A Few More Newbie Maintenance Questions

[07exlowner]

As a newbie CR-V owner, I'm eager to learn more about my investment and, thanks to this board, do so everyday. I now feel confident enough to take care of my own oil changes, filter replacements, and a couple of others.

However, there are some maintenance items which I'm unsure about. Because it's all new to me, I don't know whether I can take care of them myself or if I'll need to go to a dealer or other reputable technician.

How difficult is it to take care of the following maintenance items? (I copied the following from the maintenance minder list for the 07', they are all items listed under item B)

Inspect front and rear brakes
Check parking brake adjustment

Inspect these items:
Tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
Suspension components
Driveshaft boots
Brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
All fluid levels and condition of fluids
Exhaust system
Fuel lines and connections

Are all or most of these pretty simple or is there much more to them? For example, would I have to take a lot of things apart, do they require a lot of different tools that aren't easily available, etc?

Also, regarding tranny and rear differential fluid changes, are both of these 3x drain and fill? If so, how do the service places do this for their customers? All at once or do they have to keep coming back? And when you do it yourself, do you drain and fill one after another?

While I want to make sure these items are taken care of the best way possible and I respect the work technicians do, I would rather do it myself if I'm able to. I'd like to learn more about my car and also don't want to pay an arm and a leg just to have someone take a simple, quick look under the hood.

Thanks!

[Honda Tech]

How difficult is it to take care of the following maintenance items?

The difficulty level is proportional to individual ability and / or experience.

These items are much easier if you have access to a lift.

Inspect front and rear brakes
Check parking brake adjustment

Inspecting the brakes consists of removing the wheels and looking to see if the pads are worn out, wearing evenly, rotor surfaces are not excessively grooved, rusted, pitted, excessive run-out or variation in thickness (parallelism), inspect the caliper dust boots for damage and make sure the slide pins are moving freely. If you drive in an area where the roads are salted, it is a good idea to actually service the brakes, which involves removing the pads and cleaning and lubricating the areas necessary to ensure that the pads and calipers can move freely, preventing uneven wear of the pads and providing the best performance.

Checking the parking brake adjustment can be as simple as applying the parking brake to make sure that it holds and releases, and there is not an excessive amount of travel before solid apply occurs. Adjustment (if necessary) should be performed by someone experienced in the procedure, or at least with the direction of a factory service manual.

Inspect these items:
Tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
Suspension components
Driveshaft boots
Brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
All fluid levels and condition of fluids
Exhaust system
Fuel lines and connections

These are all basic visual inspections, looking for evidence of leakage, road damage, excessive play and general observation of condition. The suspension components should be pushed, tugged and pulled on by hand while looking and feeling for excessive movement or play. Various suspension nuts and bolts should be inspected for evidence of loosening or missing castle nut cotter pins. The fuel lines underneath the vehicle and under the hood should be inspected for damage or leakage, the same for the brake pipes and hoses.

Are all or most of these pretty simple or is there much more to them? For example, would I have to take a lot of things apart, do they require a lot of different tools that aren't easily available, etc?



These are not hard to do, and any tools needed to remove the wheels and retorque them as well as the tools and materials necessary to service the brakes are readily available.

The key thing is: do you have the experience necessary to recognize good from bad? You can always gain the experience (it's not exactly rocket science) but it would always be better to err on the side of caution. If you notice something that doesn't look or feel right, get it inspected by someone who knows - even if you end up having to pay someone to tell you it's O.K. - at least that way you can learn what 'good' looks like.


Keep asking your questions, and don't be shy - but at some point you're going to owe us all a beer or two. 536


Cheers 535


JD

[Carbuff2]

How difficult is it to take care of the following maintenance items?

Inspect front and rear brakes
Check parking brake adjustment

Inspect these items:
Tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
Suspension components
Driveshaft boots
Brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
All fluid levels and condition of fluids
Exhaust system
Fuel lines and connections

Are all or most of these pretty simple or is there much more to them? For example, would I have to take a lot of things apart, do they require a lot of different tools that aren't easily available, etc?

Also, regarding tranny and rear differential fluid changes, are both of these 3x drain and fill? If so, how do the service places do this for their customers? All at once or do they have to keep coming back? And when you do it yourself, do you drain and fill one after another?

While I want to make sure these items are taken care of the best way possible and I respect the work technicians do, I would rather do it myself if I'm able to. I'd like to learn more about my car and also don't want to pay an arm and a leg just to have someone take a simple, quick look under the hood.

Thanks!

Most of those items can be done visually, or at most by pulling a wheel in the case of brake checks. (Convenient when rotating tires) Might be nice to have someone experienced show you what to look for the first time.

The tranny & diff fluid changes need only be done ONE TIME as regular maintenance. Only if you are having problems or are dealing with unknown fluids (used cars) should the 3X D&F be necessary.

FYI Multiple D&F are usually done by driving the car 10 miles or more between each "session". A Pro would leave the car on the lift and let it run.

I'll send you a PM with more detailed info.

[07exlowner]

Thanks guys for the great information. I think I'm gonna take care of the easier maintenance items myself and then have a pro show me the ones that might require a bit more experience before deciding whether I can handle them myself.

I think I'm also gonna pick up the service manual because I think it would help me understand some maintenance items better.

I feel bad asking so many questions, but then that's the only way you get answers, right? I owe a few people on here some beers. :p

[2RedV's]

Beer? Someone mention beer? :)

With an 07 in your stable, there really isn't much to the visual checks just yet unless you know you HIT something, like a curb. It is a good idea to check the CV boots for cracks, splitting, etc. as ice chunks can cause this if hit wrong.

Give it another year or so and the visual checks start becoming a little more important.