Dis donc !  Si tu vas jurer en francais, il faut l'ecrire correctement.   C'est "merde! ", pas "merdre" and putting "alors" after it adds some weight.     The tone was understood anyway ;-)

You are indeed brave to own a Dauphine.  Does it still have both horns fitted?

Steve

On Apr 26, 2013, at 12:38 PM, Jim Felder wrote:

> That is a good point about the accessibility of vanagon stuff. I shudder to
> think about working on some of the cars I see.
> 
> Speaking of inaccessibility, ever try changing a master cylinder on a
> Renault Dauphine (of course you haven't, you wouldn't be stupid enough to
> own one). Well I am not proud to admit it, but I figured out where it was
> located and cut an access hole with a cold chisel and did the job from
> inside the "boot."
> 
> Merdre! C'est la guerre.
> 
> Jim
> 
> 
> On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 11:21 AM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>wrote:
> 
>> Been a bad month for my cars.  First the fuel pump died on my '03 Ranger.
>> I
>> had plenty of warning for about a year, but you know how it goes.  Since
>> it's been cold and wet here I had AAA tow it to one of their recommended
>> shops figuring maybe a $200-$300 repair.  Next day I get an estimate of
>> $900
>> for a new fuel pump!!!  Paid them $105 to tell me what I already knew and
>> had AAA tow it home where it sat for a couple of weeks while I waited for
>> the weather to improve, and that's when the new Vanagon heat valve started
>> leaking.  So, the breakdown was fortuitous, since I likely would have been
>> on a trip when it leaked later.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The truck conked out in the Lowe's parking lot about a mile from home too,
>> so I guess I still have pretty good "Carma."  Oh yeah, I killed the trucks
>> original 10 year old battery trying to start the car (beat another dead
>> horse), so there's another $100.  I've got to get over this compulsion to
>> wait until something breaks before I fix it.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Went to NAPA and bought a Bosch replacement pump for $98 (Rock Auto had the
>> same pump for $64 but I was in a hurry).  I opted to remove the bed with my
>> engine hoist to replace the pump since the tank had a lot of gas in it, and
>> dropping the tank would be difficult without a lift in any case.  About two
>> hours later I torqued down the bed bolts and patted myself on the back for
>> saving $700.  Of course, if I had just towed it home and ordered the pump
>> from Rock Auto I'd have saved $835.  As I was putting my tools away I
>> noticed a hose clamp on the ground and quickly realized I had forgotten to
>> hook the filler pipe back up, the last step in installing the bed!  I'd
>> have
>> figured that out sooner or later, and hopefully not while wearing my dress
>> shoes.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Turns out the fuel pump is in an assembly bigger than a shoe box with the
>> sender, back pressure valve, venting, etc. and Ford only sells the whole
>> thing for $350. Tax to get to $900 is $82, so the labor on that repair was
>> $468 at an independent shop.  Yikes.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The Vanagon fuel pump takes about 15 minutes to replace!  Inaccessible
>> in-tank pumps are a really dumb idea.  The assembly did have
>> quick-disconnect connectors for the hoses though, which was the only easy
>> part of the job.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> BTW, I live in a DIYer's paradise!  Both Lowes and HD one mile, NAPA 2
>> miles, O'Rielly 1 mile, Sears tools 2 miles (on the way to NAPA), Harbor
>> Freight, 5 miles.  I got to buy a new tool for my collection too, a Torx
>> T-50 bit for the bed, and only NAPA had one.  Life is good in the big city,
>> but I still order 95% of my parts online.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Have a great weekend, and I won't be under my cars (I hope)!
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Stuart
>> 
>> Seattle
>>