[AT] Time to 'fess up

[Spencer Yost]

A destroyed cub engine and a damaged compact JD, I guess we all should
'fess up to some stupid mistakes to help us teach each other a few things.

My Pacer's distributor adjusting lock nut came loose and the engine had
drifted out of time.  This was while I was driving it to the local show.
I limped in and parked it and went home and got tools.  I got a large
socket, two extensions and a socket wrench and then fitted this through the
handcrank handle hole in the grill to slowly turn over the engine to #1
TDC.  I turned the distributor until I got a spark at #1, and then pulled
out the adjustable wrench to tighten the nut and reattached the spark plug
cable.  The entire wrench apparatus was still attached to the crankshaft
pulley nut when I got distracted by a bystander at the show.  My son, who
was on the tractor and couldn't see the wrench asked if I was ready to have
him start it.  I absent-mindedly said yes and resumed the conversation.  I
then heard the socket wrench spin around furiously as the tractor started.
I turned around just in time to see the wrench just sort of fall off
instead of fly into someone's head; thank God.  No damage to the sheet
metal at all either fortunately.

Interestingly, it was set to tighten, so supposedly the engine was turning
in the direction that was the same as the wrench's setting for
"click-neutral".  Theoretically the wrench should have just made a racket
and stayed basically still.   However, the speed of the engine was enough
to turn that thing around pretty quickly, - even in click-neutral - I am
here to report.

Lesson - Never let yourself get distracted and/or give direction with only
half your mind engaged on the subject at hand when working with equipment.
 Very tough to do at a show and probably the most important time to do it.

Spencer Yost
Owner, ATIS
Plow the Net!
http://www.atis.net