Neglected preventive maintenance?

[Steve Campbell]

Most of us know about oil changes and such. I am wondering what are some of the more unusual items that you all maintain on a regular basis??? Those of us with less inventive minds will profit!!



Things like checking the air pressure in the spare. I hate it when a tire goes flat and the spare is nearly so.





At the end of this, I will try to compile it all so that some of us will do a better job of keeping ahead of the game.

 

[Joe G.]

These are the extra things I do at every oil change and lube.



Rotate the tires, inspect the brakes, measure wear on front pads to check for one side wearing more than the other, lube caliper pins, and adjust the rear brakes. The front suspension can be a problem on a 4X4 so I carefully check everything and put a dial indicator on the end of the track bar to check for excess movement. Check U-joints for any slack. I finish up with a general look it over carefully for anything that looks wrong.

 

[illflem]

Also---Clean TPS on an auto. Check tightness of intake hose clamps. Silicone spray on door seal rubber. Check batteries for corrosion and top off with water even if "maintenance free".

 

[JHansen]

Wow you guys are good!

Maybe something to do with the fact that all my services take place outside eek: ) but at the average service (every 5000 km or 3000 miles for the metrically challenged) my truck gets the following:



Lube oil and filter change

Grease the pathetic few fittings there are

Check tire pressure

Check air filter

Check all the bulbs (signal/brake/backup etc. )

Check coolant level

Top up the WWAF

General quicky inspection for things out of place-if I happen to see fluid somewhere it shouldn't be I check the level in that component. I do take a look at the battery connections also every time the hood's up... .



Every 2nd change I change the fuel filter, usually the air filter (that's when it starts to look like he!!-never even bother to look at the filter minder), rotate the tires, inspect the brake pads and front ABS wiring (have had the wires and grommets popped out of their mounts on the spindle), clean the IAT sensor, drain the puke bottle (every 2nd change I still only get about 1/4" in the bottle-gotta like that!), and check the fluid levels in the diffs/t-case/transmission/p-steering (should do it more often I know-but I do survey for leaks every change) . I try to remember to tighten the aftercooler hose clamps-although I forgot this last time-tomorrow when I'm twisting wrenches! I also try to do a more thorough survey underneath for leaks and things rubbing/dragging/torn off.



I changed the fluids in all major components around the 25000 kilometer mark-wanted to do it sooner but it never worked out. Probably will change them again in the summer-that should be around the 65-70000 km plateau. Also probably gonna change the antifreeze next summer even though it should have life left in it. I add fuel conditioner every tank-been trying a few different brands lately but there's always something going in there.



Gonna try to get in the habit of siliconing the weatherstrips at every oil change-and I'm also gonna try to check the component fluid levels more often-although once the mercury gets south of 0 you try not to spend any more time than necessary laying on the ground! I should really be retorquing the wheels too right after the rotation-they are torqued on there and I have yet to find a loose nut when I rotate them again-but in a perfect world I'd do them again at 500 kilometers in.



Jason

 

[moparguy]

I lube the door, hood and tailgate hinges and latches at each oil change. Guess I'm just cheap, but I can't stand to not get all the oil out of engine oil containers, so after I empty them, I reinstall the lids, and prop em upside down. Then as I'm finishing up my oil change/maintenance routine, I drain them a second time using a small funnel, into a small oil squirt can for the hinge oiling.



I change break fluid and antifreeze every other year. Change transfer case fluid at 25k, diff oil at 50k. Change hoses and belts at 100k.



On my wifes car, I had the alternator refurbished by a local shop at 100k as a preventative measure. It's at about 250k now. Guess I should do it again, or not.

 

[Cooker]

Silicone the door seals? This sounds like a good idea. A question I have though is, doesn't silicone actually dry out the rubber? At least this is the reason I was told not to use any armor all type products that contain silicone. Is this right or wrong?



Thanks for the education,

Ryan

 

[Joe G.]

I forgot about all the hinge and latch lubing. I use LPS #3 for that. MUCH better than oil. Hood, doors, and tailgate hinges and latches. Also squirt some on the throttle linkage.

 

[24V-DSL]

Joe G.

What is LPS #3 and where do you buy it?



Thanks... .

 

[Joe G.]

There are a series of LPS products. #1 is about like WD40. #2 is a good light lube that penetrates well. #3 is heavier and lasts for a while. #3 was called chain lube when I was running a fish boat. I guess you could call it spray grease. The stuff is good enuff that it lubed the roller chain on our anchor winch and it didn't rust in spite of repeat dunkings in salt water. Some of the dunkings had green water on the wheel house windows, not just spray. I always get mine at the local marine hardware store here in Eureka. This store is for commercial boats but I think the toy boat places carry it too. I've seen #2 in some hardware stores.

 

[SpeedBump]

I've seen a lot of LPS products at my local Grainger store.



Hope it helps.



Eric

 

[Steve Campbell]

Well this post seems to have lost whatever small amount or allure it had. I will now attempt to complie the suggestions as I promised at the outset. I will do this in the order they appeared.



#1 Check air in spare tire

#2 Rotate the tires

#3 inspect the brakes, measure wear on front pads to check for one side wearing more than the other, lube caliper pins, and adjust the rear brakes.

#4 put a dial indicator on the end of the track bar to check for excess movement.

#5 Clean TPS on an auto.

#6 Check tightness of intake hose clamps.

#7 Silicone spray on door seal rubber.

