(DIY Service?) CRV MOT success!

[gordonbennet]

Suspension parts can look bloody awful with rust, probably a good wire brushing and a coat of summat greasy will keep them fine for many a year.

 

CV joints, well if they are strippable easily then strip clean out new boots add new grease and you're good to go, but if its rattling already or a bloody semi sealed jobbie then a new driveshaft might be easier, are they made of unobtanium?

 

One Scooby Outback inner had been split for some time, helped no doubt by being in the ideal* place of just above the cats either side, and near enough run dry but the entire shafts stripped out in minutes once off (all joints circlipped) and i could find no wear at all, so rebooted regreased and good as new.

 

I don't recall the drive shafts on my lads CRV being manufactured to be user serviceable so anyone's guess what yours are like.

[twosmoke300]

Ive known the anti roll bar mounting rust off 2000-2005 civic front arms so they CAN get that rusty 

[gordonbennet]

Ive known the anti roll bar mounting rust off 2000-2005 civic front arms so they CAN get that rusty 

That sort of neglect really pisses me off, often seen under the shiniest waxed to a mirror finish paintwork, yet no bugger could be arsed to wash the bloody salt off during or after winter.

 

I've been quite surprised how rusty the suspensions subframes and brakes of some of these moderns, where people are under the impression that rust is a thing of the past, can get, and Civics do rust, but you'll be pleased to know its a thing of the past.

 

My daughter bought a brand spanker TypeR last year, and asked the dealer if her dad was to rustproof the underside would it affect the warranty in any way, he made some comments about me living in the past apparently and that this car would never* rust.

She bought into the speel a bit too, still its saved me a bloody filthy job crawling around on the concrete, i won't* point out the subframe and suspension rust in due course.

[sierraman]

A guy up our road had a Fabia, literally polished it every day, no word of a lie, always hoovering it out. Thinking back he might just be covering his tracks after commiting a series of violent attacks on lone women. Anyway, on closer inspection the tyres were the shittiest 'Triple A' round plastic things and there was a whopping great corroded bit on the sills that looked like it would be a big fuck off hole in a month or two. Where's his priorities I thought. A lot of these detailed cars are completely hanging underneath

[stephen01]

Taken a look at them and they are 'rusty' but nothing that I think requires concern, I know the Ball joint is kippered so that needs changing anyway, most people I speak to seem unwilling to change the balljoint and want to replace the whole arm. As I've never done it I'm assuming its a pain in the arse?

 

TBF the CV boot has seen its last day,

 

Ruddy Clio one was only 15 quid and three bolts!

[Bobthebeard]

The rusty rear suspension on the MG ZT had been advisories on the previous two MOT's. I wire brushed it and sprayed it with ACF 50/Waxoil in the hope it would survive a while longer. It did. But only for a month. One of the suspension arms broke causing offside rear wheel to rub on the inner arch.

Result was:

 

 

A9RCE indeed... I took it to the garage.

[Parky]

I don't think that's too bad. Second service on a Kia Picanto is two thirds of that price in London and it certainly doesn't take 4 hours labour to drain and overfill the sump!

 

"Why have I been billed for 5 litres of oil?"

 

"Because that's how much it takes"

 

"No it isn't, it only holds 2.8 litres"

 

"With respect sir, I think one of our highly trained expert technicians know how much oil to put in a car"

 

"Right....come with me, let's go and have a look at the dipstick shall we? Oh look, it's two inches above the max!"

 

"That's fine sir, they always put a little extra in, it's part of our commitment to customer value"

[gordonbennet]

I don't think that's too bad. Second service on a Kia Picanto is two thirds of that price in London and it certainly doesn't take 4 hours labour to drain and overfill the sump!

 

"Why have I been billed for 5 litres of oil?"

 

"Because that's how much it takes"

 

"No it isn't, it only holds 2.8 litres"

 

"With respect sir, I think one of our highly trained expert technicians know how much oil to put in a car"

 

"Right....come with me, let's go and have a look at the dipstick shall we? Oh look, it's two inches above the max!"

 

"That's fine sir, they always put a little extra in, it's part of our commitment to customer value"

 

Please tell us the last sentence is you taking the piss.

[sierraman]

Taken a look at them and they are 'rusty' but nothing that I think requires concern, I know the Ball joint is kippered so that needs changing anyway, most people I speak to seem unwilling to change the balljoint and want to replace the whole arm. As I've never done it I'm assuming its a pain in the arse?

 

TBF the CV boot has seen its last day,

 

Ruddy Clio one was only 15 quid and three bolts!

Rarely worth replacing just the ball joint as the arm isn't often that much more. The joint is riveted onto the arm, Labour wise after you've grounded the rivets out you've spent the difference in labour. In any case the bushes won't last the course of time that the joint will.

 

There's exceptions of course, 407s routinely need bottom joints and IIRC the complete arm isn't cheap.

[vaughant]

I'm currently contracting in Honda through my own ltd company as production support (maintenance) and I will say their attention to quality is pretty impressive, almost obsessive, very very tight tolerances and every process is check, overcheck and QA 100% of the parts.

