Good, cheap car to learn spannering on
Discussion
joema said:
I have a gravel drive too. I have some 3mm sheet steel I use under the jack sometimes.
Gwt a decent jack too £35 halfords things eventually fail. I have a low entry £100 machine mart one and it is solid. Much easier
I always shove a wheel under as well as using stands
Good call, I stick my ramps under there as well, I cannot imagine the pain and terror as a car sits on you and crushes the life out of you.Gwt a decent jack too £35 halfords things eventually fail. I have a low entry £100 machine mart one and it is solid. Much easier
I always shove a wheel under as well as using stands
Havign been under a car (Fiat 500) on axle stands that got reversed into, I nearly went there, was an old lady visiting the old lady next door who used our drive to turn round and gently pushed the front of the car, moving it a few inches, maybe four, luckily the axle stands moved with it, I have never moved so quickly, I was polite and explaiend she had nearly killed me, she said I was silly for hidign the car behind the hedge, how could anyone see it ? I tried answering to say it was my drive but she dismissed me with a wave in that way only old Posh women can do, rmeember the deaf woman from Fawlty Towers, swear it was her. And no, I dont beleive even PBCD's can lift a 500 kilo car off themselves, it is light for a car but bloody heavy by any other measure.
My dads neighbour had his head lodged under a Princess (oo er) when it fell off a bottle jack when he was doing the back brakes, it pinned his head to his knees as he was squatting there, my dad and another neighbour managed to lift it off enough so he could get out, he really hurt himself and never was quite the same again.
So, safety first, most important tools, goggles, gloves etc etc, try getting a bit of a wire wheel out of your eye when it falls off your drill whilst cleaning something, seen it happen, kept his sight, but lost a weeks work, a night out and had a really sore eye for a while.
Add a box of disposable vinyl gloves (not latex) and a set of combination (ideally ratchet combination) spanners to the tools/sundries list - Halfords do good spanners (IIRC they are Williams Superslim), though I found a set of US-made ones at a show that are superb (even have a nice alloy box). So much so that I hardly dare use them on my old tractors!
While there's a lot to be said for newer cars, the simplicity of the older ones will teach you a heck of a lot about diagnostics - setting the timing with a strobe and distributor will soon show you the difference between advanced, retarded and "spot on" ignition timing - similarly, playing about with a carburettor will teach you what affect the mixture has on an engine.
BTW - my Mk5 Golf's headlight bulbs seem to be accessible from under the bonnet (not sure about the side lights though - the Mk4's needed the headlamp unit removing for that). I only realised because someone had changed a bulb and left the back cover on the oil filler cap!
While there's a lot to be said for newer cars, the simplicity of the older ones will teach you a heck of a lot about diagnostics - setting the timing with a strobe and distributor will soon show you the difference between advanced, retarded and "spot on" ignition timing - similarly, playing about with a carburettor will teach you what affect the mixture has on an engine.
BTW - my Mk5 Golf's headlight bulbs seem to be accessible from under the bonnet (not sure about the side lights though - the Mk4's needed the headlamp unit removing for that). I only realised because someone had changed a bulb and left the back cover on the oil filler cap!
J4CKO said:
Good call, I stick my ramps under there as well, I cannot imagine the pain and terror as a car sits on you and crushes the life out of you.
Havign been under a car (Fiat 500) on axle stands that got reversed into, I nearly went there, was an old lady visiting the old lady next door who used our drive to turn round and gently pushed the front of the car, moving it a few inches, maybe four, luckily the axle stands moved with it, I have never moved so quickly, I was polite and explaiend she had nearly killed me, she said I was silly for hidign the car behind the hedge, how could anyone see it ? I tried answering to say it was my drive but she dismissed me with a wave in that way only old Posh women can do, rmeember the deaf woman from Fawlty Towers, swear it was her. And no, I dont beleive even PBCD's can lift a 500 kilo car off themselves, it is light for a car but bloody heavy by any other measure.
My dads neighbour had his head lodged under a Princess (oo er) when it fell off a bottle jack when he was doing the back brakes, it pinned his head to his knees as he was squatting there, my dad and another neighbour managed to lift it off enough so he could get out, he really hurt himself and never was quite the same again.
So, safety first, most important tools, goggles, gloves etc etc, try getting a bit of a wire wheel out of your eye when it falls off your drill whilst cleaning something, seen it happen, kept his sight, but lost a weeks work, a night out and had a really sore eye for a while.
Really can't emphasise this too much. You may do all you can to protect you from your own stupidity but you never know what might happen to a car whilst beneath it. People I know have chunky wooden blocks as 'insurance' under the sills and this, though a trouble to use could be a life saver.Havign been under a car (Fiat 500) on axle stands that got reversed into, I nearly went there, was an old lady visiting the old lady next door who used our drive to turn round and gently pushed the front of the car, moving it a few inches, maybe four, luckily the axle stands moved with it, I have never moved so quickly, I was polite and explaiend she had nearly killed me, she said I was silly for hidign the car behind the hedge, how could anyone see it ? I tried answering to say it was my drive but she dismissed me with a wave in that way only old Posh women can do, rmeember the deaf woman from Fawlty Towers, swear it was her. And no, I dont beleive even PBCD's can lift a 500 kilo car off themselves, it is light for a car but bloody heavy by any other measure.
