Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[rrocket]

It's this sort of bollocking around that makes me just want to pay the man and do something else. Yes it can get costly, but I value my time. Even at 45, I'm too old for that crap. 

I hear ya.

I'm more of a "depends what it is" these days.  Like IQs clutch needs doing.  In years past, I'd have done it.

Just don't feel like crawling around on the floor for a weekend these days.   

This. Two things spring to mind.

1. I always find something worse than I thought it was, and have to take another car to go and buy more parts and/or tools.

2. Like you said, what is a 45 minute job for someone who has done it before with the right skills and tools, inevitably ends up being a 5 hour job for me, where after I come up for air, totally pissed off with the car and with bleeding knuckles.

Just take my money, I'll work hard at something else to earn it.

I hear ya...though thankfully mishaps and crap are very few and far between for me (knock on wood!).  I'm handy and have been doing it awhile.  I think I get most irritated when I see the stupid way car companies do things. LOL  Needlessly complex solutions (Audi, Subaru).

But my buddy and mechanic-on-the-side-guy are so cheap, sometimes it's not even worth it for me to do.  And I like doing it.

Recently, I was pressed for time and asked him how much to change my brakes and pads on my SC (I already had the parts).  Him: $100?

I mean....$100?  I LIKE doing this kind of thing.  But for $100 I couldn't say no.

He'll be doing the clutch on the A5, too.  $3500+ dealer job...will be less than $1k.  And $500 of that is parts.

I am guessing you do all your bike stuff yourself though??

[Triple Bob]

It's this sort of bollocking around that makes me just want to pay the man and do something else. Yes it can get costly, but I value my time. Even at 45, I'm too old for that crap. 

I hear ya.

I'm more of a "depends what it is" these days.  Like IQs clutch needs doing.  In years past, I'd have done it.

Just don't feel like crawling around on the floor for a weekend these days.   

This. Two things spring to mind.

1. I always find something worse than I thought it was, and have to take another car to go and buy more parts and/or tools.

2. Like you said, what is a 45 minute job for someone who has done it before with the right skills and tools, inevitably ends up being a 5 hour job for me, where after I come up for air, totally pissed off with the car and with bleeding knuckles.

Just take my money, I'll work hard at something else to earn it.

I hear ya...though thankfully mishaps and crap are very few and far between for me (knock on wood!).  I'm handy and have been doing it awhile.  I think I get most irritated when I see the stupid way car companies do things. LOL  Needlessly complex solutions (Audi, Subaru).

But my buddy and mechanic-on-the-side-guy are so cheap, sometimes it's not even worth it for me to do.  And I like doing it.

Recently, I was pressed for time and asked him how much to change my brakes and pads on my SC (I already had the parts).  Him: $100?

I mean....$100?  I LIKE doing this kind of thing.  But for $100 I couldn't say no.

He'll be doing the clutch on the A5, too.  $3500+ dealer job...will be less than $1k.  And $500 of that is parts.

I am guessing you do all your bike stuff yourself though??

Yeah bikes are much easier to work on, albeit I can still screw stuff up sometimes. Took the RC51 in for a fairly major overhaul recently, nearly done ready for 2021.

[rrocket]

^^Makes sense if you've never done something "big" like a valve job or whatever.  Though even that I suspect you could do if you took your time and had the service manual.

But yea...it really depends on the task at hands, your tools and comfort level.

[Triple Bob]

^^Makes sense if you've never done something "big" like a valve job or whatever.  Though even that I suspect you could do if you took your time and had the service manual.

But yea...it really depends on the task at hands, your tools and comfort level.

Nah, this was lathing the forks level of expertise. New head bearings, valve clearances, shims, all new brake and clutch lines, new rear master, all fluids etc. I know my limits LOL.

It was running fine, just want it perfect for the next few years.

[Firm]

I do most of my own stuff, but I do have a trusted (and reasonably priced) mechanic for stuff that is beyond my abilities or equipment...Or things with high potential to go wrong. I don't think I've used him for anything other than safeties or tires install/balancing for a couple years though.

Financial bit aside, time is a factor for me, but usually it favors doing it myself...I live in the north end of Mississauga, my mechanic is in the south end. Pre-Covid, you're looking at ~45 minutes drive time, especially since he's only open 9-6, you're usually making the trip during peak times. So figure 1.5 hours, round trip, multiply that by two because I need someone (usually Mrs.Firm, my brother or Vantage) to run me back and fourth for the pickup/drop off, so that's 3 hours burnt....Plus I gotta pay for the mechanics labour. I can do most jobs in less than 3 hours, so it needs to be a pretty big/involved task for me to justify the extra time and money to take the vehicle in.

[rrocket]

^^Makes sense if you've never done something "big" like a valve job or whatever.  Though even that I suspect you could do if you took your time and had the service manual.

