hate car DIY

anaconda · Post by **anaconda** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:04 pm

I was changing the wing mirror which had been damaged by a passer by recently, and it occured to me just how unrewarding car DIY is.

The inner door trim comes off and has two different size nuts, so different allen keys needed. Ok no biggy, but just not necessary. Obviously at least one of the door trim clips was going to break when removing it, yep. The bit where the door trim meets the window seemed riveted on but eventually came loose.

The two convenient phillips screws accessed from the inside of the car holding the original door mirror had been replaced, instead by two bolts/nuts on the new 'lucas' mirror. Getting fingers /tools into the little holes on the inside of the door to fasten the nuts was virtually impossible...why didnt they just reproduce the original fucking design!! After an age I managed to get it on.

Theres a nice 3/4mm gap between the top of the black plastic surround and the outer door/glass. Just the thing for rainwater to get in. I cant do anything about this as its fitted properly, but it looks pretty shit. Seemingly, theres a similar end result with most jobs.

In future with the exception of oil changes every bit of work will be a garage job. Fuck this. I love the car but I really cant be arsed with the hassle, inevitable snags and general awkwardness.

Im just shit at all this stuff and its not through the lack of trying. Im not a stupid person.....two degress, a fairly responsible job and reckon I approach things methodically when needed. It just ends up a pile of crap. I really do admire people with an aptitude and knowledge for this work, but bollocks if Im going to spend more time getting frustrated evey time I pick up a screwdriver.

More power to you teckies.

Gibbo2286 · Post by **Gibbo2286** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:41 pm

If you think car diy is difficult you want to have a go at plumbing and electrics on a 300 year old house.

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:54 pm

or changing a problematic clutch

Mike E (uk) · Post by **Mike E (uk)** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 4:02 pm

or try working on a modern car.

At least the interior of a BX is simple.

Mike

KevR · Post by **KevR** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:04 pm

Gibbo2286 wrote:If you think car diy is difficult you want to have a go at plumbing and electrics on a 300 year old house.

300 year-old electrics are always a bit of a nightmare!

citroen7 · Post by **citroen7** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:27 pm

Gibbo2286 wrote:If you think car diy is difficult you want to have a go at plumbing and electrics on a 300 year old house.

whats difficult about a bucket and a candle

Gibbo2286 · Post by **Gibbo2286** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:32 pm

KevR wrote:
Gibbo2286 wrote:If you think car diy is difficult you want to have a go at plumbing and electrics on a 300 year old house.
300 year-old electrics are always a bit of a nightmare!

Don't be a prat

the house was 300 years old and had plumbing and electrics added as they became available and diy add ons through the years

The plumbing entered the house through an iron pipe which joined a bit of lead pipe and a mixture of more lead, iron and copper pipes with many different types of connector and a hundred spanner sizes,

The electrics came in through a 1910s fuse board (two crock fuses) and had been added to numerous times, when we put the cooker on there was a burning rubber smell from behind the wood panelling, I pulled the boards out and from the original fuse board another had been added, joined on by four inches of lighting flex which glowed in the dark when the cooker was on.

Post by **Defender110** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:41 pm

citroen7 wrote:
Gibbo2286 wrote:If you think car diy is difficult you want to have a go at plumbing and electrics on a 300 year old house.
whats difficult about a bucket and a candle

It's an absolute pain in the arse when the candle burns down every hour and burns a hole in the upside down bucket!

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 3:56 pm

Mike E (uk) wrote:or try working on a modern car.

At least the interior of a BX is simple.

Mike

This. You have no idea how lucky you are. I've just got a Rover 75 and am wishing I hadn't. Nothing is in a convenient place. It's even worse than the H van I used to own - where you could get at everything, but not 100% of everything.

If anyone fancies a Rover 75 (diesel estate) do let me know! Would probably swap for the right BX...

citsncycles · Post by **citsncycles** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:36 pm

with many different types of connector and a hundred spanner sizes,

Sounds like my Land Rover - The original bits are Whitworth, the later modifications use A/F, then where bolts have been lost over the years they've been replaced with anything from self tapping screws to metric bolts, with a few rivets in between