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It's been almost 35,000 miles - what kind of maintenance am I missing in my rotation?

1K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  c6fastback 
#1 ·
I've put almost 35,000 miles on Jane since 2014. In June, I'm leaving on another couple of massive road trips that will put at least another 12,000 miles on the clock, if not more. So I'm running down the maintenance checklist. Here's what I've got on my maintenance rotation thus far - some stuff pulled from the manual, the rest just kind of from what people tell me to do:

Every gas fill-up (or once per day, if I'm driving a lot I guess):
- Check oil, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid

Every 4,500 Miles:
- Change oil

Every 10,000-12,000 Miles:
- New spark plugs
- New air filter
- Grease suspension where needed
- Check transmission fluid
- Valve adjustment (only do it this frequently because I run my car hard)

And that's really all I've got!

So, a question first about something in the manual: it says to clean the crankcase oil filler cap every 6,000 miles. How does one accomplish this? Mine has definitely never been cleaned, though it was replaced approximately 18,000 miles ago...

I am also aware the plug wires need replacing, and that the replacement intervals vary by brand. I have Moroso wires - does anyone happen to know how long they'll last? I assume for quite some time but I also put a lot of miles on my car and work it hard so...

The only other thing on my radar is wheel bearings / races. I am not sure how often these need to be repacked, and how often they need to be replaced. This goes for fronts but also the rears - I've never touched the rear axle bearings and I know it's a chore, so I'm hoping they are pretty high mileage items.

Anything else I should be keeping an eye on that I'm forgetting? Jane typically runs like a very well-oiled machine (despite the fact that she frequently isn't), so I sometimes forget that I should be performing routine maintenance.
 
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#3 ·
I happen to have the 66 shop manual on the desk (was using it to hold down papers) and it says 30 months or 30k,so you are about due for a wheel bearing repack. Crankcase oil filler cap soak in solvent tank and blow out. Those plug wires should last along time unless they have been roughly pulled on or fluids have been leaking on them.
 
#5 ·
I second the wheel bearings if you seize one up it can be catastrophic. I have had 2 wheel bearing incidents, luckily it was on trailers I was towing, the first one flipped the lightweight boat trailer and sent the little boat flying. Luckily there was no traffic and on a back road. The second occurred literally on the driveway as I pulled in. Very lucky as I was towing a 67 fastback home from Odessa and had been on I10 doing 80mph about 15 minutes earlier. Dodged a big bullet. How about fuel filters....?
 
#14 ·
IMO plugs are a separate subject. Today's cars have sensors that control timing, fuel mix, idle idle speed some even valve timing. Many of the sensors and computer control contribute to engine life including spark plug life.
 
#7 ·
Before any lengthy road trip I would check the belts and hoses and probably rotate the tires. No doubt you already have that on a list somewhere.
 
#8 ·
I know that you have an old (but not as old as me) 9" rear axle. Does it have sealed bearings or "wet" bearings that are lubricated by the gear oil? I believe (but not 100% positive) that if it is a small bearing axle it has sealed bearings with seals inside the axle tubes to keep the gear oil out of the bearings. If it is a large bearing axle it may have either type of bearing.
You may want to replace the bearings if you don't know anything about their age.
 
#9 ·
Brake fluid is good - flushed it earlier this year, actually, while doing new wheel cylinders on the rear :) Good thing to add into the rotation though.

For repacking the bearings, I just need to pull them, soak in brake cleaner or some other solvent, then pack like normal right? And will need two new seals for the inner bearings? Not sure if I'm remembering right.

Z - didn't know that having FI impacted when I should replace the plugs. Why? I've never really thought about why they should be replaced every 10k... someone just told me to do it so I do.

Belts and hoses do always get checked and tires get rotated once a year. I actually carry extra belts and hoses with me on trips anyways because they fit in the corner of the wheelhouse along with all of my extra fluids :)

I've got a big bearing 9" out of a '57 station wagon of some sort. Not sure if that is sealed or unsealed? Any way to check? Axle bearings are a kind of big job IIRC.

