car jobs you dread, until you actually do them....

[60six]

I have a parrticularly scruffy old saab 9000 saloon which is an absolute joy to drive as its really comfy and quiet, but it's scruffy, lots of dents and marks everywhere and a matt black wing, bonnet and boot. It's also a Griffin 2.3 Turbo which in the Saab world just means awful wood panelling clued to the tops of the doors, & a rear sun visor. That's it. Possibly the dark green was also a griffin thing too.

Got offered a set of lowering springs as one of mine cracked slightly and would not affect the steering but would make this awful noise, and as I couldn't get a single front spring easily - I took on this job myself, knowing that the struts on these things are pigs to remove. Had to buy a compressor and an air chisel to help free up the strut bottom bolts on my other saab, and I always worry when using spring compressors.

Not looking forward to this job at all, a mate of mine lent me a dewalt impact driver telling me that I could get the whole job done in two hours - I planned two days!

Started at 5pm, by 6pm BOTH struts were off, and by 6.30pm I had swapped the springs! My head is spinning .... I think that the struts had been replaced before and the dewalt simply made every bolt a breeze.

Knowing my luck the rears are going to be a pig but so far so good ...

[stealthstylz]

All car jobs give me the dread lol. I don't know why as I'm a pretty good mechanic and I enjoy working on cars once I've got stuck in. Making that initial jump rather than just leaving it for another day is hard though.

[mylittletony]

Sept 20, 2023 5:18:52 GMT stealthstylz said:

All car jobs give me the dread lol.

100% this

1000% if it's the wife's car or my daily

[mr2fc]

I dread them all, even while doing them! I dread the possibility of whatever I've just fixed letting go on the test drive afterwards, and for about three months after!

I even dread them when I'm merely just "helping" a mate ...

[brachunky]

And this is supposed to be our hobby But....It's understood as I too dread bigger jobs. It's also fair to say that it's also the fear of the unknown and that itself could be skills, tools you may need and possibly spending more dosh than imagined on the job.
For me the most important factor is knowing I am prepared for the job and not having to be in a rush to do it. Here the infamous UK weather also plays a role as many don't have a covered work area. You have limited time and are prepared but are faced with rain & wind the morning you are set to do the job.
Call it dread, maybe a bit of procrastination but it can hinder the enthusiasm.

[60six]

Well, the rears on these saabs are even easier. I pop one bolt off and the rear arm almost spits the spring out!

The last set of springs the rears were a bit saggy - not these ones.

Job complete - Quick tracking adjustment & i'm done!

[ChasR]

It really does depend on the job. Certain tools can make or break the job, literally, like the DeWalt impact guns. Mine's come in handy, and broken a couple of things!

Sept 20, 2023 7:19:49 GMT mylittletony said:

Sept 20, 2023 5:18:52 GMT stealthstylz said:

All car jobs give me the dread lol.

100% this

1000% if it's the wife's car or my daily

This! If it's the daily and it's dry/warm, it's not the end of the world, as I have two other vehicles (motorbike and car), along with a pushbike if push comes to shove. Estates are handy however!

Sept 21, 2023 19:53:49 GMT 60six said:

Well, the rears on these saabs are even easier. I pop one bolt off and the rear arm almost spits the spring out!

The last set of springs the rears were a bit saggy - not these ones.

Job complete - Quick tracking adjustment & i'm done!

That's quite lucky! If the bolt had seized into the bush, you'd have been in for a world of pain. But it's a good example of doing a job you dread.

Anyway, how about mine?


1) Merc W108 heater panel. My controls were broken when I bought the car. Everyone online said they are a nightmare to do. The reality? They are a little fiddly, yes, but a nightmare? Further from the truth. Spark plugs, especially the ones at the rear of the engine bay (mine was a 4.5) were worse to do. For a year, because of this, I lived with a car that steamed up in the rain, and was cold in the winter. The worst part? The heaters were magnificent! Very Mercedes like! I can still hear the burble of that car.

2) Saab 9-3 (YS3F) rear brake discs : You knew this would feature. Whoever designed the wanky setup on the rear should be shot. God knows why you need to remove a suspension bolt in order to make a brake disc carrier bolt accessible. Clearly, Saab thought this was wise. Yes, the Aeros don't need the carrier removing, but on a non-Aero, you are up turd creek without a paddle. If I didn't have the DeWalt, I'd have still been there now, or have done what the last guys before me did ; not change them. I put them off twice. Luckily, the bolt hadn't seized into the balljoint/bush. The handbrake calipers however, they were a different story. I actually did dread them as the issues unravelled, as shown here. Someone ended up with some scrap calipers after I cut them apart. Come to think of it, I hate most jobs on that car, as did my tame mechanic (Subframe dropping to change a PAS pipe anyone?)

