The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)

[Quavers]

Our vectra kept telling me that there was an issue with the parking light despite it working normally.
Connections were checked. A new bulb cured things.

Thursday I will attempt to remove the vectra's leaking injector - I have already done one which came out with water pump pliers - this one wouldn't budge. This time I will get the engine warm and if need be slacken the clamp off so compression will loosen it.

[757]

Quavers said:

Our vectra kept telling me that there was an issue with the parking light despite it working normally.
Connections were checked. A new bulb cured things.

Thursday I will attempt to remove the vectra's leaking injector - I have already done one which came out with water pump pliers - this one wouldn't budge. This time I will get the engine warm and if need be slacken the clamp off so compression will loosen it.

Interesting you say about your Vectra, picked up a Vectra 1.8VVT for £1k to replace my other shed I got fed up of, runs ok as a hack, just done the cambelt, needs a new backbox due to it blowing (thats on order..) very rattly on idle once up to temperature, nothing when cold... 'tap tap tap noise', seems to be intermittent, fairly certain its the VVT cam pulleys confirmed by my mechanic, but it aint showing any EML's or issues running over the 1,000+ miles I have ran it for now - so will see how I go not too fussed.

Edited by 757 on Tuesday 3rd May 17:34

[993kimbo]

Carried out some bodywork modification over the bank holiday weekend and I’m quite pleased with the result.

[anonymous-user]

Jaguar steve said:

Lord Cunnington Smythe said:

Over the last 3 years of owning this current shed I've managed to put an extra 30 grand away towards my early retirement, the savings from this kind of motoring and it's accompanying lifestyle changes are staggering.

And I'm here to tell you that when you achieve financial security and the freedom of early retirement you'll thank your younger self a million times over for making the choices in life that enabled you to do so.

I want to enjoy my retirement not sit in my living room in the middle of winter wrapped in a blanket because I can't afford to put the heating on.

[Mercury00]

Mercury00 said:

Having problems with my shed now. The driver's side front wheel is going DAGADAGADAGA. It started a few months ago, and I had it in the garage, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Now it's getting worse by the day, and I've now had it into three garages, who say there's no play on the wheels. All they ever do is jack a corner up and spin the wheel The steering feels a bit wayward, and it clunks on full lock. Now it's making a big clunk when changing gear - I think a transmission or engine mount is knackered. I can fix a mount myself, but I can't fix an undiagnosed problem!

Quoting myself to update. I've ordered new hubs, wheel bearings, and driveshafts. I got it all for £200, which I didn't really want to pay on a shed, it's been faultless for over a year and it's a solid car. This is just wear and tear... hopefully.

[Daveb257]

993kimbo said:

Daveb257 said:

Service & MOT due end of June, has a fuel leak from the filler so needs replacing, only about £20 but tank out by the look of it & needs front drip links doing.
Need a lower rear light unit as water ingress .
Just bought & fitted a Bluetooth plugin for £32 and it’s brilliant, full steaming and phone compatibility.

I think your water Ingress and steaming could be your drip links.

It’s eye test for me before MOT I think 😂

[aaron_2000]

Got the polishing tin and tune up kit out today for the ML, bit of spit on a rag and it came out half decent despite the scabs

[Ouroboros]

Nice looking motor. Is it running o.k?

[aaron_2000]

Ouroboros said:

Nice looking motor. Is it running o.k?

Yeah it's running spot on. I'm gonna do a gearbox service in the next few weeks

[slk 32]

Mercury00 said:

Mercury00 said:

Having problems with my shed now. The driver's side front wheel is going DAGADAGADAGA. It started a few months ago, and I had it in the garage, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Now it's getting worse by the day, and I've now had it into three garages, who say there's no play on the wheels. All they ever do is jack a corner up and spin the wheel The steering feels a bit wayward, and it clunks on full lock. Now it's making a big clunk when changing gear - I think a transmission or engine mount is knackered. I can fix a mount myself, but I can't fix an undiagnosed problem!

Quoting myself to update. I've ordered new hubs, wheel bearings, and driveshafts. I got it all for £200, which I didn't really want to pay on a shed, it's been faultless for over a year and it's a solid car. This is just wear and tear... hopefully.

Fingers crossed.

Mine threw up a few large bills over the last year (some expected some less so), including (but not limited to) new starter motor / new alternator / cam belt / water pump / drive shaft / 3 new tyres.

Some of these parts were original so they've lasted 14 years / 190k and have reached end of life.

It's just a kick in the balls when they all seem to come close together.

[Norton850]

This is the first noticeable damage on my Alfa since purchase in 2009 and it was done by me,more annoyed i have to repair my wall.

Excuse the moss but it's keeping the side skirts on..

Edited by Norton850 on Wednesday 4th May 07:19

[RenesisEvo]

slk 32 said:

Fingers crossed.

