Car Maintenance during COVID

• 

  spackbace on 12/09/2021 - 00:41

  What sorta car/engine/mileage?

  • 

    andrek on 12/09/2021 - 00:45

    Rav4 2011, 4 cyl, 190k km

    • 

      Mechz on 12/09/2021 - 00:52

      +1

      You can really strech it to 9 months unless all your trips are so short that the car doesn't warm up properly.

      • 

        andrek on 12/09/2021 - 01:01

        majority of trips are no longer than 5 mins, to a local Coles 2km away. there could be one or two 10min ones in a week.

        • 

          doctordv8 on 12/09/2021 - 10:27

          +1

          @andrek: Change your oil … It is the short trips that destroy the quality of the oils. Oil is still relatively inexpensive.

          Short trips allow only low engine temperatures and creates the killer…condensation.

          This water mixes with enters the oil, and under pressure and various temperatures create an acid like contaminant.

        • 

          jrowls on 13/09/2021 - 15:02

          @andrek: Get a bicycle… haha

          But seriously your oil will be fine for 12mo.

• 

  theHMASfriendship on 12/09/2021 - 01:06

  +8

  Meh, 12 months you'll probably be fine.

• 

  USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 01:17

  -1

  Quite a lot of cars have service interval Of 12 months, Some even have like 15 months.
  But I think it depends on the type of driving you do (like city, stop start, or like highway mostly etc.). I have finally started doing basic car services myself. Takes a bit of time, but I am 99% assured of the parts being used are of Top quality, unlike mechanics, i think they just use dodgy shit parts and oils. And make us a bunch of NEEDING ATTENTION PROBLEMS. (when they dont really exists or user doesnt really need them).

  I dont do much highway driving's at all, always city driving (usually 10-25 Kms Max one way trips, occasionally upto 40 kms). There is quite a bit of sludge in my Barina so i change its oil before every 6 months, So 5 months or even 4 months at sometimes. I never go past 6 months time without oil change (I am low distance driver). Holden Barina, Vectra Both have a 12 months or 15K Km service interval time. (But i go half or less of that)

  I used CASTROL Edge 5w-40 Full synthetic on my Holden Barina, and Vectra Both seeming to love it more than the mineral oils that mechanics put in them earlier like 15W 40 or something. Car's owner's manual says to use 15w 40 or 15w 50. But same car, and engine in Europe, says to use 5w 30 or 10w 40. Ultimately I think these cars are European designed so they know the best, but i also do not want to go under the Hot thickness listed in owner's manual. So bought good quality Oil CASTROL Edge 5w-40. Both cars are early 2000's and high mileaged.

  It somehow originally leaked a little for a couple days in Vectra (dripping at ground), But however after a couple days no oil leaking on ground at all. Oil level same on dipstick, (in right middle - where i like to fill it upto). However, can see Oil leaks on the car parts at various places, just not dripping to ground now. Regarding Barina might need a little more time to see performance But no Oil drips on ground here from beginning, but oil leaks visible under car.

  • 

    USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 01:28

    -3

    Have a watch of these videos tho

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuiVdQWGmWI

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIIkncTWOgo

    • 

      andrek on 12/09/2021 - 08:37

      these two actually answered my questions. During lockdowns I drive very short distances, so I'd better listen to M8y and change that oil!

  • 

    Gotchas on 12/09/2021 - 07:19

    +2

    You must have the only non lemon vectra ever made for it to still be around

    I haven’t seen one on the road for years

    • 

      USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 08:54

      There's still a few Vectras JS2 on the road in Australia. (I have seen may be 5 other than mine in adelaide). My guess would be hardly like 500-1000 in Australia. These were overshadowed by commodores by being less attractive to new car buyers in olden days.

      But yeah mine's small 2.2 L automatic. engine and transmission both seem to be in a good shape.
      Only reason I got Vectra was, being impressed by its sporty performance, fast acceleration. (from a 2001 model car, that's only 2.2 L 4 cylinder petrol engine)

  • 

    pegaxs on 12/09/2021 - 08:55

    +2

    Load of horse shit. The reason the oil viscosity is different in Europe isn’t because “they built the car, so they know better”, it’s because of the average temperature that the cars experience over there. They run a lighter “Winter” weight of oil because of the freezing winters compared to Australia.

    And there is no way your “high mileage Barina” is getting sludge build up in 6 months. You’ve been watching too many BP fuel ads. Let me guess, you only run both of them on 98 as well?

