Would I be foolish to attempt this myself?

FinglisHobbit

FinglisHobbit

FinglisHobbit

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My Mondeo has been making an occasional clunk on turning so I suspected a CV joint.

Had the car in for MOT on Monday, and sure enough the boot had split and it failed on that.

So I decided to spend £35 on a new Driveshaft/cv joint.

Maybe overkill I know, but I dont know if damage was done from ingress of crud so figured a new part is a good idea when they arent expensive.

My thinking was that I would spend some money on some tools to complete the job myself. Rather than spend that money on a garage.

I have a long weekend off at work so I have time to give it a go. Youtube videos make it look reasonably straightforward. I'm competent with tools, but not really done anything major on a car before.

Should I try it? , or just find a garage to fit the part I bought?
 
Depends how good you are with your tools and DIY. I'm always up for doing things on your own rather paying someone to do it, I don't know what its like on the Mondeo but it can be quite involved depending on how the car is constructed, you may need to remove brake and suspension component and other bits and bobs. Do it wrong and you may break something and leave yourself without a car for sometime and pay double costs.
 
If it's clunking then it's already knackered so replacing it definitely isn't overkill. £35 seems cheap for the CV joint though, I presume this is a cheap aftermarket part?

The hub nut will (or should) be very tight indeed, so you will need a decent length breaker bar to undo this.
 
Give it a go yourself, cars aren't that complicated to work on.
Just get yourself a Haynes manual and a good set of axle stands, also patience is a virtue as well as good friends/neighbours when working on a car as soon as you loose your head go for a cup of tea or a walk.
 
Abraxaz1 said:
Give it a go yourself, cars aren't that complicated to work on.
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This. There is loads of information online. Often you'll find a good picture guide on owners forums.

I like to do all work myself on my cars. Always budget for it taking 10 times longer than I think and I'm prepared to live without a car and cycle to work the following week if I dont get it done in time (particularly if you forget to order something or need a special tool that you cant get locally and need to buy online).
 
Always good to invest in your own tools than pay a garage. At the minimum I'd recommend;

- Trolley Jack (A decent one, cheap ones just break)
- Breaker Bar (450mm, 1/2" drive)
- 1/2" Ratchet
- 1/2" socket rail (10mm - 19mm, 6 sided sockets)
- A couple of 1/2" extender bars
- Correct size hub nut socket for the job (Halfords have some good ones)
- Rubber mallet
- Lump hammer
- WD40
- Axle Stands
- Any other job specific tool for Mondeo driveshafts

Optional;

- Torque wrench (Just do everything tight, you will get a feel for what's right after a while, although a torque wrench is preferred for peace of mind)
- Spanner set
- Impact gun
- 3/8" socket set

That should get you off to a good start for quite a lot of jobs on a car and you can expand from there.
 
Some great replies there thankyou. Appreciated.

I'm gonna go to Halfords and pick up some essentials. I have a trade card so tool prices becomes quite reasonable.

I have a decent enough socket set which should see me alright. A breaker bar, axle stands and the hub socket with be the main things I need to buy.
 
As soon as you get the wheel off put it under the car, I've heard too many stories of failed axle stands / crap jack points & soft driveways.
 
touch said:
I like to do all work myself on my cars. Always budget for it taking 10 times longer than I think and I'm prepared to live without a car and cycle to work the following week if I dont get it done in time (particularly if you forget to order something or need a special tool that you cant get locally and need to buy online).
Click to expand...

This is good advice, especially if you seek assistance from the Internet. Several times I've been lulled into a false sense of security and spent 3 hours on a job that should have been "30 minutes max". :mad:
 
Orionaut said:
These can (And do!) easily shatter without warning!

Big blocks of wood are better!
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guessing them breaking would be more to do with impulse force (car falling on them from a bigger height) rather than just the car resting on them. bit of wood between the car and block would spread the load and minimise this I would reckon. (also I meant the solid blocks, not the ones with just the "walls" of the block and giant holes :) )

but yeah. wood is always a good shout too :)

ideally....just dig a giant trench in your driveway you can walk in and out of :p
 
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Gaverick said:
Always good to invest in your own tools than pay a garage. At the minimum I'd recommend;

- Trolley Jack (A decent one, cheap ones just break)
- Breaker Bar (450mm, 1/2" drive)
- 1/2" Ratchet
- 1/2" socket rail (10mm - 19mm, 6 sided sockets)
- A couple of 1/2" extender bars
- Correct size hub nut socket for the job (Halfords have some good ones)
- Rubber mallet
- Lump hammer
- WD40
- Axle Stands
- Any other job specific tool for Mondeo driveshafts

Optional;

- Torque wrench (Just do everything tight, you will get a feel for what's right after a while, although a torque wrench is preferred for peace of mind)
- Spanner set
- Impact gun
- 3/8" socket set

That should get you off to a good start for quite a lot of jobs on a car and you can expand from there.
Click to expand...

Torque wrench isn't optional, it's one of the first things you should buy, if you dont have one in your toolbox, then you should stay home on the soda, if you need to ask why its needed, you should stay in bed!
 
Simon said:
The wheel nuts hold the wheel bearing together, of course it needs the correct torque!

Why do you say such ridiculous things?
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Because it's hardly imperative, and the torque is higher than your ordinary torque wrench will go anyway. What you do is get a 24" bar and tighten as much as you can, lock the nut, and don't worry about it.
 
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