DIY servicing

[parapaul]

Feeling a little pleased with myself this week, having just done my first driveway service.

It was only the OH's Astra, and it was only an oil and filter change but it cost £22 for the parts, so a good saving over what any garage would charge.

Had a couple of fk moments trying to get the oil filter off, ended up sticking a screwdriver through it from underneath and covering myself in oil but a very satisfying feeling to put the bonnet down knowing I'd done it myself

Really wasn't difficult though - why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

[soad]

parapaul said:

Really wasn't difficult though - why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

Scared to fk things up perhaps

[Merlot]

I've been servicing my MX5 for the past couple of years. I'm sure I take a good while longer than the garage, but it saves money and more importantly I'm confident that the job has been done properly.

It's also very cheap, parts to do a full service on my MX5 come in around £70.

[Matt Harper]

Good for you - satisfying and money-saving.
Get one of these.....

[MX7]

Use a latex or washing up glove for the oil filter. Screwdriver is the last resort. Good job none the less.

[parapaul]

Matt Harper said:

Good for you - satisfying and money-saving.
Get one of these.....

Tried one of those... And a nylon strap wrench... Damn thing was so tight they just slipped

MX7 said:

Use a latex or washing up glove for the oil filter. Screwdriver is the last resort. Good job none the less.

Never thought of using gloves... Thanks

[Puddenchucker]

I use one of these:



It's a little worrying when it starts to crush the sides of the filter as it tightens grip, but it gets the filter off.

[Eggman]

parapaul said:

why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

A lot of people like to imagine themselves as the kind of person 'who employs others to do that' or 'whose time is valuable', even if the reality is rather different. However, they don't see anything wrong with doing their own laundry or mowing their own lawn; mindless time eating tasks that can be done by others very cheaply if your own time is so infinitely precious.

I suspect that in many cases they are afraid; afraid that the neighbours will see them and assume that they are potless, afraid that they will get stuck and be forced to admit their ignorance and inability, afraid that they will fail altogether and reveal themselves as an inept booby. These people should cast off their fear! Join the elite of shade tree mechanics, relish getting oil in your hair, accidentally touching a hot manifold in a confined space, bumping your head on the chassis for the hundredth time or finding yourself laying underneath a car gazing at a rounded nut at 10pm on a wet Sunday evening.

The way I see it, you might learn something and you will definitely save money, so you end up richer and cleverer. Paying a garage makes you poorer and none the wiser - unless you employ them to do a job that you know will turn out to be a nightmare, in which case it makes you a winner

Edited by Eggman on Saturday 22 May 15:41

[herewego]

parapaul said:

Really wasn't difficult though - why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

Because they cover themselves in oil? Seriously, the other downside of using a screwdriver is that if you've bought the wrong filter, you're on the bus.

Edited by herewego on Saturday 22 May 15:37

[Deva Link]

parapaul said:

Feeling a little pleased with myself this week, having just done my first driveway service.

It was only the OH's Astra, and it was only an oil and filter change

So you didn't bother with all the other checks that a garage is supposed to do then?

[Engineer1]

I'd love to service my car myself but I lack the confidence, can't get a haynes manual for my car (a Diesel PT Cruiser), and really dread that moment when you get to the point of no return and realise you are missing a part, or you have broken something and can't go because your only car is now in pieces with one missing.

[skyslimit]

I hope you lubed the rubber seal of the new filter with oil before you put it back on, or you'll be useing that screwdriver to take it back off again.

Also, you did fill the filter with oil before refitting? It helps pressurise the oil circuit quicker on start up, so the light goes out quicker and you dont run anything dry of oil for very long at all.

And remember, never, ever be tempted on first start after an oil change to rev the engine to get that light out quicker. Idle revs only.

Oh, and well done

Now do the other 40 point checks before you have that beer. If you learn them, your car will thank you for it.

[Eggman]

Deva Link said:

So you didn't bother with all the other checks that a garage is supposed to do then?

