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It’s happening anyway. Managed to get the low profile front end on the ramps with the aid of some blocks of wood.
Oh yes, that's what we like to hear.
When is the next key appointment that you 100% need a full functioning car by?
Alright. Later. I'm doing paid work at the same time.
When is the next key appointment that you 100% need a full functioning car by?
I don't really - worst case I'd take the other one to the Lakes in 4 weeks' time.
It’s happening anyway. Managed to get the low profile front end on the ramps with the aid of some blocks of wood.
oh ****, here we go!
What was Brittany Spears first hit single called, i cant quite remember.
Oh Lord, won't you fix my
Mercedes Benz?
I mullered my Passat
I must make amends
I worked hard all my lifetime
Mocked by STW "friends"
Oh Lord, won't you fix my
Mercedes Benz?
Sorry, but I'm puerile!
What was Brittany Spears first hit single called, i cant quite remember.
😂
Top work FB-ATB
Eagerly awaiting status update........
I was quite looking forward to photographic evidence of the “…and simply remove the steering rack” bit 😂
Oh, I've seen this movie before. "... using a suitable drift" - you're gonna need a two-foot length of bannister rail and an eight kilo sledge.
If I'd just bought a £50k (new) car at 8 years old and discovered that the only remedial work it needed was a couple of mounts @ £600 fitted, I'd be pleased as punch.
I've just bought a 3 year old car and spent significantly more than that getting the niggles sorted.
Your lack of patience/determination to prove the internet wrong/spendthriftyness is somewhat admirable!
I was quite looking forward to photographic evidence of the “…and simply remove the steering rack” bit 😂
Oh, I've seen this movie before. "... using a suitable drift" - you're gonna need a two-foot length of bannister rail and an eight kilo sledge.
I've got my fingers crossed that it all goes smooth as silk for you MG. I wouldn't have the confidence to do that sort of job myself, it would have gone straight into the garage so hats off.
If I’d just bought a £50k (new) car at 8 years old and discovered that the only remedial work it needed was a couple of mounts @ £600 fitted, I’d be pleased as punch.
Give it time! 🙂
@timbog160 none of the above, bingo bus (Citroen C8).
@fb-atb I think you just won the thread.
oh ****, here we go!
This forum needs to up its gif game.
This forum needs to up its gif game.
Molgrips, tomorrow:
Is there a Mrs Molgrips?
Couldn't leave it half finished (and a boring Teams meeting)
Oh Lord, won't you fix my
Mercedes Benz?
I’ve mullered my Passat
I must make amends
I worked hard all my lifetime
Mocked by STW “friends”
Oh Lord, won't you fix my
Mercedes Benz?
Oh Lord, won't you find me
A sunglasses holder?
Suffering these comments
Is a burden I shoulder
You all think you’re funny
But the jokes getting older
Oh Lord, won't you find me
A sunglasses holder?
Oh Lord, won't you settle
Marvin’s engine mounts?
Trade Centre Wales
Won’t be held to account
Mechanical hassles
You love me to recount
Oh Lord, won't you settle
Marvin’s engine mounts?
Oh Lord, won't you fix my
Mercedes Benz?
I’ve mullered my Passat
I must make amends
I worked hard all my lifetime
Mocked by STW “friends”
Oh Lord, won't you fix my
Mercedes Benz?
Thats the work of genius!🤣
Really funny!!
Apologies to Mols & Janis
To be fair that song has been stuck in my head since I bought the damn thing.
That reworking is a classic. I'm sure we must have a musical bod who can record it....
Just to remind you, Molly, that we're not mocking, we're totally behind you. I love your work and admire your tenacity to get to the bottom of things.
Please post up that old photo of your Passat in pieces if you have it - I can't Google it but I've never see anything more "holy shit!" when I saw it - genuinely impressive stuff and I wish you all the best with this current endeavour.
But yeah. Photos.
Mrs Molgrips earlier
[img] 
[/img]
(crap meme generator)
FB-ATB
brilliant - a tad cruel but - fabulous darling!
Chapeau FB!
Thanks @bearnecesessities - you mean this one?
Or this one?
2nd one, that's it!
