50 How do I take care of my car to make it last long?
Description
This article is from the Watercooled VWs General FAQ, by Jan Vandenbrande with numerous contributions by others.
50 How do I take care of my car to make it last long?
A: Here are a couple of one liners, some of which are explained in more
detail elsewhere?
- Check fluids often (oil, coolant, PS fluid, brake fluid, battery)
- Follow recommended maintenance
Change oil & filter 3000 miles/5000km or 7500mi/12000km with synthetic oil
Use the correct weight of oil for the climat
Change coolant when it looks dirty (or every 2-4 years) and use phophate
free coolant mixed with distilled water
Bleed brakes yearly. Use Dot 3/4, Dot 4 or Super Dot 4 fluid
Change fuel filter (at least every 30k miles or 50k km)
- Use OEM, MANN or Bosch filters.
- Change the oxy-sensor at the recommended interval (if you don't
you may burn your cat. converter which is A LOT more expensive to replace)
- Reset mechanical trip odometers when the car is stationary
- Warm up your car by driving gently until your oil temp is 80C
- Check your CV boots for breaks often and replace as soon as they crack
(this will prevent having to replace the whole joint)
- Use fuel injector cleaner every couple months
- Check tire pressures periodically. It's better to over inflate than to
underinflate (I run 40 psi on my G60 with little effect on wear)
- Garage the car, leave it out of the sun
- Replace all gaskets and seals if you take something appart.
It's a small cost in comparison to the cost and time to take
something appart
- Cars with solid lifters: Adjust valve clearances as recommended
(if you don't, you may burn your valves).
- Replace all belts every ~60k miles/100k kms
- Replace all hoses every ~100k miles/160k kms
- Replace vacuum hoses as they get stiff and brittle
- Learn how to rev-shift to save clutch wear
- Check transmission level periodically. Familiarize yourself
first what that level should be for you car.
- Stay away from low quality parts, especially for CVJoints and axles
Do not use remanufactured parts, only OEM
- Run your AC at least once a month for a couple of minutes
to lubricate the bearings and prevent the seals from drying out
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