I've finally got enough money to have my car looked at, I know it's overdue a service, but there's a slight knocking from the engine sometimes, which could be any number of things from the minor to the fatal If I get her serviced, would looking into engine noises be a part of that? what does a service actually involve? I've only just changed the oil and filter, and I put really good quality stuff in, so I don't want them to change the oil again. TL;DR should I get a service or just have the engine noise inspected? Cheers
I think you're better off having them check the engine knock first before doing any other kind of service on your car.
Get the knocking investigated first, then get it serviced. My mondeo is due its 62500 mile service soon, which will entail new fluids+filters all round, most likely new discs+pads all round, and a general look round for things that stand out. When I serviced my last car myself it usually just meant oil, oil+air filters and sometimes renewed igniton components.
Cheers for the replies, gonna get the knocking checked this weekend, hope it's nothing serious, how I love that car. I do all the oil changes, spark plugs, and coolant etc myself, seems with a service the main thing I'd paying for is the piece of paper to say I've had a service
Make sure they dont try to trick you into believing there is more wrong with the car then there really is. Just tell them about the knocking and get to look at it. As for servicing the car, if you do all the oil, spark plug and coolant changes yourself then what do they need to look at for you besides the engine knock? Only other things that really need servicing are tires and brakes which you can easily check yourself. Getting a vehicle services usually involves them topping off all coolant and oil and then charging you big bucks for it. So just get them to check out the noise and that's it.
My last one involved: Oil change New oil filter Spark plugs Cam belt and aux belt, as the car was at 68k, as opposed to the 60k it should have been changed at Think the next one may entail new front brakes, oil change and an air filter, although I could do the filter myself, and if i can find some flat ground, the oil change. As for the knocking, have a look around the engine bay for anything loose - I had a knocking sound on my car, and had a look, and realised the bolt that holds the intake pipe was missing - 5 minutes with a rachet and the knocking was gone.
Depends on how many miles your car is on and where you take it etc or if you do it yourself which I sometimes do. A service will generally involve an engine oil & filter change, checking all your fluid levels and refilling as nesecary, theyll also check your brakes tryes wearable parts etc for a general service. Also find my garage when I do take it in bleed my brakes for me which is a nice touch although I do this myself anyway. Then you got things like spark plugs, leads, pollen & fuel filters, items such as cambelts, aux belts, fan belts depending on the mileage of the car and when its recommended there changed. I'd certainly get that knocking looked at, for a start what kind of car do you have and wheres the noise coming from? The top of the bottom of the engine? But dont get too worried to yet not all sounds are doom and gloom mine has a slight tapping at the top but thats just one of the hydraulic lash adjusters which is full of crap and needs cleaning.
At my work, a general inspection means tire rods, inner and outer tire rods, ball joints, ball bearings, tires, tire rotation, brake inspection, fluid top up, exhaust inspection (looking for leaks etc. etc.) belts and hoses, engine noises
my cousin recently had to purchase a new car, due to not having it serviced since it was purchased. (1 year perhaps). the engine knocking can be caused by dirty spark plug cable/ spark plugs.
I think the most important part of having a car serviced is finding someone who's good at it. I've had my car serviced with some decent garages, and some pretty average ones. I went with a friend to get his Fiesta serviced at an independent specialist recently and it was fantastic. It was a normal service and MOT, but he also inspected the car top to bottom for things which could need doing, and presented a list with the bill, prioritised with the most dangerous/severe ones first. Some garages I've known would've said a lot of it had to be changed immediately, before they gave it back.
Depends on car,schedule,where,checklist etc. Give us a clue,make,model,engine,mileage. Hard to give a diagnosis but i would get the engine noise looked at first.Could be anything but it may something as simple as cam followers,and probably an oil and filter change with a flush might cure that.My golf used to be noisy on the followers but a change with a flush and 15/40 Mobil 1 cured that.
While we're on the subject of engine noises, and not to threadjack, but does anyone know of a good additive for engine oil? The GF's Focus is having starting problems, and it's suggested that a sticky valve could be at fault, which might be cured by an oil change and a decent additive.
I used a wynns one from halfords when the nova engine was getting noisy in the top end. You could just pour some diesel or supermarket oil through it though when you next do a change, before putting the sump plug back in, fitting the new filter and filling it with the good stuff.
Hmm... Sounds like useful stuff - the top end is getting a bit noisy on my car too - I'll try the Wynn's. Cheers!
Which is only really worth having during the guarantee period. The manual usually lists what checks are (should be) made at the various service intervals, generally there aren't all that many considering the cost.
True that, I have a friend of the family who's a mechanic and does everything to the best he can (he doesn't always have the latest computer hardware or scanners) but he's always good to us
Details: 1998 Renault Megane 1.4 84000 miles (ish), recent head gasket (unfortunately, I had no choice, but thats another story) I'm a mechanical type person and pretty good with cars/motorcycles, I'd just always assumed services involved more than that She definitely needs 4 new tires, at least 2 are now illegal, but I've been flat broke for the last few months, starting a business isn't easy. Heater matrix needs flushing out, so I'll have to replace all the coolant when I do that anyway. Like I said, Oil and filter recently done by me, put some fully synthetic 15/50 in cause I kept getting a low oil pressure warning when the engine was hot, problem now solved. Brakes are all good, cam belt was of course done with the head gasket. New air filter wheh I bought her. As for the knocking: I've checked the engine bay, nothing is loose, it comes and goes, and it's mostly their when the engine is cold. Gonna phone a garage I know to be good today and see what they say. Cheers all.
See the list here. If you do your own oil and filter changes and the other easy bits, the MOT inspection should pick up the other items for much less money.
