Oil changes, etc

[Skant]

This Corvette is my first sports car. I've been driving big trucks all my life till I bought the vette.

I'd figure on taking the vette to one of the corvette specialty shops around here for repairs and such. But what about simple routine maintainence like oil changes? Would it be stupid or any sort of transgression to take a vette to some oil change place... like jiffy lube or something?

Lots of things require special care on the vette, but it seems like the routine maintainence items shouldn't require anything special. Or maybe they do?

I used to do this kind of stuff myself, but I just don't have the time or patience anymore.

- Skant

 

[Ken]

Nothing really special about 'em, just use the knowledge you've already acquired from your years of truck driving experience, and apply the same maintenance you would normally do to keep the vehicle running and looking fresh. That's assuming you took care of you vehicles in the first place. :L

_ken

 

[Skant]

Heh. Indeed I did take care of them. But they didn't need maintainence at as short intervals as a vette. *smirk*

- Skant

 

[kevoinc]

I am also curious like Skant...I just bought my 89 in November and have yet 2 change the oil........who here does take their vettes to an oil change place?Is there anything special i should request or look for?thanks for your replys.

 

[Vettelt193]

For the 1996 LT4 owner (Skant) you will need to continue using synthetic oil... LT1's and LT4's are factory filled with mobil 1 synthetic.

for kevoinc you can switch to synthetic if you would like, it is better oil... if you don't want to, you can stick with the normal stuff.

 

[JRMaroon]

I used to enjoy doing this type of thing.

This may not be the best bargain for an oil change but I take my '94 to a Chevy dealer for routine maintenance. When I moved to Atlanta I asked around to see who sold the most new Vettes in the area. There are two high volume Vette dealers here and I've been going to the one nearest my home for all repairs, including my opti-spark. That one hurt a bit. I always see a handfull of Vettes from all eras at their service center. I figure that's a good sign. This dealer also has 5 or 6 techs who specialize in Vettes.

The last oil & lube was about $42. I figure I'd pay close to that anywhere for Mobil 1. These guys look it all over while it's there and you won't get that at an oil change shop.

I wish I could still do this myself but I just don't have a good place to work on it. Besides I don't have to worry about how to properly dispose of the used oil.

 

[Skant]

Opti-spark? *searches forums* *reads stuff*

Egads! From the posts I read on the forums, it sounds like I should earmark at least $1000 every year or two to replace the opti-spark unit. Is it really that bad?

It sounds like there is no way to do maintainence on the opti-spark? It just runs until it dies?

And there seems to be a lot of conflicting posts about whether you can wash an LT1/LT4 engine with water or not. Some say you can you hose it down if you avoid the front of the engine. Others say if a droplet of water touches the engine, the opti-spark unit will detonate and destroy everything within a 100 mile blast radius. Which one of these is closer to the truth?

There seems to be some indication that it's really bad prior to the 95 models. But 95-96 don't have too much trouble? I have a 96 LT4 CE, so maybe I'm okay? Hope...

- Skant

 

[c4cruiser]

Congrats on your new baby!! Once you get one, you're hooked. I'm on number 4 since '71 and looking for #5 to build an autocross car.

The basic maintenance stuff like fluid changes and lubrication I like to do myself. I can do an oil change and lube in my garage in about a half hour and I just like tinkering around with it. Turn on the radio, grab a cool beer from the fridge under the workbench and have fun! Mobil-1 oil can be had for around $3.75 to $4 per quart on sale and good quality filters like Mobil-1, K&N, Purolator or even AC-Declo are fairly inexpensive (stay away from FRAM-they are garbage!). Your local Chevy dealer will usually have some specials on LOF, so it might be worth going over and just talk to them and ask if they have mechanics with specific Vette training.

