Driveway CSI

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Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 16th November 2016
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No photo's today as it wasn't my car I didn't ask.

A neighbors Vauxhall Corsa had split it's exhaust in half on a speed ramp. First I had to put a strap between the doors to stop the front section dragging on the floor to get to the ramps. The exhaust had come apart at the join just past the cat' and middle section. This was because the clamp was right at the end of the slots. No washers and rusted in place. So I refitted it and put another clamp in place.

I think I ruined it as the car sounded like a cross between a Subaru and a tank when it arrived and a sowing machine whn it left. hehe

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Thursday 17th November 2016
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Irony is a cruel mistress. The day after I admit my mistake this...

"Driveway CSI today. The owner of this Ford Ka watched a few episodes of Wheeler Dealers and thought "I can do that".
I politely disagreed".



...came up on my history feed. hehe

Yes that's a galvanised M10 coach bolt where a 17mm high tensile one was supposed to be. The wishbone came free from the hub while we were pushing it on to a trailer. The original plan was to drive it home. yikes

Edited by Liquid Knight on Thursday 17th November 22:21

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Friday 18th November 2016
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Alfa Romeo, built with passion not common sense.

"I know let's put the loom in the way of the clutch slave bleed nipple".



"Is that the best you can do? I've put the master cylinder pipe someone you can not get to without taking the inlet side of the engine apart".



So thing got desperate and I thought I would try this...



...before welding it together but it didn't work because the way the bulkhead recessed.

This is a common problem with cars that are engineered. The hydraulic system was put in place on the assembly line before the engine and gearbox was.



Four hours later. I had removed the sound proofing from the bulkhead, tied the loom to the inlet manifold and I just managed to get a 13mm spanner in there to undo the pipe.



Inside some tosspot had used a jubilee clip to hold the reservoir pipe to the top of the cylinder. I had to chisel the plastic pipe of as the screw was facing the inside of the cylinder.

Only to discover...



...my local shop had supplied me with the wrong faffing part!

I took it back this morning and even explained as a result of them not supplying the right part I've missed a charity track day. No word of apology at all and the new correct part won't be here before Monday so I'v had to cancel a trip to Derby tomorrow. Grrrrrrrrr!


Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Saturday 19th November 2016
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Driveway CSI and my Bravo is having an identity crisis. The ABS sensor I took off the car had a male plug and the new one has a female one.

Cut, strip, solder and tape. The automotive tuck operation. smile

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Monday 21st November 2016
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Well I finally have the right master cylinder for my Alfa Spider but because there's a rounded off jubilee clip on the reservoir pipe I'm at yet another dead end.
Can't get to it with a screw driver, round so I can't use a small socket and impossible to get to with a set of bolt cutters.

I will meet whoever put that thing there in Hell.

julian64

14,317 posts

253 months

Monday 21st November 2016
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Why would a rusty jubilee clips snap a bleed pipe.

I could understand how a hamfisted mechanic could bust a bleed pipe doing the jubilee clips up too tight, but not how the jubilee clips is responsible

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Monday 21st November 2016
quotequote all
julian64 said:
Why would a rusty jubilee clips snap a bleed pipe.

I could understand how a hamfisted mechanic could bust a bleed pipe doing the jubilee clips up too tight, but not how the jubilee clips is responsible
It's on the top pipe to the master cylinder. The one that feeds fluid to the cylinder from the reservoir on the bulkhead.



It's a bodge that makes silicone exhaust gaskets look like it was done in a McLaren factory.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Monday 21st November 2016
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Two hours with an open hacksaw blade...



Me 1 - 0 Bodging Twunt

woohoo

Now I just have to put her back together again. rolleyes


hehe

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Monday 21st November 2016
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Forty minutes later and she's back on the road. smile

Some people don't get the whole "into cars" thing but driving my Spider after a straight forward job that turned into a complete pain in the faff is a bit like having a pint with an old mate after you've had an argument about something stupid.
I no longer want to kill the bodger. We all make mistakes (as I have proven many times) and rest assured the pipe is being held on properly now.

Hmmmm. Pint. Now there's an idea.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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From the joy of getting my Spider back on the road to the melancholy of stripping the blue Bravo HLX.



Don't let the list fool you. I am in no way that organised.

eltax91

9,842 posts

205 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
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I'm in! Love the thread idea LK!

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Thursday 24th November 2016
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eltax91 said:
I'm in! Love the thread idea LK!
Thanks. Anyone can add what they're up to. smile

Today was triumph and failure.

My Yellow Bravo is now a valet away from MOT. The steering rack boot was an easy job. The key to it is taking the track rod end nut off. I found the best way was to use a 12mm spanner to hold the rod still and a spark plug socket.
The faff is putting cable ties on the inside of the new boot. You can sit under the car and try to thread it or lean over the engine and try to reach through the gap and do it that way, or you can make the cable tie into a loop thread it down the boot James Herriot style. wink

Failure was the last parts from the blue HLX.

