Need Help with 90K Service

So my 90K mile maintanence is comming up and I want to cover all bases. Im pretty sure I can change the engine oil, transmission fluid, spark plugs, fuel filter, cabin filter, polyrib belt, and what not. But I dont know how to change the differential fluid, bleed the brakes, or inspect it properly to where I wont miss anything. Should I do what I can (should I ask around and rent a lift?) then take it to the dealer for the diff fluid, brakes, and inspection? If anyone could give me a quick run down on basic procedures and tools needed Id appreciate it. I think ive got this much so far-

Oil change: get under there, take out drain plug and oil filter, reinstall and fill up (correct)?
Tranny change: take off the under cover and braces, drain it, fill it untill 11mm below fill plug line (correct?)
Fuel filter: take off under body panel, remove insulation, slide out and replace (correct?)
Polyrib belt: remove shrouds, loosen tensioning pulley, slip belt off, reinstall, tighten pulley (correct?)
Cabin filter: no brainer, under front hood
Spark plugs: remove ignition coils or wires (dont know which), unscrew, install new plugs (whats the correct gap and suggestions for best brand of spark plug, also its heat rating, and should I used antisieze?), re install wires (correct?)

[John V]

The transmission fluid change procedure is covered in detail on renntech.org. Do a quick search there and you'll find it. It is not difficult.

Flushing the brakes, also not difficult. However the cost for getting this wrong is very great. I bought a Motive power bleeder off of eBay for flushing brakes, and I have to say it was one of the best investments I've made in car tools. It makes the job so simple a child could do it. Be very careful to immediately clean up any brake fluid that drips onto the calipers, or your paint will be destroyed.

None of these items require a lift, I have done all of them with the car supported by jackstands. However a lift does make it easier to do most of them.

[shaman1204]

Not to hijack your thread Bogg, but can an oil change be performed while the car is on the jack stands? Doesn't it need to be level?

[blinkwatt]

Tranny change: take off the under cover and braces, drain it, fill it untill 11mm below fill plug line (correct?)

Take the cover off,remove braces,remove plug,drain it,put plug back on,remove fill plug and fill,put fill plug back one(TRUST ME IT'S EASIER SAID THEN DONE)

Polyrib belt: remove shrouds, loosen tensioning pulley, slip belt off, reinstall, tighten pulley (correct?)

Make sure you install the belt in the correct order on the pulleys.

Your pretty much on the right track,let us know how it goes. I recently finished my 60k tune-up myself,so I've 'been there and done that' and can tell you it feels AWESOME getting to know your car better!

[racer_d]

Originally Posted by boggtown

So my 90K mile maintanence is comming up and I want to cover all bases. Im pretty sure I can change the engine oil, transmission fluid, spark plugs, fuel filter, cabin filter, polyrib belt, and what not. But I dont know how to change the differential fluid, bleed the brakes, or inspect it properly to where I wont miss anything. Should I do what I can (should I ask around and rent a lift?) then take it to the dealer for the diff fluid, brakes, and inspection? If anyone could give me a quick run down on basic procedures and tools needed Id appreciate it. I think ive got this much so far-

Oil change: get under there, take out drain plug and oil filter, reinstall and fill up (correct)?
Tranny change: take off the under cover and braces, drain it, fill it untill 11mm below fill plug line (correct?)
Fuel filter: take off under body panel, remove insulation, slide out and replace (correct?)
Polyrib belt: remove shrouds, loosen tensioning pulley, slip belt off, reinstall, tighten pulley (correct?)
Cabin filter: no brainer, under front hood
Spark plugs: remove ignition coils or wires (dont know which), unscrew, install new plugs (whats the correct gap and suggestions for best brand of spark plug, also its heat rating, and should I used antisieze?), re install wires (correct?)

You forgot to charge yourself $100/hr

[John V]

Originally Posted by shaman1204

Not to hijack your thread Bogg, but can an oil change be performed while the car is on the jack stands? Doesn't it need to be level?

Who says the car can't be level while on jack stands?

The answers are yes, and yes.

[porschedude]

Bleeding brake fluid is quite easy. Buy one of those one-man bleeder system with a hand vacuum pump (try harborfrieght.com or sears). Instructions are all there but first suck out most of fluid from the reservoir/master cylinder (from the top), then fill up with new fluid. Afterwhich, remove one wheel at a time and follow instructions provided with the bleeder system....very easy.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by porschedude

Bleeding brake fluid is quite easy. Buy one of those one-man bleeder system with a hand vacuum pump (try harborfrieght.com or sears). Instructions are all there but first suck out most of fluid from the reservoir/master cylinder (from the top), then fill up with new fluid. Afterwhich, remove one wheel at a time and follow instructions provided with the bleeder system....very easy.