Right, well I went down to take the steering rack. First problem, my ball joint splitter's too small. No worries, that's easily fixable. I have given myself loads of time so I only need to do a bit now and then. Another look suggests that removing the rack should easily free up enough space to get the mounts out. So far so good.
Then I undid the first bolt, and it came undone then span. That's right - Mercedes, the sadistic bastards, have put free non-captive nuts on the other side of everything, and they're impossible to get at from the other side. That was a soul-crushing revelation. I stared at it for a bit feeling pretty despondent, thinking about the £400 that the mechanic might cost. Whilst down there I thought I'd take the rear undertray off and have a look at the rear gearbox mount. That proved more complex than I thought too. However, on my way back out to the front of the car I took another look at the steering rack, and without the gearbox undertray on everything is suddenly accessible! Well, I say accessible - I mean with extreme contortion and a very specific combination of tools - but I managed it. Two rack bolts out, the steering column disconnected, and the other two I can get at.
So it's looking good. I just need a bigger balljoint splitter and hopefully I'll be able to get the rack off and make enough space to get the mounts out.
There's only one problem bolt left, I think. The mounts look basically like this but not the same - there's two bolts on the bottom of mine and the casting is different. Same basic concept though:
On mine, the top bolt on the left is clearly visible from above but I can't get a socket on it with any combination of extensions and universal joints. The internet says you need a ring spanner with a socket attachment on one end like this:
I bought these, but it doesn't help from the top. I'm hoping I'll be able to use it from underneath to loosen off the top bolt. I've got plenty of time though to try things, which is good.
🤞
Also need to get new bolts from Merc as they appear to be stretch bolts. A huge advantage of owning a Merc instead of a VW is that the Merc dealer is a pleasant 10 minute walk away as opposed to a 15 minute drive or a crap 30 minute ride.
Can you use a combination spanner 'upside down' as a bodge/making a Mercedes specific tool - you could squash the spanner a little so the cranked angled of the head sits on the fastener correctly with the other end of the spanner angled downwards rather than upwards and fouling as used the 'correct way up'
You can also cut the other unused end off the spanner for a bit more clearance.
I have a 'dedicated Volvo spanner' like this from one job I can't remember now.
Oh, I bought the special tool from Amazon, not expensive.
You have inspired me to dig out the socket set and replace the drop links on the MX5 which were an advisory on yesterdays MOT. Have cleaned and drowned the bolts in penetrating fluid ready to swap them tomorrow. KwikFit wanted £70 each to supply and fit, and they are only £17 each to buy. Not done any car spannering for years.
I’ve got plenty of time though to try things, which is good.
You seem to be repeating the "plenty of time" thing a bit, not sure this is 100% a good sign!
Still, I'm always impressed by this kind of thread. Changing a wheel is about as far as I get with a car.
Drop links can be easy if access is good. This car has shiny new ones. There's other evidence of work having been done too, it looked rather like someone had undone the steering column cinch bolt at some point, and a couple of the undertray threaded clips are stripped. And one is missing, someone had attempted to hold it in with a zip tie, so someone's been bodging. At least I've ordered new clips from eBay which is a brilliant place to get clips and fastenings etc by the way. It seems many manufacturers keep the same bolts and clips for years on things like heat shields and trays so they are readily available.
Somewhere there's a thread that says "I've finally given up on my CLS I can't take it any more. I'm going to part ex it at trade centre wales"
Whats the splitter for?
I've never used one.... normally just go bar and shock the taper method
I want to split the joints so I can remove the rack and gain access to the mounts. I don't want to go whacking things because I want to re-fit them afterwards, and I'll damage either the joints or the rubber boot if I use force. The splitter worked well on other cars it's just slightly too small for this one, I think I'll grind it a little bit wider so I can fit it on.
I've seen more boots split by splitter than shocing the taper..
Though its all steel in my world....no ally arms here
@midlifecrashes make sure to clean the screw threads before taking the nuts off, that makes a massive difference in my experience.
I’ve seen more boots split by splitter than shocing the taper..
So you mean just hit the screw thread till it comes out?
So you mean just hit the screw thread till it comes out?
I wouldn't - you'll deform the threads. **** the thing the tapered bit goes into.
FWIW I have never has success with a splitter. A cold chisel of suitable size between the two parts I'm trying to split always seems to work (Rover R8 platform front ball joints - I'm looking at you).
