Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: P @ F on May 29, 2017, 08:05:18 pm
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Not sure which i am lately , 18 months ago the clutch on my T4 gave signs of giving up , not bad considering i got 12 years out of it from van purchase , took it to garage and was told dual mass so £1200 sir :o
No chance so traded it in for my little Fiorino , should be good for a few years , wrong !
Started it up and it gave an almighty pop , opened the bonnet to find a tar substance all over the place ??? , drove to garage to get told the injector seals had gone £200 should sort that mate he said , you can drive it but it needs sorting soon .
Went home and watched youtube , i will have a go at that then , £9.20 spent at GSF and 4 hours later im sorted ;D
Then on Friday the bloody clutch goes !!!
See my garage , £450 is the damage this time , so of course being bank holiday im thinking , i can do that , it will be hard doing it on the deck , but i can do it right ?
So i get the clutch and gear oil from Europarts for £112 and get to work , it wasnt a walk in the park , but im ready to roll in the morning ......Even though i do have arms like corned beef , and cant seem to move my head it was worth it ;D ;D ;D
Cant see me going back on the spanners anytime soon though !
Rich
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That's impressive. Well Done !
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Like you say biggest problem is doing it without a ramp, makes most jobs such a pain in the arse and time consuming its easier to take to the garage. Former mechanic myself but wouldnt attempt a clutch on the driveway far too much hassle
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Thanks guys , i have always tinkered with motors but was not actually a trained mechanic , i was a fitter for a gearbox rebuilding firm , i will have a crack at most things though , i would have killed for a ramp and transmission lift this weekend , as it was i ended up laying under the gearbox cracking off the last bellhousing bolt and catching the thing with my legs , ok with a little box but thats why i chose not to take the chance with the T4 monster ;D
Every job is different though , i used to run a 16 valve clio , but they had naff diff bearings , i went through 4 boxes in 2 years , now this is a job i found easier on the floor with engine crane , on a ramp everything had to come off , full subframe , wishbones and all , i used to whip off the bonnet and pull the whole engine and box out , i got it down to 6 hours out and back in and running come the end , i was proud of that , my neigbours used to watch in disbelief !!!
Rich
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Top job!
Great work.
Could have been a nightmare if it had gone wrong though...
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This is why I stopped being a mechanic. Donkey work
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are wishbone arms,bushes and dog bone mount bushes easy for a garage to do?my local garage dont fancy doing mine on my golf(which in my mind seems ridiculous)so im gonna go elsewhere.
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Thanks guys , i have always tinkered with motors but was not actually a trained mechanic , i was a fitter for a gearbox rebuilding firm , i will have a crack at most things though , i would have killed for a ramp and transmission lift this weekend , as it was i ended up laying under the gearbox cracking off the last bellhousing bolt and catching the thing with my legs , ok with a little box but thats why i chose not to take the chance with the T4 monster ;D
Every job is different though , i used to run a 16 valve clio , but they had naff diff bearings , i went through 4 boxes in 2 years , now this is a job i found easier on the floor with engine crane , on a ramp everything had to come off , full subframe , wishbones and all , i used to whip off the bonnet and pull the whole engine and box out , i got it down to 6 hours out and back in and running come the end , i was proud of that , my neigbours used to watch in disbelief !!!
Rich
We've always done our own maintenance through necessity rather than anything else and through the seventies my dad was always doing diesel conversions on a variety of stuff so he built a fixed ramp by the garage. It's brilliant for oil changes and waxoyling and the like but if you need to take a prop shaft off I'd rather visit my tame mechanic.
Respect to you though - getting any gearbox out on the floor is an absolute pain. Brave indeed !
My dads personal best was his Citroen CX 2.5 turbo diesel with an engine that had casting issues from the time of manufacture. The result was that a head gasket only lasted around six months but the car was so unbelievably awesome that he was prepared to put up with it. After removing the studs and replacing them with bolts he could eventually do a head gasket swap in less than 90 minutes.
