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| Fun Fun FUNDAY! »Zen and the Art of Hilux Maintenance
By adam | June 13, 2008
So, earlier Visesh and I decided that we would perform an oil change on our trusty car. We have never done anything to a car at all, but we thought this a relatively benign place to start. Work started at 4pm, and went something like this:
1600: Go to Halfords, buy required oil, oil wrench filter, bucket etc.
1700: Fish out manual. Manual says the following - Step 1: Remove old motor oil. Step 2: Remove and replace oil filter. Step 3: Add new oil to required level. Helpful.
1730: Locate oil sump drain plug, we think. Looks nothing like manual picture. Plug is rusty and is very stiff.
1745: Unable to remove plug, realise WD-40 was packed and sent home yesterday. Return to Halfords.
1830: WD-40 and remove (suspected) oil sump plug. Much to our relief, oil pours out.
1845: Reaching from underneath through a very small gap, remove oil filter with wrench and promptly receive an armful of warm oil. Spend an hour trying to remove (now slippery) filter from engine. Fail.
2000: Realise that there is a panel that can be removed from the wheel arch giving free and easy access to the oil filter.
2015: Remove panel and old filter, fit new filter, replace sump plug and add new oil in about 15 minutes. Wonder why the manual didn’t mention that blasted panel.
2030: Test engine, which remarkably doesn’t break/leak/explode. Clean oil off the places it has got to (i.e. everywhere), drain old oil into bottle and tidy away tools and equipment.
2140: Take random photos of us in coveralls covered in oil. Make stupid poses with WD-40/Duck Tape. Read warnings on back of oil bottle and hastily wash hands and arms.
2200: Order pizza and beer. Finished!
Only 6 hours and at a cost significantly greater than paying a garage to do it, but I’m willing to pay the premium for the immense feeling of smugness and an evening of entertainment. Now, what else can we possibly fix…?
Photos following soon!
Topics: Car |
June 17th, 2008 at 10:21 am
was wondering where you guys disappeared off to. Visesh, I still owe you a beer.