Teach me stuff about cars...

I hate paying so much to get things done all the time on my car....i want to learn how to do these things myself...

...?

errrr everything.....like how to service my car, it needs one soon...change oil filters, all that stuff thats fairly easy to do but i end up paying for cause i cant do it myself...

its a broad topic ... but the best way to learn is by doing it yourself ...

Oil changes are easy to start with ..

You need:
1 x replacement oil filter (go buy a combo from repco)
1 x 4 ltrs of the correct oil for your car 5w-50 oil for a car with 80,000kms or less. 10w-40 for something with 80k over
1 x oil catch can or a 4 1/2 ltr catch tray.

Some tools
spanner / socket set
Screw driver
an oily rag
old flat box or something to lye down on

there are many different methods to an oil change but this is the most basic way of doing it.

* From cold start the car and leave it running for about 2-3 mins get the car up to about 1/16 - 1/8th temp (read the engine temp gauge)STOP the engine, else your engine oil will be to hot to touch.

* Un do the oil cap on top of your engine.
Find the oil bung under your car mostly (under the engine) they are covered by a plastic crash plate cover .. or something like that sometimes the arn't.

place the 4 1/2 ltr oil catch can underneath the bung (make sure its got enough capacity to hold ALL of the oil out of your engine (around 4 ltrs most cars, 4x4 around 5- 8ltrs or more!)

Use the appropriate socket or ring spanner to undo the bung carefully (try and avoid dropping the bolt into the oil ... now its going to start pissing out and you WILL get it on your hands so using latex gloves is a good idea ... as gay as it sounds but old oil stains skin for a day or so)

Let the oil drain completely will take around 5-10 mins.

After the oil has drained start removing the oil filter, now .. oil filters are gay, they can be stuck on really tight or sometimes just come off easy as.
grab a rag and try and turn it by hand .. hopefully you can just un-twist the thing. if not .. here comes the screw driver. Stab the filter right through (you man need a hammer) to make a "handle" and use that to twist it ..
Once you've got the thing off get your brand new filter get a new little oil on your finger and lube up the 'O' ring and the thread on the filter.

Screw the filter back on AND REPLACE THE OIL BUNG!!

When you screw the filter back on you need to screw it on until you feel the thread 'bite' (when you can turn it any more with light twisting) and twisted it another half turn ... that will be tight enough.

When your replace the Oil bung same thing again .. 1/2 turn ... now you will have a copper 'washer on the oil bung .. one would replace this but sometimes you can get away with using it 3 - 4 oil changes. if it looks flat as a pan cake time to get a new one .. it needs to be copper or some other softish metal to make the seal again .. else you’ll leak oil out your oil bung.

right now your ready for your new oil.

Pour the new oil into the engine stopping every ltr or so to check the dipstick. don’t over fill it past max on the dipstick as you can actually blow seals inside the engine.

Replace the engine oil cap. and your done

There are other ways of actually flushing the engine but they take a bit more care and a second 4 ltrs of cheap $15 warehouse oil. (for flushing) and kerosene.

hope that’s of some use.

Fantastic...good stuff that is....in fact i think we need a weekly tip for us not so clued up car people...

generally jap cars dont have the crash plates, the 'bung' or bolt as I call it is on the oil sump which is the pan looking thing on the bottom of the engine block



ok using a screwdriver is the extreme rangi way to do this, go to repco and get an oil filter wrench (metal handle with a metal strap to go around the filter), they cost bugger all and make it so much easier to use, stabbing a screw driver through the filter generally gets oil everywhere through your engine bay and oil is a pain in the ass to clean!

just my 2c



on next weeks show, how to change the fuel filter and the air filter (easiest things ever)

agreed, not the best way to handle the oil filter removal process ... sometimes its the only way .. even oil filter removal straps sometimes arn't enough. If you use a sharp screw driver and tap it cleanly with a hammer .. you wont put and filings into the filter.

Go buy yourself a workshop manual. The one i got comes with strip down intructions and pics to do just about anything on your car.

yup fair enough, sometimes they are absolute @%!#@%#!%# to get off

Haynes or maybe Haines Manuals are good

Oooo excellent.. I need to change my fuel filter!!

Can we do changing the fuel pump at some stage also

no matter what anyone says, changing your brake pads with only a socket set and a bit of deck timber is not a good idea.

Yeah thats the one....

Fuel pump is a bit more in depth as most are intank or in different places on car (always near the tank though) but can give it a shot

Went and got a Haynes manual.. all good !!!

Right, ill get one of them manuals i think....are they generic for any car? or are they specific to your car? They must be specific to different cars...

Specific for your car, they usually cover a number of years for your vehicle, basically the best thing you can buy, tell you everything you need to know, gives exploded views etc, repco sell them but they are availble most places, your car is a common one so shouldn't be an issue to get one

Sweet ill get me one of them on the way home!

BEST investment I reckon!!!!

Little bit of know how and this book = cheap(ish) servicing

Now to find a hoist for my garage...

hmmm my local Repco didnt have my car....damn it...i may have to ring around...

www.techbooks.co.nz is your friend

ok people, todays class, by far the easiest thing you'll ever do under the hood.

CHANGING THE AIRFILTER

couple of different things depending on the airfilter you have, but if you have a POD filter (roundish normally bright coloured bit coming out of the engine) they generally just come of with a screw driver, Get a phillips or flathead screw driver depending on whats on the hoseclamp (which holds the filter on) undo and remove presto.

If your car is standard the airfilter will be in a black plastic box normally in the front left or right of the engine. But its a big plastic black box with a black pipe going in and another commin out, there will be probably 4 clips surrounding the box holding the 2 halves together, flick these up and lift off the top half, you should see a carboard looking panel underneath, probably with bits of leaves etc in there, the panel filter pulls straight out, vacuum any shit in the box up and put in the new filter, put box back on, do up clips, done

we should really do proper picture threads.

This should be the first accessory you buy for your new car.

Doing your own basic maintainance will save you loads of cash and help you identiry the fault when something goes wrong

yeah i agree, time is a factor though shouldn't be too hard to get a couple pics of a basic, say FWD engine and circle some bits

Around super charger install time I should do a step by step

realistically ill most likely get it installed by a turbo house.