Hello.
Well, my girlfriend has an automatic ES and it has almost 21,500 miles on it so far. She uses it for commuting back and forth to work and home and she brought it used. Where not sure if anything has been change in the car so far. I want to go and change a few things in it. I was looking at the maintenance manual and these are the things they said that should be change and done so far.

-Change engine oil and filter.
-Inspect disc brake pads for wear.
-Check automatic transaxle fluid.
-Inspect rear drum brake linings and rear wheel cylinders for wear and leaks of all wheels.
-Replace spark plugs.
-Replace air cleaner.

1st. What type of Oil is best for this type of car (Mobile 1, Castrol GTX, Penzoil, ect I live in Connecticut where its hot in the summer (80-95*f) and (20-30*f) in the winter. What type should be used? 5w-30 or 10w-30 ect:?

2nd. The cars brakes are already squeaking. Should I get a better name brand in brakes and pads? Which ones? I would like a sports brake kit. Can anyone recommend one. The car has now the stock tires (for the winter) but she purchased some 17x7" rims for the summer. What should she do for the brake pads or brake kit?

3rd. Tranny oil, should it be change? If so what's a really good quality lubricant to give it a smoother feel and longer life?

4th. Brake drum lining and rear wheel cylinder seems okay. But still would like to change the pads or brake system to a better quality and durability. Any recommendations?

5th. What type of spark plugs and wires are better for the car other than stock? NOTE: she's not afraid to boost up the car in anyway so that's why I ask all these questions. Her modo is "anything to make the car look better and go faster is okay with me". Are they hard to install and do myself?

6th. Replace air cleaner. Looking in the manual and cannot find strong info on this. Should I just put in an Intake? What should I do here?

7th Rotate tires. Which way, what's the best recommend way? (even though I know the answer) but still would like to hear it from you.

Another thing I should do to the car? Would love to make the engine a little more quitter. Should I put any additives in the car to help it last longer? What should they be?

What are other thing that should've been done to the car?

THANKS................... I WROUGHT a lot OF **** UHhhhh.

 

That's the worst maintenance question ever. In fact it's not even a question.

 

First of all, u did list a whole buncha stuff u need to do to the car. Besides what the manual says for the particular interval, i recommend also to make sure that things in the previous intervals have been covered and anything else that needs attention that isn't on the list be done too. better safe than sorry

im in a really good mood so i should answer all or most of your questions

first of all the oil brand. personally, there can be a never ending discussion over which brand oil to use. just pick on that you are familiar with. many people have their preferences and there isn't that much of a difference between brands.

regular oil vs synthetic or even blend. personally, i use regular oil, whatever brand name is on sale. thats just because i always remember to change my oil b4 the specified interval. if you tend to forget to change your oil when recommended or something like that you might wanna spend a few more dollars for blend or full. for me not worth it since yea i change my oil so often.

as for the weight. the owners manual can recommend what oil to use. i ive in maryland. and yea ur winters are a lil bit colder but our summers are a lil bit hotter but nonetheless, i use 5w30 in the winter and 10w30 in the summer.


the oem brakes IMO are pretty decent i guess. but you can always upgrade to aftermarket. http://roadracemotorsports.com has some brake pads you might wanna look @. check out your local auto parts store. they might have brake pads and shoes there that offer a lifetime warranty or something. but check out the material the pad is made out of since some produce more dust than others.

im not really sure what exactly is the aftermarket on the lancer (galant owner) but a simple brake upgrade, upgrade in pads, maybe rotors later should be sufficient. if she does some kinds racing or want something that fills in the gap she can look for a sport kit.

tranny oil. i would replace it every 30k for the auto. uhm if you believe the previous owner beat the hell out of the tranny, a good flushing should be good. as for what kind of fluid to recommend, i only recommend the dealer stuff.

that was question #2 lol but eya i dout there would be peformance drums hahaha


denso iriduim plugs and magnecore wires i recommend. the bosch +2 and +4 i heard were good too. as for how to change them, there is a tutorial on how to do it in the forum, there's a link on the main page. and for the plug wires, a lil tip is to change them one by one so u don't get the firing order mixed up.

an accel kool blue or a k&n panel filter sould be sufficient and add a lil performance boost. if your girfriend wants a lil bit sound to an intake, a simple cone filter and MAs adaptor should be good. for more info on air filters and such, pick up the november issue of import tuner. they have a lil article on intakes. o yea its calendar month too
rotating tires, there should be a recommended way on how to do it in the manual. tire rack has a good article. i usually go cris cross or in a circle. but yea that also can depends on the type of tires you have.

but yea you're gonna need some jackstands or a lift something like that so u can have @ least 2 wheels off the ground. i painted my calipers too while i did mine for the first time. makes a good look

ok scratch the aftermarket intake idea. thats gonna make the car louder. accel kool blue or k&n panel fiter it is. as for additives, i don't deal with any of those most of them are just a waste of money.

