Car D.I.Y.

[gbb]

Not really DIY but went to the car today...flat battery.
Son has a usb jump pack, worked perfectly.
New battery ordered, Yuasa, same as the one on the car ...makes sense at the existing one is 7 years old, not bad at all for any car.
£134...why do i still think batteries are £50

 

[Bristolian]

£134 is still cheap. The Yuasa for my car was £299.99

Moral: Don't buy a Merc with stop/start

 

[Pinno718]

£134 is still cheap. The Yuasa for my car was £299.99

Moral: Don't buy a Merc with stop/start

...and pray the starter motor doesn't die.

 

[Adam4868]

Just put a new battery on the Polo....45 quid.
The joys of a 20 year old car 😁

 

[Drago]

Done a lights, levels, tread and pressures check on the van in readiness for going awsy next week.

 

[Pinno718]

Done a lights, levels, tread and pressures check on the van in readiness for going awsy next week.

Awsy is lovely this time of year.

 

[Drago]

Awsy is lovely this time of year.

Oh, it's beautiful. Mount Aswy is just stunning.

 

[tyred]

The trials and tribulations of Yaris ownership. I topped up the windscreen washer and checked the oil at the weekend.

 

[gbb]

Car started with jump pack, drove around 12 miles mostly stop go through the city, parked, left car for 4 hours...ouy again started straight away.
But...as they do reckon modern cars rely so much more on electronics, battery health is critical. On the second journey id pulled up at lights, engaged electronic parking brake, as the lights changed id normally put in gear then drive off...no need to deselect parking brake, it does it automatically...but no, I went to drive, rear wheels refused to roll, car hunched down and nearly stalled.
Unusual...deselected EPB manually, off I went, issue didn't happen again.
Couple days, maybe tomorrow, it'll be nice to have some certainty, I've nursed the old one for 2 winters, a third wasn't looking likely.

 

[Pinno718]

One of these pistons has been very naughty. The eagle eyed (assisted by ctrl+) may spot which one:

 

[johnnyb47]

The second from the left looks a little odd.

 

[Pinno718]

The second from the left looks a little odd.

What sort of 'odd'?
Soz, I won't lead you down the garden path, it's not nr2.

If you look closely (and it's tricky due to lighting and camera angle as the 2nd one from the left looks identical but it isn't) the 3rd piston's top compression ring is totally flush against the piston. Literally took them out yesterday and so I do not know if's it's jammed in it's groove or worn. I suggest the former as there is no tangible wear on the bore. The 'ribbing' is A1 - remarkable really. Con rod bearings look excellent for 80k though I will change them anyway.
No signs of overheating or oil starvation. Head gasket looks like it's 36 years old and amazing it didn't blow given it's condition.
I think it sat too long before I bought the engine and whilst I did all the ancillaries, I did not do the head gasket as it had brilliant compression and leak down figures. Hindsight is everything. and a head gasket job would not have revealed much anyway.
I have done 8k happy miles with that engine. Hopefully, 100k miles + after this marathon. 16 hours spent on the head alone.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

£134 is still cheap. The Yuasa for my car was £299.99

Moral: Don't buy a Merc with stop/start

Don’t buy a Yaris hybrid either
When wife’s needed a new battery, one quote was for almost £300!
(it’s not much bigger than a motorcycle battery, & lives under back seat)

Think we actually got it from a main dealer for about £160?

Edit
More money, in both cases!

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/car-d-i-y.258173/page-165#post-7312188

 

[fossyant]

Batteries aren't cheap. Especially stop start. If the one in my van goes, I'll be letting someone else fit it as there is a whole pile of electronic gubbins bolted to it, and it's at the back of the engine bay. They are apparently a 'pig' to replace.

 

[CXRAndy]

Daughter has new car, so her older Citreon was parked up. Its always had a weak, and potentially high parasitic current drain.

So it was - no start one morning, put trickle charger for an hour, started, drove in garage and fully charged the battery. It last about 10 days before battery gets too low.