Car D.I.Y.
- Thread starter Drago
- Start date
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OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Indeed. We're likely to be far more pernickety.
Back in January I went to the local scrap yard and set about gathering some spares for my little Peugeot 206cc.
I found a car in there, exactly the same colour as mine and stripped it of some parts that would come in handy.
I got an offside wing that was perfect (mine had a very! slight dink which bugged me even though you could hardly see it.
I also got a spare alloy because the Peugeot only has an emergency tyre foam kit which I don't trust and some bling chrome hoops to replace the cheap drab black ones that were fitted as standard.
As well as this, I gathered an array of other bits and pieces that may come in handy in the future.
I got all the parts for around £50/60 which I thought was a bargain.
A new painted wing would of been around £250 at a rough guess.
The alloy wheel another £50 ish and the chrome hoops from what I've seen sell for around another £50 second hand (and that's if you can find them)
That's £350 against the £50/60 I spent.
I also enjoyed getting my hands dirty taking the scrap car apart and understanding how it's all bolted together.
I also messed about with the electric folding roof of the scrap yard car and learnt how to open and shut it manually in the event if mine ever fails and catches me out.
It's a shame scrap yards are becoming a thing of the past where you could just walk into one and get some spares off a knackered car.
There all becoming a closed door affair nowadays because of heath safety and insurance reasons ,and many a good car just ends up being crushed before any useful things on it can be reused to keep others going.
I found a car in there, exactly the same colour as mine and stripped it of some parts that would come in handy.
I got an offside wing that was perfect (mine had a very! slight dink which bugged me even though you could hardly see it.
I also got a spare alloy because the Peugeot only has an emergency tyre foam kit which I don't trust and some bling chrome hoops to replace the cheap drab black ones that were fitted as standard.
As well as this, I gathered an array of other bits and pieces that may come in handy in the future.
I got all the parts for around £50/60 which I thought was a bargain.
A new painted wing would of been around £250 at a rough guess.
The alloy wheel another £50 ish and the chrome hoops from what I've seen sell for around another £50 second hand (and that's if you can find them)
That's £350 against the £50/60 I spent.
I also enjoyed getting my hands dirty taking the scrap car apart and understanding how it's all bolted together.
I also messed about with the electric folding roof of the scrap yard car and learnt how to open and shut it manually in the event if mine ever fails and catches me out.
It's a shame scrap yards are becoming a thing of the past where you could just walk into one and get some spares off a knackered car.
There all becoming a closed door affair nowadays because of heath safety and insurance reasons ,and many a good car just ends up being crushed before any useful things on it can be reused to keep others going.
gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
It requires a certain inventiveness, stubbornness and pure bloody mindedness sometimes..
As a former mechanical fitter at a fruit packing factory, we had one particular machine type, a very large weighing machine 10ft tall, a cross shaft drove a large chain either side to convey loads of buckets around. This would normally be a two man job, lots of stripping back ancillaries and around a whole shift to repair if the shaft snapped.
I could do it, alone, in around 3.5 hours.
Even the Spanish suppliers engineers looked surprised when I told them
Where there's a will...
Pinno718
Über Member
- Location
- Way out West
My 944 passed it's MOT today. No advisories.
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Always a relief!
Pinno718
Über Member
- Location
- Way out West
Getting an MOT is easier than finding the rattles.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Plenty of those in most Porkers. (previously employed at Clarks of Narborough where the bodyshop was that handled work for Roger Clark Cars, mainly 911's that had gone through hedges backwards)
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
My Volvo is a convertible. Despite the huge OE strut brace it rattles like a collection tin being shaken by Dale Winton.
Pinno718
Über Member
- Location
- Way out West
That tended to be the standard method of going through hedges before they re-configured the rear suspension.
During lockdown when I embarked on the engine transplant which then morphed into one helluva mission creep, I put up a sign at the end of the drive saying: 'Short person wanted. Those above 2 feet high need not apply. Must be slim and handy with a spanner'. This, on account of the lack of space in a 944 (turbo's being even worse). Funny - I didn't get any applicants, I thought they would be grateful of an employment opportunity.
I could use one now and place him/her around various parts of the car using a clever arrangement of bungee chords (if I placed the assistant on the underside) so that stuff could be observed.
Bristolian
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol, UK
It's been a couple of weeks since my last post on the subject (#2884) so I thought I would give a final report on the headlight saga. The replacement headlight arrived as planned and looked in good shape except for one of the mounting bolts being sheared off. This was replaced by the corresponding bolt from the original light unit.
It wasn't until today that I was able to get together with my tame mechanic friend to do the work. We figured out that we could get the original light unit out by removing the near side front wheel arch and front undertray, disconnecting the bumper from the wing and then loosening the front of the bumper to give us wriggle room without completely removing the bumper; which saved us about 45 minutes. Having removed the original light we plugged in the replacement to make sure it worked, which it did without any need for coding. Based on the fact we had a good, working light we swapped the control units (one at a time) into the original light to see if it would spark into life, which it refused to do. We then put the control units from the original light into the new light that worked - except for the indicator - so we were confident that the light unit itself was faulty.
