Servicing French cars, what a pain in the ass.
Discussion
Just bought a Citroen c5 2001 2.2 hdi and have set about servicing it.
Why the recessed Allen key sump drain plug? Took me ages to find. Why the bottom engine cover, battery cover and cover for everything else?
I've never worked on a car that was such a pain in the ass. Also should the power steering fluid at minimum reach the bottom of the bowl just below the filler cap? Worried mine is dangerously low as none showing in bowl and tub is too yellowed to see level.
Why the recessed Allen key sump drain plug? Took me ages to find. Why the bottom engine cover, battery cover and cover for everything else?
I've never worked on a car that was such a pain in the ass. Also should the power steering fluid at minimum reach the bottom of the bowl just below the filler cap? Worried mine is dangerously low as none showing in bowl and tub is too yellowed to see level.
Covers are there to stop the build up of crap all over engine parts and to partly protect from the elements. Obviously its not a perfect solution but there is another reason for covers everywhere.....
To keep things quiet and refined. You see, over the last 10 years britain has gone diesel mad and the thing is diesel is noisy no matter how refined your engine is!! As a mechanic the amount of diesel cars that i now work on is like a ratio of of 3:1 towards the petrol equivalent.
So, if you remove them your not only letting all the road grime build up over your nice once shiny engine, your letting that noise out!
To keep things quiet and refined. You see, over the last 10 years britain has gone diesel mad and the thing is diesel is noisy no matter how refined your engine is!! As a mechanic the amount of diesel cars that i now work on is like a ratio of of 3:1 towards the petrol equivalent.
So, if you remove them your not only letting all the road grime build up over your nice once shiny engine, your letting that noise out!
To be fair I think you can say this about most cars that were built in the last 10 years. Nothing is straightforward like it is on 90s cars!
A previous owner removed the plastic undertray from my car and I'm trying to source another. Anything to stop the slightest puddle splash making my aux belt squeal like a pig!
I've got to service my mates Polo 1.4PD TDi again this weekend as he's racked up a lot of miles, the air filter is a pig to get to!
A previous owner removed the plastic undertray from my car and I'm trying to source another. Anything to stop the slightest puddle splash making my aux belt squeal like a pig!
I've got to service my mates Polo 1.4PD TDi again this weekend as he's racked up a lot of miles, the air filter is a pig to get to!
DrDoofenshmirtz said:
Cambelt on a Clio...you need a plethora of odd sized tools. Terrible things to work on.
I bought an RS 200 Clio Cup and wanted to do just that, I'm a reasonable DIYer but took one look at it and decided I couldn't be arsed, it's a low miler and not needed anyway, it was more for peace of mind - paid a specialist, really could not be arsed with that ****.pimping said:
Is it true toyota's are the easiest to work on as they are all the same three bolt sizes?
I'd doubt it but I'm not sure.Just about everything on euro and jap cars takes an M10 screw though so I guess it's possible. The head sizes are different between ISO and JAE though so on euro stuff the 13mm socket is most used and on jap thats a 14mm.
littlebasher said:
On the wife's petrol Scenic III, my local garage didn't change the plugs during the last service as they're buried under the inlet manifold.
So i had to take the complete inlet assembly off last weekend, although wasn't that difficult tbh.
V6 X-type Jag is exactly the same. 5 of the plugs are ok but one is a PITA so rarely gets changed. The headlight bulbs are a bloody nightmare as well. Most annoying of all was a sensor on the exhausts which is a known failure point. Rather than put it on a bit of the exhaust you can actually bloody get at, they put it on a bit tucked away so you have to remove loads of bits to get at it. £50 part and £250 to fit itSo i had to take the complete inlet assembly off last weekend, although wasn't that difficult tbh.
Nothing beats the smart cars specially fourtwo model. The petrol engines have 2 sets of spark plugs one set is easy the 2nd set requires removal of the bumper. The diesels are crap to work on all the filters are in incredible tight areas of the engine.
All the fluids reservoirs are dotted throughout the car trying to find them for the first time is a pain. Everything is f
king plastic which during the winter breaks without a hint of pressure on it.
Last of all to get to the locking wheel nut requires you to fold up the passenger carpet remove the can of st foam/compressor thing for the tyres hay presto there it is. Took me fking ages to find that.
Although agree with French car nightmare to work on, then again most new cars are pain in the arse to work on even some jap cars.
All the fluids reservoirs are dotted throughout the car trying to find them for the first time is a pain. Everything is f
king plastic which during the winter breaks without a hint of pressure on it. Last of all to get to the locking wheel nut requires you to fold up the passenger carpet remove the can of s
t foam/compressor thing for the tyres hay presto there it is. Took me fking ages to find that.Although agree with French car nightmare to work on, then again most new cars are pain in the arse to work on even some jap cars.
pimping said:
Is it true toyota's are the easiest to work on as they are all the same three bolt sizes?
Not sure about Toyota's but on my Accord everything is the exact same screw or a 10mm bolt/nut. I've nearly worn out the one screw head + 10mm socket I ever use on my 170 piece toolkit :|Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff