What are some preventive maintenance/mods you guys do to keep you car tip top?
02-20-2014, 10:08 PM
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What are some preventive maintenance/mods you guys do to keep you car tip top? Hey guys, every once in a while I stumble upon a post about some dumb design GM made and how to fix or improve it. The most recent one was the whole factory power steering cooler fiasco. I am in progress of fixing that. Car is a 1999 Camaro SS, forged 347, heads/cam/intake/rails/injectors/stall/trans cooler/new exhaust/lid/ported TB and de-screend MAF. What are some other things you guys to as preventive maintenance/fixes or mods you guys do?
02-20-2014, 10:20 PM
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I change oil every 3k miles and plugs every year. The sail panel needs to be replaced bc it will bubble up, replaced the garbage radio and speakers, wip down the dash every couple weeks
02-23-2014, 11:02 PM
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02-24-2014, 02:16 PM
#8
-Fuel filter....every 5,000
-Air filter.....every 5,000
-Spark plugs......every 15,000-20,000
-Brake fluid......every 20,000
-Coolant flush......every 12 months or so
-Power steering fluid flush.....every 25,000
-MAF cleaned......every 2-3 weeks. (And yes, it needs it, IF YOU WANT OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE ALL THE TIME)
-IAT sensor cleaned with MAF cleaner.....same time I clean the MAF
-Fuel System cleaned.....SeaFoam liquid......Full Can poured into 1/8 tank of gas...every 3 months ((AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T CAUGHT THE NEWS FLASH....NO, I NEVER PUT SEA FOAM INTO THE TOP END TO CLEAN IT....HAHAHA))
-Oil flush at every oil change.....then 4 qrts of clean cheap oil to clean out all the flush chemical....then new oil and filter......every 3,000 miles...NEVER more than 3,000
-Top end clean.....every 25,000 is what I will do with my new engine.
-Rear-end fluid......every 20,000
-02 sensors....replaced every 6 months......too easy and cheap not to have new ones in there all the time at peak performance.
That's about 5 hours of maintenance per year. Piece of cake.
Besides the maintenance........
-Car is washed maybe 2 times a week......quick 20 minute wash and dry each time.
-Car is polished maybe 4 times a year.
-Clayed every two years maybe.
-Engine is cleaned.......every 3 months or so.
-Whenever I can get over to use my friends lift........I spend about 30 minutes blasting the entire bottom of the engine, undercarriage, struts, axle, etc....with his pressurized brake fluid sprayer can.
.
-Air filter.....every 5,000
-Spark plugs......every 15,000-20,000
-Brake fluid......every 20,000
-Coolant flush......every 12 months or so
-Power steering fluid flush.....every 25,000
-MAF cleaned......every 2-3 weeks. (And yes, it needs it, IF YOU WANT OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE ALL THE TIME)
-IAT sensor cleaned with MAF cleaner.....same time I clean the MAF
-Fuel System cleaned.....SeaFoam liquid......Full Can poured into 1/8 tank of gas...every 3 months ((AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T CAUGHT THE NEWS FLASH....NO, I NEVER PUT SEA FOAM INTO THE TOP END TO CLEAN IT....HAHAHA))
-Oil flush at every oil change.....then 4 qrts of clean cheap oil to clean out all the flush chemical....then new oil and filter......every 3,000 miles...NEVER more than 3,000
-Top end clean.....every 25,000 is what I will do with my new engine.
-Rear-end fluid......every 20,000
-02 sensors....replaced every 6 months......too easy and cheap not to have new ones in there all the time at peak performance.
That's about 5 hours of maintenance per year. Piece of cake.
Besides the maintenance........
-Car is washed maybe 2 times a week......quick 20 minute wash and dry each time.
-Car is polished maybe 4 times a year.
-Clayed every two years maybe.
-Engine is cleaned.......every 3 months or so.
-Whenever I can get over to use my friends lift........I spend about 30 minutes blasting the entire bottom of the engine, undercarriage, struts, axle, etc....with his pressurized brake fluid sprayer can.
.
02-24-2014, 03:46 PM
#9
Need more information...
Do you know who built your engine?
Do you race the car?
How often do you drive it and how many miles do you put on it per year?
Is reliability important to you? (ie: what would happen if the car broke down and left you by the side of the road? Would you miss work, etc.)
Is it garage kept?
How long do you plan on keeping the car?
Do you have a spouse and if so, how do you typically negotiate expenses/purchases?
Do you know who built your engine?
Do you race the car?
How often do you drive it and how many miles do you put on it per year?
Is reliability important to you? (ie: what would happen if the car broke down and left you by the side of the road? Would you miss work, etc.)
Is it garage kept?
How long do you plan on keeping the car?
Do you have a spouse and if so, how do you typically negotiate expenses/purchases?
02-26-2014, 07:21 PM
#10
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Straightline Peformance built, not raced(occasional weekend track day), about 5k miles per year, reliability is def important, it's garage kept, plan on keeping it for ever, I have a gf but I buy car parts when I want(LOL). Only 800 miles on this build, just aiming towards the most efficient aspects and reliability aspects.
02-27-2014, 06:40 AM
#11
Brace yourself... That situation doesn't last forever. 
You can easily go overboard with maintenance and spend more money than you'll ever get back in reliability/longevity. In general, the owners manual recommendations are just fine if you are doing daily driving - with some exceptions in your case and all cases:
For engine internals, I'd go to your builder and follow their recommendations. They should know best and I'd expect they don't want to see one of their engines coming in the door all chewed up. Your internal tollerances are not stock and the owners manual recommendations will not directly apply here.
