DIY car service

cena

What do you do when service your car every time.

Beside oil and air filter. What else should be done

Anan1

cena wrote: »

What do you do when service your car every time.

Beside oil and air filter. What else should be done

It depends on the car/mileage/age/what's been done before and how long ago. Have a look in the service book, it'll tell you what needs doing and when.

mickdw

cena wrote: »

What do you do when service your car every time.

Beside oil and air filter. What else should be done

Depends on car, it's mileage and what was done in the past.

cena

They mainly do oil and filter. Top up windscreens water.

Anan1

cena wrote: »

They mainly do oil and filter. Top up windscreens water.

Who?

cena

Anan1 wrote: »

Who?

They where a main dealer for opel

Anan1

Right so.

cena

I can get this for €20 in 5 litres




Or the magnatec 5w30 for 30 euro but what does A1 mean on the bottle?. The dealers uses 10w40 on the Astra.

renofan

cena wrote: »

What do you do when service your car every time.

I have always done everything myself (except timing belt changes) and every service I change the oil, oil filter, airfilter and sparkplugs. I have the car on ramps and go around everything with an inspection lamp to make sure the bushings/rubber boots etc. are ok.

Also I check all levels in the engine bay once a week along with tyre pressure etc. I get the timing belt done a bit before manufacture recommendation and also keep on top of pollen filter and fuel filter changes. Plus every 40 to 50k I change the gear oil. And change coolant/brake fluid every two years.

I find looking after a car properly keeps the car happy!

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Petrol car, I'd usually do oil + oil and air filter, have a look at the spark plugs and replace if needed. Newer cars have other stuff like pollen filters/micro filters that may need to be replaced. For a diesel I'd do all the above except no spark plugs obviously.

Then every second service (or if I was unsure of the car's history) I would replace other stuff like the fuel filter (I haven't owned a car long enough to get to the second service yet)

biko

What car and what mileage is it?

cena

biko wrote: »

What car and what mileage is it?

Astra h nearing 160,000 km

GvidoR

Check the timing belt, it should be replaced every 80,000 miles or so.

You can change the fuel and pollen filters too.

biko

If you have no service book then I suggest you do these over the spring/summer (particularly if you don't know when they were done last).
Oil and filters
Brake fluid
Coolant change
Fuel filter

and yeah, check if TB is done. If not it's probably time for that too.

cena

Dealer said its a timing chain that is on the astra

GvidoR

That's strange, what year is it?

Stella Virgo

cena wrote: »

What do you do when service your car every time.

Beside oil and air filter. What else should be done

new brake discs and pads, and new drums and shoes and new brake fluid.
(obviously if discs and drums are ok, just do the pads and shoes. )

cena

GvidoR wrote: »

That's strange, what year is it?

07

biko

What size engine, diesel/petrol?

Alanstrainor

Stella Virgo wrote: »

new brake discs and pads, and new drums and shoes and new brake fluid.
(obviously if discs and drums are ok, just do the pads and shoes. )

All of this is completely dependent on the current state of pads/discs. No point changing the pads at every service if they don't need it.

Ded_Zebra

Every service that I do I do the oil and filter. I check that all lights are working correctly. I top up all fluids as required. I take each wheel off and carefully inspect each tyre. While the wheels are off I check the condition of the pads and discs. I then take the caliper off and make sure the sliders are moving easily. This might be overkill for every service but I like to make sure my brakes are in tip top condition:). I don't do the air filter every time because of the very low dust levels we have in Ireland. I might do the air filter every 3rd service or when it's noticeably dirty. Fuel filter and other fluids are changed as required.

cena

biko wrote: »

What size engine, diesel/petrol?

1.4 petrol

biko

The 1.4 Z14XEP engine has a timing chain so no need to worry about that unless it rattles.
Oil to use is 5w30.

wonski

If you have a manual for the car there are service intervals and what should be done and when.
Oil/oil filter at every service (usually around 10k or once a year, whichever comes first). The type of oil used should be in the manual, too. Some garages/owners tend to go to thicker oil when the car gets older - 10w40 usually.
Air filter every second service, same with spark plugs - they might be ok for longer, depends on type.
Brake pads/discs/drums - need to be checked and replaced if needed, there is no specific interval to do them.
Timing chain - no need to change unless there is a problem
Pollen filter - i change every 2 years, but some prefer to do it sooner. Again, depends on it's condition (if you have any issues with heating blower performance or foggy windows then change it to see if it makes a difference).
Since you already got your hands dirty check all the lights, tires, brake / coolant levels and power steering fluid level (yours is electric i guess so you can skip this)
Always refer to the official intervals - either from the manual for the car or other data (internet maybe).

cena

biko wrote: »

The 1.4 Z14XEP engine has a timing chain so no need to worry about that unless it rattles.
Oil to use is 5w30.

I know it is meant to be that oil but the dealer has always put 10w40.

What does a1/a3 mean on the 5w30 castrol bottle

biko

ACEA Specifications For Petrol Engines:
A1 Low friction/low viscosity, fuel economy
A2 Standard performance level
A3 High performance &/or extended drain

Current Standards:
A1-98 Low viscosity/low friction meeting high performance extended drain requirements & complying with 2.5% improvement in fuel efficiency.
A2-96/2 Suitable for most current petrol engines requiring typically specified viscosity ranges and where fuel efficiency is not specified.
A3-98 High performance and/or extended oil drain interval and where fuel efficiency is not specified.
http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm

McP2011

Oil and filters is only a fluid change.

A full service is oil change, various filters if needed, everything checked over eg brake pipes/pads/shoes, bushings, joints, shocks, springs, tyres, wipers, lights etc

Going Forward

Ded_Zebra wrote: »

Every service that I do I do the oil and filter. I check that all lights are working correctly. I top up all fluids as required. I take each wheel off and carefully inspect each tyre. While the wheels are off I check the condition of the pads and discs. I then take the caliper off and make sure the sliders are moving easily. This might be overkill for every service but I like to make sure my brakes are in tip top condition:). I don't do the air filter every time because of the very low dust levels we have in Ireland. I might do the air filter every 3rd service or when it's noticeably dirty. Fuel filter and other fluids are changed as required.

I must start doing this- it would get me out of the house for a good length of time!!