Neglect that owners *seem to get away with*
brake fluid and antifreeze changes?
I used to speak to some people with older cars out of main dealer servicing who just used to shrug or look blank when I mentioned it.
The difficult thing is proving its required, beyond concerns of `boiling brakes and total failure` that we all know about.
I mean why hasn`t a friends 13 yrs old Golf seized its ABS unit since its never had a fluid change, the ABS unit is covered in rust and crud and the fluid dark brown. It doesnt go down brake boiling hills, but why does the ABS unit work like new?
Similarly who actually bothers to change modern antifreeze in older cars, lots of these would seem to be lucky if they were even maintained at a 50% solution of the correct spec.
What else it at the top of the neglect tree while *seeming* to escape unscathed.
Unlike for example the opposite, such as engine oil and filters.
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 01/05/2008 at 21:19
|
|
Judging by the same old questions on many sites, the manual is the most neglected component:)
Edited by nortones2 on 01/05/2008 at 21:28
|
1. Tyres & tyre pressures.
2. Wheel nut torque.
3. Spare tyre & its pressure.
4. Hand brake points vertically when in use.
5. Hand brake points vertically when not in use.
6. How to open the bonnet.
7. Cooking oil users not applying Oven cleaner to internals of engine & exhaust.
8. Skinflints, what maintenance !
9. Car washing avoiders, but it's always this colour.
10. Tailgaiters, the internal windscreen washer doesn't work.
11. Indicators, what are they ?
12. Servicing, I give it fuel, what more does it need ?
13. I know the lights aren't working, I'm saving energy.
14. The car needs a nicotine patch to help it stop smoking.
15. Food and junk under the seats and carpets, it's there in case of an emergency.
|
|
|
|
To my knowledge I've never had the brake fluid changed in any car I've owned, including a Volvo 240 Estate that was 3yrs old when I bought it and 17 years old with 200k on the clock when I gave it away. None of my cars has ever suffered from braking problems.
With regard to anti-freeze, every garage I have ever used has checked the "density"? of the mixture at every service, as a matter of course, at least that's what they've told me! )LOL)
I reckon the most neglected aspect has to be tyre pressures and I'll put my hand up to that one!
|
>>I reckon the most neglected aspect has to be tyre pressures..
I agree.
Also how many increase the pressures for a full load?
If its not a failure on the MoT it must be OK:-(
Failed lights must be close to number one.
To check them ( with the exception of brake lights) needs a lot less skill than fixing tyre pressures.
Neglected ? What when it gets an MoT !
|
|
|
|
I wonder if anyone, apart from myself, still puts a smear of cooper grease on the rubbing points of brake shoes and backplates (In case you think I ought to get out more, nowadays I only do this when the brakes are stripped down for some other reason ;-)
|
does automatic gearbox fluid fit the criteria?
Some years back I drove a 6 yr old automatic Rover 600 with 75,000 miles on the clock at a time i put a tow bar on it to tow my old classic car some 200 miles, with the knowledge after a restore it was going to come back the same 200 miles. I thought it to be a good idea to change the auto gearbox oil as the car being towed was quite heavy and I thought it would provide some sympathy to a gearbox untouched until then... and being auto it was going to be up and down the box like a mad thing.
Judging by the blank looks and odd comment from the garage staff i got the distinct impression they thought i was mad and was wasting my money. Was I?
|
|
|
I wonder if anyone apart from myself still puts a smear of cooper grease on the rubbing points of brake shoes and backplates (In case you think I ought to get out more nowadays I only do this when the brakes are stripped down for some other reason ;-)
I always do. Also on the caliper locating pins.
|
|
|
|
I do this but apply some green brake grease which I must have bought about 25 years ago but use so little that there's still some left in the tube.
|
|
|
|
and the fluid dark brown.
Isn't brake fluid checked during MOTs? Unless of course the owner neglects to have it MOTd.
|
|
I'd have said joint no.1s are tyre pressures and headlight/brake lights - all the other lights seem to be mainly ok but for those two... strange, that!!
|
|
My ability to earn money is directly linked to my ability to travel. I regularly look to get 200k miles or more from my cars but to ensure that I can do so I probably over-maintain them to the point of obsession. Still works out a heck of a lot cheaper than updating them just because they have reached a moderately high mileage.
|
sealed for life manual boxes....ive changed all my cars gear oil to modern high spec synthetics and noticed a massive improvement in the gear change , its gota extend the life of the gearbox too?
worth doing every couple of years imo
Edited by steveo3002 on 02/05/2008 at 10:40
|
At our old Fiesta Zetec-S's 2nd service which was a month or two past the car's second birthday, I asked for the brake fluid to be changed. The puzzled look I got from the service receptionist suggested this is not exactly a common request. It had discoloured just enough to be able to confirm that when I picked the car up, they had actually done as I'd asked.
