft. Pulley started coming off during a drive and I lost a part of the belt. Thought my guess of 90 ft lbs would be enough to hold it on. Why I choose to be my own mechanic is beyond me. I'm a painter.

 

Clint,
It's always amazing to read about the "fixits" everyone does.
Hope everything is good with you and your MINI.

 

Reminds me of the story about the chap who took his car back to the dealer for a loud ticking noise in the cabin. Dealer fully inspected the car and called the owner to say they couldn't find it and maybe he and the tech should test drive together. The chap dutifully takes the tech for a drive and soon after starting claims in a loud voice:

"There! Do you hear it! It's driving me mad!"

The tech turns to the driver and says:

"Sir, that is the clock. Rolls Royce's still have an analog clock."

 

"Sir, that is the clock. Rolls Royce's still have an analog clock."

 

I had installed a Unichip and placed it in the cowl area, and ran the harnesses back to the ECU. I made it all nice looking and wire-tied the harness in good.

Had to remove it for a trip to the dealer and was snipping wire ties..

WOOPS, thats the brake fluid sensor wire... I have just reconnected the wire..no problems

 

Everytime I walk out and see my little MINI I switch from luvums to sweetums and all sorts of happy little nick names. Maybe you've been there and maybe not. Sounds silly of me but we're pretty sure it's Minikins now.

 

well, it may not involve the mini but:

I was doing laundry a while ago when I still lived with roommates, and I put all the wet clothes in the dryer, closed it, and pulled the *** to start the dryer. Well the *** just pulled right off! I thought, "huh, well that's weird." Pushed the *** back on, twisted it around a bit to make sure it would stick, pulled it again, and it came right off! Meanwhile I set the *** down and load the washing machine with a new load, twist and pull the *** to start the washer. Anyone see where I'm going with this?

So I call my roommate (at the time) up to the dryer, show her what happened with the *** and ask her to start the dryer... she does the same thing I do; pulled the *** and it comes right off.
So I go ahead and call Sears and have an appointment scheduled for a couple days for them to come fix it.
Well, the tech gets there I show him the problem, and he says, "How long have you owned the dryer?" I reply, "Oh I've lived here for about 3 years, and this dryer's been here the whole time..." He points to wording right next to the *** that says ....."Push to Start"


'doh!

Needless to say I felt so DUMB after that. I was just confused from starting the washing machine absent-mindedly (pulling it to start) and then convincing myself the dryer was a pull to start also....

 

Clint, those words are priceless! I've asked myself that same question - often about 1/2 way through a project.