PITA repairs and maintenance

[NP99]

I was thinking over the different cars we have had and how the engineers dreamed up awkward mechanicals :) for example:

The dizzy on my 308 was up near the firewall, changing points pita, as was the rear spark plug.
The dizzy on my hemmi engine was on the slant down side
The dizzy on my EA falcon under the inlet manifold
The water pump on the Excel was behind the timing belt

Anyone like to add their own?

[mudnut]

Engine mount bolts and speedo cable on a Morris 1100. Hmm, come to think about it, all of the jobs on a Morris 11OO. :)

[NP99]

Engine mount bolts and speedo cable on a Morris 1100. Hmm, come to think about it, all of the jobs on a Morris 11OO. :)

Those drum brakes required both feet on the brake pedal :)

[mudnut]

My missus inherited an 1100, and I ended up helping with a reco job on the engine. It went well, but eventually first gear would pop out under load. We would have to reverse up really steep hills, which was a problem as she was working in the Upper Ferntree Gully area, (Dandenong ranges).

[93patrol]

Not mine but when I was an apprentice doing a water pump on a 4L jeep Cherokee. Had to remove the radiator and fan just to get to the pump.

Rear wheel bearings on my brother hq wagon that were seized in

[mudnut]

How about the thermostat on a Jackaroo V6, almost a four hour job, just to get to it.

[NP99]

How about the thermostat on a Jackaroo V6, almost a four hour job, just to get to it.

What were the engineers thinking??? Or not :)

[mudnut]

Maaate, it was the first time I had worked on a V6, and there were three of us bumbling along to get it finished. The thermostat was situated in the middle of the valley. The cost of the gaskets that had to be replaced, just to do the job was absolutely ridiculous. I have vowed never to buy a car with a V6 engine after seeing the design.

[NP99]

And that's the sort of info you need prior to buying. Research and time will save us $$$.

[my third 256]

spark plugs on a v12 e type jag
remove bonnet to get the last ones

[NP99]

spark plugs on a v12 e type jag
remove bonnet to get the last ones

Holy crap!

[mudnut]

The timing belt change out on a RB30. I wimped out and got it done by a mechanic, because of a mate's horror story. He had to gas axe the bottom cog off the shaft as it was rusted in place.

[93patrol]

Really any timing belt on a East-West engine configuration


Clutch on a Subaru sports wagon. It's quicker and easier to remove the engine

[macca]

Oil filters on my 4.2, who would have thought to put them there and horizontal?

Never get damaged there. They are out of the way, no doubt about it.

[patrolmq]

the Falcon 5.4 V8 3v; spark plugs are deep in the head and after a few thousand k's weld themselves into their bores with engine deposits. Ford in there infinite wisdom decided to use 2 part sparkplugs, with a simple crimp in the middle, so that when you try to extract them, they leave their tips in the head. Ford then charge $$$hundreds to remove them with a special tool......if you are lucky. Some bits might fall into the cylinder, requiring the head to be removed for which they charge $$$thousands (per head!). The good things is, the cost of all this makes the extortionate price of the plugs themselves irrelevant!

In their second round of infinite wisdom, they decided the spark plugs don't need as many threads on them as other manufacturers use. The problem with this is, if the plug doesn't weld itself into the head, they come loose and fly out through the bonnet, stripping the threads from the aluminium head. And guess how many $$$thousands it costs to fix this! Fortunately, it can be done at the same time they remove the heads to fish out the pieces of the other plugs which are stuck, which will save a few dollars in labour costs! So essentially, it can be cheaper to buy a new car than replace the spark plugs.

Who can blame them though, spark plugs are such a new technology, it's hard to get the design right. They've only been in engine designs for 100 years or so.

[patrolmq]

Oil filters on my 4.2, who would have thought to put them there and horizontal?

Never get damaged there. They are out of the way, no doubt about it.

oil filters on the SD33, not only horizontal, but also canister type. Which they upgraded to a spin on type for the SD33T, but down graded again for the GU!

That's not quite as bad as a Renault Scenic. Small horizontal oil filter, directly above a bunch of pipes and the engine tray. Unscrew it and it all runs down the engine, over all the pipes and onto the engine tray, where is spreads out and drips from various edges over the driveway for the next 2 weeks.

[93patrol]

Oil filters on the ford mondeo are situated right above the cat converter and you have to remove the plastic cover that covers half of underneath the car

[macca86]

I've had trouble with my old vl rb 30 doing a starter motor. 3 and 4 glow plug on my gu zd30 needs intercooler and throttle body removed and the oil filter is stupid why would you want it next to the turbo I don't know. And doing services on my mates 2011 yzf450 is crazy my suzi drz400 is easy to work on

[NP99]

Oil filters on the ford mondeo are situated right above the cat converter and you have to remove the plastic cover that covers half of underneath the car

Same with the Mazda3.....bloody huge plastic cover to undo to get to the oil filter

[Punderhead]

Not car related but when people put pipe work in wrong you can't get it apart unless you pull the whole lot out, just for a simple repair. Turns a 10 minute job into an all day one!

Really annoying!

Cheers

[NP99]

And getting the lobe in the right posn when setting points..... :)

[james008]

Definitely not the worst here, but changing the idle speed on an SD33.
Had to remove the injector lines to undo the nut that holds the idle adjuster in place!

[fracster]

I was thinking over the different cars we have had and how the engineers dreamed up awkward mechanicals :) for example:

The dizzy on my 308 was up near the firewall, changing points pita, as was the rear spark plug.

Anyone like to add their own?

Assume you mean the Italian one?

If so, timing belts were a bloody doddle.Starter motor was a real PITFA though.

[SonOf]

The on.y welsh plug thwt would leak on a 253 V8 would be the one right behind the engine mount requiring the motor to be removed. The rear plug on the Magna VRX required the removal of the plenum etc which is always costly

[NP99]

Assume you mean the Italian one?

If so, timing belts were a bloody doddle.Starter motor was a real PITFA though.

No mate, 308 means a V8 Holden, in my case it was a HZ Premier Wagon :)

[fracster]

No mate, 308 means a V8 Holden, in my case it was a HZ Premier Wagon :)

Ah, ok, thought you meant the 3.0 V8 Ferrari block.

[NP99]

Yeah the Holden 308 is a 5 litre....

[93patrol]

I used to take the bonnet off and sit on the motor when doing my brothers twin point dizzy on his torana

[Benno7]

Land rover discovery 4 3.0 to replace high pressure pump: remove front and rear bumpers a disconnect a ton of wiring separate body from chassis. same with the 3.0lt sport
s type 4wd jaguar to fill transfer case jack the LHS on a 20 degree angle

[93patrol]

Last spark plug on the Chrysler 245/ 265 hemi s

[NP99]

Last spark plug on the Chrysler 245/ 265 hemi s

Same on the 308

[Mongoose100]

Chevrolet Cavalier (some badged as Toyota).

Thermostat replacement is an engine & trans removal job! Learnt that one the hard way after offering to fix mates one.

Mercedes A160 starter motor... Removal of engine.

Now do we discuss the latest craze of manufacturers designing the front of the vehicle around the bulbs?!

[Family4x4]

spark plugs on a v12 e type jag
remove bonnet to get the last ones

And I thought the 98 wrx was bad for a plug change!!