oil change

[GrahamDerby]

Hi all

As money is getting tight i thought about changing the oil and filter myself to save a few bob , well its not quite a few bob nowdays the price garages charge us for some grease monkey to drop the oil, not rocket science is it .

My question is , its an automatic and i check engine oil and gearbox ATF, do i have to change the gearbox oil as well as the engine ?.

cheers

 

[Phillipcharnwoodforest]

not quite such a grease monkey as you is he, he knows how to do it, you don't.

 

[Entwood]

Without trying to be rude .. if you don't know you shouldn't really be doing it !!!

I do most of my own servicing, and have been doing so for 40 odd years, but I spent most of my childhood taking things apart I'm told !!

At a MINIMUM get a "Haynes" manual for your vehicle - they are not brilliant but better than guesswork !!

Every vehicle/engine is different in what it needs and how it is done ....

Some vehicles .. like mine .. the auto gearbox is supposedly "sealed for life" .. but I changed the ATF at 80000 as a precaution .. not the easiest job as there is no drain plug ..

Engine oil/filter changes are done every 5000 miles as IMHO it is easily the best thing you can do for your engines continued good health.. takes me about an hour.

If in doubt ... either do a LOT of research/reading .. or pay someone else to do it.

FINALLY, AND THE CAPS LOCK IS DELIBERATE, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR CAR ON JUST A JACK.

You give the impression you haven't done this before, so I suspect you may not have all the tools.. including axle stands or ramps.

THEY ARE ESSENTIAL

I have buried one friend who worked under a car on just a jack, I'd hate to hear of another such incident on the forum.

 

[GrahamDerby]

Without trying to be rude .. if you don't know you shouldn't really be doing it !!!

I do most of my own servicing, and have been doing so for 40 odd years, but I spent most of my childhood taking things apart I'm told !!

At a MINIMUM get a "Haynes" manual for your vehicle - they are not brilliant but better than guesswork !!

Every vehicle/engine is different in what it needs and how it is done ....

Some vehicles .. like mine .. the auto gearbox is supposedly "sealed for life" .. but I changed the ATF at 80000 as a precaution .. not the easiest job as there is no drain plug ..

Engine oil/filter changes are done every 5000 miles as IMHO it is easily the best thing you can do for your engines continued good health.. takes me about an hour.

If in doubt ... either do a LOT of research/reading .. or pay someone else to do it.

FINALLY, AND THE CAPS LOCK IS DELIBERATE, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR CAR ON JUST A JACK.

You give the impression you haven't done this before, so I suspect you may not have all the tools.. including axle stands or ramps.

THEY ARE ESSENTIAL

I have buried one friend who worked under a car on just a jack, I'd hate to hear of another such incident on the forum.

cheers , i have worked a lot on motors, even rebuilt a Reliant Robin but never had automatic before, hence the question. The motor is a Pajero 3.2 2000.and i dont know if a manual is available.

 

[GrahamDerby]

not quite such a grease monkey as you is he, he knows how to do it, you don't.

over the last 40 years i have done most of my own service and repairs , so i do have all the tools to do the jobs , but i have never worked on an auto before, and as for grease monkey , the garages charge top price then get a apprentice on min wage to do that sort of thing, rip off

 

[Lutz]

Without trying to be rude .. if you don't know you shouldn't really be doing it !!!

I do most of my own servicing, and have been doing so for 40 odd years, but I spent most of my childhood taking things apart I'm told !!

At a MINIMUM get a "Haynes" manual for your vehicle - they are not brilliant but better than guesswork !!

Every vehicle/engine is different in what it needs and how it is done ....

Some vehicles .. like mine .. the auto gearbox is supposedly "sealed for life" .. but I changed the ATF at 80000 as a precaution .. not the easiest job as there is no drain plug ..

Engine oil/filter changes are done every 5000 miles as IMHO it is easily the best thing you can do for your engines continued good health.. takes me about an hour.

If in doubt ... either do a LOT of research/reading .. or pay someone else to do it.

FINALLY, AND THE CAPS LOCK IS DELIBERATE, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR CAR ON JUST A JACK.

You give the impression you haven't done this before, so I suspect you may not have all the tools.. including axle stands or ramps.

THEY ARE ESSENTIAL

I have buried one friend who worked under a car on just a jack, I'd hate to hear of another such incident on the forum.

Surely you should find the answer to your question, in the owner's handbook.

 

[Guest]

Automatic transmissions only need the fluid changed about every 70-80000 miles, or as per the service schedule. The fluid should be checked and if it is bright red and does not smell burnt, then it is in good shape. Draining the fluid is relatively easy, it is refilling many of the ATF boxes that causes problems as they are filled through the dipstick hole. The garage has a device for doing this easily.

Changing engine oil and filter is again relatively easy, but ensure the car is high enough to get underneath to the drain plug and probably the filter. You may need a chain type wrench to remove the filter if it is tight as trying to turn it by hand can be difficult. Remember to dispose of the old oil safely at a recycling plant.

The other thing you may need to look at is whether your car has a computerised system and the servicing codes will have to re set.

As mentioned get the manual and read it thoroughly before trying anything. Think about what you plan to do, and always ensure the car is safely on axle stands if you plan on crawling underneath it.

