A basic service.

[Ben999]

Ive heard a lot of people ask what a Basic service consists of, so this is what a basic yearly service should consist of.

The following should be done every 12,000 miles or every 12 months, whichever comes first.

Change oil/oil filter (Link to how to)

Check the suspension, look for spring cracks, leaking shocks.

• With the car on jacks (and axle stands for safety) grab the wheel at the top and bottom and try to rock it. It may move a bit, but if there is a lot of movement, then you may need to investigate further. Do the same holding the wheel at the sides
• Check the rubber bushes, look for splits and cracks in the rubber.
• Check the suspension strut, look for any fluid that may be a sign of leakage.

Check the pipes under the bonnet and under the car for leaks.

• Coolent leaks should be obvious as coolent contains anti-freeze which when there is a leak leaves a white crystalised substance around the affected area
• Mainly check around the engine, particularly around the cam shaft cover. there maybe a small amount of spillage over time, major leaks should be fairly obvious.
• Give all the pipes a light pull where they are connected, there should be no significant movement

Check the exhaust

• Fairly easy one. Requires the car to be raised (remember safety!). Check along for any signs of severe corossion or rust
• Check all the fixings, particularly the rubber ones to make sure they are not cracked or split

Check the tightness of the wheel bolts

• quite straight forward. Make sure all the wheel bolts are tight.

Check the electrics

• make sure the horn, all the lights, wipers (also check the rubber on the wipers, make sure there are no splits or cracks) and washers work. Some vectra's are fitted with bulb failure warnings. If you have this, check the bulbs anyway.

Check the brakes

• Remove the wheels and use the inspection holes in the calliper to check the thickness of the carbon part of the pads. (The minimum thickness is 9mm at the front and 8mm at the back. This includes the backing plate). If they are any less then they will need changing. The how 2's are here: Front and back
• Check the dics. The minimum thickness for brake discs should be 22mm at the front and 10mm at the back.
• Check the handbrake. With the rear of the car raised, apply the handbrake and ensure you cannot turn the rear wheels

Lubricate and check all door, boot and bonnet hinges and catches

Reset the service light

• With the engine of, hold the odometer reset button down, switch on the ignition, wait for the display changes, wait for another 5 seconds. The display should now show the service symbol and the maximum mileage before the next service. Release the button and the odometer will return to the default mileage display.

The following should be done every 2 years or 30,000 miles whichever comes first.

Renew the pollen filter (How to found here)

Change the coolant fluid

Change the brake fluid

Check the headlight beam allignment and test the emissions.

• Both of these need to be done at a garage (very unlikely you will have your own kit to do it). However remember the emissions are tested every time you MOT the veh.

The following should be done every 4 years or 40,000 miles whichever comes first.

Change the spark plugs (How to)

Change the timing belt (How to)
1.8 non VVT (How to)

Change the fuel filter

Disclaimer: This may not cover everything some garages may offer in a service, nor is it meant to fully explain how to do each individual element. I am not responsible for anyone who doesnt take the necessary safety precautions when doing any of the above (especially lifting the vehicle or working underneath a lifted vehicle).

[glenboy]

Nice one Ben,cheers....

[Terry Tibbs]

Nice one mate, thats really useful, thanks

[Ste]

Do you have the list for what actually gets done though? I suspect it will be shorter than that one...

[Ben999]

Do you have the list for what actually gets done though? I suspect it will be shorter than that one...

That would just depend on what garage you use. That list is what I'd want done during a service.

[Ste]

Is that list the official Vauxhall dealer service list, or something else?

[Big-Pete]

I think the idea behind this was that it gives a general guidance on what to do if carrying out a "Basic Service" yourself, Dealers may check other things as instructed by Vauxhall, depending if your car is in warranty or not

Guidance only so that the non mechanical minded on here have an idea of what to do so they can do a service themselves

[MalcGSI]

Guidance only so that the non mechanical minded on here have an idea of what to do so they can do a service themselves

Hope they don't try the cambelt even with the How to!!!!

[bertbuckie1]

lol, timing belts couldnt cause that much to go wrong malcGSI ...... give me a reaason to get a v6 lol
niceguidance though, i didnt know brake fluid and coolant needed to be changed that often.

[Ste]

There is also a How to change the cambelt and water pump for the 1.8 non VVT on here too.