I feel that way working on anything towards the front of the engine on the SL. Step 1 is always to remove the fan shroud, fan and radiator/transmission cooler. Inside the car, don't bother working on anything inside the dash or trying to reach the completely inaccessible vacuum pods that make air flow to the floor for the heater or the main dash vents. The rubber diaphragm has a 10-20 year service life but to gain access to them you need to basically gut the interior.
Another thing that bothers me are bottomless pits or black holes in the engine bay. Somewhere in my car's engine bay are some hardware, a 10mm socket that just vanished, and maybe a few Deutschmarks. The 924S/944 also had the pit of doom - an opening to the flywheel area you can use to see the TDC mark. Anything that falls down that hole will end up way down by the starter, or possibly get caught up in its teeth if you're especially unlucky.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sc_rufctr
Or how many times have you heard of a friend having major problems getting their car fixed at a dealership?
It seems to be the standard thing... The story starts with "I took my car to the dealership and guess what..."
|
That was my mom's experience with her 1998 Buick that she bought new. A panel was falling off the rear side of the driver's seat so they ordered a new one and she took the car home. They call to let her know that the new part arrived and she took the car in, but they broke it trying to install it. Next try they successfully replaced it but broke two other things in the process. On the next go they repaired those but someone must have worn a tool belt while working on the car and gouged several other areas. Finally she got lucky and the next try came out ok, but it was about a 4 month process.