cars

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Hexbear's premier community for the discussion of and questions about cars, motorcycles, and other low occupancy transit. Share your thoughts, discuss cars under communism, and ask questions about maintenance.

Anti-car posting is not permited. Train good car bad and all, but it's not what this comm is for.

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Suggestions for DIY maintenance projects? (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 year ago by LaGG_3@hexbear.net to c/cars@hexbear.net

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Maybe I'm having a quarter life crisis, but I want to learn some DIY car maintenance. Fortunately, I'm in a position where my family really could get by with one car, and my partner's old car, a 6th gen Ford Fiesta, mostly sits unused.

I figure that this might be the best opportunity for me to learn some new skills. I have to force myself to take occasional errands in this car just so it doesn't rot in the driveway, so I'm pretty sure I can take my sweet time with any project I start on it. I'd like to think I have some mechanical aptitude and have half a clue on how basic systems work on a car. I already do some really basic stuff - air filters, wiper blades, windshield washer fluid.

What are some basic projects that I should look into? What are some essential tools to have on hand that may not be too obvious?

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[–] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's the goal - a new hobby that'll eventually save me some money!

I'd recommend getting a torque wrench for safety reasons. Buy a repair manual or find a tutorial before you start and check what tools you'll need. A good guide will include torque specs for the caliper mounting and slide bolts.

I picked one up last week, actually, and used it this weekend when I fixed a misaligned hubcap (held on by lug nuts) on the family car. I'll probably shop around for repair manuals next.

[–] LanyrdSkynrd@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've had luck finding pdf repair manuals on torrent sites and on web forums. The Haynes/Chilton physical manuals are convenient sometimes, but the factory service manual in PDF format is usually better quality especially the diagrams.

I found this, it's for a 2014, which I believe is mk6: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s7wts7x85s2yu9e/2014%20Fiesta.zip?dl=0

Hope that helps, enjoy!

[–] megasteel32@hexbear.net 3 points 11 months ago

pirate a copy of ALLDATA or Mitchell1, I find the navigation much easier than the pdfs

[–] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

This is very helpful. Thanks a lot