Top car DIY tip
Discussion
When removing seats from an E36 Convertible, It is okay to spray a bit of WD40 or similar on the bolt threads and the slider to move the seat on the rails....... However if you find a lighter under the seat near the rail. It's advisable to not spark it to see if it works as it may result in singed carpets.
king arthur said:
Remember when Redex was hailed as this wonderful stuff that could clean up your engine of all sorts of ills? It used to claim that you could remove the carbon deposits from the coked-up valves and combustion chambers of your engine by pouring Redex into the spark plug holes, leaving it there for a while and then turning the engine over a little.
Don't do this because it doesn't work.
The original stuff did - I stripped a head off an engine and was confronted with caked on carbon on the tops of the pistons - 30 ml of redex in each bore and 24 hrs later all the pistons were shiney alloy againDon't do this because it doesn't work.
Tried it about 10 years later - 30 mls every day for a week (kept draining past the rings - there was a reason for that I found out later) and nothing - nadda zilch zip - a shadow of it's former good self
All the good stuff has had the good stuff removed - Nitromors Paint stripper should be prosecuted under the trade descriptions act!!!!
OK
Morale of the story - Don't buy cheap tools (this has good ending)
So gearbox out on a Senator 24V (you remember them very popular as a cop car well I've owned a few of em.) - So why was the gearbox coming out - well unusually it wasn't a sludge pumper but a manual 5 speed - it's problem "Shifting into 5th flat out in 4th and you select 3rd" normally means gearbox out time at the very min. Still I had a spare one so it just meant I wouldn't have a spare any more.......
Propshaft Rubber joints 6 bolts and rarely ever undone - F ing tight
Car up on wheel ramps 24 inch breaker bar and 19mm socket from memory - not frequently used so just one from an old cheap socket set
Might as well drop the oil and change the filter while it's in the air - so oil drained and in the recepticle just inside garage door
Pry bar thro joint to lock it up
Get all braced and give it some large
Damn it's tight - reposition body to apply maximum leverage
Fail to assess trajectory of breaker bar
Bolt freed or possibly not from fierce resistance to none at all..........
Breaker bar makes contact with face - just above eye - skin is pretty thin there
Notice wet warm feeling and loss of vision in one eye
Notice gravity rapidly assists lack of vision in other eye
Get out from under car - go to garage for rag/cloth to stem blood flow and clear vision
Remember that oil drain recepticle
Walk in it
Fail to find cloth due to lack of vision -aware that one foot is also feeling moist - assume it's oil and not also blood......
Enter house - Call quietly for Mrs BC (worried for the image presented if she is not forewarned)
Call goes unanswered
Remember spare kitchen roll stash is in utility
Yes I know there is some in the kitchen but she re-arranges stuff and even 10 years later I still go to wrong cupboard almost daily
Bearing in mind boots soaked in old engine oil and claret clearly flowing from small cut above eye - kitchen floor is tiled - others not so much so
Find Kitchen roll in utility (Via Hall)
Stem blood loss - Vision restored in one eye - other one seems to have gone on shut down without windows sounds effects
Mrs BC arrives - new cream carpet fitted week before in hall way was her first concern.......
My Blood loss and injury secondary
Cleaned up plaster and steri strips - probably should have had a stitch or four!!!
So a full an thorough review of the actions and consequences took place after Carpet 1001 (2 whole bottles - I mean seriously who the f
k keeps two bottles of the stuff - Mrs BC "clean freak") and the offending breaker bar and socket received scrutiny - problem was deemed to be a poor quality socket that cracked - resulting in myself hitting myself in the face with a breaker bar.
She agreed that in order to limit any further injury and household damage I should not buy cheap tools - so I haven't since..........
Happy days - If I say I've spent £X on tools she just nods and says as long as you didn't buy cheap st that breaks it's OK
I still have scar....................... Really should have had stitches - however that meant a hospital trip - car was on wheel ramps with no oil or filter and the gearbox had 3 speeds - 1st 4th and reverse (which wasn't very happy)
Finished the swap later that day - sweatbands might not be in fashion but they soak up blood from a still weeping cut. (I didn't know about superglue then - I do now
)
Morale of the story - Don't buy cheap tools (this has good ending)
So gearbox out on a Senator 24V (you remember them very popular as a cop car well I've owned a few of em.) - So why was the gearbox coming out - well unusually it wasn't a sludge pumper but a manual 5 speed - it's problem "Shifting into 5th flat out in 4th and you select 3rd" normally means gearbox out time at the very min. Still I had a spare one so it just meant I wouldn't have a spare any more.......
