Top car DIY tip
Discussion
When replacing the intercooler on a turbo diesel, make sure the bottom hose clip is done up properly, in case it comes loose 5 miles from home putting the car in to limp home mode so it will only do about 20mph and creating a smokescreen for several miles behind it that a WW1 dreadnought on full flanking manoeuvre would be proud of.
When assisting with an oil change on a mates car, on his (extremely houseproud) parents drive, ensure that the sump bolt is actually in the sump rather than sitting on top of the engine when you re-fill.
This will prevent a hurried trip to the nearest petrol station for more oil, then a trip to the local supermarket for loads of fairy liquid to clean the drive, then a 20 year coverup.
A coverup that was utterly ruined by the mates brother/best man at his wedding and involved an extremely hard stare from the mates mother...
This will prevent a hurried trip to the nearest petrol station for more oil, then a trip to the local supermarket for loads of fairy liquid to clean the drive, then a 20 year coverup.
A coverup that was utterly ruined by the mates brother/best man at his wedding and involved an extremely hard stare from the mates mother...
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.
I bought an air powered cut off tool - It came with a 2mm thick cutting disc so after that one died I looked at my slitting disc wastage
Trouble was they didn't fit
So an adapter was needed
Adapter shown removed
Also shown full size 1mm slitting disc - a worn one that I can re-use and a fully used one for comparison purposes
My biggest issue is I don't use it enough and my stock of discs is probably a bit excessive
In fairness the stock of discs was down to me doing this to my track car
Edited by B'stard Child on Saturday 26th May 11:41
It's advisable to carry a spare litre of oil for top ups , however placing it on top of an already full front door pocket isn't a good idea, especially if just after parking nose first into the workshop it falls on the floor and you don't notice, then when leaving there's a loud POP as you reverse over it spraying 1l of oil in a very fine but very fast mist covering the 2 mechanics stood in front of you with oil and leaving 2 man shaped clean silhouettes on the wall behind them
wack said:
It's advisable to carry a spare litre of oil for top ups , however placing it on top of an already full front door pocket isn't a good idea, especially if just after parking nose first into the workshop it falls on the floor and you don't notice, then when leaving there's a loud POP as you reverse over it spraying 1l of oil in a very fine but very fast mist covering the 2 mechanics stood in front of you with oil and leaving 2 man shaped clean silhouettes on the wall behind them
Ian974 said:
Always double check and think about what you're doing, even if you've done it a few times before.
That will avoid you installing an engine and gearbox, getting halfway through connecting everything up again and then realising you've forgotten the clutch release bearing...
been there, done that too!That will avoid you installing an engine and gearbox, getting halfway through connecting everything up again and then realising you've forgotten the clutch release bearing...
It was only when my uncle piped up asking if this (the clutch release bearing) was required - he’d waited quietly, knowing full well i’d forgotten to install it, until i was about to refill the coolant system before commenting...
Plate spinner said:
tr7v8 said:
Plate spinner said:
Never let the battery go flat on a 986 Porsche Boxster. Ever.
The key will open the door to let you in. But the battery is in the boot, which needs the electrics to open. So to get to it you’ll have to take the whole mechanism apart along with most of the drivers side door sill.
Madness, utter madness.
Or use the emergency cable?The key will open the door to let you in. But the battery is in the boot, which needs the electrics to open. So to get to it you’ll have to take the whole mechanism apart along with most of the drivers side door sill.
Madness, utter madness.
And anyway, the jack to get the wheel off was... well, you know where it was.
Edited by Plate spinner on Monday 9th April 08:31
You can buy chargers that plug into the 12V socket these days. I wouldn't expect a fast charge but it would certainly help under these circumstances. I can't help thinking for a lot of owners it would be far more convenient too.
When doing an oil change for the first time in your ownership on a diesel 535 Beemer, dont assume that the usual 5ltr drain pan will have enough room to accommodate 7 to 71/2 ltrs of oil .
Always keep cat litter in the garage to mop any black oil off your white concrete drive and not be 30 mins away.
Luckily a mate did this all on his own.
Always keep cat litter in the garage to mop any black oil off your white concrete drive and not be 30 mins away.
Luckily a mate did this all on his own.
Another one from me, recent I'm shamed to admit. When jacking a mk2 mx5 to carry out brake refurbishment do not put your trolley Jack on a hot tarmac driveway and attempt to up the car. The car will not move but you will end up with a perfect imprint in your driveway of the underside of your Jack.
Also when spray painting remember that all of the paint does not magically stop at the object you are intending to paint. It in fact covers everything behind the suspended object and makes a complete fking mess.
Finally slightly OT but when faced with a conjealed tin of linseed oil do not them think 'no problem' grab your wax melter with large flamed candle in and sit linseed recepticle on top. This will result in an impressive explosion, fairly unpleasant burns up both arms and a permanent reminder of your idiocy/incompetence everytime you walk past the oil stains 7ft up on the wooden garage door.
Also when spray painting remember that all of the paint does not magically stop at the object you are intending to paint. It in fact covers everything behind the suspended object and makes a complete fking mess.
