Maintenance log/spreadsheet ideas & discussion (1 Viewer)

[bloc]

As a result of encouragement from a couple people I'm putting a thread together to talk about how we track maintenance on our rigs. The idea of a cloud-accessed spreadsheet was a game changer for me, personally, putting all of the information I need to plan and do work in one spot, accessible from any device I happen to be using. Over time this evolved to include.. everything. Part numbers, how-tos, torque values, fluid specs & capacities, TPMS IDs...

So here is what I have to track and plan maintenance, and I was hoping others could contribute their methods and ideas to maybe make mine better, and help people getting into maintaining their own vehicles be more organized.

Clickable link to the file

The following should be an embed..


The first page is pretty obvious, it's my maintenance log with date, mileage, job performed, a column for part or fluid type, and any notes go out to the right. I bold routine oil changes and such to make them easier to find.

Next is parts. I list a description that makes sense to me (not always what toyota calls it), part number, qty, and cost from my usual parts supplier. Any notes to the right. The color coding is for stuff I need to order, things that have been ordered but not received, received, and stuff on back order or otherwise an issue. I also color the part number field on my common stuff so I know to put it back in that area after ordering vs digging it out of the received area.

Now, torque values. I built this one as I worked on the vehicle and determined what I'd want to avoid digging into the FSM for in the future. I also did a little simple excel trickery and set it up so that if the ft/lb torque value is under 20 it populates another cell with the value in in/lb for use with that torque wrench. I highlighted a cell with that formula so you can see and copy it if interested.

This isn't at all comprehensive but it sections out the stuff I'm likely to need for work I do myself.

How-To's are routines that I can never seem to remember, with how infrequently I need to do them. TPMS and maintenance indicator resets, for instance. Keeping track of what needs to be done after battery disconnect. The locations of the star wheels for parking brake adjustments, and the number of clicks at the handle for the 45 lb-force on the handle in the manual. Again, helps me avoid digging into the FSM.

Then a specs page for vehicle numbers I wouldn't want to go digging for. Spring rates, tire pressures, transmission ratios, fuel tank capacity, etc. I even put my vehicle height in here because I don't often use parking garages and can never remember the number when I do.

 

[bloc]

This page is just for info about my rig. VIN, Plate number, toyota chassis code, build date, etc. I threw my TPMS ID's in here before I had a dedicated page for them.

I like to keep a stock of things like crush washers or other small parts on the shelf so I'm not having to place an order or go to the dealer for an eighty cent part. The problem became ending up with fifteen because every time I ordered something else I'd just get a handful of oil drain gaskets. So in this page I periodically count what is on the shelf to see if I'm low or flush with something.

The fluids page includes specs and toyota part numbers from the manual, as well as capacities. Obviously some of us will deviate from these, but having the original numbers doesn't hurt.

I have an oil leak at the top driver's side of the timing chain cover and somewhere on my to-do list is to get in there and fix it. It will be a big job with lots of parts, so I created a page to track all of those parts and the costs. We can do this for any job coming up.. I'm doing similar for my plans to regear the axles, and in that one I'm including some notes I put together on other sources for third member housings, and things like that.

 

[bloc]

Lastly I made a page for the TPMS ID's from my original wheels and the new ones from my rock warriors. If you need these IDs for some reason and don't have them noted somewhere you must break the bead and open the tire, or find someone with a TPMS scanner that knows how to actually use it for our senders (my discount tire was useless at this job)

Just more info that's good to have somewhere.

And needless to say you can add pages for whatever you want. I have one with rough plans for my unlikely alaska trip, for instance.

 

[bloc]

So, yeah. Maybe this helps someone. I'm curious what others do to track their maintenance. I seem to remember Fuelly having an app that can do the same thing, but I find the spreadsheet format very useful. I will likely be trying to move this to apple Numbers in my slow move away from google products, eventually.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[druyang]

This is amazing! i was just about to look for something like this (to help baseline my 200). planning to make my own copy. thanks for sharing

Did you switch to 5w-30 due to high mileage?

 

[manofthewoods]

As a result of encouragement from a couple people I'm putting a thread together to talk about how we track maintenance on our rigs. The idea of a cloud-accessed spreadsheet was a game changer for me, personally, putting all of the information I need to plan and do work in one spot, accessible from any device I happen to be using. Over time this evolved to include.. everything. Part numbers, how-tos, torque values, fluid specs & capacities, TPMS IDs...

