Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

A lad at work has just bought a mk5 golf gti edition
30. He said to me guess how much it is to change the high level brake light on the golf. I thought it was gonna be about 40 quid at the most. He said the dealers want 350 quid to change it cause you have to smash the spoiler off to get to the screw that hold the light in.


What a shit idea.Why couldnt they put some screws on the outside.He said you can just smash the light lense and change it that way and sylicone the lense in.

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Same mk5 golf - to change the door glass, you have to take the OUTSIDE of the door off. Not the door card as per nearly every other car out there, the outside panel. Which means door lock, handle, and everything comes off.

Well, that's if you want to do it properly anyway....

Porsche Cayanne/VW Toureg is the same too.

Stupid cunts

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

So the outside door lock has to come off to change the window??

rs clint

this is why I prefer old skool ,

Chopshop85

iTrader: (4)

So they can charge you Ł350 for a Ł40 job.

studabear

I had a 2008 fiesta with a factory rear spoiler and I couldn't get the centre brake light to release in order to change the bulb.

GVK.

If you take the door card off you can't see bugger all.

Worst bit about this design is there are a row of torx headed bolts along the front edge of door skin and the bottom edge to attach it to the door, the screws are very similar...

BUT if you put the bottom edge screws in the front edge, they are slightly longer and will dent the door skin.

Luckily I was warned about this before I took one off!

Cossie Sean

taking late Golf door skins off is a brilliant idea, takes less than 2 minutes realtime and access the whole innards with no fuss,

putting the screws in the wrong place is just bad workmanship, simple as that.

i do prefer old skool sometimes but late golfs are piss easy campared to that.

(i dont own one and never will! golf wise as they are gay wheel drive)

pedroS2RST

Changing the battery on a diesel B5 passat is also ridiculously overly complicated.

The batteries are so big to do it properly it's wipers off and plastic scuttle off. The scuttle has to be prized off slowly or is easily snapped if you're not careful.

Also changing the main beam bulb means removing the headlights unless you have alien like fingers!

GVK.

Ahh, but if someone is doing it that isn't totally perfect like yourself, they could easily mix the screws up as they are very similar. That's all I'm saying.

Edit - actually 3 different screws!

xr-stu

to change an upper front control arm on an a4 means you have to remove the scuttle panel/cover inside the engine bay, undo 3 bolts to remove the strut from the top mount, to drop the mount inside the wheel arch down enough to get the bolt out, when they could have just put the bolt in from the other side.....wtf?!

The Youth.

iTrader: (1)

To change the alternator on a mk1/2 Mondeo V6 you have to take all day as its a complete arse of a job, it's easier if you take the offside driveshaft out for access!! the top bolt has to be undone from the nearside wheelarch using about 4 ratchet extensions... Never again!

Steve

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

To change an oil filter on a 5 cylinder Fiat stilo the exhaust front pipe/cat has to come off.

Longdog3004

To change headlight bulb on my mates rover we had to remove the whole airbox and front bumper!
Week after that the other side went!
I didn't answer my phone that day

slammedorion

To change a front indicator bulb in a facelift Vectra c you have to drop the bumper off one side and remove the headlight!!!

BLU

iTrader: (1)

Mk4/5 Fiesta front anti roll bar bushes. You either need to drop the subframe or grind a spanner right down to fit in the gap and pray the bolt isn't too tight!!

Most jobs on a Chrysler Voyager are a pita!!

BLU

iTrader: (1)

I had a mate who wanted an Irmscher grill fitted to his Vectra C. That was a pita too and needed half the front end dismantling!!

Carlos-Titx

Ugly fat arse megane head light bulb.
Through the tiny access panel in the wheel arch

French idiots!

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Changing a starter motor on a 1.3 corsa/combo. There is a hole at the top of the gear box that you put your allen key through to remove the bolt.If you catch the bolt on the way out the bolt will drop inside the bell housing of the gearbox. So the gearbox will have to come out to retreave your bolt lol.

gjh

This is why I want a mk2 escort, so simple to work on.

Ebonycossie4x4

iTrader: (4)

you wanna try the high level brake light or alternator on a bentley lol

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

Boot lock motor on a puma. Easily accessable on the inside of boot. Mongaloids instead of using captive nuts or threading the panel, used bolts from behind the bumper so bumper off job for what would otherwise be a 5 minute fix on a commonly breaking part!!

Carlos-Titx

It's only a vauxhaul. Leave it in there.

Oranoco

Bulb swap on bosses old Tigra, bumper drop and lamps out.

Boot opening on an Insignia estate is shit, can't do anything about it either.

GVK.

Easier way of doing it.

Don't touch the back bolt at all, remove the front bolt and bend the ARB bush bracket up, swap the bush, bend the bracket in place, put the bolt in. Done.

GVK.

What is shite is on a lot of newer Fords (I mean the latest Mondeo with ecoBoost and 200ps diesels) simple service items such as oil filters are becoming quite inaccessible, hidden between intake manifolds etc.

GVK.

Oooof, remember doing a couple of those, complete c*nt to do!

Ford labour time take the piss...1.4hrs!

Fordmad!

Not a hard job but the placement of the starter motor on a 51 transit. Right below the power steering pump and water pipes so if either leak it ruins the starter!

Rs1

iTrader: (1)

I'm not a fan of much of these new cars....in terms of there ability(or lack of) to be worked on. Such poor design sometimes.

I was never fond of taking the front end off vw/audi's to do timing belts, just because you have to disturb things that are clearly not meant to be removed and replaced all too often. After a few goes you always find shortcuts but my patience is thin at the best of times.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Ive done a few that way before in the past.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

I heard a story about the vauxhall tigras. That when they first came out and you slammed the boot lid it used to blow the side windows out so they modified one of the windows to drop down to let the air pressure out when the boot was opened.

GVK.

When the K series Rover engine first came out there was an urban myth going round that the headbolts held the crankshaft in the block.

It was bollocks.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

There f##kin sh##e anyway lol.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

I heard about that. The head bolts are really long.

GVK.

VW Touareg V10, whole engine/transmission has to come out to fit starter motor, turbos etc. VW dealers have a special bench thing to remove them on.

Rax

iTrader: (1)

This is one of my favourite threads so far EVER.

I love the do's,donts and "oh F*cks" its Ace

Some one always finds a short cut whether it be right or wrong.I am not one for bending things.Dont like to bend things out of the way.You bend them back and they are weaker with a chance of snapsvile lol.

Has no one mentioned a Rangey yet

Kirbycossie

Body off chassis to change tdv8 rr sport turbos

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

I had a mk3 astra a few years ago and dropped the end of the speedo drive into the gearbox by mistake. Got a bit of a sweat on for a bit then then realised that it was a piece of shit car anyway so left it in there. Still it didn't cause any harm for the next few months I had it!

big_wig_074

mk4 golf 1.4 petrol, spark plug change, thats an inlet manifold off job!

D4nny8oy

Nah, headshields off, lambda sensor out and a bit of fiddling to get the filter at the right angle, and it drops out.

That said, the Stilo has to be one of the worst designed Fiats for just about any job on it.

N/S headlight bulb on a JTD,
Front window regs,
Upper glovebox hinge- wanky plastic thing that's always breaking with crappy shallow torx screws that round off if you're not 100% square-on

I'm sure there's more.