tommy dee Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 13 minutes ago, boydeste said: Brake fluid may have changed over the years. I seem to remember it being red in colour. My dad was a mechanic all his life and trained me on cars and changing the brake fluid was never done for no reason. It also used to strip paint pretty fast too if you spilt it. Probably a modern myth brought about by the usual scare mongers. By the way, if you filled the system with water you still wouldn't have a spongy pedal, you can compress air, but you can't compress fluid in the same way. That's why you get hydraulics working so powerful and effective. Oh and the never stopping wave on the sea. I do like the idea of giving everything a birthday though, no matter how much work it has been done. Copper slip is your friend. old time brake fluid was red. nowadays its clear flushing is a good idea, maybe every 5 yrs plugs nowadays last at least 30K miles btw thais have the air filter down to a good deal.. they blow it out with an air line and re use. works well when I sold up 16 yrs ago, we were 50 quid an hour 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butch Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 Just now, tommy dee said: old time brake fluid was red. nowadays its clear flushing is a good idea, maybe every 5 yrs plugs nowadays last at least 30K miles btw thais have the air filter down to a good deal.. they blow it out with an air line and re use. works well when I sold up 16 yrs ago, we were 50 quid an hour I tend to do plugs every 20 to 30k or 3 years, or 30k if it comes sooner, although there are some iridium ones claiming to last 60K !. The ones I pulled out of the Mazda were absolutely fine and good for another 10k at least, but the last time the car had a major service was about 2017 so I erred on the side of caution. The only thing I didn't do was flush the coolant, again, they say every 2 or 3 years, but to be honest, the stuff in there was fine and done in 2017. I couldn't see the point of spending another £20 for 5 litres of coolant, and bollocks to it needing to be done every 2 or 3 years. Air filters I don't compromise on, as it's the one safety barrier between the outside world and a world of diagnostic hurt if you get grit , sand or anything hard enough to get into or block the injectors / carbs . They're only cheap anyway, and the one I removed was dirtier than a pair of @Nightcrawlers underpants. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy dee Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 18 hours ago, Butch said: I tend to do plugs every 20 to 30k or 3 years, or 30k if it comes sooner, although there are some iridium ones claiming to last 60K !. The ones I pulled out of the Mazda were absolutely fine and good for another 10k at least, but the last time the car had a major service was about 2017 so I erred on the side of caution. The only thing I didn't do was flush the coolant, again, they say every 2 or 3 years, but to be honest, the stuff in there was fine and done in 2017. I couldn't see the point of spending another £20 for 5 litres of coolant, and bollocks to it needing to be done every 2 or 3 years. Air filters I don't compromise on, as it's the one safety barrier between the outside world and a world of diagnostic hurt if you get grit , sand or anything hard enough to get into or block the injectors / carbs . They're only cheap anyway, and the one I removed was dirtier than a pair of @Nightcrawlers underpants. shuld try here in the LOS. the air filters are filthy fr, the dust. I have a compressor here so a blow out is easy and truck filters are very well built. filters here are expensive . I do replace the fuel filters as tanks here are not well regulated in petrol stations. the fab mobile is n need of some extra TLC tho and taking for a check this week for a few issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butch Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 7 hours ago, tommy dee said: shuld try here in the LOS. the air filters are filthy fr, the dust. I have a compressor here so a blow out is easy and truck filters are very well built. filters here are expensive . I do replace the fuel filters as tanks here are not well regulated in petrol stations. the fab mobile is n need of some extra TLC tho and taking for a check this week for a few issues. Good point, I'd not considered the dust factor or the poor fuel storage at many garages. Might be worth checking the cabin filter as well then, usually located behind the glove compartment on many saloon cars, or on the bulkhead area on other vehicles. They get pretty dirty. A dirty air filter is a sign its doing the job!. Plus, it's environmentally sound, and saves cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maipenrai Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Ever wonder why your cars are so expensive to repair these days? I was in my buddy's auto body shop the other day and he showed me these items that he had just purchased for a couple of jobs he is doing; the contents of the red box and the half gallon of paint additive beside it came to a whopping $582 CDN (341 GBP) - and get this, the small cans of paint are only half full: One reason for the ridiculous price is the move a few years ago to "environmentally friendly" water-based paints - to paint a full-sized pickup today, for instance, you'll be paying thousands just for the paint, never mind the labour. My friend is one of the only auto-body guys left in town who will actually repair damage rather than just replace parts for big Insurance $ - he wants to quit and move south and he will be sorely missed by many when he does - the bigger shops just want the insurance jobs for the above reason. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxyhog Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 My next door neighbour has a car body shop & he advertises widely for no fault claims.He will argue with the insurance companies who want to scrap your car & he usually wins. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightcrawler Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I only do an average of 1,500 miles a year. I don't see the point of annual service, more about when I reach the 6000 mile point since the last service. All I do is check the oil now and again and feel how the brakes are. My car is incredibly reliable and starts on the button even in very cold weather. Free public transport save me a lot of money and no parking probs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maipenrai Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 On 1/8/2024 at 12:46 PM, Nightcrawler said: I only do an average of 1,500 miles a year. I don't see the point of annual service, more about when I reach the 6000 mile point since the last service. All I do is check the oil now and again and feel how the brakes are. My car is incredibly reliable and starts on the button even in very cold weather. Free public transport save me a lot of money and no parking probs. And just what constitutes "very cold weather" over there in Blighty? Be thankful you haven't had the pleasure of staring reluctant vehicles and other machinery in -40 or colder, lol...I could write a book about it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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