There’s only one reason I can think why car manufacturer’s have started putting the timing chain behind the gearbox. To make even more money from there customers.
@@alexjohnson7760 that’s funny. I’ve had a Mercedes m646 with the chain at the front and the m651 at the back and there’s no difference. Other then £1500 for m651 to replace the chain to £400 in the m646.
I nearly fell over watching this. A mechanic who reassembles with copper grease to make jobs easier next time. Only wish there were more like you. Just hope the customer appreciates the work you do and always brings his cars back to you. Worth 2 hour's travel.
its not just these jobs, its jobs in general. A lot of shops are turning work away mostly because of the time it takes and or the lack of mechanics that can do this work. A lot of mechanics are getting old and retiring and not many people want to get into this field because of the back breaking work and expense of the tools needed, not to mention the low pay while requiring you to have 50k in tools.
Yep I've noticed this. I've needed some work done on my car, I usually work on it myself but it was time consuming jobs and I figured it wasn't worth my time and I would rather pay to have it done. I needee a full suspension overhaul with all shock absorbers, control arms, subframe bushes all replaced and I would not get any local garage to take it, I called, email, even showed up and asked at the front desk, they always said they'd get back to me and then always ghosted me. More recently I needed a steering rack replaced and same story, nobody wants to do it. I found one specialist about an hour away that would do it, but the waiting list was 3 months long. I ended up doing it all myself. Seems the vast majority of mechanics these days only want to replace brake pads and do MOTs.
I can only speak for myself as mechanic/garage owner, it is getting harder and harder to find well skilled, knowledgeable mechanics like Baz. The last 2 I had were at the skill set as Baz but decided to go on their own . Time is a factor also I find. Being a small yet busy workshop in London, we find most of our time is spent knocking out MOT's, servicing, brakes etc. It is fine balance between workshop space and getting cars back on the road, some customers have no patience. Please keep up the videos, they are very informative and well presented.
Same here! Too busy churning out servicing, MOTs and small repairs, booked up for weeks in advance! Fortunately the guy next door likes the horrible jobs!!
Bread and butter car with cooking engine and, somehow, they manage to make it so complicated; then when it gets to a certain age it becomes uneconomical to replace such a simple part! This is progress?
Can you remember the Vauxhalls where you could change the clutch in 1/2 hour. There was a cover and you pulled a shaft out and dropped the clutch down the bottom.
@@damianbutterworth2434 That at was the front wheel drive Cavalier. I have just looked at doing our Mondeo clutch. You have to remove most of the car to get to it.
I'm an ex vehicle tech, Was on the spanners for 32 years, Packed it in in 1998, I like this content on the newer stuff i have never worked on, I like your style ie: Knowledgeable, Methodical and clean, Subbed and liked 👍
After 40 years of driving and owning all sorts of vehicles, I recently bought a Peugeot 107 which as most car guys will know is a re-badged Toyota Aygo. I love it's simplicity. No touchscreen crap, no gizmos, no gadgets, just a steering wheel, indicators, horn and a simple engine. Parts are as cheap as they get, insurance is low and there's no road tax. Things go wrong with cars and when it does I don't want to hire someone akin to a rocket engineer to fix it. I'd love car manufacturers to start offering basic, simple cars again but I'm not holding my breath. I'm 59 years old now and when I retire i plan on buying myself a simple old classic. Plugs and points baby!
Yes, I'm already there people think I'm nuts because I have an old petrol land rover, all parts are available online you can even buy a chassis on your phone and have delivered to your home in day's. Mine has a winch and a pulley block , it can lift its own engine out with a flick of a switch. Change a clutch in less than 3 hours under a tree in a field if you have to lol.