So here is what I have to track and plan maintenance, and I was hoping others could contribute their methods and ideas to maybe make mine better, and help people getting into maintaining their own vehicles be more organized.

If there are any problems viewing the following link let me know.


The first page is pretty obvious, it's my maintenance log with date, mileage, job performed, a column for part or fluid type, and any notes go out to the right. I bold routine oil changes and such to make them easier to find.

View attachment 2904671

Next is parts. I list a description that makes sense to me (not always what toyota calls it), part number, qty, and cost from my usual parts supplier. Any notes to the right. The color coding is for stuff I need to order, things that have been ordered but not received, received, and stuff on back order or otherwise an issue. I also color the part number field on my common stuff so I know to put it back in that area after ordering vs digging it out of the received area.

View attachment 2904679

Now, torque values. I built this one as I worked on the vehicle and determined what I'd want to avoid digging into the FSM for in the future. I also did a little simple excel trickery and set it up so that if the ft/lb torque value is under 20 it populates another cell with the value in in/lb for use with that torque wrench. I highlighted a cell with that formula so you can see and copy it if interested.

This isn't at all comprehensive but it sections out the stuff I'm likely to need for work I do myself.

View attachment 2904672

How-To's are routines that I can never seem to remember, with how infrequently I need to do them. TPMS and maintenance indicator resets, for instance. Keeping track of what needs to be done after battery disconnect. The locations of the star wheels for parking brake adjustments, and the number of clicks at the handle for the 45 lb-force on the handle in the manual. Again, helps me avoid digging into the FSM.

View attachment 2904676

Then a specs page for vehicle numbers I wouldn't want to go digging for. Spring rates, tire pressures, transmission ratios, fuel tank capacity, etc. I even put my vehicle height in here because I don't often use parking garages and can never remember the number when I do.

View attachment 2904675

Good stuff. I have my own spreadsheet(s). You've given me a few additional ideas. While I don't use conditional formatting on mine, it might be good for things like oil changes and tire rotations, etc.
Thanks!

 

[bloc]

Good stuff. I have my own spreadsheet(s). You've given me a few additional ideas. While I don't use conditional formatting on mine, it might be good for things like oil changes and tire rotations, etc.
Thanks!

How would you use conditional formatting for those? If like a fuel log gets to a certain mileage in a different place it would give you a reminder?

 

[lx200inAR]

Nice. I love a good spreadsheet. I have one for tracking my LX as well. Mine is a little disjointed because it’s hard to boil down 2400 pages of FSM to the important stuff.

Only things I see that I have different, I have a page for all parts orders, for tracking that I’ve received them, how much I spent and then have about 6 classifications so that I have them summarized on another sheet based on vendor and category eg. wheels/tires, maintenance, interior, etc… (note: this falls into the “not safe for significant other” category)

I also have a sheet for “wanted parts” for when I see something cool on mud. Usually with a link to the thread/post and the part.

 

[manofthewoods]

How would you use conditional formatting for those? If like a fuel log gets to a certain mileage in a different place it would give you a reminder?

for those who log gas mileage, or something regular; a conditional format based upon the last oil change could turn yellow if above a certain figure, then red if beyond another figure. Or, maybe even more practical would be when logging an oil change, use conditional formatting for changing the diff lube, or air filters. Perhaps that's what I'll do.

 

[doru]

I keep similar stuff with some differences...

Parts are in their own spreadsheet and include date of purchase, quantity, part number (old and new), source, price, notes. It is not only parts that I bought but also parts that I've researched or alternative parts (non-OEM). I have a way using color coding to tell which are which. Most of the parts are maintenance parts but plenty are "improvement" or mods so I track them in separate buckets to be able to tell cost of ownership vs. hobby. I have a few macros in VBA that at a press of a button calculates the totals if I'm curious to know.
Fluids are considered parts so they go in there as well as consumables along with many others like grease, etc. I stoped long ago adding the oil.

For project research I use OneNote or for you that will be Notes as I can see you are a Google user. It allows me to express a lot more things, include pictures and diagrams, format in many ways, etc. When a project is done I just clean up the notes and save them as a Word file for future reference (archiving).