Avoid the Jiffy-Lube-type places like the plague!! I tried one once and the "technician" dripped oil all over the valve cove and onto the hot exhaust manifold when he pulled the last quart bottle out. They even tried to put 10w-30 dino oil in my 92 after I told them specifically to use Mobil-1 5w-30. Then at that, the idiots said Mobil-1 was not recommended in small-block chevys (all LT-1 motors use Mobil-1 as factory fill and the owner's manual specifies synthetic.).

Depending on your mileage, oil changes may only be once or twice a year. Synthetic will last to 7500 miles easily.

You will find some specific procedures for maintenance on Vettes. Coolant flush is somewhat involved as the system has bleed ports to remove trapped air when re-filling. Dex-Cool (Texaco) is the factory fill on 95 and later cars.

The Opti-Spark distributor is one area that can cause problems. Pre-95 Opti's are susceptible to mositure damage and can be very expensive to replace ($600+). Failure of the water pump is usually the cause of the Opti to die as the pump seal will soak the Opti. This means you should also NOT clean the motor with a hose. Simple Green and rags only here.

Differential lube is a straight forward changing operation. Suck out the old and replace with 75-90 gear oil and a bottle of the GM diff. additive. The A4 transmission uses GM type Dextron III fluid and just follow the maintenance schedule. If you have a ZF 6-speed, it uses a very specific oil. The GM stuff is expensive, but there is a BMW-recommended fluid that's cheaper (BMW trannys are ZF). I believe it is just a Castrol 20w-50 motor oil.

Hope this helps!! Enjoy your Vette!!

 

[Ken]

Egads!

That, has got to be the first time that word has been used in these boards. I haven't heard that word since I last read the "POGO" comic strip. :L

I love it, keep 'em coming!

_ken

 

[ron]

routine maintenance

Skant, I would agree with JR Maroon when it comes to routine maintenance that you don't do yourself. I might suggest that you contact your local Corvette club and speak with some of the members. Not only are most Vette owners knowledgeable about who does the best Vette repairs, etc., but they may have a contact with the local Mr. Goodwrench mechanic at the Chevy dealership. I use the Chevy dealer in my town who has a great lube man. He enjoys working on Corvettes and is VERY fussy about checking over the drivetrain, etc. when doing routine service. I think my last oil and lube charge was approx $50. I don't consider this too bad, especially if you are an owner that practices extended oil change intervals. (5 - 6 K miles, etc. ) There are some really good technicians out there, but finding them is somtimes difficult. I think fellow Vette "nuts" are a good source of information. Hope this helps.

Ron

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Re: routine maintenance

Skant, I would agree with JR Maroon when it comes to routine maintenance that you don't do yourself. I might suggest that you contact your local Corvette club and speak with some of the members. Not only are most Vette owners knowledgeable about who does the best Vette repairs, etc., but they may have a contact with the local Mr. Goodwrench mechanic at the Chevy dealership. I use the Chevy dealer in my town who has a great lube man. He enjoys working on Corvettes and is VERY fussy about checking over the drivetrain, etc. when doing routine service. I think my last oil and lube charge was approx $50. I don't consider this too bad, especially if you are an owner that practices extended oil change intervals. (5 - 6 K miles, etc. ) There are some really good technicians out there, but finding them is somtimes difficult. I think fellow Vette "nuts" are a good source of information. Hope this helps.

Ron

Yes fussy is good... quick lubes don't really care about quality they are there for quantity you really don't make much money on a 19.95 oil change.. so they don't usually hire the best lube techs.. At my shop that I work for, we do more the "change the oil" we check the front end (the tire rod ends and ball joints, ect) we also check things like the diff fluid level.. we also look the vehicle over see if it is in need of anything else such as brake hoses, rad hoses, check to see if the trans needs serviceing things like that.. it's not only good for us in the fact that we can possibly sell a job but it;s good for the vehicle because there may be servicing needed that the owner did not know..

like the bottom of my sig. reads.. if anyone needs any work done hp or not contact me.. maybe we can work out an arrangement. I need to find a little extra source of income to help pay for my vette addictions.. LoL

-Rick