off season maintenance

[HoustonNW]

Advance Auto Parts has a 20% off labor day sale. Code "LABOR".

I thought that I might buy some of the maintenance items for this winter. Glenn suggested new O2 sensors and spark plugs every year but the sensors are $70 time four??!!

What is the disadvantage of not replacing the plugs and sensors?

Also what else should I get?

(The sale was good all weekend and ends today, wish I had seen the email earlier.)

[Adam Ginsberg]

Granted, our cars are different (mine is carbed), but some maintenance is the same.

Each season, I do the following:

1. New plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor
2. New air filter
3. New fuel filter
4. Oil and filter change (although, this is also done every other race)
5. Brake fluid flush
6. Trans oil R&R
7. Rear end gear oil R&R
8. Radiator flush, and clean the exterior of the core (getting all the rubber, insects, etc from the fins)
9. Check ALL nuts, bolts and retighten if necessary
10. Inspect and lube all suspension points
11. Clean and inspect all rims/tires (this is also done prior to each event)
12. Remove, clean, and reinstall carb
13. Remove and inspect all brake components
14. Inspect and test front hubs

[marshall_mosty]

My mainenance is similar, but not as extensive

Off-Season (each season)
1. Clean existing air filter (non-oiled K&N)
2. New fuel filter
3. Brake fluid flush (ATE Super Blue and Amber, switch between the two to ensure it's flushed)
4. Trans oil R&R
5. Radiator flush, and clean the exterior of the core (getting all the rubber, insects, etc from the fins). Refill with distilled water and water wetter (or equivalent) additive
6. Check ALL nuts, bolts and retighten if necessary... however, I have torque seal on all the critical items for a quick visual.
7. Inspect and lube all suspension points
8. Clean and inspect all rims/tires (this is also done prior to each event)
9. Remove and inspect all brake components
10. Inspect and test front hubs


Off-Season (every 2 seasons)
1. Rear end gear oil R&R
2. Repack/shim track-lok diff, as needed


Routine mainenance
1. Oil and filter (every 3 weekends)



Torque Seal

[jdlingle]

Wayne- give rockauto.com a try. I had to replace 2 O2 sensors when I changed my exhaust and they were much much cheaper than the usual suspects.




Marshall- I just picked up some torque seal as well. Do you know how long is it supposed to last if the torque holds?

[marshall_mosty]

Marshall- I just picked up some torque seal as well. Do you know how long is it supposed to last if the torque holds?

John,
We use the stuff at work on all lifeline components which have a specific torque callout on the blueprint. For aircraft seats, that ends up being the life of the primary structure (warranty is 15 years, but airlines typically will use the same seats for 20 years with upgrades and refurbs).

In general concept, the act of torquing a bolt preloads the bolt to a certain amount of stretch (in the elastic range of the stress/strain curve). So, as long as you aren't marking torque to yield head bolts (which reach the yield point and go into plastic deformation), the torque seal should never crack and therefore, it's just a quick visual.

A caveat, since our application is high vibration, it "may" vibrate loose. In that case, just recheck those fasteners which do not have the torque seal. Verify the torque and remark them. It turns a 1 hour nut/bolt session into a 5-10 minute visual and hit anything out of the ordinary.

I mark all my suspension, brake, and mounting points (engine mounts, tranny, crossmember, etc.).

[GlennCMC70]

Advance Auto Parts has a 20% off labor day sale. Code "LABOR".

I thought that I might buy some of the maintenance items for this winter. Glenn suggested new O2 sensors and spark plugs every year but the sensors are $70 time four??!!

What is the disadvantage of not replacing the plugs and sensors?

Also what else should I get?

(The sale was good all weekend and ends today, wish I had seen the email earlier.)

No need to replace the rears. Only the fronts affect the way the car runs. The rears only tell the PCM that the cats are still in place. I would remove the rears and install rear O2 sim's.

[AllZWay]

My car still has the same plug wires, minus the one that got mangled at Hallett, that I built the car with back in 2006. I do plan to change them this off season.

I have changed the plugs and o2's once since 2006.

I do change the tranmsission fluid and gear oil every off season. I used to do it twice a year, but everything looked so good I decided that once a year was enough.

I change my oil during the off season and once during the season.

I clean my air filter twice a year... still the same one from the build in 2006, I just blow out the dirt.

I change my fuel filter almost every year.

[GlennCMC70]

Still got the 2005 MSD wires on it. Replaced one boot so far.
Oil - every other event.
Plugs once a year or when it is apart.

[Al Fernandez]

I plan on washing the dust off of it

[ShadowBolt]

If you have a Ford with an 8.8 in the rear (don't know the set-up in the GM's but it may be the same way) you may want to think about getting the axle tubes welded to the center section. As you know there are only two plug welds holding the tubes in and the left side on mine broke at Hallett. I had a leak for months that I thought was the diff cover. I re-sealed it twice then even made a gasket for it. A quick search on Google shows this is a common issue but I had never heard about it.

JJ