I've also noticed that bodywork inspections for the corrosion warranty on all types of car are rarely done unless specifically asked for.
Cheers
DP
|
My vote's for the nut holding the steering wheel. Not only personal health, but knowledge of the highway code. When, if ever, did you read it?
I put my hand up on both counts!
|
When if ever did you read it?
A few days before my motorcycle theory test, cover to cover, and never so much as picked it up since. The only time before was a few days before my car test.
As Clarkson put it once, most of it looks like it was written by Chaucer.
Cheers
DP
|
The MOT doesn't check the colour of the hydraulic fluid.
|
The colour of the brake fluid is not the issue. The fluid in most cars absorbs water over time, a property described as being hygroscopic. If it contains a sufficient percentage of water this boils when braking and the resulting steam becomes compressible, hence the brakes fail. This happened to me long ago, coming down a mountain in my Triumph Herald, long before I knew about changing brake fluid. Very scarey.
Give the Fiat dealer that I use their due, they offer, in fact recommend, a brake fluid change every 2 years when you take the car in for service. Stupid not to both from a safety point of view and as they make money from it.
As far as I know you cannot easily test brake fluid for water content, so the MOT is not a reliable way of knowing how safe the fluid is. >> The MOT doesn't check the colour of the hydraulic fluid.
|
Interesting links but I wonder how many garages have invested in this type of equipment?
When I service my vehicles that are out of warranty I replace the brake fluid every 2-3 years, after all brake fluid is relatively cheap and my time costs me nothing.
For a garage the use of a tester could work both ways. 1) the fluid has been in the vehicle for years but is still safe, loss of business, 2) could prove to the customer that the fluid is unsafe, increased chance of business. Maybe these balance each other out so cost of the tester is not worth it.
|
|
>>Isn't brake fluid checked during MOTs?
If the reservoir is transparent, a low fluid level would attract an advisory notice.
There's no check on brake fluid condition - the tester is not allowed to remove the brake fluid reservoir cap.
|
|
|
|
brake fluid and antifreeze changes? I used to speak to some people with older cars out of main dealer servicing who just used to shrug or look blank when I mentioned it. The difficult thing is proving its required beyond concerns of `boiling brakes and total failure` that we all know about.
I always have it done every second MOT, easy to remember then. It's just good practice, despite the "I've never had it done and haven't had any problems" - it could be your life or someone else's we are talking about.
|
I only mentioned the colour as a way of checking it had been changed. Otherwise I would have been highly sceptical that they'd bothered to do it at all, given the reaction I got when I asked for it (and the fact the brakes felt perfectly OK)
Cheers
DP
|
|
Pollen filters always seem to be 'missed' when I have had a service. I'm not bothered about pollen levels but it does affect the working of the aircon when the filter is choked up.
|
I agree, 2 of our cars were having serious problems with windows misting up this winter and aircon had to be run all the time. Changed the cabin (pollen) filters and the misting problem greatly improved.
Again, my Fiat dealer is hot on recommending change of cabin filter once a year (increased business) but has only just started doing this and I had already taken action myself.
|
When I ran bangers, most had some degree of cooling system corrosion due to low/no antifreeze. And the brake fluid was usualy brown when bought.
I always change all when buying a secondhand car unless I know it has been done from the sh.
It costs little , takes little time and OAT antifreeze lasts years.
An surprise, (touch wood) no corrosion of internal waterways or radiator.. even our 5 years old 106 is as new...
|
I would agree with those who think coolant and brake fluid changes are neglected. I neglect them myself, although I keep an eye on the levels and am fairly religious about oil and filter changes.
I also notice a lot of cars driving in London with one or more tyres visibly - in other words very - underinflated. In the sixties I used to try to tell people when I noticed this, but I don't these days. Apart from anything else it's a lot more difficult to get next to them at the lights than it used to be.
|
"underinflated"
I think that's more of a problem with alloy wheels, as they age. And as there are more of them around now...
|
|
|
|
I only mentioned the colour as a way of checking it had been changed. Otherwise I would have been highly sceptical that they'd bothered to do it at all DP
I would be very worried if my brake fluid was discoloured at 2 years old, I'd be asking the dealer to change the master cylinder while it was still under warranty.
|
I dont think checking the colour of the fluid in the reservoir is any kind of indication. The mucky stuff is down in the pipes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
