Problem with your car?

[alland]

Re: Problem with your car?

Enough of doing my Grumpy Old Git routine, to anyone willing to try to do a basic service well done and just think of the money you have saved.

Air, Oil Filter, Oil Flush and new Synthetic Oil for my old car
£45.00 time taken (not including adding the Engine Flush and Running for 1/2 an hour) 20 minutes. Add on another 15 minutes to check lights, tyres and fluid levels and to go round the hinges and locks with WD40 and you have the basis of an intermediate service. What my local garage charges £120.00 for.

Makes sense doesn't it?

Regards, Handy

Yes it does make sense Handy if you are confident about doing the job to save yourself some money, but fortunately for my business, there are folk still out there who are happy to let the "Professionals" do the work on their cars.... and I would add, for a £120.00 service it is a little more than drop the oil & filter, give the locks a bit of a spray with QD40, and check the lights work
And not forgetting of course the obligatory kick to the tyres to check pressures ! ...Oh yes you see I know all the old tricks of the trade...

[cymruambyth]

Re: Problem with your car?

Trouble is, some people never learn ..... My oh tried to save money by fitting his own spotlights and then had to pay for a new rediator

[oscar]

Re: Problem with your car?

Fully agree Handy. If I know what I am doing (with the help of Haynes if needed) I am pretty good.

Lets face it, plugs, filters (oil, air and fuel) oil change is simple. Brakes might take a little more.

But as you say, its all the electronics and "improvements" that cause issues.

Not so long ago (probably on this thread) I had a fuel/air/misfire issue. I got told it was plugs, fuel rail, injectors, coil pack or stepper motor amongst others.

Luckily, all I bought was a coil pack from the scrappie and a can of carburettor spray to clean the stepper motor.

After replacing the coil pack, and cleaning the stepper motor, I looked again. It turned out to be the ECU temp sensor (Google search luck rather than test) - £20 cost. God knows what a diagnostic plus parts plus labour (as was intermittent fault) would have cost.

[Handyman]

Re: Problem with your car?

Like I mentioned in a round about way on my thread the other day, youngsters don't do the practical things that our parents or even us to some extent did.

Modern cars have so much electronics that you need an electronics and programming degree to repair them.

OK so suspension bushes are not that bad to replace either you just have to be prepared to get greasy and use some old fashioned brute force. But things like Oil, Air, Fuel filters are cheap and easy to replace yourself. As long as you are physically able to jack one side of the car up (most cases you don't even need to remove a wheel). You can do your own oil change.

I suppose in some ways I was lucky that 4 out of the gang of 6 I hung out with at school became mechanics, I already knew most of it because Dad was a Mechanical Fitter and had a part time car repair business. By the time I was 10 I could do a head gasket and de-coke on a Jaguar Mk 7.

Different these day's though with things like limp home mode on the ecu and injector coding. If you don't know what the heck I'm on about join the club Time was when you had a misfire on a cylinder you change a spark plug, now you plug in a computer to analyse the fault codes.

Enough of doing my Grumpy Old Git routine, to anyone willing to try to do a basic service well done and just think of the money you have saved.

Air, Oil Filter, Oil Flush and new Synthetic Oil for my old car
£45.00 time taken (not including adding the Engine Flush and Running for 1/2 an hour) 20 minutes. Add on another 15 minutes to check lights, tyres and fluid levels and to go round the hinges and locks with WD40 and you have the basis of an intermediate service. What my local garage charges £120.00 for.

Makes sense doesn't it?

Regards, Handy

[oscar]

Re: Problem with your car?

That's the thing with youngsters these days, they want to drive but never maintain.

Maintaining cars is difficult. I might well know whats wrong, but actually being able to fix it is another matter.

[di30]

Re: Problem with your car?

Hurray. A job well done, and lots of money saved. Plus lots of amazing help given.

Cheers hon

And yes lots of money saved, especially as inlaw done the labour, helped by hubby. And fantastic advice from these amazing lot on here too. Very grateful.
That's the thing with youngsters these days, they want to drive but never maintain.
Oil filter was changed as well, brand new oil, because the filter had collapsed "oops" lol.

[cymruambyth]

Re: Problem with your car?

Hurray. A job well done, and lots of money saved. Plus lots of amazing help given.

[di30]

Re: Problem with your car?

YAY, all done!

However, my bro in law did make some suggestions to him, with his MOT coming up next month is to change the bushes and/or track arms, knocking here and there on driving.

Thank you all for your amazing help, you've all been wonderful Xxxx

[di30]

Re: Problem with your car?

Just make sure care is taken when refitting and setting up the cam belt...you don't want the valves hitting the pistons.....or it will be

Good luck

Thank you alland oh yes and we don't want that to happen or I will be lol.
Cheers for that. x

[alland]

Re: Problem with your car?

A bit of a late start, but pump is out, and now getting on with the work!

Shall let you know how it all goes.

Just make sure care is taken when refitting and setting up the cam belt...you don't want the valves hitting the pistons.....or it will be

Good luck

[di30]

Re: Problem with your car?

A bit of a late start, but pump is out, and now getting on with the work!

Shall let you know how it all goes.

[di30]

Re: Problem with your car?

Jamie hired a newish KA for 3 days, £75, that was with a full tank of fuel, before he hands it in, he has to fill it to the brim.

It all adds up!

Car to be done tomorrow, let's hope that fixes it lol.

[CleverClogs (RIP)]

Re: Problem with your car?

Does your pug have an automatic belt tensioner? most cars do these days. I have known no end of these fail causing a noise like the alternator / Steering pump is failing? Although it can make the belt slip a spray of good old WD40 applied with the straw around each of the pulleys can often point out the offending part. Keep your fingers out of the way of the belts though (ouch, don't try this at home). The noise reduction can be very noticeable.

On the matter of belt slippage, I seem to recall using a spray of rosin or something similar to improve the grip of the flat belt drive on my Warwick lathe (link) before I got my Myford.

[CleverClogs (RIP)]

Re: Problem with your car?

Definately not the sump - too far to the nearside. From where its leaking (few drops when I pushed car back) its pretty much in a direct line with the engine gearbox seal. I had an idea that was a big job, because as you say, you need to split the box to get at it. It might only take a few minutes to fit, but its a couple of hours to strip and then the same to rebuild (If I am right, I think you need to pop the drive shaft as well from the gearbox side)

Does that mean you do have a leaking bell end?

Think it may be coming to the end anyway. It also has a noisy bearing/cog on the power steering belt.

Won't its safety depend on the steering nut?

[CleverClogs (RIP)]

Re: Problem with your car?

If you have won the lotto it won't need to be cheap and economical

It will when he's squandered all his winnings.