To keep things as original as possible, the control units were moved back to their original lights and the new light unit installed into the car and all the body bits reassembled. All-in-all it took us about 90 minutes. I still have to check and adjust the height of the new light beam, which is a job for tonight. Tomorrow is set aside to fit new rear brake discs and pads then the car will be prepared for sale.
The control units will be offered for sale, probably on the MB Owners Club forum and eBay.
It wasn't until today that I was able to get together with my tame mechanic friend to do the work. We figured out that we could get the original light unit out by removing the near side front wheel arch and front undertray, disconnecting the bumper from the wing and then loosening the front of the bumper to give us wriggle room without completely removing the bumper; which saved us about 45 minutes. Having removed the original light we plugged in the replacement to make sure it worked, which it did without any need for coding. Based on the fact we had a good, working light we swapped the control units (one at a time) into the original light to see if it would spark into life, which it refused to do. We then put the control units from the original light into the new light that worked - except for the indicator - so we were confident that the light unit itself was faulty.
To keep things as original as possible, the control units were moved back to their original lights and the new light unit installed into the car and all the body bits reassembled. All-in-all it took us about 90 minutes. I still have to check and adjust the height of the new light beam, which is a job for tonight. Tomorrow is set aside to fit new rear brake discs and pads then the car will be prepared for sale.
The control units will be offered for sale, probably on the MB Owners Club forum and eBay.
Bristolian
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol, UK
Well, today was really frustrating. It started off okay - the car hadn't been stolen overnight 
- but went downhill from there. Firstly, whoever did up the wheel bolts when they fitted the new tyres last July must be built like a flippin' gorilla (cheers KwikFit). It took a 5ft extension pole and more effort than I felt happy exerting to get the bolts undone, even after spraying copious amounts of penetrating oil) and I was seriously concerned about sheering a couple off.
Getting the brake piston pushed back took a bit of effort but no real dramas and the outside pads came out easy enough. Ooh, they needed doing with just 1.5mm of friction material left and the wear sensor clearly in contact with the disc but no warning light on the dash. So it's time to remove the slide pins which I'm pretty sure need hex wrench (or socket). Hmm, 6mm too small; 8mm too big; must be 7mm, now where did I put ..... Improvise, adapt and overcome; a T45 fits really well but it's a "T" shape and the brake hose is in the way of the bottom pin. I managed to undo the top pins simply enough but the bottom ones took time as I could only move it 1/6 turn each time. Eventually they are out and the inner pads can be removed - yep, they're down to 1.5mm too.
Time to remove the carrier plate so I can get the disc off. Deja Vu time; not 17mm or 19mm must be 18mm, now where did I put .... No IAO this time; no alternative available. Bummer
. I need the car in the morning so I fit the new pads onto the old discs - YIKES! TBH, the old discs aren't too badly scored/ridged so 30 miles tomorrow hopefully won't be too bad.
All reassembled and brakes bedded in. 18mm socket and 7mm hex socket on order for delivery tomorrow so Thursday looks like being another maintenance day. Hopefully the local detailer will be able to fit me in on Friday then I can take some pictures and get the thing on Autotrader. Thinking about it, maybe it would be better if the car was stolen
- but went downhill from there. Firstly, whoever did up the wheel bolts when they fitted the new tyres last July must be built like a flippin' gorilla (cheers KwikFit). It took a 5ft extension pole and more effort than I felt happy exerting to get the bolts undone, even after spraying copious amounts of penetrating oil) and I was seriously concerned about sheering a couple off.Getting the brake piston pushed back took a bit of effort but no real dramas and the outside pads came out easy enough. Ooh, they needed doing with just 1.5mm of friction material left and the wear sensor clearly in contact with the disc but no warning light on the dash. So it's time to remove the slide pins which I'm pretty sure need hex wrench (or socket). Hmm, 6mm too small; 8mm too big; must be 7mm, now where did I put ..... Improvise, adapt and overcome; a T45 fits really well but it's a "T" shape and the brake hose is in the way of the bottom pin. I managed to undo the top pins simply enough but the bottom ones took time as I could only move it 1/6 turn each time. Eventually they are out and the inner pads can be removed - yep, they're down to 1.5mm too.
