Honda Fit GD3, Initial Servicing

Like all cars I buy, the first thing to do was a long overdue service.

And when I say overdue, I’m not kidding. I asked the seller when it was last serviced and got a blank look and a sheepish “I haven’t done it”. The oil, although very black, was still high on the dip stick.

After a quick trip to Supercheap to grab a filter, and using some of my oil off the shelf (bought in bulk and kept on hand to service the GE8 Fit), I gave it an oil change.

My low-profile ramps helped access the front subframe and I jacked the car up onto some stands

Using some grips because it was stuck fast, the oil cap was opened to allow the oil to drain easier, and I slid under the car. I do love these L series engines, the filter and drain plug are right there

With the oil draining, the sump plug washer was replaced, and the new filter readied

The old oil was very black and quite thin. Once it was drained I ran a little fresh oil through to clear as much old oil as possible.

The old filter was a common NZ brand, so I believe it was probably changed when the previous owner got the car and never again. I haven’t seen a rusty filter before, certainly not on a car with no underbody rust.

The good news is that the underside is bone dry, no leaks, and no signs of any rust either. It seems about right for an 83,000km car.

I prefilled the new filter and spun it on. The sump plug went in and was tightened to one click of the elbow, and the new oil was poured in.

A quick start to make sure we had no leaks, and the oil change was done.

While I was under the bonnet I couldn’t help but notice just how filthy it was under there. Nothing has been touched for years.

So I gave it a quick wipe with some 303 Aerospace Protectant

With the car now back on the ground I attended to a couple of other things. Firstly, the headlights. I wasn’t convinced they would pass a WOF as they were quite cloudy, but hey, the failed WOF sheet didn’t mention them…

I gave them a quick polish with some Ultimate Compound on a foam ball

The difference was quite apparent

They both polished up quite well

It’s a shame they’re chrome inserts and not black inserts like the Jazz had. It would suit the black much better.

The beam pattern looks nice and clear now, so shouldn’t be an issue for a WOF

Next on the list was to replace the aerial as it had lost some of its… stiffness

I grabbed a replacement from a Swift at Pick A Part, which was a straight swap

While digging around the car, I found when the car was imported they just unplugged the ETC unit and tucked the (live) wiring under the floor mat… so all that had to go.

Finally, I wanted to have a go at pushing out the dent in the tailgate

It’s hard to tell, but it was quite deep and had a few creases in it

I removed the tailgate trim and tried to get my hand in there to push it out, but due to the framing on the inside, it was impossible to do. I tried a couple of other things to lever it out, but nothing seemed to work. And then I remembered something I had seen on Youtube…

I bought the cheapest rugby ball I could get, and using some dish wash liquid in a spray bottle, lubed it up and stuffed it (deflated) into the space in the tailgate where the dent was

After a few rounds of inflating the ball, deflating the ball, moving it and repeating, all while heating the outside of the panel, the dent started to pop out bit by bit. Eventually I was left with this

It’s far from perfect, but a lot better than it was. I could probably try to get it better, but I was getting concerned about the proximity to the glass and tailgate garnish, and didn’t want to damage either by pushing my luck. I can live with it as it is now

The chrome strip that had been stuck on the tailgate was removed too, as it was ugly.

It did deform the inner framing a bit, but that was nothing a few good thwacks with a mallet didn’t fix.

I’m a couple of posts behind on this car, so expect another update soon.