Vehicle repair rant

addertooth said:
I have ran across a few "unremovable parts without yanking the engine". I always think the engineers who designed those cars were a bit dim. Even so, in one of the examples above (a hose that is a mixture of rubber hose and hard line), I would simply cut the rubber, remove the two pieces, then cut the new hose in the same place, and butt-splice and clamp the rubber hose back together. The worst (car) I ever had to deal with was the innocuous 1980 Chevy Monza. To replace the starter, the manual specified pulling the engine. There was a way to do it without pulling the engine, as it was only the exhaust manifold that actually made the critical blockage. Dropping an exhaust manifold was much easier than yanking the engine. Replacing the Distributer cap on the same car required you to disconnect the fuel line, throttle linkage, and removing the intake manifold to have the clearance to lift the cap high enough to get off.
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Remember there are C- engineering students in EVERY graduating class!!!! Makes you wonder!??
 
replaced a water pump pulley on a '13 MIni Cooper that required jacking up the engine and using a crow bar to get out. Had a proper workout doing that job, but got paid in smoked pork butt, so it was worth it!

The Ford Focus that you had to jack the engine up (with left side mount removed) and then down to remove the water pump was another peach.
 
My brother had a Honda Element that developed an intermittent no-start issue... he took it to the local Honda dealer for repair.

$1400 later... he still had the no-start issue...

He was complaining about it that Sunday... I asked a couple of questions, then advised him to replace the starter. He said 'no, the Honda mechanic said the starter is good'.

2 weeks later, after it refused to start at all, I told him if he would buy the starter, I would install it. I obviously didn't realize what all was involved in replacing the starter. It was on the front of the engine under the exhaust manifold.

I had to remove the hood, hood latch plate, electric fan/shroud, radiator, intake/exhaust manifold, and finally managed to remove the starter.

It fixed the no-start issue, though, which is something the local dealer couldn't seem to do.

-Bear
 
Nogoingback said:
I have a 10 year old Mini Cooper that finally needed a battery last year. I learned that a battery replacement requires
reprogramming a computer so the alternator will play nicely with it. Unbelievable!
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My wife had a '14 Ford Escape that had to be reprogrammed after a battery replacement. She has owned 2 vehicles that I couldn't get rid of fast enough... one was the Escape, the other was a '95 Buick Skylark, the most unreliable POS I've ever heard of... bit that is another story...

-Bear
 
Well it's in. Went in a tad easier than it came out - With Honey's help.
Does anyone else here hear 'Let me try a Woman's touch'? - It worked.
Still took way too long. And I haven't got it bled properly yet.
Three 3/8" coolant lines replaced. The kid at O'Reilly's tried to give me fuel line. I gave him the P/N for Gates and a lesson in hoses.
I by gosh am going to get a couple of more years out of this Caddy.

All our vehicles are pre-2001. I'd love to take them to a shop, but the prices are over-board and the quality is sub-sub-par.
The Buick is the Gem of the lot. 1998 Park Avenue, 78K on the odo.

The starter on the Seville is the same as shown in posts above. I truly have come to *Hate* Northstars. Now if I'd had one new that might be a different story. If it goes out, it's all over... :cautious:

Anyone remember drilling out holes in a Monza wheel well to change the spark plugs?

How about changing a thermostat on a Mustang II with a V8 in it? Had to yank the distributor, then of course, mess up the timing, start over. . .

We're not even discussing the Kid's 300ZX - he bought it without consulting with the Ol' Man first. :bang head:
He's relocated to Texas and the vehicle is sitting in our driveway. Got to sell that sometime.

Anyone remember the 'doghouse' vans of the '60s? I was tuning up GrandDad's Dodge and the screwdriver slipped while trying to set the dwell.
Broke the tang off in the oil pump shaft. Had to drop the pan. . . Lesson learned. Two hands on the screwdriver while someone else cranks.

It ain't the repair that hurts, it's the crawling in & out from under the vehicle that does an Ol' Goat in. . . :grin:
 
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Im going to top all you guys..

I helped my neighbor tackle a “routine” shade tree mechanic job of replacing a water pump last summer. He decided to do it himself after Dealer literally quoted him $3,500
Insane. After doing the job which involved pretty much tearing the whole top and front ends of the engine apart and several weekends, I see why they charge that.

Google “Ford Flex water pump replacement” if you doubt me.

Btw this affects all Ford 3.5L V6 ecoboost engines. Anyone consider buying a vehicle with one in it need to do your research on the water pump issue. May not be a common problem but if you’re unlucky brace for the bill.
 
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What is that Make/Model with the starter under the manifold???
Robert
 
rwm said:
What is that Make/Model with the starter under the manifold???
Robert
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I do not recall, I saved that pic a few years back. As I recall from that thread (Not on here), there are several cars that do that now. Also a common procedure of the ford diesel pickups where you need to remove the cab.

I know there is very little I will do to my Pacifica hybrid, all the motors, alternators, and stuff are built in the ECVT tranny. The 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty was an additional $2K, well worth it in my book. I'll stick to working on my old Dodge trucks.
 
My wife had a 98 Ford Contour which was a trouble free car for 90k miles. I had to cut a hole in the floor under the back seat to change out the fuel pump. The job makes changing the fuel pumps underneath a Bradley's turret look like a nice way to spend an afternoon.
 
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