How to: Servicing.

[MaxWheeler]

Hi guys

If there is an interest from anyone who wants to DIY their own service I have a new micra in that needs a LOT of work, mostly service items so I may do some step by steps with photos if it would help anyone out.

Let me know

 

[Tornado]

Sure thing, that would be great.

 

[Tornado]

Absolutely, that would be great.
(Is there an echo in here?)

 

[plmval]

Hi guys

If there is an interest from anyone who wants to DIY their own service I have a new micra in that needs a LOT of work, mostly service items so I may do some step by steps with photos if it would help anyone out.

Let me know

Servicing in a professional logical indexed pictorial sequence detail can be quickly found in the Haynes workshop manuals available from Ebay/Amazon second hand for £5 or less. That’s the way I self-taught myself how to understand DIY car repair and “Bangernomics” cheap as chips motoring that lasts for a lifetime?

http://bangernomics.editboard.com/t125-nissan-micra-k11-is-up-there-with-the-minor

https://www.micra.org.uk/threads/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-fire-engine-red-k11.68197/#post-754222

 

[Tornado]

The Haynes is a terrific resource, I have one myself. Still, I like following other people's projects. (It's better than lying on my back under the car in the rain with the wind blowing the Haynes away).

 

[plmval]

The Haynes is a terrific resource, I have one myself. Still, I like following other people's projects. (It's better than lying on my back under the car in the rain with the wind blowing the Haynes away).

Quote:
"I like following other people's projects. (It's better than lying on my back under the car in the rain with the wind blowing the Haynes away)".

When you learn how to rationally prioritise to avoid wasting resources on cars, motoring costs and other life distractions, you can quickly buy your own house with a double garage & grounds to create and do whatever you want in your own place without having to follow or depend on others?

 

[Tornado]

With a team of mechanics and detailers. "Jeeves, prepare Aston!"

 

[plmval]

With a team of mechanics and detailers. "Jeeves, prepare Aston!"

Quote: “team of mechanics and detailers”?

K11 Micra is superior to any Aston Money Pit.

The ethos of “Bangernomics” is to avoid misallocation of your economic resources by simply minimising costs by avoiding all unnecessary maintenance & depreciation costs with K11s that just keep going. Classless cheap as chips motoring where I put petrol in the back, myself & Mrs in the front & just drive the thing; exactly what it was built for.

When it gets to ropey for my liking I sell it on for more then I paid for it and simply buy another cheap as chips.

 

[davyboy]

Quote:
"I like following other people's projects. (It's better than lying on my back under the car in the rain with the wind blowing the Haynes away)".

When you learn how to rationally prioritise to avoid wasting resources on cars, motoring costs and other life distractions, you can quickly buy your own house with a double garage & grounds to create and do whatever you want in your own place without having to follow or depend on others?

Or you can put the time in at work, I did every hour under the sun to buy my houses in 11 years, carried on with that principle until I was 50 - then retired.
Ran big jags for most of that time, then found the little micra was more suited to what I do now .....walk my dogs, and still do a couple of hours work a day just to keep my hand in the workplace.
I also have 3 Suzuki wagonr's at this time, they are cheap as chips to run and maintain as well....and the 91 horsepower model is very impressive (!)

 

[plmval]

Or you can put the time in at work, I did every hour under the sun to buy my houses in 11 years, carried on with that principle until I was 50 - then retired.
Ran big jags for most of that time, then found the little micra was more suited to what I do now .....walk my dogs, and still do a couple of hours work a day just to keep my hand in the workplace.
I also have 3 Suzuki wagonr's at this time, they are cheap as chips to run and maintain as well....and the 91 horsepower model is very impressive (!)

Yes avoiding misallocation of limited resources on distracting liabilities & focus on acquiring assets that will provide lifetime income independance freedom to do with whatever you wish.

Early retirement freedom from the tyranny of regular work, that’s the result & the earlier the better.

 

[davyboy]

Yes avoiding misallocation of limited resources on distracting liabilities & focus on acquiring assets that will provide lifetime income independance freedom to do with whatever you wish.

Early retirement freedom from the tyranny of regular work, that’s the result & the earlier the better.

Absolutely, I worked out very early in my working life, that a lot of the fella's who did the full work term and retired did not live for long after all of those working years - and that was not going to be me (!)
So 15 years later I'm still reaping the benefits of all of those hours, and in a few weeks time I start to get back all of those years of NI ....yes, I will be drawing my old age pension as well and don't like old age, nobody told me it would be so bleddy painful.
BUT - hey ho - can't be first and last.

 

[plmval]

Absolutely, I worked out very early in my working life, that a lot of the fella's who did the full work term and retired did not live for long after all of those working years - and that was not going to be me (!)
So 15 years later I'm still reaping the benefits of all of those hours, and in a few weeks time I start to get back all of those years of NI ....yes, I will be drawing my old age pension as well and don't like old age, nobody told me it would be so bleddy painful.
BUT - hey ho - can't be first and last.

The cheap as chips “ bangernomics” K11 perpetual motion machine that just keeps going with almost no maintenance suits me when messing about working on my car is avoided.

Sorry to hear about your health issues especially as my health wellbeing improved on retiring at 55 & my rheumatoid arthritis is presently contained by NHS rheumatology consultant’s medication combined with keeping moving easy exercise similar to your strategy is the key.

 

[davyboy]

The cheap as chips “ bangernomics” K11 perpetual motion machine that just keeps going with almost no maintenance suits me when messing about working on my car is avoided.

Sorry to hear about your health issues especially as my health wellbeing improved on retiring at 55 & my rheumatoid arthritis is presently contained by NHS rheumatology consultant’s medication combined with keeping moving easy exercise similar to your strategy is the key.