Propshaft Rubber joints 6 bolts and rarely ever undone - F ing tight
Car up on wheel ramps 24 inch breaker bar and 19mm socket from memory - not frequently used so just one from an old cheap socket set
Might as well drop the oil and change the filter while it's in the air - so oil drained and in the recepticle just inside garage door
Pry bar thro joint to lock it up
Get all braced and give it some large
Damn it's tight - reposition body to apply maximum leverage
Fail to assess trajectory of breaker bar
Bolt freed or possibly not from fierce resistance to none at all..........
Breaker bar makes contact with face - just above eye - skin is pretty thin there
Notice wet warm feeling and loss of vision in one eye
Notice gravity rapidly assists lack of vision in other eye
Get out from under car - go to garage for rag/cloth to stem blood flow and clear vision
Remember that oil drain recepticle
Walk in it
Fail to find cloth due to lack of vision -aware that one foot is also feeling moist - assume it's oil and not also blood......
Enter house - Call quietly for Mrs BC (worried for the image presented if she is not forewarned)
Call goes unanswered
Remember spare kitchen roll stash is in utility
Yes I know there is some in the kitchen but she re-arranges stuff and even 10 years later I still go to wrong cupboard almost daily
Bearing in mind boots soaked in old engine oil and claret clearly flowing from small cut above eye - kitchen floor is tiled - others not so much so
Find Kitchen roll in utility (Via Hall)
Stem blood loss - Vision restored in one eye - other one seems to have gone on shut down without windows sounds effects
Mrs BC arrives - new cream carpet fitted week before in hall way was her first concern.......
My Blood loss and injury secondary
Cleaned up plaster and steri strips - probably should have had a stitch or four!!!
So a full an thorough review of the actions and consequences took place after Carpet 1001 (2 whole bottles - I mean seriously who the f
k keeps two bottles of the stuff - Mrs BC "clean freak") and the offending breaker bar and socket received scrutiny - problem was deemed to be a poor quality socket that cracked - resulting in myself hitting myself in the face with a breaker bar.She agreed that in order to limit any further injury and household damage I should not buy cheap tools - so I haven't since..........
Happy days - If I say I've spent £X on tools she just nods and says as long as you didn't buy cheap s
t that breaks it's OKI still have scar....................... Really should have had stitches - however that meant a hospital trip - car was on wheel ramps with no oil or filter and the gearbox had 3 speeds - 1st 4th and reverse (which wasn't very happy)
Finished the swap later that day - sweatbands might not be in fashion but they soak up blood from a still weeping cut. (I didn't know about superglue then - I do now
)InitialDave said:
swisstoni said:
Do not be tempted to Hot Rod your angle grinder!
Even though you have run out of the small disks and only have big disks left to finish one last bit of metal cutting.
The unfamiliar amount of torque may make the tool rear up and make a fair attempt at slicing your sternum.
Though I have got an actual helpful tip on that front, even if that isn't the spirit of the thread: A 9" disc, once worn down to the point of uselessness on the big grinder, fits nicely on a 4.5" machine.Even though you have run out of the small disks and only have big disks left to finish one last bit of metal cutting.
The unfamiliar amount of torque may make the tool rear up and make a fair attempt at slicing your sternum.
Pat H said:
I reckon angle grinders are by far the most dangerous tool in the box.
I’ve twice wound up in A&E with shards stuck in my eyeballs and once caused a pretty spectacular explosion when the sparks blew up a battery.
The worst was a very close shave when grinding off a seized shock absorber top nut in the boot of an Austin Mini.
Those old enough will recall that a Mini’s petrol tank is also located in the boot. I’d unstrapped the tank and pulled it to one side so I could access the offending nut.
In doing so, I’d inadvertently split the fuel hose, so the spare wheel well was gradually filling up with petrol whilst I was leaning into the boot with my angle grinder.
Fortunately I smelled the petrol before sparking up the grinder, otherwise I probably wouldn’t be here now.
I was seventeen years old at the time, and, plainly, a total nobhead.
Thirty two years later and I still get the heebee geebies when I think about it.
I bloody hate angle grinders.
Indeed just seen a safety bulletin at work about a guy working in a tight space and his grinder jammed (9 inch one) and smashed him in the face, he was wearing a full face mask which limited the dental work! Full face mask and goggles would be advisable in using these I’ve twice wound up in A&E with shards stuck in my eyeballs and once caused a pretty spectacular explosion when the sparks blew up a battery.
