Fixing advice from our garage proprietor Steve Rothwell
VAUXHALL CORSA
Outer CV boots are a regular item on the agenda, and I would say that a week does not go by without seeing at least one perished outer CV gaiter that needs replacing. Inner CV gaiters are a less common problem, mainly I suspect because unlike the outer gaiter the rubber of the inner gaiter is not constantly flexing. They do of course from time-to-time, like the inner gaiter on this 2004 Vauxhall Corsa, fail, and need to be renewed.
On many vehicles the replacement is easier by leaving the joint in the transmission and disconnecting the driveshaft from the outer hub, and then sliding the joint apart. This prevents the need to lose any transmission oil or disturb the inner joint. The CV boot replacement on this Corsa went smoothly and other than the mess that is always associated with the CV grease, the job was completed without problems, once the joint was greased up and the new boot fitted and clipped in place the Corsa was boxed up and back on the road.
PEUGEOT BOXER
When I first got into the motor trade, I was working on commercial vehicles, and although it was not an everyday occurrence, I did occasionally have to climb about on the roof of a lorry to fix a water leak or climb up a ladder to fit a screen.
I have not needed to carry out such acrobatics for many years now, but when a 2005 Peugeot Boxer motorhome (or MOHO as the owners like to call them) was brought into me for a service, the owner also asked if I could seal up the leak around the sunroof. This was certainly a job that needed the step ladder and reminded me of those early commercial days. There were two ways to tackle this task – the first would be to just surround the top of the sunroof frame with a sealant and hope it held, or the second choice was to remove the frame, clean the joint and then replace it with sealant.
I chose the second option, and this would ensure a long-term repair, and I could be confident that the leak would not return on a wet weekend when the owner would certainly not appreciate a drip coming from the roof.
Once the repair was completed, I used to stepladder to position a hose over the roof and test for leaks. Thankfully all inside stayed dry.
LAND ROVER DEFENDER
This 2001 Land Rover Defender 2.5 Td5 had been running a little hotter lately. After a couple of longer runs at night he decided that the temperature was getting higher than he was happy with and so decided to change the thermostat. All went well and the thermostat did look quite old and so he was happy that things would now be OK.
