Maintenance Intervals (1 Viewer)

I was wondering what kind of mileage / time intervals you guys use for the following preventative maintenance items on the FZJ80 not listed in the manual (this might be handy for the FAQ):

1. Replace all belts
2. Replace distributor cap / rotor
3. Replace spark plug wires
4. Replace radiator cap
5. Replace gas cap
6. Throttle body cleaning
7. Replace PHH
8. Inspect valve clearances (I know 60k is recommended, but what do you guys use?)
9. Replace thermostat
10. Replace fan clutch
11. Replace starter contacts
12. Replace EFI Relay
13. Power steering fluid flush
14. Brake fluid flush

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I don’t have any long-term 80’s experience but here is my take on it, FWIW

1. Belts, on condition
2. Cap and rotor, replaced mine when I got the truck, probably 50K?
3. Wires inspect for physical damage and cracking test resistance per FSM, replace as necessary
4. Radiator cap, inspect seal, operate spring, replace if suspect, can also be tested for opening pressure and leakage with proper tools
5. Gas cap when emissions guy or computer does not like it, both test it
6. TB, when it looks dirty? (Manually open butterfly) or possibly if you have idle problems
7. PHH Every coolant flush or about every 2 years
8. Valve clearance, I am going to check mine probably the first time it has ever been checked at 110K, probably every 60k after that, maybe more or less depending on what I find
9. Thermostat, don’t know, 100K? replaced mien when I get the truck
10. Fan clutch, listen for operation, if you do not hear it test or replace
11. Starter contacts 100K IIRC
12. EFI relay, when it fails
13. PS fluid, when it no longer looks nice and red
14. When it gets dark, or every 2 years or better yet get some test strips to test for water content,


No authority here, hopefully this will spur some input from those who know

>> 11. Starter contacts 100K IIRC <<

Most have failed by 100k but, of course, it depends on the number of start cycles. 75k would give more margin.

-B-

Well we're movin on up,
To the east side
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie...

(hoping for more responses on a topic which would be nice to see in the FAQ)

When this first came up, I thought about responding it, but could not frame a response that made sense for anyone else. Here's why.

I do all my own stuff because I like the time I spend with this vehicle for some personal time that is all to rare in our busy lives, and also because I simply enjoy swinging a wrench once in a while. As a result, I kind of take the factory intervals as a suggestion because I'm so in touch with the vehicle that I don't have to replace things on it when THEY say to in order to keep it reliable. For instance, the belts. I think I ran my belts for nearly twice the recommended interval because once in a while during some other maintenance (poking around while waiting for the oil to fully drain) I'll feel how tight they are and tweak the tensioner a bit to account for wear. A typical owner doesn't do this and when the belts wear a bit they wear much faster due to slipping and run far hotter than mine do. So, I do mine when they finally begin to show a bit of cracking from sheer age.

So for me, I keep an actual written log of what was done and when, and a mental tally of how hard the vehicle was worked since the last maintenance, and think about what the vehicle's going to be asked to do before the next maintenance. An example might be right now I'm realizing the gear oil in the 3 diffs could be changed out some time in the next few months. If it were Winter, I'd do it whenever. But since it's the dead of summer and we've got several long distance heavy tows in the very near future I'll get to it in the next few days as they're going to receive a lot of heat/gear pressure.

In a nutshell, I tailor my maintenance of the vehicle to my use of it - which is really the way any machine should be treated. But the FSM schedule is there for me to use as a guide where for someone who must hassle with a mechanic each time it would be best to do all of it at each appointment as the schedule dictates. I'm guessing this was nearly worthless but I felt guilty not providing any input on my favorite topic (heh) - maintenance.

DougM

15. FI cleaning I just added a can of Toyota FI cleaner this weekend. I rotate between BG44K, ToyFI cleaner and SeaFoam. I use SeaFoam through the PCV hose and gas and in the oil if I think there is a lot of carbon (bad O2 sensor) I do one of each throught the year.

7. PHH Just looked at it and it still looks good. It hasn't been replaced yet. I think if you live in the SW where its hot and dry, you may need to raplace it. Up north its hot/cold but wet so the rubber doesn't rot like it does in the SW ( I now have jinxed my PPH)

16. EGR modulator When you see carbon in the filter or when it melts away

I'd second the 'sooner for the starter contacts' idea...mine died at about 60K miles, I had a Lexus dealership fix them under warranty, then they died again at about 110K miles. I then replaced them myself and saw how simple it was.

As far as the PHH, I don't think just because it 'looks good' you should trust it. I repaced mine about 75K miles just because I thought I should. When I got the hose off I cut it length-wise and opened it up, there were several large pits in the middle, cracks that went almost all the way through the hose but from the outside looked PERFECT, but the inside was horrible. So I wouldn't trust external appearance on that.

Good Luck,
Mark Brodis