iirc Fiat 5 cyclinder engines required engine removal to change the cambelt..
madf
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iirc Fiat 5 cyclinder engines required engine removal to change the cambelt..
Theoretically true, although there are specialsits who will do it in situ - I think they lean the engine to one side.
I know from recent experience that the exhaust system has to be removed to get at the gear linkage.
Basically, if you look under the bonnet of a Coupe 20VT, it's very easy to see why. It is VERY tightly packed in there.
Here's one for you (and I don't know the answer myself) How do you change the front tyre on a Robin? I would imagine that's quite hard.
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Here's one for you (and I don't know the answer myself) How do you change the front tyre on a Robin? I would imagine that's quite hard.
It's a pig of a job, the wheel has to be removed first. You'd think they'd have found a way of doing it in situ like every other car, wouldn't you?
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Silly as it seems to me, to remove the centre console from a Xantia the Haynes book recommends disconnecting the handbrake cables, I chocked the wheels, removed passenger seat (it was out anyway!) and unbolted the handbrake lever from the floor.
Good response so far.
BTW the cheapest price quoted for the A Class starter motor was £700!
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Xantia HDi.
Buy a Citroen and get to know the local GSF staff better...
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Changing front bulbs on many modern cars.
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Changing a thermostat on a Zetec engined Fiesta is a fun job. The housing is buried half way up the block right underneath the alternator which has to come off. Two of the bolts are fitted and removed "by feel" (you can't even see them, and getting the whole thing realigned to get the bolts back in is a real swear-fest. To add insult to injury the cooling system has no bleed screws meaning you then spend an hour chasing airlocks round the system when you refill it.
Timing belt on the Endura-DE Mondeo mk2. You have to remove the glowplugs (one inaccessible), intercooler, an engine mounting bracket and its mounting rubber, the alternator drivebelt, the air-con drivebelt, the coolant expansion tank, the power steering pump, the crank pulley, the power steering drivebelt, the pulley that drives the PAS pump off the injection pump and the cam cover (the timing slot is in the tail of the cam). then you need to disconnect the throttle cable and move it out of the way, disconnect a fuel hose and move it out of the way, reroute several other hoses and cables, and remove a plug for the crank timing pin which is buried in the (hollow) bracket for the air-con compressor, after which you can then remove the belt covers and start work. If you drop the plug, you'll have to remove the air-con compressor followed by its mounting bracket to retrieve it). The timing process and the belt and tensioner swap takes 20 minutes, and then it's redoing all the above. A nightmare which I will never repeat.
Cheers
DP
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Hands down winner, pollen filter housing on any 98 - 04 (ish) VAG car
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Hands down winner, pollen filter housing on any 98 - 04 (ish) VAG car
Please elaborate.....
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>> Hands down winner, pollen filter housing on any 98 - 04 >> (ish) VAG car >> Please elaborate.....
1. A rubber curtain is supposed to fit over the pollen filter. It goe so far back that it is impossible to see if it is snagged anywhere, and if it is to do anything about it.
2. The plastic assembly under the wiper actually has a drip tray to stop water getting in that area.
Yep - coping with storms, driving at 70 on the motorway into a downfall, etc, with a bleeping drip tray as the design for it.
Genius.
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>>Fiat 5 cyclinder engines
>>It is VERY tightly packed in there.
My 5 cylinder diesel Fiat is very tight in the engine compartment. According to a Fiat dealer it is possible to change the cambelt in situ, but it is fairly difficult with about 2½ hours labour. Luckily mine does not need changing again for another 30,000 miles. To change the clutch is like a Mondeo, drop part of the n/s suspension - bill was £800.
Part of the problem is trying to fit more complex engines to meet tougher emission controls, and still increase the passenger safety in the event of a crash. Try doing this in small cars and no wonder servicing can be a pain in the wallet. The other design consideration manufacturers use is ease of build on the assembly line, if it costs less to do it one way than another, they will more than likely choose the cheapest.
Perhaps all new car tests should have a portion of the report set aside for judging the ease of reaching routine maintenance items such as oil and water, major component replacement like cam belts and clutches, and regular driver replacements like bulbs and wipers. I know one consideration when choosing my wife's replacement car was did it have a spare wheel, preferably stored inside the car.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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My 5 cylinder diesel Fiat is very tight in the engine compartment. According to a Fiat dealer it is possible to change the cambelt in situ, but it is fairly difficult with about 2½ hours labour.
Looking through the service book for the Coupe 20VT it has a table of number of hours labour which each service should take. The cambelt one (bearing in mind that this is the official, engine out, method) is 15.75 hours!
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Good to see Italian design alive and well.
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Good to see Italian design alive and well.
Well, they did design it so you only have to worry about it every 72k miles. And they did design it to be drop dead georgeous.
You know your problem? You want the moon on a stick! ;)
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Oh, and on the upside, the headlights are in the bonnet, so none of this fishing about and removing the skiin from your hands evrey time you need to change a bulb!
(Clearly my car has a sense of humour about this 'good bit of design', because I haven't had a bulb blow in the 2 years I've owned her)
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Audi A2-remove the bonnet to replace a headlight or indicator bulb.
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This is a real eye opener.
If you knew about these things before buying the car would you still buy it?
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Xantia HDi.
Buy a Citroen and get to know the local GSF staff better...
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Early zetec mondeos. Had to drop the engine to chage the oil filter.
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Early zetec mondeos. Had to drop the engine to change the oil filter.
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yup. Although I may be rong about the zetec bit. or the modeo bit.
But definately had to get under the engine of a ford about 10 year ago and drop it down some and away from the bulk head.
Not much of a pig, but a bit still a bit daft.
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That's crazy!
Can vouch for the Mondeo (petrol and diesel) from 1994 having its oil filter easily removeable through the o/s/f wheelarch. Interestingly though, my late Mondeo 1.8TD won't accept certain pattern oil filters as they're a tad longer than the OEM Motorcraft ones, and the bracket for one of the aux belt tensioners fouls when you try to fit them. The Motorcraft filters are a vital 1/4 inch shorter meaning you can manoeuvre them in and out fairly easily.
Had to take a Mann filter back because although the threads and diameter were perfect, it wouldn't physically fit. Had a heck of a job explaining that to the guy behind the counter. Now I just use Motorcraft - they fit - job done.
Cheers
DP
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This is a real eye opener. If you knew about these things before buying the car would you still buy it?
I did know about the COupe cambelt thing before I bought it.
I wasn't going to let a little thing like an expensive service in 5 years time stop me owning a car that good and that cheap (comparatively).
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Italian design is recognised as amongst the best in the world.Many of the word`s major manufacturers use Italian design houses.
Anyway,if you lot want an easy to maintain car why not buy a Morris 1000 ? ---- Only joking!
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