Maintenance day - Experts help novices

[rippedoffagain]

Just floating an idea to see what sort of reaction it gets.

There are a few jobs I want to do on my car which are probably DIY jobs, but I don't have the confidence to tackle them on my own.

I bet I'm not the only one like this.

I was thinking, wouldn't it be cool if we had regional meetings every now and then when we could help each other learn to do these little jobs, and help bail each other out if we manage to completely balls it up.

I for one would be happy to pay for the assistance and guidance of someone that knew what they were doing, so maybe it could be a sort of 'course' type thing, or maybe just a favour for a favour type thing, or maybe it wont work at all.

Any thoughts?

[rippedoffagain]

No replies but a few acknowledgements.

Does that mean there is interest, or is it a non-starter?

[tt82]

Only been on a day, give it chance.

Personally I really only know about jobs that I've actually done on my own cars. whilst a disc brake and pad change should be fairly similar on all cars I wouldn't be confident advising anybody on a different model without having done it. A young lad round the corner from me wanted help doing work on his Clio and I didn't feel confident doing it, I basically told him I'm just givena similar job on my car to the local Indy.

Theres also the aspect of, if I knacker up my car working on it myself, then I learn a hard lesson. If I knacker it up following the advice of somebody else then what happens? This very issue has caused problems in my family where my dad sugeested doing something to my bro's car which may have been the cause of his engine letting go as he drove home. It's caused quite a few tensions!

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

I'd be happy to give advice, but I think it would be very much a regional thing and for NI at the minute, its difficult to even get a meet organised lol

It is a great idea, and something I'd be happy to support this side of the water

[LJD]

MIght be hard to arrange a location where its safe and possible to carry out works ? Some land owners might not want it etc . But basic advice and VIDA/DICE type stuff might be ok. Also it will offer some more 121 advice and experience etc to allow the owners to then have a better idea of what needs doing etc .

[minesa240x3]

This is along the lines of my suggestion at last years AGM.But it was more for the national bkv or regional ones.
Nothing difficult just brake pads and getting that oil drain plug out or even just undoing spark plugs and setting the gap. That sort of thing. The major difference I had was to have a donor car bought in by trailer that anyone could have a go without fear of wrecking it.

I was willing to help out but my tool set is just a random collection of bits and pieces.

Just knowing where and how hard to lever the pistons back into a brake calliper can be very difficult to write down but showing someone is a doddle.

So turn up with car in set it up with a safety zone and invite folks to have a go. Plenty of us have the skills to do the basics. Some are more than good enough to give practical advice on wiring or how to diagnose a certain problem.

How on earth can you tell someone how to give a stubborn bolt a quick tap to free it up? without destroying the thing?

Well up for it but It would need careful planning and one or two vehicles or something like a late 940 or 850 as they kind of are basic enough but still have things like turbo's and antilock brakes etc.

Regards Brian.

Hell I could show Ants how to bleed his brakes without destroying whats left of his master cylinder seal? and the correct sequence and what a decent brake pipe spanner looks like and just why it's right for the job.

[Rob.D]

Hi Guys,
I've only just seen this, but I think it's a great idea! And one that I would welcome wholeheartedly. I have viewed recently the American video on how to replace the parts on your breather system on an 850, but assume it's very similar to a V70, and frankly I got lost by the number and type of parts he removed before starting the job!!!! To see this in the flesh would be invaluable!
But like the fella from Northern Ireland said, it's hard enough just trying to organise a meet round here, let alone something more complex!
I will follow the progress of this with great interest, and hope that something comes of it.

Happy Spannering! (and not too heavy with the torque wrench!) ha,ha

[EMM]

Sounds like a fantastic idea, i'd just come along to listen to people.

Any ideas on a venue? or location?

[Paffel]

I'm up for this - I do most of my own work on my car, and while not qualified in any way, I'm happy to share my knowledge/experience on here about the various jobs I've done on my various Volvos.

[dbod]

Sounds like a great idea, shame there haven't been a few more with the 'knowledge' getting interested yet.

I'm probably like alot of owners who have a rough idea when it comes to the simple stuff but get a bit stumped when doing more involved stuff. It would be great to be able to chat with people who may have had similar problems as well cause even those who don't know much might be able to contribute.

I'm currently needing to change my radiator and want to do it myself but have never worked with auto boxes so just hearing how you go about clamping the lines to the rad when you change it would save me quite alot of swearing and clearing up no doubt!