Shitty, difficult jobs on cars

[bub2006]

At least with things like sierra 4x4 it wasn't too bad. I've been told the Mondeo and cavalier 4x4 could be a cunt of a job though. Many years back my dad had a k reg legacy 2.0 and he always said the easiest job was the alternator. Everything else was a twat. How true it is I wouldn't know having never worked on them.

[Hooli]

From memory of my Legacy, the alt is right on top with nowt around it as they are a flat engine

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Alfasud handbrake cable (front inboard discs), especially the Sprint. Everything else is a piece of piss and a lovely bit of engineering.

Merc W203/SLK front springs. Using anything other than special Merc compressors is asking for a serious or fatal injury. I hate Mercs.

E46 heater fan resistor, header tank, door lock/catch, starter motor....well, everything. They are complete bastards to work on. Nothing is easy.

[dean36014]

Citroen bx octopus replacement, especially on a turbo diesel.

[angrydicky]

I farmed out the discs on my Rover 600 to my then local garage as I’d heard what a twat they were. They were very experienced and had been going a long time, still it took them most of the day struggling with seized up bolts etc.
The rear discs were nearly new and it had new pads all round, but it had a horrible vibration through the steering under braking. Cured with the new discs which the previous owner must have known needed doing but avoided it because of it being a twat of a job. Never mind, it was very cheap.
On the same car, I’ve had to replace the clutch master cylinder and the PAS fluid cooler. Both were obviously fitted before the engine went in at the factory, and are a PITA for access, especially with the inevitable seized clips on the cooler.
Master cylinder is buried down the back of the engine and there’s sod all access to undo the tube nut on the side. It’s 12mm because Jap and it’s a case of using an open end spanner end on and turning a fraction of a turn at a time while skinning the side of your hand on the inlet manifold.
The top mounting nut for the clutch master cylinder, up between the pedal box is horrible to get to. I had to use silicone sealant in the end of the socket to get the nut to bite as there’s no room to get fingers in there to start it and I kept dropping it.
Maestro brake light switch. Also above the pedal box and I gave up after struggling with it for hours with the sill digging into my back, I gave up and gave it to the local garage who also struggled with it but got it done.
Vauxhall Victor FE clutch cable. For an oldie this is a nightmare of a job. It attaches to the pedal with a little hook way above the pedal box and it took nearly two days of struggling to get it routed and hooked on. I actually unbolted the servo and pedal box and even then it was a complete cunt of a job. Never again.
After doing it I spoke to a bloke in the owners club who said he cut a hole in the bulkhead above the top of the pedal to get access to change the cable. I don’t blame him!
Basically, any job involving lying upside down in a footwell with the sill digging into your back, working around/above a pedal box ranges from not very fun to a complete nightmare.

[LynehamHerc]

On an early VW T2 replacing the fuel sender needs the engine removing as the fuel tank is behind it. It might be the same for later ones but the quality of both types of sender is shit.

[bub2006]

From memory of my Legacy, the alt is right on top with nowt around it as they are a flat engine

Yes it was a flat 4. The plugs were a bastard to get to without U J on a socket but I wouldn't know the truth in it.

[SiC]

The MGB is a bit of an arse to work on in areas to be honest. Stuff like the dizzy is in a right awkward place, battery replacement is a disassembly of back seats and heave job, carb tuning is awkward if the air filters are on (at least with my HIF4) and master cylinder replacement requires a fair bit of awkward undoing as it's tight to get to the lines and bolts/nuts.

Dolomite Sprint dizzy is even more awkward place under the manifold. Has a special specific cap and rotor because of it to fit. Head is reportedly a twat especially if it's siezed on - common occurrence apparently. Then there is that stupid water pump design. Spen King must have been pretty high on something when he helped pen that engine.

[bub2006]

The MGB is a bit of an arse to work on in areas to be honest. Stuff like the dizzy is in a right awkward place, battery replacement is a disassembly of back seats and heave job, carb tuning is awkward if the air filters are on (at least with my HIF4) and master cylinder replacement requires a fair bit of awkward undoing as it's tight to get to the lines and bolts/nuts.

Dolomite Sprint dizzy is even more awkward place under the manifold. Has a special specific cap and rotor because of it to fit. Head is reportedly a twat especially if it's siezed on - common occurrence apparently. Then there is that stupid water pump design. Spen King must have been pretty high on something when he helped pen that engine.

Reliant heads do that same stunt with the head seizing on. Reading about the MGB though has bought up some suppressed memories!
My metro vanden plas auto had a difficult dizzy to work on and the alternator was a pain to change but that all pales into insignificance when I remember that god awful clutch pack change on the auto box. In hindsight I should have dropped the sump or just changed the engine as it never worked right but I changed it through an inspection cover on the passenger side of the block.

[AMCrebel]

On an early VW T2 replacing the fuel sender needs the engine removing as the fuel tank is behind it. It might be the same for later ones but the quality of both types of sender is shit.

I’d forgotten about that - the whole time I owned mine I wenr about with a fuel can in it and filled it up often due to no working gauge. I noticed in the scrappy’s that people had cut a hole in the floor to gain access. Mine was a 79 bay window so I don’t think they addressed it until the t25, the cunts.