It can be frustrating when the new DIY mechanic doesn’t have the skills to carry out the repairs they want to do. But one of the most frustrating things about being new to DIY car maintenance is not the work, but the fact that car maintenance is an ongoing process that needs to be done regularly. Sometimes, it’s done daily, other times weekly or monthly. But one thing is for sure, it needs to be done, or the car could break down.
This is a source of frustration for some people, because when you know the basics of how to fix your car, it’s easy to get the parts you need, and start digging in. But car maintenance is not that way. It’s a process of repeating the same checks over and over again. But in order to get good at the bigger stuff, you need to learn to do the little things first. And it starts with developing a routine.
Car maintenance is not something that should scare you. In fact, it’s quite simple. Start with a simple routine that you can do on any vehicle that’s in a stationary position. Open the hood, and check the following things: oil level; coolant level; battery terminals
These are simple checks that you can do quickly. But the key is to actually look at what you’re checking. Take a dipstick out, wipe it clean with a rag, and insert it back into the oil reservoir and take it back out. Now look at the level. Take a reading of the coolant level by looking at the reservoir, not looking through the plastic side. Take a look at the terminals on the battery. Are they corroded, dirty, or covered with acid?
Do these checks without rushing. Get a feel for what’s going on in the engine, and with your car. As you do these checks more often, you’ll start to notice if something is off, even if it’s just a little bit. This is where the diagnostic process comes into play.
The biggest mistake that DIY mechanics make when it comes to car maintenance is trying to do it all from memory. You probably check your oil every time you get fuel, right? But do you remember what the level was? What the color of the oil was?
If you don’t, you’re not alone. Most people don’t. But the best way to combat this, and remember what you need to, is to tie everything to an action. Instead of just remembering to check your oil, take a dipstick and wipe it clean every time you check it. This way you know that you’re getting an accurate reading. The same goes with your belts and hoses. Squeeze them gently with your hand when they’re cool to see if they need replacing.
One of the hardest things to do when you’re just starting out is to not be afraid of the little things. Many times a quick-lube place will check all of your fluids, including your oil, transmission, brake, power steering, and coolant levels. But the reason they can do it so fast is because they have the experience to know how to remove the caps on all of these reservoirs without spilling a drop.
The reality is that most of the caps come off the same way, but it can be intimidating to someone who doesn’t know how they come off. So what you do is you start to take them off slowly. If you round off the oil cap because it was screwed on too tightly, don’t be afraid to take it off and put it in a vice to loosen it. That’s all part of the learning process.
But it’s in the little things that you learn the most about car maintenance. Don’t be afraid to get a little dirty. Don’t be afraid to round off a bolt. And don’t be afraid to break something. All of those things are fixable, and the more you practice, the less likely you are to do any of those things.
Spend the first 5 minutes checking your fluids. When you do this, write down the level and color of each fluid. If it’s low, make a note of it. If it’s dirty, make a note of it.
The next 5 minutes should be spent inspecting one wear item. This could be anything from a belt to a tire, to a wiper blade. When you inspect it, write down what you see. Try to avoid using the words good or bad. Instead say it looks dirty, or it looks cracked. Make a mental note to replace it at your earliest convenience.
Finally, spend the last 5 minutes cleaning something that you’ve inspected. If you needed to pull the dipstick out to inspect your oil level, clean the handle where your hand was. If you needed to remove the cap from your coolant reservoir to inspect the level, clean the area around the cap. This way the next time you need to inspect it, you won’t have to clean it again.
Remember, practice makes perfect. The more you practice the maintenance items on your car, the more proficient you will become at taking care of your car. Pretty soon, you’ll be inspecting everything without even realizing you’re doing it. That’s when you know you’re a DIY mechanic.
Car maintenance is not something to be feared. In fact, it’s something that you should embrace. The better you take care of your car, the better it will take care of you. And if you don’t do the maintenance, you could be looking at thousands of dollars in car repairs. So take the time to learn how to do the simple things. Pretty soon you’ll be fixing anything that’s wrong with your car.