When do you stop working on your own vehicles?

walpeter

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On the way back from a trip my battery light came on and stayed on all the way home (fortunately it was still light so didn't run the battery down).
It did this a couple of years ago intermittently, but then didn't happen again till now. I decided to take the bull by the horns and remove the alternator to have it checked. I put the bus up on the ramps and crawled underneath where I spent a good few hours straining and cursing my ageing body for not operating like it used to. Well, the alternator hasn't been off for 25 years (the age of the van) and so it wasn't easy to loosen the nuts etc. However, I managed in the end only to find I couldn't drop it as there wasn't enough space between the engine block and the cross member. In order to gain enough clearance, I had to remove the exhaust down-pipe in order to slide the alternator along to where it widens sufficiently to get it out. Tomorrow I shall have it checked and hope to God that it's faulty after all that palaver! I am now already worrying about re-fitting it when the problem is sorted.

I write this because I have always tackled a lot of the mechanical jobs on my Hymer and cars but at 68 this year, I find the resulting aches and pains a telling sign that it will soon be time to restrict visits under the vehicle to carry out repairs. Do others still do their own repairs in their late 60's??
 
Don't know, I haven't got to 60 yet (next year) but prefer to let other people do all the hard work as they most probably do a better job than me. That said I'm not adverse to getting dirty by the roadside if needed (hopefully not) :wave:
 
Probably is the alternator but you should have checked the power outage before removing, a simple job.
Anyway best of luck
 
i always did my own repairs ,but i am 63 ,not old but i think with all the laying in rain and snow for many years diong my own work ,things are starting to tell on me now not only that i cannot be arsed doing the work on cheap motors .i try to do what i can but big jobs i am afraid are best left to the garages now . or as my cars are now worth more scrap than on the open market .its best to run them to there death and then spend another few hundred on another for mabey a year or so . probably cheaper that way than pay massive ammounts out to the garages . but then again i arnt the proud owner of even a cheap motorhome worth a fair few grand . mabey then it would have to be a garage for the big stuff
 
walpeter said:
On the way back from a trip my battery light came on and stayed on all the way home (fortunately it was still light so didn't run the battery down).
It did this a couple of years ago intermittently, but then didn't happen again till now. I decided to take the bull by the horns and remove the alternator to have it checked. I put the bus up on the ramps and crawled underneath where I spent a good few hours straining and cursing my ageing body for not operating like it used to. Well, the alternator hasn't been off for 25 years (the age of the van) and so it wasn't easy to loosen the nuts etc. However, I managed in the end only to find I couldn't drop it as there wasn't enough space between the engine block and the cross member. In order to gain enough clearance, I had to remove the exhaust down-pipe in order to slide the alternator along to where it widens sufficiently to get it out. Tomorrow I shall have it checked and hope to God that it's faulty after all that palaver! I am now already worrying about re-fitting it when the problem is sorted.

I write this because I have always tackled a lot of the mechanical jobs on my Hymer and cars but at 68 this year, I find the resulting aches and pains a telling sign that it will soon be time to restrict visits under the vehicle to carry out repairs. Do others still do their own repairs in their late 60's??
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68, sixty flipping eight, if theres one thing that gets up my nose its ruddy whinging kids.

Dezi :cheers:
 
Can still remember lying under various cars / land rovers in all weathers.
In my mid twenties on good money and plenty of overtime I decided I would much rather work a weekend and use the cash to pay some other poor sod to do it.
I've carried on that philosophy ever since and don't Intend changing now approaching 60.
Me and the son have new cars and the motorhome is still in warranty so any issues are dealt with by the dealer.
One thing that surprised me when working in manufacturing maintenance was that few if any of the technicians / fitters did maintenance on their own vehicles. They would much rather do as I did, work overtime and pay someone else to get ther hands dirty.
 
