Car D.I.Y.

[Bristolian]

About 5 weeks ago some nice person managed to tear a huge chunk out of the front bumper on my E-Class whilst parked in a car park ... and then leave before I got back to the car. No CCTV and no witnesses - bummer I sourced an undamaged but used replacement in about a week and spoke to my mate who has a body shop about doing the job for me - his spanner and paint sprayer man is off work with a broken hand - bummer 2

Spoke to mate again yesterday and he still doesn't know when his man will be able to git me in so I guess I'm looking at having to do the spanner work myself and wait until he can spray it to match the rest of the car. At least its got the right paint code on the replacement.

Whilst checking how much damage had been done after the car park incident I noticed that both front wheel bearings need adjusting and one of the ball joints on the near side front needs replacing. So now that's three jobs I've got lined up for when I get back off holiday at the end of the month. bummer 3

 

[screenman]

Yes, German brand, no nonsense packaging. Widely used among the DIY spannering community, including by my good self.

And me.

 

[Drago]

And me.

You're a no nonsense brand too!?

 

[screenman]

You're a no nonsense brand too!?

Yep.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

My impact wrench wasn't too happy trying to loosen a wheel on the wifes Q3 this morning
I had to resort to the breaker bar, & still struggled to loosen them
Heck!!, it was chocked on the other 3 wheels with bricks & I managed to pull it away from them, whilst pulling on the bar... uphill!!!

I wanted it off to check for an embedded object for a puncture
Once it was off, it got put in the pond, to check for bubbles

(ratchet-strap on it, in case it floated to the middle)
NO!, there's no fish in there

 

[november4]

Changed oil & filters on a sunny day this week
Monitoring my dpf, working fine, all is good. Got 50mpg on a long run at 70 and 60

 

[fossyant]

My car has been running a bit rough, slight misfire. It's not been used since May and I had to charge it last week. Finally it threw a code when I popped on the motorway. Cylinder 4 misfire. Logged on to ECP and collected a new coil pack on way home. All working fine.

It's had one pack a few years back so all in all OK for a 23 year old car on 150k

 

[Gunk]

My car has been running a bit rough, slight misfire. It's not been used since May and I had to charge it last week. Finally it threw a code when I popped on the motorway. Cylinder 4 misfire. Logged on to ECP and collected a new coil pack on way home. All working fine.

It's had one pack a few years back so all in all OK for a 23 year old car on 150k

I’d always replace all 4, if one goes the rest are also at the end of their life

 

[fossyant]

I’d always replace all 4, if one goes the rest are also at the end of their life

Not at 65 each. And I'll likely be selling in a few months to buy my van

 

[Jameshow]

Changed oil & filters on a sunny day this week
Monitoring my dpf, working fine, all is good. Got 50mpg on a long run at 70 and 60

Got 50mpg on a mixed run from Shipley to bury via Colne so happy with that!

 

[gbb]

Has anyone ever use Mannol Oils?

I've seen a few 20ltr drums of 10w40 at a decent price. My thoughts with oil have always been if it meets the standard for the engine then use it.

But I've never used Mannol

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27642671...6Rec-NnSUe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=MORE

or 5w30s
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/38519010...6Rec-NnSUe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=MORE

Always use it. Couple of notable points...
If its off amazon , chances are it's past its 'sell by' date on the lid.

I fail to see what difference that would make if the seal is intact and its been store dry.
Secondly, a slight irritation no more, it doesn't have (typically) an expendable pourer so makes it slightly difficult to control.

My last lot was £18 for 5 ltrs of 5w30 API SN, you simply can't buy even cheap quality oil for that money.

 

[Tom B]

Always use it. Couple of notable points...
If its off amazon , chances are it's past its 'sell by' date on the lid.

Funny you say that... it wasn't... it was off eBay. £48 for 20ltrs

Date on cap is 2024-02-27

I believe that is the Date of Manufacture

 

[CXRAndy]

Son is taking over the task of servicing girl friends Polo, yesterday was oil and filter change.

I change these at 5k miles intervals, with it having a 3 litre sump capacity. 45 mins job done

saved £150-200 compared to VW dealer.

 

[november4]

Speaking of vw, a little rant.....

Wife took out a 2 year service plan for her car, and when online checkin for a minor service, basically an oil change, they were trying to upsell.....about £60 for front wipers, £19 for a 'spare' litre of oil. Then in the dealership it went something like this:

VW reccomend brake fluid change every 2 years, would you like that done today £79?
Is that not included in your service plan?
No.
Do you think it's dishonest to exclude reccomended service items from your service plan?
Err..
Will the car still have the warranty if brake fluid not replaced by you?
Err. Yes.

Sneaky blighters

 

[CXRAndy]

Speaking of vw, a little rant.....

Wife took out a 2 year service plan for her car, and when online checkin for a minor service, basically an oil change, they were trying to upsell.....about £60 for front wipers, £19 for a 'spare' litre of oil. Then in the dealership it went something like this:

VW reccomend brake fluid change every 2 years, would you like that done today £79?
Is that not included in your service plan?
No.
Do you think it's dishonest to exclude reccomended service items from your service plan?
Err..
Will the car still have the warranty if brake fluid not replaced by you?
Err. Yes.

Sneaky blighters

Yes massive up selling from dealerships. Engine flush treatment, washer top off, brake fluid check and alignment.