Service yourself

adz · Post by **adz** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:07 pm

hey all
allways taken my cars to garages but i just dont have the cash for a service so instead ive gone out and bought all the parts my self and its come to well under half normal service price and i got to choose all the good parts

heres what ive bought

magnetx fully sythetic oil 10 - 40
bosch spark plugs
champion oil filter
champion air filter
champion fuel filter

now where to start
Panic!!!

any guidlines would be great but im guessing
do oil first undo sump bolt (empty)
put new oil filter on then do up the sump plug
add oil to correct level on dipstick
next
air filter remove saucepan lid (lol)
exchange filter
fuel filter clamp the two fule lines in and out of old filter
and exchange

am i done?

anyone done this before im sure some one has

cheers adz

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:13 pm

If you've never done this, I suggest you get a Haynes (type) manual. All will be explained there. It will also show some finer points in servicing, such as whether or not to fill the filter with oil before hand, or lube the rubber ring on it or not, etc.

Plugs and airfilter are a doddle. The fuel filter is near the tank on most cars, so you'll need a lift for that.

adz · Post by **adz** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 8:09 pm

woohoo i done it
all in 4 hours

even painted the brake callipers and drums blake

just watch when u are putting the right hand spark plug in u dont drop it into the engine area lmao whoopse

everythink was a doddle fully synthetic magnetex is the way to go

id say only annoying part was the fuel filter must have lost about 25 pence of fuel

if any newbs like me want to service your own car id say do it its fun

and u get to have the good parts u want

cheers adz

bstardchild · Post by **bstardchild** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:24 pm

adz wrote:everythink was a doddle fully synthetic magnetex is the way to go

Well done for doing it yourself but keep a real carefull eye on your oil level if youb are using Magnatex - engines do like it a lot it's a bit thin so they tend to burn it!!!!

adz · Post by **adz** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:40 pm

cheers will do

i had this real gooey stuff when i took of my oil cap i think its where theres been water in there as its settled on the top hope the oil change got rid of alot of it
plus the oil filter was well full up so i think it was best to replace

ill check oil

cheers again

JTLondon · Post by **JTLondon** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 6:11 pm

How much that service have cost in an avg garage.... London pricing if location helps.

dubpolo · Post by **dubpolo** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 7:42 pm

was it like a mayo looking gunk?

adz · Post by **adz** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:09 pm

yeah light browny white horrible stuff

Tom_mk4 · Post by **Tom_mk4** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:04 am

adz wrote:yeah light browny white horrible stuff

That sounds like your head gasket might be going mate. You might want to check your coolant level, cos it sounds like water is getting into your oil (hence the brown mayo looking gunk). Seems to be quite a common occurance on mk4's with about 80-100k. Get it sorted straight away cos otherwise it will do more damage. Sorry for the bad news

bstardchild · Post by **bstardchild** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:39 am

Tom_mk4 wrote:That sounds like your head gasket might be going mate. You might want to check your coolant level, cos it sounds like water is getting into your oil (hence the brown mayo looking gunk). Seems to be quite a common occurance on mk4's with about 80-100k. Get it sorted straight away cos otherwise it will do more damage. Sorry for the bad news

Very common on engines used for short trips too - mayo appearance in filler cap - not head gaskets going!

JTLondon · Post by **JTLondon** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 3:26 pm

Hmm... just driving my car today and I noticed for the first time the LCD display read "Service INSP" and kept flashing.
I bought my car without a manual... just asking what this means exactly?
Anything to be worried about?

Oh yeah, I've put in engine oil back in October/November time.

coolusr · Post by **coolusr** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:34 pm

you car needs a service hence the service insp.
it really depends on when it was last serviced and whether they reset the service counter at the time.
your vw should need servicing at least once a year

JTLondon · Post by **JTLondon** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:02 am

adz wrote: heres what ive bought

magnetx fully sythetic oil 10 - 40
bosch spark plugs
champion oil filter
champion air filter
champion fuel filter

Okies so I'm going to buy the above and properly ask a garage to replace the old with the above items.

Just a few questions, how much oil does the 6n require?
Also if I didnt have enough and wanted to switch from mineral to semi synth, could I top it up with the semi or does it have to be a complete change?
So what would be the best spark plugs to get? anyone used Silverstone plugs before?
Does the brand of oil filter matter? if so which is best? and also do I need to change the fuel filter aswell on a typical service?[/url]

dubpolo · Post by **dubpolo** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:07 pm

Always use VW parts!

inder · Post by **inder** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 1:04 am

dubpolo wrote:Always use VW parts!

Indeed, go for the same and best bits for your car, as used in a dealer service

The Champion stuff is not that good to be honest and I dont think the price would be much different for a VW version, e.g. the oil filter

Bosch plugs are recommended

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