Long term & Commonly Neglected Maintenance

[Randy Webb]

Seeing Warrens distributor oil & cleaning thread get resurrected made me finally start this thread. I thought it would be useful to generate a compilation on this topic.

What maintenance items do you think need to be done every few years -- I am thinking of things that only need to be done less often than yearly?

(PS - replacing the tub every 150 years is gong too far out -- ok?)

Second what items are most frequently neglected?


.... I'll make a spearate post for my initial stab at this.

[Randy Webb]

Some of this is from Ed Mayo, PCA Tech Answer Person, some is from various posts here and on Rennlist or Early 911 List, some is probably from my own head.

CV-joint repack --- Every 20,000 miles or every Two Years

Brake Fluid total replacement --- Every Two Years to yearly

Brake system seals disassembly & check -- Every Two Years

Brake system rubber hoses --- Replace every 10 years, or every 100,000
miles

Clutch cable replacement --- Replace every 10 years, or every 50,000
miles

Distributor removal, clean & oil felt under rotor --- every sparkplug
change

Distributor disassembly, inspect for wear --- Annually

Fan belt --- Inspect every oil change, Replace every Two Years

Distributor Detail Compilation:
Remove the felt center, and put drops of engine oil down the shaft
until it won't take any more (i.e. ountil the oil forms a column of
oil all the way up the hollow interior of the dist. shaft), then put
the plug back and put a few more drops of oil on it, until it is
saturated. This 'oiling' needs to be done at least yearly.

The felt has to be taken out to assure an adequate supply of oil gets
all the way down the shaft to the pivot plate.

And, yes, the 964 distributor has the same centrifugal
'synchronization' mechanism as the 3.2 distributors! Likewise,
maintenance of those moving parts, including cleaning and lubing .must
be done.

distributor lube...
=20&pagenumber=1

Warren -- do you think post '84 dist.s need to be completely
disassembled, cleaned and greased every 3-5 years? Your posts refere
to pre-84 cars. If not, then what should be done with the later ones
(other than the oiling).

Also, what grease -- the sticky Bosch high-temp. grease?

Repack the front wheel bearings every couple years (20,000 miles or
so), repacking the CV joints, maybe every 20 to 30,000 miles. The rear
wheel bearings are not serviced, they’re good until they’re bad.

Shift assembly and throttle rod bushings in the tunnel should be checked every few years and while you’re at it, check for full throttle operation and proper adjustment of the throttle stop under the pedal.

Lubricate the door hinge pins and door stop yearly.

Oil windshiel dwiper motor bearings - every year - remove wipers and turn on then drip oil into shaft area. Probably the rubber gaskets for the wiper shafts could be replaced every few years.

Grease manfs. say that grease ahs a shelf life of 5 years -- this may imply that all bearings, CVs, etc. should be replaced or repacked that often....

-------------------
Feel free to say what type of grease, or whatever will be best for a given task (but lets not turn this particular thread into a best oil or best grease thread).

Note that we need to distinguish mileage related items from age related items.... e.g. rubber susp. bushings will go bad, as will tires, even if they have no mileage on them.

[4to8m8]

Great thread! Keep it going. Very helpful for us newb's

[Chuck Moreland]

Clutch cable every 50k! More like 20k.

Lubricate the steering column U joints every 50k

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Alternator, replace it before it leaves you stranded as they seem to just fail all at once. With no voltage gauge to moniter them this would be a good part to just replace anywear after X amount of miles. I'm thinking 75K maybe sooner ?

Another one might be to remove and clean turn signal lenses, etc. as they can get pretty funky inside and not reflect light as well as they should. Their gaskets and bulbs could be replaced too at this time. Bulbs if their bad or not, and gaskets if available ?. This could be done at 5 years? or as needed.

And the CV joints is a good one. And maybe replace the rubber boots at the same time??? ( now I'm thinking about my CV joints )

Another good maintenance practice IMO is to just get the car up on a rack at least every year and just inspect everything by eye.

Good thread

[Wil Ferch]

Go after grungy ground straps...like the one from the trans to the body...maybe even replace the heavy battery ground strap and clean up that area....every "X" miles or maybe better look at this and check condition every two years....

Chuck....lube upper sterring unversal at the smugglers box? Isn't there another one that's harder to reach?

Wil

[GeorgeK]

Seatbelts...
In mountain climbing a rope is changed after 6 years even if it sat in a closet. Imagine a seatbelt, sunbaked all the time. Sure 150$ is dear money,but how much is a cracked head?

