Anyone fancy helping a fellow corrado owner out??

[KADVR6 0]

hi Rob, sorry not seen this thread mate. dont forget what i have said to ya mate. if you can wait to do this lot until you get the charger, i will come up to you, and help you fit the charger. and the day before i come up, you take the sump off. get the wishbones off, and get a garage to press them in. so when i get there the following day, its on with the wishbones, and on with the charger.

 

dont forget mate, the offer is there :wink:

[herisites 0]

Cheers Karl, yeah i remembered your offer, but just lately things are getting clunkier and it feeling sheeite to drive so im not enjoying driving it as much and it was looking doubtful as to whether i would be getting a charger any time soon! But that said (dont laugh) im going to ACTUALLY sort my bike out and get shot of it (i said dont laugh! :lol:) i know i have been saying that for ages but i also need to room in the garage now for all my cleaning products :roll: :lol:

 

So if i get shot of that i will have enough for a charger so then its just waiting for one to come up, if i get one soon then i will wait and do the lot with you and in the mean time get a few little niggles sorted out that i can do or dont mind paying to get done.

 

Also i have decided that i am going to put my speedlines back on for daily driving and keep the brocks for shows and meets as the brocks dont help the driving experience!! So if i have a nice drive from the wheels then i wont notice the other problems as much!

 

Thanks again everyone for the help! If i end up doing some jobs myself in the mean time i know i can quite easily contact you guys and get help!

[herisites 0]

Actually guys, as i will need to remove the sump etc when fitting the charger then it makes sense to change the wishbones when doing that. BUT can i still do the rest now do you reckon or do wishbones need to be off for any of them? Im thinking of taking a week off, getting a bunch of tools, haynes manuals, guides etc and tackling a few jobs:

 

- ball joints (do these need the wishbones off?)

- ARB bushes and drop links (these dont need wishbones off do they?)

- Wheel bearing with a home made press

- CV boot

 

And now even thinking of tackling the rear axle bushes :shock: probs take 2 days on it but i have done it on my fiesta before so might tackle these with my home made press and a hacksaw etc. When i done my fiestas though i didnt take the whole rear axle off i just dropped the front part with the bushes in and done them whilst on the car, is it not possible to do this with the C? But then i suppose i should just take the axle off and replace the brake lines whilst its off??

 

Also want to replace rear calipers with Mk4 ones. I believe these are straight fit, i just need mk4 calipers/carriers and brake lines correct???

 

So if i do these in a week taking my time etc, then leave the wishbones until i fit a charger, does that sound doable???

 

I REALLY want to try and tackle these jobs myself with as much swearing as possible so i can learn! I dont want to spend so much on getting a garage to do it and not learn anything about how my own car is put together etc. I am actually thinking of doing an evening mechanics course through the summer, does anyone recommend any??

[Simon69 0]

Hi there,

 

I would be prepared to come and offer support / help depending on when you wanted to do the work (as I'm a bit pushed for time the next few weeks)

 

The points that have been raised about what can go wrong are very valid and you should make plans in case you need a vehicle

 

Having said that, wishbone bushes and ball joints are a doddle (even with jacking the motor) as long as the bolt comes out lol

 

Are you doing these bits because they need doing or because you want to do them?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[herisites 0]

Hey Simon, good to hear from you mate!

 

Im replacing them as they need doing really, all the bushes etc on the car are still the originals, so bound to be pretty naff after 12 years and nearly 140k!! Plus i am charging it soon so i want the car to drive as good as possible.

 

Well i have booked the week of the 4th - 8th June off work to do this work, concentrating on wishbones, ball joints, ARB bushes and drop links, CV boot (as old ones split), possibly wheels bearings but might end up getting a garage to do these as im told you need special tools? These are all the parts i have ready to start with. Eventually i want to do rear axle bushes but im a bit scared to attempt these and will eventually get some mk4 rear calipers and brake lines etc and do these.

 

I would appreciate any help you could give mate, but at the same time i dont want you to go out of your way!

 

Rob.

[Simon69 0]

Hi Rob,

 

PM me your mobile and address, I'd be happy to drop by, do you have all the tools you need?

 

As long as the bolts come out lower arms are a doddle!

 

You might want to invest in a can of "PlusGas" I get it from Allens motor services in wellingborough, it comes in spray and normal cans I always get one of each before working on a car I've not had apart before.

 

Giving everything a good soaking in PlusGas works wonders

 

I guess you should get a big tin of copper slip too (for putting it all back together)

 

Cheers Simon

[herisites 0]

Thought i would update this thread as well as post about it in my gallery.

 

I done it ... jumped right in the deep end, took a week off work, gathered all tools needed, got a big tub of copper slip, loads of plus gas and wd40 and jacked the car up in the garage on monday and now she's almost ready to come back down!!

 

Monday - i changed my gear box oil first as i had to wait for new bolts and ARB bushes to turn up n tuesday. So i just went to halfords and bought 2 litres of Castrol manual gear box oil, a funnel and tubing and then followed the guide from the knowledg base. It was a piece of piddle and after a little drive it did feel smoother going into gear so glad i done that. Although 1st and reverse are still hard to get in at times so i think tomorrow i am going to adjust the gear linkages to allow it to move a tad more to the left.

 

Tuesday - Lots of swearing!! I tackled the drivers side wishbone (with the sump in the bloody way!) which i admit did take me most of the day as i was a bit scared, had nobody with me and i was very unsure about jacking the engine up! But alas i soldiered on with some great advice from Toad (thanks a lot for all your help over msn mate, much appreciated!). I jacked the engine up by removing the front and rear engine mount bolts and SLOWLY jacked up the engine until i started hearing creaks etc which was scary, it lifted up just enough to get to the bolt! The bolts themselves were fine taking off, some harder than others but generally ok thanks to plus gas! So i replaced the whole wishbone, new ball joint and new ARB drop link as well as new bolts all greased up! So that was that job done.

