Anyone fancy helping a fellow corrado owner out??

[herisites 0]

Hi guys,

 

I have had a collection of new parts for my corrado gathering up for some time now, these include:

 

- wishbones

- ball joints

- ARB bushes and drop links

- CV boot rubber sleeve (mines split)

 

I think thats about it, i also want to change my front wheel bearings as they are getting a bit noisy buy mainly for piece of mind and dont want to fork out for a garage to do them!!

 

I would try and tackle these myself as in theory i know how to do it, but i just cant and it really annoys me because i want to do all this work to my car which it needs to get driving nicer but i dont know where to start :cry:

 

So would anyone who's pretty well mechanically minded mind spending a day with me and my rado changing these parts and earning a few quid?? You can come to me (i have a double garage) or i could come to you, obviously within a reasonable distance. I have tools but you may need to bring some if you come to me as mine are fairly limited really.

 

If someone could help me out it would be greatly appreciated as i can get the stuff done without spending a fortune so i can continue saving for a charger (which isnt far off).

 

Cheers,

 

Rob.

 

EDIT: Sorry if this is in the wrong section but its all drivetrain parts so thought this would be the correct section :)

[herisites 0]

Oh forgot to add that the VR6 has a low sump which makes taking the drivers side wishbone off hard, you either have to take the sump off or jack up the engine. Preferably i dont want to remove the sump as i need to replace the gasket etc and i will be doing that when i charge it so dont fancy it twice, unless of course thats the only way then i will have to do it twice! Told you im not that good :oops: :cry:

[diggerbucket 0]

I can't help as I'm too far away but I can tell you that undoing the rear engine mount and jacking up the engine is enough to get the wishbone off, I did this just about a month ago :thumbleft:

[herisites 0]

Yeah i have been told to jack the engine up, just sounds a bit dodgy to me, i'd be scared of cocking it up!!

[just_say_meth 0]

Sorry mate can't help either but just thought i'd mention, you need a press to put the front wheel bearings in, did mine about a month ago at a mates garage was hard going!! may be possible without one but it certainly helps alot!!

[herisites 0]

Yeah i thought you needed a press. Shame as im sure its not a bad job if you have a press, i cant fork out £200 or more to get wheel bearings changed!!

[Jim 2]

Some of those jobs are just a bit too.. well, difficult or risky to tackle on a drive way mate. Wheel bearings you might as well forget about doing at home and wishbones are a bit difficult because the bolt that runs through them and into the subframe does sometimes shear on removal and it can require all manner of wonderful tools to get it back out again..

 

I was due to do the wishbones on my car down at 2cc's workshop, with the help of a few other forum members (amongst other work) but we backed out of that because of concerns about a bolt shearing.. I took it to a garage to get done and lo and behold, the bolt snapped! Good job I bought replacements!

 

I don't think people don't want to help you but.. they're just b*stards of jobs that most folks get done at a garage for a reason! :(

[herisites 0]

Yeah i see what ya saying Jim, its just so much money at a garage and even though i can afford it that would put my charger on hold for quite a while!! Which in turn would put back savin up for insurance and my mk1 daily i plan to get and times running out :lol:

[just_say_meth 0]

JIM has some good points, sometimes these jobs can go horribly wrong!! if you get a couple of days that you don't need the car you could strip down the carrier and get the bearings pressed in by a garage, should save on labour costs then just build them back up yourself?!

 

But getting it all done at once might be a better plan?! Like i said i did all thats on your list and a bit more over the past wee while and didn't encounter too many problems. worst job was definately the wheel bearings tho!!

[herisites 0]

Yeah i thought the wheel bearings might be the hardest part, i may just have to pay to get those done, but if i get them to do all the other jobs i will get raped!! If i soaked every nut and bolt in WD40 or Plus Gas then that would help wouldnt it??

[craigowl 0]

Heresites, I see you "want it all now" and that will be because you are 20! The optimism of youth as I recall.

 

Why not bite the bullet and prioritise - something you will always be doing when you are older and wiser. Garage hourly rates can be as little(ha!ha!) as £35/hour, save yourself time and possible disaster/hassle by getting the work done in a good, non franchised garage. You can tackle and look forward to your other ambitions one at a time afterwards. You have plenty of time, really.

 

Sorry, could not help offering the fatherly advice :lol:

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[just_say_meth 0]

Yeah i thought the wheel bearings might be the hardest part, i may just have to pay to get those done, but if i get them to do all the other jobs i will get raped!! If i soaked every nut and bolt in WD40 or Plus Gas then that would help wouldnt it??

 

I would have said the wd40 plan is good, had no problems getting my wishbone bolts out and i never used any but have seen it go on other cars!!

 

Just be careful when you are doing it and if it feels its gunna twist/shear then leave it and get it done by a garage!! After all if you don't try something your never gunna know if you can do it or not! But yeah i can imagine garage prices down your way :lol:

[Toad 0]

I've jsut looked through this thread and I agree with a lot of the points made here. But... If you want to learn how to do the jobs, then you have to throw yourself in at the deep end. If you have a double garage, and can do without the car for a couple of days (Incase things go wrong) then I would suggest giving it a go.

 

Front wheel bearings can be pressed in and out with a decent vice.

 

If I were you I'd jack the car up on the side that needs the CV boot, put some blocks/axle stands under it and get ready to get frustrated....

 

Whip the wheel, off, and remove the hub from the car. You will now be able to either take the hub to a garage to get the bearings pressed in/out or try it with a vice (being very careful to press the bearing straight and not bend the hub.) And also change the CV boot.

 

You can do the boot on the car, but it will be easier, and might be a better learning experience if you take the whole driveshaft off the car.

 

You can replace the ball joints when you come to put the car back together.