Football done for me, snapped all the ligaments in my knee which developed into Osteo Arthur Itis as I like to call it But as you say ...moving is the key.
Yes, certainly the old Micras are as cheap as chips to run, and are easily on a par with all of these modern fandangly new motors.
A car that was 30 years ahead of its time, and looked after will last a lifetime.
I offered my granddaughter one of mine ....she laughed, no way she said, she has since had two Corsa's - lol.
First one leaked that much oil she had to scrap it, second one blew the engine, and is still waiting for a scrapper to be fitted ...who's laughing now I told her ...lol

 

[MaxWheeler]

Whenever I get a car, I like to drive it for a few weeks and try to determine what I think it needs. Then I break it down into elements and prioritise the repairs based almost entirely on availability of parts and spare time dedicated to each repair. Even if the brakes are 90% worn, I might change t he oil if I've only got half an hour and do the brakes another day.

The most important thing is to figure out if the car is worth saving or not. Here's what's wrong with mine:

• The K11 I have has an overheat condition
• it stalls occasionally in traffic
• it pulls drastically to the left
• There is also a knocking sound... Somewhere
• There is a whining sound from the drivers side engine compartment
• Brake squeal

The car starts on the button every time but it's general running is ropey at best. The engine does not even close to smooth. The coolant overflow is absolutely filthy and I believe it is the source of the engine overheat condition mostly down to a lack of coolant change and a dirty radiator. The coolant overflow reservoir is also cracked at the top. Since the overheating is the biggest issue, I intend to fix that before I go further. Generally with poorly maintained cars a good overall service can fix a multitude of issues. Since the coolant is a service item, it should be replaced periodically and the heating and cooling systems should be inspected as part of a service. So we'll replace the coolant overflow and see how the car as afterwards.

Pics to follow tomorrow, takes a while to upload them...

 

[plmval]

Football done for me, snapped all the ligaments in my knee which developed into Osteo Arthur Itis as I like to call it But as you say ...moving is the key.
Yes, certainly the old Micras are as cheap as chips to run, and are easily on a par with all of these modern fandangly new motors.
A car that was 30 years ahead of its time, and looked after will last a lifetime.
I offered my granddaughter one of mine ....she laughed, no way she said, she has since had two Corsa's - lol.
First one leaked that much oil she had to scrap it, second one blew the engine, and is still waiting for a scrapper to be fitted ...who's laughing now I told her ...lol

As it ever was right back to the Middle Age’s”, the young always know better and naively ignore the benefit of our multi tens of years plus university of hard knocks life experience?

 

[MaxWheeler]

Because of where the coolant overflow is removed some other items to make access easier + keep the skin on my knuckles. First thing to go was the battery.

The bolts on the battery terminal are 10mm and a shallow socket will be deep enough to overcome the threaded rod. The hold down strap for the battery is also 10mm. You don't need to take the nuts all the way off to unclip the strap from the tray.

Next thing to remove is the Cold Air Intake. It has one bolt holding it on and another bolt at the bottom but you can unclip this by pushing the cold air intake pipe towards the engine into the area we just removed the battery from.

The coolant overflow can be removed and is held on by two 10mm fasteners. I used some extensions to reach this easily but you could remove this with a spanner, naturally it will take longer. Due to the dirt caked on it the bolts didn't come out very well but you can see later on the newly installed Reservoir overflow tank where the bolts are clearly.

Don't forget to put the bolts back in so you don't lose them while we unclip the hose etc from the old reservoir.

Once the bolts are safely in a place they won't get lost or confused with other bolts, we need to unclip the coolant overflow reservoir so that we can fit the new one. You must pry it gently with a screwdriver until the teeth disengage, a lot like the reverse of a cable tie.

 

[davyboy]

Hey Max ....that water in the tank is filthy - never been changed !!!!
No wonder you have an overheat problem.

 

[MaxWheeler]

I used water pump pliers to secure the clip on the new coolant overflow reservoir.

This is how tight it needs to be to stop leaks.

Below you can see the new coolant tank installed and filled up. I always draw with a sharpie on the max and min mark so that I can see it clearly. This is particularly helpful when it ages a few years and becomes dirty. You can also see the fasteners clearly here. None of the bolts on this job should be difficult to break loose. As such, you don't need to do them up hellishly tight either.

Once the new reservoir is in place, you can put everything back in the reverse order you removed it. New tank in, Cold air intake in, batter in and terminals connected, battery strap connected.

The expansion cap that came with my overflow tank was not very good so I salvaged the one from the original overflow. You can also see how dirty it was. it had a crack in the top that I repaired temporarily by using solvent cement to fuse a piece of HDPE (Milk bottle) plastic over the crack. Since this solved the overheat condition I knew that replacing the entire reservoir would be a good idea since the old one was extremely brittle.

As I said earlier the bolts don't need to be super tight. Tighten them up until they feel snug, then give another quarter turn and that's it.

Once the overflow is in, run the engine until you hear the cooling fans kick in. Once this happens a cooling cycle is complete and any air will be worked out of the system. In order to do this though, you cannot install the coolant overflow tank cap. It may spill over the top slightly but not a problem. Once the engine is off, check the coolant level and install the cap. Take it for a drive to confirm the overheat condition does not occur and bobs your uncle.

The engine is still running a bit muddy for me and the coolant cycles are too frequent and I suspect the radiator is covered in dirt. Since this car has A/C and the condenser is broken. I will replace the condenser which will give me access to the radiator so that I can clean it in situ. The important thing is that even on long two hour drives the car no longer overheats. Success!