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after youve been in the biz ten years theres no good reason to have an old van/truck unless youre serious underpricing the work . it only takes a £1 increase across your round to easily pay for something new or near new
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after youve been in the biz ten years theres no good reason to have an old van/truck unless youre serious underpricing the work . it only takes a £1 increase across your round to easily pay for something new or near new
I dont see your point there , a clutch is a consumable , it was not a case of the van being old or knackered , you could drive a new van from dealer and have the dual mass go in 50 miles , luck of the draw with modern .
I wont ever buy a new new van because i do see it as a work item and wont mother it like a sweet car , as long as its reliable and looks respectable thats good for me !
If it makes you feel any better i did have an epic fail today , it came to light that the motor factor supplied the wrong oil for the box , i kicked up in the shop and he decided best to refund me without getting the oil back , i then went to fiat and got the right oil .
Then i went and drove the van straight off the end of the ramp putting 2 big dents in my sill :'( :'( :'(
Rich
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if youv been going donkeys yrs ask yourself why youre messing around doing a clutch yourself on a tired van surely im worth more or are your prices still too low . im not being nasty but sometimes you need to take a long hard look at reality
this year iv jacked up my prices after holding them down far too long truth be told but now im quite able to get that brand new van overnight IF i wanted / or when the current van lets me down
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if youv been going donkeys yrs ask yourself why youre messing around doing a clutch yourself on a tired van surely im worth more or are your prices still too low . im not being nasty but sometimes you need to take a long hard look at reality
this year iv jacked up my prices after holding them down far too long truth be told but now im quite able to get that brand new van overnight IF i wanted / or when the current van lets me down
But you are off again , the clutch went for cryin out loud , it happens mate , but i suppose as you are totally minted you just lob your van in the bin if you get a puncture ::)roll
The fact is that the van is not old or tired , 2012 with 75K on it , i dont do brand new , (why) cos i dont like throwing money away that is not coming out of my ears anyway , its nothing to do with the way i run the biz either , i get 30/35 an hour most hours but only do 4 hours a day due to health issues , im just the kind of guy that is of the reasoning that if i am able to utilise my know how in other areas to save me £338 in one hit i will , now that is good business sense to me !
Rich
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Yes i should have scrapped it really , its unusable for a work van in all fairness ;D
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how many miles ? if its under 50k id write to the makers, i know of 2 folk who did just that [one for a gearbox on a ten yr old low miles car and one for a failed cylinder head on a 5yr old Mazda ] and each got the repair bill paid , course its down to the makers discretion.
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after youve been in the biz ten years theres no good reason to have an old van/truck unless youre serious underpricing the work . it only takes a £1 increase across your round to easily pay for something new or near new
Theres a very good reason
Depreciation
A new van is not a good investment, nor is any vehicle.
How much would you lose on say a 15k van in 10 years? about 10 grand or more.
Probably a grand a year in depreciation
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after youve been in the biz ten years theres no good reason to have an old van/truck unless youre serious underpricing the work . it only takes a £1 increase across your round to easily pay for something new or near new
Theres a very good reason
Depreciation
A new van is not a good investment, nor is any vehicle.
How much would you lose on say a 15k van in 10 years? about 10 grand or more.
Probably a grand a year in depreciation
once properly established ,if you cant afford to factor in a grand over a year on vehicle costs youre doing something wrong. the truth is your van /truck is the main lynch pin of the business its not something to pennypinch on . if youre not spending a grand each year on vehicle expense it means youre one of those who have a tiddly arsed round
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if youv been going donkeys yrs ask yourself why youre messing around doing a clutch yourself on a tired van surely im worth more or are your prices still too low . im not being nasty but sometimes you need to take a long hard look at reality
this year iv jacked up my prices after holding them down far too long truth be told but now im quite able to get that brand new van overnight IF i wanted / or when the current van lets me down
But you are off again , the clutch went for cryin out loud , it happens mate , but i suppose as you are totally minted you just lob your van in the bin if you get a puncture ::)roll
The fact is that the van is not old or tired , 2012 with 75K on it , i dont do brand new , (why) cos i dont like throwing money away that is not coming out of my ears anyway , its nothing to do with the way i run the biz either , i get 30/35 an hour most hours but only do 4 hours a day due to health issues , im just the kind of guy that is of the reasoning that if i am able to utilise my know how in other areas to save me £338 in one hit i will , now that is good business sense to me !