Mine threw up a few large bills over the last year (some expected some less so), including (but not limited to) new starter motor / new alternator / cam belt / water pump / drive shaft / 3 new tyres.

Some of these parts were original so they've lasted 14 years / 190k and have reached end of life.

It's just a kick in the balls when they all seem to come close together.

This to me is the art of shed life - weighing up committing to bigger repair bills vs getting rid. The difficulty is knowing whether its a one-off or the start of lots of things falling over, and where to draw the line.

[993kimbo]

Norton850 said:

This is the first noticeable damage on my Alfa since purchase in 2009 and it was done by me,more annoyed i have to repair my wall.

Excuse the moss but it's keeping the side skirts on..

[Truckosaurus]

RenesisEvo said:

This to me is the art of shed life ....

Indeed. I think a good way to look at repair costs is that if the vehicle is fundamentally reliable (ie. doesn't keep breaking down) then any expenditure other than complete engine/gearbox replacement is going to be cheaper than buying another car with unknown issues and component lifespan.

As long as you don't sell the car after spending the money - as many people seem to...

That said we are funny creatures in our view of money, I was looking at my car the other day and thinking it would be a shame to replace it just yet as there was still plenty of wear left in the tyres (c. 3 years old) whereas I thought nothing of spending the cost of a single tyre on filling the tank with petrol yesterday.

[993kimbo]

Agreed. I put nearly £150 in the dog's estate yesterday. When you don't work anymore or have a pension, everything seems (and is) incredibly expensive. Wife's Clio shed back from local garage yesterday after small service, two budget tyres, tracking and a couple of bits and bobs. £497.

[andrebar]

My shed is wearing the scars of a poorly reversed recycling truck. The drivers knocked on my door to fess up/ apologise so I wanted to be reasonable about it & suggested £200 would cover a diy repair. Of course the council insisted on going through their insurers who wouldn’t listen to common sense & coughed up nearly 7 times the amount I’d asked for.

So my car still looks like this but my next shed has been largely paid for.

[anarki]

RenesisEvo said:

slk 32 said:

Fingers crossed.

Mine threw up a few large bills over the last year (some expected some less so), including (but not limited to) new starter motor / new alternator / cam belt / water pump / drive shaft / 3 new tyres.

Some of these parts were original so they've lasted 14 years / 190k and have reached end of life.

It's just a kick in the balls when they all seem to come close together.

This to me is the art of shed life - weighing up committing to bigger repair bills vs getting rid. The difficulty is knowing whether its a one-off or the start of lots of things falling over, and where to draw the line.

My attitude is better the devil you know, if you get another 2nd hand car, that could easily throw up some big bills of its own.

The only way I chop my car in is, if it either gets written off or if it starts to rot. Otherwise I'll repair and replace things as needed. I'm also a bit reluctant to purchase 2nd hand parts too as the history of said part isn't guaranteed.

Maybe I'm not doing the shed life proper justice but that's just me

[Jaguar steve]

RenesisEvo said:

This to me is the art of shed life - weighing up committing to bigger repair bills vs getting rid. The difficulty is knowing whether its a one-off or the start of lots of things falling over, and where to draw the line.

Spending money or time when you shouldn't is an easy trap to fall into, especially when you've got any emotional involvement with the car concerned.

I've done so myself in the past, and sometimes been able to justify it by better the devil you know kinda attitude which works up to a point but more recently I've hardened to that and question everything right down to replacing a wiper blade or how much I can dilute screenwash by and still have a clean windscreen.

[NialOx]

Hello all.

I'm not new to shedding. It's actually one of my favourite things.

Previous sheds include

2001 E46 330i MSport Touring Manual Purchased for £750 with 196k miles. Replaced and welded in new arches on the rear, disa valve, few vaccum leaks and various other bits. I've photos if anyone is interested.

Saab 9-5 Hot Aero estate manual for £350 off a mates dad with 140k Ish miles.

P38 Range Rover DSE - 160K Miles. Put a low mileage engine in for total cost of £1100 car and engine - Brilliant car, hideously slow. If i could get mine back I would

Several 1.9TDI PD engined VW's - These seem to be my go to when I'm sick of other cars.


Currently in a 2001 Ford Ranger 2WD pickup - 2.5D non turbo with just shy of 100k miles and a Porshe 944 which I'll be keeping

Going to let the Ford go as frankly I'm sick of commercial insurance.

I live in Huddersfield where roads are known to be horrendous

Possibly looking for a comfy soft derv estate and I've been looking at old Mercs. Any input from fellow shed runners? I've had derv 320d's and 330'd in the past when they were cheap (especially 330's) and I fancy a change.

[cedrichn]

993kimbo said:

Carried out some bodywork modification over the bank holiday weekend and I’m quite pleased with the result.

The advantage of silver cars is that any "silver" can spray will do an acceptable job on a shed

If you can be bothered, of course