 

As for parts though Honda actually buy in almost every single part on the car apart from the machined bits ie engine/box/bodywork/some plastics so if you stick to denso and Bosch bits for diesels then you'll not go far wrong.

 

 

 

Oh while I remember line worker jobs are available through Omega, maybe worth a look for someone looking to get decent regular work???

 

Not 100% sure on rates etc but you do get treated very well there although you will be busy, it's not 70's rover/ford/Vauxhall 😂😂😂

[Parky]

Please tell us the last sentence is you taking the piss.

Absolutely not!

 

The chief mechanics answer was "these engines burn a little anyway so it won't do any harm"

 

I went to see the MD after to explain the situation. He was initially dismissive until I refused to pay until I had his written guarantee that not only would they replace the seals and gaskets for free when they blow out, he would personally rescue me from wherever my engine had dumped all its oil AND clean my drive afterwards if it happened at home. At which point he asked the chief mechanic to remove the excess. The mechanic acted as if I had just slapped his mother in the street.

 

And not a single service was booked with them again. The End.

[gordonbennet]

Absolutely not!

 

The chief mechanics answer was "these engines burn a little anyway so it won't do any harm"

 

I went to see the MD after to explain the situation. He was initially dismissive until I refused to pay until I had his written guarantee that not only would they replace the seals and gaskets for free when they blow out, he would personally rescue me from wherever my engine had dumped all its oil AND clean my drive afterwards if it happened at home. At which point he asked the chief mechanic to remove the excess. The mechanic acted as if I had just slapped his mother in the street.

 

And not a single service was booked with them again. The End.

 

Bloody Nora, sometimes only a triple facepalm will do

 

[Alusilber]

I once took a car back after a main dealer service because the oil was well over the max mark on the dipstick (don't think it was as much as 2 inches though!).

 

The greasemonkey managed to shear the head off the sump plug trying to unscrew it.

 

Funnily enough I never used their service department again...

[Parky]

Sometimes you wonder if a main dealer service history is a good thing.....

[gordonbennet]

Sometimes you wonder if a main dealer service history is a good thing.....

Isn't that the truth.

 

We had a Mitsi Outlander 1 for about 18 months, whilst a thorough competent car it never really endeared itself, however that had a full and proper main dealer annual history and we were second owner, but as with so many main dealers (nearly all?) the brakes had never been properly serviced, no doubt had lots of brake cleaner squirted at them and intensely peered at through the wheels.

 

Net result was half the bloody calipers were seizing at 80k miles, and i ended up having to replace one completely.

The Landcruiser we now have has fortunately seen some proper servicing in its life (all apart from last one Toyota main dealers so some still do things proper like), and someone has been using coppaslip and the correct brake grease in the right places, this isn't always the case mind and on the Landcruiser forums i go on, new calipers, 4 piston front, twin piston with drum inside vented disc rear so cheap* as chips, feature regularly on far too new vehicles.

 

I have an OCD about brakes anyway and am disgusted at the lack of adequate brake servicing i see read about and find on so many cars.

 

I'd rather see a history of servicing from a make specialist or other competent indy who actually gives a fuck, like Albert Lock at Rushden (Mercedes) who looks after my 124 impeccably, than a main dealer stamped book.

[beko1987]

When we were Meriva hunting we went to a car supermarket place in Aylesbury that had an 09 plate one in that was quite cheap. It was very clean...too clean. OK miles, interior was thick with trim gloop, no spare wheel and a dipstick filled maybe 4 inches higher than it should be with brand new spotless oil... we walked away

 

We then bought one for much cheaper with no service history, and it's been OK so far, usual maintenance/vauxhall stuff, it's service history is certainly quite thick now with receipts, invoices where I've scribbled a date and mileage on it etc

[stephen01]

​Update on this one, We had the driveshafts replaced by our local friendly street mechanic, Mainly because we were driving to France and I wanted the car nice but our normal mechanic couldn't fit me in for over a month and we were going away. I now have two 'spare' driveshaft's that I'll see if I can get repaired, possibly not as I believe they are fucked. but 2nd hand ones were £250.

 

​He also changed the ball joints & track rod ends. both sides. Results are in and the car is 100% nicer to drive and completed over 2k in few days of driving. I know I bang on about the CRV being a good car but it genuinely is a bloody good car.

 

​Now, the car is still not 100% and has a slight knock on the passenger side, everything has been checked, twice. I may well take it to Honda to check and see what they say.

[stephen01]

​The Honda has gone in today for new track rods, genuine Honda part as the cheap pattern parts are crap, £116 for a set of track rod ends! Jesus wept. Also new pads and discs on the front, opted for Brembo pads and discs as the last set of cheaper pads seem to have worn out in 15k, Discs are giving a slight judder when breaking and I reckon these have done the best part of 100k so no great loss, I bought these a few months back so it doesn't seem like a massive expense today but this is the best part of 280 quids worth of parts for it today. 

 

My friendly street mechanic is doing these for me today. 

