Having read Jim Graham's account of an oil change gone wrong made me wonder about other DIY projects that ended up costing more than having a dealer/indy shop do the work in the first place. Anyone want to share?

 

If you know an experienced MINI owner that has done DIY jobs before it should be OK.

Naturally any DIY can go wrong with using incorrect tools or faulty techniques.

Take your time and consult with others. Most things are well documented.

As you gain experience you can do more complex DIY jobs.

Join a MINI club that is active with DIY events or encourage them to organize some. Buy the food and "mechanically inclined owners" will come.

 

On the MINI nothing much to speak of, but overall I would have write for hours to cover all of the auto DIY I learned from.
That is part of why to DIY, is the learning.

 

I learned that, if someone parks in my garage and a bunch of their "friends" start to do a pulley swap WITHOUT the right puller and WITHOUT a belt tool and they all say "don't worry, we know what we're doing".... I should get my gun and run them off my property before they get in over their heads.

Never again.

 

I have none of the right tools or the proper work space to pull off a DIY w/o drama. Therefore, I avoid any hard stuff, including oil changes.

 

If you are not mechanically inclined then going to a shop or dealership is fine.

If you want to learn more about what you can do that is easy enough then try out a few things first then build your skill level accordingly.

Still, things can go wrong and usually do.

Some errors that are common:

1. Cross thread anything that is screwed in or on- messes up stuff big time. Just hand tighten and be careful especially anything that is corroded or worn a bit.

2. Using the wrong tool for the job. Be sure you check for any special tools and see if you can buy or borrow the right tool before you start. Save time and headache.

3. Don't skimp on materials or parts. Sometimes generic isn't worth the effort. Buy OEM or better.

4. When taking things apart or reassembling be careful not to drop bolts and nuts in the small and deep cracks that lead to the abyss. Having a long magnet tipped metal retrieving stick helps.

5. Let the hot engine cool off a little before you burn your skin. And stay away from the hot exhaust tip that sticks out too far on the back.

6. Buy or use a good calibrated Torque wrench and be aware of the correct torque setting for everything that you tighten down. Applying too much force can strip a nut or bolt easily.

7. When needed use something to prevent metal corrosion so that things come off or apart more easily next time- like when the MINI wheel gets stuck to the hub when you are rotating wheels. And use lock-tight when needed (two kinds) fasten down a bolt or nut that isn't going to need to come off anytime soon.

8. Drink plenty of water (keep hydrated), have good ventilation and use enough lighting to see where you are going.

9. Work during hours that if something goes wrong you can run out to the auto parts store to pick something up that you need.

10. Be prepared to take longer than expected- mostly when you are doing it for the first time.

11. Make friends with those who are more experienced than you and mechanically inclined- with proof to show for it.

12. Wear disposable gloves- helps with clean up. Mechanics gloves are also good if you have them.

13. Having a helper is a good idea, comes in handy when four hands are better than two. If for nothing else your sense of accomplishment can be doubled.

 

I agree with everything said so far... We've only had one DIY go wrong, and that was on the e30 BMW - since we didn't have a 4 foot 1/2" extension, we were fighting a losing battle trying to get the last bolt out to pull the tranny.

One point - BMW special tools, in some cases, are definitely worth the investment (e.g. the cam tool on the MINI) so that you don't have to worry about getting things right or using makeshift crap.

Oh, one more point - have PLENTY of beer (and stogs) on hand to celebrate after your victory!

 

None on the MINI, but most of mine involved wrong diagnosis. Thought "X" was bad and it turned out to be "Y". Usually "X" + "Y" = still cheaper than dealer.

 

Most of my customers are DIYer's and have had good luck, because they research and research and read over and over, then many of them will ask in a local forum for help and get it 99% of the time. DIY can be fun and it's always easier with MINI friends. Minihune list rocks!

 

Yep. All good stuff mentioned above. Another important thing to have above the proper tools and safety practices is the manual. Sometimes diving into the book for a minute or 2 to find out how something goes together or comes apart will save unnecessary breaking of parts. Not to mention, all your torques, clearances and the like are in the book. Good mechanical ability to begin with is great, but the book just focuses that ability.

 

One thing that can happen is you quickly address the most likely cause without eliminating the other possibilities i.e. correctly running thru the diagnosis.
So you replace a part and the problem is still there. That is usually minor, but if it's an expensive part, you want to try to confirm it is bad before you replace it. That has happened to me a few times.