The worst was a very close shave when grinding off a seized shock absorber top nut in the boot of an Austin Mini.
Those old enough will recall that a Mini’s petrol tank is also located in the boot. I’d unstrapped the tank and pulled it to one side so I could access the offending nut.
In doing so, I’d inadvertently split the fuel hose, so the spare wheel well was gradually filling up with petrol whilst I was leaning into the boot with my angle grinder.
Fortunately I smelled the petrol before sparking up the grinder, otherwise I probably wouldn’t be here now.
I was seventeen years old at the time, and, plainly, a total nobhead.
Thirty two years later and I still get the heebee geebies when I think about it.
I bloody hate angle grinders.
QBee said:
A TVR handbrake is merely a cabin ornament. It serves no useful purpose.
Never forget that, always park the car in gear, never get in and press the clutch down without your other foot on the middle pedal......
No need to ask me how I know....
Never forget that, always park the car in gear, never get in and press the clutch down without your other foot on the middle pedal......
No need to ask me how I know....
Also remember to take said TVR out of gear before attempting to crank the engine on the starter with HT leads removed...
... Whist the front end is still up on axle stands
When fitting a dump valve to an Escort RS Turbo, do remember to tighten the boost pipe before going for a 'spirited' test drive.
When fitting a new thermostat to a 1.9 TDI, do remember to put the rubber 0-ring on the correct side. Saves a lot of coolant and time spent diagnosing an apparent water leak.
When fitting a new thermostat to a 1.9 TDI, do remember to put the rubber 0-ring on the correct side. Saves a lot of coolant and time spent diagnosing an apparent water leak.
Mine would be.....
Research (youtube/forums etc) or refresh yourself about the job, early on you do this religiously, then you can get to the 'I know how to do that' but forget a key aspect/get complacent.
Try not to ever be in a hurry
When something doesn't feel/go right take a step back to reassess.....don't just apply more leverage/hit something harder!
Saying that leverage is your friend, unless you are the hulk, some tubes to slip over ratchets or even breaker bars can be handy.
Carefully consider refurbs vs new, sometimes refurbing is rewarding, sometime it's a monumental pita and buying new/professionally refurbed is better (again research will normally tell you the way to go on this!)
Don't assume setups are the same (easy for a diy mechanic) ie some shocks/spring setups are lethal to undo with spring compressors, some just come apart and are under no compression.
When using power tools, airlines or just maximum physical effort, consider the what if's (newtons equal and opposite force law!), we've all done stuff that was a little unwise to damn right stupid and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
Research (youtube/forums etc) or refresh yourself about the job, early on you do this religiously, then you can get to the 'I know how to do that' but forget a key aspect/get complacent.
Try not to ever be in a hurry
When something doesn't feel/go right take a step back to reassess.....don't just apply more leverage/hit something harder!
Saying that leverage is your friend, unless you are the hulk, some tubes to slip over ratchets or even breaker bars can be handy.
Carefully consider refurbs vs new, sometimes refurbing is rewarding, sometime it's a monumental pita and buying new/professionally refurbed is better (again research will normally tell you the way to go on this!)
Don't assume setups are the same (easy for a diy mechanic) ie some shocks/spring setups are lethal to undo with spring compressors, some just come apart and are under no compression.
When using power tools, airlines or just maximum physical effort, consider the what if's (newtons equal and opposite force law!), we've all done stuff that was a little unwise to damn right stupid and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
Scootersp said:
Mine would be.....
Research (youtube/forums etc) or refresh yourself about the job, early on you do this religiously, then you can get to the 'I know how to do that' but forget a key aspect/get complacent.
Try not to ever be in a hurry
When something doesn't feel/go right take a step back to reassess.....don't just apply more leverage/hit something harder!
Saying that leverage is your friend, unless you are the hulk, some tubes to slip over ratchets or even breaker bars can be handy.
Carefully consider refurbs vs new, sometimes refurbing is rewarding, sometime it's a monumental pita and buying new/professionally refurbed is better (again research will normally tell you the way to go on this!)
Don't assume setups are the same (easy for a diy mechanic) ie some shocks/spring setups are lethal to undo with spring compressors, some just come apart and are under no compression.
