selfmade Car Maintenance / Service schedule

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Nicodeamus

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I apologize if there is already a thread like this, I've been wanting to share my experience for awhile.

I work in the construction industry and drive around 300-600km/day (no typo). Meaning I have to service my car very often or it does break down. I also drive in bad rural roads so the suspension is almost always a problem.

Now I drive an opel kadett 1988 model (1.6 Litre), I get about 14-17km/litre, which is the reason why I do drive it. I decided to go for a cheap car, mainly because I drive so much. I do get a car allowance at work and a fuel allowance. The car was in relatively good condition when I bought it, 140 000km on the clock after 22 odd years.

So I decided to buy a workshop manual (I fix most of my car myself) and setup a service schedule so that the mechanic doesn't make a good buck of me and so that I know in relatively what condition my car is.

Opel Kadette maintenance schedule
Every 400km or week
  • Water level check
  • Battery water heck
  • Tyre Pressure check


Every 7000km or 3 months
  • Check the wheel alignment
  • Reajust the handbreak

Every 15000km or 6 months
  • Replace engine oil and filter
  • Replace Sparkplugs
  • Check for leakages at radiator pipes, radiator and gasket
  • Check the airfilter for leakages
  • Check the fanbelt on the alternator
  • Check on the ignitionsystem
  • Check for exhaust for holes (black patches usually indicate a hole)
  • Readjust the timing speed and check the distributer cap
  • Check the petrol pump
  • Send the car to an auto electrician to check for electrical faults, do not bridge a blown fuse.
  • Check the wipes and wiper blades
  • Check the fluid on the locks


Every 30000km or 12 months
  • Check the filter element and replace if needed
  • Replace the petrol filter
  • Replace the carburetor
  • Replace the transmision oil
  • Replace the diskbreaks and disk oil
  • Check for faults at the head lights
  • Replace the radiator fluid and flush the radiator
  • Check the tyres and the suspension. (I probably replace my tires every 15000km given the roads that I drive).


Spares to have in the car or house
  • Oil (in house, it is much cheaper to just replace it yourself. The oil level should be between the two lines on the oil guage, often garages don't know this.
  • Battery water (in house)
  • Toiletpaper (for number 2 emergencies and for checking the oil levels)
  • Fanbelt (some cars actually heat up if the fanbelt jumps off, the opel kaddet will only kill the battery. They cost about R30, it is a good spare to have
  • A spare tyre, jack and tyre lever
  • Jumper cables


If anyone wants to add or have an experience to share, then please feel free.
 
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In my experience you don't need to replace spark plugs so often. You could easily get away with replacing spark plugs every 30 000km.
 
If you are travelling dirt roads its probably best to clean the airfilter at every 7500km.
Also i dont get how tyres only last 15000km?
And replacing the carb every 30000km? Seriously?
 
etwylite said:
If you are travelling dirt roads its probably best to clean the airfilter at every 7500km.
Also i dont get how tyres only last 15000km?
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My tired wear of mostly due to potholes and bad driving conditions, not because of the rut getting smaller.

I reckon that I can clean the air filter most often. You're probably right on that one.

And replacing the carb every 30000km? Seriously?
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I should probably change that to ''check if it needs to be replaced''.

Thanks for the input.
 
I would also like to add that a common problem with the Opel seems to be the conrod getting through the engin block. I've had to Opels doing this. Sadly you need to replace the engin if this happens +/- R10 000.
 
Seems good - miles better than anything I could come up with.

Something definitely wrong with your "X km or Y time" though...e.g.
Every 7000km or 3 months
At 600km a day the 7000 km is like 12 days so you might want to shorten the 3 months cycle.

Regarding the "Spares to have in the car" - we had some epic threads about this a while back. I know gdiza posted a nice list @med kit too. Might be worth googling for the threads. Some inspired ideas too (e.g. cable ties).

Taking a wild guess I'd also say the quality of the dirt road makes a big diff...i.e. a road with washboarding would likely cause 10x more damage.

2nd wild guess...the thing where the front shocks connect to the chasis...forgot the name. Those tend to wear out reasonably fast & washboard dirt roads will make it much worse.

Nicodeamus said:
experience to share, then please feel free.
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1. You're missing "check spare tyre pressure". Been there done that....in the stick with a punctured tyre and flat spare. (Wasn't my car).

2. Never touching those cans full of tire puncture sealer stuff again.

3. I've got 5L of water with me in the boot. Probably kills fuel economy but meh.

4. Reflecting triangle & towing rope. Got caught on a busy GP highway without either. Never again.

I'm curious what you do with the old oil at home though? I know one can't dump it but I don't know the correct solution.
 
