Today I helped my fiance's coworker perform an oil and filter change on his 2005 Mini Cooper S, along with a few other minor inspections on his car.
He bought his car a couple years back, with about 35k miles on it, and currently, he's a bit over 50k. He asked my fiance if I would be willing to teach him a few automotive maintenance items on his car, and today's lesson was oil changes and spark plugs.
I showed him the tools he would need for his mini, and the proper way to drain and fill his engine, along with how to change the filter cartridge. While we were poking around the car, I decided to show him how to change his spark plugs and wires, even though all we were doing was an actual inspection.
It was a good thing we did that too, because all three spark plugs were installed with dry threads, and 3 of the 4 were a bit on the nervous side to remove. I installed some spark plug thread lubricant, and now he doesn't have to worry about seized plugs when it is time to change them in the future.
David got to learn how to use a torque wrench, and several tricks on how to ensure for a perfect oil change job on the first try, without making common mistakes, like forgetting to reinstall the drain plug before pouring the new oil into the filler.
He had, on his own, watched several YouTube videos on Mini Cooper S oil changes before coming over today, and even after watching the videos, he was amazed at how easy changing the oil actually was. He's now armed for a good long future with his car.
We also popped a wheel off of his car, and inspected the brake pads, and I showed him the brake wear sensor on it, and explained how it works in order to set off the brake wear indicator light on his dash.
All in all, a good day.
Makes me happy to help a young kid (mid 20's) learn a new task in life, that will allow him to increase his knowledge base, but to also keep a vehicle he loves in great condition.
BC.
He bought his car a couple years back, with about 35k miles on it, and currently, he's a bit over 50k. He asked my fiance if I would be willing to teach him a few automotive maintenance items on his car, and today's lesson was oil changes and spark plugs.
I showed him the tools he would need for his mini, and the proper way to drain and fill his engine, along with how to change the filter cartridge. While we were poking around the car, I decided to show him how to change his spark plugs and wires, even though all we were doing was an actual inspection.
It was a good thing we did that too, because all three spark plugs were installed with dry threads, and 3 of the 4 were a bit on the nervous side to remove. I installed some spark plug thread lubricant, and now he doesn't have to worry about seized plugs when it is time to change them in the future.
David got to learn how to use a torque wrench, and several tricks on how to ensure for a perfect oil change job on the first try, without making common mistakes, like forgetting to reinstall the drain plug before pouring the new oil into the filler.
He had, on his own, watched several YouTube videos on Mini Cooper S oil changes before coming over today, and even after watching the videos, he was amazed at how easy changing the oil actually was. He's now armed for a good long future with his car.
We also popped a wheel off of his car, and inspected the brake pads, and I showed him the brake wear sensor on it, and explained how it works in order to set off the brake wear indicator light on his dash.
All in all, a good day.
Makes me happy to help a young kid (mid 20's) learn a new task in life, that will allow him to increase his knowledge base, but to also keep a vehicle he loves in great condition.
BC.
