Lies, Damned Lies and the Haynes Manual

Stabs · Unread post by **Stabs** » 10 May 2005, 16:31

I'm about to change a Xantia rear ABS sensor using the Haynes manual instructions. Besides a typo in the manual telling me to jack up the wrong end of the car, they otherwise make it sound so easy.
Going on experience of Haynes instructions (and the fact that my car seldom looks anything like the one they used) I'm expecing the job to be an epic. Does anyone have any hints or tips? I have bought a new sensor, I have 1 hour's access to a car lift, a can of WD40 and a bloody great wrench - oh yes, and a whole host of swear words ready to fly. Do I need anything else?
Thank you.
Ian

NiSk · Unread post by **NiSk** » 10 May 2005, 16:38

Yes, a dremel and a big drill (you will probably end up drilling the b***er out).
//NiSk

citroenzx · Unread post by **citroenzx** » 10 May 2005, 17:11

they usually say somthing like "removal is the reversal of fitting"

Stabs · Unread post by **Stabs** » 10 May 2005, 18:06

Thanks for the tips and comments. I've got a Dremel and a drill lined up, plus an obscenely large hammer to aid the 'reversal of removing' process. Am also going to get some sandwiches, coffee, sleeping bag etc. ready for a long stay under the car! [|)]

fastandfurryous · Unread post by **fastandfurryous** » 10 May 2005, 18:27

You sound well prepared for the job! If it fails to budge, a blowlamp to get everything hot helps too.. just don't set fire to anything!

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 10 May 2005, 19:08

The Haynes CX manual under "replacement of front suspension arm bearings" use to say, after removing the bearings, "thoughly clean the interior of the car"! I pointed this out to them when I visited the Motor show and I see they have now revised it to "thoughly clean the interior of the arm" Mind you, by that stage you needed a break!

fastandfurryous · Unread post by **fastandfurryous** » 10 May 2005, 19:11

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Peter.N.

The Haynes CX manual under "replacement of front suspension arm bearings" use to say, after removing the bearings, "thoughly clean the interior of the car"! <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
You never know.. It might have needed cleaning anyway! [:D]

ItDontGo · Unread post by **ItDontGo** » 10 May 2005, 23:44

I know in the Haynes they say 'undo the bolts securing the cambelt cover and withdraw the cover'. Anyone who has ever had a go at doing this will know that merely stating you should withdraw the cover is like saying to do Quantum Physics you should buy a calculator. Ofcourse you should but you should also spend half your life at Harvard first. Similarly you will be withdrawing a cover merely a foot or so but thats going to take you about 2 hours. You'd be better off undoing the engine mounts and jacking one side up to be honest as it is so hard.

fastandfurryous · Unread post by **fastandfurryous** » 11 May 2005, 05:07

I know the feeling. I did a clutch and a cambelt on a 309D today, and elected to remove the engine/gearbox assembly complete to do it. It was the right decision too, as it was undoubtedly faster than trying to mess about just taking the gearbox out, and then struggling to faff about with the cambelt.
I do like the statement in the 405 BOL, when it comes to removing the turbo. They say "access is poor".... I'll bloody say so! Getting the turbo off a 405TD with the engine in place is 99.9% impossible, especially as everything will be good and siezed!

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 11 May 2005, 05:20

They also said that you cant change the head gasket on an XM 2.1 td without removing the engine, I did, it only took me a fortnight and ther'e letting me out next week!

Stabs · Unread post by **Stabs** » 11 May 2005, 13:03

Well. Listening to you guys comparing "Haynes scars" makes my concerns about replacing a puny little sensor seem a bit pathetic [:I]
It also gives me some confidence that such a small job can't be that bad after all.....can it?! [:)]

citroenzx · Unread post by **citroenzx** » 11 May 2005, 14:19

Its usually the small jobs which can very quickly turn into a big job, ie shearing an important bold, dropping somthing down the back of the engine which takes you 2 hours to find.
A 15 min job of wiring an amp into the back of my old car turned into 3 hours because when putting the power back on i arcd the battery which armed the alarm that i didn't have a key to [:(]! But look at the bright side, i now know how to hotwire and disable the alarm on a nissan micra [;)]!

rory_perrett · Unread post by **rory_perrett** » 11 May 2005, 21:41

Rule of thumb - estimate how long a job will take, double it and then move up one unit of time.
Example - 5 mins = 10 hours, 1 day = a fortnight, although the odd job has still been know to over run.
Rory

Oscar Too · Unread post by **Oscar Too** » 11 May 2005, 21:52

It's the flippin' spanners that make me laugh...I'm glad to say my BX BoL doesn't have them, leaving me to make my own judgement on how technically challenging the job may be.

fastandfurryous · Unread post by **fastandfurryous** » 11 May 2005, 22:27

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by rory_perrett

Rule of thumb - estimate how long a job will take, double it and then move up one unit of time.
Example - 5 mins = 10 hours, 1 day = a fortnight, although the odd job has still been know to over run.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That's irritatingly accurate.