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My Service History

benw123

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Location
Hertfordshire
Car
2006 i-CTDI EX
After several weeks of reading the guides here, and opinions of other owners around servicing, I decided to take the plunge and switch my Accord to the self-service route. A major service was due on my car and a combination of frankly shocking Honda dealer servicing costs (£427 anyone?) and no guarantees of getting the work completed satisfactorily (having to mark parts ahead of a dealer service) has helped my decision to take the servicing under my control.

I've worked on all the cars I've owned to various degrees and have tackled some larger repairs with success, so servicing should be straightforward. I like the fact that most of it is documented in the owner's manual! I had the idea of creating a thread to provide running documentary of all the work I've completed to supplement my notes in the service book. So here goes.

First up - parts. Again, TA has created some informed choices. I purchased a 25L drum of EXOL 0w30, as reviewed here on TA, delivered for £80 and Howards Honda on eBay supply an Accord service kit which includes an oil filter, sump plug washer, fuel filter, air filter and pollen filter delivered for £74.99. The good thing about this kit, apart from being genuine Honda parts, is that I got a proper Honda-branded receipt to prove I purchased the parts.

My Accord went into Chiswick Honda at the end of February to get its manifold changed under warranty (fumes in the cabin), and at the same time, for £60 labour, I had the fuel filter fitted. I didn't fancy this one; I know access to it is tricky and that mistakes can lead to starting problems, so I decided to stick to my strengths! Cut to this weekend and at 95109 miles, I got stuck into the oil change. I took some pictures and here's some notes on what happened.

First of all, I took the car for a 1/2 mile run to warm the oil a touch - this was from cold and the oil was lukewarm when I got back. Then the Accord was put on axle stands, the oil filler cap opened and using a 10mm socket to remove the small flap in the undertray, and a 17mm socket to undo the sump plug, out came the oil into a large container:

oilcontainer.jpg


There's over 5 litres of oil in the engine, way more than I remember in older cars, so you will need a big container. And try not to drop the sump plug into it either... The oil was just shy of 12,000 miles old and while quite black wasn't full of sludge - it drained out easily.

Oil filter next, and you can use a permanent marker to record where it should be retightened to. I used a traditional oil filter removal tool - the one that tightens as you wrap round it - and it came off easily. Use some cloth to go around the filter in case of spillage. Oil runs out quickly so remove it away from the engine as soon as it is free to stop the old oil draining back into the engine. A tray works well for this:

oilfilter.jpg


The new oil filter consists of the element plus three thin rubber rings. Turn the element so that it can slide out and pull firmly to take it off. Use a small screwdriver to carefully prise off the rings and replace.

While you're waiting for all the oil to drain, now's a good time to change the filters - they're both very easy. The air filter is held in place by four 8mm bolts. Two are visible and two are further down which means a socket extension is needed:

airfilterbolts.jpg


Remove the two shown and the other two can be loosened and left in place. Open the air filter box enough to slide the air filter out. Mine wasn't too bad in comparison:

airfilter.jpg


Refit and secure the bolts. If you thought that was easy, the pollen filter is barely 60 seconds' work. Open the glove box, push in the two tabs at the hinge so it opens right up, and in front of you is the pollen filter tray. Press in the two tabs either side and pull out - I had a bit of wiring in the way but this is easily pushed to one side. This time, the pollen filter was well-used:

pollenfilter.jpg


Back to the oil. Once it has stopped draining, put the new washer on the bolt and retighten it to 29 lb/ft (according to the manual). Clean the area with a rag to make leak-spotting easier.

Refit the oil filter and tighten. Again, if you marked the parts with a marker, you'll know how much to tighten although it is marked 25 lb/ft. This isn't particularly tight but it doesn't need to be.

Finally, the oil. I know some EXOL owners here fitted a tap to the 25L drum and this is a good idea; trying to pour the first couple of litres out of the drum is difficult! I managed it by pouring quickly into another one-litre container - the oil starts running out of the drum almost immediately. Filling the engine using a funnel in one-litre stages means you can count the amount going in. I put in around 4 litres and waited, checked for leaks and then started the engine, before topping it up to the max mark on the dipstick.

I did a five-mile drive to make sure that there were no further leaks and then you're done. Two days later and all is well - it's worth constantly checking for any leaks obviously.