Seems good - miles better than anything I could come up with.

Something definitely wrong with your "X km or Y time" though...e.g.
Every 7000km or 3 months
At 600km a day the 7000 km is like 12 days so you might want to shorten the 3 months cycle.

Regarding the "Spares to have in the car" - we had some epic threads about this a while back. I know gdiza posted a nice list @med kit too. Might be worth googling for the threads. Some inspired ideas too (e.g. cable ties).
Click to expand...
It is every 7000km or 3 months, whichever comes first. In my case the former, I literally do service my car every 2nd week.

We have a full time employed mechanic at the workplace and his job is to do most of the maintenance. He is a decent oke, but sometimes he screws up, which is why I prefer to do things myself.

Taking a wild guess I'd also say the quality of the dirt road makes a big diff...i.e. a road with washboarding would likely cause 10x more damage.
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Dirt roads arent as much of a problem as messed up - used to be tar- malema's company roads in the limpopo. I replaced 8 tired in 3 days on one of those roads and my side shocks went.

1. You're missing "check spare tyre pressure". Been there done that....in the stick with a punctured tyre and flat spare. (Wasn't my car).
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thank, will add to the list

2. Never touching those cans full of tire puncture sealer stuff again.
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I also had a bad experience with them

3. I've got 5L of water with me in the boot. Probably kills fuel economy but meh.
Click to expand...
A spare antifreeze can't heart. I would end up driving the 5L of water.

4. Reflecting triangle & towing rope. Got caught on a busy GP highway without either. Never again.
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noted

I'm curious what you do with the old oil at home though? I know one can't dump it but I don't know the correct solution.
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I do woodwork in my spare time, so it never wastes. I use it to clean paint of old wood, it works reasonably well. There isn't much that you can use it for.
 
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Replacing carburetor is a bit drastic at 30 000km. In my mind you would never need to replace it and if you do at much higher mileage.

Same goes for discs (brakes not breaks) replace those as well as the pads as and when you need to, not on a schedule. Check them every 15 000km or whenever the wheels come off.

As for brake fluid (not oil) that can be changed every 2 years if you absolutely feel the need but again a job that you only really need to do if you start losing pressure at the pedal.
 
I'd do oil changes more often, at least every 10000km or 6 months. IIRC the original service interval on cars of that era was 10000km. I do oil and oil filter changes midway between recommended service distance, in my case thats every 7500km.

Oil is the life blood of the engine, you should change that as often as you can / afford. Also use the best oil you can afford.

Considering the roads you travel with bumps and dust inspect / clean the airfilter more often. Also check suspension every 12months, tie-ends, lower control arm bushes, shock mounts and also CV joints. Check for tears on the CV boots replace immediately if torn. Best to only replace when these items are worn.

I'm also a DIY mech and the workshop manual is helpful. Also get yourself a Torque wrench, it is very easy to overtighten something and the last thing you want is a broken sump plug or spark plug. Apply a thin layer of copper grease on the threads of the spark plugs, this helps when changing it.

Try to watch as much wheeler dealer episodes as you can, Ed China is the boss!!
 
With the quality of oils currently available, servicing/changing the oil every 7000 km is a slight overkill IMHO.

A car that does a big mileage every day is far kinder to its oil than one stuck in stop/start traffic over short distances.

Carb should be happy for the life of the engine, provided filters are changed regularly.

I was doing 9 000 km/month in my Outbacks and I simply stuck to the regular servicing plan, and they were fine. In fact all three are still running with very high mileage in each case, and they are trouble free.
 
Fazda said:
With the quality of oils currently available, servicing/changing the oil every 7000 km is a slight overkill IMHO.

A car that does a big mileage every day is far kinder to its oil than one stuck in stop/start traffic over short distances.

Carb should be happy for the life of the engine, provided filters are changed regularly.

I was doing 9 000 km/month in my Outbacks and I simply stuck to the regular servicing plan, and they were fine. In fact all three are still running with very high mileage in each case, and they are trouble free.
Click to expand...

I know its a bit of an overkill but being a Turbo engine I'd rather do it more often.
 
Replacing brake discs or pads every 30k sounds a bit extreme, something not right there.

Invest in a mini air compressor and puncture kit and be sure to check the coolant hoses for cracking and brittleness, not just leaks.

Spare fuses and bulbs also come in handy.
 
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