    Oh, and your cars don’t “love” one oil over another. They certainly don’t know the difference between mineral or synthetic oil.

    Next, the oil you use has nothing to do with oil leaks and it has nothing to do with the oil level or oil consumption. That has everything to do with seal wear/condition and engine wear respectively.

    As for mechanics using “dodgy shit parts/oils”, they are probably buying or having them supplied by the same place you are. There is a really high possibility that the local mechanic is being supplied by the local Bursons, Repco, Supercheap, etc, the same place you buy your “top quality” parts from. Their oil is usually the same, but they deal direct with oil manufacturers and buy in bulk.

    I am a mechanic, and I have plenty of customers come in that bring their own shit in for me to fit that we refuse to use because it’s some no name filter and oil that is the wrong grade/viscosity/cheapest bottle they could find. Or, ironically, it’s the same part and oil we use, but they paid more because they don’t get the discounts we get.

    • 

      USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 09:09

      -1

      No i don't run any car on 98RON, they only need 91 RON so that's what i use or e10 at times.
      Yeah cannot comment on your mechanics, but you aint the only mechanic around.
      There's alot of mechanics in market, I was one of those person who would shop @ groupons for cheap car services (which still costs me around $40/service), and I just don't think mechanics use top quality oils. You might use them but not all mechanics use top quality oil. They just use cheap dino shit from their bulk supplier.
      Doing DIY service costs me about $30-35 ish with top quality oil, (buying top notch oil at clearances/sales).
      But this aint the only reason why i refuse to go to mechanics for basic service, rather because nearly all of them try to sell me dodgy stuff that i don't need to buy. I mean i get mechanics wanna may extra $$ doing it by deceiving customers is no way of doing it.

      BTW I have also had personal experience of my mechanic charging me extra $$ for the part he got from REPCO (because so called discounts you mechanic get, CAN BE HIGHER THAN THE SALE PRICE). And that mechanic price sheet is different, so at times non mechanic customers get a better price, because mechanics dont shop around for prices (they work for themselves not for the customers). That bloody mechanic charged me like $20 extra than the sale price of water pump. (legit same repco shop, matched the price and part number online on website)

      • 

        pegaxs on 12/09/2021 - 10:38

        I was one of those person who would shop @ groupons

        Old saying… "You get what you pay for". If you pay bottom dollar, what you are going to get is shit quality parts and poor service. That's not their fault, it's yours for buying into the system for the lowest possible dollar. Not all mechanics are shit or use shit quality parts/oil, but I can assure you, paying for one through a Groupon scheme certainly exposes you to places who use shit parts/unskilled labour.

        It's the equivalent of buying a $49 Konka smartphone from BigW and saying all BigW's are crap because your $49 phone doesn't do what JB HiFi's $1,800 iPhone 12 does…

        I just don't think mechanics use top quality oils.

        You think because I buy my oil in 44 gallon drums makes it worse than your oil in 5l bottles? And dino shit? If I gave you two samples of oil, one "dino shit" and one "full synthetic", you could not pick the difference. (I do this quite often with my "i OnLy uSe FuLL SyNtHeTiC OiLz" customers…)

        because nearly all of them try to sell me dodgy stuff that i don't need to buy.

        "Just the service today, nothing else. Anything else you find, just report it. Thanks…" Issue… solved. I find a simple "No thanks" stops me from selling shit to customers.

        Do you complain this much when you go to Maccas and they ask; "Do you want fries with that??" Damn Maccas, selling me dodgy stuff I don't need…

        I have also had personal experience of my mechanic charging me extra $$ for the part he got from REPCO

        Of course they do. That is capitalism 101. But, they had to; Have someone ring Repco about the part. Send someone to pick up the part/get it delivered. Store the part on their shelf… in their store room. Have someone pick the part. Have someone invoice you for the part and someone to call you that the part was fitted and your car and is ready to go. Damn shonky mechanics not just absorbing these costs and selling me the parts at their cost price…

        Do you complain that the milk you buy from Colesworth isn't the same price as what they buy it from the farmer?

        Anyway, good on you for at least doing your own servicing.

        • 

          USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 19:23

          @pegaxs:

          That is capitalism 101

          No this is called SCAMMING/RIPPING/FRAUDING customers. May be <$30 is understandable, but most mechanics are always trying ripping of customers $1000's of dollars. This can be someone's hard earned money, that people might need desperately and ripping these people is no joke e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avpx8UTakI.

          And regarding McDonald's they dont take your food, and remove it and add stuff to it. which is more of what mechanics do, e.g. changing original air filter with some dirty one to customer so he's forced to pay for being deceived.

