Servicing

[Weekend Warrior]

What does a full service consist of ?

Ive changed the oil and filter ,backwashed my foam air filter {ordered some oil}.I assume I need to change the fuel filter {when I find it } i

Ive checked pads are ok ,brake fluid level ok ,is that it  ?

[Thrustyjust]

Joy of a kit car. If the fuel filter has done less than 10k miles , it will be fine. Most production cars last 20 to 25 k for petrol filters.

Jack the car and check that wheel bearings and suspension have no play. 

Check coolant levels 

If the brake fluid is 2 years old, then a flush with an easibleed is an hour and peace of mind

Check for gearbox oil leaks while jacked up

Propshaft has bleed nipples , which you could get a grease gun and squeeze some in

Tyre pressures and also spin the wheels for roundness etc

Auxilary engine belt, check for cracks and tightness

Other than that, drive it

[jeff oakley]

What consists a service will also depend on what engine is fitted. A Pinto engine will need valve clearance checking, for example. 

One fitted with a timing belt might need changing even if mileage is low, etc

Also on a Westfield I always go around every nut and bolt and check nothing is coming lose. And final tip is always move the damper adjusting screws, count the clicks out put a bit of good quality grease, mountain bike red grease is great, and screw back in. Many dampers have alloy bodies with a steel screw and they corrode.

Make a note of every part number you use as motor factors are more and more relying on electronic cataloguing which is no use for our cars. With numbers you can cross reference easily 

[bob25]

A full service is about checking everything. All suspension and steering joints and bushes, all brakes and pipes, tyres condition and pressure , condition of drive belts and pulleys, all lights gearbox and axle oils or changing these oils at the recommended mileage. Hope this gives helps if  you let me know what vehicle it is I may be able to email you the manufactures service sheet

[RandyMcStab]

A top tip is to do the oil and filter change before you store the car for any prolonged period. This way the car sits with nice clean oil around the engine and not with any contaminants which which could cause corrosion gumming etc. 

Randy

[TAFKARM]

1 hour ago, RandyMcStab said:

A top tip is to do the oil and filter change before you store the car for any prolonged period. This way the car sits with nice clean oil around the engine and not with any contaminants which which could cause corrosion gumming etc. 

Randy

I’ve never heard that before?

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

1 hour ago, RussH said:

I’ve never heard that before?

I’d forgotten about it, but I do recall it being recommended by some, when lots used to SORN the cars over winter, for six months.

[Weekend Warrior]

13 hours ago, bob25 said:

A full service is about checking everything. All suspension and steering joints and bushes, all brakes and pipes, tyres condition and pressure , condition of drive belts and pulleys, all lights gearbox and axle oils or changing these oils at the recommended mileage. Hope this gives helps if  you let me know what vehicle it is I may be able to email you the manufactures service sheet

Thanks Bob,..it’s a 2.l blacktop ,mt75 gearbox ,3;92 viscous style diff lsd 

 

what about spark plugs plugs, good for a fair few miles I’d imagine or do you change more often ?

[Thrustyjust]

30 minutes ago, Weekend Warrior said:

Thanks Bob,..it’s a 2.l blacktop ,mt75 gearbox ,3;92 viscous style diff lsd 

 

what about spark plugs plugs, good for a fair few miles I’d imagine or do you change more often ?

Zetec spark plugs are 20 or so thousands, but for the sake of £15 , just bung them in and go from there. 

Think yourself lucky its not a crossflow, as you'd be changing the engines gaskets annually to stop the oil leaks 

[Thrustyjust]

2 hours ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

I’d forgotten about it, but I do recall it being recommended by some, when lots used to SORN the cars over winter, for six months.

Oil when it burns becomes acidic. Any oil, not just car oil. We 'mostly' use synthetic oil these days and they seem to burn less in an engine. But all those contaminents floating in the oil, can leave their suspension and drop onto engine surfaces. In theory , they may just get agitated but the engine running again and carry on in suspension until the car oil is dropped. I also drain my oil before winter, due to lack of use ( not that I dont want to use it, just the weather dictates it) and therefore it sits in clean oil.

On another note , an engineer I used to work with, was well into Golfs. He had a Mk1 ( amongst others) which he was going to put a VR6 engine in and a low blow turbo. The project took a little longer than he was expecting. When he pulled the engine from under the bench it wouldnt turn over, so set to freshen it up. When he drained the black oil, he undid the big ends, to find that they had been eaten away . The same with the mains. His thought was that the 2 or so years of sitting in old oil had acid eaten the white metal.