I know the feeling , I owned a 1.6 V50 thought I was a great car when I bought it for £6000 in 2015 it was a 2010 plate I'd had it nearly 8 years , it was a diesel, every year I had it , there was always something that was costing me hundreds of pounds even though I had it serviced , but there was always something popping up , with sensors or lack of power , having to be re gened. the year before last I'd just got it through its M O T after spending a couple of hundred quid , only to find a few weeks latter , engine management light with reduced power , had it diagnostic and they said it looks like injectors cost £1000 , but not guaranteed, it was still worth over £2000 , I got £500 scrap, so I went back to simplicity a 1.2 Vauxhall agila petrol, it goes well M O T flew through no faults ,cheap to run reasonably priced for bits , in fact I've just had to have a heater Matrix fitted , I got the whole thing for £49 my mate fitted it , wasn't an easy job but he did it , I'm sticking with simple 😀 👍
@user-gv3bt5mi3o I had one in the late 60s , I lent my Dad it to visit his Mum one Boxing day morning , someone come over a Halt sign and hit him side on , wrote the car off never got anything for it , I got done £5 for having a worn tyre which was in the boot , I didn't even know about & they banned me for 6 months , don't know why , so my doing a favour turned out to be rather expensive, but Moggies great little car .
I used to think chain systems were much better than belts. Not any more. They are a bit Heath Robinson on modern engines. The cambelt on my car can be changed in a couple of hours and if done at correct intervals gives no trouble.
I'm glad the 1996 BMW E34 525 TDS auto estate I owned from 83k to 143k had a double row roller camchain! It was still on its original turbo & I had oil & filter changes every 7k at National Tyres in the early 2000's & there were vouchers in the papers for this priced at only £15!! 🙂
I find myself having to do more and more jobs like these as fewer and fewer garages will take on this kind of work. The bigger garages around here will do it because of time and space but they will also charge a fortune. My aim is to keep cars on the road for people who aren't millionaires. But with technology and design going the way it is, i see a lot of heartache in the future for customers. I disagree with other comments slightly... Being a mechanic is harder than it's ever been, true, but at no point befor this could i make £50k a year this easily. Fewer and fewer new mechanics (good ones) means the ones like us are doing better than ever. Great video btw from a fellow copper grease enjoyer. To any copper grease deniers, this isnt California, our climate and road salt is the bane of our existence 😊
18 years as a tech, and I had enough. I've done some crazy ones like this, but as time wore on it just got worse and worse. What can I say? Just buy a Toyoda. 3-500,000 miles on a timing chain. Mostly easy to work on (compared to others) and not too expensive. My 2016 Camry 2.5 petro (gas) will run as long as I ever want to drive it. Baz, you are a heck of a tech for being able to handle this kind of job! From the states, Cheers to you Mate!!
I served my time in a Ford garage in the late 80’s, you could change a belt on a pinto or cvh in your lunch hour and still have time for you sannies Design is abysmal these days
Late 60's/early 70's I used to be able to swap an engine on an Anglia/Mk.1/Mk.2 Cortinas in a couple of hours without breaking into a sweat, and officially I was just a partsman...!!
It is nice to see someone taking the time to clean and grease up bolts etc before they reassemble. That is exactly what I always used to do before I retired. That was one hell of a job, why they make engines like that is beyond me, but top marks for your professionalism and attention to detail. Sadly you're a dying breed.
Nice video again!! Did this job couple of weeks ago. Some garages just want to make easy money instead of doing a job that make people happy. Keep up the good work
My son in law is a car mechanic and the small non dealership garage he works at won't take on anything that requires a wet timing belt replacement, says they get plenty of work and simply don't want the extra hassle. Doesn't bode well for the consumer as they are now forced to take to main dealer
Great video. I watched your video on Ford Fiesta 2009 head gasket replacement. My head is now at the shop and the rebuild starts next week on my fiesta! Great skills. Thanks
Great work Baz, fantastic to see your care and attention with every engine no matter how difficult it looks. I guess we all wish there were more of you.
