# Car maintenance  DIY



## Andy7891 (Nov 23, 2020)

I just changed my transmission fluid on my sealed transmission (no dipstick). I’m not too mechanically apt, at all, but I like saving time and money, and I like knowing how my car works so I’m not not totally at the mercy of a stranger who is working on my car. I still need to change the transmission filter and I’ll probably flush it too. I just did two drain and fills. Anyway, thought I’d share this with this wonderful supportive and cool forum. I’m still soapin too.


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## earlene (Nov 23, 2020)

Good job, *Andy.*


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## KimW (Nov 23, 2020)

Nicely, done.


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## Andy7891 (Nov 23, 2020)

earlene said:


> Good job, *Andy.*





KimW said:


> Nicely, done.


Thank you guys.


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## Arimara (Nov 29, 2020)

I know longer have a car and even when I did, I wasn't doing anythng more than changing my windshield wipers.


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## Mobjack Bay (Nov 29, 2020)

Andy7891 said:


> I just changed my transmission fluid on my sealed transmission (no dipstick). I’m not too mechanically apt, at all, but I like saving time and money, and I like knowing how my car works so I’m not not totally at the mercy of a stranger who is working on my car. I still need to change the transmission filter and I’ll probably flush it too. I just did two drain and fills. Anyway, thought I’d share this with this wonderful supportive and cool forum. I’m still soapin too.


Sounds like fun and it’s so good to know how to do it yourself.  When I bought my first car, I took a car maintenance class through the local high school.  It was great to be able to change my own oil, check and add fluids and change the wiper blades.  I think I also learned how to fiddle with the choke. That was back when cars were not so complicated. Most of what I learned also came in handy for keeping my lawnmower running!


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## violets2217 (Nov 29, 2020)

Arimara said:


> I wasn't doing anythng more than changing my windshield wipers.


I can't even do that...I ask the guy at the Auto part store to put my wipers on!    I think I may have changed a headlight bulb and a rear break light bulb once or twice.


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## shunt2011 (Nov 30, 2020)

Awesome job.  I can change my oil though I’d prefer not to have to do it.  I also learned how to do brakes many moons ago. Could I do it now, nope. Just had to pay to have them done a few months ago and it sucked


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## TheGecko (Nov 30, 2020)

I know how to do a lot of things, just prefer to pay someone else do it.


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## Andy7891 (Nov 30, 2020)

Arimara said:


> I know longer have a car and even when I did, I wasn't doing anythng more than changing my windshield wipers.


I got rid of my car about 8 years ago and didn't get another one until about 5 years ago. I did it rather spontaneously. I am a minimalist so I enjoyed the simplicity of bike/public transit travel. I have actually never changed my windshield wipers- I've just had the car inspection people do it because they're usually needin to be replaced come inspection time. 


Mobjack Bay said:


> Sounds like fun and it’s so good to know how to do it yourself.  When I bought my first car, I took a car maintenance class through the local high school.  It was great to be able to change my own oil, check and add fluids and change the wiper blades.  I think I also learned how to fiddle with the choke. That was back when cars were not so complicated. Most of what I learned also came in handy for keeping my lawnmower running!


that's awesome. A lot of devices run off of the internal combustion engine. It's probably a great idea to understand how pistons and carburetors and such work! 


violets2217 said:


> I can't even do that...I ask the guy at the Auto part store to put my wipers on!    I think I may have changed a headlight bulb and a rear break light bulb once or twice.


I don't think I've ever changed a headlight bulb but I bet it'll be coming up soon! 


shunt2011 said:


> Awesome job.  I can change my oil though I’d prefer not to have to do it.  I also learned how to do brakes many moons ago. Could I do it now, nope. Just had to pay to have them done a few months ago and it sucked


I tried doing my brakes once and I forget now how I resolved it but I know my car was sitting in my apartment parking lot for a couple weeks with no brakes because I didn't know what to do! I'm good about doing thorough research now. I may actually need to disassemble my drum brakes in the back because I went in for a free tire rotation a month ago, they cross threaded the lug nut, had to take it down the road for someone else to fix that, and in the process they messed up my hub assembly. Se la vie or whatever haha. 


