every 5ks

[DJ_L3ThAL]

hey guys

i've been religiously changing my oil and oil filter every 5000ks, and checking my power steering and brake fluids, but what else should i check ??? my radiator fluid ?

and also i have platinum sparkies that were done probably 12,000k's ago, when should i check/clean or replace those, i was told they last 100,00ks but that shounded strange to me considering most normal copper plugs last 10,000

its just coz im coming upo to my next service and i really dont want to go a stray, i want to do the 110% best service possible every 5000ks

[JimX]

Platinums and iridiums can last up to 100000km or more, they tend to just fail instantly rather than gradually wear out. That's why the electrode is smaller. Generally speaking if the car is running ok, the plugs are fine (if platinum or iridium).

As for your brake and radiator fluids, just check the colour. If they look dirty, then change them. Power steering fluid should only need to be changed once every 50000 or 100000km or so. I keep forgetting to do mine You can also replace your clutch fluid, I did mine at around 90000km and probably won't touch it again until 150000km.

Also a quick note in case you (or anyone else curious) didn't know about: NEVER top up your brake fluid. There is enough fluid in the reservoir to cater for your brake pads running out, so just check your pads if the fluid is getting low.

[red900ss]

Bleed your brakes every service for that bit of extra benefit.

[DJ_L3ThAL]

how do i bleed ,y brakes ?

and all the powersteering fluid was just replace oz on of my hoses was brittle and leaking and when i replaced that we had to drain the entire powr stering fluid anyways

[wrxhoon]

every 5 k k's is fine . here is what u should do .

oil , oil filter , clean air cleaner , check the level on all fluids ( brake , clutch , g/box , diff, power steer ,coolant ,battery ).

inspect drive belts ( tension , cracking ) cooling and heater hoses and connections ( for cracking , leaking ),exhaust system ,clutch pedal ( proper freeplay )brake pedal and handbrake ,brake pads and rotors ,brake pipes and hoses ,steering wheel linkage ,drive shaft boots ( for splits )ball joints and dust covers ,front and rear suspension,chassis and body bolts and nuts ,tyres ( rotate if u run same sise front and rear and corect pressure )lights ,horn ,wipers , washers , air cond refrigerant level ( sight glass ) most of these u would lnow if u drive the car all the time yourself .

sparkies should last 60 - 100 k , u dont ajust or clean platinum ( u ll scratch the platinum off )

every 2 years 4o k k's change coolant , replace air filter , change g/box and diff oil and repack wheel bearings .

[DJ_L3ThAL]

ok, how do i do most of that stuff

with rotating tyres, i have 235 on fornt and 255 on back, does that mean basically i cannot rotate them ever ?

[JimX]

Red900ss, why should you bleed your brakes? A braking system in good order will never accumulate air in it (exception: the old Minis have really bad brakes and suck in air of their own accord even when working properly).

I've never had a car aside from a couple of Minis that needed its brakes bled as a regular servicing procedure. You'll be able to tell if your brakes need bleeding, by an inconsistent feel. If the brakes feel better after pumping them, your brakes have air in the lines. But if they feel fine before and after pumping, there will be nothing to bleed.

Boiling your brake fluid might create air pockets, so maybe bleeding them is necessary if you do a lot of track work. But as I mentioned, you should be able tell by the brake feel whether or not they need bleeding.

[DJ_L3ThAL]

oh ok, well im pretty sure brakes feel in order, as grippy as ever

thanksw for that guys, and if anyone can tell me how to check drivetrain boots and gearbox/diff oil etc that would be awesome

[Roy]

Well brake fluid is hydroscopic, so no matter what you do, over time it will absor water whereby reducing its resistance to boiling.

Perhaps by bleeding it regularly are helping minimise the amount of absorbed water in the lines. I aso remember reading (dont know how true) that the higher the Dot rating the more hydroscpoic the fluid is.

[JimX]

DJ_L3ThAL, you can't rotate your tyres for the reasons you said. Also many performance tyres are directional so you can't swap them left to right either (not that there would be much benefit anyway).

Tyre rotation is just for lengthening the life of your tyres and even then it doesn't really help all that much. If you have one tyre that is getting a bit bald on one edge, it will still be ok to use because of the tread on the rest of the tyre. I had one tyre that was down to the steel belts due to bad toe alignment but it was still ok to drive in the wet because it was only one tiny bit that was worn through.

So although rotating the tyres will lengthen your tyre's life, if you don't rotate them you can let it get a little more worn out on one edge than you could if the whole thing was worn out to the same level. Does that make sense?

[DJ_L3ThAL]

yep sense made

also with directional tyres, i removed the tyres off my rims to get polished, how will i know which tyre goes on where ?? lol

if i taek the rims and tyres back to the tyre plac e to get em fitted back on will they know ?

[JimX]

They should know, if they don't then the tyres will have an arrow pointing in the direction of travel. If there is no arrow, then it doesn't matter which side it goes on as long as you don't mix up front and rear widths

[crooser]

Originally posted by wrxhoon

sparkies should last  60 - 100 k , u dont ajust or clean platinum  ( u ll scratch the platinum off )

every 2 years 4o k k's  change coolant , replace air filter , change g/box and diff oil and repack wheel bearings .

How do you repack the wheel bearings? What are the signs of them needing to be repacked... noisy etc?

cheers

[Duncan]

yeah, need wheel bearings is a whooping noise that gets faster as you go faster. Just catch any taxi and you'll hear it

....Settle franks....

[crooser]

yes thats it... whoop whoop

so these can be fixed or must they be replaced?

i'd hate to think how much they cost from nissan

[JimX]

Bearings shouldn't be that expensive, I think I got quoted $120 or so for a set of 4 for a Suzuki Swift (gf's car). If you're lucky you should be able to get an aftermarket set from Repco.

[wrxhoon]

if u need to replace bearings u go to a bearing shop ( thats all they sell ) . if they are noisy they probably finished , thats the reason u check and repack them before they get water and shit in them .if the noise gets worse when u put them under load ( going on a right hand bend will load left bearings ) they finished .

if u have different size tyres front and rear u cant rotate , u never rotate tyres left to right , even if they are not derectionals , only front to rear .

u shouldnt have to bleed brakes but u must change the fluid every 2 years as it absorbs moisture .

to check gerbox oil u undo the filler plug half way up on the drivers side of the box thats the level . the diff has one at the rear same thing .

driveshaft and cv boots u just make sure they are not cracked and they are still straped so they dont get water in them and corode the bearings , if the boot is split or cracked u replace , u can get aftermarket for 15-20 bucks each .

when u take u r tyres to a tyre shop they will know how to fit them on the tyres are marked with an arrow but make sure u put them on the car the correct way .

crooser to repack u r bearings u have to take them out , clean them , put grease on u r palm and press the bearing on to it , keep doing that until it comes out of the other side and keep rotating the bearing until its all greased .

duncan the noise u hear in the cabs its usualy their diffs not their wheel bearings .

jimx 4 wheel bearings for the 2 wheels for the swift should be like 40 - 50 bucks from a bearing place like bearing industries at seven hills .

[crooser]

cheers wrxhoon

think its time to replace mine then... i get a bearing type noise when taking slight right bends (even changing lanes sometimes)

i have 4 stud wheels which probably means i have different wheel bearings to a typical r33?

anyone sourced these before?

[wrxhoon]

i dont know what type of bearings u have but if take one side out and clean it u 'll see the number on it ( they all have numbers on them ) take it to a bearing shop and they will give u one the same . make sure u pack it with ht grease before u put it back on.