Need advice please
 

Got the z monday night. Pulled the SL fuse last night. I know the dealership i got it from probably did a shitty run threw of my fluids and everything but i was wondering..

Is this anything I should plan on doing maintenance wise to make sure the car is performing at its full potential

How many miles?

yah, milage would help...

my car is also a 09.. but with only 14k miles. ive not done any fluid change other than engine oil. might bleed the brakes late season or next year. that's about all.

If you don't know how the previous owner treated the car, change out all the fluids. Also, send out an oil sample to Blackstone Labs to get an idea of how the engine is wearing.

Car has 37000 Miles
i never herd of sending the oil sample but that sounds like a real good idea
off topic what kind of information could they get from the oil sample

Go to their website. There's a lot of info available. It's a very comprehensive analysis and it'll give you a good idea of what's going on inside the motor.

READ YOUR SERVICE MANUAL. Every 2 years you are supposed to change your diff fluid, if you have a manual trans oil is changed every 2yrs. Mileage on both is 24,000 interval. If you are really working trans and diff often as in tracking or spirited canyon carving, or stop and go traffic being that you aren't getting sufficient air flow across the cooling fins on the diff and trans then I would contemplate sooner. Coolant is also every 2 years as well as the Power steering.

:icon08: you must work for the stealership.

I change my fluids every year when it comes out of storage, you'll be surprised how they degrade from both use and sitting, cheap insurance IMO.

Actually I'm a substation operator. I took the time to read my manuals when I bought my car. I'm smart like that :-\

Thanks that was exactly the kind of info i was looking for. As much as i like cars and enjoy them ive just never been to pick up and absorb any information like that. I helped my buddy put the cat back and cai on my civic but thats about as far as it goes. i appreciate it

Schedule 1 or 2 maintenance do not mention some fluids at all such as manual tranny and differential. That is only under premium schedule, which you do not *have* to follow. That may be why there's been a few snarky remarks :)

I agree with the suggestions that as a new owner of a used car, drop the fluids as its an easy thing to do and you know what is going in there.

At 37K, oil and diff, if its 4y old do coolant as well. Brake fluid is up to you, its not mentioned at all in the SMG, some people do it every 2, others every 4, other almost never.

Me personally, I use Nissan MTL (75/85, not 90), Redline in the diff, and a full synthetic. A UOA won't be much use on this drop as you don't know what it is. Its more useful for trending so if you like, start with your next oil change and sample it.

If you are changing every 3750 as per sched 1 I would not bother with a UOA its far to short a life to give you meaningful data on extended OCIs on a street car. I follow sched 2 and run my oil 6mo/7500 miles (which is still a waste with a good synthetic but its under warranty still).

And finally, welcome. :tiphat:

- b

yep, im following the lightest maintenance schedule on my car since the car is only driven in ideal conditions.

it doesnt call out all these fluid changes, thus overkill for my car. but since one bought a used car with no history, i'd go ahead and do atleast an oil change, and visually inspect the other fluids and decide to drain/fill or not.

Well consider this...if your car sits through hot weather and cools at night you do build up moisture over time and in some cases it doesn't have a vent like the power steering or clutch and brake fluid. 2yrs is most likely the key interval. Good mention on the 2 cycles of maintenance. I used to do the second due to the fact I commuted 100miles a day and 88 of it was hwy miles. Also never sat in traffic because I drove opposite of natural traffic flow but changed oil at 6k miles.

I hear you and each car is a bit different. I have actually been doing UOA's and trending our Z. For us using a very good synthetic like PU 5/30, 7500 miles has been no sweat (could easily do 10K before TBN starts to get low) in my application of 75/25 HWY/City.

Yesterday I did coolant after 4y as its till in warranty (extended) and I wanted to show the dealer a bit more love should I need some help with a claim in the future. Odds are, I won't. In 3 years its gotten nothing but fluid and filter changes, one TSB.

- b