A brief introduction to home mechanics
Discussion
Gary29 said:
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I'm the wrong side of 30 now and even I feel too old to be lying on my back in a puddle of oil and antifreeze on a bitter November morning, I've no kids of my own and my brother never showed an interest so I've no one to pass the baton onto for the foreseeable future either.
Wait till you're the wrong side of 50 and its cold, wet and windy and you have to get it sorted by morning.....I'm the wrong side of 30 now and even I feel too old to be lying on my back in a puddle of oil and antifreeze on a bitter November morning, I've no kids of my own and my brother never showed an interest so I've no one to pass the baton onto for the foreseeable future either.
People who do it as a job get the car in and out as quickly as possible.
People who do it as a hobbie do it right.
That said... I have the BMW up on the ramps at home, (Outside) planning to do the rubber join in the drive shaft. Looked at the rusted up exhaust and amount of shielding I had to remove and sighed. Then it started raining and I sent it off to the garage.
If i can have it in the garage on the ramps, in the warm and in my own time. I will do anything.
TVR chassis freshen up has been on the cards for a while now.
People who do it as a hobbie do it right.
That said... I have the BMW up on the ramps at home, (Outside) planning to do the rubber join in the drive shaft. Looked at the rusted up exhaust and amount of shielding I had to remove and sighed. Then it started raining and I sent it off to the garage.
If i can have it in the garage on the ramps, in the warm and in my own time. I will do anything.
TVR chassis freshen up has been on the cards for a while now.
Prof Prolapse said:
I think it was worse about 8 or 9 years ago when I was broke and the neighbours and relatives going, "Oh I know you enjoy tinkering on your cars"...
You'd actually have spent the full weekend half killing yourself, using tools most Christmas cracker manufacturers would reject,
fitting the cheapest parts you could get because you had literally no money. You couldn't even afford the Haynes manual so you just had to bloody guess. No nitrile gloves, and Swarfega, so after 12 hours of smashing your knuckles and running out to buy more tools as you had no idea how to plan the job, you spend half an hour using fairy liquid with sugar granules in it.
All mechanical work conducted under a scissor jack on gravel.
This has really made me chuckle! You'd actually have spent the full weekend half killing yourself, using tools most Christmas cracker manufacturers would reject,
fitting the cheapest parts you could get because you had literally no money. You couldn't even afford the Haynes manual so you just had to bloody guess. No nitrile gloves, and Swarfega, so after 12 hours of smashing your knuckles and running out to buy more tools as you had no idea how to plan the job, you spend half an hour using fairy liquid with sugar granules in it.
All mechanical work conducted under a scissor jack on gravel.
I'm a desk worker, I sit at a desk, in a fancy office in London, and my job involves video games.
However, thanks to my old man, I've always been keen to 'have a go' when it comes to car repairs etc.
Started off years ago, when I spent £1200+ in trying to resolve an issue with the throttle/idle on my Honda CRX. After much too'ing and fro'ing, to different garages/specialists etc, I got chatting to a well respected specialist on the forum, who had followed the problem from near the end, and said genuinely it was none of the things that had been done, and the fix was infact, that the throttle position sensor needed calibrating. He offered to do it for free, however, he was an 8 hour drive away.
Yes, I drove all the way to Scotland, had my car fixed for free in about 15-20mins, and drove all the way with an overnight stop in there. It really was that easy, and I lost all faith at that point (was about 19/20years old at the time).
So I actually learnt what was fixed, and it sunk it, and slowly I started understanding how things all worked together etc. I then started changing brakes, exhausts, bushes, suspension, etc, replacing sensors, and even setting my own timing. I changed an engine with the help of my friend, too. I did it for years and most of the time I enjoyed it, however, I'm 31 now and the thought of doing anything with my limited free time is quite horrible.
I have a garage full of tools, and odd specialist tools which were one use only type things. I recently attempted to change the exhaust system on my friends Cayman S, and once in to the meat of the job, I quickly realised it was going to be a disaster, all the captive nuts and bolts were rusted through, it was horrendous. Quick search on the forums, and it's a blowtorch/grinder kind of job, at which point I bowed out... No thanks!
