Working on your own car

[Jim Bowen 1]

i really should of tinkered with my old car rather than learn on a corrado.

 

but i wanna start replacing a lot of parts, not due to them being broken, just due to the 140,000miles most of these bits have done

 

things like

 

rear axle bushes

front wishbone bushes

ARB bushes

whole wishbones

brake lines

Top mounts

trailing arms

Steering rack

Track rod ends

shocks

ball joints

 

just wondering how many of you work on your own car? as the above parts are pretty cheap to buy, is just the labour that costs a lot

 

would you recommend someone without much knowledge to pick up the stuff, learn, read and try?

 

fed up with large garage bills for stuff that to me seems like unbolting things and putting them on again

[herisites 0]

You wont be able to change the rear axle bushes and wishbone bushes yourself mate as these need to be pressed in, however new wishbones come with the new bushes so you can easily enough change the wishbones. Everything else there can be done, some fairly easy. With most of them parts though you would need to get the car 4-wheel aligned after as they can knock the geometry out which you will need to get a garage to do.

[herisites 0]

Also this could be made into a poll :wink:

[Louie Lungbubble 0]

I'd love to do more work on it than I actually can.

If we all had large garages which were warm, dry, well lit with ramps and an endless supply of tools on the back wall, most garages would go out of business.

It's the facilities to do the work in which is most of the problem.

[Dub_nut_g60 0]

I was the same with being fed up with silly garage bills so have started to try and do some stuff myself.

 

Ive found that if you want to learn and dont know what your doing just ask for help from someone who knows. That way you know what your doing next time and all it costs is a couple of beer tokens!

[herisites 0]

You can figure out how to change most parts, just looks where its bolted on and just make sure you put it back the way it was before :lol:

[blackcat 0]

I much prefer to do stuff myself if I can, like you say most parts are cheap, it's the labour that is expensive.

 

I started with little things and then moved on to bigger more difficult tasks. I tend to do more stuff on the golf because I can use the Haynes manual to help, the 'rado's a bit trickier if you don't know what you doing but there are plenty of really helpful people on here who can give you much helpful advice.

 

However, like herisites said, some things have to be done at a garage unless you have the correct tools/equipment

[Tempest 0]

When I bought my Mk1 Rocco, which was the first car that I swore I didn't want to bring to garages any more (as I am too touchy about my Mk1 Rocco), I started reading the US Haynes and Bentley, you then start doing some jobs, which increasingly get bigger and bigger as your confidence grows. It's mainly an issue of confidence, or put differently, the scare of breaking something that you can't fix any more. I learnt as I went along, often realising that some of the stuff in the manuals is not quite detailed enough. Forums have been of great help, too.

 

Sometimes it's indeed more fun to have a mate to tinker on your or his car with, as you then bounce off ideas and learn even more.

 

Tempest

[Riley 0]

Sometimes it's indeed more fun to have a mate to tinker on your or his car with, as you then bounce off ideas and learn even more.

 

Tempest

 

Very true 8)

 

Ive currently got a mates G60 in my unit...

 

Started off wanting to repair a broken exhaust manifold stud.

So far we have done that x3!,as well as stripping/cleaning the tappets,replacing the valve stem seals,re-seating/grinding in the valves.

 

Got to get it all built back up now,new cambelt and tensioner,new mk1 gti crank bolt and washer,all new top end gaskets,new exhaust manifold and downpipe gaskets etc etc...

 

Have both had a few idea's as far as the bloody water pump bolts/crank bolt :mad: :lol:

 

Neil.

[steve_16v 0]

I've never done any work on a car, wouldn't even trust myself to change the oil without something going wrong :lol: That's why it goes to the garage whenever anything needs doing, bought a new throttle cable for it the other day, supposedly dead easy to do yourself so it shouldn't take my mechanic long to fit.

 

Oddly enough I've always bought haynes manuals though :? needless to say they remained pristine and got given away when the cars were sold.

[Dub_nut_g60 0]

Sometimes it's indeed more fun to have a mate to tinker on your or his car with, as you then bounce off ideas and learn even more.

 

exactly the reason im going to be helping a mate get his kit car finished!

[veedub 0]

I do 99% of the work on my cars because I'm the only person I trust! (and I'm always skint!)

