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Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 14 February 2016, 18:29:02

Title: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 14 February 2016, 18:29:02
I can't believe how tight they are.

Even gripping the rubber valve stem with a pair of pliers wrapped in a rag, combined with a socket on the hexagonal cap, won't shift the little bastard. :-\

Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Lazydocker on 14 February 2016, 18:30:13
Metal ones?

Leave alone, take to a tyre place and then try removing so they can stick new valves in for you easily enough ;)
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 14 February 2016, 18:31:45
Metal ones?

Leave alone, take to a tyre place and then try removing so they can stick new valves in for you easily enough ;)

Yep......complete with natty Vauxhall logo. :-\
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: TheBoy on 14 February 2016, 18:38:42
The metal caps and the valve thread corrode and stick. If you reuse, grease lightly to reduce reoccurrence.
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Lazydocker on 14 February 2016, 18:39:37
Metal ones?

Leave alone, take to a tyre place and then try removing so they can stick new valves in for you easily enough ;)

Yep......complete with natty Vauxhall logo. :-\

Leave well alone until you can get to a tyre place ;)

I've experienced it ::) Well, my neighbour has ::)
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: STEMO on 14 February 2016, 18:41:01
Chisel the little fickers off  :y
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 14 February 2016, 18:45:56
The metal caps and the valve thread corrode and stick. If you reuse, grease lightly to reduce reoccurrence.

No problems with plastic caps. :-\
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: YZ250 on 14 February 2016, 19:35:46
Metal ones?

Leave alone, take to a tyre place and then try removing so they can stick new valves in for you easily enough ;)

Yep......complete with natty Vauxhall logo. :-\

I had to saw part way through mine and then split them down the side. I put Molyslip on the replacements and kept getting them nicked so I gave up and switched back to plastic caps.    ::)
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: flyer 0712 on 14 February 2016, 22:12:41
Yep  i had ali ones and they corroded to the valve......all i did was used a hacksaw blade and carefully cut a slit and then prized open with a small screw driver...only use plastic ones now.. ;D ;D
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: henryd on 14 February 2016, 22:39:55
I can't believe how tight they are.

Even gripping the rubber valve stem with a pair of pliers wrapped in a rag, combined with a socket on the hexagonal cap, won't shift the little bastard. :-\

Metal caps are a bloody nuisance,a Dremel with a cutting wheel makes light work of them :y
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Andy B on 15 February 2016, 00:36:00
.....

Metal caps are a bloody nuisance,a Dremel with a cutting wheel makes light work of them :y

 ...... makes mental note to check the metal dust caps on the Merc before it goes back to Mercedes again again (not a typo) for for them to sort the Airmatic  ???
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 15 February 2016, 03:30:56
So you didn't use a torque wrench when you last put them back on?  ::)  :D
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 15 February 2016, 11:35:59
.....

Metal caps are a bloody nuisance,a Dremel with a cutting wheel makes light work of them :y

 ...... makes mental note to check the metal dust caps on the Merc before it goes back to Mercedes again again (not a typo) for for them to sort the Airmatic  ???

I thought it had been sorted already, Mr B...eanz.
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Andy B on 15 February 2016, 12:21:00
.....

Metal caps are a bloody nuisance,a Dremel with a cutting wheel makes light work of them :y

 ...... makes mental note to check the metal dust caps on the Merc before it goes back to Mercedes again again (not a typo) for for them to sort the Airmatic  ???


I thought it had been sorted already, Mr B...eanz.

It should have been. When I spoke to the service manager earlier in the week, he'd said they couldn't find a fault, he'd looked at it each morning & evening & it'd behaved  :-\. I collected the car again last Thursday, but by the following morning it'd already got a list on it .... 20 mm difference between each side and a few hours later it'd dropped another 10mm on the driver's side. I've just dropped it off with them again but before I started it up the front was stupidly low. I'll mightily p'd off if they try the no fault found again routine. I sent him yet more pictures on Friday of what it looks like so he can't claim that I'm making it up.
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 15 February 2016, 12:27:32
.....

Metal caps are a bloody nuisance,a Dremel with a cutting wheel makes light work of them :y

 ...... makes mental note to check the metal dust caps on the Merc before it goes back to Mercedes again again (not a typo) for for them to sort the Airmatic  ???


I thought it had been sorted already, Mr B...eanz.

It should have been. When I spoke to the service manager earlier in the week, he'd said they couldn't find a fault, he'd looked at it each morning & evening & it'd behaved  :-\. I collected the car again last Thursday, but by the following morning it'd already got a list on it .... 20 mm difference between each side and a few hours later it'd dropped another 10mm on the driver's side. I've just dropped it off with them again but before I started it up the front was stupidly low. I'll mightily p'd off if they try the no fault found again routine. I sent him yet more pictures on Friday of what it looks like so he can't claim that I'm making it up.

It makes you wonder how hard they looked. :-\
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Andy B on 15 February 2016, 12:31:33
....

It makes you wonder how hard they looked. :-\

It does indeed ........  :-\
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Viral_Jim on 15 February 2016, 12:33:46
Dr Opti, maybe a daft question, but have you checked they aren't the anti-theft type?

Some of them have a small allen-type grub screw in them to discourage little scrotes from pinching them while your car is parked up.
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: aaronjb on 15 February 2016, 12:38:35
It makes you wonder how hard they looked. :-\

I think Andy needs to make sure the tech doesn't walk with the aid of a white stick..
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: henryd on 15 February 2016, 14:17:58
It makes you wonder how hard they looked. :-\

I think Andy needs to make sure the tech doesn't walk with the aid of a white stick..

Trouble is nowadays if the computer says no fault found then they are fooked,no-one like to get there hands dirty any more :'(
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: aaronjb on 15 February 2016, 14:52:39
Very true Henry!

I can almost imagine the scene.. Mercedes tech walks out to car obviously doing a tripod impression, plugs his laptop in, says "NFF", shrugs his shoulders and wanders back into the warm to tell the boss there's nothing wrong with it.. ;D
Title: Re: Overly tight dust caps.
Post by: Andy B on 15 February 2016, 15:07:04
....

Trouble is nowadays if the computer says no fault found then they are fooked,no-one like to get there hands dirty any more :'(

And that, I think, is the problem. The service manager said when I collected it last week .... 'we can't find a fault, we've even had it plugged in' ..... It looks like the hallo'd STAR has failed ..... or its operator has.  ::)