Nightmare Weekend.
Discussion
Riley Blue said:
craigsup said:
...filled up the oil and off I went...
...there was oil on the underneath of my car and the dipstick showed minimum...
...there is no oil leak - so I had obviously not put as much in as I thought...
Your car has a dipstick, how could you get this wrong?...there was oil on the underneath of my car and the dipstick showed minimum...
...there is no oil leak - so I had obviously not put as much in as I thought...
Conscript said:
Riley Blue said:
Your car has a dipstick, how could you get this wrong?
Perhaps he didn't recheck after running the engine. I find the level sometimes drops slightly as it gets pumped around the new filter etc, and requires a further final top up.And people at work call me stupid for not working on my own car. I'd rather go and drive a bus for the day to pay for the service on the car than spend the day struggling to do it all myself. I know how to drive a bus (just), it doesnt stress me out and I dont spend the week after listening for noises to see if I've done something wrong.
I suspect the 2.5 hours to change the air filter was your sign to stop there though tbh.
I suspect the 2.5 hours to change the air filter was your sign to stop there though tbh.
Tips for working on your own car as a mechanic is this
1. Don't work on your own car if you don't know how to work on cars.
2. If you want to work on your own car and don't know how to got to a college who does courses for vehicle mechanics for a few hours per week.
3. Get a mate around that knows what he/she is doing to supervise you while your changing the parts.
4. Don't work on your on car if your in a rush and need to be somewhere
5. Give it to a mechanic that will do the job right and saves you f
king about in the rain/cold and can save you more money in the long run.
So yes see which one fits you and go with that. Oh and mechanics don't really like it when a numpty attempts to fix a car mess it up and give it over to you in a worse state then the original problem was it makes mechanics grumpy and so will cost you even more.
1. Don't work on your own car if you don't know how to work on cars.
2. If you want to work on your own car and don't know how to got to a college who does courses for vehicle mechanics for a few hours per week.
3. Get a mate around that knows what he/she is doing to supervise you while your changing the parts.
4. Don't work on your on car if your in a rush and need to be somewhere
5. Give it to a mechanic that will do the job right and saves you f
king about in the rain/cold and can save you more money in the long run.So yes see which one fits you and go with that. Oh and mechanics don't really like it when a numpty attempts to fix a car mess it up and give it over to you in a worse state then the original problem was it makes mechanics grumpy and so will cost you even more.
Riley Blue said:
Conscript said:
Riley Blue said:
Your car has a dipstick, how could you get this wrong?
Perhaps he didn't recheck after running the engine. I find the level sometimes drops slightly as it gets pumped around the new filter etc, and requires a further final top up.
Conscript said:
Depends on the car of course, but the difference between the min and max readings isn't always very much. Sometimes you can add a surprisingly small amount of oil and find the level returns to normal on the dipstick.
You're right - I added a very small amount yesterday and it went from just above min -> just below max.As for people saying not to work on my own car without knowledge - how does anyone learn anything? You have to do things in order to learn. I guess some people don't care about learning though, they just want everything done for them.
MG CHRIS said:
So yes see which one fits you and go with that. Oh and mechanics don't really like it when a numpty attempts to fix a car mess it up and give it over to you in a worse state then the original problem was it makes mechanics grumpy and so will cost you even more.
Does it make them grumpy though really? Mine just laughs at me, puts it on the ramp and shows me where I went wrong, then proceeds to make me fix it and then charges for the ramp time and I have to top up the tea kitty in return for his advice. 
I think it helps that he knows with my daily I hand over all but the very basic jobs as I can't be without it for work, similar to my wife's car too. I only ever attempt complicated stuff on the weekend mx5.
Maybe I just got a good one, but he seems to derive a little pleasure in the piss taking and then teaching me. Every time I leave (I've had him bail me out 3 times in the 5 years I've lived here) he shouts 'won't do that again will you' after me.
craigsup said:
Conscript said:
Depends on the car of course, but the difference between the min and max readings isn't always very much. Sometimes you can add a surprisingly small amount of oil and find the level returns to normal on the dipstick.