Overall, I'm really pleased I took this route; it's saved a heap of cash but you have the confidence that the work has been done properly. It's probably the placebo effect but I swear the engine is a tad quieter and smoother too!
 
Ben, can't see your pics and you should have tried our affiliated dealer in Stoke. Holdcroft Honda provide excellent prices and free delivery to TA members now.

Maybe know for next time mate.
 
Ben, can't see your pics and you should have tried our affiliated dealer in Stoke. Holdcroft Honda provide excellent prices and free delivery to TA members now.

Maybe know for next time mate.
Cheers mate - pressed "Submit" when I only wanted to preview the post. Doh! All done now - can you see the pictures now?

Regarding Holdcraft, do you know happen to know what a service kit like this would cost from them?
 
Ben, it's not placebo - these engines love an oil change.

Good work on the service and great write up.

Regarding the oil change procedure you followed, starting the engine with only 4 litres in is a bad idea. The engine takes 5.9 litres including filter, and the dipstick markers only represent 1 litre between min and max.

I would suggest putting in 5 litres and then topping it up bit by bit.
 
Ben, it's not placebo - these engines love an oil change.

Good work on the service and great write up.

Regarding the oil change procedure you followed, starting the engine with only 4 litres in is a bad idea. The engine takes 5.9 litres including filter, and the dipstick markers only represent 1 litre between min and max.

I would suggest putting in 5 litres and then topping it up bit by bit.
Good call chap - come to think of it, it was more like 5 litres I put in first because after a couple of minutes (to let the oil settle) the dipstick was showing oil above the minimum mark. It's not easy to judge, but it'll be easier next time. Thanks for the comments!
 
Nice right up, where did you get the oil from for £80?
Yes it was from LubeTech as Rob said, but I made a mistake - it was £88 delivered after the TA discount. PM any of the Admins or LubeTech directly for the code which you use upon checkout of the site.
 
Yes it was from LubeTech as Rob said, but I made a mistake - it was £88 delivered after the TA discount. PM any of the Admins or LubeTech directly for the code which you use upon checkout of the site.

Thanks
 
Successfully completed another oil service over the weekend at 99949 miles. No pictures this time because it was just the EXOL 0w30 oil and filter only, with the filter sourced from eBay via Two Mills Honda at just £9.95 delivered. The great thing about ordering parts from genuine Honda dealers is that you get a proper A4 receipt! The oil came from my existing LubeTech drum.

As before, I took the Accord for a quick 1/2 mile drive from cold to warm the oil. This time however I left the car draining for several hours to ensure as much of the old oil out as possible. This meant starting on the car in the morning and going back to it in the early afternoon - seems to work well.

I've now done two changes 5500 miles apart and the oil is looking much cleaner. The 100k mileage is no coincidence; the plan is to change every 10k now, 2.5k shorter than the recommended interval, although I'll see what condition the oil remains in as we go. I cover around 20k per year with a daily commute of 80 miles so the engine warms through nicely every day.
 
Undertook my third oil service today at 109709 miles. Familiarity makes the task much easier now; as before, I took the car for a 1/2 mile drive (a touch further than before because it was extra cold this morning) and left the car draining for about three hours while I was out with the family.

Our driveway has a slight slope down towards the house, so like before I reversed it on because the drain plug faces the back of the car, and it should help drain the oil more easily. My only worry now is that although I've got three oil changes out of my 25L Lubetech drum, I can't really be sure if I've got enough for a fourth. In theory, I should - 5.9 litres each time x 4 services is under 24 litres - but the drum sure feels light now!

Engine also noticeably quieter when I switched it on to check for leaks. This Thursday, the car goes to Maidenhead Honda for transmission and brake fluid changes - I didn't fancy these two, and all in it was £114 which seems okay. Added a new headlamp bulb too and all's well in the Accord household :)
 
Nice one, just grab a 1 litre bottle of 0w/30 in case you fall short or order another 25l drum as you'll need it anyway sooner or later.
 
Nice one, just grab a 1 litre bottle of 0w/30 in case you fall short or order another 25l drum as you'll need it anyway sooner or later.
Good call. Between oil changes the dipstick level drops to 50% - another benefit of 10k changes means I can stay on top of it.
 