I own a C63 now, which has just had a service at the main dealer, and TBH, most jobs will be done there. I will probably do the brakes myself when it needs it.
What I will say, is that I've replaced enough brake calipers in my time, and to this day the thought of bleeding brakes still brings me out in a cold sweat... WHY WONT THEY BLEED PROPERLY. WHY. I'VE TRIED SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS AND THEY STILL DONT BLEED PROPERLY ON THE FIRST GO.
garylythgoe said:
What I will say, is that I've replaced enough brake calipers in my time, and to this day the thought of bleeding brakes still brings me out in a cold sweat... WHY WONT THEY BLEED PROPERLY. WHY. I'VE TRIED SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS AND THEY STILL DONT BLEED PROPERLY ON THE FIRST GO.
One trick that often has the best results is fill the reservoir and open the bleed nipple till fluid drips / runs out. Nip it up and get someone to pump the pedal 8 to 10 times and hold pressure. Still under pressure, open and close the bleed nipple. Take care not to shoot fluid everywhere! Repeat until the pedal feels good. Ive used this method on almost every car Ive done brakes on from old Mini's to Le Mans Prototypes! Spannering has improved with age in some respects though.
When I started out fettling my early rust buckets I well remember the day I purchased a brake wheel cylinder repair kit (ah, those were the days) and then proceeded to strip down the brakes, remove the wheel cylinder, pull out the piston only to find a) I had the wrong repair kit; b) the motor factor was over a mile away ; and, of course, c) the transport was now on a jack with no brakes. Oh, how I loved the bus journey to go and exchange the repair kit!
At least these days I have more than one chariot to use to rectify such cock ups.
Good advice would come from some surprising 'fountains of knowledge' (no Internet forums back then). I had taken the morning off work to replace the heater bypass hose on Mrs Garvin's ageing 'classic' mini. The annoying bit being this was the second time as I had replaced the pesky thing only 12 months or so previously. It is the proverbial pig of a job and as I huffed and puffed to get the replacement hose in place the bin lorry pitched up. Bin man approached, looked over my shoulder and said "heater bypass hose is it mate?" I replied in the affirmative as politely as I could. "The trouble with those replacements" he said "is that they are too long. Cut an eighth of an inch off either end and it will slip on easily and, as it won't be under compression when fitted, it won't let go again in a few months time". He was spot on and I became the instant expert amongst my mini owning mates at replacing the little blighters quickly and easily!
When I started out fettling my early rust buckets I well remember the day I purchased a brake wheel cylinder repair kit (ah, those were the days) and then proceeded to strip down the brakes, remove the wheel cylinder, pull out the piston only to find a) I had the wrong repair kit; b) the motor factor was over a mile away ; and, of course, c) the transport was now on a jack with no brakes. Oh, how I loved the bus journey to go and exchange the repair kit!
At least these days I have more than one chariot to use to rectify such cock ups.
Good advice would come from some surprising 'fountains of knowledge' (no Internet forums back then). I had taken the morning off work to replace the heater bypass hose on Mrs Garvin's ageing 'classic' mini. The annoying bit being this was the second time as I had replaced the pesky thing only 12 months or so previously. It is the proverbial pig of a job and as I huffed and puffed to get the replacement hose in place the bin lorry pitched up. Bin man approached, looked over my shoulder and said "heater bypass hose is it mate?" I replied in the affirmative as politely as I could. "The trouble with those replacements" he said "is that they are too long. Cut an eighth of an inch off either end and it will slip on easily and, as it won't be under compression when fitted, it won't let go again in a few months time". He was spot on and I became the instant expert amongst my mini owning mates at replacing the little blighters quickly and easily!
Impasse said:
Up to a point. There's no way I'll be comfortable with giving the Aston garage the best part of £1k to replace the front discs and pads, so will quite happily source and fit the parts myself which will save about 50% of that prospective bill.
But a while ago, the twenty quid oil seal that needed some dismantling of some really grubby bits to access was something that I was more than willing to let their mechanics book about twelve hours of spannering time to save my frustrations and Swarfega usage.