Allen - no, Jane and I are much more the "fly by the seat of your pants" types than the "by the book" types, that's true :lol: But I gotta take care of the dang thing sometime because she sure takes care of me a lot more than I deserve! One day it'll catch up with me... trying to make sure that it's not this summer, since I have a 2-week trip planned for June, then a 6-week trip planned only ten days later!
 
#10 · (Edited)
If it's a big bearing from a '57 and never been touched the bearings are wet. Crap shoot if you have never had it apart. Honestly if the seals are holding up and it's not leaking they should be fine. The one I lost,the seal was going bad for about a year then the bearing started wonk,wonking.

Plugs are cheap and available on the road,with FI and old car 5000-15000 miles but even then they are most likely still ok.

I lost a MAP sensor last Oct. in Ft.Worth with my FAST injected FE. Gave me fits until FAST gave up the OEM PN. I suggest a "risk kit" with all the sensors,or at least the PN,for your FI system.

How old is the Cap/Rotor? My MSD seems to make rotors pack it in at about 10,000 miles.


Maybe add a PCV valve.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, I carry a big kit of electronics and critical items when I go on trips :) It's pretty extensive.

Didn't think of the cap/rotor. Cap is original to the dizzy (stock HiPo), rotor has 30,000 or so on it. I'll check and see if it looks burnt or anything.

If the rear axle bearings weep before they go bad (or give any other indications before dying), then I won't worry about them. I don't think this rear end has ever been apart, or if it was it was back in the 80's.
 
#12 ·
Pulling my axles was not difficult at all. Then dropped them off at a local machine shop with new bearings. He had them pressed on that afternoon. Installing the axles was a breeze. The biggest challenge was removing the old seals...and that wasn't that difficult...once I had the right tool.
 
#13 ·
The problem is that I have a one-car garage! Can't pull an axle out when there's only a foot of space on either side of the car... not allowed to put the car out of the garage in the driveway (it's a courtyard that is "shared space" or whatever) so I'm kind of stuck in that department until I come up with a better housing situation.
 
#17 ·
And that's really all I've got!

So, a question first about something in the manual: it says to clean the crankcase oil filler cap every 6,000 miles. How does one accomplish this? Mine has definitely never been cleaned, though it was replaced approximately 18,000 miles ago...

I am also aware the plug wires need replacing, and that the replacement intervals vary by brand. I have Moroso wires - does anyone happen to know how long they'll last? I assume for quite some time but I also put a lot of miles on my car and work it hard so...

The only other thing on my radar is wheel bearings / races. I am not sure how often these need to be repacked, and how often they need to be replaced. This goes for fronts but also the rears - I've never touched the rear axle bearings and I know it's a chore, so I'm hoping they are pretty high mileage items.

Anything else I should be keeping an eye on that I'm forgetting? Jane typically runs like a very well-oiled machine (despite the fact that she frequently isn't), so I sometimes forget that I should be performing routine maintenance.
Oil filer cap: soak in Stoddard Solvent aka white gas.

Plugs wires of today should last 100K miles. If your see them arcing at night, replace.

Front wheel bearings. Grease with pad or shoe changes.

Rear wheel bearing get lube from the differential. I replace both sides a couple of years ago as the original 49 year old bearing on the PAX side gave up the ghost.
 
#23 ·
In the old days (60s) a tune up included plugs, points and minor carb adjustment. New OEM equiv plugs were $1 each plus R&R. We had a plug cleaning and testing machine. Each plug would be blasted clean tested for spark at compression pressure after gapping. Charge was
$.50 per plug. Any failing plug would be replaced at the $1 added price. Obviously we were a trustworthy service station.

Most of the time the cleaned and gapped plug passed the test. If they all pased the customer saved $4 on a V8.
 
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