TheGecko said:


> I know how to do a lot of things, just prefer to pay someone else do it.


I'm learning how to do stuff- mainly because I want to save my money for emergencies. I think if I could have any car I wanted it may be an EV (electronic vehicle) because there's less maintenance but I really don't know that for sure. Somethings in life I'm happy to fork over money for, but I think after inspection, registration, the cost of buying the car, gas, insurance, etc., I'm just tired of throwing money at this car. You may want to practice those skills every now and then! Use it or you lose it! lol cheers


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## Catscankim (Nov 30, 2020)

I can do my wiper blades, add oil, add washer fluid, and change bulbs lol. But with the amt of driving i do every day to work, i need to get new tires frequently, so i normally get that all done then while i am there. Which reminds me, i need to get my tires checked lol. Except the washer fluid, i need that often with the bugs here.


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## Andy7891 (Nov 30, 2020)

Catscankim said:


> I can do my wiper blades, add oil, add washer fluid, and change bulbs lol. But with the amt of driving i do every day to work, i need to get new tires frequently, so i normally get that all done then while i am there. Which reminds me, i need to get my tires checked lol. Except the washer fluid, i need that often with the bugs here.


I bet that's more maintenance than some are willing to do! Happy driving- hope you have some good podcasts or tunes to entertain you while you drive! I have about a 13 mile drive each way to my job so not too bad. I'm trying to get better about rotating my tires.


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## Obsidian (Nov 30, 2020)

I can rebuild a carburetor, change a timing belt or just about any other engine repair but can't change a wiper blade, lol.


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## AliOop (Nov 30, 2020)

Andy7891 said:


> I'm learning how to do stuff- mainly because I want to save my money for emergencies. I think if I could have any car I wanted it may be an EV (electronic vehicle) because there's less maintenance but I really don't know that for sure.


Less maintenance until you need to buy new batteries for it, at which point you will spend thousands (ask me how I know). And from what I've read, the carbon footprint and toxic waste involved with making new EV batteries, and then disposing of old EV batteries, rivals the creation and use of fossil fuels. We need better options!


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## Andy7891 (Dec 1, 2020)

Obsidian said:


> I can rebuild a carburetor, change a timing belt or just about any other engine repair but can't change a wiper blade, lol.


Wow! You are inspiring to not be too intimidated by my car maintenance ideas. YouTube is really helpful in that regard too. Spark plugs is comin up for me. But I had someone help me do those on my last car so I knows it’s possible. 


AliOop said:


> Less maintenance until you need to buy new batteries for it, at which point you will spend thousands (ask me how I know). And from what I've read, the carbon footprint and toxic waste involved with making new EV batteries, and then disposing of old EV batteries, rivals the creation and use of fossil fuels. We need better options!


Totally agree- I’ve never been satisfied with the rationale for switching to EV because of the mining of materials and then you have to deposit them somewhere when they die. We all need to learn some lessons from the Amish maybe? But I’m totally out of my element. All I know is that horses are green technology!!


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## Obsidian (Dec 1, 2020)

Andy7891 said:


> Wow! You are inspiring to not be too intimidated by my car maintenance ideas. YouTube is really helpful in that regard too. Spark plugs is comin up for me. But I had someone help me do those on my last car so I knows it’s possible.



To be fair, its older cars I worked on when I was younger. The new models have me pretty lost, plus I have a husband to work on the car now lol.

I always enjoyed machanics though and taking things apart. Usually can get them back together too except for the time I pulled apart a automatic transmission, never again.


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## TheGecko (Dec 2, 2020)

Andy7891 said:


> I'm learning how to do stuff- mainly because I want to save my money for emergencies. I think if I could have any car I wanted it may be an EV (electronic vehicle) because there's less maintenance but I really don't know that for sure. Somethings in life I'm happy to fork over money for, but I think after inspection, registration, the cost of buying the car, gas, insurance, etc., I'm just tired of throwing money at this car. You may want to practice those skills every now and then! Use it or you lose it! lol cheers



Ah yes, mining for lithium is so very environmentally friendly.

