I hate cars, but I realise how useful they are. In a city or going about in a rural area, an automobile makes it possible to get from A to B in the least amount of time possible.
The greatest frustration about working with cars is rusted components which are stuck in place. Something that should only take about a minute, can take hours. Literally.
This review of a 2002 Ford Focus done in 2015 makes me feel like an idiot, however working on the car was a learning experience. Better than gold. I feel confident work or more cars in the future.
My tools consist of a breaker bar($13), telescopic flex head ratchet($20), a beefy set of impact impact sockets ($100)so that I have every size and depth that I need, simple combo($30) and line wrenches($20) - Most important of all : jack stands($25) and a torque wrench ($45). I cannot forget my 3lb mallet ($8). It does make life easier. Never underestimate what impact can do.
Oh! I needed my flux core welder($150) and angle grinder ($30) for the exhaust repair. Both are useful and fun tool to have nonetheless.
As the vehicle is getting older, with over 180000km, some repairs and maintenance were necessary :
Blower Fan Fuse (135000km) - This one was rather stupid. Water off the windshield flows into the car on the passenger side. The floor can be flooded after a heavy rain. I removed the resistor pack, soldered on a new thermal fuse (185C), put some silicone lube on the blower and ultimately spread a bead of silicone caulk at the base of the windshield. Since, my vehicle has stayed dry inside. $2 for ten thermal fuses and $5 for a 300ml tube of silicone caulk.
Coil Pack (140000km)- I was on a road trip - my OBD2 tool($10 or less) indicated it was a piston misfire. It was so. Corrosion got into my coil pack and corroded it. The garage ripped me off saying that I also had to replace the spark plug cables... $400 ! It started my interest in doing my own automobile maintenance. The installation was billed 2 hours, but I saw the mechanic do it in 20 minutes. A coil pack goes for as little as $25. Had I the knowledge to do it myself, it would have cost maybe $70, maybe less had I just cleaned the contacts of the coil pack and the spark plug wire.
Struts, lower ball joint and sway bar links (160000km) - I only needed to replace the struts as one of the springs has broken at the base of the spring. I was just about to replace the brakes pads and rotors before a safety inspection. It was about $200 for all the parts.
I was getting sick of it, after fighting with some of the bolts. I paid for an alignment. Apparently, it was much easier than I had thought.
Automatic Transmission Filter and flush (160000km) - It was long overdue. A 18.9 litre pail of ATF at Walmart was $50 ( I only needed about 10 litres) and the filter was $25. About 20 bolts needed to be removed and replaced, but it was quite easy.
Exhaust flex joint (160000km) - It was needed much earlier, but I put off. It took me more time to remove the studs from the existing exhaust line. once the old parts were out, it was a couple cuts with the angle grinder, the new flex joint and old pipes in place, marked, tack welded, removed and finally welded all around. The flex joint was $12, the hardware, gaskets added $10 to the total.
Timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt and pulley (175000km)- Replacing belts is more maintenance than repair. A few hours of work, some frustration to notice missing bolts when putting it back together. About $100 for the belts, pulley and the pump. I changed the coolant. It was cheap - maybe $15 or so. Buy the antifreeze and distilled water separately - you can adjust the mix to your region.
Brake cylinders, calipers, hoses and rigid brake lines (180000km) - That one is in progress. A safety inspection less than a year earlier did not identify any problems with my brake lines, but I was suspicious of the flakes of corrosion. It is irresponsible of the auto manufacturers to use steel instead of copper lines which would prevent the possibility of catastrophic brake failure.
I replaced everything but the bulk of solid lines to the brake master cylinder - rear wheel cylinders due to one leak, front calipers due to corrosion, hoses due to corrosion. A rear wheel cylinder is about $18, caliper $50, hoses $65 for all four and the rigid brake line is where I am stuck - I have to get a good flaring tool to complete the job as pre-made brake lines are not available with fittings of M12x1.0 and M10x1.0 on opposite ends. Finding a coupler with odd sizes may even be more difficult! A coil of copper nickel 3/16 brake line is $50 ( in Canada - close to $30USD) and the various fittings and couplers should come up to around $25. - Total for all brake components ( no pads/shoes ) $275.
When replacing the pads and rotors it is about $75. I don't think I can be bothered to resurface my rotors to save $35. Maybe I should learn how to do it.
Oil Changes (every 5000km to 10000km) : This one doesn't save you much money: a filter is $5-$8 and a jug of oil $15. You can get an oil change for $30. Changing the oil yourself gives you a chance to look under your car and see if all is skookum. At the stealership, you may be told that you need to change this and that, however it is often a cash grab.
I should note that I am surprised that using high mileage oil, which appears to be simply more viscous than regular 5W20, appears to have little to no contamination after 6000km. It could be the highway driving, the cold temperatures or my driving habits. Actually fuel efficiency did not change either. I still get about 7L/100km or 33MPG. That isn't great, but still better than the average car on the road today.
Honestly, adding useless features like a rearview camera, fog lights and replacing the original lights with LEDs, is more fun than struggling with rusted bolts.
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