I do have a sheet that is the maintenance calendar allowing me to quickly see what should have been done, what was done, and what is coming up. I do my maintenance but I do nor do it always in the calendar that Toyota specify it. I do it more opportunistic along with the repairs so tracking individual items is important to me. Searching in the maintenance log (your first picture) every time I need to do something is time consuming on my cars with up to 26 years of maintenance logs. The calendar was originally based on manufacturer recommended schedule but over time it evolved into something that suits me and my vehicles. Some items were removed some items were added, some frequency increased, some decreased, some changed from optional to required, etc.

Maintenance log does not have the Parts column. The parts are inside the Work Done text and that text is a lot more descriptive. I do have an additional column for who did the work. In my case most are "owner" but it is important to track when I'm not the one who did it. I no longer collect the paper records as they were to many taking to much space. The records are in the spreadsheet. As I never sold a car I do not feel the need to prove to anyone what maintenance was done.

I have an additional sheet for oil reports as all my cars get an oil report for every change.

And one more sheet for alignments.

I used to have a sheet for fuel consumption but the newer cars track that themselves and for the older cars I no longer care. By now my brain can tell when the car is eating more gas than usual, as for our trucks I try not to pay attention at all

 

[LTSR]

This is great, thanks for sharing. I have something similar for all my vehicles. The one thing I have different from yours is I have 2 dates for parts/service: 1) date of purchase 2) date of installation -- just to see how long I may have had item on the shelf or to record my procrastination. Having this kind of spreadsheet and seeing all the money spent has really made me frugal with my modifications though.

I use google for this stuff as it can be exported at any moment and try to stay way from proprietary options. I have been screwed by platforms that change formats or go out of business.

I don't think this is for everyone, it's for some of us who enjoy keep track of things. I didn't change the oil on my wife's car for over a year after we had our first born. I completely forgot about it and only realized after looking at my spreadsheets, so there's that.

 

[jivewalker]

So, yeah. Maybe this helps someone. I'm curious what others do to track their maintenance. I seem to remember Fuelly having an app that can do the same thing, but I find the spreadsheet format very useful. I will likely be trying to move this to apple Numbers in my slow move away from google products, eventually.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I have something very similar for parts, but for all 3 of my vehicles. I like the way you are tracking maintenance, we should all be doing that to some extent. This post gives me motivation to step my existing spreadsheet up a notch! Thanks!

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

All the part numbers are helpful Thanks!

 

[linuxgod]

Very nice. I might steal yours. Mine is much simpler. I did pull the history from the toyota owners site and I track whether it's a maintenance item or modification, but I wouldn't want my wife to get a hold of the cost column

 

[CharlieS]

Wow, I feel like a total slacker. I don't do any of this. I have a couple of Notes pages on my iCloud that I throw things into when I think of it. I should probably get my act together and get more organized.

 

[Sandroad]

I like the idea of a ready reference for torque values and part numbers. I’ve already stolen this (with kind permission) and I’m in the process of replacing my maintenance log for that of @bloc. More to come……inspirational!

 

[TheGrrrrr]

This is my new favorite thread. I've got everything saved in files sitting in iCloud and downloaded on my iPad. I should have everything organized and linked in a Google sheet like this. Well done. I'll be getting started on the same tonight.

 

[Sandroad]

So, yeah. Maybe this helps someone. I'm curious what others do to track their maintenance. I seem to remember Fuelly having an app that can do the same thing, but I find the spreadsheet format very useful. I will likely be trying to move this to apple Numbers in my slow move away from google products, eventually.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

It was easy to move this to Apple Numbers. I simply saved your xlsx file to Downloads on my Mac, then opened it in Numbers and renamed it. The newly named file is now a Numbers file and is only missing a font or 2 that was used in xlsx. No data was lost and it's fully functional.

 

[CharlieS]

It was easy to move this to Apple Numbers. I simply saved your xlsx file to Downloads on my Mac, then opened it in Numbers and renamed it. The newly named file is now a Numbers file and is only missing a font or 2 that was used in xlsx. No data was lost and it's fully functional.

Stupid question - How do you get to the Excel file? I can see it in my browser, but can't open it in Excel or Numbers?

 

[bloc]

Stupid question - How do you get to the Excel file? I can see it in my browser, but can't open it in Excel or Numbers?

PM sent