 

Thanks for the Info

 

To avoid Pjal's childish slander, I have searched and searched this is the best thread that i could find for my question.

Ok, I have almost 15k miles on my lancer. My dealerships says i need to bring it into them and get it serviced for my 15k service. They are going to charge me $170.

They will perform all of the tasks stated in the first post, except i have a 5 speed and they will inspect the clutch.

They say that i will void my 100k mile warranty if i donot get this done.

Has anyone done this? Has anyone done this with aftermarket parts? I have the RRM brake pads without the metal brackets (only way i could get them to stop squeeling) I am just worried they will find a problem somwhere and charge me like $500 to fix it and im a poor college student so yea that would be lame.

 

I dunno, but if you're concerned about you warranty then bite the bullet and go in for it. Worst comes to worst you could install your stock pads first and then take it in. I don't know if that would be worth it, but it's an option.

And might I say wow...Sorry about that response back in November. I don't even remember doing that. Really, honestly, truly sorry bout being such a jerk.

EDIT: The reasons we ask that people run searches first are because: 1. most questions have been answered already. 2. creating new threads reduces the chances of getting a proper answer for those who search and 3. The forums are very cluttered and a pain to keep organized. It's nothing personal, it just makes things easier for everyone.

 

Just a comment on oil. Valvoline and Castrol are nice oils since they don't have any parafin (most other oils have it which can gum up over time). Synthetic oils are even better, no parafin and even cleaner. Just my .02

 

I gotcha Hobie . Right on, i think im gonna take it in, damn dealership *****. Im gonna void the warranty sometime anyway so yea heh. Why do i hate them so?

=
dealerships =

 

My auto lancer is probably low on trans fluid, i got like 9,500 miles on it and its due for an oil change soon. Should i go to the dealership for little **** like that cuz i think i can get a oil change their for like 20 bucks.

 

I'm sure thisis helpful a month after you asked:
The only problem I had with my first oil change on this car (at 2500mi) was that the damned filter did not want to come off. I tried every trick in the book. Finally my friend came over and used one of those filter wrenches that looks like a giant socket- it fits over the end of the filter. He had to tap it on with a rubber mallet and we used a 3/8 drive ratchet to break the seal free. a very long frustrating task that I would save all of you from I kept the filter wrench. Good thing, too, at my 6600mi change the filter was STILL hard to get off so there may be something in the design that creates a vacuum or something.

 

Hi,
I'm Iris Pete#1's Girlfriend the owner of the lancer. I just wanted to thank you guys for all your help. (Hobie Kopek I understand I'm not mad. ) I also changed my oil and the same thing happened to me and I did the same thing you did. I guess every time I need to change my oil I have to have a rubber mallet and a filter wrench. (that sucks! ) Mental Atrophy I also hate the dealerships. My car needed an alignment. Knowing the car has a warranty I When to the dealers to have it fixed. They had it for three days and did not do anything to it. It was still parked in the same spot. Boy was I mad and I let them know it too. So now I do every thing myself. I just have two short questions , my brakes are Squeaking . Do you guys recommend a name brand brakes and whats a good place to order them?

Merry Christmas & a happy new year!

 

For your uses, you should probably just reorder a set of stock pads from the dealer or take a trip down to Kragen or the like and have them order you up a pair. Just make sure the staff isn't a band of muppets and you'll be fine.

 

Took my car in and paid the $171. Didnt even get detailed. Hard to tell if they did anything but adjust my e-brake But yea. Was it worth it to keep my $1000 100,000 mile warranty? you ask, I think not since I will more than likely void it in the near future.

Cheers,
Mike W

 

FYI squeaking brakes may not be because they are wearing out, if you drive hard and stop hard you may be glazing the rotors. You "might" need to go to somewhere like pep boys or even dealership if they will do it and have your rotors cut. But like everyone else says, you may just need pads.