You want a good one?
1988 Olds Delta, FWD 3.8L. For a friend, I offered to swap the blown engine for a salvage yard engine. The salvage yard we used has always provided dozens of reliable engines for us in the past so I didn't really have any concerns. Well, silly me...
Engine shows up and it's not a 3.8L but a 3800 engine (yes, there's a difference). Called back and they don't have any 3.8L engines so I'm stuck with the one I've got at this point. Of course, I'm thinking "this isn't so bad" so I drop the engine in, bolt everything up, and it's all good up to this point.
Well, when trying to get the wiring in, I realize that the harness is completely different. The ignition module is all wrong, the cam and crank sensors are different, the injector harness is different, and about half a dozen other things.
I call up the junkyard and they tell me they'll sell me the correct powertrain harness from the car the engine came out of. It should drop right in, no problem. Gave me a helluva deal on it too. Nice guys. I get the harness, plug the engine all up, and the main end doesn't match the bulkhead connector. Son of a %!^@#!!!
I'm quite thrilled at this point because I've got 15 hours tied up in an 8 hour job. I call the junkyard again and they sell me the rest of the harness along with the correct PCM for this engine for a song because the really feel bad for the spot I'm in. I tow the car home from the shop because I don't want to drive all the way to work to finish this up and I know I'm headed for a LONG weekend.
So I start into it. The wiring harness is
1 PIECE with no connection plugs ANYWHERE! After removing all the seats, the carpet, the dash, the steering column, the door panels, and just about every other freakin' thing in the car, I begin the arduous task of replacing the ENTIRE wiring harness. It took me 6 days to replace the harness from headlight to tail light and get all the interior back in, with only minor splicing to address a couple small changes in the body styles between the donor and the victim. Thank God for miracles because the instrument cluster matched the harness, along with all the switches, motors and whatever else was in the car. Even the fusebox wasn't a problem.
I'm ready to go. I hit the key, the engine spins... and that's it. No fire. After screwing around for another 2 hours, the ignition module is bad and it's about $160.00 to replace it. Pop that on, along with a coil pack that turned out to be bad, and we're up and running. FINALLY!
Because the customer ended up having to pay for the harnesses, module, and coil, not to mention a rental car for 2 weeks, I ended up with nothing on that job but a firm dislike for GM. Of course it was my fault. I never should have accepted the engine if it wasn't an exact match and should have looked into a reman at that point. But what can you do at that point.
I feel your pain Cody... REALLY!