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Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:26 pm

I'm curious as to what people keep track of for their vehicles.

For example, on all my vehicles I have a separate notebook and in it I have the full date and odometer reading of the event. Events are oil changes, air filter service, valve adjustments, wheel bearing lubrication...typical maintenance procedures. I also include other stuff like tire replacement (so I can see how long they last), clutch job, catalytic converter replacement, and other significant changes (one-touch sunroof install on the Jetta, 5-speed tranny for the Squareback, floorboards and heel-toe shifter for the Goldwing, etc.). Okay, so some of those items aren't necessarily "significant" but when some asks how long that one-touch has lasted or if the carbon fiber overlay on my bike has lasted more than 6 months I can tell them. I don't do tire rotations nor windshield wiper blade/fluid changes as those aren't critical/necessary data points in my opinion and are done on an as-needed basis.

So, what do YOU log and how (Excel workbook, notebook, by memory or by the stack of receipts :D)?

BTW, gas mileage I would not include. That should be its own little book.

Sat Dec 17, 2005 8:19 pm

Air_Cooled_Nut wrote: ...catalytic converter replacement...
What?

Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:23 pm

catalytic converter
noun
A reaction chamber typically containing a finely divided platinum-iridium catalyst into which exhaust gases from an automotive engine are passed together with excess air so that carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon pollutants are oxidized to carbon dioxide and water.

Like what's used on my Jetta. I do have more than one vehicle as posted in my sig., ya know :wink:

Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:05 am

:lol: Around here, if a catalytic converter needs replaced, it is usually done with a length of straight pipe.

Regarding your original question, I used to keep a log book of when routine maintanence and repairs were done, but the past couple years I have slacked off. I just purchased another vehicle though, so perhaps your post will get me motivated to keep records again.

For some reason, I can remember the odometer reading on all my vehicles when something major was repaired (i.e., engine rebuild, transmission replacement, etc). I should probably write that information down.

Sun Dec 18, 2005 7:14 am

Mr. Bubblehead wrote: :lol: Around here, if a catalytic converter needs replaced, it is usually done with a length of straight pipe.

someday, not soon, but someday, Missouri may be doing emissions testing...

not a pretty thought at all...

Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:14 am

blankmange wrote: someday, not soon, but someday, Missouri may be doing emissions testing...

not a pretty thought at all...
Good thing I only drive old-school, emissions-exempt air-cooled vehicles 8)

Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:41 am

Mr. Bubblehead wrote: blankmange wrote: someday, not soon, but someday, Missouri may be doing emissions testing...

not a pretty thought at all...
Good thing I only drive old-school, emissions-exempt air-cooled vehicles 8) That's what I thought when i registered my '65 Notchback in Boise, ID. About 2 months later I get a notice stating I have to have an emissions test. Turns out, the Clean Air Board in Ada County, Idaho decided that ALL registered vehicles, 1965 and newer needed emissions testing. That, combined with living in a hightly populated area, convinced me to move 30 miles away where most people are farmers and don't care about emissions testing.

Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:51 am

LOG BOOK? What's a log book? Change the oil and adjust the valve every 3k then fix what needs fixing. I've never been audited on a car yet! :lol:

Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:11 pm

notchback wrote: Mr. Bubblehead wrote: blankmange wrote: someday, not soon, but someday, Missouri may be doing emissions testing...

not a pretty thought at all...
Good thing I only drive old-school, emissions-exempt air-cooled vehicles 8) That's what I thought when i registered my '65 Notchback in Boise, ID. About 2 months later I get a notice stating I have to have an emissions test. Turns out, the Clean Air Board in Ada County, Idaho decided that ALL registered vehicles, 1965 and newer needed emissions testing.

I've worried abouth this same issue since I moved to the Birkenstock, tree hugger Pac NW. Hopefully it doesn't come to this. We already have to test our "modern" cars. Adding my Notches and bus would be a bitch.

Sun Dec 18, 2005 5:12 pm

My son ran into it in SoCal with his JDM powered Honda CRX. Being he is still in the Navy and not a legal resident of SoCal, He just registered it here in Iowa. No emmisions inspection.
And to stay on topic, I don't keep any service records on my personal cars. The dealer does on the the wifes car, and the rest is just a mental record. for me.

Sun Dec 18, 2005 5:57 pm

I still sitting here wondering what this word "maintenance" means :?

Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:51 pm

notchback wrote: I still sitting here wondering what this word "maintenance" means :?
<ding><ding><ding>! We have a winner! :lol:

Regular stuff like oilchanges & valve adjustments, I just have a gut feeling of "when it's time". I've definately been driving these things too long. :D

Other stuff gets chicken-scrawled onto an old napkin from the glovebox ... but I remember anyway. :shock:

Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:14 am

When i first got my square couple of years back,
my fave mechanic (who had owned a few) had her up on the lift for the initial check up.
He slapped it on the bumper and said something along the lines of...

"as long as you change the 'something-or others' (can't remember) every 'some-big-number'? thousand miles, these things will go for-EVER!"
(must ask him to remind me what it was)

So I never worry until the oil light flashes when I take a corner, which happens every six months or so, on account of a minor oil leak from some seal deep in the heart of Texas.
No problems so far :D
and off topic a little...
He also said him and other owners used to put a sack of sand up front (over the front wheels) and it helped cornering :o
Anybody heard of THAT one?
I remember in the '70s it was a done thing to drop a length of railway line in the boot of Chrysler Chargers (Australian muscle car different from the U.S. ones) 'cos they were a little too light at the back end.

Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:22 am

buzzbox wrote: When i first got my square couple of years back,
my fave mechanic (who had owned a few) had her up on the lift for the initial check up.
He slapped it on the bumper and said something along the lines of...

"as long as you change the 'something-or others' (can't remember) every 'some-big-number'? thousand miles, these things will go for-EVER!"
(must ask him to remind me what it was)

So I never worry until the oil light flashes when I take a corner, which happens every six months or so, on account of a minor oil leak from some seal deep in the heart of Texas.
No problems so far :D
and off topic a little...
He also said him and other owners used to put a sack of sand up front (over the front wheels) and it helped cornering :o
Anybody heard of THAT one?
I remember in the '70s it was a done thing to drop a length of railway line in the boot of Chrysler Chargers (Australian muscle car different from the U.S. ones) 'cos they were a little too light at the back end. No fair. Australia got almost all the cool cars:
Looks sort of like something from Mad Max.

Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:24 am

I have a log that I keep in each vehicle or I'll never keep track. I have the Mercedes maintenance checklists for those, and photostats of the old VW Dealer Checklists for the various services where you had to check off the list and leave it hanging from the rearview for my VWs. I'm one of these assholes that still does the oil change service, down to lubing door hinges, latches, and locks, and treating the rubber door and window seals with silicone. It drives me up a freakin' TREE if ANYTHING that came on a car doesn't work. Right now my wife and I are having a running battle about the cruise control and instrument clustre in her Benz. I discovered that the cruise doesn't always work right and needs an amplifier. She never uses it, and doesn't want it fixed. When we got the car, it had had the guage clustre for the temp, fuel, and oil pressure replaced due to a leaky oil pressure gauge. The damned indicator needles on the new gauge clustre are a yellowish orange, the originals are orange- orange, so they don't match exactly. Drives me insane. And yet again, she doesn't care. :roll:
I'll tell you what, though. I do my periodic maintenance by the FACTORY intervals, NOT the 3,000 mile "quick lube" reccomended intervals that are so popular today. When it comes to maintenance on my German cars, I'll trust the factory over "Oil Can Henry's" any day of the week. The 3,000 mile oil change thing is just wasteful- It's for severe service, IE, arctic or desert climates. You gain positively NOTHING by it in most of the continental US. Take your car to a Werkstatt in Germany and tell them you need an oil service because you have 3,000 miles since the last one, and they'll laugh you over into France.
I guess I have the finger- runs today. :lol:

Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:43 am

Tram wrote: Right now my wife and I are having a running battle about the cruise control and instrument clustre in her Benz. I discovered that the cruise doesn't always work right and needs an amplifier. She never uses it, and doesn't want it fixed. When we got the car, it had had the guage clustre for the temp, fuel, and oil pressure replaced due to a leaky oil pressure gauge. The damned indicator needles on the new gauge clustre are a yellowish orange, the originals are orange- orange, so they don't match exactly. Drives me insane. And yet again, she doesn't care. :roll:

Women :!: :lol: Just joking ladies. :wink:

Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:40 pm

No offence taken Mark. I like things to work properly too. I am good about changing the oil and adjusting the valves. Things like wheel bearing repack I did a few years back so I think it is good for now. I have replaced fuel line more often than I like to think about. I think I need to do it again. Seems to have another leak. I wish I was better about keeping notes. I am just not that organized. Maybe now that the girl is beautiful I will be better about it.
And mark if you need a place to register your cars, we are good in Kitsap. J/K, that would make you a scoff law :twisted:
Cheers

Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:35 am

Quote: No fair. Australia got almost all the cool cars:
SOME cool cars..but not compared to America!
I love browsing the ebay vintage parts cars category.
...I could (and frequently do) spend hours looking at all those wild cars wasting away in the fields.
It's frustrating and beautiful at the same time.
Kinda glad they're way out of reach.
By the way..I grew up on Mad Max films...
Rat heaven!

[/quote]

Tue Dec 20, 2005 7:29 pm

I keep a small log book, where I keep track of fill ups, oil changes, valve adjustments (along with which valves were tight), greasing the front axle, oiling the door hinges, stuff like that. I don't get as carried away as Tram does, but I also listen to the car while I'm driving, so it can tell me other info I need to know. :D I probably need to get Tram to send me one of his full on lists, so I can get everything lubed like it should be. :wink: Of course he also needs to tell me how to get my wife's rear window defogger to work again in her Fastback, since everything else does work. :roll:
[quote Tram:] It drives me up a freakin' TREE if ANYTHING that came on a car doesn't work.[/quote]

He doesn't have to help me make it work on my Roadster 2 project, since I've already removed the rear window along with the rest of the roof. :twisted:

Tue Dec 20, 2005 7:44 pm

Anniehum wrote: And mark if you need a place to register your cars, we are good in Kitsap. J/K, that would make you a scoff law :twisted:
Cheers

:lol: :lol: