Do you maintain your own vehicle?

**Gandolph13** · 08-29-12 at 02:30 PM

Threatening weather and forecast yesterday saw me spend the day inside. Not a bloody drop of rain fell......ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Now I have to do it today ......

@ Ano, a skip?

Can't all own an RX8 mate, can't all afford the fuel bill, plus that constant blow fly drone kills my ears.

I know, it's faster and gets around corners quicker but I can drive mine 1400 K's in one day and still walk, hear and, afford to eat. Plus I can tow a car trailer if needed!

I've seen pics of some of your other work Carl, absolutely beautiful finish!
My spray work gets my panels looking the same colour as the rest of the car but not shining like that.

**Gandolph13** · 08-29-12 at 04:46 PM

Great start, ISP went down so decided to get an early start. Bloody front rims are locked on hubs, both of them, they won't budge. 12lb lump hammer and block of hard wood wouldn't move them, 12 tonne hydraulic jack and hardwood wouldn't separate them (pressing between both rims), time to bring out the 16lb hammer.
I don't want to damage my good alloy rims but I'm not spending a day removing two wheels then another day doing bloody ball joints.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH

billes · 08-30-12 at 04:53 AM

So Gandolph you just giving away free likes

You try any Penetrating Catalys? Not sure what the Ausie equivalent to PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench is.

**tomandsusan** · 08-30-12 at 05:07 AM

Quote:

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH

Exactly why I DON'T work on my car and truck!

**spudsickle** · 08-30-12 at 05:17 AM

I bought a used BMW coupe recently as always fancied one and never done maintenance on a car before but went for its first service at a local independent and he wanted £300 to change two front control arm bushes. I shopped around and that price was about right so I bought the parts of ebay for £60, bought a jack and axle stands for £60 and did it myself - it was difficult but fun! Has given me the confidence to do other things now like oil changes and such.

Gandolph, can't you get some garage to press in the ball joints then you fit the wishbone to the car yourself? Alternatively, I saw a youtube vid of a guy fitting them to the wishbones by lining them up under the car then using his jack and the weight of the car to force them in - thought it was quite a good idea as I will probably do this myself in a couple of years.

**carlmc1** · 08-30-12 at 06:05 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Gandolph13

Great start, ISP went down so decided to get an early start. Bloody front rims are locked on hubs, both of them, they won't budge. 12lb lump hammer and block of hard wood wouldn't move them, 12 tonne hydraulic jack and hardwood wouldn't separate them (pressing between both rims), time to bring out the 16lb hammer.
I don't want to damage my good alloy rims but I'm not spending a day removing two wheels then another day doing bloody ball joints.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH

There's 3 different ways of doing it. I've never had a stuck wheel take longer than 60 seconds to remove.... And I've had thousands that were stuck!

1: You need to sit on your arse..... No really! Haha

It's called 3 o'clock, 9 o'clock boots!

Jack the car up & put it on stands. Sit on the floor facing the wheel, then kick the rim of the wheel/sidewall of the tyre with the soles of your feet at the 3 'o clock position, then 9 'o clock positions alternatively. So it's kick at 9 with your right leg, then 3 with your left, while sitting down facing the wheel. If you only know how to read a digital clock (my mate does, lol) you're screwed! Haha!
This works 99% of the time & is always the first trick to try.

2: Don't use a lump of wood. It absorbs too much of the impact no matter how hard it is. If you've got one, use a copper hide hammer, preferably made by Thor. Using the hide side, hit the inside of the rim hard while spinning the wheel slowly. This works EVERY time. And the biggest copper hide Thor I own is 2lb!!!

3: Take all of the wheel nuts completely off. Then put them back on but only finger tight. Back them all off a quarter of a turn or so with you fingers. Let the car down & take it for a very slow drive down the street turning the steering wheel left & right constantly (without crashing! Lol) similar to how F1 drivers get heat in their tyres during a warm up lap. Never needed to use this method as the first two always work.

And if all else fails. Stop staying this......

Quote: Originally Posted by Gandolph13

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH

And start doing some PROPER swearing! Haha!

**neophyte666** · 08-30-12 at 06:24 AM

Got my car back with a new Catalytic converter. £878.00

**Silvergrin** · 08-30-12 at 11:39 AM

I never pay someone else to work on my vehicle. At least I know that I wont be railroaded into the ground with overpriced work.

**Gandolph13** · 08-30-12 at 03:29 PM

It took 3 1/2 hours to get the wheels off.
I tried everything possible other than wasting time taking the car off the stands and driving it with loose nuts. Eventually, my 50mm OD length of solid round aluminium bar and a ferkin big hammer worked.
My rims were locked solid, I near busted my knees doin' the 3 and 9, (an old trick).

I honestly should have just taken it for a drive with loose nuts but I've never had that level of locking and I've done a lot of mechanical work. Like you Carl, I used to make a living in the industry

It was only the start of the fun to come, a prelude (or car designers idea of foreplay).
I ruined my 12 tonne hydraulic press, Chinese made rubbish, but I have the technology, I can make it stronger, faster.....I can rebuild it.......The $6 million dollar press

Seriously, I have a couple of new tilt cylinders from a 3 tonne forklift and a new hydraulic pump.....

Lucky I have a heap of steel plate and pipe as well as a couple of welders, I did temp repairs on the press, cut numerous pieces of pipe and modified the shape to do the job and, eventually got the old ball joints out. The upper ones were relatively easy to refit, the bottom were an absolute P.I.T.A.

I rang the local Ford dealer to enquire about them pressing the two lower ball joints. This is with the steering knuckles already removed from the car, the old ball joints removed, everything ready to go including new ball joints. I told them where to put their toys when they quoted me $75 each to press 2 new lower ball joints, that's $150 for what turned out to be 30 minutes work.

The quote gave me the incentive to destroy a former inventive design (playstation steering wheel platform) of mine to use a piece of pipe I had reinforced. Once I finally cut my welds (2 good quality cutting discs to remove a steel plate 150 X 45 X 10, got to learn to tack not melt on....) it took less than 30 minutes to press the ball joints in.

The head mechanic at Ford's name is Clint (CLINT), I think people simply assume it's LI, I think it's really U, and I'm going to ring the local Ford dealer today and tell them exactly that, and wait till I see the moron down the shops.............Thieving arsehole!

Today, I get to reassemble the whole lot, repack the hub bearings and put new brake pads in and, the new tie rod ends, shouldn't take too long, once I find my bloody grease gun.............

Then I can get 2 new front tyres, a wheel alignment (I don't do that myself, I don't have a good level area to measure accurately enough) and my car will pass the inspection. All I need do then is come up with the BS $576 third party insurance (compulsory vehicle insurance) which you lucky Americans have attached to your license.
Here, if you own 5 vehicles you pay the insurance 5 times, in the US it's attached to your license so if you own 5 vehicles, you pay it once....We are ripped off on this, severely!

billes · 08-30-12 at 06:39 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Gandolph13

Then I can get 2 new front tyres, a wheel alignment (I don't do that myself, I don't have a good level area to measure accurately enough) and my car will pass the inspection. All I need do then is come up with the BS $576 third party insurance (compulsory vehicle insurance) which you lucky Americans have attached to your license.
Here, if you own 5 vehicles you pay the insurance 5 times, in the US it's attached to your license so if you own 5 vehicles, you pay it once....We are ripped off on this, severely!

Not sure about in Australia, but compulsory insurance in US means you are required to have insurance to legally drive. Non-compulsory is the option to wave that requirement with a fee. We still pay independent coverage for each individual car we own. Though federal doesn't mandate auto insurance, states do. Only state I'm aware of that has non-compulsory insurance policies is Virginia and Mississippi, all other states require insurance for all operational vehicles. And In Virginia, the price is about the same annually $500 USD per vehicle.

Edit: ahh just ran a wiki on ausie insurance policies, that does indeed suck

**bookdragon** · 08-30-12 at 08:10 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by billes

And In Virginia, the price is about the same annually $500 USD per vehicle.

Dang I pay $750/yr Virginia seems reasonable! My state has electronic notification if you let your car insurance lapse. I did this while I was in the hospital after surgery and had to pay a fine to the state AND a fee to reinstate my registration which they cancelled due to lack of insurance. The insurance companies RAPE you knowing it is mandatory... I looked up the Aussie insurance as well it actually seems we are all screwed. American's are just screwed to different degrees depending on what state we live in. Aussies are screwed Nationally. Either way

crawdad · 03-27-13 at 05:51 PM

Too late to the party.

08-29-12 at 02:30 PM	#29
Gandolph13 Legendary Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Australia (GMT+10) Posts: 12,611	Threatening weather and forecast yesterday saw me spend the day inside. Not a bloody drop of rain fell......ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Now I have to do it today ...... @ Ano, a skip? Can't all own an RX8 mate, can't all afford the fuel bill, plus that constant blow fly drone kills my ears. I know, it's faster and gets around corners quicker but I can drive mine 1400 K's in one day and still walk, hear and, afford to eat. Plus I can tow a car trailer if needed! I've seen pics of some of your other work Carl, absolutely beautiful finish! My spray work gets my panels looking the same colour as the rest of the car but not shining like that. Last edited by Gandolph13; 08-29-12 at 04:47 PM.

08-30-12 at 06:05 AM	#34
carlmc1 Not Banned Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England Posts: 2,029	Quote: Originally Posted by Gandolph13 Great start, ISP went down so decided to get an early start. Bloody front rims are locked on hubs, both of them, they won't budge. 12lb lump hammer and block of hard wood wouldn't move them, 12 tonne hydraulic jack and hardwood wouldn't separate them (pressing between both rims), time to bring out the 16lb hammer. I don't want to damage my good alloy rims but I'm not spending a day removing two wheels then another day doing bloody ball joints. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH There's 3 different ways of doing it. I've never had a stuck wheel take longer than 60 seconds to remove.... And I've had thousands that were stuck! 1: You need to sit on your arse..... No really! Haha It's called 3 o'clock, 9 o'clock boots! Jack the car up & put it on stands. Sit on the floor facing the wheel, then kick the rim of the wheel/sidewall of the tyre with the soles of your feet at the 3 'o clock position, then 9 'o clock positions alternatively. So it's kick at 9 with your right leg, then 3 with your left, while sitting down facing the wheel. If you only know how to read a digital clock (my mate does, lol) you're screwed! Haha! This works 99% of the time & is always the first trick to try. 2: Don't use a lump of wood. It absorbs too much of the impact no matter how hard it is. If you've got one, use a copper hide hammer, preferably made by Thor. Using the hide side, hit the inside of the rim hard while spinning the wheel slowly. This works EVERY time. And the biggest copper hide Thor I own is 2lb!!! 3: Take all of the wheel nuts completely off. Then put them back on but only finger tight. Back them all off a quarter of a turn or so with you fingers. Let the car down & take it for a very slow drive down the street turning the steering wheel left & right constantly (without crashing! Lol) similar to how F1 drivers get heat in their tyres during a warm up lap. Never needed to use this method as the first two always work. And if all else fails. Stop staying this...... Quote: Originally Posted by Gandolph13 ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH And start doing some PROPER swearing! Haha! Last edited by carlmc1; 08-30-12 at 06:15 AM. Reason: Couldn't remember the size of my own f'ing hammer! Haha

08-30-12 at 06:39 PM	#38
billes Apprentice Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 252	Quote: Originally Posted by Gandolph13 Then I can get 2 new front tyres, a wheel alignment (I don't do that myself, I don't have a good level area to measure accurately enough) and my car will pass the inspection. All I need do then is come up with the BS $576 third party insurance (compulsory vehicle insurance) which you lucky Americans have attached to your license. Here, if you own 5 vehicles you pay the insurance 5 times, in the US it's attached to your license so if you own 5 vehicles, you pay it once....We are ripped off on this, severely! Not sure about in Australia, but compulsory insurance in US means you are required to have insurance to legally drive. Non-compulsory is the option to wave that requirement with a fee. We still pay independent coverage for each individual car we own. Though federal doesn't mandate auto insurance, states do. Only state I'm aware of that has non-compulsory insurance policies is Virginia and Mississippi, all other states require insurance for all operational vehicles. And In Virginia, the price is about the same annually $500 USD per vehicle. Edit: ahh just ran a wiki on ausie insurance policies, that does indeed suck Last edited by billes; 08-30-12 at 06:56 PM.

08-30-12 at 08:10 PM	#39
bookdragon She Dragon Extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: In the bowels of the Earth Posts: 2,679	Quote: Originally Posted by billes And In Virginia, the price is about the same annually $500 USD per vehicle. Dang I pay $750/yr Virginia seems reasonable! My state has electronic notification if you let your car insurance lapse. I did this while I was in the hospital after surgery and had to pay a fine to the state AND a fee to reinstate my registration which they cancelled due to lack of insurance. The insurance companies RAPE you knowing it is mandatory... I looked up the Aussie insurance as well it actually seems we are all screwed. American's are just screwed to different degrees depending on what state we live in. Aussies are screwed Nationally. Either way Last edited by bookdragon; 08-30-12 at 08:18 PM.

03-27-13 at 05:51 PM	#40
crawdad Newcomer Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 22	Too late to the party. Last edited by crawdad; 03-27-13 at 05:59 PM.

08-29-12 at 04:46 PM	#30
Gandolph13 Legendary Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Australia (GMT+10) Posts: 12,611	Great start, ISP went down so decided to get an early start. Bloody front rims are locked on hubs, both of them, they won't budge. 12lb lump hammer and block of hard wood wouldn't move them, 12 tonne hydraulic jack and hardwood wouldn't separate them (pressing between both rims), time to bring out the 16lb hammer. I don't want to damage my good alloy rims but I'm not spending a day removing two wheels then another day doing bloody ball joints. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH

08-30-12 at 04:53 AM	#31
billes Apprentice Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 252	So Gandolph you just giving away free likes You try any Penetrating Catalys? Not sure what the Ausie equivalent to PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench is.

08-30-12 at 05:07 AM	#32
tomandsusan Guru Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Never Never Land Posts: 5,815	Quote: ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH Exactly why I DON'T work on my car and truck!

08-30-12 at 05:17 AM	#33
spudsickle "I must break you" Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: , Location, Location Posts: 1,925	I bought a used BMW coupe recently as always fancied one and never done maintenance on a car before but went for its first service at a local independent and he wanted £300 to change two front control arm bushes. I shopped around and that price was about right so I bought the parts of ebay for £60, bought a jack and axle stands for £60 and did it myself - it was difficult but fun! Has given me the confidence to do other things now like oil changes and such. Gandolph, can't you get some garage to press in the ball joints then you fit the wishbone to the car yourself? Alternatively, I saw a youtube vid of a guy fitting them to the wishbones by lining them up under the car then using his jack and the weight of the car to force them in - thought it was quite a good idea as I will probably do this myself in a couple of years.

08-30-12 at 06:24 AM	#35
neophyte666 ℝα√їᾔℊ ☩ ℳαḓ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: υи∂єяgяσυи∂ яανє Posts: 6,884	Got my car back with a new Catalytic converter. £878.00

08-30-12 at 11:39 AM	#36
Silvergrin Hunter's Moon Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 924	I never pay someone else to work on my vehicle. At least I know that I wont be railroaded into the ground with overpriced work.

08-30-12 at 03:29 PM	#37
Gandolph13 Legendary Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Australia (GMT+10) Posts: 12,611	It took 3 1/2 hours to get the wheels off. I tried everything possible other than wasting time taking the car off the stands and driving it with loose nuts. Eventually, my 50mm OD length of solid round aluminium bar and a ferkin big hammer worked. My rims were locked solid, I near busted my knees doin' the 3 and 9, (an old trick). I honestly should have just taken it for a drive with loose nuts but I've never had that level of locking and I've done a lot of mechanical work. Like you Carl, I used to make a living in the industry It was only the start of the fun to come, a prelude (or car designers idea of foreplay). I ruined my 12 tonne hydraulic press, Chinese made rubbish, but I have the technology, I can make it stronger, faster.....I can rebuild it.......The $6 million dollar press Seriously, I have a couple of new tilt cylinders from a 3 tonne forklift and a new hydraulic pump..... Lucky I have a heap of steel plate and pipe as well as a couple of welders, I did temp repairs on the press, cut numerous pieces of pipe and modified the shape to do the job and, eventually got the old ball joints out. The upper ones were relatively easy to refit, the bottom were an absolute P.I.T.A. I rang the local Ford dealer to enquire about them pressing the two lower ball joints. This is with the steering knuckles already removed from the car, the old ball joints removed, everything ready to go including new ball joints. I told them where to put their toys when they quoted me $75 each to press 2 new lower ball joints, that's $150 for what turned out to be 30 minutes work. The quote gave me the incentive to destroy a former inventive design (playstation steering wheel platform) of mine to use a piece of pipe I had reinforced. Once I finally cut my welds (2 good quality cutting discs to remove a steel plate 150 X 45 X 10, got to learn to tack not melt on....) it took less than 30 minutes to press the ball joints in. The head mechanic at Ford's name is Clint (CLINT), I think people simply assume it's LI, I think it's really U, and I'm going to ring the local Ford dealer today and tell them exactly that, and wait till I see the moron down the shops.............Thieving arsehole! Today, I get to reassemble the whole lot, repack the hub bearings and put new brake pads in and, the new tie rod ends, shouldn't take too long, once I find my bloody grease gun............. Then I can get 2 new front tyres, a wheel alignment (I don't do that myself, I don't have a good level area to measure accurately enough) and my car will pass the inspection. All I need do then is come up with the BS $576 third party insurance (compulsory vehicle insurance) which you lucky Americans have attached to your license. Here, if you own 5 vehicles you pay the insurance 5 times, in the US it's attached to your license so if you own 5 vehicles, you pay it once....We are ripped off on this, severely!