Newbie member

[redline]

Welcome Linda!

Whether it's better to buy new or used parts...unless you happen to find mechanical 'ancillaries' (like alternators, starter motors, etc) in a scrap yard which are obviously nearly new, it's normally best to buy new. Following those examples, I bought an alternator from a scrap yard which couldn't have been on the engine for more than 6 months, but on the other hand I managed to pick up a brand new starter motor for £1 on ebay.

Some parts are worth buying used, but most mechanical parts are best bought new - if it's a car you intend to keep beyond next year's MOT (what we'd encourage where possible!), it's often actually better value to buy new.

cheers

James

sorry , I thought thats what I said lol

[foggyjames]

I was talking generally, tart There are parts to pull from scrappers, and parts to buy new.
Major mechanical (engine, gearbox, etc): scrapper
Minor mechanical (engine ancillaries): new
Trim, etc: scrapper
etc...

cheers

James

[linda]

Hi James,
Thanx 4 reply....I woz quite shocked when I found out new parts were so readily available 4 a car thats 20 years old,and like you said i am planning on keeping it a long while so may as well do it tidy.I managed to get a torque wrench from Lidls yesterday for only £12.99. so next wknd Hopefully I'll b able 2 have a go of the water pump.
over n out

[A M R]

hmm i dont think that torque wrench is gonna be THAT good. for £12.99 its gona be crappy - tools like this are not a thing you want to be buying with budgetness in mind. anyway most mechanics never use a torque wrench for anything (other than head bolts). if you want to tighten any nuts/bolts, just tighten til it becomes pretty tight under the same constant pressure and you cant tighten anymore - but then dont go adding more pressure or you'll over tighten.

you ever put in a set of sparkplugs? well thats basically how you want to be doing it, making sure you dont make it overtight, but just right.

the only people that i can think of that would use a torquewrench for almost everything would be the mechanics at sportscar dealerships or performance car dealerships - such as ferrari, porsche, lambo, etc etc.

edit: oh also if you are going to be investing in tools, first thing i would do is get a decent ratchet and a set of sockets; better yet would be to head down to halfords and buy a mechanics set of tools for about £100, which comes with almost everything you need to do almost any job

[linda]

Hi,I think you could be right there,my m8 said the same thing.....its just in Haynes it says you need 2 use torque for changing water pump?? i still have the receipt and can return it nyway.
Thanx 4 advice.
Over n out

[SteveP]

anyway most mechanics never use a torque wrench for anything (other than head bolts). if you want to tighten any nuts/bolts, just tighten til it becomes pretty tight under the same constant pressure and you cant tighten anymore - but then dont go adding more pressure or you'll over tighten.

Errm... this is an example of why many of us are no longer taking our cars to garage mechanics. There are torque settings for a reason, why would they exist if everything is tightened by feel 'til it's 'bloody tight'

[A M R]

i didnt say bloody tight. if youve been doing it for a while then you get experience as to how tight things should be. i am an apprentice at a mercedes specialist garage and i have been taught by one of (if not THE) best mechanics i have ever seen.

most main dealers never use a torque wrench for minor things such as spark plugs, water pump, etc. its only when you get cowboy mechanics thats when things start to go wrong. actually main dealers are probably one of the worst places to take your car to - they never seem to do any work to them (or do them properly) but charge copious amounts of money.

in an ideal situation, a torque wrench would be used for everything, but in reality most engines have probably never had a torque wrench used on them, unless of course it really NEEDS it. slightly overtorqueing or undertorqueing isnt going to make much of a difference to MOST things. especially not a water pump.

[classicswede]

A experianced mechanic will be able to tighten bolts to a safe (very close to specifiyed torque) in most cases without a problem.

The main thing that should always be toqued is head bolts. Must other things experiance will lead the way. If you do not have the years of experiance then do it right and use a torque wrench.

[SteveP]

If you do not have the years of experiance then do it right and use a torque wrench.

Spot on, I certainly wouldnt discourage someone from using a torque wrench just because most mechanics no longer use them.

[classicswede]

The most common place where the so-called pro's go wrong is wheel nuts. I will not stand for a tyre fitter not torquing the nuts on - and no way is an impactor alowed near my wheels. I prefer to fit the wheels myself so I know it is done the way I want.

[pettaw]

Torque settings are there for a reason. End of....... There are certain less important bolts where you can get away with doing the bolts up 'by feel' to around about the correct torque value. Water pump, inlet and exhaust manifolds etc are good examples of this. Brake calipers, axle shaft nuts, head bolts and all major engine components are examples of if I didn't see the techie using a torque wrench to tighten then I wouldn't be taking my car t that garage again. BTW the number of sump plugs I've seen where its been so overtightened that the washer has a huuuuge groove in it beggars belief. When tightened up correctly, its only just visibly compressed, not squeezed to within an inch of its life.

Tyre nuts are a matter of opinion. I would use an air impacter to undo them, but never to tighten, and I like Dai, use a torque wrench to tighten them up to the correct torque. Isn't it surprising that official factory manuals never mention that you have to re-check wheel nuts after 25 miles, but all tyre fitting places do. Hmm.

[A M R]

well most of its personal preferance. no offence but i cba to argue my point across about not using a torque wrench (especially wheel nuts - never seen ANYONE use a torque wrench for this).
if you think you'd rather use a torque wrench for certain things, than so be it. personally i dont see the point where in most cases you can do it by feel or visually with a ratchet/spanner/impact.

just my opinions so dont get offended

[classicswede]

Using experiance is fine for your own car. When you are being paid to do work on a customs car you use always use a torque wrench - this is your insurance against anything going wrong. It you have torqued bolts to the book fiqure and it doen snap/shear or come loose you have done your job properly. You can stand up in court and say you followed procedure - not my fault.

We live in a blame and claim culture these days - always cover your arse.

[volvorsport]

using an impact socket thats designed to wobble to give the correct torque - ive checked with a torque wrench and give good repeatable settings - so yes wheel nuts can be done up with an impact gun .

what do you think the F1 guys use ? most clubman racers use the battery powered guns set to the correct torque

if you set the compressor to a known value to correspond to a torque value - you can use air tools all the time !!!!

ways an means , just because a techie isnt using a torque wrench doesnt mean hes doing it wrong .

[Ronnie]

[rant]
I think it's safe to say that Linda is not an experienced mechanic - but she's having a go at it and big respect to her for it. I can't think of many girls who pop off down the shops for a torque wrench. She's doing it the way the book says, and even a cheap wrench from Lidl is going to do the job just fine. Someone new to fixing cars is not going to know how tight is tight enough, or what is too much, so let her get on and do the job the way she wants to.

Supporting people like Linda is at the heart of what V3M is - so more of the constructive advice and a bit less anorak from some people would be nice. [/rant]

Keep your wrench, Linda, follow the instructions in the manual, and come back to us if you need any advice!