If you're running a modern Aston you won't save much by doing the front discs and pads yourself, they run badged up AP Lockheed stuff similar to their big brake kit on my M5.But a while ago, the twenty quid oil seal that needed some dismantling of some really grubby bits to access was something that I was more than willing to let their mechanics book about twelve hours of spannering time to save my frustrations and Swarfega usage.
The last time I fitted new discs and pads it was IIRC £220+ per disc and £200ish for pads all plus VAT, I didn't pay VAT, my boss likes me
The old disc needs to be stripped off the mounting bell which first has to be removed from the hub and is a filthy job, the calipers also need to cleaned, even worse than removing the disc.
Then as the Haynes manual is so fond of telling us, re-assembly is the opposite of dis-assembly...
If you've been quoted £1000 for new discs and pads to be fitted I suggest you withdraw the money in £20 notes and beat the service manager about the head with them until he takes your money.
All of that said I do most of the work on my car, my mechanic stands about and watches whilst I get my hands dirty. It's worth it for the look on his face when I drilled out, tapped and helicoiled the sump in situ with a power drill, tapping by hand is for girls and gheys
Tango13 said:
If you're running a modern Aston you won't save much by doing the front discs and pads yourself, they run badged up AP Lockheed stuff similar to their big brake kit on my M5.
The last time I fitted new discs and pads it was IIRC £220+ per disc and £200ish for pads all plus VAT, I didn't pay VAT, my boss likes me
The old disc needs to be stripped off the mounting bell which first has to be removed from the hub and is a filthy job, the calipers also need to cleaned, even worse than removing the disc.
Then as the Haynes manual is so fond of telling us, re-assembly is the opposite of dis-assembly...
If you've been quoted £1000 for new discs and pads to be fitted I suggest you withdraw the money in £20 notes and beat the service manager about the head with them until he takes your money.
All of that said I do most of the work on my car, my mechanic stands about and watches whilst I get my hands dirty. It's worth it for the look on his face when I drilled out, tapped and helicoiled the sump in situ with a power drill, tapping by hand is for girls and gheys
V8V callipers are Brembo (if steel discs) , Ive changed a few! Absolute doddle to change discs and pads. No more than 20 mins for both sides.The last time I fitted new discs and pads it was IIRC £220+ per disc and £200ish for pads all plus VAT, I didn't pay VAT, my boss likes me
The old disc needs to be stripped off the mounting bell which first has to be removed from the hub and is a filthy job, the calipers also need to cleaned, even worse than removing the disc.
Then as the Haynes manual is so fond of telling us, re-assembly is the opposite of dis-assembly...
If you've been quoted £1000 for new discs and pads to be fitted I suggest you withdraw the money in £20 notes and beat the service manager about the head with them until he takes your money.
All of that said I do most of the work on my car, my mechanic stands about and watches whilst I get my hands dirty. It's worth it for the look on his face when I drilled out, tapped and helicoiled the sump in situ with a power drill, tapping by hand is for girls and gheys
Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Edited by With these feet on Tuesday 26th January 19:53
With these feet said:
V8V callipers are Brembo, Ive changed a few! Absolute doddle to change discs and pads. No more than 20 mins for both sides.
Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Indeed. £300 for a pair of discs, £100-£200 for the pads depending on type chosen and a few quid for the sensor which may or may not fracture when removed. Under £500 for DIYer to replace "steel" brakes on a present day Aston. (Still about £300 too expensive for the materials involved. Aston tax is a high tax rate.)Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Impasse said:
With these feet said:
V8V callipers are Brembo, Ive changed a few! Absolute doddle to change discs and pads. No more than 20 mins for both sides.
Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Indeed. £300 for a pair of discs, £100-£200 for the pads depending on type chosen and a few quid for the sensor which may or may not fracture when removed. Under £500 for DIYer to replace "steel" brakes on a present day Aston. (Still about £300 too expensive for the materials involved. Aston tax is a high tax rate.)Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Impasse said:
With these feet said:
V8V callipers are Brembo, Ive changed a few! Absolute doddle to change discs and pads. No more than 20 mins for both sides.
Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Indeed. £300 for a pair of discs, £100-£200 for the pads depending on type chosen and a few quid for the sensor which may or may not fracture when removed. Under £500 for DIYer to replace "steel" brakes on a present day Aston. (Still about £300 too expensive for the materials involved. Aston tax is a high tax rate.)Ok so there were 2 of us doing it but we changed a set quicker than the driver could take a piss...
