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Opinions on Car Servicing and Maintenance

SmartAlex

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The previous owner of my VXII had the car serviced every 10,000km and repaired anything the mechanic advised her to. I've never taken any of my cars for a service and have always maintained what I could myself. Every week or so I do the usual checks - tyres, oil, power steering fluid, and power steering fluid. Every 10,000km I do a full engine oil change, change the oil filter and change the air filter. Every 50,000km I flush the radiator and replace the coolant, change the spark plugs, do a gear box oil change, bleed the brakes, and bleed the power steering fluids.

Should I have my car serviced? Am I missing out on anything in regard to maintenance. I don't stick to particular brands for the fluids/oils/wiper blades/spark plugs etc, I usually just buy what seems to be good value. Are there brands I should stay away from? What are the best brands? I'd like to hear some opinions :)
 

diles

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Trying to post a question on site about my vy. How do I do this
 

SavVYute

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You sound as though you have most things covered.
Wheel alignment every so often by a specialist would be worth doing.

When you're going over the car a check of disc brake pad thickness.
Squirt of graphite powder into the door lock occasionally.
Clean the power aerial and some light oil rubbed over it.
The linkages for the shifter like a lube occasionally.
 

SmartAlex

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diles - go to the home page, scroll down to the Holden Commodore Related section and you'll find what you need there, or
go to: VY Holden Commodore (2002 - 2004)

SaVYute - I just had a look at the brake pad thickness and they need replacing soon. Looks like the discs need to be machined too. Whenever I've had the brake pads changed, it's always been when I've had my pink slip done so I've never thought to look. I'll take your advice on the locks etc when it's not raining. Thanks for that :)
 

corhijasna

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welcome
sounds like you got a good car if she fixed everything when needed to be done,why did she sell it though?

in regards to oils etc you just use what you feel like as long as its suitable for your vehicle of course-lol
 

SmartAlex

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Thanks corhijasna :) She sold the car because her husband got her a brand new Honda. I've had it for 5 weeks or so and already I've had the sway bar links & bushes replaced and now I have a problem where the steering rack is rubbing on one of the wheel rims - not sure what's going on there. Hoping it's not going to be costly as I'm pretty sure it's not something I could fix :/ I guess I can't expect it to be perfect being a 13 year old car. My VT was perfect though, never had any issues (until it got written off lol), I miss that car.
 

corhijasna

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she's lucky then-lol
sounds like tierods need replacing and probably new rubbers etc in front end,castor bushes could be on way out too
 

SavVYute

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Problem with ex-girls cars is they've usually been pretty grotty inside all their life.:)
 

luke23

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Air filter doesnt need to be changed every 10000kms just take it out and give it a little clean, only other thing that should be done when servicing is getting your wheels balanced, bit hard to do that at home, also dont forget to change the fuel filter (about every 30-40000kms I think)
 

ari666

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30,000kms on my ford exploder and not lifted a finger on it. just paid the reg so ill see how long it lasts before something blows up.


in regards to "service" some things that havnt been mentioned:

brake hose condition
wheel sensor condition
ALLLLLL bushings (there are lots)
ball joint play
boots
steering rack play
tie rod play
control arm play
shock absorber leakages/performance
strut top condition
sway bar link pins and D-bushes
rear cradle bush condition
axle boot condition
center bearing condition
transmission leakages
transmission cable/linkage condition
engine oil leakages
steering assembly leakages
vacuum hose condition
fuel hose condition
exhaust hanger condition
exhaust flange/gasket condition
general check on mufflers/cats/heatshields
general check on panels for corrosion/rust
battery terminal clean
globes check
lubricate bonnet release cable
headlight alignment
all fluids (brake, power steer, transmission/gearbox, engine oil, diff, coolant, washer fluid)
HVAC filter cleaned (if it has one, just clear out all the leaves if it doesnt)
wiper blades and arms
windscreen condition (give it a good buff occasionally)
door seals and rubbers, boot, windows etc
AC and fanbelt condition/tension
seat belt conditon (sometimes the get sticky/gluey around where your shoulder is, armor-on loosens them up nicely and helps stop fraying but its messy)
dash warning light globes
internal switches
seat rails (check/clean debris)
brake/throttle pedal condition.
brake/ throttle linkage condition


these are all things that a good mechanic will check/fix in 15 seconds. most people see a mechanic under a car, waving their torch around and think it looks easy, but what their making look easy is the ability to spot problems before they become problems.

your average person with a jack and some chassis stands wouldnt even know what a failing bush looks like.

so yeah: you should take your car for a service every so often, but dont take that attitude of "i service my own car regularly and i never saw this this or that, so mechanic dude is ripping me off"
 
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