1. Car wash. If possible, it is advisable to wash the outside of the car before work. Moreover, if the work is to be done in the engine compartment, it must be washed as well, and in case of suspension repair, the car must be washed from underneath.
Warning! When washing the engine compartment, water should not get on the pads, sensors and actuators of the fuel injection system, as well as the generator and starter.
In any case, washing the engine compartment must be done with the mandatory disconnection of the wire from the negative terminal of the battery.
After washing, the above parts and units must be thoroughly dried by blowing with a stream of compressed air.
This operation is best performed at a non-automatic car wash. Here, the car will be washed manually, after first treating the outer surface of the body and the engine compartment with special cleaning compounds, removing dirt from the wheel arches and the bottom of the body with a high-pressure water jet, followed by drying.
2. Installation of the vehicle.
a) parking the car on a flat horizontal surface. This could be a garage with a concrete floor or other strong and flat surface, a horizontal surface with a hard surface indoors or outdoors (asphalt, concrete, wood flooring)A hard and even surface allows, if necessary, to lift any part of the car with a jack and securely install it on a stand (see below p.3).
To perform work without hanging the wheels, it is enough:
- turn off the ignition;
- secure the vehicle against spontaneous movement with the parking brake. If the parking brake is faulty, or before repairing the brake system, use wheel chocks to secure the vehicle.
Warning!
- The gear should be left engaged only if the engine will not need to be started or the crankshaft turned during operation. In any case, before starting the engine, press the clutch pedal all the way down and make sure that the gearshift lever is in neutral.
- Do not leave the ignition key in the car, as the security system installed in the car (signaling) may spontaneously switch to the security mode and block the door locks. If there is a need to leave the key in the ignition during operation, first lower the window of one of the doors.
b) placing the vehicle on an inspection pit or overpass. If some of the repair operations have to be carried out from underneath the vehicle, then in many cases the ideal place to work is (from those available to a private car owner) there will be a garage with an inspection pit. Before driving into such a garage, the pit should be covered with wooden or steel shields that can support the car. The remaining recommendations are the same as when installing the car on a flat horizontal platform (see above).
Some garage cooperatives have a repair overpass welded from metal structures on their territory. It is usually impossible to install a jack or car stands on such an overpass without a special flooring made of boards. It is better to drive onto the overpass under the supervision of an assistant.
c) parking the vehicle on a slope or uneven ground. This may be necessary when a vehicle malfunction has to be repaired en route and there is no way to find a more suitable place for repairs (see points 2, a and 2, b). You should not repair your car on grass, loose gravel, sandy soil or rocks (for example, it is very difficult to find a nut that has fallen into thick grass). It is better to try to tow or roll the car to another place. You should also avoid loose soil, especially if you have to use a jack and stands. If the forced stop occurred on a slope, it is better to try to roll the car down the slope, otherwise you need to put wheel chocks under the wheels, and on the side of the slope it is advisable to put several of them under different wheels. Otherwise, you should follow the same recommendations as when installing the car on a level surface (see above).
3. Raising the vehicle on a jack and stands. This operation should be performed on a flat, horizontal surface with a hard surface. When working on soft or uneven ground, place strong flooring of at least 30x30 cm under the jack and all stands. A thick board is suitable for making the flooring.
Warning!
- The trolley jack can only be used on a solid surface, and the jack rollers must remain mobile.
- Jacking up a vehicle parked on a slope is only permitted to replace a faulty wheel, provided that the vehicle is securely secured against spontaneous movement.
- Before jacking up the vehicle, disembark all passengers. Do not enter the vehicle while it is jacked up or do any loading or unloading.
- Before performing repairs on a vehicle with a wheel suspended (or wheels) be sure to install reliable supports under the body's power elements.
- It should be taken into account that in hot weather, the asphalt heated by the sun becomes soft, it is pressed by the supports of the stands and the base of the jack, as a result of which the car installed on them may fall.
To lift a car with a jack, you need to:
- follow all recommendations in point 2 (see above);
- install wheel chocks under the wheel located diagonally on the opposite side of the car from the wheel being lifted;
- install a standard jack under the threshold; special places are indicated by recesses on the lower edge of the threshold;
Note: On the Astra model, to install the jack, you must first remove the plug from the decorative door sill trim.
On the Zafira model this is not required.
- raise the car by turning the jack handle (for many jobs it is enough for the wheel to just come off the base surface).
- install under the body's power elements (threshold, side member or cross member of the body) support. Turn the jack handle to lower the car onto the support.
The rest of the car's wheels can be hung up in the same way.
4. Cleaning of threaded connections. During long-term operation of the vehicle, threaded connections usually "stick" due to corrosion and become covered with a layer of rust. This is especially true for suspension parts, transmission, external elements of the brake system and steering. Therefore, before repair, all disassembled threaded and fastening connections should be cleaned with a metal brush and treated with penetrating lubricant in an aerosol package (see "Operating and repair materials") or, in extreme cases, wet it with kerosene. It is better if such work is done in advance (in a few hours or days), so that the lubricant has time to penetrate into the joint.
5. Disconnecting the battery from the vehicle's electrical network.
The need for such an operation may arise:
- when repairing electrical equipment to which voltage is constantly supplied both when the ignition is on and when it is off (generator, starter, ignition switch, engine management system, etc.);
- when performing any repairs if there is a high probability of a short circuit in the electrical equipment circuit;
- when parking a car for a long period (for example, in winter);
- when the battery discharges quickly while the vehicle is parked due to a large current leak through the electrical circuits (until the fault is corrected);
- when servicing the battery and in some other cases.
Warning!
- Disconnect the battery only when necessary, as this will clear the fault codes and all settings generated by the engine management system from the ECU memory (which will make it difficult to check this system using diagnostic equipment at a service station).
- When removing the battery, always disconnect the negative terminal cable first, and when reconnecting the battery, always connect the positive terminal cable first.
- Never disconnect the battery while the engine is running. The resulting voltage surges will damage the electronic equipment.
- If the car is equipped with an alarm system and central locking, never leave the ignition key in the car when disconnecting the battery. Some alarm systems may cause the car doors to lock spontaneously when the battery is connected.
To disconnect the battery from the vehicle's electrical system, simply do the following:
- turn off the ignition;
- fold back the thermal insulation cover;
- using a 10 mm wrench, loosen the nut securing the negative battery terminal wire;
- remove the terminal from the negative terminal of the battery and move it to the side so that it does not touch the terminal.
We connect the wire terminal to the negative terminal of the battery in the reverse order.
Warning: Before connecting the battery, make sure the ignition is off.
6. Protecting the car body. When working in the engine compartment, the painted surfaces of the front fenders and bumper are often damaged. To avoid this, it is better to cover the fenders and the front of the car with special capes (sold in auto parts stores).
Warning! When performing any operations in the engine compartment with the engine running, be careful: the electric cooling fan may turn on at any time and cause injury.
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