Had my car about a year now and was woundering what maintenence is neccessary? Fuel injectors?dexcool?tranny fluid(t56)?,rear end?fuel filter?can you guys help me out? thanks

 

Fuel filter=yes PCV valve=probably. It all depends on miles and how you treat your car. I changed my tranny fluid at @60k and it looked fairly dirty--also shifted a bit easier. Rear end? Who knows if the people before you ever changed it, so it is a good idea. It is all inexpensive, easy stuff. Check your belt for wear too. Dexcool should be good for 5 years.? Hope this helps.

 

also depending on how many miles it has you need certain flushes every so often perferably from a dealership because they have all the right equitment. It isnt to expensive either i just had it done...just give them a call and ask them

 

i have 28k miles

 

i would say change out the fuel filter....dont think you need a tranny flush...i had a coolent flush done at 27000 miles because a buddy of mine at the dealership told me i should and rear end..youll have to ask someone else about that one

 

Be safe and change all the fluids you can. Cant hurt anything.

 

i def agree with camarodave just change whatever the hell is available for change...i mean ya some things you can get away with not changing them but to me the little cost for it is worth the added years and miles ill get out of it from taking care of it...its kinda like a woman, you have to spend alot of time and money to keep her at full go and running nice haha

 

You could do the tranny too... it's super easy. Actually the manual says you don't need to change it at all but... I think every 75K would be good.

So just go out and put a high quality Dexron III ATF like Redline, Mobil 1, or Amsoil and forget about it for a long long time

 

Here is the maintenance-schedule section of the manual
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....88&postcount=7

 

what about the rear? any others

 

Speaking of changing the fuel filter, what is the best one to buy? Would a stock FF508 from AutoZone do okay?

 

I wouldn't try to go 5yrs/100k miles on the Dexcool coolant. There are many people who have had expensive repairs after problems developed. It's an easy search for DEXCOOL PROBLEMS to educate yourself to the issue.

Here's a place where you can download a .pdf copy of your owner's manual. They're great for maintenance intervals, capacities, and materials.

Good luck and have fun!

 

like what was said before go by what the manual says. but like they said you really cant over service your vehicle. a fuel filter you could go 2-3 years on, differential fluid once every 25k or so, tranny once every couple of years. with the differentail and transmissions take off the fill cap stick your finger in and look at the fluid, if it looks dirty change it, if it smells burnt change it. as for the dexcool ya you could go 5 years or 100k miles but i wouldnt recommend it, get a coolant service every 2 years to be safe. hell it will only cost you 50-75 bucks but will save hundreds in the future. trust me ive seen it

 

so where should i get changed at?? and with what~??!

 

Assuming you're talking about the coolant, you'll want to stick with Dexcool. Mix it 50/50 with distilled water (you can pick up a gallon or two cheap at the grocery store) for regular street use. It IS a good idea to flush your coolant every 2-3 years at least - I would disregard GM's 5 year/100k mile BS. As far as where to take it, a dealership will do the work or you can usually find a local shop that does it cheaper. If you want to do it yourself, consider doing the "drain-only" method. I've been doing this for years with no problems and its much easier. Basically just drain your radiator of coolant and refill with 50/50 Dexcool/distilled H2O mix once a year. Obviously you aren't getting all of the coolant this way, but (imagine a "drop-the-pan" automatic tranny fluid change) since you do it often the fluid never stays in there too long. You should be able to get about 1/3-1/2 of the coolant with just a drain.

 

So if i were to flush my tranny(t-56), i would need to use ATF? Also, is this a fairly easy thing to do by oneself?
So i would need to mix 1/2 Dexcool and 1/2 distilled water? Is this fairly easy to do by oneself? I'm trying to learn to do stuff to my car by myself. TIA for the help

 

Yes, the T-56 uses a Dexron-III ATF, so a fluid meeting that spec will be fine. Over the years there has been much debate about whether or not to use synthetic in the T-56. If you're not sure I'd just stick with a non-synthetic Dex-III or use the GM stuff ($$). I and many others have had good results with Redline D4ATF, though. You'll find a ton of opinions on this one...

The drain and fill process is easy:

1) Jack up car and place on jackstands or drive the front end up onto ramps. Its best to do this with the car level, so if possible jack up all 4 corners and place on jackstands- not a requirement though.
2) On passenger side of trans just forward of the crossmember and near the bottom of the trans you can locate the drain plug. Its a flush-mount "bung" with a square hole in it.
3) Use a 3/8" ratchet with an extension to loosen the plug and drain the fluid.
4) Reinstall the drain plug (do not overtighten - torque spec = 20 ft-lb)
5) Locate the fill plug about 1/3 of the way up on the driver's side of the trans (it'll be the same kind of "bung" as the drain with an orange DEX-III placard near it).
6) Loosen and remove the fill plug with the same 3/8" ratchet and extension.
7) Using a hand-held fluid pump (these are great and can be had for around $5 at your local autoparts store) fill the trans thru the fill hole until it begins to overflow (when full and with the car level the fluid should just reach the bottom of the fill hole). It should take close to 4 quarts of fluid.
8) Reinstall the fill plug and lower the car.
9) You're done! Have a beer.


Yes, 1/2 Dexcool and 1/2 distilled water is a good all-around mix. You can even buy pre-mixed stuff nowadays. You may also consider throwing in a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. I think its really easy if you just do the drain method that I described above. If you want to flush the whole system then it'll be a bit more tedious, but definitely do-able. Just be sure that you have a place to dispose of the old coolant properly. Check out http://www.installuniversity.com/ins...ostat_swap.htm, which should give you all the info you need on how to drain/fill the radiator (obviously you won't have to change the thermostat so you can disregard that portion).

 

thanks a lot!

 

i would recommend going with the vacuum drain/fill method of flushing the coolant. dexcool tends to gel up over time hence its nickname 'dex-clog' at my work we have a snap-on vacuum style coolant exhange machine and everytime we are using it on a vehicle with dex-cool there is a filter inline with the drain line and it catches all sorts of clumps and chunks(not stuff you want in your motor thats for sure). plus, dex-cool has been known to be corrosive despite GM's 100k miles claim to fame. i flush mine every season with a 50/50 mix using a bottle of water wetter, worked wonders the first time it was done on my car at 40k miles my temp dropped on average 30deg

fuel filter is supposed to be changed every 30,000 miles
PCV i would also change due to its low cost and ease of instillation.
GM's schedueled maintance suggests changing the dif fluid every 7,500 miles( now this does seem a bit extreme, but GM said it for a reason i suppose.)
as far as transmission fluid goes with the T56, i would just check it and if it looks bad, change it, but more importantly make sure it is at its proper level.
another item is the serp belt. GM suggests changing this at 60k. this is also a good idea and if u can source a gator-back belt i would go with that.

any more questions?

 

Do you put the water wetter in with the mix at the time you are mixing, or do you put it in after you put the mix in?