Originally Posted By jonvn And he charged himself $29. What a dork, I bet he could have gotten it way cheaper. Or for way more. Depending on what side he wanted to be.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< And he charged himself $29. What a dork, I bet he could have gotten it way cheaper. Or for way more. Depending on what side he wanted to be. >>> You know what he should have done? He should have purposefully taken more than 30 minutes to get the job done - then he could have gotten the next one for free.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut did jon make a funny? wow, mark this day in history. It only cost me $29 in parts using my "professional" discount. Well technically my dads discount. and it took me way less than 30 minutes. I was able to get all the others stuff done while the oil was draining. Well accept for the radiator flush. I think basic car maintenance such as an oil change, air filter change and spark plugs should be on everyones list of car maintenance. Unless of course you do not have the space to do it. (such as apartment living) really all you need is a wrench or 2 and maybe a screwdriver based on what you plan on doing.
Originally Posted By Ursula peeaanuut, you'd be so proud of me. I changed my own air filter. They wanted something way too high to do it at Not-So-Jiffy-Lube so I went to an auto parts store, asked he gal there what kind I needed, broke out the manual, and changed it myself! (Of course I also changed my own headlight when it blew and mistakenly changed the high-beam one instead. The manual REALLY needs to have another version written for women as it just assumed I knew which was which. And I credit my chief engineer at work for realizing my mistake and NOT laughing at me.) How hard are the spark plugs and when do you need to change them?
Originally Posted By SuperDry One reason to not do your own oil changes is what to do with the used oil. It's a pain to dispose of properly.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut superdry: most auto parts stores will take it for free and most cities will provide you an oil change "kit" for free if you head to city hall. the kit usually includes a catch can/carrier that will hold 5 quarts or more and a sheet of paper to lay on the ground and maybe a universal oil filter wrench. Ursula: Very awesome. Changing spark plugs for me is a little bit different as I tend to drive my cars a bit harder. But you should get a manual that shows you how to check the condition of them. Its a visual thing. Alot of cars might not actually have spark plug wires now a days so they are a little bit harder to find. But you should inspect them at 2500, 5000 and 10000 miles. YOu should change them with all major tuneups (which now depends on the car). Most owners manuals will include a checklist of what should be done at each maintenance point. However, car maintenance is very subjective. It depends on how your car is running, how you drive the car and the environment in which you drive the car. Things like oil changes they try to put a mile rating on but it can really depend. Most automotive engineers will tell you to change your oil when 1 of 2 thing has happened. 1. You burn a quart (go from high point on dipstick to low point on dipstick) 2. The oil color has changed by 50%. Now either of those things can happen at various points. I usually drive my cars pretty hard and end up having to change my oil every 1500 miles or so. But someone who is easy on a car could go 5-6k miles without needing an oil change. Which is why you should check your oil at least every other fill-up. Personally, Jayna gets an oil change every 10000 miles because she drives her car so gently and we have always maintained it properly. OK, stepping off soapbox now.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>I usually drive my cars pretty hard and end up having to change my oil every 1500 miles or so.<<< Wow, do you run it in the Daytona 500? I can't imagine any condition that would make you need to change your oil every 1500 miles no matter how hard you drive your car on the highway. It's the viscosity in the oil that weakens over time and use. Todays highly efficient engines are pretty oil friendly. The temperatures are usually low enough and the tolerances close enough that the oil doesn't get as contaminated as it used to. Places like Jiffy Lube and the like, push to have you change it every 3000 miles regardless of what your owners manual says. In reality it is far more important to change your oil filter more often and at every oil change, at least. My owners manual says every 7000 miles. I don't go that long but it usually is at least 6000 miles. I have always had a rule of thumb when it came to car repair and maintanence...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Do what the manufacturer recommends and let it go. I have never had a car that I put less than 150K on and have never had any problems. Never broken down on the highway or had serious engine or transmission problems. I do go to Jiffy Lube occasionally but there is a word in our language that I use a lot when I am there...that word is "No"! Followed by, just do what I asked for, I'll let you know when I want extras done.
Originally Posted By Mr X Peeaanuut, I just gotta say dude, you are an extremely knowledgeable guy in your fields of expertise/interest. I've learned a lot from you about electronics, and now automotive maintenence! (I wish you'd dump the SPYDERS and get into the stock market for real, it'd be fun to chat with you about it lol)
Originally Posted By peeaanuut <<Wow, do you run it in the Daytona 500? I can't imagine any condition that would make you need to change your oil every 1500 miles no matter how hard you drive your car on the highway.>> I drive a 12 year old cheap japanese car with over 200,000 miles on it that was poorly maintained before I got it. Combine that with the way that I drive and you get hard on motor heavy maintenance. <<(I wish you'd dump the SPYDERS and get into the stock market for real, it'd be fun to chat with you about it lol)>> Oh, only if I had the time and the money. I have a very limited amount of cash, especially with the wedding coming up, to put out for investment. While it may be slow and tedious, all of my spyders have made money and continue to climb.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<How hard are the spark plugs and when do you need to change them?>> The actually procedure to change out spark plugs is pretty straightfoward. The problem on a lot of newer cars is trying to figure out how to access them. A model-specific repair manual with good photos would help immensely.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut and I would stay away from the Chiltons style manuals if you can. Try to find the factory repair manual on e-bay or some other website. Most of them come on CD now. If you have a Honda, I have access to just about every make that they have so let me know and I will see if I can find one for you.
