oldeskewltoy wrote:Grtechguy wrote: any clutch?BrokenYugo wrote: there's some SAAB where you can supposedly do it all topside in like 2 hours.with the right tools.... don't have the right tools... and it can be a nightmare
Only if the clutch slave has failed. If that is working the other special tool can be improvised easily.
In reply to HappyAndy:
Supposedly it can be done in about 15-20 minutes. Depress clutch, wedge thingy into pressure plate to keep it disengaged, remove throughshaft, slave cylinder, and pressure plate/clutch disk, and install new parts as necessary.
If, as you point out, the slave isn't bad.
I know that I've got trans R&R down to about 45 minutes in the RX-7. As with anything, having a lot of practice helps. 
Now I just need to make three or four clones of myself:
Late model F150 v8 spark plugs.
Mid to late 90's Hyundai brake rotors. Stupid captive rotor design that means you have to tear the hhub and wheel bearings apart to change rotors, and a $300-500 job for just the rotors unless you have a press at home that can get the bearings back in.
$3 fuel pump gasket on Volvo V70x/c's.
$10 chain guide on later Saab 2.0's.
Duke wrote: 3 hours later, I get a call - "Yeah, we've got your car up on the rack, and it's gonna need new ball joints before we can even touch the alignment." Uh, if it's up on the rack, why didn't you see the nice shiny chromate finish on those brand new ball joints? Assuming it's even on the rack at all, just put it down and park it. I'll pick it up at lunch time.
I had a shop pull that one on me once when I wanted an alignment done on my Cummins. They even tried the "we can't let the truck leave the shop in this condition" line. I politely told them to go berk themselves. And then I taught myself how to do string alignments.
foxtrapper wrote: $10 chain guide on later Saab 2.0's.
Hell - chain guides on pretty much any car. That's one of my big beefs with timing chains instead of belts. Timing belts are generally designed to be serviced at some interval during the life of the car. Timing chains are often not. A timing chain service on a MINI makes the timing belt job on my TDI look like a cake job.
And yeah - a lot of jobs on a MINI engine requires removing the bumper and putting the radiator support in "service mode", but after you've done it a few times it's not a big deal. When I was in practice, I could have it ready in about 15 min.
Similar to the heater core comments, evaporator core. A ~$50 part, all that work.
Automatic door lock solenoids on my GS430. $5 solenoid and about 4-5 hours per door. They've been sitting on my bench for a year just waiting for me to get motivated enough to do it.
I just though of one. Those crappy self-destructing window motor "fuses" Ford used to put in their power window motor gearboxes. Over time they crumble leaving the motor free to turn, but the window doesn't move. You have to drill out three dimpled holes to access the motor bolts, then work your arm into the door (avoiding amputation) and pull the motor out. Then you replace the shredded plastic pieces with three steel nuts (usually from your coffee can of hardware) roughly the same size and never do the job again.
Spark plugs on my 3.6l CTS required removing the intake manifold, total pain in the ass on a POS car.
Heater resistor on my Saab 9-5 was a 10 dollar part that took like 5 hours to wrestle into place.
Stock 1.6 miata oil filter location. Takes me at least an hour getting the old one out and the new one in. My wrist just doesn't bend that way, and I can never get a wrench on it. Really should get that location kit.
Sometimes it depends on the vehicle. I have an Escort and a Ranger Truck. Changing the heater core is a beast on the Escort. I usually end up power washing the seats and carpet because they are either already out or 90%. The Ranger is 2 bolts, 2 hose clamps and pull it out!
Had a buddy ask me about the front seal on his transmission. I told him I would replace it for $150. I thought it was a great price, but he thought it was theft! Told him I would do it free if he brought me the transmission!
Bruce
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