Hi,

Using a Vacuum Bleeder can be more difficult and less effective than a Power Bleeder. I don't recommend them for Modern Cars.

Once you open the Bleed Valve, with the MityVac, you can draw air through the threads making it more difficult and risking introducing air into the system. And, it's less convenient, or a two-man job, as someone must monitor the fluid level in the Reservoir. Where the Power Bleeder can be filled with sufficient fluid to complete the job.

Also, on ABS equipped cars, you need a certain amount of pressure to force fluid past the ABS Valves (and in cars equipped with TC5.3 or PSM, you need a PST2 to actually activate these valves - you cannot DIY these cars). This pressure is usually 15-25 PSI (on an older Boxster I don't recommend going higher than 19 PSI so you don't risk damaging the seals in the Master Cylinder, though you'll still have enough pressure to force the fluid/air through).

The Power Bleeder is overall much easier and neater, and well worth the $25 higher price. I think this is important because the easier the task is, the more likely an owner will change their fluid on the recommended Service Interval of every 2 yrs...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Adam]

I used the old pump the pedal method for the brakes with a friend and it worked great. I recammend you invest in this Bogg read it like the bible.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Adam

I used the old pump the pedal method for the brakes with a friend and it worked great. I recammend you invest in this Bogg read it like the bible.

Hi,

Again, not really recommended for a Master Cylinder with some miles on it. I've seen too many of them fail shortly after the system was bled using this traditional method - it's really hard on the equipment + you're still having to monitor the Fluid Reservoir throughout the whole process...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

The main reason im opposed to doing the brakes myself is that I dont want to invest in the bleeder, and I dont want to have to take off my wheels again. How much is a power bleeder, maybe I will consider it. I would like someone to comment on the spark plugs, any good brands? Size? Hot or cold? Just unscrew the old and put in the new? Ive done plenty of work on small engines (complete tear down and rebuild), but I dont want to risk anything and be kicking my ass when my cylinder 4 dies because the piston hit the plug or something.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by boggtown

The main reason im opposed to doing the brakes myself is that I dont want to invest in the bleeder, and I dont want to have to take off my wheels again. How much is a power bleeder, maybe I will consider it. I would like someone to comment on the spark plugs, any good brands? Size? Hot or cold? Just unscrew the old and put in the new?

Hi,

The Motive Power Bleeder will run you slightly less than $50 - search Amazon for best price.

For Plugs, stick with the OEMs - can't do better...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[John V]

Originally Posted by boggtown

The main reason im opposed to doing the brakes myself is that I dont want to invest in the bleeder, and I dont want to have to take off my wheels again. How much is a power bleeder, maybe I will consider it. I would like someone to comment on the spark plugs, any good brands? Size? Hot or cold? Just unscrew the old and put in the new? Ive done plenty of work on small engines (complete tear down and rebuild), but I dont want to risk anything and be kicking my ass when my cylinder 4 dies because the piston hit the plug or something.

You have to take off your wheels regardless. It's too hard to get to both top bleed screws on the calipers. Honestly if you are worried about taking the wheels off you might not want to undertake this work! You have to remove the wheels to do the plugs and measure the brake rotor thickness, too!

Lol, see, no one said I had to take off the wheels to do the plugs. Honestly, ive already taken my wheels off and on like 10 times. I just didnt want to do it because it takes me a long time to jack up each side and jack stand it. Also, if Im gonna bleed the brakes, should I go ahead and get stainless brake lines?

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by boggtown

Lol, see, no one said I had to take off the wheels to do the plugs. Honestly, ive already taken my wheels off and on like 10 times. I just didnt want to do it because it takes me a long time to jack up each side and jack stand it. Also, if Im gonna bleed the brakes, should I go ahead and get stainless brake lines?

Hi,

You don't need to pull the wheels to do the Plugs, at least I didn't...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[John V]

Originally Posted by boggtown

Lol, see, no one said I had to take off the wheels to do the plugs. Honestly, ive already taken my wheels off and on like 10 times. I just didnt want to do it because it takes me a long time to jack up each side and jack stand it. Also, if Im gonna bleed the brakes, should I go ahead and get stainless brake lines?

