Ever wished you hadn't started something?

[mattblack]

The Sceptre needed new brake pads.

 

The discs were past their best as well, so I decided to change them as well

 

With the hubs off, I found the bearing grease seals were FUBAR'd, so got a pair of them.

 

With it all back together, I found the calipers were sticking with the pistons fully retracted, no matter how much I 'worked' them, so...

 

I bought a pair of repair kits.

 

Stripped one caliper, found the pistons are corroded, so are U/S.

 

£58 later I have three pistons, all the supplier had got, so...

 

I have to hope one piston in the other side is servicable, or I'll be hunting round for one.

 

This is all that's standing in the way of an MOT and then I can actually USE the bloody thing.

 

GAAHHHH!

[catsinthewelder]

I distinctly feel your pain. After talk on here of cracked pedal box's being a common BX fault and assuming it was the cause of my crunchy entry to reverse gear. I pulled it out and found it fine so went to change the clutch cable. After about a days work on the thing and a great deal of swearing the clutch cable was back together but I'd got distracted by a damp patch while crawling round so prodded it to see what was the matter. Half a litre of Derv poured down my arm as the fuel pipe split on some long distant bodge. Fixing this has taken up my entire week off work and she ain't working yet. If I can't fix it this weekend its off to the garage, something that I've managed to avoid doing with any of the cars for at least 2 years

[Guest]

If you get really stuck for anything I can see if this is still there......

[Station]

Doing that MGF engine change in December, it was absolutely horrid. I remember lying in the snow undoing seized bolts, and thinking it would take months to complete. I got it all done in a month or so and MOT'd, and felt very pleased with myself.

 

 

If there aren't leaves on the trees, I'm not doing any more jobs on cars.

[mnde]

If there aren't leaves on the trees, I'm not doing any more jobs on cars.

 

I agree with that . I really buggered up trying to change a positive battery terminal on the BX with frozen hands, only to find once I'd chopped the old one off - and cut myself with the hacksaw - that I couldn't squeeze the fat lead and the two supplementary leads into the new clamp I'd bought. Cue much swearing and I had to come up with a bodge involving wrapping one of the smaller wire ends round one of the clamp screws. Sorted it properly the following weekend, and eventually I got round to replacing the other terminal once the weather was warmer.

 

 

 

Even this was fraught with potential disaster. I had to undo the negative terminal at the engine end and re-route it in order to get enough reach, and I had to replace the terminal of an earthing wire while I was going round cleaning up all the earths, because it snapped off while I was undoing the bolt on the inner wing.

 

 

Also struggling to remove the alternator and hydraulic pump, only to find my spare good pump wasn't the right type, and having to reassemble (with new belts) and spending ages trying to do up the HP feed pipe union, then trying unsuccessfully to push the rubber pump supply hose back on with the "sardine tin" type clip still attached, with LHM all over my hands.... including an attempt from a passer by who offered to have a go, which ended up with LHM all over the drive and trickling onto the pavement... All because I wanted to try to reuse the sodding clip. I finally undid the thing fully with needlenose pliers and fitted a jubilee clip instead. So yeah, I ended up wishing I'd never started that poxy job!

 

I end up with such a bad back after doing these sorts of jobs stooped over the engine. Changing GS inboard front pads is a particular killer! You know what I'd really like? - one of those harnesses like in Mission Impossible so I can be winched down from the ceiling and hover over the engine with both hands free..

 

Mark.

[doug]

Sorting little bit of surface rust on the wheel arches.Half way through decided to remove plastic side cover to get right round the wheel arch, bad move.

[myglaren]

I end up with such a bad back after doing these sorts of jobs stooped over the engine. Changing GS inboard front pads is a particular killer! You know what I'd really like? - one of those harnesses like in Mission Impossible so I can be winched down from the ceiling and hover over the engine with both hands free..

Mark.

 

I did mine from underneath - don't ask me how, an absolute nightmare and the very worst job I had on a GS.

 

My own fault too, having over consumed on my leaving do and driven all the way home with the handbrake on.

Where's the :tosser: smiley?

 

Changing the engine and gearbox mounts on a Volvo 240 (converted from a 265) but having to excavate 2' of snow away from it to get at them first. Never again.

 

Also replacing the back axle & suspension as a unit to avoid buying and fitting new dampers. Bad decision

[mattblack]

If you get really stuck for anything I can see if this is still there......

 

Cheers, I did think about that Sceptre but I recon with the amount of time it's been standing the caliper pistons would be in the same state as mine...

[Lankytim]

I was just about to start a similar thread!

 

Today- fit shiny new rear springs and shocks onto the Audi

 

First lower mount nut just spins round- I suspect a "Kwik fit" style outfit have used an air gun on it in the past and stripped the threads, nevermind, I'll manage.

Cut bolt and remove, not sure where i'll find another.

Strut comes off easily after that and with spring compressors in place comes apart quickly. Assemble new shock with spring and top mount, find there are no new nuts for the top mount in with the shock absorber- Nevermind, I'll manage. Use nut from old Shock, goes on but is a slightly different thread, and gets tighter and tighter until the top snaps off the new shock. BOLLOCKS!! . Nevermind, i'll manage.