Rich
whats your health issues? the way i see it is you cant be much wrong with you if you did a clutch job on the deck
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how many miles ? if its under 50k id write to the makers, i know of 2 folk who did just that [one for a gearbox on a ten yr old low miles car and one for a failed cylinder head on a 5yr old Mazda ] and each got the repair bill paid , course its down to the makers discretion.
You get better with every post mate , i would love to get one of those letters from you cryin that the clutch plate had worn out after only 50,000 miles of dragging half a tonne of water around every day , i would simply laugh in your face !
That only leads me to assume that you are not in the least mechanically minded .
Which reminds me , i must drop into kwik fit in the morning , those darn tyres they put on my Golf 2 year ago have worn out ;D
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after youve been in the biz ten years theres no good reason to have an old van/truck unless youre serious underpricing the work . it only takes a £1 increase across your round to easily pay for something new or near new
Theres a very good reason
Depreciation
A new van is not a good investment, nor is any vehicle.
How much would you lose on say a 15k van in 10 years? about 10 grand or more.
Probably a grand a year in depreciation
once properly established ,if you cant afford to factor in a grand over a year on vehicle costs youre doing something wrong. the truth is your van /truck is the main lynch pin of the business its not something to pennypinch on . if youre not spending a grand each year on vehicle expense it means youre one of those who have a tiddly arsed round
Just because you can afford to spens a grand a year on vehicle expenses doesnt mean its a wise investment. Its a waste of a grand a year.
No it really doesnt mean anything if you are not spending a grand a year on expenses, other than your van hasnt needed any work doing that year.
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Not sure which i am lately , 18 months ago the clutch on my T4 gave signs of giving up , not bad considering i got 12 years out of it from van purchase , took it to garage and was told dual mass so £1200 sir :o
No chance so traded it in for my little Fiorino , should be good for a few years , wrong !
Started it up and it gave an almighty pop , opened the bonnet to find a tar substance all over the place ??? , drove to garage to get told the injector seals had gone £200 should sort that mate he said , you can drive it but it needs sorting soon .
Went home and watched youtube , i will have a go at that then , £9.20 spent at GSF and 4 hours later im sorted ;D
Then on Friday the bloody clutch goes !!!
See my garage , £450 is the damage this time , so of course being bank holiday im thinking , i can do that , it will be hard doing it on the deck , but i can do it right ?
So i get the clutch and gear oil from Europarts for £112 and get to work , it wasnt a walk in the park , but im ready to roll in the morning ......Even though i do have arms like corned beef , and cant seem to move my head it was worth it ;D ;D ;D
Cant see me going back on the spanners anytime soon though !
Rich
Might start brining my vans to you to be fixed!! ;)
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Not sure which i am lately , 18 months ago the clutch on my T4 gave signs of giving up , not bad considering i got 12 years out of it from van purchase , took it to garage and was told dual mass so £1200 sir :o
No chance so traded it in for my little Fiorino , should be good for a few years , wrong !
Started it up and it gave an almighty pop , opened the bonnet to find a tar substance all over the place ??? , drove to garage to get told the injector seals had gone £200 should sort that mate he said , you can drive it but it needs sorting soon .
Went home and watched youtube , i will have a go at that then , £9.20 spent at GSF and 4 hours later im sorted ;D
Then on Friday the bloody clutch goes !!!
See my garage , £450 is the damage this time , so of course being bank holiday im thinking , i can do that , it will be hard doing it on the deck , but i can do it right ?
So i get the clutch and gear oil from Europarts for £112 and get to work , it wasnt a walk in the park , but im ready to roll in the morning ......Even though i do have arms like corned beef , and cant seem to move my head it was worth it ;D ;D ;D
Cant see me going back on the spanners anytime soon though !
Rich
Might start brining my vans to you to be fixed!! ;)
Good shout Stu , kind of proves another point to Mr k.diver , you have a fleet of 4 or is it 5 now ? , yet you can see the sense in saving money on repairs , even though you turn over way more than little old me , the appeal of saved cash flow is still king !
