Your biggest DIY screwups

Fuzzzy

Very similar experience here. Years ago driving a '68 Pontiac GTO home from college in the rain. Had a flat on the passenger-side rear. I changed the tire, and the spare went right to the ground as it was flat as well. I figured it was simply out of air rather than punctured, so I jacked the car back up and pulled it off again. Back down the highway I walked in the rain with the wheel to a gas station about 3/4 mile away. Pumped it up and back to the car I headed. Fortunately, a good Samaritan picked me up and dropped me off at my car so I didn't have to walk that distance again.

Put the wheel back on and lowered it to the ground before tightening the lugnuts while on the jackstand--as usual. But then I forgot to tighten the lugs when I got it to the ground. Still raining and I was exhausted. About 20 miles down the road the car started fishtailing. I pulled over to the side of the road, took a look at the wheels, saw nothing, attributed the sloppy handling to the rain and continued my trip.

About 50 miles later the lugs broke at about 70 mph. I still recall the look on the faces of the four people in the oncoming car as we passed--two adults in the front and two kids in the backseat--one with her face pressed against the window watching me fishtail down the highway. My wheel stayed inside the wheelwell, and I pulled over to the side of the road, still raining, and I hitch-hiked the rest of the way home.

As bad as that was, the experience made me much more conscious about details after that.