New car--here's the list

[Doubleclutch]

As posted elsewhere (73 forum) its a 52k original mile car but came with no record of service.

Oil change, filter lub 20-40 and add ZDDP
Change fluid in rear
(The owner's manual says the torque flite is good to infinity so I'm not going to change it)
Change brake fluid and pads and shoes as necessary
Blow out the K&N air filter
Replace starter with high torque model
Look at a couple of plugs --its running fine but might tune?
Check rear axle tag ? about ratio
Get engine #
Get tran #
Look at pinion bearing very slight noise maybe tighten

The car has had some service but records buried in a fleet maintainance. For instance, new radiator cap, new top hose so I'm betting fresh coolent.

Comments Suggestions?

Thanks Chuck

 

[Bruzilla]

I've always wondered about that tranny fluid business. The only other cars I've driven besides my road runners have been police interceptors, and most agencies replace the tranny fluid every 30,000 miles even though Ford says this doesn't need to be done. Tranny fluid is impacted by heat, and transmissions do get hot, so I've always been doubtful of the good for the life of the car statements, especially when the life of the car at the time was only meant to be 3-5 years and 50,000 or so miles.

 

[Cranky]

I change my fluids depending on how I use my vehicle and imo, there's no way I'm going to not change the trans fluid. Now I have gone more than 50k miles on my trans and rear end lube but not very often.

As for the life of the car back then...I disagree with Bruzilla on his statement. Even when we lived in the rust belt, they still went much further than 50k miles. Going back to a 51 Plymouth, it jumped time in late 56 and then the 56 Demo dad bought was still running pretty good in late 63 and my 66 Belvedere had nearly 100k hard miles on it when I finally dropped in a 383 in place of the 318 and my present 66 Belvedere had 90k miles on it when I bought it and drove it for another 10 years without any problems and with all my cars (which were all used mostly), there were no lemons in any of them.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Dextron was a good transmission fluid, but it does not last forever. You should change it. We tell our customers 30K miles.

 

[Moparsmitty]

If I get a car that has over 30K and no service records in the shop, I change all the fluids because you just don't know. I've seen some trans failures around here because these quickie lube places have used the wrong type trans fluid so I'm not taking any chances. I'm changing everything including the engine oil, trans fluid, flush the brake fluid and change the rear gear oil unless it looks new. It's just cheap insurance and then you know what you have.

 

[Budnicks]

When it come to older cars, 1st have an outline, make a list, don't be a cheapskate, do it all, even if it takes a while or a couple of paychecks & it's cheap insurance, in the long run, especially if your planning on driving it at all, good tires, shocks, brakes, a full tune up, cap rotor wires plugs etc., fuel filters, oil filters, all fluid changes so you can keep track from now on, with no question about what's in the engine trans rear, a good lube/grease job, check & grease the wheel bearings, check universals, check all seals, check brakes & bleed/drain out old & add new brake fluid check brakes flex line, all new belts & hoses so you have no big water or fuel problems that are "hose/belt related" down the road, flush radiator & if the car sat very long at all then flush fuel tank & lines too, new filter in the trans with an automatic, "super thoroughly" vacuum, clean, detail & pressure wash where you can, the whole car, including the under side, hood & trunk, get familiar with it's faults & issues, lube all the locks use TSP on all the windows carefully to clean off water spots & calcium deposits, check fuse box & all the fuses, you don't need to have electrical issues or fires, I would also highly suggest to check all electrical connections/wiring for bare wires or shabby wire jobs like radios, amps, pumps, fans, etc., clean all connection & add some dielectric grease when reinstalling it will help keep out corrosion/oxidation issues, many Mopars have issues with the main bulkhead connectors on the firewall & the main Amp gauge wires, that feed everything in the car, including the dash, under the dash, under hood, trunk, then check the brake & taillights, running lights blinkers etc., use a vinyl cleaner/protector on interior surfaces to help restore dried out interior plastic/vinyl, shampoo the rugs... this will give you a clean slate to work with & you won't be chasing your tail, just to fix stuff all the time & be able to enjoy the car... Good luck, have fun & drive it....