stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,926
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Feb 21, 2011 19:23:14 GMT
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Bulb changes are only hard if you don't do them often. I change them on random cars every day, and most are easy when you get the right technique. The one that annoys me most is still the humble Ford Ka's, especially the drivers side. You either have the choice of removing the plastic cover on the rear of the light giving you plenty of access to change the bulb, but then spend 15 minutes trying to get the cover back on, or leaving the cover located at the bottom and change the bulb through the inch wide gap thats left. I prefer the latter option though it depends how flexible your fingers are.
Most modern cars look a lot harder than they actually are. If it looks impossible there's probably a quick release feature for the headlamp unit. Even including dropping bumpers etc I can get most difficult cars done in less than half an hour. The majority take less than 2 mins, though I sometimes fanny round to make the customer feel like he's got his monies worth.
Matt
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Feb 21, 2011 19:27:57 GMT
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VW toerag V10 tdi, almost everything engine wise other than a service is an engine out job, and that'll be 10 hours out for VAG to do it! Plus another 10 hours to get it back in again! So 20 hours labour before any work on the problem is actually done.....no thanks!
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Remember the days when sex was safe and motorsport was dangerous. Vintage bling always attracts pussy.
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Lawsy
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,615
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Feb 21, 2011 19:29:03 GMT
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Headlamp bulbs are hard to change on lots of modern stuff, its the pedestrian safety regs that are to blame, the fronts have all been redesigned and access is less important than a spongy front end. except the Volvo V70, director at work has one and asked me to change the bulb on it, simples, pop bonnet, pull out 2 long tabs, headlight unit drops out complete, then pop the catch, fit new bulb and return changed both headlight bulbs in under half n hour, and that include working it out as well... one of the simplest ever jobs on a modern.. as to difficut jobs, i tend to find the hardest part is pulling out my wallet to pay for someone else to do them ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Feb 21, 2011 19:32:11 GMT
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clutch cable on a diesel xantia:( absolute bumhole of a job Easy if you know how. The trick is remove clutch pedal so you can then attach the cable. From the factory the bolt holding pedal in is imposssible to remove so you have to cut off head. You can always tell when a garage etc has already worked on clutch cable as the bolt will be on the other side so removable Paul h
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crazymonkey
Posted a lot
ummm....what was I doing again???
Posts: 1,981
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Feb 21, 2011 19:46:22 GMT
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My mate reckoned it was difficult to change the headlight bulbs on a new Landrover dfiscovery 3.0 tdv6. Apparently took him 2 hours , the only pics he's got are of the front end missing the bumper and grille to do it
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whoever said dogs were man's best friend....obviously never heard of cable ties
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Mad Max
North West
May contain beard...
Posts: 497
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Feb 21, 2011 20:10:48 GMT
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Anything on newer shape scenics/espace engines. They are set back so far and hidden under so much plastic and scuttle panel that you need contortionist fingers! I'm always in a bad mood when I see one of those booked in at work. Some newer stuff VWs amongs others IIRC have electronic parking brakes (which I hate btw!) that you need to have held off by diagnostic equiptment to change the rear brakes... makes it so much longer than it needs to be. Makes me glad to get home to my REAL cars!
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Em
Part of things
Fuel Injected? Carb Infested!
Posts: 601
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Feb 21, 2011 20:11:59 GMT
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Anything to do with the back brakes on an inboard-discs Jaguar. Getting handbrake calipers back in is especially fiddly, even with a ramp, a leadlight and a homemade “special tool” (read: bolt ground to a point to help locate them), takes ages to refit them...
And changing the plugs on an injected V12 Jag motor. Bank on an hour, even if you’ve got all the fancy, fiddly Snap On knuckles and UJs….
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Feb 21, 2011 20:25:42 GMT
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Full Rear brakes on an e36, pita due to it having disks and drums!
Changing headlights on a 205, the adjusters are a nightmare to fit.
Headlight bulb on a Citroën c5, an hour and it still wasn't done.
Glovebox on mk2 golfs, you can't get the thing out in one piece.
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Feb 21, 2011 20:29:31 GMT
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Pretty much anything on a mg zt v6
I'm helping my brother swap the engine in one atm front of the car had to come off to get the rad out!
As we progress through the job over the weeks we have thought many times various jobs on the engine must be difficult with the engine in situ
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Feb 21, 2011 21:20:00 GMT
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Mating a gearbox to engine in a Mitsubishi Starion, it wasn't a hard job, but positioning the gearbox while lying on your back with all the weight on your arms, and the remaining gearbox fluid running out onto your body is something I won't forget soon.
I realise French cars from the 90's made headlight bulb removal impossible, as well as some having the engine further back into the bulkhead but I've found most 90's cars really easy to work on.
Any job that leaves you with several lascerations on your hands and arms usually = crappy job.
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Last Edit: Feb 21, 2011 21:22:08 GMT by DavidB
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Feb 21, 2011 21:29:07 GMT
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Heater control valve on a Rover 200.... you can see it....... and several wobbly 1/4 drive joints later you can get to the ONE bolt that holds it and then you have to refit it......
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Rover Metro - The TARDIS - brake problems.....Stored Rover 75 - Barge MGZTT Cdti 160+ - Winter Hack and Audi botherer... MGF - The Golden Shot...Stored Project Minion........ Can you see the theme?
