View Full Version : Most annoying jobs on cars.
Ill start with my patience tester from today..
I bought myself a cheapo Citroen Xantia turbo diesel for a runabout/work hack on thursday, to replace my clio diesel is on its last legs. After a dodgy cold start yesterday morn (loads of smoke:laugh:) i decided to change the glow plugs today, i thought 30 min job & how wrong was i.
I think i mentally scarred after 2 1/2 hrs to sort it in the cold! I honestly think its worse than any job ive ever done to a gtt or other car. kids hands needed for such a basic service item. Starts on the button now but in true french fashion the aux belt has decided to throw a wobbler, tomorrows job:scared: lets see how long this takes..
Whats the most annoying/difficult repair you have done to a car & why?
Tiny Tim
10-01-2009, 18:57
Never underestimate frenchies! :rolleyes:
Personally it would have to be the rocker cover gasket on the Legacy. 4 hours and lots of cuts. :wasntme:
Andrew Cooke
10-01-2009, 18:59
mini master cylinder, they must have had double jointed left handed leprechauns working at the factory.
fiat punto bonnet release cable replacement, espcially when the cable has snapped ! Tore my forearm to shreds trying to release bonnet !
Or changing a headlight bulb on a porsche cayanne (4x4) the only way i could do it was to lye on top of the engine just to reach the headlight! (i'm 5ft 5" btw)
ford ka 1.3 exhaust manifold! it does not come out of the engine bay!
Ill start with my patience tester from today..
I bought myself a cheapo Citroen Xantia turbo diesel for a runabout/work hack on thursday, to replace my clio diesel is on its last legs. After a dodgy cold start yesterday morn (loads of smoke:laugh:) i decided to change the glow plugs today, i thought 30 min job & how wrong was i.
I think i mentally scarred after 2 1/2 hrs to sort it in the cold! I honestly think its worse than any job ive ever done to a gtt or other car. kids hands needed for such a basic service item. Starts on the button now but in true french fashion the aux belt has decided to throw a wobbler, tomorrows job:scared: lets see how long this takes..
Whats the most annoying/difficult repair you have done to a car & why?
lol, I did a set on my old xantia, I couldn't figure out how to remove the boost hose over the top of the engine, so cut the bugger in half with a hacksaw so that I could remove it out of the way! jubilee'd it back up with a bit of old boost hose. I remember lots of other crap got in the way too.
bones660
10-01-2009, 19:21
bottom ball joint on a citroen xantia . not the most hardest of jobs i here you say , the annoying part was the £50.00 i had to pay snap-on for the socket to remove and refit the ball joint it self . :dearme:
the hidden glow plug on the xantia engine.... i gave it too much welly and snapped the water union next to it.....
Matthew Dyer
10-01-2009, 20:22
New poster! (less than 10 posts)
heater matrix on a peugoet 106 gti the pipe is right under the steering rack, night mare
mini master cylinder, they must have had double jointed left handed leprechauns working at the factory.
Ive took my whole pedal box out today for some modification, Im still swearing now i hate getting out the split pins :mad:
New poster! (less than 10 posts)
heater matrix on a peugoet 106 gti the pipe is right under the steering rack, night mare
I changed the heater matrix on my old ax diesel, exactly the same its a nightmare!
the hidden glow plug on the xantia engine.... i gave it too much welly and snapped the water union next to it.....
I was expecting that to happen but i was lucky as the glowplug wasn't that tight. some pikey had only changed the other 3 & left that one, looked like the original!
Washing them ...can't stand it , don't do it :laugh:
wrightygtt
10-01-2009, 21:05
Tbh, anything on the five is annoying, these days I just look it, looking pretty, scratch my head, as I can't be arsed, then put it back in the garage,:sad2: when its warmer I'll pull my finger out. Bodywork wise trying to get the new doors to fit correctley on my own, without chipping the freshly painted sills was fun!
Any job that involves welding to rust upside down under the car!
TNT!hammond
10-01-2009, 21:28
ford escort van clutch quadrant :mad:, front seat out , lay on back, swear loads drop the steering rack uj on your face and then cut yourself to pieces trying to remove the old quad thats snapped. This then in reverse for the new one but with more swearing lol:cooter:
New poster! (less than 10 posts)
Any job that involves welding to rust upside down under the car!