 

If you're happy with what you've done, then carry on, if not, take it to a garage to do the rest.

 

Get stuck in mate! It's the only way to really learn the job and your limitations.

 

BTW, these instructions are pretty basic and have missed a few points out. but you'll find guides to each of them on here or the internet/bently etc. Any questions, PM me...

[Goldie 2]

its just so much money at a garage and even though i can afford it that would put my charger on hold for quite a while!! Which in turn would put back savin up for insurance and my mk1 daily i plan to get and times running out

 

I can appreciate what youve said above Rob but there is a reason why these jobs are quite dear at a gargage - because they can turn into a ball ache!!

 

Its all about priorities, i genuinely think i could spend about 10 grand on my car doing this that and the other but things have to happen in a certain order particularly if money is the limiting factor..

 

Personally id say the charger could wait, keep saving towards it and do the jobs that NEED doing and then the ones you WANT doing...

 

Goodness me i sound sensible in my old age!!!

[Matty Newquay 0]

Dude where are you from???

I recently did fron wheel bearings! Ok the 1st one did take me a long time but the second only took a couple of hours! Most of that was spent trying to undo various bit to get the hub off! I just used a socket to get the old one out then used a bench grinder to get rid of the shell still left in place! Then used a big bench vice and another socket to press the bearing back in! Sorted!

Dont mind helpin out! But r u miles away!

[herisites 0]

Cheers for the advice guys, Goldie i totally understand what you mean that the priority jobs should be done first, the cars quick anyway so the charger can wait. But i also agree totally with Toad, i would prefer to do it myself and learn how to do it! The only problem with that is my car being my daily driver and i wouldnt be able to borrow a car if things went wrong :(

 

I have a fair bit of work on at the moment at work and have to also do a sodding uni assignment :mad: so what i was thinking is to get these done and wait for things to quieten down and then book a week off or something for holiday and use this time to do some jobs on my car, therefore if anything goes wrong im not stuck for getting to work and have time to sort the problems out. BUT this then takes me back to my original point of not being confident enough to actually start the work!! Which is why i asked if someone could help. But i suppose at the end of the day if its just a case of putting bolts back on where you took them off etc so cant go terribly wrong right?? :lol:

[Toad 0]

Time is the most important thing, it's amazing how long some of the simple jobs end up taking.

 

Tools are quite a problem too. Not many people have access to 3/4 drive socket sets and vices and OxyAcetalene (when it all ges a bit wrong) that's where I'm quite lucky I suppose.

 

I agree with your comments about putting it all back together the way you took it apart, and essentially, there are only so many ways you can do things, but it helps to have someone with a bit of experience to tell you the little tips and tricks that will save you time. It's also nice to have some to look at it a bit differently when you can't figure out what's wrong.

 

If you were a bit closer I'd pop up, but I'm pretty short of time at the moment. I know there's a few people around the cambridge area who know there stuff, and they aren't that far from you. maybe worth approaching some of them?

[herisites 0]

Cheers Toad, i appreciate your help mate :)

 

I agree a second set of eyes helps, i do programming and mistakes are always made which i cant see but as soon as someone else looks then BAM they spot the problem straight away :lol: so i suppose its similar with most things including working on a car!

 

Tools are a problem as well, i have a large socket set and a vice (although not connected to anything at the moment :roll:) and i have the room in my double garage and even at my dads lock up which is like a massive garage where he keeps all his work equipment and our race bikes.

 

I may go with the idea of booking a week off work at some point towards the end of May, getting as many guides together, haynes manuals (i have the Bentley PDF but dont really find it THAT useful tbh), tools etc and then just hit it and see how i do. And if anything goes wrong just bite the bullet and pay a garage to sort it out. Whilst they are sorting it i could detail a few cars and make the money back :wink: :lol:

[Toad 0]

No worries.

 

It's nice being able to help another owner out.

 

I do programming as well and often sit for hours looking at problems that take the more experienced guys minutes to work around. For example I spent most of yesterday and this morning trying to get an email server working on my machine to test a program I wrote. Turns out it was the firewall causing my problems, and took a coplue of tweaks to the settings to sort out.

 

As I said before, any questions, just PM me. I'm not the best person in the world ever with corrado mechanics, but I'l help you out wherever I can.

[mic_VR 3]

Rob, if you need a good garage get yourself over to DG motors in wellingborough. Used them for years and the guy there is a massive corrado fan.

 

Not notch work and he always seems to do a good deal for an enthusiast

[herisites 0]

Nice one mate, i havent heard of them before and wellingborough's only round the corner.

 

Think i might take a wonder over and get some quotes 8)

[CoxyLaad 0]

wheel bearings are perfectly possible to change at home, remove the hub batter the old bearings out with a drift, then make yourself a homemade bearing press up using 2 plates, a piece of threaded bar and a couple of nuts, press it all back together, and refit - job done.

[NickVR6 0]

I'd be happy to give up a weekend to give you a hand, but your a fair old way off. Its all doable at home and in theory easily in a less than a day. BUT as Jim said that is a list of jobs most likely to have complications, so you need to be prepared for the car to be off the road for up to a week to get bits that break, or already have them.

 

I work in a garage sat mornings, its just a shame your so far away, particularly if it does all go up the swannington :-(

 

pm me if you want my mobi if you do take it on and get really stuck :-)

[herisites 0]

Thanks Nick! Like i said i am going to leave it a bit until i can get some time off so if anything does go wrong im not stuck, then i will tackle the jobs myself. The only job that scares me is jacking up the engine!! I wouldnt know what to do really!

 

CoxyLaad, thanks for the tip mate, i think i have a long threaded bar somewhere, but its bound to be one of those things you see around a lot and when you need it is nowhere to be found!!

[CoxyLaad 0]

yeah mine was like that - took me ages to find it!