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Who does their own servicing ?

Passion, instruction, buying, care, maintenance and more, any form of vehicle discussion is welcome here

Do you every work on your car?

No, never lifted the bonnet
1
2%
Not really although I may check tyre pressures, oil and washer fluid and top up as necessary
25
45%
I used to but not any more
22
40%
I do standard servicing, oil changes air filters etc
4
7%
I do the lot, full set of Snap on tools
3
5%
 
Total votes: 55

88V8
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Re: Who does their own servicing ?

#457130

Postby 88V8 » November 10th, 2021, 6:07 pm

redsturgeon wrote:I have just changed the oil on my car this morning.

I changed the oil/filter in my 63 Rambler last year, and fitted LED headlamp bulbs, and earlier this year I replaced the inlet valve stem seals using an air compressor to hold the valves up.
On that car I do pretty much everything, but it does help that I have a pit, and a huge tool kit.

On my 74 Land Rover I do most jobs, but frustratingly it won't fit over the pit because the idiot who built the garage* made the door too low, although it will fit into the other side of the garage so I can at least work indoors.

On our 1990 Pug 205 I do very little. Over the weekend I replaced one of the washer jets and some piping, I might do the oil changes, but even by 1990 some things had become a bit difficult and I'm happy to entrust it to our local garage. Also, I have to jack it up to get underneath which adds to the faff - I can get under the Rambler and the Landy just as they stand.

There's probably some sort of inverse square rule that applies to servicing; when I started out in the 60s, I used to change engines in the street, now I have a double garage and a huge tool kit and I have give myself a good talking to before I even get in there and do the basic biennial brake fluid change.
I need to change the glass in the Rambler's driver's window, at some point in its 58 years someone has put the wrong glass in both front doors and they don't close properly as the top slope is wrong.
I have two spare doors and the service manual, all I have to do is take it all apart, probably a day a side... but I'll need new door seals that I have to order from a chap in New York State and somehow I just never get around to it.

Me? Getting old?

V8
*the idiot who might have been me

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9873210
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Re: Who does their own servicing ?

#457133

Postby 9873210 » November 10th, 2021, 6:17 pm

bungeejumper wrote:
9873210 wrote:
bungeejumper wrote:Since then, the advancing computerisation of everything has made it either impossible, or not worth the candle ...
People did not stop doing quarterly "tune ups" because they became too hard. They stopped doing " tune ups" because they became unnecessary.

Shurely shome mishtake? I don't know who was talking about quarterly tune-ups, but it must have been some other geezer? :|



There were certainly some other geezers I could have made the reply to, but

bungeejumper wrote:The last car where I did any 'proper' work was a 1984 Peugeot 205. :lol: And even that was just stripping and adjusting the carburettor, ...:| (Aaah, good old carburettors, with real screw things and adjustable jets and stuff you could actually understand.)

I distinctly remember my dad and I dismantling carburetors several times a year, and (we were in upstate NY at the time) fiddling the settings for winter and summer use. Perhaps an '84 Peugeot in a more benign climate did not need quite as much attention, but f****** carburetors, good riddance. Never had to tweak a fuel injector.

doug2500
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Re: Who does their own servicing ?

#457152

Postby doug2500 » November 10th, 2021, 7:23 pm

I've just discovered that I can't even change the battery in my X5 myself now. Or I could but I still need a garage with a laptop to register the new battery to the car.

All to do with the smart computer controlled charging circuit apparently. If it's left thinking it's dealing with a years old battery rather than brand new, it'll fry the new one in a year!

PhaseThree

Re: Who does their own servicing ?

#457158

Postby PhaseThree » November 10th, 2021, 7:51 pm

doug2500 wrote:I've just discovered that I can't even change the battery in my X5 myself now. Or I could but I still need a garage with a laptop to register the new battery to the car.

All to do with the smart computer controlled charging circuit apparently. If it's left thinking it's dealing with a years old battery rather than brand new, it'll fry the new one in a year!


The alternative is to acquire the software and cable and do it yourself. It's not a difficult process, you tube is full of videos and Amazon sell the kit.
- Servicing new(er) cars just requires new tools.


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