and this is progress?

I really don't see why it's taken so long to go over to LEDs for the low powered stuff like sidelights. Decent ones should last the life of the car.

the same vehicle has led rear lights, so why not led side lights at the front? yes, I know, it is French (spit) but it belongs to a 92 year old neighbour that I have repaired cars of, for over thirty years.

White LEDs are more expensive than red. ;-)

It's deliberate, designed to force people into the hand of dealerships and their 'specialist' tools and testers. It's no wonder so few are now prepared to attempt their own maintenance and that all of course adds to the cost of running a car.

Andy C

IMHO it's more down to the dense packing of all the bits and pieces a modern engine has - and fancy light units.

Remember the original Mini was a pain to service compared to a Morris Minor. ;-)

Andy Cap put finger to keyboard:

This is where EU bureaucrats could actually have some benefit. They should mandate that all common service items/consumables on cars should be

a) easily replaceable by the home mechanic b) with no special tools c) in a reasonable time d) without dismantling half the car e) using non-proprietary parts

Vote for Scion! You know it makes sense!

Oh for the simplicity of working on my old Triumph Herald engine.

They could mandate all inkjet printers must use the same cartridges too - but it ain't going to happen. ;-)

Ever changed a Minor brake master cylinder? ;-)

Chris

Dave Plowman (News) put finger to keyboard:

Heh, I know, it's wishful thinking on my part.

But what's the point of carrying a full set of spare bulbs in France to comply with the law, if you've got to dismantle the gearbox, remove the front bumper and go up the exhaust with an endoscope to change a headlight bulb?

Yes. Was there any (good / technical) reason why you didn't put the bolts back in from the other side (so they weren't trapped behind the f/o/s torsion bar)? Seemed to work ok. ;-)

We sold her Mini to raise the funds to build the MKII Escort based kitcar, mostly because it was starting to rust and partly because stuff was so awkward to get at.

That said, I did try to check the wires to the alternator on the Meriva yesterday (the random battery light fault) and I don't think they could have put it anywhere less easy to access. ;-(

For me so far the ultimate in practicality and simplicity goes to the

I never had any problems with the power steering, electric windows, central locking, alarm / immobiliser, air conditioning, electric sunroof or any other gadgets because it didn't have any of them (and I managed somehow). ;-)

It only went because the Rover 218SD I was given (for £100) did twice the mpg ... (but initially had problems with the electric windows, the power steering, the immobiliser ...).

Still sold both for more than I paid for them. ;-)

All this expensive and complicated stuff in modern cars both scares and frustrates me (and I'm generally 'good' with technology electronics computers etc). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

If it dated from before one piece oil filters, they could be a fiddle to change. And of course it needed new plugs and points regularly - and adjustments inbetween changes. Then there was the tappet adjustments - and never getting them quiet. And the 5000 mile oil and filter change.

Basically, no thanks. ;-)

Quite - but perhaps the most annoying was changing the thermostat bypass hose on the Mini. Something which seemed to fail every other month. ;-)

If you changed brake fluid regularly as they tend to do these days, I'd guess a Minor master cylinder would have a long life.

Yes .. what a PITA that was;(...

In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus

Didn't they just. I think I developed long fingers with socket set ends on them after a few years of minis;!...

Well, you couldn't do that the first time, could you?

Depending on the exact build tolerances, there is a chance that the ends of the bolts could foul the torsion bar if you refit the bolts the 'wrong' way. Over time, this could cause failure of the torsion bar.

If I had ever owned a Moggy (God forbid, I hate the rotten things!), I would refit the bolts the wrong way, but not if I was doing one for someone else.

Chris

Well, you couldn't do that the first time, could you?

Depending on the exact build tolerances, there is a chance that the ends of the bolts could foul the torsion bar if you refit the bolts the 'wrong' way. Over time, this could cause failure of the torsion bar.

If I had ever owned a Moggy (God forbid, I hate the rotten things!), I would refit the bolts the wrong way, but not if I was doing one for someone else.

Chris

I always used non-OEM concertina style ones. Five minutes to change one tops!

It's location under the floor in all the crap might mean failure would still be fairly frequent.

Chris

Yep, that was the way, remember it fondly|