Given the way you use it, I'd highly recommend using a paper air filter. That way you don't have to worry about MAF fouling and all the cleaning that LS6427 suggests. (For an oiled air filter, that is probably required. My life has been great since I went back to paper.)
Flushing the coolant and power steering fluid more often is also a good idea. The coolant will oxidize over time and the power steering fluid definitely doesn't age well. Changing the P/S fluid out should help you protect against boil-overs and making your engine compartment a mess.
If you have a stock P/S cooler, now is probably a good time to remedy that situation, also.
I also like to change the fuel filter more often. That thing fills up quickly and becomes a solid brick of gunk very quickly.
I'd also put the screen back on the MAF. It's there for a reason and taking it off will make it more likely to see damage in the future and you won't notice any power gain for how you use the car. (There's lots to loose and not much to gain there.) I've also seen opinions that the screen helps to encourage laminar flow of air through the system.
You can easily go overboard with maintenance and spend more money than you'll ever get back in reliability/longevity. In general, the owners manual recommendations are just fine if you are doing daily driving - with some exceptions in your case and all cases:
For engine internals, I'd go to your builder and follow their recommendations. They should know best and I'd expect they don't want to see one of their engines coming in the door all chewed up. Your internal tollerances are not stock and the owners manual recommendations will not directly apply here.
Given the way you use it, I'd highly recommend using a paper air filter. That way you don't have to worry about MAF fouling and all the cleaning that LS6427 suggests. (For an oiled air filter, that is probably required. My life has been great since I went back to paper.)
Flushing the coolant and power steering fluid more often is also a good idea. The coolant will oxidize over time and the power steering fluid definitely doesn't age well. Changing the P/S fluid out should help you protect against boil-overs and making your engine compartment a mess.
If you have a stock P/S cooler, now is probably a good time to remedy that situation, also.
I also like to change the fuel filter more often. That thing fills up quickly and becomes a solid brick of gunk very quickly.
I'd also put the screen back on the MAF. It's there for a reason and taking it off will make it more likely to see damage in the future and you won't notice any power gain for how you use the car. (There's lots to loose and not much to gain there.) I've also seen opinions that the screen helps to encourage laminar flow of air through the system.
03-06-2014, 10:01 AM
#14
- Change oil too often.
- Drain coolant every couple of years, use dex + distilled water only.
- Every few years, apply silicone grease to all exposed rubber, like hatch gasket, ttop gaskets, hoses.
- Use a dash cover, to keep sun off (depends where you live).
- Bleed brake/clutch when fluid gets dark.
- Check torque on intake bolts, rear seal cover bolts.
- Fix the LS1 oil-sucked-thru-stock-pcv design flaw.
- Drain coolant every couple of years, use dex + distilled water only.
- Every few years, apply silicone grease to all exposed rubber, like hatch gasket, ttop gaskets, hoses.
- Use a dash cover, to keep sun off (depends where you live).
- Bleed brake/clutch when fluid gets dark.
- Check torque on intake bolts, rear seal cover bolts.
- Fix the LS1 oil-sucked-thru-stock-pcv design flaw.
11-16-2014, 01:07 AM
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General maintenance Use a top cylinder oil with the fuel at all times. Install a PCV line oil collector. Use a complete intake system cleaner once or twice a year.
Keep all filters changed at or before service intervals.
Install a drain plug in Automatic Transmission pan, drain pan every other engine oil change, and fill with Mobil, Amsoil, or other full synthetic ATF.
Flush power steering system at 50k, then suction reservoir every engine oil change (3 to 4K miles), then add premium fluid such as Lucas, Amsoil, etc.
Use a small amount of Motorkote, or equivalent product in your favorite motor oil, every other oil change. Seafoam or similar every 10-12K, before an oil change.
Clean out metal powder from differential, refill with Synthetic gear oil. This should be done (or should have been done) at around 50k miles. Then you're good for about 200 K.
To really make the car last longest, install an extra filter on both the engine and automatic transmission. This will make the seals and the shafts they ride around last much longer due to less polishing from abrasives. And of course the oils will do their job better.
Keep all filters changed at or before service intervals.
Install a drain plug in Automatic Transmission pan, drain pan every other engine oil change, and fill with Mobil, Amsoil, or other full synthetic ATF.
Flush power steering system at 50k, then suction reservoir every engine oil change (3 to 4K miles), then add premium fluid such as Lucas, Amsoil, etc.
Use a small amount of Motorkote, or equivalent product in your favorite motor oil, every other oil change. Seafoam or similar every 10-12K, before an oil change.
Clean out metal powder from differential, refill with Synthetic gear oil. This should be done (or should have been done) at around 50k miles. Then you're good for about 200 K.
To really make the car last longest, install an extra filter on both the engine and automatic transmission. This will make the seals and the shafts they ride around last much longer due to less polishing from abrasives. And of course the oils will do their job better.
11-25-2014, 12:43 AM
#16
Ranger Method you clutch fluid ever couple weeks (may want to order Tick Speed Bleeder)
Use quality oil filter (Wix, Delco, Bosch, Napa Gold)
Flush power steering annually
Bleed brakes yearly
Drain rearend annually (Buy a girdle with fill and drain holes)
Use quality fluids in trans
I use Redline SL1 fuel system cleaner ever spring to keep things clean
Use quality oil filter (Wix, Delco, Bosch, Napa Gold)
Flush power steering annually
Bleed brakes yearly
Drain rearend annually (Buy a girdle with fill and drain holes)
Use quality fluids in trans
I use Redline SL1 fuel system cleaner ever spring to keep things clean