My dads neighbour had his head lodged under a Princess (oo er) when it fell off a bottle jack when he was doing the back brakes, it pinned his head to his knees as he was squatting there, my dad and another neighbour managed to lift it off enough so he could get out, he really hurt himself and never was quite the same again.
So, safety first, most important tools, goggles, gloves etc etc, try getting a bit of a wire wheel out of your eye when it falls off your drill whilst cleaning something, seen it happen, kept his sight, but lost a weeks work, a night out and had a really sore eye for a while.
I have had a close shave once where a sierra spat an axle stand out and landed sans wheels heavily on one side. My friend and I weren't underneath at the time - just stripping the calipers (it was a scrapper) but that was enough to drive home the point. We would certainly have trusted the combination of axle stand and weight partially held on the jack to save us if we were beneath it. It wouldn't have.
paolow said:
J4CKO said:
Good call, I stick my ramps under there as well, I cannot imagine the pain and terror as a car sits on you and crushes the life out of you.
Havign been under a car (Fiat 500) on axle stands that got reversed into, I nearly went there, was an old lady visiting the old lady next door who used our drive to turn round and gently pushed the front of the car, moving it a few inches, maybe four, luckily the axle stands moved with it, I have never moved so quickly, I was polite and explaiend she had nearly killed me, she said I was silly for hidign the car behind the hedge, how could anyone see it ? I tried answering to say it was my drive but she dismissed me with a wave in that way only old Posh women can do, rmeember the deaf woman from Fawlty Towers, swear it was her. And no, I dont beleive even PBCD's can lift a 500 kilo car off themselves, it is light for a car but bloody heavy by any other measure.
My dads neighbour had his head lodged under a Princess (oo er) when it fell off a bottle jack when he was doing the back brakes, it pinned his head to his knees as he was squatting there, my dad and another neighbour managed to lift it off enough so he could get out, he really hurt himself and never was quite the same again.
So, safety first, most important tools, goggles, gloves etc etc, try getting a bit of a wire wheel out of your eye when it falls off your drill whilst cleaning something, seen it happen, kept his sight, but lost a weeks work, a night out and had a really sore eye for a while.
Really can't emphasise this too much. You may do all you can to protect you from your own stupidity but you never know what might happen to a car whilst beneath it. People I know have chunky wooden blocks as 'insurance' under the sills and this, though a trouble to use could be a life saver.Havign been under a car (Fiat 500) on axle stands that got reversed into, I nearly went there, was an old lady visiting the old lady next door who used our drive to turn round and gently pushed the front of the car, moving it a few inches, maybe four, luckily the axle stands moved with it, I have never moved so quickly, I was polite and explaiend she had nearly killed me, she said I was silly for hidign the car behind the hedge, how could anyone see it ? I tried answering to say it was my drive but she dismissed me with a wave in that way only old Posh women can do, rmeember the deaf woman from Fawlty Towers, swear it was her. And no, I dont beleive even PBCD's can lift a 500 kilo car off themselves, it is light for a car but bloody heavy by any other measure.
My dads neighbour had his head lodged under a Princess (oo er) when it fell off a bottle jack when he was doing the back brakes, it pinned his head to his knees as he was squatting there, my dad and another neighbour managed to lift it off enough so he could get out, he really hurt himself and never was quite the same again.
So, safety first, most important tools, goggles, gloves etc etc, try getting a bit of a wire wheel out of your eye when it falls off your drill whilst cleaning something, seen it happen, kept his sight, but lost a weeks work, a night out and had a really sore eye for a while.
I have had a close shave once where a sierra spat an axle stand out and landed sans wheels heavily on one side. My friend and I weren't underneath at the time - just stripping the calipers (it was a scrapper) but that was enough to drive home the point. We would certainly have trusted the combination of axle stand and weight partially held on the jack to save us if we were beneath it. It wouldn't have.
Haven't read the entire thread, but I always thought a Rover with a K series and a dead HG was a good place to start?
I am fairly crap at spannering, managed to do both front bearings on my mk4 Astra but thats because the entire hub gets replaced and only costs £30 or so!
Managed to service my 328i a few times, the 7 has the same engine and I found it easy to work on. My mate who replaced most of the front suspension on mine said it was an easy car to work on
I am fairly crap at spannering, managed to do both front bearings on my mk4 Astra but thats because the entire hub gets replaced and only costs £30 or so!
Managed to service my 328i a few times, the 7 has the same engine and I found it easy to work on. My mate who replaced most of the front suspension on mine said it was an easy car to work on
funkyrobot said:
I'm after a cheap and easy car to develop my mechanic skills with. I'm too scared to touch anything mechanical on my current car (Mazda 3).
I currently have zero skills and zero confidence about doing anything remotely mechanical.
...and you're considering a knackered 15 year old luxury car, with plenty of electronics, complex systems and pricey parts, which won't be worth anything more than scrap value for at least another 10 years? I currently have zero skills and zero confidence about doing anything remotely mechanical.
N Dentressangle said:
...and you're considering a knackered 15 year old luxury car, with plenty of electronics, complex systems and pricey parts, which won't be worth anything more than scrap value for at least another 10 years?
Indeed.This is PH.
I may be mad, but what a car to learn on.
Saxo it is then.
Super Slo Mo said:
I'll pm you when I'm home. I have a v8 on Lpg that I could do with getting rid of. Can talk you through the condition and list of faults, but there are loads of parts and modifications that you can do quite easily. Relatively speaking of course.
If the OP isn't interested, I might k ow someone who is on the lookout for a fixer upper. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff