Doing your own spanner work

[sdkrc]

I once fitted a set of OEM rubber floormats myself and it only took a few hours.

I'm not mechanically inclined or knowledgeable in the slightest. I work up the enthusiasm to work on one of my cars during the week then the day comes and I'm fucking knackered, it's dark, cold, I'm missing some of the tools, it starts raining etc.

Starting to learn now on noddy shit and very much enjoying it.

 

[sierraman]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:10, NorthernMonkey said:

Yep, whichever t**t came up with that idea really does need a good shoeing.

My other favourite is bleeding the fuel system after changing a diesel filter on a Ford.

Oh yes, and anything around the suspension, rear especially, on your average mid noughties Focus that looks like it’s been recently recovered from a river bed.

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You get some bent bits of tin in the kit but they’re absolutely useless, the proper kit has a clamp to hold the tool to the water pump pulley. Had this recently on a Focus thermostat housing swap, in hindsight I’d have been easier taking the headlight out, dropping the rad and doing it that way, working blind but it’d have avoided the belt. 

[NorthernMonkey]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:11, Shedking said:

In 40 odd years of "bodging " I've never come a cropper or had to redo any job so to save the thread descending into an argument I will bow in deference to your superiority and move on.

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There’s no danger of an argument, at least not from me. I just get a bit pissed off at people slagging off the motor trade as a whole because of a few bad experiences with one or two rotten apples.

Likewise, as far as I’m concerned, no one on here is considered superior to anyone else. We all make mistakes now and again, but it does rankle a bit to be accused off being a ‘would be professional’ who ‘thinks he knows what he’s talking about’ when I had the temerity to suggest I wouldn’t be happy fixing brakes for a living in the manner you suggest.

Anyway, as I said before, welcome aboard 🙂👍

[DodgyBastard]

I have a ramp, tools and indoor place to work on cars.

I do what I can be bothered doing but regularly farm out jobs that I just want done. I'm happy enough to pay someone and not have the stress of things going wrong.

 

[lanciamatt]

That's one of main problems when your on drive and things go wrong . Been there many a time . Sometimes just take a step back and re think . 

[Rustybullethole]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:26, DodgyBastard said:

 I'm happy enough to pay someone and not have the stress of things going wrong.

 

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This is what I feel I need to work on. Sometimes it ain’t worth the stress though the perverse side of me loves laying under old cars swearing at them.

[lanciamatt]

I work in main dealer network and some mechanics can't improvise to get them out of a problem . I always say a bodge is a repair that's not worked . 

[twosmoke300]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:05, lanciamatt said:

I do everything myself . But I'm a mechanic by trade , so sometimes I neglect my own cars as can't be bothered having been doing it all day on other people's cars. 

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Cobblers sons shoes ! I know it too well 

[sierraman]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:39, lanciamatt said:

I work in main dealer network and some mechanics can't improvise to get them out of a problem . I always say a bodge is a repair that's not worked . 

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Also they’re used to new cars, present them with a bush sleeve rusted in after 15 years and they’d be a bit stuck.

[mat_the_cat]

  On 30/01/2022 at 10:00, iainrcz said:

Biggest pain is getting rid of old fluids. 

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Agreed. I went to our local recycling centre to dump some engine oil, only to be told I couldn't as I had 15 litres, which was apparently too much! Had to do it in several trips, but I wonder how much longer that facility will be available for. I don't know anyone else who does their own servicing (apart from car forums). I have burnt it in the past, when I've had a stubborn bonfire, but don't like doing that.

[New POD]

I think I took 35 litres the other week.  The staff are too busy to check what is happening at the waste oil area.  Brake fluid is technically oil too, so that goes in their too..

[mat_the_cat]

Ours is locked away, so you have to get them to open up. Or dump it outside the cage...

[MJK 24]

A funny tale….

We use an independent garage for the six week inspections of our trucks.  They don’t have a brake tester, they take them to the Scania dealer half a mile away to be done.

Scania brought their Transit service van to the independent garage because they couldn’t get the handbrake to MOT standard!  They brought it back a few months later to have the window regulator changed!  It’s a bit of a worry…

[N19]

For me, it comes down to a few questions.

Am I confident doing the job? If it's something I'm not familiar with, can I teach myself it?

Do I have the tools?

Do I have the facilities and/or time to leave the job if I need to? Is it a job that's best done under cover, where you can give up and close the door until another day? If so, can I do it in my lockup?

How busy am I?

How important is the job, is it stopping the car from working / confining it to local duties only?

What's the worst that could happen if I cocked it up?

 

I'm very lucky to have a good relationship with a garage at the end of my road. Typically, I'm not too fussy about schedule so they can slot it in at their convenience (unless I need to be, but they know that if I message saying it's urgent then I'm not fibbing). And they have a couple of oldschool guys who will fault find, modify parts to fit etc rather than simply playing parts darts.

[Shedking]

The thought has crossed my mind a few times on a crisp January Saturday morn to just chuck it all in and get a new Dacia or whatever but I've put it off as I really fancy a weekend car soon and the less I spend on a daily the better the weekend car is going to be. 

A lot of my friends really don't understand why I bother with shitters because I don't have to but new cars really don't do anything for me, I don't have any interest in them.  So I'll soldier on self spannering until the time inevitably comes that I have to give in to old father time by which time I suppose we will all be driving around in milk floats so none of it will matter anyway. 

[red5]

  On 30/01/2022 at 17:02, grogee said:

This sort of hysterical bullshit is what puts people off from having a go, learning something and saving money in the process. 

We all know that the same three or four factories produce clutch kits and put them in boxes for a dozen brands. So if you're buying ECP's cheapest it's probably the same as four other brands. I've only had bother with Comline parts, and no-name Chinese parts which I now avoid. Everything else has been fine for the shiters I fix up. 

As for the bolt? I'd have done the same. Please don't think Peugeot's pin solution is specially hardened steel. It's not, it was the cheapest solution and/or the most expedient for factory assembly. 

If our man had repaired the brake link with a hairpin or rusty nail, your concern might be justified. I'd imagine the bolt was a similar diameter to the pin and a damn sight easier to fit. 

I hate this elitist bullshit, there is so much misinformation spread about cars. Rein it in. 

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Hahahha.

Rein it in yourself chief, 'we all know'....no, no you dont. You want shit eBay stuff fitted, your call. It's crap/breaks /doesn't last/work - you can pay me again to refit a good one or more likely whine about the work to all and sundry whilst forgetting that the glued-togetherr-by-UHU excuse for a clutch/whatever is a quarter of the price for a reason...

There are crappy garages (not as many as you'd think though) both independent and Main Dealer. They are outweighed hugely by clueless, impatient, ignorant owners who think that their motor vehicle is a white good. 

You do testing for Peugeot's suppliers as well?  Blimey....

Elitist? No, trained, experienced and thorough.

You're welcome. 😁

[grogee]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:55, mat_the_cat said:

Agreed. I went to our local recycling centre to dump some engine oil, only to be told I couldn't as I had 15 litres, which was apparently too much! Had to do it in several trips, but I wonder how much longer that facility will be available for. I don't know anyone else who does their own servicing (apart from car forums). I have burnt it in the past, when I've had a stubborn bonfire, but don't like doing that.

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When I was a mechanic, we had a stove that burned used sump oil to keep us warm (ish). It seemed like a good solution to the problem of waste oil and keeping us warm but of course not very environmentally friendly. We later got a halogen heater but I always preferred the stove thing. 

Our dump recycling centre takes used oil and I mix in all sorts of shit in with it, brake fluid, gear oil, thinners etc. There doesn't seem to be any limit to how much you can tip into their dirty receptacle although I'm not doing loads, maybe 10-15 litres every three months. 

Used coolant is fine down the drain, it very quickly breaks down. But don't leave it lying around for cats to drink. @MrBiscuits taught me this. 

[stuboy]

i always give it ago.. but if its beyond my technical ability or my knackered joints wont make it then i have to consider asking elsewhere

[artdjones]

The last job I farmed out was replacing an electric flap valve on the Mégane exhaust 4 years ago as I didn't have access to a lift at the time. I really trust the mechanic who did it as he takes his job really seriously. I can borrow a two post lift again so am actually sometimes asked to do jobs for friends. Timing belts and shocks etc.

I took my van to an auto electrician two weeks ago because the LCD display on the instruments went blank. He checked it and said I needed a s/h set of clocks, which was supposed to be arriving the following day, so he would phone me. No phone call yet, so it looks like I'll be buying an instrument set myself and MultiEcuScan to code it in. So a rather pointless exercise.

[CaptainBoom]

I've done all of my own work since I started driving in 2004, if I didn't I would have been priced off the road a long time ago.  My precarious financial situation has meant me needing to learn lots of things, mixing concrete, tree felling, wiring my own home, plumbing, etc.

When I had a car (i.e. until last week) I had a choice of workshops, there was:

• a) the delightful* kerbside outside my home, which is on a slope, in an area where anything will be stolen if left unattended, with pillocks driving inches from my face. 
• b) the warehouse at work, it's level, dry, there is mains power, a compressor for some air tools, and a toilet.  However, I'm forbidden from any car fixing/storage activity, I'm not insured, I must not leave a mess.  I would get a P45 and a kick in the arse from the guvnor if I was caught. 

Needless to say, the warehouse won the toss a lot of the time, but the constant fear over getting caught and the strain of cleaning up thoroughly (it's a very clean warehouse) gave me more stress than the job at hand.  When I did the brake pipes on the Volvo last November, at so many points, I just wanted to give up and walk away.  I didn't see my kids all weekend.  I was sick of working on the car all day, then coming home, cooking dinner, then going back to on it for another four hours and finishing up at the wee hours of the morning, then barely sleeping a wink to go back to work on Sunday.  The problem is, around these parts, there aren't any garages who want to take on labour intensive jobs on end-of-life knackers.  I can't blame them, if I ran a business, I would be the same to be honest.  I did try three garages for getting the pipes changed, but none were interested.  Probably because doing a back box on a Jazz, or sorting out the tracking on a Picasso is easier and quicker.  That's just how it is. 

 I've just grown from small jobs, brake pad changes became caliper and disc changes.  Rear silencers became downpipes and manifolds. 

The old feller earned enough of a crust to give his cars an annual service.  I remember him doing oil changes and getting an alternator rewound (remember that) on his Mk1 Fiesta, but just about everything else would get punted off to a back street garage two doors down from the house we lived in (Anerley Auto Electrics).  They usually would do the job on our driveway unless it needed their two poster.  It meant that as an inquisitive (but mostly mute) seven year old, I could see everything that was going on.  I would stand silently and watch a bloke strip down the brake drums on our Volvo 340 and watch him change a leaky slave cylinder.  I also learned a lot of patois from them, which has been handy on the odd occasion. 

 

[High Jetter]

  On 30/01/2022 at 19:03, MJK 24 said:

A funny tale….

We use an independent garage for the six week inspections of our trucks.  They don’t have a brake tester, they take them to the Scania dealer half a mile away to be done.

Scania brought their Transit service van to the independent garage because they couldn’t get the handbrake to MOT standard!  They brought it back a few months later to have the window regulator changed!  It’s a bit of a worry…

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Had similar many years ago. Horses for courses, you do what you can and farm out the rest. Especially if you CBA.

[catsinthewelder]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:42, twosmoke300 said:

Cobblers sons shoes ! I know it too well 

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See also plumbers leaking taps.

I work as a handyman and gardener so my house and garden tends to look like Steptoes yard. 😬

[beko1987]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:32, lanciamatt said:

That's one of main problems when your on drive and things go wrong . Been there many a time . Sometimes just take a step back and re think . 

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This! 

I've had many a jobs saved by going for a cup of tea and a rolly, maybe a frantic Google, post questions on here and have half an hour. Solves most problems 👍

Equally I do get nervous about working on cars away from home... Just the niggling feeling of if something goes wrong, I'm stranded, whereas at least if it goes wrong at home I'm at home. One of the main reasons I did the rear brakes at the FoD was the skills and tools were there if a brake pole sheared (which it didn't), and utterly worse case talbot had his car trailer to bring me home (wasn't needed) 

Sometimes I think I worry too much about these things 😂

[Tickman]

There is a lot to be said for a group session looking something over. @320touring @jaypee@sdkrc and I all had a look at getting this to run better.

Without all of us with our own viewpoint I doubt we would have sussed the distributor was the problem. It was also a very enjoyable few hours.

I'm also VERY happy to pay someone I trust to fix anything I need sorted quickly, properly and most importantly first time. I've been very lucky that I've found a couple of mechanics over the years I would be happy to hand a blank cheque to, probably helped by the fact they would never accept one.

[New POD]

Is that because they have to pay to pay them in ? 

[cort1977]

I would hate to be a mechanic, every twat thinks they are an expert because they read something on google that might match their vague symptoms of a 'funny noise'. 

Admittedly, I am often that twat but hopefully by saying 'I think it might be this but please investigate' I am not too irritating.  Like many here I do what's possible for me and farm out hard jobs.  I think I'm quite well served locally, there's a couple of places that are reasonable and one shite-friendly place that has become my default.

 

[vaughant]

  On 29/01/2022 at 16:30, Shedking said:

My dad was an engineer. When I first started driving he drilled it into me to always do my own servicing and repairs as garages can't be trusted. He walked me through the easy jobs like servicing, brakes etc later moving on to more complicated jobs. So for the last 40 odd years I've done all my own spanner work and built up a considerable tool chest, it's probably saved me a fortune. I try to buy simple shitters, petrol engined with not much to go wrong and generally easy to work on and fix and cheap plentiful parts. 

That means mainstream shitters that were built in their millions so that scrap yards and flea bay are full of spares. Problem is that as I get nearer the big 60 and being in the fortunate position of money not being that much of a problem (I run shitters out of choice not necessity) I'm starting to get less inclined to bother. I don't get a lot of spare time with work and grandkids but I also hate the idea of paying someone to do something probably to a worse standard than me. 

Do any of you sheddists do your own spanner work or use a garage that you trust ? I've not found one near me that I want to send my car to, I wouldn't take a wheel barrow to most of them

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I try to but sometimes jobs like exhausts and timing belts I find better to take to a garage as exhausts can be a real ball ache and timing belts often needing specialist tools and the like. 

I am also an engineer and I love doing my own work but these days I'm finding that I can actually do a few hours o/t to easily cover the cost of repairs. 

Not having my own garage defiant really help either, but it will be a must for the next house I but. I've rented a unit for years (where I work away) and at first when I was 8hr shifts it was amazing, did engine swaps, gearboxes, clutches, welding, fantastic but when I went 12hrs I just found I was so tired after work and by the time I'd phoned my beloved, had a chat and a bite to eat it was 9pm and my enthusiasm was at a real low then. 

I tend to spend more of my free time on DIY these days as often find I can't get a trade to come round as their mainly small jobs and of little value to them (totally understandable) hence I like to do the donkey work and get them in to do say a bulk finish on a few rooms. 

I love working on cars though, especially when you have an odd fault and get to the bottom of it. I swapped an engine out years ago on a pretty much free corsa I had, gave £60 for the engine, cost me a max of £250 to get it on the road and a change of circumstances meant I was driving it back and forth to Aberdeen!!! I always had a little smile to myself thinking "you fixed this, you saved it from the scrapyard". 

It never let me down and required only the most basic of maintenance to keep going, the only other job I can recall doing was cleaning the starter brushes on it as it failed to turn over a few times, still went on a bump though. Can remember a guy I worked with saying to me "just get a new one, why are you bothering with that old heap?" as I lay under it dismantling the brush pack.... the cheeky fuck drove a Fiat Punto 🤣🤣🤣. Cue a few weeks later his shitty Punto turning over and over in the carpark and not firing. I will admit I drove past him laughing and pointing in my "old heap" as I shouted out of the window to him until guilt got the better of me and I turned back. Got it going after a bump. Think the HGF had failed on the Punto which was in truth an easy and common repair but he cashed it in for a new one on finance unsurprisingly. 

I continued in the corsa until I needed a van and sold it on still fully functional. 

[Bren]

I do servicing brakes and maybe a little bit more.

Time and age are beginning to conspire against me - the SD1 needs an MOT and then a paint job - sadly there will be no more resto projects.

[1duck]

Depends how cold it is, the garages round by me aren't that pricey and I often suffer from cba.

[bunglebus]

  On 30/01/2022 at 18:03, sierraman said:

One job I can’t fucking stand... stretch belts

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What is a stretch belt? Presuming a drive belt, don't they all have tensioners to release now?