Suggested maintenance for 20 year Birthday on a low mileage E85

J

JimmyRichE85

Member
 Bath
My E85 turns 20 years old in the spring and I'm starting to think about what might be a good list of jobs to have done to mark this key milestone.

I'm very lucky that my car had the same owner for nearly 19 years and it had its engine oil and brake fluid changed every year - I also have every invoice since it was registered so can see exactly what it has had done to it - with only 40k miles over this period, the car has been particularly pampered and clearly not driven very hard, so wear and tear items are not plentiful - its basically had Inspection I's and Inspection II's, oil and brake fluid and then the only other items I can see are new rear springs back in 2013 (at 28.5k miles); front discs, pads, calipers and pressure sensors in 2019 (33.7k miles) and replacement NSR shock absorber in January this year when I bought the car (39.1k miles).

I'm wondering that, despite such low mileage and care, there must be some items that might need replacing given rubbers will perish over time, etc..

It would be invaluable to understand your guidance on what you think needs to be checked above and beyond engine oil and brake fluid?

I'm not mechanically minded so this will be a list I give to my local indy to help with - After reading the thread on here re "sticky steering" and the adjustment that can be made to the electro steering to help this, I'm thinking of definitely having this checked out at the same time as well...

All feedback is gratefully appreciated - thank you
 
A general check of all suspension bushes as they suffer with age as well as use.
Look at the bump stops, front and rear as they are a kind of compressed foam that breaks down.

One thing that leaps out at me though is changing just one of the rear shocks!!
I may be old fashioned, but for me, changing suspension components should always be done both sides, unless the opposite side is very new.
 
raymond.harper said:
I would replace the water pump, thermostat, expansion tank, and all the cooling system hoses.
Click to expand...
I would have them to hand, just in case, but disturbing a cooling system when nothing is wrong with it can sometimes trigger the next component to go wrong.
But then we all have different opinions. Get your mechanic to look at all these things anyway.

There is a subtle difference depending on whether you do your own work or not as well.
I am happy to have the bits to hand and change them myself as required, but if you use a garage then it may well make more sense to do everything in one hit rather than have to wait for a slot and duplicate labour charges.
 
enuff_zed said:
A general check of all suspension bushes as they suffer with age as well as use.
Look at the bump stops, front and rear as they are a kind of compressed foam that breaks down.

One thing that leaps out at me though is changing just one of the rear shocks!!
I may be old fashioned, but for me, changing suspension components should always be done both sides, unless the opposite side is very new.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your guidance - yes, now you say it, your point on the rear shocks makes perfect sense - not sure why I overlooked that?! I’ve done about 1,000 miles since it was done, do you think the replaced side still counts as “new” or should I get both done at the same time…?
 
JimmyRichE85 said:
enuff_zed said:
A general check of all suspension bushes as they suffer with age as well as use.
Look at the bump stops, front and rear as they are a kind of compressed foam that breaks down.

One thing that leaps out at me though is changing just one of the rear shocks!!
I may be old fashioned, but for me, changing suspension components should always be done both sides, unless the opposite side is very new.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your guidance - yes, now you say it, your point on the rear shocks makes perfect sense - not sure why I overlooked that?! I’ve done about 1,000 miles since it was done, do you think the replaced side still counts as “new” or should I get both done at the same time…?
Click to expand...
Just stick one on the other side. As long as it's the same make.
 
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