Washer bottle? Fitted in the factory before the wings, doors, bumpers and bonnet. To get it out you need to take the wing off. To take the wing off you have to take the bumper off to get to the front two wing bolts, take the bonnet off so you can take the hinge off to get to the top wing bolt and take the door off as I suspect the hinge bolts also secure the wing. Add to that the crazy glue and you have very little chance of getting the wing off without bending it. Pointless if you want to keep it, too much faff for a water bottle worth £10 on eBay.

Fuel pump? So fragile the top shattered as I tried to tap open the top ring. banghead

Anyway that's it for the blue Bravo.





Great looking car but too rusty to put back on the road without a complete strip down, new pillar, new floor, new inner sills, new castle rails, new outer sills and an IVA. rolleyes

voicey

2,453 posts

186 months

Saturday 26th November 2016
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I keep a page on my website for some of the bodges I see at work: https://aldousvoice.com/gallery-of-horrors/

227bhp

10,203 posts

127 months

Saturday 26th November 2016
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Liquid Knight said:


...my local shop had supplied me with the wrong faffing part!

I took it back this morning and even explained as a result of them not supplying the right part I've missed a charity track day. No word of apology at all and the new correct part won't be here before Monday so I'v had to cancel a trip to Derby tomorrow. Grrrrrrrrr!
It's essentially the same cylinder which fits many models, but with different fittings. All you have to do is swap them over to make it work.
It's also possible the shop have supplied the correct part as per their catalogue number, it is not unknown for the suppliers to the suppliers to list the incorrect parts and part numbers. Pictures and measurements are often the best way of identifying something.

AW111

9,455 posts

132 months

Saturday 26th November 2016
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voicey said:
I keep a page on my website for some of the bodges I see at work: https://aldousvoice.com/gallery-of-horrors/
That definitely shows the value of a full Ferrari service history biggrin.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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227bhp said:
Liquid Knight said:


...my local shop had supplied me with the wrong faffing part!

I took it back this morning and even explained as a result of them not supplying the right part I've missed a charity track day. No word of apology at all and the new correct part won't be here before Monday so I'v had to cancel a trip to Derby tomorrow. Grrrrrrrrr!
It's essentially the same cylinder which fits many models, but with different fittings. All you have to do is swap them over to make it work.
It's also possible the shop have supplied the correct part as per their catalogue number, it is not unknown for the suppliers to the suppliers to list the incorrect parts and part numbers. Pictures and measurements are often the best way of identifying something.
That was my first thought but the capacity of the new cylinder was less than the old one. The bore was the same but it was a good centimeter and a half shorter stroke. I did think of swapping arms over but taking the old one apart to see it was the outer housing that had rusted (due to old fluid not be changed regularly enough) there was no way of separating the shaft. I then thought about cutting the new shaft and welding the lug from the old one but that could send heat down into the new seals and cause undue damage.

The best option was to take the old one down and get the new (correct one) ordered. I was hoping someone else had got my one it was a logistical mix up but it was the computer having several options and the wrong on got clicked.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 30th November 2016
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No photo's for this one as it's not my car and I didn't think to ask permission.

A little old lady who lives in my village has seen me working on cars in my garden and asked if I could have a look at her 2001 Hyundai AtoZ.

The car passed the MOT on November 17th but this morning she noticed the car wasn't steering left very well and would wobble at anything over 45mph.

I took the car for a drive. Sure enough it turned right just fine, but when you turned left the drivers side wheel didn't feel like it was turning as much as the passenger side one. New tyres for the MOT and I checked the pressures before I set off so I knew it wasn't that simple. I was thinking, track control arm, wheel bearing, wishbone bush or possibly subframe bush.

Got it on my ramps and it was none of these. The subframe was rusted and cracked on the drivers side. The passenger side of the car was held on with four bolts and a beam that went almost all the way across but the drivers side held on by two bolts and when you turned the steering left the crack opened. yikes

Just goes to show, you can pass an MOT one week and have a catastrophic failure the next.

I looked like it could be welded but I have suggested she takes it to the garage and see of they can fit a new one. Welding could weaken the metal around it so all it does is move the crack somewhere else. I remember having a crabby Mini because the rear subframe was welded instead of replaced.

PositronicRay

26,954 posts

182 months

Wednesday 30th November 2016
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Good job she's switched on enough to realise it needed attention. Some would assume MOT=car OK.

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Wednesday 30th November 2016
quotequote all
PositronicRay said:
Good job she's switched on enough to realise it needed attention. Some would assume MOT=car OK.
That's what I said. She thought it was odd because it was icy this morning but it was the same this afternoon. smile

Liquid Knight

Original Poster:

15,754 posts

182 months

Sunday 4th December 2016
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Simple Driveway CSI today.

New hood solenoid catches for my Alfa Spider.

One of the reasons she was so cheap was the electric hood didn't work. Now it does. smile

£60 parts - ten minute job and £300 added to the value of the car (in theory).