It depends on the geometry of the things you're splitting. Sometimes a forked chisel type splitter works, sometimes the kind with two jaws pushed apart by a screw thread, sometimes neither.
Re hitting it
what you want to achieve is to make the bit the taper goes into to ring like a bell - its that shockwave that breaks the taper - two hammers simultaneously each side can work well
As above
I'd never hit the joint directly unless I was changing it.
I use the shock method. Excuse the Tossy yank video
^only if you had old school steel knuckles, I wouldn't be leathering fancy new school aluminium knuckles/uprights
Aye as I said before it's all steel in my world...
I'm not posh enough for fancy unsprung ally weight reduction
Oh I see. Both this and the Passat have alu hub/whatever parts to hold the taper, I don't think they're coming off that easily thanks to a bit of bimetallic corrosion.
I may have missed something, but why are you doing this work rather than getting the gargae you bought it from to do it?
Based on how you ended up buying this car, seems like madness to me.
You don't hit the threads.
You undo the nuts, take 1 off and add a washer . Then wind on the nut till its 1mm longer than the thread
Then wind down the other nut to meet it, nip it up, then beat it to submission.
Problems occur with ground clearance and all the rubber mounting hardware deflecting the blows
Can be overcome by wedging a stick in the wheel arch
I may have missed something, but why are you doing this work rather than getting the gargae you bought it from to do it?
Based on how you ended up buying this car, seems like madness to me.
To provide automotive entertainment in-between Project Binky episodes.
I may have missed something, but why are you doing this work rather than getting the gargae you bought it from to do it?
Because they denied there's a problem and I couldn't think of a way to force them to admit it. Most people seemed to think I had a right of return - I don't, unless there's a problem, which they denied.
So you get an independent report from someone like the AA that shows the fault and then push the garage to do it. If they refuse its small claims court. 99% they would fold on a letter before action
Didn't Molly take it to an independent? Who said "Maybe there is , maybe there isn't"
So you get an independent report from someone like the AA that shows the fault and then push the garage to do it. If they refuse its small claims court. 99% they would fold on a letter before action
3 garages looked at it and went 'mm yeah' and I'd have had to spend a fair few hundred on investigations, and I just cannot be ****ing arsed with small claims. Changing it myself is easier. If it doesn't fix it and then the issue gets worse I'll pursue it, cos I did raise it within the warranty period.
Because they denied there’s a problem and I couldn’t think of a way to force them to admit it.
It's called the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Most people seemed to think I had a right of return – I don’t, unless there’s a problem, which they denied.
So what? A used car from a dealer, you have the same rights as new. The onus is on them to disprove a fault, not on you to prove it. They can deny what they like but it's an irrelevance.
I admire your tenacity and whilst I'm handy with a spanner you're undertaking work I wouldn't even dream of and you should be applauded for that. But if it were me I'd have stuck the keys up their arse and told them to call me when it was either fixed or refunded.
Won't you attempting to fix the issue void any warranty claim? They'll just claim that you caused the damage.
It could surely be interpreted as accepting the damage.
Cougar, I'd love you to show me the actual piece of legislation that says I can hand it back. I did Google this (believe it or not) and I did not find anything that gave me grounds.
The thing is that with cars, some things work, some things fail, and some things (like engine mounts) just deteriorate over time. So in my view, the engine mounts are deteriorated somewhat, and I would like them replaced. However, in the garage's view, they are okay because they are holding the engine in place and in their opinion the vibrations are not significant. It comes down to their opinion vs mine as to wether or not it's a fault, and what 'reasonable' condition for an 8 year old car actually is. There's evidence to suggest that courts are happy to side in favour of the customer but I really don't want that kind of hassle. This is easier.
But if it were me I’d have stuck the keys up their arse and told them to call me when it was either fixed or refunded.
So now your keys are manky, your car still needs fixing and you're probably on some kind of register.
This is easier.
These do, on the face of it, sound like famous last words that you should not be saying half way through a job for which you've admitted you don't have the right tools, and other folk have suggested that they wouldn't use anyway.
Good luck, I hope it goes well though. I admire you're willingness to just crack on with this sort of stuff.