But yea...it really depends on the task at hands, your tools and comfort level.

Nah, this was lathing the forks level of expertise. New head bearings, valve clearances, shims, all new brake and clutch lines, new rear master, all fluids etc. I know my limits LOL.

It was running fine, just want it perfect for the next few years.

I never really warmed up to doing my own forks.  Dunno why.  Done it a few times though.

[2JDM]

Touched up some rock chips on the front end for winter.

[TheHire]

So figure 1.5 hours, round trip, multiply that by two because I need someone (usually Mrs.Firm, my brother or Vantage)

Grumble... you're lucky you're pretty!


On my end, I have the M5 in the shop getting a four-stage polish, paint correction, and Ceramic Pro. It's also having all four wheels refinished, and I'm learning the OEM finish "Shadow Chrome" is nearly impossible to replicate. I have what I understand to be the only shop in the GTA that can get it right, working on it. Should be back home this weekend and stored for the winter!

[Golly]

I had roadside assistance tow the Malibu to the dealer to have the dead OE battery replaced.  They also had to clear the low voltage generated trouble codes, reset date and time and reset the tpms.  Battery was $212, labour $32 plus $30 taxes.  The OE battery lasted 4 years which I guess is normal these days.  It's my wife's car and it doesn't help that all her trips are in town and less than 10 minutes.

Yesterday afternoon when I went to use the Malibu it was dead.  The keyless entry wouldn't work so I had to use the emergency key to unlock the car.  I guess the battery saver feature had turned off all auxiliary features because none of the lights, radio, horn, IP etc worked.  I tried boosting it with a NOCO booster pack but it didn't have enough oomph to turn it over.  But it did turn the lights back on.  I put the charger on it for 4 hours but it wasn't charging at all. 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

^^^I'm thinking you posted those two paragraphs in the wrong order? 

The battery was dead, car wouldn't start, so you had it roadside assistance towed to the dealer where the battery was placed, and all codes reset?

[blur911]

I went to start the pickup today, it hasn't moved in about 3 weeks or more, nothing.

Charged the battery, now it would light up the dash, gauges would do weird stuff.  Mucked about with the battery and terminals until I determined they were ok, then I found this  under a cover on the positive terminal connector



Look at the leftmost fusible link.

Cleaned it and soldered in a small piece of copper wire, all is better.

[EV Dan]

It's definitely a strange design to have  fuse wires completely exposed to the elements. Looks like the one on the right is starting to oxidize as well.

[blur911]

It's definitely a strange design to have  fuse wires completely exposed to the elements. Looks like the one on the right is starting to oxidize as well.

There was a clear plastic cover over them, it's removed.

But still, it didn't quite do it's job.

[PJungnitsch]

Are you losing the fuse part if you just bridge with copper?

Never understood the reasoning behind fusible links vs fuses

[EV Dan]

It's definitely a strange design to have  fuse wires completely exposed to the elements. Looks like the one on the right is starting to oxidize as well.

There was a clear plastic cover over them, it's removed.

But still, it didn't quite do it's job.

Ah, Ok, got it. It would be fine perhaps if not for road salt which becomes a fog in winter on our highways...

[rrocket]

It's definitely a strange design to have  fuse wires completely exposed to the elements. Looks like the one on the right is starting to oxidize as well.

There was a clear plastic cover over them, it's removed.

But still, it didn't quite do it's job.

Ah, Ok, got it. It would be fine perhaps if not for road salt which becomes a fog in winter on our highways...

A little grease, perhaps?

[blur911]

Are you losing the fuse part if you just bridge with copper?

Never understood the reasoning behind fusible links vs fuses

I soldered it to where it looks like it should still work, maybe.

[blur911]

It's definitely a strange design to have  fuse wires completely exposed to the elements. Looks like the one on the right is starting to oxidize as well.

There was a clear plastic cover over them, it's removed.

But still, it didn't quite do it's job.

Ah, Ok, got it. It would be fine perhaps if not for road salt which becomes a fog in winter on our highways...

A little grease, perhaps?

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/permatex-dielectric-grease-85-g-0380411p.html?_br_psugg_q=dielectric+grease  or equivalent

[Golly]

^^I'm thinking you posted those two paragraphs in the wrong order? 

The battery was dead, car wouldn't start, so you had it roadside assistance towed to the dealer where the battery was placed, and all codes reset?

I intentionally posted what I did today first in keeping with the title of the thread "What did you do your car today"  What transpired yesterday is the back story so it became the second para.  Your journalistic style and preference may differ and that's ok

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I wasn't criticizing, merely trying to understand your post. 

If I just took your post at face value, I would think that you had the battery replaced, then the next day, it wouldn't start.  That would be a completely different post.