Preventive Maintenance

[moribundman]

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Don't forget to name your car baby it and pamper it and it will love you back

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My baby is a capricious, spoiled brat. She likes to leak oil and guzzles gas. But I have to give her credit for not once letting me sit stranded by the side of the road. The closest I came to her becoming undriveable was when the gas pedal broke off. Ye olde leadfoote, you know?

PS: You're right, cam and crank seals are another maintenance item, and real PITA, at least on my car. Definitely a to-do item at timing belt change if there is the slightest sign of oil leaking.

 

[moribundman]

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Anybody have a clue why the engineers put important, failure prone components including thermostats and water pumps on the back side of the engine, about as accessible as the back side of the moon?

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Well, I can't speak for other cars, since on mine the stat and WP are in the front of the engine (longitudinal V6), but almost inaccessibly buried anyway.

Ease of access isn't a priority for engineers (BMW may be an exception, at least the older ones). The more difficult it is and the more special tools are required to do the job, the more people will bring the car to the authorized dealer, which is what the car maker prefers. Think of the cost of dedicated electronic diagnostic systems.

By the way, in order to change the fuel filter on my quattro, you either have to losen the fuel tank and drop the rear axle to get to a stupid banjo bolt on the filter, or you have to losen the tank and use a 2x4 and pry the tank up for marginal access. Great fun.

 

[Oil Monkey]

1987 Volvo 240 - 510,000km. First owner. Original radiator, rad and vacuum hoses, original clutch and starter. No major work done on entire drive train. Changed dino (Castrol GTX) oil regularly in first 4 years - avg 4000km OCI then switched to (Castrol) synthetic 7000km OCI. Volvo oil filters (by Mann). Used block heater when below -15C. Oil sprayed 6X.
Driven gently and with respect. All cars need fresh clean air (Volvo air filters), regular low impact exercise and nutritious food (low sulphur, ethanol enhanced fuel). Also can't stand the idea of a junk yard for the old mare...must....keep....it....going.........

(QUOTE)
1987 Volvo 740 Station Wagon with a 4 cylinder Turbo motor with a 4 speed manual transmission with a electric OD. I replaced the motor at 283K due to rod knock. New motor has 35K on it and should be happy to at least 500K miles with a steady diet of M1. I really like the car so driving it is a joy. It's a Volvo owner thing if you have never owned one you will never understand our fascination with the cars.

The owner of a local shop I use had an older gentleman dropped off his 1976 240 wagon
2 weeks ago and ask if he could disassemble it and use some of the parts on other cars. This guy didn't have the heart to take his car to a junk yard. [/QB][/QUOTE]

 

[kevm14]

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Originally posted by labman:
I have had a lot of bad luck with new thermostats. I don't think I would replace a working 2 year old stat.

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I agree. The 180* stat in my Caprice has AT LEAST 100k on it, if not more like 130k and it seems to work just fine. I had a 160* in there for one summer but took it out and put the 180 back in. I also bought a 195* stant in case I need it to pass emissions. My cooling fan turns on around 212* though so a warmer stat wouldn't really help anything.

 

[kevm14]

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Originally posted by ALS:
I hate when something stupid breaks just when you need it most. That's why I change the belts so often as well as the thermostat. That reminds me the radiator and heater hoses are coming up on 36K so I'll have to replace them in May. Things are going to wear out and break or need replaced over time and you can go nuts trying to figure out what will go and when. How many times have you driven on the highway and seen a car with the hood up steam pouring out.

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Part of the 9C1 police package is green silicone coolant hoses. They're marketed as "lifetime." As of 207k and about 12 years, they are in mint condition, so I guess GM wasn't kidding. GM also included stainless screw-type hose clamps instead of the spring kind, for the police package. Maybe the screw-type works better with silicone hoses, as I haven't had any problems with leaks over the years.

 

[kevm14]

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Originally posted by labman:
Who adjusts worm drive steering boxes?

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I've tried before, unsuccessfully. The adjustment should really be done with the box out of the car anyway. And even then, by 200k, no adjustment is going to save it. I'd love a new box...

 

[XS650]

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Originally posted by kevm14:

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Originally posted by labman:
Who adjusts worm drive steering boxes?

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I've tried before, unsuccessfully. The adjustment should really be done with the box out of the car anyway. And even then, by 200k, no adjustment is going to save it. I'd love a new box...

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If it's still smooth and just has excess play, there is a good chance an adjustment will save it.

You can also get most of the benefit of taking the box out of the car by dropping the link off the steering arm on the box.

 

[labman]

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Originally posted by kevm14:

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Originally posted by labman:
Who adjusts worm drive steering boxes?

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I've tried before, unsuccessfully. The adjustment should really be done with the box out of the car anyway. And even then, by 200k, no adjustment is going to save it. I'd love a new box...

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What is the advantage to taking the box out? I work it like a front wheel bearing, tighten it up to remove the play without binding.

 

[XS650]

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Originally posted by labman:
What is the advantage to taking the box out? I work it like a front wheel bearing, tighten it up to remove the play without binding.

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Normally you adjust the bearing preload and gear lash to get avery small specified amount of drag. If the box is connected to your steering linkage, the small changes in drag can't be reliably measured. No need to actually take the box out if you can make both adjustments while it's in your vehicle. Just get rid of the drag on it so you can accurately feel or measure what you are doing.

If you have a good feel for such things and use some care, you can do fair, but not good job without disconnecting things. It's still a lot better to disconnect the steering linkage. If you don't do that it's like adjusting your wheel bearings with the brakes dragging.