Re "tinkering with your car"
I cant see any of my neighbours ever checking their oil, well, one chaps is into his motors, the rest seem to take it to the dealers or sieze the s
t out of it, I listened to next doors car with an impressive bottom end knock so I collared him one saturday morning and asked him if there was something wrong with his car, he was like "oh I had noticed that" as byt that time it was quite bad.
Anyway, I asked if he had checked the oil "It went in for service....", turns out it had missed its service and had done a fair few miles in the two years since the last one, I said to check the oil and he looked a bit blank so I said to pop the bonnet, couldnt get the dipstick out and didnt want to break it as I would have entered into a "Somebody elses problem field" and said he needed to take it in, thought no more about it and the next time I noticed it it sounded smooth as silk, I was impressed that topping up the oil had stopped a big end bearing knock but didnt ponder too long.
I saw him and asked him and he said the garage sorted it, didnt elaborate.
His wife was round having a chat with mine and was moaning about the cost of having a new engine fitted
I cant see any of my neighbours ever checking their oil, well, one chaps is into his motors, the rest seem to take it to the dealers or sieze the s
t out of it, I listened to next doors car with an impressive bottom end knock so I collared him one saturday morning and asked him if there was something wrong with his car, he was like "oh I had noticed that" as byt that time it was quite bad.Anyway, I asked if he had checked the oil "It went in for service....", turns out it had missed its service and had done a fair few miles in the two years since the last one, I said to check the oil and he looked a bit blank so I said to pop the bonnet, couldnt get the dipstick out and didnt want to break it as I would have entered into a "Somebody elses problem field" and said he needed to take it in, thought no more about it and the next time I noticed it it sounded smooth as silk, I was impressed that topping up the oil had stopped a big end bearing knock but didnt ponder too long.
I saw him and asked him and he said the garage sorted it, didnt elaborate.
His wife was round having a chat with mine and was moaning about the cost of having a new engine fitted
markw996 said:
Luckily I have resources and space to own 3 cars, so any job can take as long as I need. I hate deadlines
This is my biggest issue - I have only one car and need it to get to work.I have probably more tools than ability, so I'm trying some bigger jobs - this time it's changing some bushes and a wishbone.
But knowing I need to have absolutely everything ready, inc all tools required, spare parts, ancillaries (plusgas etc), guides etc, so that I'll be able to get to work on Monday isn't so pleasant!
I used to have a terribly small garage - at the time I thought it was a bit pointless but now I realise what I'm missing when it's January and there's no light past 4PM!
I've only been doing it a couple of years - a mix of being too skint and being let down by too many garages. I dread to think of the amount I've spent on tools...
Both myself and my wife have given back our company vehicles this year, we could afford to run new lease cars or decent s/h cars but don't really see the point when our combined mileage is less than 10k, so I run a 10 year old Focus and she has an even older Puma, this means that tools I haven't used for years have been dusted off and home maintenance is the order of the day once more.
I don't really mind it at all as I have a decent toolbox and have a big drive with a covered porch to work under, it's actually very satisfying to diagnose a fault (or look it up on google, this has probably made the biggest difference to home spannering for everyone) buy the parts and fix it, I have a tame mechanic who only charges £35/hr so jobs that require a lift get done by him but 95% of things I'm happy to tackle myself, the only issue at present is that we both need our cars everyday so I cannot afford to run into issues at 8pm when needing the car for 6am the next day, the solution I think is to buy another car (or two) so if there's an issue its not a problem.
I don't really mind it at all as I have a decent toolbox and have a big drive with a covered porch to work under, it's actually very satisfying to diagnose a fault (or look it up on google, this has probably made the biggest difference to home spannering for everyone) buy the parts and fix it, I have a tame mechanic who only charges £35/hr so jobs that require a lift get done by him but 95% of things I'm happy to tackle myself, the only issue at present is that we both need our cars everyday so I cannot afford to run into issues at 8pm when needing the car for 6am the next day, the solution I think is to buy another car (or two) so if there's an issue its not a problem.
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