 

Not MINI but I had a brain fart and managed to pull my 1/2 ton Dodge off the jack stands when I was doing a fuel pump change. The rear tires were off and it landed on the brake drums...very slowly as I was trying to push it back up. Yeah right. Anyway, I had to go to an appointment so I just left it like that in the driveway until the afternoon. It looked pretty red-neck sitting there half on the ground crossed up in the driveway. No damage and everything went OK after that.

 

The only DIY gone wrong for me so far was a header install... The header wasn't a big deal, but the vendor had welded the cat inccorectly and the resulting assembly was too long... so the owner had to take the cat to an exhaust shop to be cut and rewelded... and then the O2 sensor cross-threaded... and he had to get a new one... that was a bad day...

I suppose another was the supercharger I replaced that turned out to not be the offending noise-maker... that was a depressing day...

And Jerserygirl wonders why I refuse to take money for doing this work..

I have collected a large number of somewhat specialized tools for working on MINI's and cars in general... I just picked up a front wheel bearing tool kit... wasn't cheap, but I've already invested too much in doing DIY wrenching to stop now... although I do draw the line at working on my Dodge Cummins... I let my local Cummins dealer fight with that greasy mess...

 

A couple from my past that I have seen or participated in-

-forgetting to take tools out of the engine compartment when the fix is done, slamming the hood and denting it.
-forgetting to put things back together (leaving the oil cap off and starting the engine--ever seen an engine oil fire in a grarage?)
-neglecting to disconnect the battery because it did not seem to be germaine to the repair.
-grabbing the wrong container and filling a resevoir--brake fluid in power steering and visa-versa
--ot using a fender cover and scratching the crap out of the finish
-spraying sealant on plug wires, not waiting and starting the engine (a guy's car burned up on this one)

 

Many years ago when I was of high school age I was installing extra gauges in a '65 Ford Mustang. The oil pressure gauge worked off of a unit that threaded into the existing oil drain plug--a brass fitting that looked like a plug but had a hole in it to accommodate the sensor. Well, as I was King Konging that sucker into place (what's a torque wrench?) I managed to twist it right off, flush with the surface of the block.

My Dad ended up cutting a hacksaw blade into a narrow strip, stuck it through the hole in the brass plug, and managed to cut through it enough that he could fish the threaded part of the brass plug out. He was surprisingly matter-of-fact about the whole thing, which in retrospect is surprising since it was such a bone-headed move on my part.

 

-Hand tightened lug nuts and forgetting to torque them down after lowering car off jacks (that did not work out at all well some hours later)

-Forgetting to attach the oil pressure line to the guage behind the dash after a complete dash and interior reconditioning on my 74 TR6 (old Brit car guys know what i am talking about....)

-Repaint MINI hood scoop and forget to replace the nuts....last seen taking flight off a bridge into the river below

-"priming" the carb of my father's car in the dark after it ran out of gas. He sold the car for more than he originally paid for it after I paid to repair the fire damage (many, many years ago)

to mention a few....

 

DIY jobs are so much fun! I always get to buy some new tool when I tackle a new job.

 

Me too.


It's fun being the only grownup in the house.

 

I accidently broke that little plastic cap in the tie rod when I was putting springs in.... whoops, but it was an easy fix, just went down to the dealer and bought another for $30

the second whoops was very costly. a friend was putting in a pulley, and while jacking up the engine, he cracked the plastic piece where the hose meets the radiator, and my radiator was leaking. and you cant just replace that one plastic piece, you have to replace the whole radiator

 

well, this was in highschool,

I started taking my engine apart in my bimmer, 93 325, and i was like "woo there's is the camshaft! woo there are the spark plugs!" and i kept going at it. until when I finally realized I don't have an engine.

my parents were cool about it though.. towed it to a mechanic with a boxful of parts...

 

DIY is fun until something breaks.

 

then there was the beautiful Alfa Romeo that someone entrusted me with - to replace a head gasket...

mechanical fuel injection, so a metal snake's nest wrapped around that lovely casting...

it went smoothly, and I even had four little tiny rubber "O"s left over - they were stuck at the bottom of the bag the new gasket came in...

since my prior work was on iron block, and iron head, I didn't realize that the oil passages from block to head in the aluminum motor were protected by seperate O-rings...

so - all back together, fired that pretty car up and test drive it two miles..

result - all OIL into the COOLING SYSTEM!

Plan B - pay for a professional mechanic to repeat the work out of pocket...

(blush)