Nomad
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- North Devon (for how long?)
A thread for warning the general public about stupid design "features" on todays cars - inspired by several recent events where a simple DIY job turned into something a lot more complicated.
Today a nice lady asked me put a new brake light bulb in her 2010'ish VW Caddy van.
Open the rear doors - the light cluster looks normal, no fixings visible from outside.
Checked inside the boot - nothing where I'd normally expect to see an access panel for bulb swaps.
Checking Google gave a few false trails then a 10 minute video showing you need to open the back doors - lever the side off the lamp cluster - to reveal hidden torx bolts holding the cluster that you remove from outside the van
VW Mk2 Golf headgasket - an easy job but needs special "VW only" socket set for the headbolts (VW obviously decided 6-pointed bolts were outdated and torx were "too common")
I now have a set of VW sockets, bought last year for 1 job, never been needed before and I suspect I will never need them again...
There's an ever-growing list of cars where you need to remove the front bumper to change headlight bulbs, a mechanic mate told me he knows of a Peugeot 206 where they found 6 dropped headlight bulbs behind the bumper when it was finally removed !
Renault deserve a chapter of their own :
Late 90s Renault Espace headgasket - but the dashboard is inches above the engine so you need to drop the complete subframe / engine / box for clearance or use a crane to lift the body off the engine/box
You need to do the same even if you just want to remove the cam cover to check valve clearances.
Engine is 2 inches away from the inner wing so no space to remove cambelt tensioner...
Icing on the cake? Timing a new cambelt needs to line up the crank (timing marks are under the crankshaft pulley so are hidden when the belt is refitted), camshaft (timing marks are at 10 o'clock position and hidden by the dash when the engine is in place), and injector pump (marks on pulley are ok but they line up with a pointer that is on a cover that needs to be removed before adjusting the belt)
Cambelt tensioner faces the back of the block where you can't even see it, impossible to adjust unless you are a qualified gynaecologist or have the hands of a slender 10 year old.
Late 80s Renault Trafic 2.1D van with worn bores so needs new piston rings or a rebore - but conrods are too big to go up through the cylinders.
Rumour has 2.8D pistons are easy to remove, the 2.1D motor is a sleeved down 2.8 so the conrods won't clear the cylinders )
Never a dull day
Today a nice lady asked me put a new brake light bulb in her 2010'ish VW Caddy van.
Open the rear doors - the light cluster looks normal, no fixings visible from outside.
Checked inside the boot - nothing where I'd normally expect to see an access panel for bulb swaps.
Checking Google gave a few false trails then a 10 minute video showing you need to open the back doors - lever the side off the lamp cluster - to reveal hidden torx bolts holding the cluster that you remove from outside the van
VW Mk2 Golf headgasket - an easy job but needs special "VW only" socket set for the headbolts (VW obviously decided 6-pointed bolts were outdated and torx were "too common")
I now have a set of VW sockets, bought last year for 1 job, never been needed before and I suspect I will never need them again...
There's an ever-growing list of cars where you need to remove the front bumper to change headlight bulbs, a mechanic mate told me he knows of a Peugeot 206 where they found 6 dropped headlight bulbs behind the bumper when it was finally removed !
Renault deserve a chapter of their own :
Late 90s Renault Espace headgasket - but the dashboard is inches above the engine so you need to drop the complete subframe / engine / box for clearance or use a crane to lift the body off the engine/box
You need to do the same even if you just want to remove the cam cover to check valve clearances.
Engine is 2 inches away from the inner wing so no space to remove cambelt tensioner...
Icing on the cake? Timing a new cambelt needs to line up the crank (timing marks are under the crankshaft pulley so are hidden when the belt is refitted), camshaft (timing marks are at 10 o'clock position and hidden by the dash when the engine is in place), and injector pump (marks on pulley are ok but they line up with a pointer that is on a cover that needs to be removed before adjusting the belt)
Cambelt tensioner faces the back of the block where you can't even see it, impossible to adjust unless you are a qualified gynaecologist or have the hands of a slender 10 year old.
Late 80s Renault Trafic 2.1D van with worn bores so needs new piston rings or a rebore - but conrods are too big to go up through the cylinders.
Rumour has 2.8D pistons are easy to remove, the 2.1D motor is a sleeved down 2.8 so the conrods won't clear the cylinders )
Never a dull day
