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[Varche]

Keen to preserve my hard earned euros that I have spent on a vastly overpriced Spanish (badly maintained no doubt from the early signs) Vitara, I bought a filter and a 5 litres of oil to do an oil change. last one was probably 300,000 miles ago. Total cost of materials - 23 euros.

Up on my level ramp constructed for Omega maintenance and locate the sump plug right above the cross member. No doubt earlier vitaras sump plugs are in a different position. This has a later 2.0 HDi peugeot engine in it. Mighty fine it is too.

Rigged up a tube, funnel and a ten litre container and let the oil out. Changed the filter in a devilishly hard place to get at. Filled it up and turned it over to build up oil pressure. Started it up and a small weep at sump plug. Blast there is a copper washer which I hadn't seen fly off in the first deluge of oil. More mess as I take the sump plug off and fit the washer other way round and put it back in place. (Mrs Varche at this point said " no point washing that shirt - you can use it as a rag)

Everything OK now. But used another five euros of oil. mmm love the taste of oil.

The irony is that across the way from the spares shop is a "Quick fit type place" and they do oil and filter change by sucking oil out using same grade oil" for 25 euros. I used to use them on the Omega because the sump plug threads were mullered!

Only a purist would do their own oil changes to get those last few drops of sump oil out.......................

[dbug]

Keen to preserve my hard earned euros that I have spent on a vastly overpriced Spanish (badly maintained no doubt from the early signs) Vitara, I bought a filter and a 5 litres of oil to do an oil change. last one was probably 300,000 miles ago. Total cost of materials - 23 euros.

Up on my level ramp constructed for Omega maintenance and locate the sump plug right above the cross member. No doubt earlier vitaras sump plugs are in a different position. This has a later 2.0 HDi peugeot engine in it. Mighty fine it is too.

Rigged up a tube, funnel and a ten litre container and let the oil out. Changed the filter in a devilishly hard place to get at. Filled it up and turned it over to build up oil pressure. Started it up and a small weep at sump plug. Blast there is a copper washer which I hadn't seen fly off in the first deluge of oil. More mess as I take the sump plug off and fit the washer other way round and put it back in place. (Mrs Varche at this point said " no point washing that shirt - you can use it as a rag)

Everything OK now. But used another five euros of oil. mmm love the taste of oil.

The irony is that across the way from the spares shop is a "Quick fit type place" and they do oil and filter change by sucking oil out using same grade oil" for 25 euros. I used to use them on the Omega because the sump plug threads were mullered!

Only a purist would do their own oil changes to get those last few drops of sump oil out.......................

Where's the fun in that mate - and you would have saved 2 euros if you didn't break it up 

[Omegatoy]

lol know exactly how you feel mate, as you know we bought a tired old 4x4 7 seater mitsubishi shogun(Pajero) last week, 2.5td Zena loves them, so after she had test driven it did  the deal(very cheaplol) as he thought the engine was blown,
it hasnt been touched for 2 years, so been doing a few much needed jobs on it, up on ramps,
get to sump plug, oh joy its rounded off now before i drain the oil I want to put a super strong flush in it, but no way am i just putting the tube down the dipstick hole after that(although i can do it here)
so out comes the welder only nut i can find that will fit over the remnants of the old sump plug is 24mm original is 13!! anyway welds it on, big heave with large spanner and it undoes,hooray!
put flush in ran it, removed sump plug and filter left it draining for ages to get all the lumps out
refilled with quality oil and new filter(had to remove the turbo hose to get old one off!!!)
and lo and behold we now have good oil pressure! prior to the change it was around 20psi, but what a palaver, while there i flushed the cooling system eleventy hundred times to get the sediment and rust out, refilled with a good antifreeze, now only got to get the front pads changed and 2 tyres and its ready for itv,soon as its passed will be fitting the aloy wheels!!

[Varche]

lol know exactly how you feel mate, as you know we bought a tired old 4x4 7 seater mitsubishi shogun(Pajero) last week, 2.5td Zena loves them, so after she had test driven it did  the deal(very cheaplol) as he thought the engine was blown,
it hasnt been touched for 2 years, so been doing a few much needed jobs on it, up on ramps,
get to sump plug, oh joy its rounded off now before i drain the oil I want to put a super strong flush in it, but no way am i just putting the tube down the dipstick hole after that(although i can do it here)
so out comes the welder only nut i can find that will fit over the remnants of the old sump plug is 24mm original is 13!! anyway welds it on, big heave with large spanner and it undoes,hooray!
put flush in ran it, removed sump plug and filter left it draining for ages to get all the lumps out
refilled with quality oil and new filter(had to remove the turbo hose to get old one off!!!)
and lo and behold we now have good oil pressure! prior to the change it was around 20psi, but what a palaver, while there i flushed the cooling system eleventy hundred times to get the sediment and rust out, refilled with a good antifreeze, now only got to get the front pads changed and 2 tyres and its ready for itv,soon as its passed will be fitting the aloy wheels!!

Once ciento? So few! I don't feel so bad now. Good luck with the MOT.

[Lazydocker]

From your description of how well it's been cared for and my experience of the Portuguese attitude to vehicle maintenance (I expect it's very similar) I would say it was worth every penny and I'd be doing it again (a few times) at short intervals to give it a good clean and flush

[Varche]

The excuse they give is that you don't pay VAt on garage bills if no receipt is given(true). So no one has any service history.

As an aside. I wanted a thermostat for my "bus". The huge car spares shop didn't sell them (Peugeot 2.0 HDi engine!) but said try the radiator specialist down the side road. Got there and two brothers run it. One was repairing or building a radiator (engineer, for once). The other was lifting a radiator that was six foot tall, 5 inches thick and four foot wide with an engine hoist. They had three cars with new rads etc "on test" out in the street with no one supervising them in case of theft! Guy goes in the back and comes out with just what I wanted!.