[kach22i]

Are you guys trying to talk me into making a new car payment?

Good thread, nice idea to put it all in one place.

[304065]

Fuel lines. Particularly for those in dry climates. Cheap fire insurance.

[RickM]

Shifter Coupling: Every 50K or when overly sloppy.

[Randy Webb]

Good suggestions folks - we'll compile them all later on.

re shifter coupling - he means to replace the bushings (tho it is often not much more to replace the whole thing). You can also change to a different type .. for more money. At the same time, the vertical circle gasket at the front of the shift tube and the ball cup at the base of the shifter should be replaced.


I did replace my seatbelts -- but forgot to include that -- good call.

[jpachard]

Track Use PM:
1. Engine oil, 10hrs. of run time.
2. Tranny fluid, 10hrs. run time.
3. Brake fluid, full flush before every event.
4. Wheel bearings, R+R every 25 track days.
5. CV, R+R every 25 track days.
6. Ball joints, R+R every season.
7. Tie Rod ends, inspect every six months.
8. Air filter, inspect after every event.
9. Replace lug nuts after every season.

That's what I do plus a good inspection of all brake hard and soft lines after each event, sometimes during if it's a long event.

Cheers, James

[SIR70T]

My question is

Who is documenting their own work like a mechanic (wrench)would? as a type of overall service record.

I'm keeping receipts and alike but rarely noting down the labour time and other items.

Does someone set up a template for this stuff?

Shane

[jpachard]

Our Region has service info in our DE logbooks. I also have an hour meter on my car which helps too.

Cheers, James

[Grady Clay]

Rebuild the pedal assembly, replace cables, accelerator linkage bushings, and the throttle “cushion" every 5-15 years depending on climate and use.

Do a “maintenance overhaul” on the engine and transmission before absolutely necessary. Paying attention and regular testing will tell you when. It is a LOT less expensive than waiting until something malfunctions. Additionally we all like to stay on top of the performance.

I agree about the brake hoses and would add the master cylinder at the same time.

Occasional fuel tank cleaning is important. How many ever inspect the filter screen in the tank?

Replacing the rear axle bearing every 100K or so is worthwhile.

I wouldn’t use a front ball joint more than 100K. If that fails, it does so just when you can’t stand it to fail.

This is also very use and climate dependant. If a 911 is driven regularly in moderate climates and not wet or in salt all the time; that dramatically extends the life of the systems. 911s that drive in the snow and rain and never get a chance to dry out are at risk. Of course exceedingly high temperatures take a toll also.

We expect a lot from our old 911s and it is unreasonable for them to attempt to go forever without maintenance and replacement of important components.


If you take your car on track regularly, I would up the schedule noticeably.
If you Club Race (PCA or SCCA) then I would go through everything annually or more.

Best,
Grady

[Eric Coffey]

for us power-window sissies:

It's a good idea to (re)grease the window tracks and regulator/motor gears every couple of years or so.

Other random long-term items to think about:

greasing sunroof tracks & cables
greasing Targa/Cab latches
adjusting/greasing Rear decklid & hood release cables
lube decklid and hood latches
cleaning headlight bucket drains
replacing vapor/charcoal canister?
battery
motor mounts
trans mounts
suspension/spring plate bushings
oil A/C compressor
Oil pressure switch/seal
thermostat/seal
oil return tubes
plug wires
coil
plugs
fuel filter
inspect vac lines
headlight trim seals
taillight lens seals
parking brake shoes/cable adjustment
power door lock actuators?
Targa top plastic pin "Sleeves"
etc. etc.

[Randy Webb]

Shane - I keep a record with date and mileage in MS Excel. I don't put my own labor in but if I pay someone else for their labor I put that in a different column and the parts in another, then the total in another column. It is "interesting" to plot graphs of cost vs. time or mileage...

Another thought folks - for things that are mileage dependent yet long term... if you take parts off another car you'll want to know the mileage on the donor. For example, my car is essentially a '73 that rides on a Carrera suspension and brakes, with a Carrera engine. I don't know how old the front ball joints are, but they are likely << 100k miles. I'll replace them in a couple years to be safe.

[JTO]

I do the same thing as Randy; use Excel to record date, mileage, repair, performed by (me generally) and cost.

Troy

[azasadny]

Inspect/replace as necessary vacuum and fuel lines before you have problems!

[face-ache]

If safe to do so, Get the tach up over 5k as often as possible.