[Jim Bowen 1]

I've never done any work on a car, wouldn't even trust myself to change the oil without something going wrong :lol: That's why it goes to the garage whenever anything needs doing, bought a new throttle cable for it the other day, supposedly dead easy to do yourself so it shouldn't take my mechanic long to fit.

 

Oddly enough I've always bought haynes manuals though :? needless to say they remained pristine and got given away when the cars were sold.

 

its funny you say that, as i tried an oil change on my last car and overtightened the sump nut and ripped the thread out of it :lol:

 

ended up costing alot more than it should of

[Son of a Beesting 0]

I'd love to do more work on it than I actually can.

If we all had large garages which were warm, dry, well lit with ramps and an endless supply of tools on the back wall, most garages would go out of business.

It's the facilities to do the work in which is most of the problem.

 

Agreed. But I dont have these facilities so I dont it in my cramped cold wet garage!

 

At the moment the VR front is in bits while I change the cooling system and put an oil cooler in. Its more satifying and it cuts costs. But things can get REALLY annoying. Luckly I have a mechanic mate who comes over if I get to stuck. I wont try some of things I do if he wasnt around.

[Jim Bowen 1]

i'm quite lucky as i have a nice garage to work in, just need some better tools, i think i may start doing something simple and see how confident i get

[herisites 0]

3corsameal, thats the best way mate, and having a nice garage helps, i got a double garage and just having room to move etc makes life a whole lot easier when working on my car :D

[iow_corrado_g60 0]

brake lines may be a bit tricky as well with the engine etc i try to do most of that work myself like I did on th G! including brakes but other things like bushes wishbones cv joints leave it to the people in the know!

[Walesy 0]

I used to have a bash at doing things myself because I didn't have any choice, as I didn't know any garages that wouldn't :

 

A. Take one look at the Corrado and say " ooooooh, not one of those sciroccos, they're a nightmare mate "

B. Charge stupid amounts of money for labour which made everything too expensive to fix

C. Do a rubbish job and be happy to give the car back to me having been bodged.

 

Since moving to Cornwall and finding RKE ( St Agnes 01872 553839 :D ) i'm more than happy to let them do anything that needs doing to my cars safe in the knowledge that they're going to do a top job and not charge the earth.

[Yandards 0]

None of the work is complicated but the real skill in any mechanical work is learning lateral ways of getting stuff undone..

 

Rear beam can be done but I would recommend taking it to your nearest stealers to get the beam bushes removed and fitted - beam will go in the back of a C ok.

[herisites 0]

...beam will go in the back of a C ok.

 

Not the same C though because you wont get very far :lol:

[Walesy 0]

..beam will go in the back of a cok? :shock:

[Niges16V 0]

Just say to yourself, "it's only nuts & bolts"!

 

That's what I did when I needed the cylinder head refurbed on my old valver! It was a bit daunting at first but as long as you take your time, readup and think about things then you can pretty much do anything. You have the hardest bit sorted which is a suitable garage, the next important factor is quality tools, not the cheapo stuff as this is what gives you problems. on a 10+ yr old car there are alot of rusty nuts n bolts that can easily shear, then you will wish you used a garage!!

 

I have done everything on your list myself recently except for the rear beam bushes & brake lines. The rest is doable providing you have the tools. I suggest you use the good old forum to check what you need before you start.

[Yandards 0]

..beam will go in the back of a cok? :shock:

 

Yup, had to take a trip to JMR when 2cc and myself did Nick's beam a few years ago as my beam tool was missing (and still is) a bit. Got three of us in the car including the beam. (Thanks again John, Sunday at short notice!)

 

Please find attached a picture of Nick looking smug...

[A1 VR6 0]

The first thing you should consider when doing any work is safety i.e. if your gonna get under the car always and I mean always use axle stands. you know it makes sense and good luck it's maybe a bit daunting at first but there's loads you can do with basic tools and a bit of common sense.

[Mave 0]

Definately agree there A1 VR6, I once used a jack to get under the car to put an exhaust gasket on. I was under there and my phone rang, got out from underneath, answered the phone and the jack slipped and the car fell down :shock: Thank god I wasn't under there at the time!

 

I "try" to do the work myself, I've done a fair few jobs on the car, but I lack the tools and knowledge to take on any big jobs.

 

Plus having my dad say "you'll just mess it up" don't exactly help :roll: