Tires Rotated, Changed Belts and Trans Fluid/Filter Today

After putting the Firehawk Wide Ovals through a lot of hard corners over the past year, I've noticed the outer edges wearing a bit. The inside edges and middle treads are fine, it's just the outer parts that are getting worn. Alignment was done last summer, so I attribute this wear to extreme cornering, where the car is rolling a lot and putting all the weight on the outside edges. All four were pretty much the same, and since these are directional tires, rotating wouldn't do any good, so I went to Firestone and asked them to take off all four tires, remount with the good tread out, and static balance. Not only did they do a great job, they charged me $0.00. Guess I was do for a rotation. Kudos to Firestone!

It had been 50K miles since I last had the trans flushed, so decided it was time for a fluid & filter change. Good news: not much metal on the pan magnet, but the fluid was a bit on the brownish side, so glad I finally got it done. Hope this maintenance keeps the tranny alive for another year or three.

Then it was time for the dreaded belt change. I remember the first time I did it, back when the car had only 45K miles... took at least 6 hours to figure out! This time it took only 2 hours (thanks Jack the R), and that included removal of the lower radiator cover to look for a dropped socket. Once again, I chose Gates belts from NAPA. These ones had over 90K miles on them, including survival of an idler pulley failure, and still holding strong... cracked, but strong. Since I hadn't cut the bracket insert on the motor mount, I had to jack up the car and support the engine on a stand. Slightly more work, but I don't have to do this job very often; it'll be at least 3 more years until I do again, so why not?

Overall, everything went smoothly. Next up will be cleaning the air filter, new fuel filter, and then there's the rear sway bar and shocks.

No prob. Interested in hearing how the rear sway bar works out.

good choice on the Napa belt. they have a good warenty too. as long as you can read the part # on the belt they will give you another one free. (i have used that twice b/c of either pulley failure or my error...shh )

so are you going with acdelco fuel filter? i just did mine about 2 weeks ago, and i ran water through the old filter just to see what came out. it was pretty full of rust and dirt for only ~20k miles. (it was a napa gold filter but the delco one is slightly bigger)

Gates belts are amazing. I could still read the numbers on mine, after 90K! That's good to know about the warranty, although I'd feel bad using it since I know they make such good belts. I almost want to send a tip, but not quite... they weren't cheap at nearly $100 for both.

I used OEM fuel filter last time, and plan to again. I think they're good enough quality, and affordable. I have no reason to suspect mine's clogged, but just realized I haven't changed in probably 60k, and it's so easy to do.

Come to think of it, SC oil should probably be changed, too. Maybe I'll do the coupler soon. Mine's been rattling lately.

still on the stock coupler?

might as well bleed the brakes while you're doing all this summer maint

Still on stock coupler, and stock brake fluid (!). I definitely need to change both. The coupler is just a noisemaker, though. I don't think it affects performance, but still. The brake fluid really needs changed, even though it looks okay. Funny, I called to dealer about doing it; they said just leave it in as long as there are no problems.

The noisy coupler does affect performance. You are going to be in for a pleasent surprise when you replace it and the SC oil.

Also what rear shocks are you going with?

I've always been good on changing the SC oil. I hope you're right about the coupler. Car runs strong, but I'll take any performance benefit I can get.

I'm planning to use Monroe MaxAir shocks.

AA wrote:

they weren't cheap at nearly $100 for both.

IIRC I only paid 30-ish for both through Rock Auto. The Gatorback SC was 20-ish from Summit.

Sounds like you bought through NAPA. When I asked they wanted $45 for an SC belt. Gotta love that 200% markup.

Wish I had known that. RockAuto does in fact carry them for about half the price of NAPA.

RockAuto is hilarious. In case you're changing spark plugs on your Bugatti Veyron, they have'em for $11.84 each. That would be $189.44 total. No oil filter, though. For that you'll need to take her in to Jiffy Lube.

oldsman105 wrote:

The noisy coupler does affect performance. You are going to be in for a pleasent surprise when you replace it and the SC oil.

Also what rear shocks are you going with?

I should probably pick up a new coupler and replace mine too. It's a bit noisy, and there's more slack than I like when I turn the SC pulley back and forth(belt off), which I would attribute to a worn coupler. Any preferences between the aftermarket couplers available?

Aaron, you have too much free time to work on your car...

Lol, I wish I did. This is the first I've had time to do any maint in about a year (well, except for that front stabi bar). I don't even have time to change my own oil!

i have a zzp coupler and it hasnt failed yet fast shipping, good price and better than oem quality

i needta change my coupler i think LOL still Stock at 136K