Stuff you learn(t) the hard way by being your own mechanic

[MrJacques]

2 hours ago, lechatnoir said:

My dad an I rebuilt a Renault 5 from scratch. Just about every job needed a 'special tool'. To do the starter motor basically needed the dexterity of someone wallpapering a room through the keyhole... with the key in the lock! one of the engine oil seals needed a gearbox removal. but only after removing the driveshafts, but only after undoing the front suspension. but the good news was the wheels only had 3 wheelnuts on each.

never. ever. again.

Had one of those. The trick is to get a mechanic specializing in them. Had a problem once where my usual mechanic couldn't diagnose it. Took it to the specialist and he immediately knew what was wrong and fixed it. Definitely agree that it's not user friendly to work on them.

[Rolf Hansen]

4 hours ago, lechatnoir said:

My dad an I rebuilt a Renault 5 from scratch. Just about every job needed a 'special tool'. To do the starter motor basically needed the dexterity of someone wallpapering a room through the keyhole... with the key in the lock! one of the engine oil seals needed a gearbox removal. but only after removing the driveshafts, but only after undoing the front suspension. but the good news was the wheels only had 3 wheelnuts on each.

never. ever. again.

I had a Renault 5 GTL.

Remember the spare wheel in the engine bay and the ignition on the left of the steering wheel? Seriously oddball cars.

[MORNE]

7 hours ago, DJR said:

You called?

My Defender now has a couple of mods to make those impossible things easier. 1. A hole cut in the load bin to allow access to the diesel pump without removing the whole tank. It makes a day job into an hour job.  2. A trap door in the gearbox tunnel to make removing and replacing easier. It keeps mechanics from needing psychiatric help. 3.  A special extention bolt on transfer box to allow easier access and save grazed knuckles. 

And a DIY drip tray with an retrofit/extra oil pump and plumbing to get the leaking oil back into the Engine😅
 

#sumpception

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by MORNE

[Hairy]

19 hours ago, DJR said:

You called?

My Defender now has a couple of mods to make those impossible things easier. 1. A hole cut in the load bin to allow access to the diesel pump without removing the whole tank. It makes a day job into an hour job.  2. A trap door in the gearbox tunnel to make removing and replacing easier. It keeps mechanics from needing psychiatric help. 3.  A special extention bolt on transfer box to allow easier access and save grazed knuckles. 

Have you considered the ultimate add-on / upgrade .... a Toyota, you can still keep the Landy and tow it with the Toyota for that nostalgic experience and feeling.

[Eddy Gordo]

1 hour ago, Hairy said:

Have you considered the ultimate add-on / upgrade .... a Toyota, you can still keep the Landy and tow it with the Toyota for that nostalgic experience and feeling.

and succumb to having parts or even the entire vehicle stolen!!!! I wont lie, I owned a fortuner once, and out of all my cars, this was the only and most broken into. The spare wheel and mirror have been stolen twice. I got rid of it after 4 years.

[Hairy]

13 hours ago, MORNE said:

And a DIY drip tray with an retrofit/extra oil pump and plumbing to get the leaking oil back into the Engine😅
 

#sumpception

 

I sent this to a friend who owns a Landy, and he came back with the most awesome reply "But Jan is happy"

[Jewbacca]

I am so happy after selling my Defender 90..... I had it for a long long time. We were bonded.

Blinkered.

It's gone, I have a super generic family car that does 5 to 5.5L per 100km, fits everything in it, goes 140kph at 2200rpm and I can hear the radio.

I don't leave a pool of oil in every parking bay, I can visit Witsands, my wife will go places with me in the car, I have air bags and safety AND my tires don't cost 15k to replace. 

It also managed to get out of Afri ski and Lesotho fully loaded in a snow storm this year, so it's an ok piece of kit. 

I miss my Defender, but I miss her like I miss my crazy ex from 20 years ago. I remember the fun times, but I'm glad she is gone

[dave303e]

That is why you should own a Pajero 3,2 DID SWB.

It'll do everything the landy does just with airbags, aircon, cruise control, heated leather seats and no oil leaks.  Not great(but not landy) fuel economy. But you still have that urge to look back and admire it every time you walk away from it. Something sensible cars never provide...

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, dave303e said:

That is why you should own a Pajero 3,2 DID SWB.

It'll do everything the landy does just with airbags, aircon, cruise control, heated leather seats and no oil leaks.  Not great(but not landy) fuel economy. But you still have that urge to look back and admire it every time you walk away from it. Something sensible cars never provide...

And because they stopped production of these vehicles and they are such iconic cars they are actually starting to appreciate in value.

[Hairy]

29 minutes ago, dave303e said:

That is why you should own a Pajero 3,2 DID SWB.

