What have you done to your car today?

[adam cool dude]

Yeah, I always went for chain driven cars, but that limits the pool of cars you can pick from.

It's not, but the AC Compressor pulley/wheel bearing seems to be done... I bought a shorter belt to bypass the AC Compressor for now, will slap that on tomorrow.

On the other hand, I didn't do the cambelt today, weather wasn't the best... I've some good news though, managed to secure a garage across the street, just need to fix the doors and see what's inside. Plan is to clean it up, insulate it, get a calendar with naked baes and I can finally work on cars/bikes in peace.

Chain drive isn't always the best either. Just look at BMW and Jaguar 4 cylinder diesels. Belt drive is also quieter. Id much prefer on a longitudinal engine to have a belt due to easy access. Likewise on a small hatch with a tiny engine. Access is very easy for a belt change in those scenarios. I can do the belts on my daughters Punto in under two hours.

On a Massive engine squeezed into a small hole a chain is obviously the most logical choice.

My wife's first car was a Nissan Primera P12 and it stretched its chain on only 70k. I changed it on the drive in the snow and it took me for ever. Splitting timing chain covers, removing sumps etc. Plus the replacement chain and sprockets are more expensive.

Speaking of OEM vs other. I put a gates timing belt and water pump kit on my daughters Punto and it made a horrible noise. Found a new old stock genuine belt on ebay and stuck that on and it was silent again as the teeth were slightly different in design with a little indent and Gates are meant to be a good brand.

 

[m_c]

A common term you'll see banded about is OEM manufacturer, with very vague details.

For example Brembo supply OEMs, so they are an OEM manufacturer, however the majority of their aftermarket stuff is not OEM spec.
Brembo aftermarket is mid range at best.
OEM Brembo pads are produced to the OEMs standard, whereas Brembo aftermarket pads are produced to a different standard, usually to minimise costs.

I've fitted both OEM Brembo pads, and aftermarket pads, and there are visual differences, with the aftermarket being a lower spec with things like no anti-squeal coating/adhesive.

This is repeated all across automotive parts.
Things like Luk aftermarket flywheels/clutches often slightly differ from OEM Luk flywheels/clutches.

And the reason simply comes down to cost.
Where the OEM wants a specific spec for something, they'll pay to have it, but the part manufacturer will likely know they can cut cost by removing features and the part will still function satisfactorily, so they produce it as cheap as possible to be more competitive in the aftermarket.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Speaking of OEM vs other. I put a gates timing belt and water pump kit on my daughters Punto and it made a horrible noise. Found a new old stock genuine belt on ebay and stuck that on and it was silent again as the teeth were slightly different in design with a little indent and Gates are meant to be a good brand.

Funny that you mention Gates, after what I said earlier:

These days though, more often than not, it's a multitude of 3rd party junk brands, often Chinese
Or brands that used to be legit, such as 'Gates' that have since been bought out and ruined by China, with a shocking lack of quality control to back it up - so at this point, they're merely a name that used to be good
I'm sure you've seen the countless fake Bosch products being churned out of China, alongside the legitimate Chinese factories for Bosch - something you don't want when you're spending hundreds on an alternator, as I have done recently - that luckily was a genuine part, after triple checking.

unfortunately, they're merely a name now, ruined by the Chinese there is another well known bearing brand, that I forget the name of, that has been going nearly 100 years, also now ruined/bought out by cheap terrible QC from China

 

[IC3]

Chain drive isn't always the best either. Just look at BMW and Jaguar 4 cylinder diesels. Belt drive is also quieter. Id much prefer on a longitudinal engine to have a belt due to easy access. Likewise on a small hatch with a tiny engine. Access is very easy for a belt change in those scenarios. I can do the belts on my daughters Punto in under two hours.

On a Massive engine squeezed into a small hole a chain is obviously the most logical choice.

My wife's first car was a Nissan Primera P12 and it stretched its chain on only 70k. I changed it on the drive in the snow and it took me for ever. Splitting timing chain covers, removing sumps etc. Plus the replacement chain and sprockets are more expensive.

Speaking of OEM vs other. I put a gates timing belt and water pump kit on my daughters Punto and it made a horrible noise. Found a new old stock genuine belt on ebay and stuck that on and it was silent again as the teeth were slightly different in design with a little indent and Gates are meant to be a good brand.

I bought Continental Cambelt set, its what my mates use when they do cambelts on cars. I know that INA went downhill with their sets, especially their pulleys...

 

[Spleen Sauce]

Sold the Discovery 5 today. We did intend to sell it to WBAC but walked away. "There's an engine noise we think we can hear, we can give you £8k less if you're still interested". Absolute nonsense of course. Rocked up to Motorpoint, 30 minutes later money in the bank account with zero drama - and £500 more than WBAC would have given once they've charged fees etc.

Wife is sad to see it go because we've used it as the family car since the farming duties have gone away, but she's now in my Model Y which is a 10th of the running cost so was the sensible choice.

Just need to find me a new motor now.

 

[sigma]

Hooked up a mic in the engine bay to determine whether a noise at motorway speeds is coming from the front or back.

Results suggests the back. Now to work out where to attach it on the back.

 

[IC3]

Hooked up a mic in the engine bay to determine whether a noise at motorway speeds is coming from the front or back.