You're right - I added a very small amount yesterday and it went from just above min -> just below max.As for people saying not to work on my own car without knowledge - how does anyone learn anything? You have to do things in order to learn. I guess some people don't care about learning though, they just want everything done for them.
Then I had a few mishaps like yours trying to fix my own car.
Then I saved up enough money to buy a weekend toy and I do all manor of jobs on it, I've done everything except a major drivetrain component swap. I now only do the basics on the daily and am very weary of the kind of jobs that might soon out into hours and leave it on stilts.
It helps having the weekender to fail back on mind, assuming it's working!!
eltax91 said:
I built mine up by firstly enrolling in evening classes at the local college, that was immensely useful as it was a practical based course.
Then I had a few mishaps like yours trying to fix my own car.
Then I saved up enough money to buy a weekend toy and I do all manor of jobs on it, I've done everything except a major drivetrain component swap. I now only do the basics on the daily and am very weary of the kind of jobs that might soon out into hours and leave it on stilts.
It helps having the weekender to fail back on mind, assuming it's working!!
Sadly I don't have the time to do a course, nor the space to have a 2nd car!Then I had a few mishaps like yours trying to fix my own car.
Then I saved up enough money to buy a weekend toy and I do all manor of jobs on it, I've done everything except a major drivetrain component swap. I now only do the basics on the daily and am very weary of the kind of jobs that might soon out into hours and leave it on stilts.
It helps having the weekender to fail back on mind, assuming it's working!!
Maybe in the future once I move house I can get a cheap 2nd car and have a play.
craigsup said:
Sadly I don't have the time to do a course, nor the space to have a 2nd car!
Maybe in the future once I move house I can get a cheap 2nd car and have a play.
The best way to learn is to practice. Just don't do it a few hours before a weekend of treats with your girlfriend, that's asking for trouble Maybe in the future once I move house I can get a cheap 2nd car and have a play.
craigsup said:
Conscript said:
Depends on the car of course, but the difference between the min and max readings isn't always very much. Sometimes you can add a surprisingly small amount of oil and find the level returns to normal on the dipstick.
As for people saying not to work on my own car without knowledge - how does anyone learn anything? You have to do things in order to learn. I guess some people don't care about learning though, they just want everything done for them.Diablos-666 said:
Good effort for trying but next time maybe do this sort of stuff when you have a totally free weekend. That way it doesn't matter how long you take and you're not rushing.
Absolutely. Can't imagine the leap of logic that led to "I've never tried anything like this before, and have limited time to complete it with the potential to ruin a weekend. Why not?"Sump said:
Most people have a natural knack for things like DIY. But when it is taking 2 and half hours to change an air filter, you really have to question whether you have that knack for it or not.
Give the guy break. But if it takes him more than an hour the second time, then yeah, give up. I'm a pretty experienced home mechanic (also a software engineer by trade, same as OP) but sometimes new jobs take me way longer than they 'should' because I go carefully and try to remember everything's position and order. Once I've done it one time I can usually half the time if I ever have to do it again.
Keep at it, OP. It's a very rewarding thing being able to fix your own cars.
Sump said:
Most people have a natural knack for things like DIY. But when it is taking 2 and half hours to change an air filter, you really have to question whether you have that knack for it or not.
So you're telling me that you've never done a task which has taken you significantly longer than you anticipated? You're an arrogant person if not. I had never looked beyond an oil cap prior to this weekend, so of course it's going to take me a long time to do things. Plus, my BMW needed many things removing in order to access the Air filter and then there were some tricky bolts to undo.As the above poster stated, I am a software engineer. I can strip and build / alter a PC in half an hour, I can write a program to automate any process, I've coded a working sat nav. Just because you can do something straight away, does not mean a complete novice with no experience can do the same; stop being so short sighted.
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