No it is not too late in life to do these things. I had to fabricate and fit an exhaust for my Chausson as ir was not a standard Ford piece so it involved dragging the old bits off and making a replacement and then crawling back under to fit it again. If you take an anti inflammatory tablet first it helps.
I have no intention of crawling under my replacement NEW vehicle as it will have a three year warranty and Mercedes can do it. But that doesn't allow for dragging a spare wheel out from the rack if I have a puncture on the road in th middle of nowhere. I am getting to the point of buying a motorcycle lifting patform so that I can work on them without crouching down. Things do get sore, mostly the neck, from racing injuries etc that were brushed off when I was 21, but come back to haunt at 67.
 
I did the clutch and flywheel on my Alfa 156 last year. It has a large 5 cylinder diesel in a relatively small car so everything is tight. It was a nightmare job and I ached for a week afterwards. I am "only" 53 so I suspect I will not be doing such major jobs when I turn 60.....

Keith
 
Hi,

I have worked on all my motorbikes and cars from the early 1960's and did enjoy it most of the time but as you get older it gets a lot harder.
I think the last time i done any major work was on my old Bedford CF Dormobile landcruiser that i owned and showed for about 12 years, I was 64 then, along side my street cars.But towards my 60's the laying under motors in all weathers started to show and with back damages i have from falling through a old car inspection pit in the 1970's,I sold up and bought our new van and a modern road car and just have them serviced by the main agents and don't miss it at all and it gives us more time to travel with reliable motors.
But I still love to go to car shows and search through Autojumble and when i ask the wife what's on the list for second hand junk she just groans and says Remember you have a New Van now,we don't need anything.But I still look.I just have my low mileage Yamaha that has not been run for ten years to rebuild,If that ever happens as I don't have a Garage at home any more,May just a dream to far.

Regards Snowbirds.:cool1::banana::raofl:


walpeter said:
On the way back from a trip my battery light came on and stayed on all the way home (fortunately it was still light so didn't run the battery down).
It did this a couple of years ago intermittently, but then didn't happen again till now. I decided to take the bull by the horns and remove the alternator to have it checked. I put the bus up on the ramps and crawled underneath where I spent a good few hours straining and cursing my ageing body for not operating like it used to. Well, the alternator hasn't been off for 25 years (the age of the van) and so it wasn't easy to loosen the nuts etc. However, I managed in the end only to find I couldn't drop it as there wasn't enough space between the engine block and the cross member. In order to gain enough clearance, I had to remove the exhaust down-pipe in order to slide the alternator along to where it widens sufficiently to get it out. Tomorrow I shall have it checked and hope to God that it's faulty after all that palaver! I am now already worrying about re-fitting it when the problem is sorted.

I write this because I have always tackled a lot of the mechanical jobs on my Hymer and cars but at 68 this year, I find the resulting aches and pains a telling sign that it will soon be time to restrict visits under the vehicle to carry out repairs. Do others still do their own repairs in their late 60's??
Click to expand...
 
I stopped at around 21 - never did like working with grease. :scared:

Each to their own; I always preferred working with anything electrical. When my mates were taking cars and bikes apart, I was taking TVs and radios apart. :hammer:
 
Let the man that can and pay him a few quid.
He has probably got all the experience, tools and equipment.
The only sharks I would steer clear of are the robbing main agents unless under warranty.

��
 
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When do you stop working on your own vehicle.

walpeter said:
On the way back from a trip my battery light came on and stayed on all the way home (fortunately it was still light so didn't run the battery down).
It did this a couple of years ago intermittently, but then didn't happen again till now. I decided to take the bull by the horns and remove the alternator to have it checked. I put the bus up on the ramps and crawled underneath where I spent a good few hours straining and cursing my ageing body for not operating like it used to. Well, the alternator hasn't been off for 25 years (the age of the van) and so it wasn't easy to loosen the nuts etc. However, I managed in the end only to find I couldn't drop it as there wasn't enough space between the engine block and the cross member. In order to gain enough clearance, I had to remove the exhaust down-pipe in order to slide the alternator along to where it widens sufficiently to get it out. Tomorrow I shall have it checked and hope to God that it's faulty after all that palaver! I am now already worrying about re-fitting it when the problem is sorted.

