"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
On 09/06/2019 09:38, Jim GM4DHJ ... wrote:
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
One thing to be very wary of is offering to repair anything powered by
clockwork.
Gramophone motors are notorious for giving people lacerations if the
spring breaks free or indeed just breaks. I once narrowly avoided injury
from an old meccano clockwork motor when the hooked bend retaining it
broke and it shot out like some demented rattle snake.
Brian

I compressed my mercedes front spring once prior to replacing it and feck
me
one leg of the compressor sheared and the spring flew down the other end
of
the garage....very dangerous .......very lucky I was

Just changed a rear spring on my Zafira yesterday. I was very pleased that
it was no more than jack up car, support on axle stands, support
suspension arm on jack, remove lower shock bolt, lower jack, swap spring
and reassemble in reverse order. I hate and fear spring compressors!

The downside was that having taken it for an MOT on Friday and finding the
spring snapped, I couldn't do it in the afternoon, as I was due at the
dentist. So I did it on Saturday morning and took it back in at 12:45,
only to to find them shut - despite the signs inside and out saying that
there are open 'til 16:00 on a Saturday. Shut today and I've got to take
my son to a hospital appointment first thing tomorrow morning, and then
start a new job, so I can't take any more time off in the week to get it
retested and my wife is currently medically unable to drive, so she can't
take it. Grrrr.

Okay, I can use her car in the meantime, but a Matiz is not brilliant for
a family of 5 and shopping!

I should have taken mine in earlier (MOT ran out on Saturday), but with my
wife unable to work and me being out of work for 2-1/2 months, I was
holding off 'til I knew some money was coming in. A month of the wait has
been waiting for security clearance to come through.

SteveW
speshly as the matiz only had four seat belts ......