In fairness, I should think he did most of the checks that a garage would actually do with a cursory glance around the engine bay. He did omit one very important check, but we can perform that now:

'Hey, Paul - you need new discs and pads, right away. Yours are like, really dangerous, or something'.

That's called the 'additional revenue' check.

[Deva Link]

Eggman said:

Deva Link said:

So you didn't bother with all the other checks that a garage is supposed to do then?

In fairness, I should think he did most of the checks that a garage would actually do with a cursory glance around the engine bay. He did omit one very important check, but we can perform that now:

'Hey, Paul - you need new discs and pads, right away. Yours are like, really dangerous, or something'.

That's called the 'additional revenue' check.

He didn't mention refilling the screenwash (even if it's already full) though.

[Eggman]

Expensive stuff, that. I hear the 'miscellaneous sundries' come from a shop in Bond Street.

[Fartgalen]

Well done. I do everything I can, myself. Sometimes though I think 'fk it', I aint got the time or the inclination, and anyway, the local garage will do it cheaply. Eg, replace a broken suspension spring. Sent the Mondeo in to the local this week - £150 all in. £80 labour was well worth it.

Otherwise, a lot of jobs need the right tools. Also, an OBD reader can help a lot. Started getting the engine warning light on the missus' XC90. The car felt, and drove fine anyway. So I plug in my OBD reader and it tells me the error code, which I reset, only for it to come back a day or so later. Error code translates to 'no signal from intake air temp sensor'. So I go to the local Volvo dealer and tell them I want an intake air temp sensor (after finding out where it sits). I get the 'bring it in sir, we'll check it. It needs to go on the Volvo computer' - blah,blah, bks. No - just sell me an air temp sensor please. Bloody expensive little piece of plastic it was. Anyway, £90 and 15 mins later, it's installed. Error code reset, and running without the warning light again. No doubt would have been £90 at Volvo, plus labour, plus computer read out, plus anything else they could think of.

[Iain101]

parapaul said:

- why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

Another factor is maintaining a service history, even though it accounts for very little in terms of how healthy the car actually is when it comes to re sale people like to see a book full of stamps. I normally do all work on my car, however big. Yet I got my car serviced at a specialist a few weeks ago purely to get a stamp...does feel gutting paying an £80 labour charge or whatever for something that is so easy to do, but i didn't want to ruin an otherwise perfect service history for when I come to sell it.

[sunbeam_alpine]

Iain101 said:

parapaul said:

- why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

Another factor is maintaining a service history, even though it accounts for very little in terms of how healthy the car actually is when it comes to re sale people like to see a book full of stamps. I normally do all work on my car, however big. Yet I got my car serviced at a specialist a few weeks ago purely to get a stamp...does feel gutting paying an £80 labour charge or whatever for something that is so easy to do, but i didn't want to ruin an otherwise perfect service history for when I come to sell it.

I do it myself and staple all the receipts for oil, filters etc. in the service book.

[Fartgalen]

sunbeam_alpine said:

Iain101 said:

parapaul said:

- why don't more people do stuff like this themselves?

Another factor is maintaining a service history, even though it accounts for very little in terms of how healthy the car actually is when it comes to re sale people like to see a book full of stamps. I normally do all work on my car, however big. Yet I got my car serviced at a specialist a few weeks ago purely to get a stamp...does feel gutting paying an £80 labour charge or whatever for something that is so easy to do, but i didn't want to ruin an otherwise perfect service history for when I come to sell it.

I do it myself and staple all the receipts for oil, filters etc. in the service book.

Me too. Write down everything you do and when it's done. Save receipts for oil, filters, parts, etc. What's the problem ?

[Eggman]

I photocopy the factory service schedule and annotate it with observations, measurements and so on as I go, but mainly for my own use and only on cars I'm bothered about.

With daily beaters I write the date and mileage on filters etc in indelible marker as I replace them, but don't bother keeping records. These I generally run until I detect a major failure is on the cards, park them up and ultimately scrap them once I've robbed them of bits. I squeak as I walk, me

Edited by Eggman on Saturday 22 May 17:24