#8 Check batteries for corrosion and top off with water even if "maintenance free".

#9 Grease the pathetic few fittings there are

#10 Check tire pressure

#11 Check air filter

#12 Check all the bulbs (signal/brake/backup etc. )

#13 Top up the WWAF

#14 Every 2nd change I change the fuel filter, usually the air filter, rotate the tires, front ABS wiring (have had the wires and grommets popped out of their mounts on the spindle), drain the puke bottle, and check the fluid levels in the diffs/t-case/transmission/p-steering

#15 I changed the fluids in all major components around the 25000 kilometer mark

#16 I lube the door, hood and tailgate hinges and latches at each oil change.

#17 I change break fluid and antifreeze every other year

#18 Change hoses and belts at 100k.

 

[PHaller]

I have a 97 and have the original maintanance free batteries that I can't get the caps off no matter what. If I pry... you can see the plastic top of the batteries bowing up. How do you guys even check these batteries?

-Paul R. Haller-

 

[radixr]

Brake Bleeders

Something I do at least once a year is crack open the front brake bleeders -- not enough to draw air in but just enough to get some brake fluid to seep out. This prevents them from "freezing" up. For some reason, the rear bleeders don't freeze up as quickly as the fronts. A biannual flushing of the brake system is enough to keep the rears free turning.

 

[Joe G.]

Originally posted by Paul R. Haller

I have a 97 and have the original maintanance free batteries that I can't get the caps off no matter what. If I pry... you can see the plastic top of the batteries bowing up. How do you guys even check these batteries?

-Paul R. Haller-

I laid a piece of plywood on top of the battery and used a claw hammer so that the head pressed against the wood with the claw under the edge of the cap. Just worked along the cap until it finally gave up.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Maintenance Logs: I LOVE Excel!

OK I'm chiming in here. . . I may get a little carried away with this but I did up a snazzy Excel spreadsheet that covers all aspects of maintenance:



* Schedule tab (spreadsheet listing maintenance items and frequency)

* Checklist tab (list of what to check when I roll 50k or 75k or whatever, to take out in the garage and check off so I don't miss anything).

* BOMB list with What, When, and Why (justifications are weak on some of these )

* Repair record. . . items out of the ordinary not due to wear and tear (leaky trans seal, rough idle, etc. )



Here is the 5K checklist:

Grease chassis

Lube steering linkage

Check coolant

Check engine oil (actually I do this MUCH more often!)

Top off washer fluid

Check brake fluid

Check PS fluid

Check tire pressure, including spare







And the 10K tasks:

Change engine oil filter

Send in oil analysis

Check transmission lube & seals

Check rear axle lube & seals

Replace fuel filter, clean WIF sensor

Check shocks, exhaust, undercarriage

Check water pump weep hole

Rotate & balance tires

Adjust rear brakes

Inspect brake pads, Lines

Inspect drive belt, replace if necessary

Inspect entire fuel system integrity

Inspect all external lights

Inspect fan, hub, and damper





And here is the less frequent but important stuff:

Clean or replace air filter (20k)

Change rear axle lube (25k)

Change engine oil (20k)

Flush/change brake fluid (30k)

Change transmission lube (50k)

Flush/Change PS fluid (50k)

Flush cooling system/coolant (50k)

Front end alignment check (50k)

Lube/clean body hardware, locks (50k)

Repack front wheel bearings (60k)

Check valve adjustment (100k)







The nice thing about the spreadsheet is I can fill in actual mileage on the first page of when I completed an item, plus insert comments and readjust my "schedule" if need be. For instance I have the rear diff on a 25K mile interval but it looked great at 25, so now I'll recheck at 30 and may stretch it to 40K (not likely). Also, the PS fluid looked very bad at 50K so I will probably reflush it at 30K next time.



I try to base things on 10K increments, or every quarter 100K.



Vaughn

 

[QRTRHRS]

Did anyone mention lubing the splines on the driveshaft's? I remember that being brought up one time but don't recall the recommended time interval.



I just use Armorall on my door seals.

 

[rrausch]

Guys, most silicone sprays are compounds of petroleum oils AND silicone. Petroleum oils will, of course, degrade rubber and black door seals over time.

I used to work as an auto glass mechanic and we never used silicone compounds, preferring pure silicone.

I haven't done auto glass for 20 years, but I still use a 100% silicone spray called Kel, Pure Silicone. It's made by Kellogg's Professional Products, inc. of Sandusky, Ohio, 44870

The toll-free phone number on the back of the can I bought about 2 years ago is 800-334-2130. Don't know if it's still working but it's worth a try.

Stock # for the 4 oz. can is, 57555(110B) I bought the 4 oz. size and a larger can at a farm supply store in S. W. Missouri.

 

[illflem]

The type of silicone spray I use is Heavy Duty Silicone from CRC, red can, Napa and many hardware stores carry it. Says on it 100% silicone. You can't see it at all when it dries in a couple of minutes. Also works great for lubing things that you don't want to attract dust like locks and hinges. I've also had great luck with it quieting squeaking undercarriage rubber bushings. Waterproofs also. Wouldn't be without a can of the stuff in the shop.

 

[NETim]

Food grade silicone?

Wouldn't "food grade" silicone be a good choice for the door seals? I use it to lube the clear acrylic "puke rings" on my cat scanners. It doesn't break down the plastic like "regular" silicone.



Tim

 

[lberch]

Has anyone gone through the trouble of re-torquing their head bolts after a certain milage or hours??



LB