Car went in to Maidenhead Honda yesterday to have the transmission fluid and brake fluid changed. It's made a subtle difference; the shift is smoother (and my MPG improved a touch too on the way home), plus the brake feel is now excellent - hardly any movement from the top of the pedal and very progressive as you press it.

I was impressed by the guys at Littlewick Green. It's a traditional kind of dealership with a petrol station and a nice large drive-in/drive-out forecourt, complete with white kerbstones - you can imagine its heydays when serving holiday traffic on the A4. They lent me a 57-plate petrol Civic for the day too. First time I've driven one, and apart from the hilarious ergonomics and super-low biting point of the clutch (probably on its way out), it was a decent steer. Nice ride and sharp steering.

Also had a faulty headlamp bulb replaced (filament was fine but connectors were loose under the bulb) so the total cost was £125 inc. VAT. Not bad at all, and after the oil change at the weekend the car feels really good!
 
Handled my fourth service over the weekend at 120,194 miles, and in doing so finally used up my first LubeTech Exol 25L drum! There's a litre or so left for topping up the oil, although fortunately mine barely uses any between services.

It's a nice, easy routine now; drive the car for about 1/2 mile from cold to gently warm the oil, then get it back on the driveway and drain the oil quickly while it's still warm. I normally leave it for a couple of hours and do something else to let as much of the old oil out as possible. Some of it stays at the bottom of the oil filter opening, but not a lot you can do about that.

I've said it before, but I could swear the engine runs more quietly after each oil change. Regular readers may have noticed that I'm servicing the car every 10k now, and that means my next drum should get me to around 160k. Higher mileage cars benefit from being used often and regular oil changes, and my Accord has the luxury of both as I'm doing almost exactly 20k per year at the moment.

The next service will also see new fuel, air and pollen filters. Have promised myself a change when the next Lubetech drum runs out at 160k :)
 
Nice work Ben. I really like reading posts like this mate. Good to see people taking care of their cars, and I agree with you, I leave the oil to drain overnight so as to get as much of the old stuff out as possible.
 
Or if you really want to go mad fill the car with mid range oil and run the car for a few miles.
Then drain and put some of your normal quality oil in.
 
Completed a major service over the weekend at 130k miles. Fresh oil + filter, air filter and pollen filter replaced, with the fuel filter to be booked in shortly (don't fancy this job...)

All went well, apart from the oil drain bolt refusing to come off for a while early on in the job. I was so worried about rounding off the nut that in the end, I took the OSF wheel off to reach under the car from the side. Came undone instantly with no effort - a little odd but I wasn't complaining.

I couldn't believe the condition of the air filter though. This is a little over 35,000 miles driving:

130k-2.jpg


The pollen filter wasn't much better:

130k-4.jpg


I'm using a newer version of the EXOL oil which claims to offer lower friction and improved fuel economy. Early days yet, but the economy has improved a touch this week. Will keep an eye on it.
 
Within the air filter box there was a few leaves and other debris that's worth looking for and removing!
 
Hi Sam,

Sorry for the slow reply! :eek:S

I just pour it out into an old measuring jug, one litre at a time. This minimises spillage. I've read here that others have fitted a tap to the base which would be better obviously, but the measuring jug is good for me.
 
Guys iv used the 25l drum and it pores very well indeed with little spillage
 
So I completed another service at 140,209 miles at the weekend. I think someone said earlier in the thread that these engines love an oil change, and certainly the car felt great today.

Just oil and filter this time, and I'm so well versed at doing this I had the car emptying its bowels within 25 minutes of stepping outside. The only problem now is that there is no longer any room in the service history book...
 
Reached 150k this week with my service done last weekend at 149,630 miles. Also rotated my tyres, with my newer Goodyears on the front. The combination of the oil change and the low friction tyres has improved MPG by around 5% which is a nice bonus.

Noticed that the drop links on all four corners are past their best and may need attention before the MoT in September. I get a bit of creaking occasionally from the back of the car too which tallies with their condition. The AC needs a re-gas as well.

Otherwise the car is running nicely. Although the timing chain remains noisy - it always has been really - performance is fine and I get an indicated 68-70mpg (a real 64-65mpg) on my commute (A1 and M25) in slow moving rush hour traffic. Tyres are 40psi all round. Not bad at all, but the debate has started in the household as to how much longer I keep the car...
 
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