motoring news

[waider]

My Haynes Manual arrived this morning. If you've never seen one, the Haynes Manual is the DIY Mechanic's bible, the writing of which is based on performing each operation described in the manual and taking photos along the way. For some reason, when I first got the car I couldn't find any sign of a version for my own car (1999 Nissan Almera S Petrol, pre-restyling) which came as something of a surprise to me since for every car we've ever had in the family - including my brother's collection of Ford Escorts and Peugeot 205s - we've had a corresponding Haynes Manual.

Anyway, now that I have it, I am greatly relieved to discover that the bit of work on the car that I've been putting off may not be as costly a job as I'd first thought. The job in question is adjustment and/or replacement of the timing chain; according to the manual, it can be done with the engine in situ, which cuts the potential cost of the job WAY down. Of course, it may be difficult to find a garage that agrees with the manual on this topic, in which case I'll have to source a new timing chain myself and then make use of my brother's toolkit, garage, and in-depth car know-how.

Comments

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

Good luck. Timing belts/chains can be evil bastards to do (rumour has it that they're not too bad on some cars, but I haven't met those cars), partly because they can be horribly difficult to get at/move around, partly because it's not really a job where you can get it sorta right then fine tune. Oh, and don't put too much trust in Mr. Haynes: the manuals do have occasional mistakes, although owning one is infinitely better than flying blind...