Just love that buzz as a spit of weld goes in your ear or the pain as it goes into your shoe and through your sock:cry:
Penfold aka The Dealer
10-01-2009, 22:31
Cant say i get my hands dirty... think the hardest thing i have done is painting alloys.... not really working on my car but it does take alot of time and elbow grease.
paul-11turbo
10-01-2009, 22:46
Most annoying job i done on my car started out as a simple check of the spark plugs.
Took 2 out,checked the gap,cleaned them up and put them back in ok.
Got to the 3rd one and discovered it was really hard to get out and after it finally came out i discovered it had been cross threaded as it was put in by previous owner.
So the simple 5 min job turned into a full head removal to get the plug hole re-threaded.
At least it was an excuse to get an uprated gasket and bolts fitted.
The most annoying job I did was put an engine in(after being told it was a runner) only to find out it had a melted piston, take it back out and re-fit the old engine :mad:
God I laughed
any job i reckon,because i think what else i could be
doin rather than pee about workin on it....:dearme:
dangerous dave
10-01-2009, 23:53
ford ka 1.3 exhaust manifold! it does not come out of the engine bay!
Cat inc manifold out the front? thats a right cnut:crap:
done a 106 heater matrix too, pain in the ar5e
i find jobs are long winded and i try to take short cuts that dont work out.. like my uncle told me "the lazy man does twice the work" often the case with cars:)
bones660
11-01-2009, 08:54
a 21 turbo heater matrix are *******s . also mg maestro heater matrix . :mad::mad::mad::mad:
Woznaldo
11-01-2009, 10:15
It took the use of about 15 different tools to do the timing belt on my old Pug 205 GTI and all the weird sizes too. It took 4 tools to do the same job on my wife's '96 VW Polo. That's not hard, just winds me up:mad:.
most annoyin job i did to my car was break the back window without smashin the glass when i locked myself out
with the car running and in the middle of the street just to add
hahaha
mayb its not a job but i need a screwdriver so u cld say i used tools
hahaha
Anti-roll bar bushes on GTA .
Takes about a day to get them on off and on .You have to rotate the bar so it's pointing down and then use the weight of the rear end to press them home with loads of lube . Jack it up ,let it down ,jack it up let it down etc ...
Water temp sensor on a Pulsar
Taking inlet plenum off a pulsar
Fixing water pipes on a Pulsar (engine out)
Taking gearbox off a Pulsar (weighs nearly as much as the engine)
Everything I did on that car was near on a nightmare, it's the worst car i've ever worked on.
Taking the gearbox out the bottom of an Escort RS turbo was a ball ache too, as I found I didn't have the car high enough on the axle stands.
Rob@Backyardracing
11-01-2009, 20:14
Oil seperator 996 C2+C4 with engine in allways get cuts...
Clutch 996 turbo/993 turbo with engine still in place and holding clutch fork in place with tape.
964 major service changing all 12 spark plugs... just boring...
Matt@CodeRedMotorsports
11-01-2009, 20:20
New poster! (less than 10 posts)
Just love that buzz as a spit of weld goes in your ear or the pain as it goes into your shoe and through your sock:cry:
The 'Mig' dance.......
Ever tried to replace a snapped Lotus Elise engine cover release cable......?
I had to cut a hole in the inner wheel arch.
Chris Hebden
12-01-2009, 12:51
Cambelt on an Audi A4 (01 model i think) whole front end off the car and lay it on the floor jobbie! Great fun looking at the customers face when they sore there whole front end laid out on the floor with the AC rad hanging by the hoses :D and only half of me on show because my boss was lowering the car over me!
Update on the cheapo runabout. Tried changing the aux belt yesterday & the bolt that holds the belt tensioner is loose, infact it wont thread into anything & goes fully home. Can't even see if its supposed to have a nut on the back, or the threads are shagged due to a clutter of pipes etc. Cant remove the bolt due to it hitting the inner wing...
