1. Car wash. If possible, it is advisable to wash the outside of the car before work, including the bottom if necessary. Moreover, if the work is to be done in the engine compartment, it should be washed there too.
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.
Warning! When washing the engine compartment, avoid getting water on the pads, sensors and actuators of the fuel injection system. Avoid getting water on the generator and starter. In any case, when washing the engine compartment, be sure to disconnect 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.
2. Parking the car:
a) placing the vehicle on a level horizontal surface. This could be a garage with a concrete floor or other solid and level surface, a horizontal area with a hard surface indoors or outdoors (asphalt, concrete, wood flooring) etc. 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 with the parking brake to prevent it from moving spontaneously. If the parking brake is faulty, or before repairing the brake system, use wheel chocks to secure the vehicle (see "Tools, accessories and operating materials").
Warning!
You should leave the gear engaged only if you do not need to start the engine or turn the engine crankshaft 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 it is possible that the security system installed on the car (signaling) will spontaneously "stand" on guard and block the door locks. If there is a need to leave the key in the ignition during operation, then first lower the window of one of the doors.
b) placing the vehicle on an inspection pit or overpass. If some of the repair work has to be done 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 and a concrete floor. Before driving into such a garage, the pit should be covered with wooden or steel shields that can withstand a car in the event of a collision. The remaining recommendations are the same as when installing a car on a flat horizontal platform (see above).
Some garage cooperatives have a repair overpass welded from metal structures on their territory. As a rule, it is 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. The need for this may arise when a car malfunction has to be repaired on the road and there is no possibility to find a more suitable place for repair (see paragraphs 2,a and 2,b). Do not repair your vehicle on loose gravel, sandy soil, rocks, or grass (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 occurs 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. Otherwise, you should follow the same recommendations as when installing the car on a level surface (see above).
3. Raising the car on a jack and stands. This operation must be performed on a flat horizontal surface with a hard surface. When working on soft or uneven ground, strong supports of at least 30x30 cm in size must be placed under the jack and all stands. A thick board is suitable as a support.
Warning!
Use a trolley jack (see "Tools, accessories and operating materials", can only be done on a solid base, while the jack 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, remove all passengers. Do not enter the vehicle while it is on the jack, and do not load or unload the vehicle while it is on the jack.
Before performing repairs on a vehicle with a wheel suspended (or wheels) be sure to install reliable supplies under the body's power elements
In hot weather, the asphalt heated by the sun becomes soft, it is pressed by the supports of the racks and the base of the jack, as a result of which the car installed on them may fall.
The article is copied from the website VAZbook.ru
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 the lifting lever of the standard jack under the threshold into the bracket socket.
- raise the car by turning the jack handle (in many cases it is enough for the wheel to just come off the ground surface);
- install under the body's power elements (bracket or spar) stand;
- 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 threaded connections. During long-term use 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 "Tools, accessories and operating materials") or, in extreme cases, wet it with kerosene. It is better to do this work in advance (from several hours to a day), so that the lubricant has time to penetrate into the joint.