          The fact that you get customers brining in same oil and parts that you would have used anyway, JUST CLEARLY SHOWS how clearly you service your customers. (i.e. e.g. like not letting them know what oil you will use on car, if customer knew they wouldn't spend their money for it). But they bring to you because they dont know what parts you are going to be using, (whether be sh*t quality or top notch quality)

          Of course milk from coles is going to be expensive than farmer because that's wholesale. I think you have misread my comment. I said mechanic (WITH HIS SO CALLED DISCOUNTED MECHANIC PRICE) charges more for a part than what it was retailing (FOR GENERAL PUBLIC) at the shop he bought from. that shop was also only 3 mins drive from mechanic, so dont tell me delivery cost is $20, and furthermore generally these mechanics have agreements with these suppliers of getting delivery daily/ monthly etc. (and they generally do not get charged that much may be $5 MAX for may be like 30 customers orders.

          AND me definitely not going to a mechanic anytime soon. You choosing to call it "capitalism 101" is BS, sh*t that mechanics say is ABSOLUTELY needed, stuff like car will die if not done this … Mechanics are a full on SCAMMERS.

          I also absolutely hate those mechanics who overfill car coolant after service or coolant change or thermostat change. This causes over-pressuring in radiation and broken parts etc. i literally always have to remove coolant every time after service after every different mechanic ends up over filling it.

          • 

            pegaxs on 12/09/2021 - 21:43

            @USER DC:

            No this is called SCAMMING/RIPPING/FRAUDING customers.

            No. Buying a part at wholesale/trade price and selling it for retail is none of these things. Almost everything you buy has a markup on it. Bread, milk, fruit, computers, phones and…. *drum roll* "car parts/accessories/consumables." It's how commerce works.

            So, It's ok for The Good Guys to sell you a washing machine for a $300 markup on their buy price, but it's a scam when a mechanic sells you a filter for $28 that they bought for $19? (The rest of this paragraph is irrelevant bullshit, as it was not what the initial conversation was about.)

            regarding McDonald's…

            What?? I was using "McDonald's" as an example of a company that upsells stuff you don't need that people usally don't mind. You were so upset about mechanics "upselling" and I was trying to determine if it's just mechanics upselling, or it it was anyone upselling that upsets you so much.

            As for the rest of that paragraph, I don't know where the (fropanity) you came up with that other "they don't take your food" example from or how it is even relevant…

            The fact that you get customers brining in same oil and parts that you would have used anyway

            That fact is they paid more for their parts than what we would have charged them OR as I said, they bring in Coles brand oil and a Cheng Shen Flower Brand oil filter because they are absolute tight arses. (The same types that buy $40 Groupon car service vouchers and then complain about getting shit parts, upselling and poor service.)

            like not letting them know what oil you will use on car,

            And all the parts we use are itemised on customer's invoices, including the brand of oil, the grade and the viscosity… (We even have big signs in our shop to let people know who we buy our oil off) And I don't know (or care) what the rest of that paragraph was about…

            Of course milk from coles is going to be expensive than farmer because that's wholesale.

            OH!! So it is ok if Coles does it… Just not your local mechanic… Do you have a more comprehensive list of companies who are allowed to buy things and sell them for a profit and which ones are not? So far I have Coles, ok. Mechanics, not ok.

            Mechanics are a full on SCAMMERS.

            You watch too much tin foil hat bullshit on YouTube and Today/Tonight or ACA. If one mechanic rips you off, you met an idiot. If every mechanic rips you off… well… maybe you're the bunny at the table…

            hate those mechanics who overfill car coolant… This causes over-pressuring in radiation and broken parts etc.

            LOL… No, it doesn't. You obviously have no idea on how cooling systems work.

            AND me definitely not going to a mechanic anytime soon.

            As a mechanic, I can safely say, when people like you decide to service your own car, we breath a collective sigh of relief. :)

            • 

              USER DC on 13/09/2021 - 01:16

              @pegaxs: Mechanics are scammers because they
              either charge you for work that they didn't do or make your good parts dirty (by replacing or touching it with dirty stuff) or doing things wrong or in incorrect way with cars.

              LOL… No, it doesn't. You obviously have no idea on how cooling systems work.

              You have idea ? If so go ahead and top up your existing coolant reservoir 2 mL below the closing cap (aka way above the maximum line). — And if this doesn't overpressures your cooling system what else does it do? pee from tailgate? No ofcourse not it causes leak in the weakest spot in the cooling system.

