A number of us in Vintage learned our auto mechanics the hard way, we had British Cars, Italian Cars or American muscle cars when we were younger. None the less, had we not attended the "School of Backyard Mechanics" we'd never have been able to keep our cars on the road.

At the same time, there are some of us here who are new to sportscars, and never had the opportunity or need to "do it yourself" in order to keep the car on the road. I thought it might be good if we had a thread where we could share our tips, tricks and methods of repairing the car, and especially doing the emergency roadside repairs so that everyone can benefit. If a tip is posted and someone else has another or better way to do it, feel free to post again. Please try to keep in mind that this thread is for people who have never held a wrench before as well as for people who had to tune their MGs every Sunday. I'll start.

The flat tire.

I always carry a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a 1/2" drive 19mm deep socket in my trunk. This makes loosening the lug nuts very easy. I also carry a 3/8"drive torque wrench and a 1/2" to 3/8" adaptor. I use the torque wrench, adaptor and 19mm socket to put the lug nuts back on. I find that these tools make the job much easier.

On the road I prefer the scissor jack supplied with the car to carrying a floor jack, even the light weight racing jacks. I find the racing jack simply takes up too much of the trunk. The scissor jack is slower and less convenient, but it takes up little space and is adequate for an emergency.

It is very important to note that the space saver spare must never go on the rear axle. If you get a flat tire in the rear, put the space saver on the front (same side) and put the front tire on the rear. This is because of the Limited Slip Differential. Tires must be the same radius in order to rotate at the same speed, or the diff will be damaged. It is also advisable to drive as slowly and for as short a distance as possible with the spacesaver spare on the car.

All that said, I typically take out my tools and the spare tire, and loosen (not remove) the lug nuts on the flat tire before jacking the car. After the lug nuts are loosened, I jack up the car to a height sufficient to remove the flat tire and replace it with a good tire. I remove the lug nuts, remove the tire, replace it with the good tire and replace the lug nuts. At that point I torque the lug nuts to 80 lbs. When you tighten the lug nuts you tighten them in a diagonal "cross the street" pattern. That is you don't tighten them in a circle, but rather across from each other to even out the torque on the wheel and rotor.


I lower the car to where the tire is just touching the ground, and check the torque. I lower the car the rest of the way and recheck the torque. Wipe the tools clean, put everything away, and head for the next gas station/tire shop to get the tire repaired.

Five very important things to remember:
1) Never put the spacesaver spare on the rear.
2) Don't over tighten the lug nuts.
3) Do not under any condition get under the car when it is on a jack. Not under any condition, not for any reason.
4) Always chock the diagonally opposite tire to prevent the car from rolling. Also, put the car in gear (engine off) and put the parking brake on.
5) Always get as far off of the road as possible and always use your 4 way flashers.

 

Very good info Rob. This is my first car with a spacesaver tire. I swore I'd never buy a car that had one of those.

Unfortunately you have inspired me to tell my roadside repair story. Decades ago, my sister and I were chugging up the steep Wild Rose Canyon road, climbing out of Death Valley, in her '69 VW bug. A warm day.

We passed another VW bug with the engine lid up pulled off the road. While we decided about stopping to help (Hey! Charlie Manson was captured around there) we too came to a sputtering halt a short distance past the other bug.

I quickly diagnosed the problem as vapor lock and did what any good mechanic would do. I cut a grapefruit in half and juiced it over top of the fuel pump. While we waited for the cure to take effect, the other VW owners sauntered up. I could see them trying to keep from laughing as they saw a half grapefruit in our engine compartment.

I explained how I was cooling the fuel pump. They looked skeptical. I remained confident. I told my sister to fire it up. It worked! No one was more surprised than I was. We drove off with the grapefruit still there and I gave the other half to the skeptics.

 

3 things to add:

1) flares. ALWAYS have atleast one flare. you never know when you're going to breakdown or get a flat on the blind side of a curve, on a twisty backroad at night. being able to put a bright red flare in the middle of the road just before that curve is going to slow down any oncoming vehicles and prevent a minor breakdown from becoming a major collision. even if you breakdown on the side of a major highway at night, having a flare or two up the road from you serves well to help warn away vehicles that might otherwise ignore your flashing hazard lights and is cheap, cheap insurance.

2) Fix-A-Flat. I swear by the stuff. if it's just a small hole, and for one of the many myriad reasons you don't want to put on the donut (esp. if the hole is in the rear tire)-- this is the stuff to have in your trunk. the guy at the tire shop is going to hate it, but hey they get paid to deal with this stuff. just be a nice person and tell them ahead of time.

