I really needed this as I’d been doubting myself recently with working on my brakes on my van. I’ve been working on the brakes on and off for a good few weeks now. I don’t seem to get any further forward with it. As soon as I get something sorted, then something else is either broken or compromised or needs modifying to the extent that I’m currently grinding away and clearancing all the new brake slave cylinders (drums) to allow room for the springs, not an issue, loads of meat there but it’s one thing after the other. Every time there’s a hiccup it seems to be a week or a fortnight before the parts turn up for the next episode. Mrs Ozziedog is rattling on about how I should be getting a newer car and I’m too old to be getting under it and every body else in every family in the world has got better / newer cars than me. So my old Zafira, is great but hasn’t been getting up to temp lately so the heater hasn’t been fantastic. Easy enough, check the engine temp and it’s too cool which isn’t actually doing that old motor much good either. Order a new thermostat that comes with half the housing and it’s less than a tenner posted. Then I’m worrying have I bought a load of old tat? Buy cheap cry twice etc etc. Same part on some sites was over sixty quid, so that had me thinking too. Some sites don’t actually list this thermostat and half the housing with it as they list the whole housing and connections with the thermostat inset already and some of them were well over a hundred quid,, so have I bought a load of rubbish??? The new part has turned up and I’ve got the old Zafira nose first into the garage a bit and under the door a bit and the rains peeeeeing down. I can’t get further into the garage because of the wounded bay on axle stands that’s hogging the space. I look at the new part and can’t quite work out what’s what as it’s the same but different and I’m puzzling what’s not right. But,,, I’m working in the dry mostly so a bit of a bonus. I can’t quite believe what I’m seeing now as I’ve never seen external torques heads on bolts before, if I’ve never seen them you can bet I don’t have a spanner or a socket for them,,,, here we go again . Get a bowl under the car to catch all that fluid I’m thinking, and because I’m half way over the ramp into the garage, I can’t get a bowl under the car and the front skirt stops me at the front so out comes the trolley jack to get some clearance and I’m thinking,,,, ‘ here we go again ‘ so I drag the clip off and get the pipe off and the bowl actually catches the anti freeze and water. Then I fiddle about with some sockets and force an eight mill on there and leant on it just to give a tiny turn just to crack the bolt off and it worked, so I then cracked all four off, now I’m on a roll. Fit the new part but the sensor electrical socket is in a completely different place???? But the connection still reaches,,, and easily too. Fit it all back together and cleaned the bolts up first because were only bolting into plastic, I’d been meaning to drain and check my anti freeze as I had no idea how good it was, so I topped it up at this opportunity. Then the rain stopped, I started the engine, NOTHING LEAKED drove around the front and we have a heater, more importantly the motor is getting up to a decent temp now. Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,Absolutely needed a good result, now back to the brakes.
Lucky you. I got the camper, the work van, the wife’s car, the boys 3 cars to ‘help them save money’ on. Various work tools, most have an engine on, Don’t get me started on motorcycles… I guess it’s good in one way… keeps me out of the pub, and all my spare money goes on fuel.
My 120k mile Zafira blew its turbo on the M25 .. I sold the car for £1 to a scrappy and the Haynes manual for £5.. I couldnt get the turbo off because it was held on with on siezed e-torx and I wasnt dropping the engine. I had also already had to replace a windscreen and then the main ECU because it fell off and sliced through the wiring harness as it rattled around, producing bazillions of weird faults .. actually the fix was insulating tape and cable tying the ECU back onto the battery box.. These days I think I would have spent more time fixing that Zafira as it was basically a very useful 7 seater vehicle.
This is exactly where I am with this one. It’s a one point eight petrol and not particularly powerful , or meagre or fast a bit like myself and it’s not a huge issue as I only get about four or five thousand miles on him annually. The body has a dent or scratch or two on just about every panel. This Zafira knows the way to our local re cycler centre and is the most borrowed motor I’ve ever had. He gets borrowed for day trips all over when there’s only one driver available and a few usually younguns going and that’s when he gets vacced out and sweetie wrappers and general marrrrmite removed. Mrs Ozziedog keeps rattling on about what an embarrassment this old car is and how the entire universe owns better / newer rolling stock than me and my Zafira and my bay. Anyway I’m sixty seven years old I think , so it can’t be long for me now, come the glorious day citizens Ozziedog ,,,,,,,,,,,My Valhalla will be deafness,,,,,,and peace and quiet