 

Start to wish I hadn't started this job as its taken hours to get this far and I still haven't started the other side. Try to refit old shock with new spring but the nut is jammed onto the end of the new shock, it just won't come off. Spend an hour trying to find something that will fit and discover the shock absorber top mount nut AND the lower mount bolt on the Maestro van trailer will fit the Audi. RESULT. Spend an hour getting the badly corroded shock absorber off the Maestro van, end up cutting it off. The top mount nut is seized solid, no amount of force/heat/oil will shift it, weld a piece of metal to the piston rod to get leverage, run out of mig wire half way through. The added heat however means with extreme force the bolt does eventually come off! Find its looks the same as the thread on the new shock absorbers. Strip thread on the other new shock . It will just about fit on the old shock so I hastily reassemble the old shock absorber and whack it back on the Audi to atleast get it mobile.

 

I begin to realise that I'm not going to finish this job and that I'm not managing at all.

 

Just for fun I see if the lower mount on the opposite shock is also seized/stripped. The nut can be loosened off but the metal collar inside the shock absorber lower mount has corroded so badly its welded itself to the bolt, rendering it another cut-out job. I collapse onto my side in tears and stay there until Mrs Lankytim brings me a cup of tea.

 

As I'm putting everything away a small plastic bag with a pair of nuts in falls out of one of the shock absorber boxes. Those will be the new nuts I with the very strange thread I was suppost to use then . What a huge waste of money- and all my frigging fault!

 

Net result.

 

A pair of NEW rear shocks destroyed.

A wonky Audi as for some stupid reason I fitted a single new spring instead of sticking the old one back in.

Maestro van trailer shock absorber destroyed, along with the top mounting which was cut about to get the shock off (I was desperate at that point).

A totally wasted Saturday afternoon.

 

 

I have just emailed the motor factors asking if they can send me a another pair of shocks, I explained the situation to them so they can have a good laugh.

I'm booking the Audi into a garage to have the bits fitted.

 

I really really wish I hadn't started this job.

[CIH]

I was just about to start a similar thread!

 

Today- fit shiny new rear springs and shocks onto the Audi

 

First lower mount nut just spins round- I suspect a "Kwik fit" style outfit have used an air gun on it in the past and stripped the threads, nevermind, I'll manage..........

 

............Use nut from old Shock, goes on but is a slightly different thread, and gets tighter and tighter until the top snaps off the new shock. BOLLOCKS!! . Nevermind, i'll manage.

 

Sounds like you'd fight right in there dude....

[Lankytim]

Funny how a good nights sleep and a fresh approach can change things.

 

Went outside today to see if I could get the Audi roadworthy for the commute to and from work this week and managed to fix one of the damaged shock absorbers by re-tapping the thread on the end of it, as it had all been apart once already it came off, was stripped and went back on easily. Next I had a crack at the seized bottom mount on the other side. I cut away some of the rubber bush, got mole grips on the metal bush tube thing that had seized onto the bolt and with a bit of heat, WD40 and a scaffold tube I managed to extract the rusty lower mounting bolt. The strut was then dissembled and refitted with the new spring, so now the Audi is at a nice level height at the rear. Obviously it now has one new shock absorber and one old one which isn't great, but I'll replace the old one when I get a new one delivered, hopefully on Tuesday.

 

Can you buy shocks individually??

 

I HAVE LEARNT A VALUABLE LESSON AND FIXED MY SUSPENSION!!!!!!111!! WINNARS ALL ROUND!!!

[dieselnutjob]

I distinctly feel your pain. After talk on here of cracked pedal box's being a common BX fault and assuming it was the cause of my crunchy entry to reverse gear. I pulled it out and found it fine so went to change the clutch cable.

 

Bell crank on top of the gear box cracked? I remember changing a few of them about 18 years ago

[dollywobbler]

I distinctly feel your pain. After talk on here of cracked pedal box's being a common BX fault and assuming it was the cause of my crunchy entry to reverse gear. I pulled it out and found it fine so went to change the clutch cable.

 

Bell crank on top of the gear box cracked? I remember changing a few of them about 18 years ago

 

BXs ALWAYS seem to have a crunch into reverse. I borrowed a tip from TVRs fitted with the Tremec gearbox - clutch down, select fifth (or any forward gear) to stop the 'box, THEN select reverse. Didn't have one crunch after that. Of course, it could be poor adjustment - the gearchange gets very notchy in a BX if the clutch isn't disengaging fully, in all gears.

[Pete-M]

 

The welders are going to start the bit cut'n'welding session tomorrow allegedly. I can already feel the acute financial embarrassment heading my way.

[meggersdog]

Not too dis-similar to Lankytim's experience.

Last week I was replacing a broken rear spring on a Focus.The shock absorber bolt came off nice and easy but the lower arm bolt didn't.It was seized to the metalastic bush on the hub.The amount of heat needed would have destroyed the bush and penetrating oil and using a large drift didn't work either.The scaffold tube over the breaker bar only shifted the bolt maybe an eighth of a turn before I began lifting the car off the axle stand.

My spring clamps wouldn't go on as they fouled the lower arm.Luckily there is a hole in the middle of the spring cup of the lower arm on a Focus so I carefully threaded each clamp through the hole.Various adjustments were needed as when I began clamping the spring it would distort slightly causing the threaded part of the clamp to get caught up.It was a slow process as I hadn't put the clamps in exactly the same position on the new spring so had to keep undoing them and moving them to inch the spring round to locate it correctly in the cups.A simple 20 minute job took well over an hour all because of a seized bolt.