When using power tools, airlines or just maximum physical effort, consider the what if's (newtons equal and opposite force law!), we've all done stuff that was a little unwise to damn right stupid and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
fantastic post and all very useful.Research (youtube/forums etc) or refresh yourself about the job, early on you do this religiously, then you can get to the 'I know how to do that' but forget a key aspect/get complacent.
Try not to ever be in a hurry
When something doesn't feel/go right take a step back to reassess.....don't just apply more leverage/hit something harder!
Saying that leverage is your friend, unless you are the hulk, some tubes to slip over ratchets or even breaker bars can be handy.
Carefully consider refurbs vs new, sometimes refurbing is rewarding, sometime it's a monumental pita and buying new/professionally refurbed is better (again research will normally tell you the way to go on this!)
Don't assume setups are the same (easy for a diy mechanic) ie some shocks/spring setups are lethal to undo with spring compressors, some just come apart and are under no compression.
When using power tools, airlines or just maximum physical effort, consider the what if's (newtons equal and opposite force law!), we've all done stuff that was a little unwise to damn right stupid and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
I however fear you have missed the theme of the thread...
Scootersp said:
Mine would be.....
Research (youtube/forums etc) or refresh yourself about the job, early on you do this religiously, then you can get to the 'I know how to do that' but forget a key aspect/get complacent.
Try not to ever be in a hurry
When something doesn't feel/go right take a step back to reassess.....don't just apply more leverage/hit something harder!
Saying that leverage is your friend, unless you are the hulk, some tubes to slip over ratchets or even breaker bars can be handy.
Carefully consider refurbs vs new, sometimes refurbing is rewarding, sometime it's a monumental pita and buying new/professionally refurbed is better (again research will normally tell you the way to go on this!)
Don't assume setups are the same (easy for a diy mechanic) ie some shocks/spring setups are lethal to undo with spring compressors, some just come apart and are under no compression.
When using power tools, airlines or just maximum physical effort, consider the what if's (newtons equal and opposite force law!), we've all done stuff that was a little unwise to damn right stupid and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
Good advice.Research (youtube/forums etc) or refresh yourself about the job, early on you do this religiously, then you can get to the 'I know how to do that' but forget a key aspect/get complacent.
Try not to ever be in a hurry
When something doesn't feel/go right take a step back to reassess.....don't just apply more leverage/hit something harder!
Saying that leverage is your friend, unless you are the hulk, some tubes to slip over ratchets or even breaker bars can be handy.
Carefully consider refurbs vs new, sometimes refurbing is rewarding, sometime it's a monumental pita and buying new/professionally refurbed is better (again research will normally tell you the way to go on this!)
Don't assume setups are the same (easy for a diy mechanic) ie some shocks/spring setups are lethal to undo with spring compressors, some just come apart and are under no compression.
When using power tools, airlines or just maximum physical effort, consider the what if's (newtons equal and opposite force law!), we've all done stuff that was a little unwise to damn right stupid and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
I would add:
Mole grips are never the right tool for the job. Only resort to mole grips when it's already f
ked. Because if it wasn't, it will be.
When topping up the oil in a hotel car park just outside the entrance, don't put the bottle on the floor with the lid off and don't then forget its there, but whatever you do don't then accidentally kick it like Jonny Wilkinson so that you create something looking like the BP oil spill.. I've heard the hotel staff get quite annoyed. 
Swampy1982 said:
fantastic post and all very useful.
I however fear you have missed the theme of the thread...
I was trying to avoid this! I however fear you have missed the theme of the thread...
'sliding' bolt in a calliper sheared when using too much leverage......should have been patient used penetrating fluid heat etc (ie not rushed!)
Holding an Ls400 exhaust underneath for a friend also underneath with a cutting disk that er broke........neither wearing goggles.....no harm done (this time)
Grinder with wire brush attachment derusting an exhaust shield, got the angle/support slightly wrong and heat shield became a projectile (use a vice etc idiot!)
Air compressor used to 'pop' pistons from a semi seized calliper, some pressure no movement, some more pressure 'oh look they are moving now' to 'BANG' er yes they are out with a fine mist of brake fluid
The classic not torqued wheel nuts, noticed the vibration no harm done.
Left my locking wheel nut socket on, luckily survived the 3 odd miles til I remembered.
Bridged something on the battery terminal to intercooler hose, sparks and the jubilee clip was very hot (Always remove negative terminal!)
There must be others I can't recall, and there is over ten years between some of the above ie you don't always learn and anything new comes with a new set of possible gotcha's.
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