You don't have to remove the wheels to do the plugs, but it sure makes it a lot easier. You do have to remove the wheels to inspect the brakes, which is part of your service, correct? And you do have to remove them to flush the brakes (unless you have huge wheels - my factory 18's barely clear my stock brakes).

There is no need to get stainless brake lines. Unless your stock hoses have deteriorated you won't see any improvement at all.

You tell me if they are big enough.

[John V]

Probably. But I'd remove them anyway, just to avoid the risk of scratching them / getting brake fluid on them. Plus, it really does make doing the plugs much easier.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

There are so many issues with SS Brake Lines that it's safe to say the AfterMarket has over-hyped these tremendously.

First, Modern street cars with oversized Brake Boosters, plenty of available Vacuum Pressure, better designed Master Cylinders, multi-Piston Calipers and better Brake Pad material are all but immune to any slight pressure loss due to flexible Brake Hose expansion. And, the Hoses themselves now conform to much more rigerous standards of Flexibility, Expansion, Robustness and such and are thoroughly tested by the Manufacturers.

OEM Rubber Flexible Brake Hoses are not prone to failure and very few cases of such are known. The Rubber is inert to all types of Brake Fluid and are very flexible and robust. They typically use either Steel or Alloy threaded ends which are crimped to the Hose.

Stainless Steel Flexible Brake Hoses are really a Teflon Hose encased in either Kevlar or Stainless Steel Mesh (or both).

The advantage of this Teflon Hose is that it won't expand under heat or pressure and it is also chemically inert.

But, among it's disadvantages is that Teflon Hose is very Fragile and so must be encased in Mesh to protect it. These too are usually (for DOT approved types) capped by a threaded end which is swaged, or crimped, on the end. The disadvantage here is that since the Hose doesn't expand, the threaded ends must survive much higher pressures than on a Rubber Hose and so these often Do Fail.

Another disadvantage is that the Stainless end caps tend to harden with age, often losing the elasticity required for the threads to lock and they often will loosen and consequently leak fluid or admit air into the hydraulic system. For this reason, the DOT recommends replacing these SS Hoses annually - an involved and spendy practice. This is not an issue in a Racing application where they are generally replaced every season at worst.

Then there is the disadvantage of these Hoses being less flexible due to their mesh outercovering and so they are consequently longer than the OEM Rubber Hoses. This extra length can cause the hose to wear and abrade with the movement of the Steering gear or suspension.

The mesh outercovering can also be damaged by rocks and other debris and can themselves abrade the inner Teflon Hose causing it to fail. For this reason, the better DOT approved SS Hoses use a Kevlar inner mesh to protect the Teflon from the SS outermesh.

The quality of these aftermarket SS Hoses can vary greatly from poor quality materials and workmanship from Taiwan or China, to proper Aeroquip or Earl’s Hose, which are typically much more expensive.

A final disadvantage to these Hoses for Street Use is the inability to inspect the Teflon Hose itself for any wear or damage.

Now, the only ones which are truly any good (read SAFE) are those which are not legal for Street use - non DOT approved. These typically use Aeroquip or Earl’s Speed-Seal ends (also known as Fluor-O-Seal and Fluor-O-Flex respectively). These ends are best available fittings, but they do not meet the DOT specs and cannot therefore be approved - DOT FMVSS 106 specifies that "Each hydraulic brake hose assembly shall have PERMANENTLY ATTACHED brake hose end fittings which are attached by deformation of the fitting about the hose BY CRIMPING OR SWAGING." The idea is that, since crimped-on fittings can’t be loosened, the consumer won’t be able to screw with and weaken them.

Using non-DOT approved SS Brake Hoses can have many negative consequences in an accident investigation, especially in a Personal Injury action, but possibly in a State Safety Inspection as well.

The DOT specification is lengthy and all the required specs are given equal weight. As an example, an otherwise perfectly good quality SS Brake Hose can be failed because the required DOT APPROVED label is stamped in lower case instead of the required upper case.

SS Flexible Brake Hoses do give a Street Car a racier look, but are usually more expensive, less longlasting and actually underperform the OEM Rubber Flexible Brake Hose over time.

You really cannot do any better than the OEM Rubber Hydraulic Hoses - Best to leave these Race-Bred Parts where they were designed for - on the Racetrack!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Ok, just figured since they were SS they would last longer, but I see thats not the case. I will be making my shopping list soon, I want to flush the coolant system too, so I will read CJ's thread again and do that. I will probably email Todd and see if he can hook me up with everything.