Beginner / free

Your first bolt-on.

Lift the car safely, gather the right tools, protect the electrics, torque everything to spec and know when a shop should do it.

Your place

5 lessons / 17 min

Every lesson is free to read. Sign in to enroll and keep your place.

Lesson 01 / 4 min
Lift the car safely
Work on level, solid ground. Chock the wheels that stay on the ground and set the parking brake.
Lift only at the jacking points shown in the owner’s manual, then lower the car onto jack stands rated for its weight. A jack is for lifting, never for holding: never go under a car held up only by a jack.
Give the car a firm push before you go under it. If it moves, lower it and set it again.
Before you move on
- Level, solid ground and chocked wheels
- The jacking points from the owner’s manual
- Rated jack stands under the car before you go under
Lesson 02 / 3 min
The tool kit
Most bolt-ons need a socket set with extensions, combination wrenches, a torque wrench, a breaker bar, pliers, a trim-panel tool and penetrating oil for rusted fasteners. Most cars are metric; some older American cars use inch sizes.
Safety glasses and gloves belong in the kit. Rust and brake dust end up in eyes.
Keep the bolts you remove in labelled bags, in the order they came out.
Before you move on
- Sockets, wrenches and a torque wrench
- Penetrating oil and a breaker bar
- Glasses and gloves
- A way to keep bolts in order
Lesson 03 / 3 min
Battery first for anything electrical
Before you touch wiring or lighting, disconnect the negative battery terminal first and reconnect it last. That stops a slipped wrench from shorting to the body.
Some cars lose radio codes, window settings or idle learning when the battery is disconnected. The owner’s manual says what needs resetting.
Airbags and their connectors, usually yellow, are a job for a shop.
Before you move on
- Negative terminal off first and on last
- What resets after a disconnect, from the manual
- Airbag parts left to a shop
Lesson 04 / 4 min
Torque to the spec
Every fastener has a factory torque value. Take it from the service manual or the part maker’s instructions instead of guessing: too loose can back out, too tight can strip threads or crack parts.
Some bolts, often on suspension and engines, are torque-to-yield and must be replaced rather than reused. The manual says which.
Bolts that clamp suspension bushings are usually tightened with the car’s weight on its wheels, so the bushing is not held twisted.
Before you move on
- Torque values from the manual or the instructions
- New torque-to-yield bolts where the manual asks
- Bushing bolts tightened at ride height
Lesson 05 / 3 min
When to use a shop
Hand over work that can hurt you or someone else if it is slightly wrong: brakes if you have not done them before, fuel lines, airbags and seat belts.
After any suspension or steering change, get a wheel alignment. Lowering springs, coilovers and tie rods all change it.
On Carzitt you can ask a shop to quote for fitting the part you found.
Before you move on
- Brakes, fuel, airbags and seat belts left to a trained hand
- An alignment after suspension or steering work
- A fitting quote when you are unsure

All courses

Your place

Lift the car safely

Before you move on

The tool kit

Before you move on

Battery first for anything electrical

Before you move on

Torque to the spec

Before you move on

When to use a shop

Before you move on

Your place

Lift the car safely

Before you move on

The tool kit

Before you move on

Battery first for anything electrical

Before you move on

Torque to the spec

Before you move on

When to use a shop

Before you move on