Preventative Maintenance

[Lux]

Originally Posted by tmontague

I currently do the following:

1. Remove and re-install control arm bolts and cover in grease
2. Oil and filter change every 8,000km w/ synthetic oil
3. brake service ever year (re lube slider pins, clean pads and rotate pads if necessary)
4. Replace MTF every 2 years w/ synthetic ~40,000km
5. coolant flush and fill w/ Toyota Red every 2 years~40,000km
6. Spray bolts and rust prone parts on underbody ever 6 months with an anti rust compound
7. inspect and clean PCV valve every year
8. bleed brakes every year
9. bleed clutch every year and lube pivot points
10. check valve shim clearance every 40,000km
11. wax car every 6 months

1. Control arm bolts are an excellent preventive procedure.
2. Depends on what oil. Not all synthetics, here, are real group V synthetics like in Europe. Mobil 1, for example, is a complete waste of time where synthetics are concerned. Furthermore, your driving and operating conditions have a significant effect on the oil's longevity-- I would say moreso than whether your oil is synthetic.
3. Given my persistent troubles with front brakes, this is a good idea. Being consumables, pad rotation will not by you any more perceived service life.
4. Synthetic gear oil inside your gearbox doesn't guarantee quality, nor is it required-- or even recommended. Adequate lubricity, shear resistance, and shock protection are what matter. A LOT of synthetic gear oils out there will WORSEN your shifting because the oil is too slippery (high lubricity), preventing the synchroniser assemblies from working properly. Royal Purple Synchromax synthetic gear oil is one of them. You need friction for the blocking ring to slip the synchroniser sleeve over the hub for each gear.
5. Toyota's Super Long Life Coolant can last up to 100'000 km, but your due diligence prevents organic acidification, which is the purpose of the service.
6. Good idea.
7. Good idea.
8. Good idea. Might want to change your bleeder screws next time because of GTA's climate. Speaking from experience.
9. Good idea. I prefer molybdenum disulfide lube, but mostly anything will work at your intervals.
10. Not much benefit in doing it so frequently.
11. I'd be lucky to wash once in 6 months.

Hyundai are not very well-made cars, so I wouldn't allow that Accent to be the standard-bearer for the industry. Ask me how I know that.

I do spark plugs more frequently than scheduled because, for manual gearboxes, the engine revs low enough to lug under load.

[tmontague]

Originally Posted by Lux

[LIST=1][*]Depends on what oil. Not all synthetics, here, are real group V synthetics like in Europe. Mobil 1, for example, is a complete waste of time where synthetics are concerned. Furthermore, your driving and operating conditions have a significant effect on the oil's longevity-- I would say moreso than whether your oil is synthetic.
[*]Synthetic gear oil inside your gearbox doesn't guarantee quality, nor is it required-- or even recommended. Adequate lubricity, shear resistance, and shock protection are what matter. A LOT of synthetic gear oils out there will WORSEN your shifting because the oil is too slippery (high lubricity), preventing the synchroniser assemblies from working properly. Royal Purple Synchromax synthetic gear oil is one of them. You need friction for the blocking ring to slip the synchroniser sleeve over the hub for each gear.

I do spark plugs more frequently than scheduled because, for manual gearboxes, the engine revs low enough to lug under load.

I forgot to mention spark plugs, I'll likely do this every 75,000km or so as I tend to shift on the lower rev range (not lug) to increase fuel economy.

I am using a GL-5 "synthetic" motomaster gear oil which I find is a little better than what the car came with in winter morning shifts, but its still not very good. I will be switching to a GL-4 which I'll have to purchase online down the road as it apparently is a much better gear oil for the Yaris.

The engine oil I use is not a true class V syn oil. It's canadian tire's in store "synthetic" ( I think it's called formula somehting and is made by Shell), but I have found it to be much easier on the car start ups in cold mornings and I get it on sale for $17 for 5L.

I check periodically under the hood for the water pump streak as well as coolant levels. So far I've had no w/p issues. I can tell the struts are due for replacement, will be waiting until after the winter for those. The rear is a little noisy on the occasional bump and it tends to go over bumps a little on the rough side