3) Mag-lite flashlight, or equivalent. Always have a really good, bright flashlight in your car. I keep a 3 D-cell battery one under my driver's seat. You never know when you'll need one of these, but you'll be darn happy you have it when you do.

 

Rob - You mentioned making this a topic for a talk at Spring Fling, but I guess this thread will take the place of that? Great subject, by the way!

 

Deb

Hopefully this thread will develop into a handy guide. At Spring Fling we can go over some of these things in person.

 

Thanks for starting this thread Rob.

 

Checking and Adding Oil

This is perhaps one of the simplest things anyone can do to maintain their car, but it may also be one of the most overlooked tasks (second to checking tire pressures). Our little car (model years prior to 04) tends to use oil. Some have suggested that the problem was corrected with model year 04, but it is still a good idea to check your oil with every tankful. Again, it is one of the simplest yet most important things you can do for your car.

To check your oil all you really need is a paper towel or a rag. Most carry those in their trunk, and if not, it might be a good idea to consider carrying a roll of paper towels. There is also something of a debate going on about when you should check your oil. Some say it should be done when the car is cold, before you start it in the morning. Others suggest that the best time is when it is warmed up. I maintain that it doesn't really matter, so long as you check it. The difference between the reading when the car is warm or cold is insignificant.

To check your oil make sure you car is on level ground. If it has been running, stop the engine and let it settle for a few minutes. The procedure is simple. Lift the hood and remove the dipstick. Clean the end of the dipstick with your rag or paper towel and reinsert it, all of the way. Remove it and check the oil level. Check both sides of the dipstick. Your oil, under ideal conditions, should be at the line above the top x on the dipstick (on both sides of the dipstick). At most it shouldn't be allowed to fall much more than one to three x from the top. I personally am very anal about this. I won't allow it to be even one x down, but one to three x is within the "temporary" safety zone.

If your reading is within the safety zone, replace the dipstick (push it all of the way down), close your hood and you are done. Dispose of the rag. If on the other hand, you need to add oil follow these steps.

Unscrew the black oil filler cap at the top of the engine, put the funnel in the hole, and add a little bit of oil. After a minute of so, check the dipstick. Repeat this procedure until your dipstick reading is full. At full, replace the oil filler cap and the dipstick. You are done.

A Few Helpful Hints
1. Always carry a quart of oil, a funnel and a roll of paper towels in the trunk. The oil and the funnel should be put in a zip-lock bag (I find that a freezer bag stands up to the rigors of the trunk very well). Make sure to tighten the top of the oil container before putting it into the ziplock bag.

2. After using your funnel wipe it down. Get as much excess oil off of it as possible before putting it away. Also, wrap it in a paper towel before putting it into the zip-lock bag. This will help to keep it clean, and absorb any oil remaining on it.

3. Put the oil filler cap in the same place all of the time. Get into the habit. You'd be surprised how quickly you can forget where you put it and how much time you'll spend looking for it. Be consistent always put it in the same spot.

4. After you replace the oil filler cap, give it an extra, very deliberate, test. You'd be surprised at how often you'll start to wonder if you remembered to tightened it 50 miles down the road. Always give it that last check.

5. Get into the habit of checking your oil whenever you get gas. This way you will check it often without really thinking about it.

6. When adding oil, add it slowly and check the dipstick often. Overfilling is almost as bad as underfilling.

7. It's a quality car, use a quality oil.

8. Wipe any oil spills up now, don't wait. It's easier to wipe up the spill when it's fresh.

9. Never, under any condition, stick your hands in the engine compartment when the engine is running. Always turn off the engine first. Always.

Tomorrow "Changing you own oil and filter"

 

Wow nobody mentioned Duct tape yet! It works wonders for leaks, rips and many other applications. I also carry a small knife which can easily cut through rubber works great if you have a split at the end of a hose just cut away the split part and reattach the hose. I also carry jumper cables, fix a flat, matches, firestarter, extra gloves, hat, old hoses that I've replaced, old belts that fit your vehicle would be a good idea too, a foldup shovel, wd-40, 6way screwdriver, flashlight, sockets, ratchet and some string.
Another thing I always do when picking up a new to me car i.e. used is go through it and make sure to check the lugs on the tires you don't want to wait until you are on the side of the road with a flat to find out your lugs were overtorqued with an impact wrench OR that you have a wheel lock on and no key to it.

 

Sheeesh....seeing the inside of a CPA's head is really scary Are you trying to suggest that you have actually had a flat tire while driving your S, Rob??

It's all very thorough, but so is my wife's Passat Owner Manual.....all 893 pages and 5 sections inside the leatherette cover. I like the S2000 Owners Manual....1/2 inch thick....short and to-the-point.

 

you only forgot the inflatable life preserver.