Jobs that are normally easy, but on certain cars are horrible.

rslifkin said:

Knurled. said:

Yes, because water pumps generally last longer than the normal lifespan of a vehicle, and so the packaging benefits greatly outweigh the potential maintenance issues.

BullE36 M3.  Just about anything with a timing belt driven water pump gets the pump swapped when the timing belt is done.  And anything I know of with an external water pump ends up needing one replaced due to failure at some point in its life.  Usually not all that much past 100k. 

Past 100k is longer than the expected lifespan of the vehicle.  You're supposed to crash it or scrap it after five years, like a good little facebooking consumer.

Automakers don't put shims in the connecting rods anymore either, so you can no longer take some shim out and close up the clearance.   Hell, they don't make consideration to change spark plugs anymore, because spark plugs are expected to last the life of the vehicle.

Anything you get beyond that, is all on you.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Re: drilling holes; I have done exactly this to change fuel pumps without dropping the tank in some hondas. 

I will add the 1st gen crv cabin air filter is almost easily accessable, but thanks to one cross bar, requires taking apart half the dash. Most annoyingly, once the glovebox and right side of the lower dash are apart, the crossbar is bolted in 3 inacessable places without center dash, console, shifter removal.  Seems they used the same housing from the civic, and botched packaging. 

It stands out, because its usually a very nice car to work on. 

Knurled. said: Past 100k is longer than the expected lifespan of the vehicle.  You're supposed to crash it or scrap it after five years, like a good little facebooking consumer.

Automakers don't put shims in the connecting rods anymore either, so you can no longer take some shim out and close up the clearance.   Hell, they don't make consideration to change spark plugs anymore, because spark plugs are expected to last the life of the vehicle.

 

Anything you get beyond that, is all on you.

I am sure there are some manufacturers that engineer their products this way. I do not think I've ever even considered buying one of their products.

I've been servicing white block Volvo engines for 25 years.  I've changed several water pumps, because owners read about water pumps on the internet.  I have changed two water pumps in 25 years that actually needed replacing.

I often wonder why companies the world over don't build their pumps to Volvo standards.  Particularly things that run off the timing chain.  See 2.7 Chrysler.

Streetwiseguy said:

I've been servicing white block Volvo engines for 25 years.  I've changed several water pumps, because owners read about water pumps on the internet.  I have changed two water pumps in 25 years that actually needed replacing.

I often wonder why companies the world over don't build their pumps to Volvo standards.  Particularly things that run off the timing chain.  See 2.7 Chrysler.

A friend of mine who does a lot of Subaru deep-maintenance says that he has never seen an OEM Subaru water pump fail.  He has never replaced one and never had an issue.

The only whiteblock Volvo water pumps that I have seen leak were aftermarket.

b13990 said:

Knurled. said: Past 100k is longer than the expected lifespan of the vehicle.  You're supposed to crash it or scrap it after five years, like a good little facebooking consumer.

Automakers don't put shims in the connecting rods anymore either, so you can no longer take some shim out and close up the clearance.   Hell, they don't make consideration to change spark plugs anymore, because spark plugs are expected to last the life of the vehicle.

 

Anything you get beyond that, is all on you.

I am sure there are some manufacturers that engineer their products this way. I do not think I've ever even considered buying one of their products.

ALL, repeat with caps, ALL, cars are engineered to a standard.  If you engineered a car to last forever, nobody could afford it.  So, compromises have to be made.  The generally accepted standard is 7 years or 100,000 miles, because that is mandated by the government.

Because of the robustness required to make it past 100k without issue, cars generally get way more than that without too much trauma.  However, don't be deluded into thinking that going past that is a right.  It is a priviliege, or more correctly a happy accident of probabilty.

I'll add to the list.  Part of this is because I'm a piss poor wrench, but changing spark plugs and wires shouldn't be hard.  Trying to do it on an SN95 Mustang GT 5.0L.  How the berkeley you reach the plugs is beyond me.  I've now spent 2-3 hours total and ripped too much skin off my hands and only have 5 of them done.  Getting them out isn't as hard as getting a new one in.  Why is this so damn hard?  On an NA Miata, the entire job takes 20 minutes.

In reply to Klayfish :

I used wobble extension or a length of hose to start the plugs. 
Also, remove the intake tube to make more room.

On most pushrod V8 in tight engine bay situations, it's just a game of finding the right combo of extensions and sometimes u-joints (and you'll likely have to add / subtract extensions for different cylinders depending on what's in the way).  Put the plug in either by hand or with the extension removed from the ratchet, then attach ratchet and tighten. 

Spark plug installation tool makes the job much easier in most difficult to reach situations. Made of rubber, it is easier to grip and the spark plug is held snuggly in place. Much easier to feel when it is centered and threaded correctly.