Re: Tune-Up (thesleeper)
It is hard to say without knowing the general condition of the car.
When was the last time it had a "tune-up?" And what did that last service consist of? To some people, a "tune-up" is porbably changing the oil and checking the other fluid levels.
You really need to get a feel yourself for what your car needs. We can all post lists, but in your particular case, half the stuff on ly list might be throwing money away for your car.
That said, here's some things to start with.
1) oil change - use whatever weight/brand etc you want, as long as it isn't cheapo stuff. Many many people on here use Mobil 1 oil. ONLY use the factory filter element, or an identical one. There are lots of oil filters that will fit on these engines that won't work well.
2)Ignition system - These things really depend on the condition of the parts in your car now. Pull a plug and look at it. Is it all burn away? really dirty? Just plain old looking? If so, change em out. Only use the factory specified plug on the g60 engine, they are expensive, but other plugs will probably not work as well.
Pull the cap off the distributor. Look at the contact patches inside the cap, and at the rotor. Again, it will be obvious if they are bad - they will have a burnt look, or there may be chips or bits missing, or cracks in the plastic. Replace them both if needed.
I'd be willing to bet the ignition wires are fine. They tend to last a long time. My car has the stock wires at 177k, and they measure well within the allowable resistance values.
3) Cooling system - When was the last time the coolant was flushed? If it has been two years or more, flush it. Also, do you have green coolant or the correct orange/pink stuff? If you've got the green stuff, flush the coolant really really well with tons of water, and put the right stuff back in.
4) Brakes - check over all the pads and rotors. Check the inside and outside pads, since uneven wear can indicate bigger problems elsewhere. Check your brake fluid too. When was the last time the brakes were flushed? If you are using the high-temp type fluids like ATE Super Blue, you need to flush once a year, at least. Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air and looses effectivness.
5) charging system/battery - With the car off, and after it has set for a while, read the voltage of the battery. It should be in the range of 11.5 to 12.5 volts - lower end of that range only if it is cold out. Now, start the car up and let it run for a minute, then check the voltage with the car running. It should be close to 14 volts. If it is anything less than about 13.5, then look for a problem somewhere - first, check the voltage drop for each cable - alternator to starter, starter to battery, and battery to ground. You'll see a big drop of you've got a bad cable. I had a ground cable with like .8v drop across it. Replace cables if they show any sizeable drop.
6) Various other stuff - Replace the air filter element if it hasn't been replaced in a year or two. Replace the fuel filter also if it is more than a year or two old. Check the level of all the fluids in your car - brake fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, engine oil, tranny oil, etc etc. Also, spend a good 20 minutes and just look around your engine bay. It is amazing the things you can notice by doing this. Look for any fluid leaks, broken wires, leaky vacuum hoses, etc. I consider this 20 minute stare and essential part of any tune up.
7) Last, and not least - Supercharger Maintenance - If your charger hasn't been rebuilt or anything recently, it is probably getting close to needing it. You can do lots of things to maintain your charger though. First of all, replace the little timing belt. This belt is so important to the health of your charger it isn't even funny. I am of the opinion that this belt should be changed once a year for cars driven hard. Better to waste the $20 on a belt you didn't need than to let it go another year and end up with a $2300 paperweight when your charger explodes like a grenade. Also, oil is important to your charger's health. So, change your oil regularly! Every time you change your oil, pull the rubber IC hose off the plastic silencer box attached to your charger. Look around inside the silencer box and inside the IC tubes. You are looking for two things - excessive oil buildup and apex strips. The apex strips look like little dark ribbons. If you see excessive oil building up, start saving for a rebuild, since your charger is probably leaking oil out the oil seals and will need attention before a bearing freezes. If you see an apex strip sitting there, stop drving you car until you can get the charger off it and sent out for a rebuild. Bypass the charger if you need to drive the car every day, but never drive with a charger attached that has spit an apex strip - you'll probably end up with a non-rebuildable charger if you do that.
I think I have covered most things. I tried not to give timelines or guidelines for when to do everything except where they are essential. For the most part, you just need to get a good feel for your car, and then it will tell you what it needs. Some of the stuff on your list is either wrong or kinda of not a regular maintenance item. For instance, g60 engines don't have points. Also, I wouldn't consider the headgasket a regular tune-up item. More of a replace-when-you-see-signs that it is failing.
if you've got any questions about how to do specific things, or exactll what to look for, ask em!
-Nate
