From broken bolts to questionable decisions made by previous owners to parts that aren’t exactly the price you thought they’d be, wrenching can be pain. However, every so often, the luck of the draw is on our side. For every handful of repairs that fight you, one ends up being far cheaper than you’d expect. It’s time to celebrate the cheap ones.
As you’d probably expect, cheap fixes come relatively far and few between for me, considering my crippling addiction to heavily depreciated performance cars, frequently of European origin. Alright, maybe calling my 325i a performance car is a bit of a stretch in a straight line, but the inputs are bang-on perfect. Anyway, despite doing the exact opposite of making my life easier, little wrenching victories still happen, and here are two that spring to mind.
When I bought my 325i, I bought it cheap for several reasons. Firstly, COVID just hit, and that had an initial dip on the car market. Secondly, it was an old BMW with a ridiculous number of previous owners. Thirdly, the airbag light was on, and that would be a problem for the eventual safety inspection needed to register a used car in Ontario.
Weirdly, the passenger seat also didn’t move when I picked the car up. A quick peek underneath the seat revealed a crude, homemade smoking apparatus jammed up under there had been wedged against the seat plug just enough to kill connection and trip an airbag light. Removing the, um, paraphernalia, re-seating the plug, and clearing the hard code worked! Total cost? Free.99, and that’s hard to beat.
Likewise, when I bought my Boxster, the translucent cover for one of the alarm system sensors was missing, and I figured I’d just grit my teeth, order a replacement from the main dealer, and cry once to have it sorted. Turns out, the trim piece I needed was less than $15 Canadian. A stark contrast to Infiniti wanting to charge me $100 for a license plate light bracket for my old G35. Plus, the trim bit simply snapped into place in two seconds, and while that’s to be expected, it’s nice when the parts are cheap and the fix is easy.
So, let’s hear it for the repairs that were less expensive than you expected. Whether surprisingly inexpensive parts, a much simpler fix than what originally seemed plausible, or a combination of the two, we’d love to talk about the times the wrenching gods smiled upon you and got you back on the road without emptying your wallet.
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)
January, -40 and the V50 didn’t want to start, boosted it and drove 20km home with no heat- discovered there was no coolant- parking spot at work was covered in blue coolant. Next day car would start for a second and quit- waited until it got warmer and at -15 I got it started, it ran horrible for a while and then ran fine- I was sure I had cooked the headgasket but it was the cheapo Amazon coolant tank cap hat allowed all the coolant to come out- I refilled and have put 18000km on it since without a hiccup
The most recent one I can think of happened at a rallycross in a field earlier this year. Started hearing a weird noise near the end of a lap, and pulled in to see what it was. Some kind of clicking that seemed to follow wheel speed?
Looked around and couldn’t find anything wrong, until I found a pebble wedged somewhere, can’t even remember where now. Took that out, and the noise was gone.
Ha! I had a girlfriend with a convertible who also lived at an apartment with a gravel parking lot – I eventually figured it out first time it happened, and then afterward, I would often stop at the same place in her neighborhood to pick out the rock wedged into the tread.
If her car hadn’t been open-top, who knows how long it would have taken for me to figure it out.
The most recent one I can think of happened at a rallycross in a field earlier this year. Started hearing a weird noise near the end of a lap, and pulled in to see what it was. Some kind of clicking that seemed to follow wheel speed?
Looked around and couldn’t find anything wrong, until I found a pebble wedged somewhere, can’t even remember where now. Took that out, and the noise was gone.
Ha! I had a girlfriend with a convertible who also lived at an apartment with a gravel parking lot – I eventually figured it out first time it happened, and then afterward, I would often stop at the same place in her neighborhood to pick out the rock wedged into the tread.
If her car hadn’t been open-top, who knows how long it would have taken for me to figure it out.
Cool, I can still post, cuz I’m a cheapo.
Just got my car back from a Fuel Filter and Fuel Pump replacement. $250 total, way under the expected (all cars) according to the internet. Half that was for the parts.
Turns out, via YouTube, that the FF and FP are accessible from under the driver-side’s rear seat. I’d have done it, but electrical stuff next to gasoline makes me nervous.
Yeah, it’s funny how the prices for anything fuel-related are often sky-high. I think it’s b/c shops (esp. dealers) figure it sounds absolutely scary and threatening to most car owners and they won’t question it.
