How well do you maintain your car? Do the minimum or go crazy? - Maintenance and Repair Forum - j-body.org

How well do you maintain your car? Do the minimum or go crazy? - Maintenance and Repair Forum

Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.

How well do you maintain your car? Do the minimum or go crazy?

Sunday, February 04, 2007 9:09 AM

Just regular maintenance stuff

-Car wash as least once a week - usually twice regardless of weather
-Interior clean - usually one every two weeks
- Wax - usually once a week (on the silver cav) about once a month through spring and summer, and a full 3 multiple stage waxing before and after winter (on the tan cav)

-Oil Change - as early as 1500 miles as late as 2000 miles and ALWAYS full synthetic
-Tire rotation - Every other oil change
-Road force wheel balance - every tire rotation
-Tire pressures - at least once a week
-Fluids topped off and inspection - every time its in for anything
-Alignment twice a year
-Pour in fuel injection cleaner - every gas fill up
-every time a fluid is drained I inspect it for any signs of metal shavings etc..
-Brake/clutch fluid flush - DOT4 once a year or when fluid is discolored

I just under 25,000 miles so yesterday I did my 25K mile service.
-full synthetic oil change
-tire rotation
-wheel balance
-tire pressures
-fluids topped off
-Full Mobil 1 synthetic trans fluid change
-fuel filter
-compression test on the engine
-spark plugs
-fuel injection cleaner
-throttle body cleaning

*things I didn't include but usually would*
- Usually this would include brake a clutch fluid flush as well as cleaning and adjusting the rear drums but seeing as rear disk brake swap is coming really soon I didn't waste my time, I'll wait till the disc swap to crack the system open.
- Alignment - didn't have time, next week I'll do it
- pull the valve cover and inspect the top end - didn't have time, next week I'll do it
- coolant flush - didn't have time, I'll do it next week

now obviously I do everything LONG before the recommended intervals, some people say I'm crazy and its a waste of time and money, I say I'm a tech for a living so the cost is almost nothing (example.... that 25K service I do, costs me $51.30 in parts included in what I still need to do next week, all labor is free). Biggest motivation is having piece of mind. I like knowing every thing is good, like the trans fluid, I drained the fluid and it was perfect, so clean you could sell it as new with no signs of any damage/metallic particles in the fluid, I know the trans in good shape, I never doubted it but now I KNOW, and I like to know.