I actually enjoyed this video. I work on Honda/Acura cars from time to time, and one thing I noticed is how much more tedious working on European cars are.
another example of "built in obsolesce" by the manufacturer - designed to make it so hard/expensive to fix so that the manufactures gets a steady stream of new car purchases - (good video!)
I'm no mechanic but old A series engine were easy to work on. Even with faults they would still run. Modern cars are designed to break down as they are massively complicated and controlled by computers.@@D-2-the-no
Hi Baz I like your attention to detail and working to the Manufacturer's specifications and a clean workshop , there's not many workshop's in my location willing to do this kind of work and there is quite a few don't have the confidence or ability , I hope you are well appreciated and rewarded for giving such a good service , Regards to you and Good Luck
Watching stuff like this makes me so glad I'm out of the motor trade now. I left in 2001 finding as each generation of vehicle that came out, it was more and more of an arse to work on. I would never want to go back on the spanners now!
What a top job! Blimey that’s a tough one.., love the attention to detail especially the injectors being greased up along with the copper grease, just got my first EV I like the thought it doesn’t have anything like this to worry about.
Great Video ! Once upon a time i'd have only had a car with a timing chain. These days I will only have one with a belt, and this is partly why, complication and plastic chain guides that degrade and disintegrate are the culprits, oh and weedy chain design.
Whatever your being paid… it ain’t enough!👍 Fantastic job you did there. Nice to see someone who cares about the job enough to grease the bolts and injectors too. I think I’ll stick to my 70’s and 80’s cars though! They might rust but that’s easy to fix🤣
Awesome work. Mum has a Golf 1.6 FSI (BLF) which isn't running well. No garage near me wants to look at it, very frustrating. Must be nice picking and choosing jobs!
I'm a mobile mechanic and I sure wouldn't take this on. I do clutches and chains, but all that lot in one go without a ramp isn't worth it for me. I also pride myself on doing a good job, so if I feel that I can't do it as good as i'd like because of being mobile, i'd rather not do it at all. I can really appreciate your quality of work. Not many techs go to these lengths! Top Job!
First time i’ve watched your channel, nice job on the chain. Nice to see cleanliness on all the jointing surfaces 👍 At 10:15 you could do with a nice big bench to lay all your removed parts out in an orderly clean manner. Excellent job 👍
Mate i like the fact you cover the steering wheel and gear knob with shrink wrap so you dont leave oily hand prints anywhere, very professional service .
Excellent explanation of the monumental task for this job. I have exactly this car and had the clutch and flywheel done 18 months ago. Just had to have it done again as flywheel gone and clutch cylinder leaking. Just outside of warranty and hard to get hold of a flywheel. Apparently it is common if the car is not driven every day (ours had done about 6k miles). Makes no sense to me.
I'm not mechanically minded & it leaves me aghast when I see an engine opened up like that. I don't understand how you can remember how everything goes back. Then you have the different designs from different manufacturers. It's actually car surgery not mechanics. You guys are talented. I wish I had the type of brain that could make sense of it all. It's good to watch videos like this because it helps me understand why a garage is charging me a certain amount. I sometimes take my car in for a basic repair and think to myself, how can they charge me 400 quid just for that? I then look and see what's involved just to get to what they need to do and it makes sense.
I've been in the trade professionally for over 40 years now, I've had garages myself with workshops, not only are vehicles getting more complicated to diagnose, very often the job involves ( as you demonstrate here ) a huge amount of labour costs that more often than not are out of the customers price range, couple that with trying to find mechanic's that not only know their way way around a set of tools and a lap top, but actually understand and genuinely know the recurring problems certain marques suffer from. Parts are expensive, Labour costs are expensive, and finding technicians that "really" know their stuff ( not just Ex Main Agent Technicians who in my mind only know the official way, and that is nearly always "keep bolting parts on until it cures it" ) ...... the knowledge and know how needed nowadays is not something you can be taught, you need to be immersed in it 24/7, AND you need to love doing it, try finding that kind of technician in the employment market today 😮
What a procedure, second chain replacement, God knows the cost,where are Vauxhall getting there chains China. I will remember never to purchase a Vauxhall.
We've got one off those. Chain started rattling around 30.000km. Garage don't want to touch it. They say it's normal. A feature off the car nothing to worry about. Now we are at 110.000km and for the last 60.000km the chain rattles while driving. Not all the time. But is does it at rpm between 1500 and 2500. We are very worried it will break. Very disappointed int opel for not fixing this problem. There are lots off cars with this engine having this problem. Thanks bazz for the explanation of how big this job is. No wonder opel doesn't come between it. Would cost them loads and loads of money all this labor. Still a shame though. A lot of people are left with a unreliable car.
you can always do it yourself. Yes it is a hell of nightmare job but if nobody takes it you can always do it even a parking lot if you do not have garage :) Buy some tools watch some videos about it and go ahead! I know it from my own experience:) what is wrong if it takes 2 weeks for you instead of 2 days in a garage? Autodoc webstore is your best friend :)
@@bazmeredith I've been searching and asking around a lot. Apparently it's not the tensioner per se. This engine has variable oil pressure depending on situations and rpm. And at certain instances the tensioner doesn't receive enough pressure to keep the chain tight wich results in chattering chain an result off that is stretching from working under loose tension. And then you come to a point that the chain is so stretched than the tensioner doesn't have enough travel to take that slack en then it's game over soon. If the oil pump was a normal constant pressure pump instead of a variable the tensioner should get full pressure all the time and the chain would never get the chance to get slack
@@zodiatti1825 I'm reasonable handy when it comes to cars. Do my own repairs and maintenance for years. Even worked at a garage for a while. I not affraid to tackle this on my drive way. And I know AutoDoc. But it's our daily car for our family and the only time I could do it is in the weekend and with this kind off job when something break or goes wrong, like the pipes bazz mentioned I can't get new parts on the weekend. And the wife needs the car to get to work on Monday
Came close to buying a Astra estate 1.6D, was plenty of 2016-2019 cars with 100,000 miles on clock at good price's but after some research realised they where cheap because they probably due timing chain and cost was £2,000+ went for Volvo V60 2.0D .
This design is just madness. I’m a pretty competent home mechanic and have done various chains and belts over the years but I wouldn’t be doing a job like this it’s just ridiculous how this has been engineered. Glad I clicked on this video very interesting insight
Mate props to you for doing these cars so well when I've seen people do shit jobs an be like these cars are unreliable. Manufacturers are making you almost overhaul and rebuild the whole engine for semi-regular maintenance
I'd drive a long way for someone as competent as you. Great video. I think you've answered your own question though! How many junior mechanics would you trust with a job like that? I've no idea what you'd charge, but for an older car it must come close to writing it off, God knows why it's designed like that. It took me 4 hours to replace the belt on my 1.9PD without rushing and cost less than 100 quid for a Gates belt and a water pump 😊
Subscribed to you last week. Your the real deal mate, big respect from a beginner mechanic, heaps of knowledge. If you don’t mind sharing all in what was the cost for this job? I’m guessing 1300/1700. Is that accurate?
I can see why the owner travelled over 2 hours to bring it to you, if I had an Astra 1.6 D with a rattling chain I'd travel to you to get it sorted aswell, very nice Pro job.
I owned a Mk 2 Cavalier , and had to change the clutch , i kid you not when i say it took 20 minutes, however following on from there with the next models from GM it became a major task the fools !
Vauxhall never change, I worked on Vauxhall/Bedfords as my day job in the 80's & we used to name them Poxy Vauxy's & to this day I have steered clear of them & pledged I'd never work on another one or even buy one, I'm sticking with my Ford's but wouldn't touch a Ecoboost, what a nightmare job you have got there!
The eighties and nineties Vauxhall's were easy to work on. They took the number one selling position from Ford because they were much better. I don't think you could possibly compare a sierra to a cavalier.