              Personal experience speaks WAY more than 1 or even million dudes on internet.

              As a car owner, I am way glad to not be going to mechanic like you. (who says this stuff like either charge you for work that they didn't do or make your good parts dirty (by replacing or touching it with dirty stuff) or doing things wrong or in incorrect way with cars, in addition to telling customers they need new expensive parts on cars urgently (costing at least $100, and when it's not needed at all) is not a scam/rip of rather capitalism 101)

              • 

                pegaxs on 13/09/2021 - 10:47

                +1

                @USER DC:

                aLL mEcHaNiCz aRe ScAmMeRz

                Ok, champ. :D

                top up your existing coolant reservoir…

                It would pressurise and overflow. It doesn’t over pressurise, this is because the system has relief valves built into it to release over pressure. So, basically, yes, if it was over filled, the worst it would do would be to “pee from the tailgate” until the level was contained in the system.

                Personal experience speaks WAY more…

                Correct. I work on cars every day. I deal with suppliers, every day. I deal with customers, you got it, every day… you service your car what, once or twice a year? So, who’s personal experience with vehicles is worth more?

                glad to not be going to mechanic like you…

                Yeah, we don’t service shitboxs, so you wouldn’t be bringing them to us.

                Also, we don’t offer $40 Groupon services. A: because we don’t need to, and B: because it usually brings in the worst of the worst customers who bring in their 20yo shit boxes that haven’t been serviced or looked after for the last 15 years, and when we tell them there are things wrong with the car, because it is basically a death trap, it’s “aLL YoUsE mEcHaNiCz aRe ScAmMeRz!!”

        • 

          CMH on 12/09/2021 - 23:28

          @pegaxs:

          You think because I buy my oil in 44 gallon drums makes it worse than your oil in 5l bottles? And dino shit? If I gave you two samples of oil, one "dino shit" and one "full synthetic", you could not pick the difference. (I do this quite often with my "i OnLy uSe FuLL SyNtHeTiC OiLz" customers…)

          I could give you an X-ray and a CAT scan and you wouldn't know the difference neither. Just because the user doesn't know the difference doesn't mean they're the same.

          And I really do hope you're not telling people you're using "full synthetic" when you're putting in "dino shit"…

      • 

        spackbace on 12/09/2021 - 10:43

        +1

         I was one of those person who would shop @ groupons for cheap car services

        Yet you're shocked when they try to up sell? No shit, it's because you went out and found the cheapest shittiest mechanic 😂

        If you pick a mechanic from Groupon then you must own a beater of a car

        • 

          pegaxs on 12/09/2021 - 13:17

          +2

          @spackbace:

          you must own a beater of a car

          Doesn’t get more “beater” than early 2000’s Barina and Vectras…

    • 

      nubzy on 12/09/2021 - 10:42

      If I brought my Peugeot or Citroen to a local mechanic could they get Total brand oil for it?

      • 

        pegaxs on 12/09/2021 - 13:15

        +1

        Probably. There are Total distributors in each state. Shouldn’t be that hard to find. But, you would have to pay a premium for the privilege of using Total over whatever brand the shop uses (unless Total is their supplier.)

        If you wanted to use a particular brand of oil, you would be better calling the mechanic you want to use and ask them if they can supply the oil you want, or if not, is it ok for you to supply your own.

        We don’t have a problem with customers supplying their own oils and we note it on the invoice that the customer supplied their own oils. So if/when it blows up down the track becuse of the oil, we can wipe our hands of it.

• 

  M8y on 12/09/2021 - 02:31

  +7

  Since you seem to probably enjoy doing these maintenance tasks, why not just take the opportunity for some mental relief and do it anyway. Everything to gain, and nothing to lose. It can only mean your car will be in a primo state when we're out of lockdown and you can take it for a spin again.

  • 

    andrek on 12/09/2021 - 08:40

    +1

    You really sound like that inner voice which tells me every morning that I need to get up and run those 3km and do some exercises. You know, the voice I try to argue with and tell it there are "valid" reasons not to do that! ;)

    Yeah, good point, mate! Good mental exercise anyway to do the service.

• 

  Euphemistic on 12/09/2021 - 06:06

  I service my own old cars by kms. Mainly because it’s easy to keep track of. I don’t believe it does any harm unless you are stretching it to well over a year.