Time to remove the carrier plate so I can get the disc off. Deja Vu time; not 17mm or 19mm must be 18mm, now where did I put .... No IAO this time; no alternative available. Bummer
. I need the car in the morning so I fit the new pads onto the old discs - YIKES! TBH, the old discs aren't too badly scored/ridged so 30 miles tomorrow hopefully won't be too bad.All reassembled and brakes bedded in. 18mm socket and 7mm hex socket on order for delivery tomorrow so Thursday looks like being another maintenance day. Hopefully the local detailer will be able to fit me in on Friday then I can take some pictures and get the thing on Autotrader. Thinking about it, maybe it would be better if the car was stolen
Pinno718
Über Member
- Location
- Way out West
Well, today was really frustrating. It started off okay - the car hadn't been stolen overnight
Getting the brake piston pushed back took a bit of effort but no real dramas and the outside pads came out easy enough. Ooh, they needed doing with just 1.5mm of friction material left and the wear sensor clearly in contact with the disc but no warning light on the dash. So it's time to remove the slide pins which I'm pretty sure need hex wrench (or socket). Hmm, 6mm too small; 8mm too big; must be 7mm, now where did I put ..... Improvise, adapt and overcome; a T45 fits really well but it's a "T" shape and the brake hose is in the way of the bottom pin. I managed to undo the top pins simply enough but the bottom ones took time as I could only move it 1/6 turn each time. Eventually they are out and the inner pads can be removed - yep, they're down to 1.5mm too.
Time to remove the carrier plate so I can get the disc off. Deja Vu time; not 17mm or 19mm must be 18mm, now where did I put .... No IAO this time; no alternative available. Bummer
All reassembled and brakes bedded in. 18mm socket and 7mm hex socket on order for delivery tomorrow so Thursday looks like being another maintenance day. Hopefully the local detailer will be able to fit me in on Friday then I can take some pictures and get the thing on Autotrader. Thinking about it, maybe it would be better if the car was stolen
It may be that the wheel nuts bind and nothing to do with the tyre fitters. It might be down to corrosion and heat generated by the brakes. My local tyre fitters use a torque wrench and so should they all nowadays, there's no excuse. I use a drop of Copper ease for re-assembly. I also have a Dewalt impact dizzy
but I torque the bolts up with a torque wrench.I once had a tyre fitter (this was at a small pace in no-where land after a blow out) bust his Snap On breaker bar on my Sprinter van nuts - they were notorious for binding.
[He moaned a lot and I thought 'you should get a new one under warranty... unless it's hot or second hand'].
The DeWalt (slight tangent] I ordered during lockdown when I was doing the engine transplant/massive mission creep [it's all here > https://forums.tipec.net/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=24357 ]. I was expecting some serious resistance from the rear hub nuts which are supposed to be torqued to 540nm, where people were saying you needed an 18ft extension and a 20 stone bloke as they tended to bind. My nuts came off like butter on the dizzy (assisted by 24h hours soaked in De-Blocker) When revisiting something I had assembled with it, I discovered that the bolts were far too tight and so started researching torque values at the 3 settings on the impact driver. I put the model number in the search bar and... it was the next one up: the 720nm model at the time. So I was sold the wrong wrench. Bargain. It's a priceless bit of kit and makes life so much easier for regular DIYers.
dicko
Guru
- Location
- Derbyshire
That’s me all fourteen years worth
Bristolian
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol, UK
Hi Pinno718 and thanks for the commentIt may be that the wheel nuts bind and nothing to do with the tyre fitters. It might be down to corrosion and heat generated by the brakes. My local tyre fitters use a torque wrench and so should they all nowadays, there's no excuse. I use a drop of Copper ease for re-assembly. I also have a Dewalt impact dizzy
I once had a tyre fitter (this was at a small pace in no-where land after a blow out) bust his Snap On breaker bar on my Sprinter van nuts - they were notorious for binding.
[He moaned a lot and I thought 'you should get a new one under warranty... unless it's hot or second hand'].
The DeWalt (slight tangent] I ordered during lockdown when I was doing the engine transplant/massive mission creep [it's all here > https://forums.tipec.net/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=24357 ]. I was expecting some serious resistance from the rear hub nuts which are supposed to be torqued to 540nm, where people were saying you needed an 18ft extension and a 20 stone bloke as they tended to bind. My nuts came off like butter on the dizzy (assisted by 24h hours soaked in De-Blocker) When revisiting something I had assembled with it, I discovered that the bolts were far too tight and so started researching torque values at the 3 settings on the impact driver. I put the model number in the search bar and... it was the next one up: the 720nm model at the time. So I was sold the wrong wrench. Bargain. It's a priceless bit of kit and makes life so much easier for regular DIYers.
If could be binding but the front wheels, which were removed a week after the rears last year, came undone without any undue effort. Personally I always apply copper grease when putting the bolts back in and also on the face of the hub. I also use a torque wrench which my tame mechanic calibrates for me every year.
Impact dizzies are great for undoing things but I wouldn't use one for tightening anything - I generally use a battery powered drill to spin bolts in so their a bit more than finger tight then finish the job with an open ended/ring spanner (for non-critical nuts/bolts) or a torque wrench. 29 years in the military (many of which were in the REME) taught me some tricks
