Mark Hubley

A couple of days before Christmas I hit the 7,500 mile mark. I did the maintenance myself, which is just an oil/filter change and tire rotation, for $25 and an hour of my time.

I picked up a 5 qt. jug of Mobil 1 5W-20 and a Fram filter while on a trip to Wal-Mart. Total cost was about $25. I saved the receipt and stapled it into my maintenance handbook.

Now for the car . . .

1. Park the car on a hard, flat surface (e.g., in the garage).

2. Loosen all lug nuts.

3. Lift car and support it on four jack stands. I have a good floor jack and stands. I put a block of wood on the jack and lifted the car a few inches forward of the rear edge of the front door. This lifted both wheels on one side about evenly. I then placed jack stands under each wheel near the jacking points. Lower car onto the stands, repeat on the other side.

4. Put pan under motor, drain oil, and remove filter. This is so easy on this car. God bless the engineer who decided on the location of the oil filter. (Well, it's easy the second time. I changed the oil/filter at 3K miles, and it was a ***** to get the filter off. Not too bad with a filter wrench.)

5. While oil drains, rotate the tires. I also took some time to vacuum the interior and hit it with a Swiffer. I used the following pattern for tire rotation:
LF to LR
LR to RF
RF to RR
RR to LF

6. After oil has drained, replace the drain plug (with new crush ring) and install a new filter (put a bead of fresh oil on the seal and hand-tighten!).

7. Lower the car and tighten all lug nuts. Don't forget that last step!

8. Add oil until it shows the proper level on the dip stick. Replace the oil filler cap and run the car for a couple of minutes to get oil through the new filter.

9. Put away all of your tools except your rag and funnel.

10. Check the oil level, and add oil to the proper level. Put away your rag and funnel.

11. Drink one if you've got one.

This took about an hour; maybe 70 minutes. I could have saved a few minutes if I skipped the vacuum. I figure it would have taken nearly an hour of my time to go to a dealer, or even a Jiffy Lube to have the work done. So, I don't see that this really cost me any time.

The big bonus--I know the work was done right and that I'm getting the oil I paid for. It wouldn't surprise me for a shop to charge for synthetic and put something else in. Who could ever tell??? Also, I won't get B.S.ed about needing a fuel-injector service or any other crap.

At future oil changes I'll probably check the CV boots, ball joints, etc. while I'm under the car. I didn't bother at 7,500 miles.

Free yourself from the shackles of dealerships and mechanics--join the ranks of the do-it-yourselfers

nj_08_gts

iTrader: (1)

Great post! This '08 Lancer is VERY easy to work on, so anyone out there that's afraid to DIY...don't be. The only thing I didn't like about your post is when you used the "F" word (Fram)

Tire rotation, fluid changes, and air filter replacements are 90% of all scheduled maintenance that ever needs to be done to your car. They're also things that can be easily done in your garage/driveway. Save the service department for the big stuff.

I just hit the 15k mile mark over the weekend and all I do is oil/oil filter changes, keep the fluids topped off, the tires rotated and the air filter fresh...the car drives better now than the day I took it off the lot. I did a thorough inspection over the weekend too and everything looked perfect - nothing loose, rusted, corroded, cracked or squeaky...this car is tough as nails (I know it only has 15k miles, but I drive ~3000 miles a month through every type of road/road condition you can think of).

Other things you can quickly check (to go along with Mark's How-To):
- The brake fluid reservoir should be the color of a urine sample: If it's dark brown and/or dirty, you have gonorrhea...I mean bleed the brakes and put new fluid in.
- All fluids filled: If they're not, make them full
- Engine bay clean: No mud, excessive road grime, leaves, dead things, etc.
- Appropriate tire pressure and tread wear: Don't mess with your tires - they dictate everything from gas mileage to stopping distance, so take care of them.
- Battery terminals are clean: If not, hit them with a soft wire brush or terminal cleaning brush (like $2.00 at any auto parts store)
- Make sure your serpentine belt isn't wearing: If it breaks at the wrong time, consider your day officially ruined
- Check all visible hoses for cracks: If they're cracked or ripped, get new ones ASAP

That list takes no more than 10 minutes to do. And for the newbies, if you do it with a service manual at your side you'll learn volumes.

Mark Hubley

I have no particularly strong loyalty to Fram. I usually buy Fram because I have memorized the part number of the filter for my wife's trucks, and they are usually prominently displayed in whatever auto parts store I happen to be in.

Why do I have the number for that particular filter (3614) memorized? Because we have a '94 Toyota Pickup with 305,000 miles on it and an '03 Tacoma with 160,000 miles. As I change the oil in these trucks with dinosaur oil about every 5K miles, that means I have bought about 90 Fram filters just for the trucks.

So, a combined 465,000 miles, 90 Fram filters, and no motor problems on either of those vehicles.

Xeroxed

When you do this does the periodic inspection light stop coming on, or is there something else you have to do to make that stop?

nj_08_gts

iTrader: (1)

You would have to reset that yourself. Info on how is in the manual.

Xeroxed

Alright, thanks for the info. I'll have to talk to my step dad about doing this soon, because he actually has a lift in our garage so I wouldn't have to jack it up.

mattsgts

man i hate to be the one to ask this being its probobly the most frequently asked Q, but can you do the services ur self w/o voiding the warranty? cuz on my saturn they said no! i know diff co. but.....?

nj_08_gts

iTrader: (1)

It's fine to do it yourself, just save your receipts for everything. Also, take your time and ensure the job is done right

Mark Hubley

Yup, it is fine to do the work yourself. As noted previously, save your receipts.

Blacksheepdj

iTrader: (88)

Yes, and no.

If you do it right and save the receipts, you should be fine. If something goes wrong inside the motor, your DIY service is the first thing the dealership will blame.

That being said, I always DIY it. I don't really trust anyone to work on my car.

PS - this is now officially in the main How To section. Thanks for doing it, Mark!