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after youve been in the biz ten years theres no good reason to have an old van/truck unless youre serious underpricing the work . it only takes a £1 increase across your round to easily pay for something new or near new
Theres a very good reason
Depreciation
A new van is not a good investment, nor is any vehicle.
How much would you lose on say a 15k van in 10 years? about 10 grand or more.
Probably a grand a year in depreciation
once properly established ,if you cant afford to factor in a grand over a year on vehicle costs youre doing something wrong. the truth is your van /truck is the main lynch pin of the business its not something to pennypinch on . if youre not spending a grand each year on vehicle expense it means youre one of those who have a tiddly arsed round
Just because you can afford to spens a grand a year on vehicle expenses doesnt mean its a wise investment. Its a waste of a grand a year.
No it really doesnt mean anything if you are not spending a grand a year on expenses, other than your van hasnt needed any work doing that year.
I fear that we are conversing with deaf ears Adam , it is becoming clear that you cannot educate pork ;D
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Some people cant see the wood for the trees, spend £5k on a van and get five years its still going to cost you a grand a year
even if you get 6 years from it its still coming in at around just over £800 a year, add on the extra expenses of keeping an older van on the road and you might be worse off.
The biggest problem for some when buying new is because of their poor credit rating they take out overpriced finance deals that
would make buying a cheaper used van a better option ( there's no bigger waste of money than paying interest on a loan ) but with a good credit rating and a low interest deal a new van could work out a better use of your cash than buying used.
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Some people cant see the wood for the trees, spend £5k on a van and get five years its still going to cost you a grand a year
even if you get 6 years from it its still coming in at around just over £800 a year, add on the extra expenses of keeping an older van on the road and you might be worse off.
The biggest problem for some when buying new is because of their poor credit rating they take out overpriced finance deals that
would make buying a cheaper used van a better option ( there's no bigger waste of money than paying interest on a loan ) but with a good credit rating and a low interest deal a new van could work out a better use of your cash than buying used.
And some people can't see the trees for the wood.
A 5k van won't depreciate to 0 in 5 years.
Vehicles do most of their depreciation early on. A 5k van might still be worth 2.5k in 5 years.
I wouldn't buy a 5k van either though. My van as an example was 2.5k. 10 years old with 100k on the clock. If I keep it 5 years I might lose a grand on it.
Yes components are older and potentially going to fall apart quicker but it's also likely am older van has had major components replaced like cam belt, clutch etc already.
If you buy a new van an keep it 10 years it's likely you will be paying for all the major services that come along over that first 100k. So clutch, belts and and no doubt you'll want that book stamped up and not miss anything as it's a new van.
On an old van all your likely to do is give it an oil and filter change a few times.
The cheaper the van the bigger the savings. My previous van I paid 500 quid for, never even changed the oil, kept it two years all it had was battery and a bulb. Sold it on for 375.
Its the same with cars, in my younger years I once bougut an mgzr. Few years later I lost 5 grand on it.
All my other cars I've had are a grand or less, amd ive had a few, maybe 20 or so..i've been lucky in they've never needed much and when they have most of the time I can do it myself. If they blow up sell them on and buy another.
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I'm still running by older Ford Ranger as it's the most cost effective vehicle I've ever used for work. In the five years I've been driving it off road, across rivers and towing things nothing's actually broken - except a leaf spring that after 140,000 miles was worn out anyway.
It cost me £2,500 back in 2012 and weirdly its replacement cost isn't far short of that now. The modern version, which is now built by Ford, doesn't have anything like the reputation for reliability that the older Mazda versions do . It does the same job but with inherent simplicity that's missing on the new models. Everything feels over engineered and unstressed. I like that.
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Just realised i only had the T4 for 10 years , 5k paid in2005 , 85,000 on the clock , sold in 2015 for £1400 all it cost me bar tyres and such like was £400 for cambelt and £20 for oil cooler seals , so it cost me a massive £318 a year , and it still only had 145k on it when i sold it , good for another 100k at least !