Cool, I can still post, cuz I’m a cheapo.
Just got my car back from a Fuel Filter and Fuel Pump replacement. $250 total, way under the expected (all cars) according to the internet. Half that was for the parts.
Turns out, via YouTube, that the FF and FP are accessible from under the driver-side’s rear seat. I’d have done it, but electrical stuff next to gasoline makes me nervous.
Yeah, it’s funny how the prices for anything fuel-related are often sky-high. I think it’s b/c shops (esp. dealers) figure it sounds absolutely scary and threatening to most car owners and they won’t question it.
On my project Ford Explorer, the airbag light had been on since the day I got it. It had many other problems, so I ignored that until I fixed all the other stuff to get it running and driving. I finally was at the point where I started digging into the airbag issue, but couldn’t figure out what the issue was as everything was showing up fine in Forscan except the side airbags which my car wasn’t equipped with. I was scouring the Internet trying to figure out the issue when I ran across a comment on a forum stating that models without the side airbags have the same wiring harness, but with resistors plugged into the airbag connector under the front seats – and Ford put them right where people’s feet would reach and are easy to knock off as they don’t seat fully. Sure enough, the resistor wasn’t fully seated under the driver seat and clicking it in turned off the light. Much better than the hundreds-to-thousands of dollars for any other part of the airbag system…
I had the same issue with the same fix on my Frontier
On my project Ford Explorer, the airbag light had been on since the day I got it. It had many other problems, so I ignored that until I fixed all the other stuff to get it running and driving. I finally was at the point where I started digging into the airbag issue, but couldn’t figure out what the issue was as everything was showing up fine in Forscan except the side airbags which my car wasn’t equipped with. I was scouring the Internet trying to figure out the issue when I ran across a comment on a forum stating that models without the side airbags have the same wiring harness, but with resistors plugged into the airbag connector under the front seats – and Ford put them right where people’s feet would reach and are easy to knock off as they don’t seat fully. Sure enough, the resistor wasn’t fully seated under the driver seat and clicking it in turned off the light. Much better than the hundreds-to-thousands of dollars for any other part of the airbag system…
I had the same issue with the same fix on my Frontier
I recently had this terrible vibration in my 4Runner when in gear. I thought I had a serious drivetrain issue, but on further investigation it turned out there were some small rocks & debris caught between the exhaust crossover pipe and aftermarket steel skid plate. I removed the skid to clean it out and no more noise.
A few years back I had a coolant leak in my Volvo, I thought it was the radiator or something serios, turned out a small coolant hose had a slight split, and was spitting out coolant pretty good. Cost about 2 bucks for a short length of hose and 5 mil to replace it.
My 4th gen Firebird had a headlight problem, one of the pop-up headlights would not go up or down, the motor would just keep spinning but nothing would happen. Turns out the drive gear only wears on one side, all I had to do was rotate the gear 180 degrees to the fresh side and problem solved.
I did the same on my Trans Am, though eventually the other side started losing teeth since half of it was worn off making it fragile. I found a guy locally (head of the local F-body club) who made replacement brass gears for $20 to replace the stock nylon gear and tossed those in to fix the issue. After looking into how much a replacement headlight motor was from the dealer, the $20 gears seemed almost free.
YES! I remember the brass gears. I regret not getting a pair at the time, I wonder if they’re still available. I hardly drive the car, so I’m not really worried about. It took over a decade of daily use to wear in the first place, and I still haven’t had to switch the other gear yet. It’d nice to have the brass gears on hand just in case though.
I think the same gears were used in both the Firebird and the C5 Corvette, so you might still be able to get some if you search for C5 headlight gears.
I recently had this terrible vibration in my 4Runner when in gear. I thought I had a serious drivetrain issue, but on further investigation it turned out there were some small rocks & debris caught between the exhaust crossover pipe and aftermarket steel skid plate. I removed the skid to clean it out and no more noise.
A few years back I had a coolant leak in my Volvo, I thought it was the radiator or something serios, turned out a small coolant hose had a slight split, and was spitting out coolant pretty good. Cost about 2 bucks for a short length of hose and 5 mil to replace it.
My 4th gen Firebird had a headlight problem, one of the pop-up headlights would not go up or down, the motor would just keep spinning but nothing would happen. Turns out the drive gear only wears on one side, all I had to do was rotate the gear 180 degrees to the fresh side and problem solved.
I did the same on my Trans Am, though eventually the other side started losing teeth since half of it was worn off making it fragile. I found a guy locally (head of the local F-body club) who made replacement brass gears for $20 to replace the stock nylon gear and tossed those in to fix the issue. After looking into how much a replacement headlight motor was from the dealer, the $20 gears seemed almost free.
YES! I remember the brass gears. I regret not getting a pair at the time, I wonder if they’re still available. I hardly drive the car, so I’m not really worried about. It took over a decade of daily use to wear in the first place, and I still haven’t had to switch the other gear yet. It’d nice to have the brass gears on hand just in case though.
I think the same gears were used in both the Firebird and the C5 Corvette, so you might still be able to get some if you search for C5 headlight gears.
I had a focus wagon that I delivered pizza in for a while (loved that thing) that had rotting rocker panels from the winter salts here in PA.
When they started failing state inspections for any visible body rust, I figured I’d have to get new ones, or at least some junkyard rockers and re-spray them… Asked my step-grandpa about it (car was in his name at the time, long story) and he said he’d take care of it…. $3.50 (plus the cost of inspection) later he brought it back to me with a fresh inspection sticker on the window…. “A roll of white duct tape was good enough to pass”
I had a focus wagon that I delivered pizza in for a while (loved that thing) that had rotting rocker panels from the winter salts here in PA.
When they started failing state inspections for any visible body rust, I figured I’d have to get new ones, or at least some junkyard rockers and re-spray them… Asked my step-grandpa about it (car was in his name at the time, long story) and he said he’d take care of it…. $3.50 (plus the cost of inspection) later he brought it back to me with a fresh inspection sticker on the window…. “A roll of white duct tape was good enough to pass”
My 991.1 was throwing all kinds of errors, the windows started working intermittently, even the alarm would go off randomly. Reading the forums, the suggestion was that the battery was on its way out. Turns out they were right – a new battery fixed all of it.
Separately, my gf’s old Mercedes had a bent door frame from a scam tow company. She took it to a body shop who bent it back, good as new, for free!
My 991.1 was throwing all kinds of errors, the windows started working intermittently, even the alarm would go off randomly. Reading the forums, the suggestion was that the battery was on its way out. Turns out they were right – a new battery fixed all of it.
Separately, my gf’s old Mercedes had a bent door frame from a scam tow company. She took it to a body shop who bent it back, good as new, for free!
Other day eletronic parking brake failed. Scanned and said the line was open, so thought the actuator was busted.
Got under the car, the plug was really loose, just sprayed contact cleaner on both ends and reppluged. Worked as soon as I turned igntion on.
So, it was free, a good surprise.
Other day eletronic parking brake failed. Scanned and said the line was open, so thought the actuator was busted.
Got under the car, the plug was really loose, just sprayed contact cleaner on both ends and reppluged. Worked as soon as I turned igntion on.
So, it was free, a good surprise.
The AC went out on my Acura two summers ago. I wouldn’t trust myself to do AC repairs so I figured it’d be an expensive trip to the shop.
It was a relay. $8.49 and 3 minutes, and I’ve had ice-cold air ever since
The AC went out on my Acura two summers ago. I wouldn’t trust myself to do AC repairs so I figured it’d be an expensive trip to the shop.
It was a relay. $8.49 and 3 minutes, and I’ve had ice-cold air ever since
Door lock actuator on my ’05 Lexus SC430 gave up. Turns out it is a common issue. Found a guide online on how to open up the motor and replace the actuator. Relatively easy job. I figure the dealer would’ve replaced the whole motor and charged me at least $1,000.
The actuator cost me $4.
Door lock actuator on my ’05 Lexus SC430 gave up. Turns out it is a common issue. Found a guide online on how to open up the motor and replace the actuator. Relatively easy job. I figure the dealer would’ve replaced the whole motor and charged me at least $1,000.
The actuator cost me $4.
My heat in my S-10 would fail in my truck when I stepped on the gas hard. Turns out the controls need vacuum, and they’d lose it with full throttle, causing the heat control to fade to cold. So going in I expected needing new HVAC controls, and I fixed it with a $1.50 of vacuum tube, replacing a small cracked piece under the hood.
Kind of amazed the ingenuity of vacuum systems in vehicles, and all they were used to manage.
My heat in my S-10 would fail in my truck when I stepped on the gas hard. Turns out the controls need vacuum, and they’d lose it with full throttle, causing the heat control to fade to cold. So going in I expected needing new HVAC controls, and I fixed it with a $1.50 of vacuum tube, replacing a small cracked piece under the hood.
Kind of amazed the ingenuity of vacuum systems in vehicles, and all they were used to manage.
One of the mods I did to the ’72 Super Beetle was replacing the stock wheels and tires with EMPI clone 8-spoke wheels and 195/50s. These helped the handling immeasurably but placed added stress on the steering box, which broke.
At the time (ages ago) new boxes were about $400. I went to a salvage yard, found another SB perched conveniently on an RX-7, and pulled the box and various ancillaries.
Took the treasure up to the front of the yard and braced for impact. I was expecting the salvage price to be about half of new, or possibly a bit more considering the SB boxes were not common.
It was almost closing time and the guy was pretty gruff. He looked over the bits and pieces and said “Twenty bucks”. Woohoo!
One of the mods I did to the ’72 Super Beetle was replacing the stock wheels and tires with EMPI clone 8-spoke wheels and 195/50s. These helped the handling immeasurably but placed added stress on the steering box, which broke.
At the time (ages ago) new boxes were about $400. I went to a salvage yard, found another SB perched conveniently on an RX-7, and pulled the box and various ancillaries.
Took the treasure up to the front of the yard and braced for impact. I was expecting the salvage price to be about half of new, or possibly a bit more considering the SB boxes were not common.
It was almost closing time and the guy was pretty gruff. He looked over the bits and pieces and said “Twenty bucks”. Woohoo!
Friend of mine has a 96 Mustang that had horrible rev hang. We found out that the SAI was tuned to open wide when you lift the gas, presumably to make it “easier” to shift “smoothly”, or perhaps to limit engine braking.
This, of course, made it really hard to shift smoothly.
I initially thought it would require some expensive reprogramming or a full SAI delete with a block-off plate and a re-adjustment of the throttle body idle position. Instead, we drilled a small hole in a 40-cent plumbing cap, put it inside the SAI intake hose, and it fixed everything. Now it has just enough flow to adjust idle, but not enough to affect above-idle behavior in any noticeable way. The only downside is that off-throttle the car makes copious pops and bangs, almost to an obnoxious degree.
Oddly, my 02 Mustang doesn’t do this, but my ’10 Focus does hang like crazy if you let off at high revs. I’ve always thought it’s the engine braking thing myself, but have never been sure.
For modern cars with drive by wire, it’s an emissions thing. Quickly closing the throttle creates a rich spike, which emits more hydricarbons than normal. Likewise, quickly opening the throttle creates nitrous oxides due to a lean spike. So modern cars are tuned to open and close the throttle slowly to avoid thus. It’s really hard to tune out that behavior.
Friend of mine has a 96 Mustang that had horrible rev hang. We found out that the SAI was tuned to open wide when you lift the gas, presumably to make it “easier” to shift “smoothly”, or perhaps to limit engine braking.
This, of course, made it really hard to shift smoothly.
I initially thought it would require some expensive reprogramming or a full SAI delete with a block-off plate and a re-adjustment of the throttle body idle position. Instead, we drilled a small hole in a 40-cent plumbing cap, put it inside the SAI intake hose, and it fixed everything. Now it has just enough flow to adjust idle, but not enough to affect above-idle behavior in any noticeable way. The only downside is that off-throttle the car makes copious pops and bangs, almost to an obnoxious degree.
Oddly, my 02 Mustang doesn’t do this, but my ’10 Focus does hang like crazy if you let off at high revs. I’ve always thought it’s the engine braking thing myself, but have never been sure.
For modern cars with drive by wire, it’s an emissions thing. Quickly closing the throttle creates a rich spike, which emits more hydricarbons than normal. Likewise, quickly opening the throttle creates nitrous oxides due to a lean spike. So modern cars are tuned to open and close the throttle slowly to avoid thus. It’s really hard to tune out that behavior.