I tried posting this yesterday but it didn't seem to make it.....
I'll add my senseless (cent-less) input here...
I have actually found modern cars to be (mostly) easier
to work on than the older vehicles.
(Caveat: some things are MUCH, MUCH harder)
It goes like this:
Check the computer diagnostics.
Read the manual
Drive to the parts store to buy what it says is wrong. (usually a
sensor)
Replace part
Work on the MG some more.
This even applied to my Mazda RX-7 which is about
as far from a conventional engine as you can get in
a production car. I was regularly called a liar
when I told people that I did all my own work on the
RX-7. The rotary was EASY to work on.
At its heart it was just an internal combustion
engine with a slightly different setup and a lot of
computer controls.
Almost everything in the last 20 or so years is computer
controlled and therefore I have to make few adjustments.
The computer figures out how to make the engine run
and merrily goes about its business without me. When
the computer fails, it almost never "half fails". It is usually
all or nothing; at which point I replace the computer. By the way,
if anything is working I usually asume the computer is
ok and start looking for ground faults, etc. If nothing
is working I still check the computer as a last resort.
It's almost never the computer. <famous last words>
Obviously this is a somewhat simplistic view of working
on modern cars. But, In the process of fixing, Daihatsu,
Honda, Subaru, Ford Truck, Ford Car, Plymouth, Toyota Truck,
Toyota Car, Toyota Land Cruiser, Chevrolet Truck,
Chevrolet Car, Saturn, Dodge Truck, Dodge Car,
MG, VW, Mazda, Buick, Opel, and of all things
HUMMER vehicles, From 1966 through 1997 (I don't
touch the 2000 yet, but its day is coming)
with V8, V6, Slant 6, Straight 6, Straight 4, Straight 3,
Flat 4, and Rotary engines, mostly in gasoline but some
in diesel versions, performing full rebuilds, partial rebuilds,
trouble shooting wierd electrical problems, tune ups, and just
keeping the dern things on the road, I have never found
a more frustrating to troubleshoot and repair vehicle than
my old 67 F-250. It was a mean old beast with a mind of
it's own. That mind usually involved thinking of strange
ways to quit running for no aparent reason. Nor have
I found an easier car to work on than my 2nd Gen Mazda
RX-7. (Someday I want to build a 13B spridget
to kill myself with.)
The MGB....I've owned faster cars, but never one that
put a bigger smile on my face!
Brent
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