New MKIII after Break-in

[Intouch]

now on to the questions.....

what are the typical areas to check after the first 500-1000 miles on the car ?
mainly i am referring to frame, suspension etc.

how often does everyone check their spinners ? being new to knock-off's i have them on my mind constantly while driving.....

[jwoodard]

If you can get your car on a lift or jack stands, do a good visual inspection. All the bolts in the frame/suspension come from the factory with red paint marks so it's easy to see if any have loosened ( very unlikely). Also, check the bolts on the flange connecting the drive shaft to the rear end.
You should safety wire Your spinners if they aren't already. That provides a very easy visual inspection method.

[peters44]

When I purchased my new car I was given a list of components to inspect at the first 100 miles, 500 miles and so on. Many of the items like header bolts etc did require tightening. My list is at home in my paper work. Maybe Jay or some one with the list on there computer can post it. Enjoy the new car.
Good luck
Peter

[RedBarchetta]

Don't overtighten the spinners. A good whack is usually all that is needed...they don't need to be pounded on like you're driving a train spike into a railroad tie. I beat on mine until they just stop moving, then one final good whack, then safety wire. Do a search here on safety wiring for the best tips on that...been repeated often enough here.

Also make sure you use anti-seize on the back mating surface and pins.

-Dean #747

[Got the Bug]

Like Jim said. Get your car on a lift or put it up on jackstands and do a thorough inspection from front to back.

You also might want to buy a grease gun and make sure that the tie rod ends and ball joints have been properly greased.

# of grease fittings

If the spinners were installed correctly, it's unikely that you'll run into an issue with a spinner coming loose. Do a quick visual inspection of the wheels each time before you drive your car to see if there's been any movement.

You may also want to check/retorque the valve covers and check that the bolts on the water pump and alternator are snug.

[Intouch]

Originally Posted by RedBarchetta

Don't overtighten the spinners. A good whack is usually all that is needed...they don't need to be pounded on like you're driving a train spike into a railroad tie. I beat on mine until they just stop moving, then one final good whack, then safety wire. Do a search here on safety wiring for the best tips on that...been repeated often enough here.

Also make sure you use anti-seize on the back mating surface and pins.

-Dean #747

RB, thanks for the info. My spinners are sitting tight and are safety wired. what i wanted to know is how ofetn does everyone check the spinners ? before every drive ? every now and then ?

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by Intouch

what i wanted to know is how ofetn does everyone check the spinners ? before every drive ? every now and then ?

Most folks will make a visual inspection using the safety wire as a tell-tale sign. You will get many opinions on proper safety wiring. I place an ever-so-slight loop/curve in the wire so that if the spinner were to show signs of loosening, the wire would be straighter/taut.

Also, anytime that I remove a wheel and re-tighten, I tend to give that particular spinner an additional whack for the next few drives just to make sure.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Intouch

My spinners are sitting tight and are safety wired.

But are they anti-seized? If they're not, you're in for a tough time when you try and remove them. You don't have to do it right away, but I would put "Remove, apply A-S, and Reinstall" on my list. Believe, the last thing you want to be doing is staring at a seized spinner while the sand blows in your face and you utter "Well of all the gall...."

[Bartruff1]

I had the heads , headers, trans bolts retorqued.....the shock mount bolts checked, the brake pads checked....the wiring tie's checked. The emergency brake cable needed to be tied up and one of the ball joints was replaced... as I recall at $75/hour at the Roush dealer it came to about $500 and was worth it. Given the kind performance these things are capable of, I wouldn't take any chances . You maybe able to do it yourself, but I can't see and I don't know what I am looking at anyway.

[jhv48]

I took mine to my mechanic and had him do a thorough front to back inspection of all nuts and bolts. Everything!

Took him about 6 hours to complete. And cost about $500. Worth the peace of mind.

Now I do it once every year!

[STL Mark]

Assume nothing! Check every nut and bolt. If you can see it (or not) find it and check it. Put it on a lift - pay someone. Pay very close attention to all axle bolts. Mine loosened up and an axle came off on the highway. There was no loctight anywhere - but yea they had the little painted stripe on them - so what! Many of the bolts were loose on my axles and just hanging on by the last thread. Almost all of the bolts under the car needed some tightening. Check the rear upper shock mount bolts too. Check hinges and mounts on the trunk struts, and hood. Stick your arm up under the dash and check the nuts holding in the gauges - all of them. Check the bolts holding your seats in place. Get my point? My tech knows to do these checks at every oil change and/or anytime the car is in the shop. Just takes a few extra minutes. Check your tire air pressure, all fluid levels, oil drain plug. Change your oil.

[Heidelberg]

Hi all,

This post is very timely from my perspective as I hope to be commencing the "running in" or "shake down" process for my new SPF this weekend!

I thought that I'd pull together a checklist of the higher priority items to check based on the collective wisdom & experience from contributors on this forum...please feel free to add to it and I'll compile it at the end for future reference for any other new SPF owners!

I know that these lists can get totally out of hand, but I thought that I'd give it a go!

Here's the list to date:

Inspection/tightening
- Frame
- Suspension
- Shock mounts
- Axles
- Driveshaft connections
- Spinners & Safety wires (use anti-seize on back mating surface and pins)
- Headers
- Heads
- Valve covers
- Water pump
- Alternator
- Transmission
- Brake pads
- Wiring ties
- Fuel and Oil line mounts
- Hinges and mounts on doors and trunk & hood struts
- Seats/seatbelts
- Dashboard and guages

Grease checks
- tie rod ends
- ball joints

Fluid levels


Regards....Paul

[drj]

I had an interesting situation develop on my fairly new SPF last Summer. I started getting a slight clunking sound on low speed deceleration. Took it to my mechanic and asked to check out the drive line. He tightened the back of the drive shaft and took it for a drive. Nope. Still some clunking. Visual inspection of the wheels showed the spinners and safety wires unchanged. They put the car back on a lift and one of the mechanics happened to bump one of the rear wheels. It was loose. Both were, actually. Without the car on a chassis lift it would have been impossible to figure this one out. While we don't have a definitive answer, the best guess is that the repeated heat cycles of driving and some very hot weather (SoCal) caused the wheels to seat a little deeper on the spindles, resulting in the slight wobble. All fixed now but I will definitiely be checking the car with the wheels off the ground from now on.

John
SPF 2486