Problem with 'those skills' is that most of them are moot these days with all the computerized crap in my car. I don't have a carburetor or points, not sure I even have spark plugs or if you even have to set a gap on them. I think there is a starter and an alternator under the hood...not sure where. And I'm quite happy to sit and knit while someone changes my oil...it's worth every dime.

I budget for regular maintenance as opposed to waiting until something goes wrong and then paying more because it's not just ONE thing. I bought a lemon a couple of years ago; physically there wasn't a scratch, dent, tear or worn spot on the whole vehicle. Just needed a new stereo and the A/C recharged...or so I thought. Unfortunately, the previous owner cared more about maintaining the outside...then the inside to the turn of $4500. Stuff was worn out, which in turn wore out other stuff. Two months later I was back in the shop and it was going to cost another $4500. Owner felt so bad about having missed the "real" issue, because he would have advised me to junk it, that he refunded me my previous labor costs. 

As for throwing money...I get that. I LOVED my Tahoe, it was a great truck. But it also had 350,000 miles on it and it was time to let it go.

I now have a 2015 Kia Optima .  It'll probably cost me around $800 for new tires and it's due for it's 60K service...around $500.  So I'll spend $1300 and I won't need tires for another 4 to 5 years and the next big service is 90k...a few years done the road.


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## Andy7891 (Dec 2, 2020)

Obsidian said:


> To be fair, its older cars I worked on when I was younger. The new models have me pretty lost, plus I have a husband to work on the car now lol.
> 
> I always enjoyed machanics though and taking things apart. Usually can get them back together too except for the time I pulled apart a automatic transmission, never again.


I am not one who is mechanically gifted. Very admirable trait to have if you ask me. I'm already thinking ahead about my automatic transmission and what I'm going to do when it fails. Need to get over my fear of taking my car in for repairs haha. I am not surprised about your experience with an automatic transmission. I've seen some videos and they seem quite complicated. That's really cool though that you know and are naturally talented with mechanics. On really old cars if you know a blacksmith I think you can make just about any part you need or something like that. Cheers.


TheGecko said:


> Ah yes, mining for lithium is so very environmentally friendly.
> 
> Problem with 'those skills' is that most of them are moot these days with all the computerized crap in my car. I don't have a carburetor or points, not sure I even have spark plugs or if you even have to set a gap on them. I think there is a starter and an alternator under the hood...not sure where. And I'm quite happy to sit and knit while someone changes my oil...it's worth every dime.
> 
> ...


I'm going to research lithium mining as I'm trying to get a better understanding of EV's. I'm not saying internal combustion engine is great or anything- there are pros and cons to both as we all know. Ouch about that lemon! And 350,000 miles is amazing- you don't hear about that too often. I'll be honest I don't pull in much money at the moment and that is mainly by choice- so I pinch every penny, more or less, and $1000 would be several months of "profit" (income-expenses) for me which is that many more months less of retirement lol. Sorry to get into money (bleh). Cheers.


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## Sheena Lee (Feb 20, 2021)

Good for you Andy!  I have been in the maintenance field for years, aviation not auto.  I can do most things but for some reason I tend to avoid working on my own vehicle.  That of course depends on the budget, if I can do it and money is tight, then I am doing it.  If I can afford to not do it, well then I simply would rather not.


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## Andy7891 (Feb 21, 2021)

Yeah this all started because I was just checking the recommended maintenance schedule in my manual. Tried to rotate my tires, which lead to having to remove a nut without its key, then to the transmission fluid and filter, and I just changed my spark plugs. Wasn’t too confident about the spark plugs but I just got done spending $1,400 on new hub assemblies and struts. Found some rust and burnt oil in the spark plug hole but I hope they’re ok. Now I have a leaking coolant tank but that’s an easy fix, more or less. Been considering an EV just to cut out that gas expense even though my small car gets relatively good gas mileage. I actually got pretty into engine cleaning/detailing. For some reason some of this car stuff strikes my fancy. I prefer to take my car to a mechanic if I’m not comfortable working on it, though. I could add a tow truck expense to the mix if I’m not careful.