Finally slightly OT but when faced with a conjealed tin of linseed oil do not them think 'no problem' grab your wax melter with large flamed candle in and sit linseed recepticle on top. This will result in an impressive explosion, fairly unpleasant burns up both arms and a permanent reminder of your idiocy/incompetence everytime you walk past the oil stains 7ft up on the wooden garage door.
wack said:
It's advisable to carry a spare litre of oil for top ups , however placing it on top of an already full front door pocket isn't a good idea, especially if just after parking nose first into the workshop it falls on the floor and you don't notice, then when leaving there's a loud POP as you reverse over it spraying 1l of oil in a very fine but very fast mist covering the 2 mechanics stood in front of you with oil and leaving 2 man shaped clean silhouettes on the wall behind them
Excellent.My top tip is to remove the carpet from the area on the other side of the bit of floor you are welding. Or at least have plenty of water to put out the ensuing fire....
McFarnsworth said:
tr7v8 said:
Plate spinner said:
Never let the battery go flat on a 986 Porsche Boxster. Ever.
The key will open the door to let you in. But the battery is in the boot, which needs the electrics to open. So to get to it you’ll have to take the whole mechanism apart along with most of the drivers side door sill.
Madness, utter madness.
Or use the emergency cable?The key will open the door to let you in. But the battery is in the boot, which needs the electrics to open. So to get to it you’ll have to take the whole mechanism apart along with most of the drivers side door sill.
Madness, utter madness.
Just plug it into the cigarette lighter and connect your trickle charger for an hour. You will have enough power to open up everything.
Did this many years ago on my TVR as it has an electric boot release and the battery is in the boot!
It is always wise to fix a problem when it first appears, particularly if the problem is an auto gearbox oil leak from the union where it meets the cooling radiator on a 1978 Granada 2.8i.
Under no circumstances should you ignore the problem and get into the habit of topping the oil up. I would particularly recommend not ignoring the fault for 6 months in case the weekly large top up amount becomes an ingrained habit.
Avoid also, noticing joyfully that if you apply a little bend to the union you can reduce the rate of oil loss substantially. If you must do this please factor this into your topping up schedule.
If you can, refrain from adding that final litre of auto oil upon leaving work in Milton Keynes before creating immense and dangerous dense clouds of smoke on the M1.
At this point you should probably avoid pulling onto the hardshoulder to debate how to get the excess oil out in order to continue your journey. Never listen to the voice in your head that says "well if I just bent the union the other way a bit it would start leaking again, surely that will help?".
If you must do this, do not attempt this "repair" with the engine running whilst lying under the front of the car to see what you are doing and definitely do not apply such enthusiastic force that the crack in the union opens properly, coating your face hair and most of your clothing in hot, pressurized and extremely smelly gearbox oil. Walking a couple of miles to the services with oil dripping from your hair and face and attempting to clean it in the gents before calling a recovery truck is also to be avoided.
Under no circumstances should you ignore the problem and get into the habit of topping the oil up. I would particularly recommend not ignoring the fault for 6 months in case the weekly large top up amount becomes an ingrained habit.
Avoid also, noticing joyfully that if you apply a little bend to the union you can reduce the rate of oil loss substantially. If you must do this please factor this into your topping up schedule.
If you can, refrain from adding that final litre of auto oil upon leaving work in Milton Keynes before creating immense and dangerous dense clouds of smoke on the M1.
At this point you should probably avoid pulling onto the hardshoulder to debate how to get the excess oil out in order to continue your journey. Never listen to the voice in your head that says "well if I just bent the union the other way a bit it would start leaking again, surely that will help?".
If you must do this, do not attempt this "repair" with the engine running whilst lying under the front of the car to see what you are doing and definitely do not apply such enthusiastic force that the crack in the union opens properly, coating your face hair and most of your clothing in hot, pressurized and extremely smelly gearbox oil. Walking a couple of miles to the services with oil dripping from your hair and face and attempting to clean it in the gents before calling a recovery truck is also to be avoided.
Ian974 said:
Always double check and think about what you're doing, even if you've done it a few times before.
That will avoid you installing an engine and gearbox, getting halfway through connecting everything up again and then realising you've forgotten the clutch release bearing...
That is the mechanic’s version of the carpenters’s ‘measure twice, cut once’ commandment.That will avoid you installing an engine and gearbox, getting halfway through connecting everything up again and then realising you've forgotten the clutch release bearing...
medieval said:
When slamming the bonnet shut always make sure you have not left anything on top of the rocker cover/cam covers/ radiator/ insert as necessary...
Yep I know this one. My first ever car 1994, finished a service and changed the air box/filter setting over to winter. Dropped bonnet from a great height as the bonnet catch was crap late at night and dark.
Missed the screwdriver I had left on top of the air filter housing. Que lots of swearing and a nasty screwdriver shaped dent in the bonnet.
Helped a mate replace the steering box on his old vw camper van and do a front end sub frame refresh.
Top tip don’t fit the subframe with the steering arm not above it.
Vw in their wisdom designed the system so that if the nut were to come off there isn’t enough room for it to jump out (hits the floor pan before the ball jointed bolt can come out. Brilliant safety idea but if you forget you have to drop the whole front subframe again to get it in place.
Pissed off we were not.
Top tip don’t fit the subframe with the steering arm not above it.
Vw in their wisdom designed the system so that if the nut were to come off there isn’t enough room for it to jump out (hits the floor pan before the ball jointed bolt can come out. Brilliant safety idea but if you forget you have to drop the whole front subframe again to get it in place.
Pissed off we were not.
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