[stephen01]

After a saga with Honda, who no longer sell Castle nuts I was supplied with the correct nut for my trackrod's these have been fitted and while the car is significantly better it's still not 100%

 

It's now been checked by two garages, had new (SH) drive shafts, new shocks, ball joints, ARB's, Genuine Honda Track rods, new pads and discs but it's still not 100% right. 

 

I'm taking it tomorrow to get the tracking checked and the wheels balanced. I may even ask to get the wheels swapped around. something is not quite 100% but I just don't know what it is. 

 

Anything worth checking before I set off on a 3k two week holiday friday?

[tommytwo]

Sorry to read about your Honda problems. Does the car have drop links on the Front. If so, make sure the nuts are not only tight but very tight! I changed the drop links on my Mondeo  Mk3 and still had a knock. I checked that the nuts on the anti roll bar were tight and they were tight but I still had a knock. A friend discovered that by rocking the car, it was possible to hear the knock. He was able to get an extra half turn on the nuts and the problem was solved. Normal service was resumed.

[stephen01]

​I actually cant believe how lose the fucking the nut was on the drop link, I'm surprised it wasn't knocking more. and I cant get it fully tight, its just spinning on its self now. I'm not overly impressed as this was done at the garage and the way it's spinning I reckon the drop link is fucked.(cheap pattern parts) Just had a good drive round our shit roads and it's much more pleasurable to drive. 

 

​Genuine Honda parts will be orded tomorrow and I'll get my street mechanic to fit them for me as I've no time. hopefully I can get them done for Thursday night ready for the Drive on Friday. I know I could probably 'get away' with it for a few months but I've had enough of this random knock- it seems a most of the original Honda parts have failed between 170-180 k mark and once one knock has been sorted another is found! Hopefully this will be the last. 

[stephen01]

 

Well this was a complete bastard to remove, passenger side was 30 mins to change over, this one was considerably longer, Always tools for the job and I was struggling with virtually no tools. 

 

Drivers much nicer now. 

 

Attention was turned to a quick oil and filter change, while I have ramps I find them a bit of nightmare actually pulling onto and not driving over, so cracked out some slab, Honda is generally pretty high anyway so not many slabs needed. 

 

 

While I was checking things over I noticed a 3 inch split in a rubber pipe coming from the airbox, phoned Honda for a new one. £80 -  £80 for a piece of rubber! 

[twosmoke300]

Forgive me if that’s an old picture or you have already done it but that driveshaft looks like it’s about to snap where they rust under the balance rubber

[stephen01]

Forgive me if that’s an old picture or you have already done it but that driveshaft looks like it’s about to snap where they rust under the balance rubber

 

I'll double check but it's only surface rust, 

[noseypoke]

Just took me Mrs to the local Train Station.On the way back home every set of lights the CMax was ticking over lumpy then smooth,usually dead quiet and smooth.Anyhow when I got home the irratic tick over had got a bit worse with the tick over slightly up on the normal 800rpm?

Had a check around and found the "RUBBER" air pipe from the aircleaner box to the throttle body had cracks and splits in some of the flutes? (the air pipe/Tube looks like a Concertina).

I went online to buycarparts.co.uk....I've used this place before.

The company is not BRITISH as Thought but GERMAN....anyhow They're giving a 20% discount this month.

So i banged in the details of the part I wanted.....came back as £28.88 +VAT +Postage + packing.....£42?????    

So a light bulb lit above my head. I'll give our local PEOPLES FORD a ring and check out their rip off price....

Gave my car reg ,,,the guy came straight back with..he you go Sir....about £22....NICE ONE..any in stock...yep just ask for Craig when you come in.

So off I drove lumpily to BOOTLE. Upon arrival the part/p[pe was waiting for me...There you go Sir £21.91 all in???  

So Air tube Assy  Retail £18.26.........VAT£3.65....TOTAL  £21.91

I think I'll give them a ring first next time I need any bits and check em out.

                                                         

Oh.....Car ticks over great now

                                                                               

 Sorry I f*cked your post up there my mate

[twosmoke300]

Move the rubber and check how much the shaft has shrunk underneath . Much more than a couple of mm and it could be in danger of snapping

[stephen01]

Move the rubber and check how much the shaft has shrunk underneath . Much more than a couple of mm and it could be in danger of snapping

 

Thanks - I'll check when I get home as I'm off to Paris tonight. I may take my spare shaft as getting one in France would be a expensive option. 

[stephen01]

Thanks - I'll check when I get home as I'm off to Paris tonight. I may take my spare shaft as getting one in France would be a expensive option. 

 

I can confirm no driveshaft snapping has occurred over the last 9 months. 

 

Honda is going for another MOT today, hopefully no issues. 

 

I've had the Honda for 6 years now, in that time I've probably had 10 other cars but the Honda is a part of the family now. 

[stephen01]

Big fat failure

 

 

Mileage:

187,607 miles

+ 10,056 miles travelled since last MOT.

Refusal Notices

• Nearside rear coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 ( (i))

Advisory Notices

• Offside front tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))
• Rear brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))

Wife has picked up a spring and dropped it off at the garage just, £38 for a rear spring which is not so bad. Hopefully it'll get done today.. 

[loserone]

Doesn't seem so big or fat to me!