I hate cars...

[Jorath Calar]

Yes seriously I do... I think the way some cars are designed is the main reason that the evolution theory is still just a theory...

Why Jorath? I hear you ask...

And I will tell you...

I am so incredibly lucky to work in a gasstaion... acctually it's a sort of a service station, I pump gas, check the oil, water coolant break fluid and even change your lightbulbs should you need it... and there in lies my deep hate for cars... WHY IN THE SEVEN HELLS DO CAR DESIGNER HAVE TO PUT THE BATTERY RIGHT NEXT TO THE FREAKIN HEADLIGHTS!!! on some cars it doesn't matter because the designer did have the IQ of a cucumber and had some space between so you can slide your hand between and change the light bulb, but on other cars, mostly american (FORD) and japanese (older Toyotas) cars I have come to find out that they left a 2 cm wide space between, so to change the lightbulb you either have to screw the headlight or remove the battery.
Today I had one such cars and noticed that to remove the headlight I'd basicly have to remove the bumper too... and probably the doors and the roof too... so I decided to remove the battery... ungh, of course after I removed the first screw, I placd it on the ground next to the lightbulb I was going to put in, I look up for about 2 minutes and try to figure out how to reomowe the poleholders (no idea what they are called) from the battery and then look back down and the screw was gone, just disapeared... no where to be seen, and ofcourse it was needed to fasten the battery. So I actually remove the battery,and by now it had taken about 6 minutes, and then it takes 6 seconds (or so) to change the bulb... and then another 8 minutes to put the battery back in... I'm not sure I should tell you what I did regarding the lost screw... it's one of those things that will go on my "Not proud of that" - list and Ill most likely burn for some time in hell for it... but desperate times call for desperate measures, I noticed there was sort of a plate next to the radiator it had 3 screws on top and two other that kept it in place that looked just like the screw I lost, I figured 5 screws were plenty so I removed one and used it on the battery... So finally when it was over, had taken about 15 minutes, he woman tried it and it worked... now I'm sure after this much trouble someone would be thankful for the assistance, but no, after the woman paid for the bulb ( the installation is free) she looked at me with this " God what a idiot" look and drove away. I didn't really mind because I was still wondering what god awful amoebaen designed the god damn car... it ust baffles me that someone would make a part of the car that regularly needs changing almost inaccessable...

So like I said, I hate cars... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 07-11-2005, 12:59 PM: Message edited by: Jorath Calar ]

[Cloudbringer]

They really squeeze things under the hoods of cars these days! My husband nearly stood on his head in the trunk of my last car to change a signal bulb. Not exactly easy to get at!

[ 07-11-2005, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Thoran]

You know the engineers who design cars are not dumb folks, which makes me think they do things on purpose to make it tough to work on your car yourself. Last saturday I changed all four struts in my wife's subaru outback, an for some stupid reason they had the brake lines routed THROUGH a bracket on the strut, so an already PITA job became just a bit more of a PITA as I had to pull the brake lines to change the struts, then I had to bleed the whole system afterwards.

Wasted the better part of the day farting around with the damn car.

[Bungleau]

Remember that most companies do not design cars these days.... they design systems instead. One group designs the engine, another the electrical system, a third the braking system, a fourth the suspension, and so on. Then, in a burst of magic, all the systems simply work together.

Reminds me of my old 1980 Datsun 310 (Cherry, in other parts of the world). Nice little motor with one minor issue: a little freakin' hose in the cooling system that was three inches long, and was located under the carburetor. Life was good until it sprung a leak, which led me to a new head gasket. And to replacing the hose, which was accessible from *just* the right angle underneath the carburetor.

Not including any tools needed, though... they were more challenging.

Unfortunately, the head went bad, and I needed to replace the motor. I bought a used one.

When the motor is out of the car, that little hose is really easy to get to. Foolish me didn't think about replacing it at this opportune time... it would have cost me ten minutes and three dollars.

Two weeks later, *that* hose blew a leak. New hose, new head gasket, new engine... Let's just say I got smarter after that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[wellard]

I used to be a pacifist till I learned to drive"

Jorath mate, it’s about time you started charging an installation fee, most people would gladly pay a few bucks (sea shells, Zambian goat beads or whatever you use [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) for someone to fit them.

On a similar theme my hate with motorbikes these days is that they no longer come with a centre stand. How the frick do you adjust and lube a chain or mess with the back wheel??? sure it can be done but it always used to be so easy!

And don't even get me started on Boeings or old Pratt and Whitney engines gggggrrrrrrr

[Lavindathar]

I can't see where you are coming from to be honest.

The parts are there for a reason.

And, to remove a headlight bulb, it takes seconds. The battery is usually held on by either 1 or 2 phillips screws, screwed through a holding plate and onto the battery tray. How long does it take to undo 2 screws? And thats even if its a tight squeeze. You do not need to disconect the battery, just unscrew it from the battery tray, then it will slide/lift out to a certain extent. It's all I do.

I'm into performance cars, and I used to be a mechanic. You should see some of the engines we have worked on/built. We tend to put big powerful lumps into small engine bays,where there is no space. Relocation often occurs, with the battery, water header tank, windscreen wiper water etc all being moved to the boot.

But, under a normal car bonnet, things are there.

And, most car engines are very easy to work on, even when doing the hardest of jobs. I can't beleive you complain about changing a lightbulb... [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

The only time engine work gets tricky, is on high-powered jap motors. But even then changing a headlight bulb is very easy.

[robertthebard]

I still work on cars, ocassionally, and yes, some are quite easy to work on, my '83 Monte Carlo was kinda fun to do a tune up on though, glad I was working at a shop while I owned that one. I had to run it up on the lift, and pull the plugs through the wheel well, couldn't hardly get to em any other way.
The one thing that got to me, on most of the newer GM applications, is the location of the ignition module, on the backside, bottom of the engine. You'd never be able to do that at home, w/out pulling the engine, unless you own ramps, and a few long extensions.
The reason for stuff like this? So that you have to take the car to the shop to get it fixed. It's not an accident, they do it on purpose.

[Timber Loftis]

The reason for stuff like this? So that you have to take the car to the shop to get it fixed. It's not an accident, they do it on purpose.

YES.

See all these "certified used vehicle" programs out there to maintain trade-in value. Well, for every one of those programs, people are coming into the dealership in droves. Every 3 months it costs either $60 (routine oil change, check) or $250+ ("scheduled maintenance" like transmission flushes, tire rotations, anal probes, etc.) just to service the thing.

And, you thought they made money on cars. It's a SERVICE economy my friend, and everyone is jumping on board.

[aleph_null1]

Originally posted by Jorath Calar: I am so incredibly lucky to work in a gasstaion... acctually it's a sort of a service station, I pump gas, check the oil, water coolant break fluid and even change your lightbulbs should you need it...

I used to have that job! Hated it ...

... but I'm pretty sure we weren't allowed to touch things like break fluid or lightbulbs. That was probably some other union's private territory ...

Though you did leave out wiping the windshield -- hated that job the most! (If you've never done it, people will never be happy with the job ("Oh, young man, can you just get that spot there! Yes, no, yes there! Almost!")).

[Felix The Assassin]

Hmpf. My last vehicle had 6 industrial grade batteries, wired together for a 24VDC system. It used 1/2" studs and 9/16"od nuts to bolt them in place. 15 minutes? Yeap, to remove half the hold downs, maybe.

Don't think about doing an oil change.