Results suggests the back. Now to work out where to attach it on the back.

What car make/model, engine, drivetrain etc? What type of sound, at what speeds, does it get louder at certain speeds, does it disppear?

 

[Deleted member 280263]

I bought Continental Cambelt set, its what my mates use when they do cambelts on cars. I know that INA went downhill with their sets, especially their pulleys...

I used a Conti belt for my drive belt, IIRC it's INA, that's the brand I was thinking of above, that's been bought out by the Chinese, and now is ****. Like Gates, despite 100 years of bearings/belts.
Thanks for that, I was trying to remember amongst the many, who it was!
China is ruining every household brand, their QC is laughable!

 

[andy_mk3]

I had a Gates belt tensioner fail on a customers' car last year. Try and stick to Conti/INA/Dayco now. I'm on a lot of mechanics groups and many are saying Gates quality is nothing like it used to be.

 

[IC3]

What about SKF now? I remember around a decade ago, I had it on my EP2.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

What about SKF now? I remember around a decade ago, I had it on my EP2.

Fitted one along with the aforementioned

I had a Gates belt tensioner fail on a customers' car last year. Try and stick to Conti/INA/Dayco now. I'm on a lot of mechanics groups and many are saying Gates quality is nothing like it used to be.

Yep, that's what I was saying before, they're just a name now, and proven Chinesium junk.

Another one that annoyed me recently, KYB - the TUV approved German suspension brand since forever - made in India/Vietnam/China, now on the branding

 

[andy_mk3]

Fitted one along with the aforementioned

Yep, that's what I was saying before, they're just a name now, and proven Chinesium junk.

Another one that annoyed me recently, KYB - the TUV approved German suspension brand since forever - made in India/Vietnam/China, now on the branding

Aftermarket parts are getting to be a bit of a minefield lately.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Aftermarket parts are getting to be a bit of a minefield lately.

Yep, it's a Chinesium fest!
These days I only use OEM, of which I get trade; otherwise if it's aftermarket, it's usually because it's a modification, ala coilovers, exhausts etc.

 

[Demon]

So this weekends jobs was changing over a rear caliper carrier on the Fiat 500, as mentioned last week, one of the slide pins had seized and whilst I got it to turn (just) extracting it seemed too difficult without damaging it, so opted to buy a £24 carrier (OEM Spec - TRW) which comes with slide pins etc, this arrived mid-week.

The bad news.. On early 500's the carrier bolts are (at least one is) obscured by the hub carrier, so you can't get a hex key in there (It's a hex socket bolt).. and even attempting the more accessible one got to a point I felt I was going to snap it.. which means taking the disc/hub off, as shown by some workshop manuals, but I need a proper impact wrench and/or a massive breaker bar to even have a chance, those hub bolts are really stuck in!

So plan B was remove the seized slide pin and see if I can clean it out enough and fit one of the new slide pins off the new carrier.. With copius WD40, turning and hammering I managed to extract it. With some cleaning it looked pretty decent, the main issue was oxidisation and grease which was easiy cleaned.., so greased up a new pin, fitted the bad spring clips and rubber boots from the new carrier to the old and it turned out OK!

I also took the chance to clean up the 'generally rusty' rear suspension on that side and give it some Supertrol (all I had to hand) to give it some form of protective coating...

So another job ticked off. just the Clutch slave cylinder to do and new front tyres at some point and that'll be a nice little run around..

 

[adam cool dude]

Yep, it's a Chinesium fest!
These days I only use OEM, of which I get trade; otherwise if it's aftermarket, it's usually because it's a modification, ala coilovers, exhausts etc.

Yeah in the end I ended up with a genuine belt and genuine tensioner on my daughters Fiat. Just couldn't trust the gates after how bad the belt was sounding. There is a thread on the Fiat forums and everyone has the same issue. I have used gates belts plenty of times in the past too.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Yeah in the end I ended up with a genuine belt and genuine tensioner on my daughters Fiat. Just couldn't trust the gates after how bad the belt was sounding. There is a thread on the Fiat forums and everyone has the same issue. I have used gates belts plenty of times in the past too.

At least this way, you know it's safe as houses

 

[Uther]

Took my sons car for an mot. Straight through with no advisories. 16 years old, battered and nearly 100k miles, helps that it's a Honda I suppose.

 

[m_c]

Yeah in the end I ended up with a genuine belt and genuine tensioner on my daughters Fiat. Just couldn't trust the gates after how bad the belt was sounding. There is a thread on the Fiat forums and everyone has the same issue. I have used gates belts plenty of times in the past too.

Fiat used two different belt profiles, and quite a few aftermarket parts listings were wrong.

 

[Tediore]

I ceramic coated the XFR on Saturday. A good 6 hours to prep it (wash, clay, machine polish, panel prep) and then apply the ceramic coat but it looks very nice now. Just in time for this week's weather as well...

 

[mrk]

Replacement time for wiper blades, pleased to say that these not only last 2x longer than any Valeo or Bosch (inc original fitment set), but they look the part too and hug the wiper arms like they were from factory, just not look old fashioned.

ECP price went up nearly a full £10 but CP4L had them with a code available, which is funny as they're both the same store lol.

Will need to c;claybar the windscreen as well so the surface is nice and minty.