I write this because I have always tackled a lot of the mechanical jobs on my Hymer and cars but at 68 this year, I find the resulting aches and pains a telling sign that it will soon be time to restrict visits under the vehicle to carry out repairs. Do others still do their own repairs in their late 60's??
Click to expand...

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My opinion, 65, keep doing what you can do, physical strength, eyesight, dexterity, memory and mental agility all suffer as we age, but experience of what's doable gained over a lifetime sits on the plus side, the more you do and keep abreast of technical advances in all fields, the younger you stay, like yourself a lifetime of maintaining my own vehicles is being continued a long as I can, strategies I employ include, You Tube searches, to see how others tackle difficult jobs and shortcuts employed, pick a nice warm couple of days, double check raised vehicle security and stability, adjustable axle stands so vehicle not too high to comfortably work on, a long breaker bar for added leverage, more power tools e.g. air impact wrench for those extra tight nuts and bolts, better under vehicle lighting, extra pair of spectacles for really close work, Decent Canbus, fault code reader, What I can still save in £££'s still doing routine maintenance is banked for those big jobs like replacement clutch by main agents.

So I won't be chucking in the towel yet, Your alternator replacement job, consider, .. what clearance you may have, with radiator out, or, if you support the engine with a cushioning block of wood between a jack and the sump, undo one front engine mounting bolt and slightly lift / tilt engine upwards and over a little.

Keep on trucking walpeter.

Rob H.
 
Now at 68 myself, I am finding it difficult to work on my motors, no garage so sliding around on the floor in the rain and snow is getting a bit harder, so have passed main work onto my son, and me as the goffer now.

It is up to you to decide when to pass on the work.
 
I service my MH twice a year, that is change oil, oil filter, and air filter. That means getting under the MH, jacking it up to drain and unscrew oil filter. I have also wired up the reversing camera from rear all the way under the MH up to the dashboard where a qualified guy finished up the connections for me. I am game for any under the body work where I have drilled through the floor board and done the wiring for setting up 240 volts for the Inverters, 300/1000. I am hitting 74 and hope the guy up there keeps me going until I drop dead. I have enough time to rest after that.
 
Why do you lot only get under the motor after it's been snowing?
 
Your lucky it's not a Vw t5 2.5tdi you would be swearing at the time to do it and the price £420 for a refurbed unit plus fitting
 
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I do all or most of my work at 58 and the last job i ask a chap do do stung me £2.400 for a welding job which should have been £500/700 ,only did this cos i had to much of my own outboard work to do.
Any way most people i have seen working on things have not a clue and wreck more than they fix,keeping my car going 21 years at 300.000 miles meens i must be doing sumit right.:cool1:
 
At a young 67 I still do all the work on my 23 yr old Landrover and 16 year old Volvo bar very heavy jobs like gearboxes etc. Must admit I am finding that it seems to take far longer to do and more things (on me) hurt the next day.
Every time I do have to take anything to a 'professional' garage they manage to break or bodge almost as much as they fix.
Merc under the Motorhome is a complete mystery though as I cannot even get a workshop manual for it other than via USA and that's for the American versions. Even with that though when it goes to garages or MH workshops something always gets bodged. Two big dents in the bonnet last input where someone pushed the bonnet closed :mad2::mad2:. Very fortunate they were above lightening holes and I was able to tease them back out. Still a slight mark there though.
 
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i still do my own,i have paid others a couple of times,but didn't enjoy the experience. i don't like mechanical work- as a chippy i like clean hands !/ but i do like problem solving ,and i'm a pretty good bodger, i only started getting breakdown cover in the last few years, before that i always managed to get my old motors home !i'll be 67 in a few years and getting under them isn't so easy now, but hey ho ,just done front pads,rear wheel bearings on the old corsa, no problem
 
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