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Feb 21, 2011 21:38:16 GMT
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Whinging about moderns and a cool old car fail... ;D Bulb changes are only hard if you don't do them often. I change them on random cars every day, and most are easy when you get the right technique. The one that annoys me most is still the humble Ford Ka's, especially the drivers side. You either have the choice of removing the plastic cover on the rear of the light giving you plenty of access to change the bulb, but then spend 15 minutes trying to get the cover back on, or leaving the cover located at the bottom and change the bulb through the inch wide gap thats left. I prefer the latter option though it depends how flexible your fingers are. Most modern cars look a lot harder than they actually are. If it looks impossible there's probably a quick release feature for the headlamp unit. Even including dropping bumpers etc I can get most difficult cars done in less than half an hour. The majority take less than 2 mins, though I sometimes fanny round to make the customer feel like he's got his monies worth. Matt I'm glad you're not the only one that did the fannying around ;D. It was vaguely embarassing, changing some wiper blades at Halfords - charging £4.99 for literally 30 seconds work. Some weren't though - I remember BMW X5 wiper blades being a bit like some sort of spatial awareness test. And Jag S-types and XJs were you stand there fannying around for 5 minutes before you come to the conclusion that no, the washer jets don't come off the wiper arms and it's a dealer-only job. Some of the bulb changes were total bastards though. I had major problems with fat Renault Méganes, that's an in through the wheel arch job (that seemingly no one else on here that worked at Halfords had a problem with. Smart arses ;D ). And MG ZT V6s - on most 75s and V6s the hatch in the wheel arch is fine, but the V6 is obviously a bigger engine and had air con and stuff, so there was a pipe right behind the hatch Ooh, and I never did one in the end, but changing the battery on a Renault Scenic looks tricky. Because it's beneath the driver's seat
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1989 Peugeot 205. You know, the one that was parked in a ditch on the campsite at RRG'17... the glass is always full. but the ratio of air to water may vary.
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Feb 21, 2011 21:44:59 GMT
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Used to work for Hellfrauds for 4 years (NEVER let anyone you know work for them!) and I was the one bloke who would always get the short end of the stick, and have to do the PITA jobs.. # Would always end up with gouges in my wrist from changing bulbs on meganes - stupid design! # One Audi TT (newer shape) looked like you had to remove the fuel filler to change a brake bulb (wasn't doing it, just noticed it out of curiosity) # Fiat Stilo - had to remove the whole battery tray and fusebox to change one bloody indicator bulb # Most new Vauxhalls, on the driver-side bulb.... could go on forever, but it's not a very interesting list
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You're like a crazy backyard genius!
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Feb 21, 2011 21:50:19 GMT
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lol, oh yeah, one that's fairly funny.... Some mercs with the single wiper, if you pulled it more than a couple of inches away from the screen, the arm locked in place....with no way to remove it. How handy!
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You're like a crazy backyard genius!
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Ryannn
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,421
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Feb 21, 2011 21:50:34 GMT
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Lambda Sensor on my '92 mini... no ratchet or spanner wants to fit between the bulkhead and the manifold.... and anything to do with the rear nearside light... moving that tank makes me put jobs off! lol
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Feb 21, 2011 22:56:42 GMT
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Daft thing is, it seems French cars are the worst to change bulbs on, and you have to carry spare bulbs by law in France so you can change bulbs by the side if the road lol
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Remember the days when sex was safe and motorsport was dangerous. Vintage bling always attracts pussy.
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,926
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Feb 21, 2011 23:16:19 GMT
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French cars are easy if you have palms like a 4 year old and 6" long fingers. They all have plenty of access to the rubber cover on the back of the light unit, but the bulbs are buried so deep into them that you've gotta get most of your hand through a 4" diameter hole to get them out.
Alfa sidelights make me laugh. They have a little plastic handle on the bulb holder to pull it out which invariably shatters as soon as you so much as touch it as only italian plastic can.
Matt
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Feb 21, 2011 23:16:52 GMT
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Anything to do with the back brakes on an inboard-discs Jaguar. Getting handbrake calipers back in is especially fiddly, even with a ramp, a leadlight and a homemade “special tool” (read: bolt ground to a point to help locate them), takes ages to refit them... And changing the plugs on an injected V12 Jag motor. Bank on an hour, even if you’ve got all the fancy, fiddly Snap On knuckles and UJs…. ^ This. Also the front lower wishbone inner pivot pins, on any XJS/XJ6/XJ12. Not helped by the fact the manual says they come out one way, but there's a 50% chance some knuckledragging mouthbreathing slacker on the production line put them in back to front which means the rack and the sump get in the way. Rich
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"You're about as likely to come across a fully functioning old Jag, as you are a taxicab that smells agreeable." - James May
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Feb 21, 2011 23:20:17 GMT
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startermotor on mk1 reno five, spark plug under alternator on V6 voyager,anything False Wheel Drive.
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theres more to life than mpg & to much power is just enough.
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French cars are easy if you have palms like a 4 year old and 6" long fingers. They all have plenty of access to the rubber cover on the back of the light unit, but the bulbs are buried so deep into them that you've gotta get most of your hand through a 4" diameter hole to get them out. Alfa sidelights make me laugh. They have a little plastic handle on the bulb holder to pull it out which invariably shatters as soon as you so much as touch it as only italian plastic can. Matt This is like some Halfords fitter support group here I did the exact thing with the Alfa. I'd just worked out my notice, had a week left between finishing work and moving out so my boss said I could have another week of shifts if I wanted. Now I've seen all the Lethal Weapon movies, I know what happens to you a couple of days before retirement, so I should have known that when this sidelight was a bit stiff, I shouldn't have tried twisting it to see if that helps. But I did And then I spent the rest of the week trying to track down one of these bulb holders from every scrapper, Alfa dealer and Alfa specialist in the area, to be told by all of them that it isn't sold separately. We finally had to replace the entire headlight unit for the customer at a cost of about £130; my manager got someone else in the store to do that instead ;D
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1989 Peugeot 205. You know, the one that was parked in a ditch on the campsite at RRG'17... the glass is always full. but the ratio of air to water may vary.
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