Looks like this weekends job is remove the hydraulic pump, alt & air con pump to find out whats up, another patience tester for sure.
dangerous dave
12-01-2009, 19:08
had a right nightmare with the 5 today, i've swapped engines and hosed it up loads of times but could i manage fitting the samcos today:crap: soaking wet and pitch black doesn't help.. im also running a 1watt energysaver bulb or somesh1t in the garage, so eyes open or closed made little difference..
might have a bash when its dry and perhaps try out that daylight stuff... :scared:
Its all about working in the dark Dave !!!...Just been outside under the 5 replacing the copper brake pipes under the boot floor :D
markey b
12-01-2009, 19:15
i've got a few that i've encountered
clio dash conversion was a right ****
peugeot 405/citroen xantia clutch pedal clip.... requires a hole saw to make a hole behind the clocks ;)
any peugeot/citroen torsion bar on anything over 6months old as i swear they put them together and spray them in salty water
kia sedona alternator.... right up the back only accesible from underneath, and they put the bolts in at the factory, but the wrong way, so they dont come out as the subframe is about an inch away from the 5inch bolt lol... requires a hacksaw blade wrapped in tape and alot of arm swapping, and then a new bolt in the correct way lol
rear engine mount on a r19 with no access to a lift.
i would of happily burnt the car on the drive if i didnt need it for work
markey b
12-01-2009, 19:39
rear engine mount on a r19 with no access to a lift.
i would of happily burnt the car on the drive if i didnt need it for work
2nd that... altho after buying the mount and looking at the job... i decided that mine was just fine and i could live with a bit of movement lol
anything on a 19 seems to be a ****, even the downpipe bolts require tools that no one has thought to design yet
2nd that... altho after buying the mount and looking at the job... i decided that mine was just fine and i could live with a bit of movement lol
anything on a 19 seems to be a ****, even the downpipe bolts require tools that no one has thought to design yet
worse thing is i replaced all three engine mounts and the eninge still rocks.
suddenly realised the place where hte gearbox joins to the rear engine mount is broken.
so the bolts wobbling about.
f**kin car drives me mad. but no matter what i throw it at, the car never lets me down. Gawd bless the R19 cab!
It even has holes in the roof which dont leak in the rain, that totally Bamboozels moi!
rear exhaust gasket or alternator on a mondeo st24 it must be where the double jointed left handed leprechans went after making minis :)
warpspeed
12-01-2009, 20:35
Water temp sensor on a Pulsar
Taking inlet plenum off a pulsar
Fixing water pipes on a Pulsar (engine out)
Taking gearbox off a Pulsar (weighs nearly as much as the engine)
Everything I did on that car was near on a nightmare, it's the worst car i've ever worked on.
Taking the gearbox out the bottom of an Escort RS turbo was a ball ache too, as I found I didn't have the car high enough on the axle stands.
Pulsars are a doddle to work on, i can take the plenum/throttle bodies off in 20mins!
worst job ever is either replacing a 50p heater fan resistor on a montego which involves taking the dashboard and heater box out completely to get to the resistor at the back of the heater (that takes a full day!!!!), i then extended the wires and fitted it to the side of the heater :D, or fitting new spark plugs to a sunbeam tiger which is an 8 hour job as the back two plugs on each bank can only be accessed by removing small panels on each side of the transmission tunnel, there is then only enough space to undo the plugs just about one flat at a time as there isn't enough space to get a box spanner or socket on at all! :eek: or final choice for me is fitting new spark plugs to an american motorhome that involved me climbing in through each wheel arch (i'm 6 foot tall!!!!) and over the top of the suspension then stretching my arms through the gaps in heat shields to get to the plugs, that took me 4 1/2 hours!!!!
mr bean aka pete
12-01-2009, 21:44
i think the worst job i had at work was a main fuel feed pipe that was split on a new shape scenic 1.9 diesel not only is 3/4 of the pipe metal you have to take all the manifold and pre cat out the way and just to rub it in a bit more you also have to remove the abs unit as its tucked right far back of the engine bay took me all day what a ******* of a job :scared:
Renaul Megane II bulb change...oh my...very irritating :)
Pulsars are a doddle to work on, i can take the plenum/throttle bodies off in 20mins!
You're having a laugh, i'm talking about the top half of the plenum, without removing anything else, have you seen the clearence between the top half and the bulkhead... The throttle bodies are easy to get off, but I didn't want to take them off because it meant new gaskets. Not to mention every person i've met that's built their own cars up has said they're a nightmare, the engine just about squeezes in the bay.
If you built what I did you wouldn't be saying that:D
I also had to take off the rear subframe just to fit my exhaust system.
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