A compromise may be to get an independent garage who will do the work a lot cheaper than a franchise dealer.

 

[GrahamDerby]

Thanks Scotch lad sounds a bit more involved than my 1933 Austin 7 i used to have. I think i will phone around and get an indipendant quote

Cheers

 

[Sproket]

Read some of these threads as to what is required to do the job properly.

Link to Pajero owners club - auto oil change

 

[Steve L]

Hi Graham.

You are right to question the validity of charges made by garages.

First step i would suggest is to invest in a haynes manual for your vehicle assuming that it is covered by them. Haynes are not bullet proof as to being totally accurate but they do get 99.9% of the job description right. Like any mechanic, they are at the mercey of model changes etc.

I change the oil twice a year in my Laguna petrol estate, I do it March and at the end of September. That way the engine get's nice new oil when it is likely to be used in the harshest conditions. Summer caravanning and winter.

Gearbox oil usually only needs topping up at oil change for the engine until the vehicle has about 60 to 70 thousand miles under it's belt. Again your haynes manual will adequately detail how to do it.

I'm sure some techie out here will try their best to baffle you with specifications and techniques, but I've kept my description "simples" to encourage you to be more self reliant. It is good to see that people want to learn about the vehicle they drive and the best way to do that is to do manageable maintainence.

I am a competent qualified engineer and am quite capable of a full engine re build etc, but even I leave some bits to the garage. For example , my daughter's Megane failed the mot on the brake load valve. As the brake pipes were rusty and we are living on a campsite in our caravan, roadside repair was impractical. So I talked to the garage owner and agreed he would charge by the minit to keep costs down for her as she is a student. He fitted the valve and bled the brakes etc for

 

[Paul_5064559]

All of this re-inforces the need when buying second hand to ensure that you have a full service history with bono-fide garage stamps before parting with your cash!!!!!

 

[Steve L]

Paul.

I've been looking for over a year to find a replacement for my Laguna estate. I wanted the same basic car but preferably a 2000 reg as that was the last year my modle was produced and the Laguna 2 is not reliable at all. Getting a complete service

history these days is very rare. Even garages don't stamp the books.

I got so fed up looking at junkyard dogs that I've decided to keep my personally serviced 195'000 mile car as it's better the devil you know than the wolf in sheep's clothing with a dodgy history.

Steve L.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

If you go to reputable motor factor for the oils he will tell you from his book/screen what grades you need

 

[SteveW77]

I am a competent qualified engineer and am quite capable of a full engine re build etc,

I have worked on some vehicles that have had qualified engineers look after them, believe me they can be a darn sight worse than those that have had the local whizz kid working on them. When I took my City & Guilds course in the early sixties, I had to learn general engineering principles and skills like machining and gas & electric welding, hydralics & pneumatics. However, I would not like to try and build an aeroplane.

My Father was one of the best Tool & Die makers I have ever met, but as for cars, he was a complete numpty.

Steve W

 

[GrahamDerby]

Read some of these threads as to what is required to do the job properly.

Link to Pajero owners club - auto oil change

Good idea Sproket , i will give that a go

 

[xtrailman]

Changing your own oil saves very little money, buying the oil and filter, along with the copper sump washer, crawling under the car (i have no pit at this house), to me its a young mans game.

i always changed my own oil in the distance past, but today with the special oils some models require, the financial saving is very little.

 

[Guest]

Being of an elderly nature I agree with Ray. I used to do all my own work, but the thought of crawling under a car nowadays does leave me unimpressed. Plus you have to then dispose of the old oil etc, and I just cannot be bothered.

Also Graham mentioned he had an automatic, and that is a bit different from a manual gearbox. Cleanliness of the fluid is essential if it is all to work correctly and again, I paid the cash and had a coffee while somebody else did the 'dirty work'.

I was advised by Volvo that my car has 17 computer systems, and I would not know where to start with that. Working on my old Mini was dead easy compared.

 

[Steve L]

Now then Steve W.

I did state that as that is what I am, competent at a variety of skill sets. Some people find it hard to adapt skills to differing situations.

I wouldn't expect a solicitor to be able to strip an engine and replace con rods, or be able to seat valves in by hand. But there are people who have hobbies that are as different as chal & cheese from their day job.

My sister-in-law serviced their car and did all the repairs while her husband did the household chores and cooking. He was an ex ambulance man and a driving instructor. But as for driving a car himself, he had no idea about best use of engine torque.

If people want to learn about car care and do some work for themselves, then I'm all for it and would encourage attempts to be self sufficient.

I agree that with modern cars, the computer technology is daunting and best left to a franchise garage in that instance.

Steve L.

 

[SteveW77]

Hi Steve L.

I have no problem with people wanting to learn. The problem comes with those that teach. Are they qualified in the right disciplines? Have they any hands on experience? There used to be an old saying, "Those that can do and those that can't teach". A good mechanic does not always make a good teacher and a teacher does not always make a good mechanic.

As a motor vehicle is the most lethal piece of machinery that the average person ever comes across, I just feel that a certain degree of professionalism is required to do a proper job so as not to put themselves or Joe public at risk.

Steve W