Should i work on my car myself - Furlough Project
 

Hey all,

So i've just been made furlough by my company till the end of June. Meaning i have a lot of time on my hands. So im sat here in sunny b'ham on my lonesome wondering what i can do to fill my time.

My car is sat out on the drive aching for me to do something to it, drive it, work on it, anything! I don't have a garage/workshop but have pretty much a garage set of tools albeit hand ones (No air tools/impact drivers etc).

In my living room is a corner dedicated to car parts. I have a new up-pipe, i have new coilpacks, new sparks, a new turbo intake pipe, a new front mount intercooler and a new Owen Developments 71hta turbo. All screaming use me!

All of which, 1 week prior to lockdown was booked in to be fitted for a nice princely sum of about £1000 by my local specialist.

Now i'm sat wondering if i should just do it myself, most of it is bolt off and on stuff. All of it is in my capability, but i just know that if i mess a stud up i could be in a world of pain being on my own and no workshop to back me up.

So is it worth tinkering or just biting the bullet and spending the money (as and when i have it).

If i do, it all goes well, i just leave the car to be mapped as and when this **** is all over. I've saved myself some money and the proud feeling of doing it myself. Its an 06 Hawk STI btw. EJ25. Forged. Once parts are fitted and mapped should be good for 430hp mark. I am aching to break that 400hp barrier.

So what would you all do? Do i or don't i?

I say have a go. Worst comes to the worst you pay for a transport truck to take it to a garage to finish the jobs you started.

Bit of advice though, i'm sure others can help/add to this:
Before attacking any of the exhaust/turbo bolts. Soak them in penetrant spray for 24h first.
Use six sided sockets/spanners where possible.

That turbo intake pipe can be a real bitch to get out and in without removing the inlet manifold - which in itself is a balls ache - don’t despair, just be aware.

if you’ve got a decent selection of 10,12,14,17mm sockets, extensions, spammers then there is no reason why you can’t do it - impact tools aren’t needed for any of those jobs. Plenty of guides for each job on YouTube etc. Take your time, take lots of pictures as you go to aid reassembly. When I first started doing jobs back in the day I used to get A clean bit of paper / card and put all the nuts and bolts I removed on it, where they were from, how many etc and then just work backwards when putting it back together.

Id be very careful driving it after fitting those parts without a rolling road check too.

Tackle the simple stuff first.
let's pick coil packs.
Type coil packs in google and scoobynet next to it and you'll find endless threads on how to do them, people being stuck, faults etc.
This is what I do and like above I figured that if I screw something up it can be taken to a garage and I'll pay out like I would have to anyway.

Literally just done my rocker cover and saved myself £200 😃

I would agree with the above , but sometimes a good amount of heat will do the trick from say a Rothenberger turbo torch and a map gas bottle and can be had for about £70 . I also have a 6"snap on pipe wrench which is great for short sheared off studs.

Have the halfords advanced set so a good selection of sockets and various sizes and i've found the kit to be quite good quality.

I hadn't heard about the inlet manifold needing to be out - that is a good hint. Thanks.

As for the rolling road - car would get transported to RCM for the mapping session, that was agreed prior to lockdown too, i just need it rescheduling once this is all over with.

Thanks for the advice.

Yeah i have had to use heat on stubborn bolts before, good idea to maybe purchase this before hand. thanks

the Halfords kit will be ideal, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 drive ratchets will give you a good variety to work with.

I fitted the Perrin intake pipe without removing the manifold but it’s a pain.

Of course you should have a go yourself!

The worst that can happen is that you break something, but learn a lot. The best outcome is that you manage to fit the bolt on parts, and learn a lot.

The Halfords advanced tools are really good for the money, IMO. Almost all my hand tools are Halfords advanced, and I have yet to break a socket or ratchet etc, and I've had mine for many many years and done some reasonable hobby things with them.

Dont get me wrong, i've worked on cars for 20 odd years DIY, i've done much of the work on past subaru's myself, but only in so far as brakes, fuel pumps, lines, servicing, i never touched the turbo and from what i've seen its quite common for the studs to strip and snap. So i'm just wary of that happening.

But i guess like you say, if i get so far and can't finish for any reason its only a tow truck to the garage i have to get and let my tuner finish.

Think i'm going to give a go. Start furlough tomorrow so i can start with removing the intercooler and intake to do the turbo intake, that will also allow me better access to do coils and plugs and the injectors too (forgot to mention the injectors).

Well fingers crossed. See where i get too. cheers all. helpful and supportive comments. Always good!

Steve. Top tip.
take photos of every step you do. Photos of what wire goes where, how deep a thread is, everything.

I still take photos and even did when taking my coil packs off (to ensure I put the right one back)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...7b6b28eae2.jpg

Another tip you might like. Get some different coloured paint pens which you can mark different lines/cables up with so you know what goes where. Unlike sharpies the paint doesn’t rub off immediately. One of those handheld label makers is also great if you’re removing lots of cables, like removing the engine for example...

Labelled freezer bags for bolt/nut sets etc and as Robsy mentioned, take pictures, so many pictures.

ah yes, this is a good tip also.

Personally i use masking tape around cables / stuff, and then I write on the masking tape with sharpies.

Re Halfords tool sets, these days the sockets are all 12-sided. I've replaced all the ones in my set, where possible, with 6-sided ones and also bought a set of impact sockets too, which ARE 6-sided. A rounded-off nut or bolt is a right head ache best avoided.

I reckon you're all set to be honest. I know everyone's different, but I've launched into spark plug/turbo/gearbox/etc. related jobs without a second thought but I've had to read brake/fuel-related instructions 3 or 4 times before I felt confident enough to attempt them.

I echo the above, though; a blow torch, a quality 6-sided socket set and lots of photos help massively.

Re: transport to the garage if something goes wrong, that's what AA membership is for!

Any updates?