3)BMW E91 rear springs and dampers. I dreaded changing the snapped spring on the E91. However, it went smoothly and the bolts played ball. The damper didn't when the bottom bit snapped off, but it had blown anyway, so it wasn't the end of the world.

4)E46 M3 valve clearances. Mine need doing again, and it's not a job I enjoy. They're simple to do, it's just if a shim decides to jump out of its retainer as you put them back in, which is easier said than done...

[jmotor]

That Saab looks better a touch lower now.

I've found as my selection of tools got better the jobs started to become easier. Have the same DeWalt gun too and it's game changer for me, no longer do I have to faff about with crank pulleys or stuck fixings.

As for jobs that turned out easier than first thought.

Cambelt and water pump on a RWD 3SGE BEAMS. Whip the rad out of the car and you've got all the room in the world. One bolt on the water pump is blocked by the A/C pump mount, but that's fiddly than hard.

Heater matrix in a 2013 Leon. Done in three hours. Basically take the glovebox out and it's there. to do the same job on a 306 I once owned was three hours in stripping the dash out alone.

That said, I do run two cars as well just in case it goes to utter curse word.

[60six]

The saab 95 has a few of those 'vauxhall' moments - ac pump replacement can be impossible if you have not done it before - same with alternator.

those handbrake cables have put me off anything but a 93 aero!

The stereo system on a 93 is the most overengineered curse word I ever seen - OPTICAL fibre connection from the head unit to the amp? why? for what purpose? must of cost loads to develop something that a simple cable could do. Bragging rights in the manual? I just cannot see why you would need something like a fibre connection more akin to transmitting internet around the globe, to pass audio to an amplifier in the boot?

[60six]

Sept 23, 2023 10:34:04 GMT jmotor said:

That Saab looks better a touch lower now.

I've found as my selection of tools got better the jobs started to become easier. Have the same DeWalt gun too and it's game changer for me, no longer do I have to faff about with crank pulleys or stuck fixings.

my only worry now is stripping threads - it's the best tool I have bought since the lightweight quicklift low profile trolley jack, and ebay electric ratchet

[grizz]

About to go drill out stripped Allen heads on van steering, then remove sports steering, and hopefully fit an original.

Still dreading, just in case new wheel does not get etc.

Fingers crossed.

[at200]

I didn't dread doing it but unclogging the screen wash tube on my 3 series required removing all the trim from the driver wheel arch, removing the banana shaped bottle,then washing the gunk from a tiny plastic grill. Really time consuming job and a badly designed part to access for an mot requirement.

[grizz]

Sept 23, 2023 14:21:06 GMT grizz said:

About to go drill out stripped Allen heads on van steering, then remove sports steering, and hopefully fit an original.

Still dreading, just in case new wheel does not get etc.

Fingers crossed.

PS. Done.

[Kelvinator]

Bodywork, especially welding and filler. I hate doing it, but its quite satisfying once its done and you look back and think "oh that wasn't so bad"

[kevins]

Changing water pump on a RV8, if all the bolts come undone it's a doddle, but 4 of them go through the alloy block into the water jacket, when they snap off you have to strip the front of the engine to get the front cover off and repair it, even then the funs not over because any helicoil type repair to the block also has to be wstertight.

[60six]

I simply HATE doing any work with filler. A mate of mine who works with this stuff daily it's like watching a bl00dy pastry chef - then I come along and just sand everything into submission, then the primer runs and/or the paint reacts to something and back to square one.

[Roach]

I’ve been staring at a set of glow plugs for my work van for a week. Terrified of snapping the old ones trying to get them out.

[brachunky]

Sept 23, 2023 21:48:43 GMT grizz said:

Sept 23, 2023 14:21:06 GMT grizz said:

About to go drill out stripped Allen heads on van steering, then remove sports steering, and hopefully fit an original.

Still dreading, just in case new wheel does not get etc.

Fingers crossed.

PS. Done.

Was the boss destroyed in the process?

[Dez]

Even building cars professionally, about 3/4 of it is doing sh1t you don’t want to have to do to get to the bit you do want to do.

Personally I hate prep and paint. I’m getting better at it and am doing more, but there was a reason that for years my involvement with a car stopped as soon as it was made out of metal again, and it was someone else’s job to paint it.

[Gusman_2286]

Sept 24, 2023 0:51:29 GMT Kelvinator said:

Bodywork, especially welding and filler. I hate doing it, but its quite satisfying once its done and you look back and think "oh that wasn't so bad"

Yeah... I've never had the last bit, my skills result in me looking back and thinking "god that looks awful"