 

Today - Started well but then LOTS of swearing towards the end! I first off took off the wishbone, much easier this time only took about 15 mins :lol: then i wanted to take the hub off to get to the CV boot which is split, however i didnt have a large socket set at hand so couldnt undo the hub nut. Oh well i carried on, replaced the wishbone BUT left the old ball joint on as i will change the CV boot tomorrow so will need to split the ball joint and dont want to fcuk up the new one! Then once wishbone was back on i tackled the ARB bushes. Now with this again i was very weary as i needed to lower the rear sub frame slightly to allow the ARB to slip out. I put a trolley jack under the sub frame to support it, removed the 4 bolts holding the ARB in, then removed the 2 rear bolts from the sub frame holding the wishbone in and then just loosened the 2 main bolts that attach to the chassis. Then started slowly lowering the jack and this allowed for the ARB to come out along with old bushes. But the swearing came when putting it back together because of that FCUKING clamp that goes round the bushes, god that things a right cnut to get straigh enough to get a bolt in and its so fussy, you have to get it perfect else the bolt wont go in :x but finally with the help of a G-clamp i got the bastards on and then put it all back together.

 

So thats the main jobs done really and so far i am really pleased with my efforts, i didnt have a clue how to do these jobs before, i had no manual really but did have help from Toad and searched the forum and got some answers, and got it all done.

 

Tomorrow i should have a large socket set so i will tackle the CV boot which im not looking forward to. I also got my new brakes today so will fit them and THEN she's done ready for her MOT on friday, and also to get it tracked as its bound to be all over the place now!!

 

A very happy (and tired and frustrated!!) Rob :D

[mic_VR 3]

Well done mate, sounds like a fine week of work. I'm afraid in at the deep end seems to be the way with all these cars. I've got rear bushes to do at some point and really not looking forward to it! :(

 

But sounds like you'll be the man to ask when the rest of us do this stuff now! :lol: :lol:

[easypops 8]

well done mate :D

[herisites 0]

Well done mate, sounds like a fine week of work. I'm afraid in at the deep end seems to be the way with all these cars. I've got rear bushes to do at some point and really not looking forward to it! :(

 

But sounds like you'll be the man to ask when the rest of us do this stuff now! :lol: :lol:

 

Yep ... Hit it with a big hammer :lol:

 

I wanna do my rear axle bushes at some point as well, i was going to do them this week but not going to have time now plus i dont really fancy tackling them!!! I will do them another time i reckon, maybe a bank holiday weekend so i have 3 days and at the same time change the rear brake line and calipers for mk4 ones.

[herisites 0]

Actually quick question to anyone who knows really.

 

I got my new discs and pads and the new pads have pad wear connectors on. Where do these plug to?? My old ones dont have it so does that mean my car hasnt got the pad wear functionality? If not do i just cut off the pad wear sensors off the new pads and put them in as ordinary pads???

[Jim 1]

Respect to you mate. Never had the balls to work on my car by myself!

[herisites 0]

Respect to you mate. Never had the balls to work on my car by myself!

 

Cheers Jim, i was the same, i had the knowledge of how to do most jobs but didnt want to tackle them myself but i wanted to learn so i though sod it lol. Im really glad i did because i have learnt a lot, my confidence is massively improved, im even thinking of other jobs i could do now lol but at the same time following the advice 'if it aint broke dont fix it' lol.

[Simon69 0]

Well done mate, PM'd you

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Toad 0]

Actually quick question to anyone who knows really.

 

I got my new discs and pads and the new pads have pad wear connectors on. Where do these plug to?? My old ones dont have it so does that mean my car hasnt got the pad wear functionality? If not do i just cut off the pad wear sensors off the new pads and put them in as ordinary pads???

 

If you've not got the connector on your car (should be a plug in your wheel arch or clipped to the suspension strut) then don't worry. A quick tug will get rid of the wires for you.

 

Glad things are going well! Any other problems, just give me a shout. Sorry I can't be too much help at times but I don't have bently at work, and half the time I'm trying to imagine my way around the problem , without my lack of work being noticed fromt he powers that be! lol.

[herisites 0]

Cheers Tom, so far mate the help you haven given has been very helpful so thanks again! I had a look around the brakes and couldnt see anything so i think i will just give the wires a tug and that will be the end of that problem.

 

Todays job is the passenger side CV boot, i have my Bentley PDF on the laptop ready in the garage but just need to find out if my dad did bring home the large socket set else im nackered! If he did and i get the CV boot changed then its all back together again complete with new discs and pads, give the brakes a quick bleed and take her out for a spin :D i also need to change my oil switches as my light beeps at me occassionally and the pressure is fine so i think its just the switch.

[Stan 24v 0]

Make sure you get the track and camber done Rob. I left mine on the mrs 4mo for a few weeks after changing the wishbones and ball joints and it ate through a brand new tyre :shock: Literally within 3-4 weeks the outer edge was fooked and I had to get a new tyre for it.

[herisites 0]

Make sure you get the track and camber done Rob. I left mine on the mrs 4mo for a few weeks after changing the wishbones and ball joints and it ate through a brand new tyre :shock: Literally within 3-4 weeks the outer edge was fooked and I had to get a new tyre for it.

 

Yeah got it done Stan (see my gallery!), they had to do it 3 or 4 times i cant remember now lol. Every time they done it and took it up the road and back it settled more and had to do it again! Was a pig but now feels like a completely different car!!