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[Bacon Butty Man]

the last bit of sedrvicing i did myself was on my Granada with a pinto engine, when i got a passat it was 3 years old and looked like the inside of a warp reactor, so gotsome one else to do it, i really fancy maintaining this car myself to a degree, IE pads, servicing, is there anything i should know before embarking on the usual, plugs etc

[Andy B]

..... is there anything i should know before embarking on the usual, plugs etc

It's a bit more complex than a pinto. I cut my teeth with a Cortina's pinto.  
Just take your time, don't force anything to get things off/out of the way & have a read through your comprehensive Haynes manual the pages of this forum before you start anything.       Not much is difficult on the V6 .... just a little awkward to get to.

[Darth Loo-knee]

the last bit of sedrvicing i did myself was on my Granada with a pinto engine, when i got a passat it was 3 years old and looked like the inside of a warp reactor, so gotsome one else to do it, i really fancy maintaining this car myself to a degree, IE pads, servicing, is there anything i should know before embarking on the usual, plugs etc

The usual really, make sure you have had your Cambelt and Tensioners done, they have to be changed every 40,000 miles or 4years whichever comes first. Check there is no oil in the plug wells, keep the breathers clean. Vauxhall Oil is about the best and you can get it cheaper using a Trade Club Card.
Thats about it really, the pads aren't hard to change and as you know there are plenty of helpful people to help on here if you get stuck  

[hotel21]

An engine is still basically an engine, despite its lumps and bumps of go faster plastic.....

Change the oil, oil filter, air filter and fuel filter and you are a good ways to helping the engine along.  Add in potential plugs change as well, clean the crankcase breathers and, if adventurous, timing belt and tensioners, then you should be sorted.

Lots of info on the site as well as hard learned opinions if required.....  

[Bacon Butty Man]

goint to do the plugs today, checked the air filter yesterday was clean enough, will do the breather pipes today also, What is the gap needed on the plugs. (i dont smoke so ciggy papers to hand as a gage lol)

[Omega Pixie]

the plugs will be your first suprise you can't gap them you will see what I mean there not your regular plugs im enjoying having another blast at car maintainance it can be a love hate relationship

[Bacon Butty Man]

is it likely they will need wire brushing, i am basically going to gage the condition of the engine.

[Andy B]

is it likely they will need wire brushing, i am basically going to gage the condition of the engine.

Particularly if you have access to a Trade Club card, they're cheap enough to just buy another set of of the 4 electrode plugs intended for the latest engines & forget about them.

[x25xe]

Plus it is not a good idea to wire brush plugs as stray bits of wire from the brush may be left behind on the plugs and this will affect their sparking ability.  You also do not want pieces of wire in the cylinder bore.........

As said, they are cheap enough to simply replace.

I think that the single most important maintenance task on any engine is regular oil & filter changes - my vehicles do around 2K miles for every oil change.

[Bacon Butty Man]

just ooked at the plugs and saw what it involved, crikey was my first thought, will read up on it more, The front brake pads will need replacing, do i need and peticular type i.e with sensors like my old passat or just bog standard pads, also are they like other cars and need unwinding to remove the caliper or do the calipers just slip off.

found these on feebay, will these do the job.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Calibra-Cavalier-Omega-Saab-Front-Brake-Pads_W0QQitemZ170195151368QQihZ007QQcategoryZ10404QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
thanx

[Andy B]

just ooked at the plugs and saw what it involved, crikey was my first thought, will read up on it more, The front brake pads will need replacing, do i need and peticular type i.e with sensors like my old passat or just bog standard pads, also are they like other cars and need unwinding to remove the caliper or do the calipers just slip off.
thanx

Non of the pads have sensors built in them. The sensor(s) are a seperate item that clips onto the anti-rattle butterfly shaped spring that's part of the pad. And no, you don't need any fancy tool to wind the pads in, just a big screwdriver will do. Although I've never had any problems doing it this way, it's often recomended that you slacken off the bleed nipple before you push the pads  back so you don't run the risk of damaging seals in the master cylinder. It does also have the advantage of changing the fluid in the caliper too.

[Kevin Wood]

Spark plugs don't get dirty with modern fuels and engines, and the gaps don't open up appreciably during their service life. In any case, modern ignition systems can generate enough voltage to cope.

For these reasons, spark plugs have become "fit and forget". Check the gap when new (normally they don't need adjustment and multi-electrode types shouldn't be adjusted) and fit them. Drive 20-40,000 miles then bin them and replace. No need to clean or reset the gaps IME.

As far as engine jobs go, cleaning breathers, changing oil, filters and coolant, plugs, cam belt is all that's required for routine maintenance.

Brake servicing has changed little, as mentioned, except to say that it's very worthwhile taking steps to ensure air doesn't enter the ABS valve body if you're doing work involving disconnecting fluid lines.

Modern cars may look daunting, and have more clutter under the bonnet so access can be awkward, but the myth that you can't do your own maintenance any more is just that. In fact, given the quality of service and cost of taking a car to some main dealers, it's never been more advantageous to do so.

Kevin

[Bacon Butty Man]

basically its just advice and reading on each job and a little bravery,  :-/

[al and omega]

No matter what car i've had always used fast road/performance pads, there not a great deal more than standard ones. They "bite" better and help keep alloys brake free worth considering?

[al and omega]

sorry brake dust free! Also the ignition leads on a v6 do take time to replace, i've but magnecore competition ones which are life time guarentee, supposed to help misfire and are cheaper than standard silicone ones from vx