It'll do everything the landy does just with airbags, aircon, cruise control, heated leather seats and no oil leaks.  Not great(but not landy) fuel economy. But you still have that urge to look back and admire it every time you walk away from it. Something sensible cars never provide...

 

24 minutes ago, ouzo said:

And because they stopped production of these vehicles and they are such iconic cars they are actually starting to appreciate in value.

A friend has one of those, amazing cars.

He did how ever go and test drive the new Pajero Sport, and subsequently bought a new one. He had a brief moment where he thought he would trade in his old SWB, but decided that this would be stupid and ended up giving it to his son.

Now both the new and old cars have seen off-road work, the old SWB extensively so .... at least he did not buy it to park outside on the pavement at the local Vida.

[dave303e]

I sold mine to my old man because I needed a bakkie(loading sand and building supplies) but I have since laid down the law in terms of buy back, he is not allowed to sell it unless I have the first option.

I took that vehicle a few places it shouldn't have gone, it also did a lot of work pulling the usual suspects out the mud at the dairy.

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, Hairy said:

 

A friend has one of those, amazing cars.

He did how ever go and test drive the new Pajero Sport, and subsequently bought a new one. He had a brief moment where he thought he would trade in his old SWB, but decided that this would be stupid and ended up giving it to his son.

Now both the new and old cars have seen off-road work, the old SWB extensively so .... at least he did not buy it to park outside on the pavement at the local Vida.

The old Pajero's were VERY capable offroad, the new Pajero Sports are an improvement on them.

I've taken a Pajero Sport through the official Mitsubishi SA Offroad training programme that all customers go on when they purchase a new 4x4. You arrive at an obstacle and think for sure you will be getting at least a little bit stuck with some maneuvering to get out, but the vehicle is so capable that you just cruise through like its nothing.

[tubed]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

I am so happy after selling my Defender 90..... I had it for a long long time. We were bonded.

Blinkered.

It's gone, I have a super generic family car that does 5 to 5.5L per 100km, fits everything in it, goes 140kph at 2200rpm and I can hear the radio.

I don't leave a pool of oil in every parking bay, I can visit Witsands, my wife will go places with me in the car, I have air bags and safety AND my tires don't cost 15k to replace. 

It also managed to get out of Afri ski and Lesotho fully loaded in a snow storm this year, so it's an ok piece of kit. 

I miss my Defender, but I miss her like I miss my crazy ex from 20 years ago. I remember the fun times, but I'm glad she is gone

Do you still while driving now out of habit greet other LR owners with the knowing wave.....and then wonder why in your new vehicle nobody greets you. It must be quiet, but perhaps a bit lonely in that new vehicle.😉

[Jewbacca]

1 minute ago, tubed said:

Do you still while driving now out of habit greet other LR owners with the knowing wave.....and then wonder why in your new vehicle nobody greets you. It must be quiet, but perhaps a bit lonely in that new vehicle.😉

All the time when I first sold it! hahaha

Now I quite enjoy the anonymity of a bog average soccer mom car.

[MORNE]

4 hours ago, dave303e said:

That is why you should own a Pajero 3,2 DID SWB.

It'll do everything the landy does just with airbags, aircon, cruise control, heated leather seats and no oil leaks.  Not great(but not landy) fuel economy. But you still have that urge to look back and admire it every time you walk away from it. Something sensible cars never provide...

my mother owned a pearl white one (the nice looking last iteration), full house with sunroof and everything up until she emigrated. When she left she 'gave' me the thing because she didn't want to sell it. It had 40k km on it. Being a 25y old ish at the time and having to spend (back then) around R650 to fill its tank with diesel was just batchit crazy to me. So I kept on driving my 1983 golf Gti haha. Passed the Paj on to my now wife to drive around, since someone had to and she lived closer to her place of work back then. She loved it too....It is a womans 4x4 afterall 🤗.

But what got me in the end was when i had to take it for it's routine 60k km service at the dealership. it was still on motorplan...and the list of things they replaced..or had to replace that back then amounted to a R12k invoice,  just made me realise that once that thing was out of warranty/motorplan....you will be keeping it for life to make it worth the investment...why people DO drive them to to infinity...thay cant afford not to haha. It was pretty...but the SWB is borderline as useless as a Jimny. absolutely no space to pack anything other than a few shopping bags lol. The epitome of an urban mom SUV. It's (like the Jimny imo)...a toy at best.

PS: Our 2.5DiD Fortuner in 2014 cost R2400 to service at 60k km. Our 2017 Rav4 VX 2.5 just had it's 75k km service...R2200. 

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by MORNE

[Eddy Gordo]

Those SWB Pajeros are nice, but a little too small. Almost like an oversized Jimny