  (I’m not a trained mechanic and have no evidence to back up my experience other than owning quite a few older cars)

  • 

    elgrande on 12/09/2021 - 06:40

    (I’m not a trained mechanic and have no evidence to back up my experience other than owning quite a few older cars)

    I was just about to ask for a JP certified transcript!

  • 

    JIMB0 on 12/09/2021 - 08:59

    +1

    If you're adding oil between changes you can go a lot longer than a year.

    • 

      Euphemistic on 12/09/2021 - 12:21

      -1

      If you keep adding oil it’s like a continuous oil change. No need to drop the lot.

• 

  doctordv8 on 12/09/2021 - 10:28

  Change your oil … It is the short trips that destroy the quality of the oils. Oil is still relatively inexpensive.

  Short trips allow only low engine temperatures and creates the killer…condensation.
  This water mixes with enters the oil, and under pressure and various temperatures create an acid like contaminant.

  But the good news, run a decent time period(variable of course) and the condensation and contaminant henceforth is to a high degree eliminated. This time requirement is shorter now when newer with modern engines, tighter tolerances and quality oils, but as engines age/wear, the need for better maintenance is needed.

  Stop/start, lugging, all low speed, all high speed, over loading, excessive idling etc etc etc all have their bugs towards maintenance issues as well.

  I have another new business paid for vehicle now last near 4 years… and only 4 tanks of fuel in my private vehicle, but serviced as per schedule regardless.

  The schedule is created for a reason, and many many reasons are completely unknown and or ignored by untrained home (good on yer') do it yourselfers.

  I hope this helps you. Which reminds me, I gotta get it out and blow the cobwebs out again.

  • 

    Euphemistic on 12/09/2021 - 12:26

    It is the short trips that destroy the quality of the oils.

    If you are doing the same trips as normal, but less frequently does it hurt to wait for kms to rack up rather than time? Eg normally do work daily, shopping once a week and a couple of trips with kids sport but covid drops that because no commuting. So same length trips but only driving 2 days per week?

    • 

      USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 19:59

      yeah it's mostly related to how many cold starts you do, and how frequently the engine reaches highway speeds, (high RPM's and temperatures, that removes condensation, fuel etc blow-bys.

• 

  andrek on 12/09/2021 - 16:54

  +1

  … and guess what I spent my Sunday afternoon on! Once I started it again, the grandma sounded like she appreciated new oil, oil filter and air filter. The old oil looked horrible, good that I changed it!

  • 

    Euphemistic on 12/09/2021 - 18:50

    Go and drop the oil again after a week or two and see how horrible it looks. You might be surprised how quickly it ‘looks ‘ bad.

  • 

    USER DC on 12/09/2021 - 19:57

    dont go just by the color of oil, oil's color is not really a true indicator of the oil's condition. Black color just comes naturally, being in engine, oxidizing, and just removing contaminants.

    A better indicator is smell, and oil levels monitoring, and regular inspections (e.g. I see my barina's oil level go up because of fuel dilution every couple months etc.)

    • 

      Euphemistic on 13/09/2021 - 08:12

      That’s my point. Can’t tell by the look of it.

• 

  donedeed on 13/09/2021 - 11:46

  Speaking of DIY maintenace, how to you keep a log book of it?
  Do you just complete it yourself in the log book of the car?
  And what about when it comes time to selling the car?

  • 

    Euphemistic on 13/09/2021 - 12:17

    +1

    If you DIY you can put it in a log book, but it doesn’t mean anything.

    Typically by the time a car has got DIY servicing the buyer is looking at the overall condition rather than the sticky pages in the glovebox. The only cars I’ve bought with a verifiable service history have been in warranty. There’s plenty like me hat do the same.

  • 

    JIMB0 on 14/09/2021 - 11:25

    I fill it out myself. The wrecking yard won't pay any extra if a mechanic filled it out.

  • 

    andrek on 15/09/2021 - 07:04

    I put notes in service book about what I did and what parts I used. I also have Simple Auto app where I track all car expenses and service so I make a record there as well. The records are mostly for me, so I can track what was done and what I need to change next and when.

• 

  mrhugo on 23/09/2021 - 21:05

  If you want to keep your car for the long haul, service it based on the log book, kms or months, whatever comes first.

  Manufacturers go to great lengths to get their engines reliable and as fuel efficient as possible. Motor oil is the last layer of defence to stop metal on metal contact.

  You will hear people recommending oil changes more frequently then what the manufacturer recommends, and that's fine. But you got to be pretty brave to delay oil changes.

  Just go with the log book says, no one here knows your engine better then the people that designed, built and support it.