I’ve had a minor adventure.

undercar

Some notes to myself about car repair. In this particular case I was replacing the back box on our Ford Fiesta.

  • The road outside my house is not a flat surface for putting a car on jacks.
  • Chocks on the front wheels are extremely important. I thought it was overkill putting them in but then I struggled to get them out afterwards, which suggests that significant forces had been involved.
  • There isn’t much room under a car
  • Double check that it is a 12mm socket you need not an 11mm one
    • related to the above - have a selection box of spare nuts for when you strip the bolts.
  • 90% of my DIY issues are ‘not having the right tool and trying to make it work with the wrong tools’
    • related to the above: I want a proper blowtorch, proper chocks, and a grinder.
  • Sometimes brute strength is necessary

Overall it was an extremely positive process even if there were a few moments I thought I had made things worse rather than better. It was exactly the right sort of job to be a challenge but doable, I got to use tools I don’t normally use and I got to save money while also buying more tools.

Some photos:

Here are the guys at the garage about to point out to me that my back box isn’t connected: As below

Here is exactly how ‘not connected’ it ended up:

Here is my tentative steps to put it on axle jacks:

Here is the rusted on weld that I tried absolutely everything to get off:

brokecar4

Here is the pipe after I eventually got it off (lots of swearing):

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Here are some of the nuts I stripped in the process:

Had I had the time/experience:

  • I would have replaced the exhaust clamp, or I would have properly cleaned it (I’ve got the bench grinder), and definitely replaced the nuts
  • I would have done a more thorough inspection of the underside of the car while I was there to see if there was any other issues to look at.
  • I would have investigated some scrap yards - sooner or later I’ll need more parts for the car and it would be good to have some sort of experience going and getting spares.