Learning More DIY Car Maintenance Skills

• 

  QW3RTY on 26/04/2018 - 13:30

  +11

  ChrisFix on YouTube is one of the better DIY channels in my opinion.
  He covers a lot of the stuff you've mentioned above.

  Have a crack yourself, I reckon.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 26/04/2018 - 13:58

  Precision torque wrench.

  Jack and stands

  Funnels

  Save your engine oil bottles. You need it to dispose old oil

  Magnetic lantern/torch

  Safety glasses

  Old magnets and a metal dish (holds your screws etc)

  Multimeter.

• 

  garffi on 26/04/2018 - 14:28

  +1

  Try to find a forum for your car where people may post write-ups/how to's on servicing. Luckily for my car, there's a big American community that always posts step by step instructions on most of the DIY services. Youtube is good for watching a few videos to get an idea of what to do if you can't find anything specific to your car. I've so far done everything you've listed apart from anything to do with the brakes. It's generally quite straightforward, the only problem I've had is removing the bolts (weak arms lol).

  Also, maybe check out Haynes Car Manual specific to your car.

• 

  Euphemistic on 26/04/2018 - 16:29

  What they said ^^^ It really helps if you have some mechanical aptitude, which, if you have already done basic servicing you are part way there.

  Youtube. But don't rely on one video to learn it all. Once you've got the basic idea head to a vehicle specific forum for better details. Proper research is key. I've enjoyed mightycarmods, but it's more about upgrades than servicing.

  Buy tools as you need them, (but before you pull the car apart). Otherwise you might not ever actually use the tool. Invest in decent car stands.

  Know when to call it quits - Don't get outside your comfort zone too much first off. If you get over your head, be prepared to pay a mechanic to fix your stuff ups.

  I've learnt gradually. From the good old days with a Haynes manual with text and photos (and a mechanically minded dad) to more current youtube vids and detailed forum posts. The more you do the more you learn and the more you can do.

• 

  jasonlv87 on 26/04/2018 - 16:45

  Something that really helped me was buying a bomb I didn't care about to work on instead of working on my daily, and just pulling the thing apart and putting it back together. That way it didn't matter so much if I broke something and really helped with my confidence. If something major needed to be done on the daily driver that I wasn't sure about, I did it to the old bomb first to give me an idea of what I'd be in for. In the end that undrivable bomb turned into a good reliable car that I eventually sold.
  Things I would suggest:
  Multimeter
  Garage creeper.
  Jack stands.
  A good trolley jack.
  Service manuals (you should be able to find one online for your car).
  Breaker bar.
  A cheap scan tool (I only have an ELM OBD bluetooth dongle linked up to 'Torque Pro' on my android phone, but there are plenty of cheap stand alone OBD scanners out there aswell).
  Look around for DIY forums for your car. Some of them have very well written guides for complicated jobs.

• 

  slknv on 26/04/2018 - 17:41

  So you've already got some basic mechanical skills, that you've mentioned is really not much more difficult than what you're already doing. eg transmission oil: Locate the fill plug and drain plug - and ALWAYS undo the fill plug before the drain plug! You don't want to drain any fluid before making sure you have the ability to top it up! Diff oil - change is pretty much the same as for trans oil, locate fill and drain plugs. Buy a cheap hand operated pump to fill up.

  Most things I manage to handle with my car up on ramps, managed to change out a dump pipe and full exhaust on my back (a bit messy and not much room, but doable without a hoist). Every other thing you've mentioned I've managed without needing a hoist too.

• 

  salmon123 on 26/04/2018 - 18:21

  1. Lots of problems come down to swap/try/repeat. It can be difficult to swap out parts with DIY …
  2. Look for used tools on gumtree - you'll find lots of stuff at give away prices.

  Precision torque wrench.

  All torque wrenchs go out of whack over time. Learn how to calibrate one.

  • 

    Euphemistic on 26/04/2018 - 21:33

    -1

    Having wrenched in cars and stuff for years, you can live without a torque wrench. I reckon there are only a few bolts that need to be torqued correctly on a car. Most of them can just be done up ‘tight enoigh’

    • 

      salmon123 on 26/04/2018 - 21:43

      -1

      Yeah - I agree with this in general. Most torque wrenches are out of whack anyway.

• 

  JOCKz on 26/04/2018 - 19:16

  +1

  Buy tools as you need them. General rule is if you have to borrow twice, you buy. Transmission fluid and diff oils can be done without a hoist. The car has to be on a level surface though.

• 

  Toph Beifong on 26/04/2018 - 19:29

  If you do start jacking up the car, always remember; safety first!

• 

  team teri on 27/04/2018 - 10:46

  Thanks everyone for all the encouragement :-) The safety tips are appreciated too.

  Now this wouldn't be OzBaragin if I didn't have another question: it seems that transmission and diff oils aren't on special anywhere as frequently as engine oils. What to do, wait for a 20% or 25% off storewide in one of the usual shops and get them then or can I do better?

  • 

    m0tyrider on 28/04/2018 - 22:05

    They do go on special. Just nowhere near as frequent. WAit for a special if you can, even then its rare to save 50% like on some oils.

    that said, a Torque wrench is a must as you start doing more advanced servicing.

    I started out similar to you, now I consider myself much more competent then the average mechanic.

    If you have the room, invest in a hoist or some way to lift the car to a decent height. If you can work comfortabley its half the battle.

    XP - Rebuilt three engines, purchased countless amounts of tools, home workshop now with a 2 post lift.

• 

  Cartman2530 on 27/04/2018 - 15:48

  I would recommend buying the minimum amount of tools needed to do the job, ie oil change, you won't need a torque wrench for that.
  A simple jack, stands, socket set , drain pan and funnel should be sufficient.

  As you get more confident over time and start moving to other things like changing brakes/suspension components where you WILL need a torque wrench for doing up the bolts on those, buy one then. Buy the tools that you need, when you need them, not before.

  I've changed transmissions and pretty much done most mechanical work under the car simply with a set of jack stands, so get good ones, no hoist required.

  A cheap multimeter can also be very useful in troubleshooting.