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## AliOop (Feb 21, 2021)

After owning an EV, I will say that I was unaware of the eventual expense related to needing to replace the batteries at the cost of about $5k. Talk about sticker shock!

Not to mention that the production of, and eventual disposal of these batteries has a huge environmental impact of its own. I used to be all about EVs but have become disenchanted with them after learning more about this.

It is amazing that we can send people into space but cannot (maybe will not?) come up with a truly environmentally friendly way of powering our transportation.


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## Andy7891 (Feb 21, 2021)

AliOop said:


> After owning an EV, I will say that I was unaware of the eventual expense related to needing to replace the batteries at the cost of about $5k. Talk about sticker shock!
> 
> Not to mention that the production of, and eventual disposal of these batteries has a huge environmental impact of its own. I used to be all about EVs but have become disenchanted with them after learning more about this.
> 
> It is amazing that we can send people into space but cannot (maybe will not?) come up with a truly environmentally friendly way of powering our transportation.



I was listening to Elon Musk on a podcast the other day, (he is the creator of Tesla, the EV company) and his main reason for starting the company is to give us humans a sustainable or renewable source of energy, as oil will run out sometime. Batteries, lithium, etc., will eventually run out too, but he wanted to avoid societal collapse if we all relied on oil and it suddenly disappeared. Not saying I agree with him one way or the other but maybe there is some merit to that train of thought. I’m guessing that us resourceful humans wouldn’t simply “drive off a cliff” so to speak (not prepare for total depletion of oil) but he did it so good on him. He also wants to go to Mars probably for the same reason- to save us as a species, possibly.

Riding a bike or horse or walking is environmentally friendly as heck, or improving mpg or kWh per mile ratios, are things we can do. Let's just hope this species and all the others and can survive and thrive as long as possible. Long winded post over!!


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## earlene (Mar 4, 2021)

The future of battery technology for Electric Vehicles is actually bright.  

In the works:  

QuantumScape, a solid state battery, using Lithium-metal technology will be longer lasting (further driving range), charge quickly, take up far less space, bring costs down.  It is estimated these will be available for use in 2024 or 2025.
See: QuantumScape pursues ‘breakthrough’ in lithium batteries — with tips from Bill Gates  and  A new EV battery shows big promise | Greenbiz

Lithium-Silicon Technology, which will do the same due to be available for use by 2028.

My husband keeps telling me there are plans afoot to create battery banks along major arteries where EV owners will be able to trade out their exhausted battery for a fully charged battery.  Apparently someone has this in the works, too, but I personally have not read the stuff he's been reading on that particular topic.

However, my point is that technology continues to advance to create a better battery for Electric Vehicles.

What they're doing in Sweden is also quite innovative. Outside of Stockholm there is a stretch of road that charges EV batteries: see this link: World's first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden

So not only does advancing technology address the battery situation, it also addresses Infrastructure to support conversion to Electric Vehicles.

These are just a few examples of what I see as a bright future for electric transportation.    The European Union has done a lot along these lines, which I find very impressive.


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## Andy7891 (Mar 7, 2021)

Thanks for the food for thought- well, your post and linked articles got me thinking, anyway. I think that we will all be staying closer to home, and having things produced closer to home, in the future also. I think with gas/oil of course running out sometime soonish, and EV at the moment being in kind of their infancy, we will find a way to minimize transportation (costs) of things we produce and consume. I can see robotics playing a role in this (gardens in shipping containers run off of solar and batteries, people working from home (a la pandemic)). These are just a few ideas that came to mind while reading your post. I just think our whole model of driving, the range we are used to achieving, is going to be reduced in the future. I have more hope now of batteries being less of a burden on the planet because of what you posted. Nothing like educating ourselves to help look into the future with a clear vision.


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## penelopejane (Mar 8, 2021)

I think something will be invented that makes batteries as we Know them totally obsolete. Maybe hydrogen power or something totally out there. It won’t be until we get away from fossil fuels that we’ll spend time and money on there totally different ideas through necessity.

They say if you change your oil every 10,000km (6,000 miles), or every 12 months, you will extend the life of the motor substantially. I get the mechanic to do it.


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