Cougar, I’d love you to show me the actual piece of legislation that says I can hand it back.
I already have, twice at least, most recently about four posts ago. Under CRA you have a right to within the first 30 days to reject a car purchased from a dealer if it has a fault.
Of course, that ship has long since sailed because you knew better than everyone else's advice and decided to take it to bits yourself, so it's academic what your rights were at this juncture. They're likely "none whatsoever" now and you've potentially just invalidated any warranty you might've had with them as well.
And for the avoidance of doubt Ben, I'm honestly not having a pop. You were soliciting advice. It's just that, eh, you made your choices for perfectly valid reasons which you've explained and I understand, but I fear you may have painted yourself into a potentially expensive corner in the process.
It comes down to their opinion vs mine as to wether or not it’s a fault, and what ‘reasonable’ condition for an 8 year old car actually is.
Fair, and you would expect some wear and tear. But there's a difference between worn and worn out.
So now your keys are manky, your car still needs fixing and you’re probably on some kind of register.
🤣🤣
Under CRA you have a right to within the first 30 days to reject a car purchased from a dealer if it has a fault.
Look at the bit in bold.
But there’s a difference between worn and worn out.
Yes. But I had this discussion with them. I said it was worn out, they said it wasn't.
I used to do a bunch of spannering on my cars.
Which was all good fun when I had no dependents and the wagon was a mk2 fiesta with loads of space to get to everything and the most complicated technology on board was the indicator stalk.
You're a brave man to take apart the family ride when its a 2013 Merc.
I think 'halfway through' is a touch on the optimistic side of the coin.
Probably not even a quarter of the way there yet.
Still, i for one am glad mollys having a go. Gives us all all the more opportunities for taking the micky, and reading abouts mols slow decent into automotive madness
Cash register?
Yes. But I had this discussion with them. I said it was worn out, they said it wasn’t.
Thats why you get a report from someone like the AA - then there is no dispute.
I said it was worn out, they said it wasn’t.
"Prove it."
On a dealer purchase that recent, the burden of proof is on them not you.
Yes. But I had this discussion with them. I said it was worn out, they said it wasn’t.
On a dealer purchase that recent, the burden of proof is on them not you
This. It doesn't matter what they say.
They have to prove it.
If not, you can hand it back.
Thats why you get a report from someone like the AA – then there is no dispute.
Of course there is. TCW can dispute what they like, they have their own mechanics. Then we end up in small claims.
On a dealer purchase that recent, the burden of proof is on them not you.
Where does it say that?
They have to prove it.
If not, you can hand it back.
We did this to death. They won't give in without a big battle, given the nature of the problem. And just as there's no way to prove the mounts are worn, there's no way to prove they're not. After all, how worn should they be? There's no published specification on what constitutes worn or not. It's just too much of a grey area.
The reason I didn't do anything is that I cannot possibly see how I can prove anything beyond their ability to wriggle out. I took it to them, they told me it was fine. I disagreed, they disagreed. If I leave the keys on the desk and leave, I've got a long walk home, they've got my car. They'd bill me for storage.
Can we stop the "what ifs" please? It's not constructive. Molgrips has made his choice, the helpful comments about ball joints are great, the Mercedes Benz song was funny but rehashing past decisions helps no-one.
Mini rant over.
I'm with moly theres no way tcw would have chopped that back in with out a monumental struggle.
I may have in a previous life administered their warranty policies...
Has the dog seen the rabbit yet and are they off?
Or offering a couple of thousand less than molly paid to cover some admin, de valuation as its been registered for a very short period then back on tje forcourt
Plus enough to cover new mounts should it become necessary to swap them out at some point in the future
I ordered new bolts, they should be here Saturday AM so I might as well wait til then. Really not looking too hard at this stage - fingers crossed!
If this fixes the problem and/or if the old mounts are visibly knackered I might give TCW a ring again and ask for a goodwill refund. They almost certainly won't give me one but might be worth a try.
Is TCW owned by the bloke that didn’t like the skate park? Perhaps we should organise a drive by “Toot for Mols”?
We did this to death.
We have, and I can't be arsed any more. I've told you my understanding of the law, you've told me yours. Either it's Not That Simple or one of us is wrong and as the time has now passed then it doesn't really matter either way.