Periodic Maintenance

[frankeeski]

I've rarely seen mentioned on the forums about periodic maintenance on the cars. This would include any of the Factory Five models. My purpose of this thread is to ingrain in each and every one of you that these are race cars licensed for street use and need to be treated as such. Every year, this being our third, Julie and I join a group that spends a week cruising the country. These past two years we have done Utah and Northern California. Each year before these trips I take the time to go through the car, back to front, and check every nut and bolt on the car to make sure nothing is going to come loose. I did my yearly check this past weekend. We had just returned on Saturday from a memorial service for one of our fallen members and I was just having trouble relaxing, the recliner really wasn't doing it for me. I had noticed a noise coming from the rear passenger side as we were pulling into the driveway so I had a second reason to check things out. I did my normal routine starting at the rear of the car. I got to the rear right caliper and found the caliper bolts both top and bottom were loose. The bolts were installed with blue thread locker when the car was assembled and checked out every time over the past few years and had never loosened before. But here they were, backed out at least 4 full turns allowing the caliper to rattle when the brakes were applied, curious. I went ahead and removed them, cleaned the old thread locker off of them, reapplied new thread locker, installed the bolts and torqued them. Now keep in mind, not one other bolt in the entire car had to be re-torqued this time, they were all right where they were as I had left them the last time they were checked. I think many of us take for granted that these cars take maintenance. We concentrate on building horsepower and torque, sometimes without remembering that a $2 part can and will end a good time in the car in a split second. Here are some of my thoughts on how to maintain your car, whether it's a Factory Five or not, remember it IS a race car.

1.-Nut and bolt the car at least once a year, more often depending on how you use your car.
2.-Scale your car at least once after you get it road worthy or promptly after purchasing a completed car. And every time a suspension part is replaced, remember to disconnect your sway bars before scaling.
3.-I've seen more than my share of brake threads on the forums with varying degrees of success when it comes to finding a brake package that works well and is predictable. Continue to adjust and upgrade your braking system until it stops the way you believe it is supposed to. It should at the least be able to repeatedly out brake your daily driver. (Note that corner weighting /scaling the car can increase the brake performance).
4.-Grease,grease and more grease. The suspension parts on these cars work best when well lubricated. If you have hiem joints, check them every year as well and make sure the Teflon is in good condition.
5.-Most important IT'S A RACE CAR, remember that!

I will say that crawling under the car in past years to do these maintenance routines has been a bit of a chore. Now having the 4 post lift I can get the session done in about an hour, including an oil change. Spending the 2 or so hours in the past still is a small price to pay for the smile on the face factor you all know when you get out on the road or the track.

[GT-Tom]

Good reminder Frank!
I would also add using thread torque seal indicator paint to mark all bolts and nuts so you can tell even at a glance if a fitting has moved or come loose.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/f900.php

Tom

[Someday I Suppose]

Frank, great post, I'm only my second year on the road, but recently took the car out to Mark Dougherty's just to go through the alignment, scale the car, and yes nut and bolt it. (Man it is so much easier on a lift) We didn't really find anything major with the nut and bolting, but between the new alignment settings and scaling the car it made a huge difference in handling. I also have indicator marks on a lot of the critical bolts which make checking them easy during the year, but the annual nut and bolt will go hand in hand with a fresh oil change and coat of wax each spring.

-Scott

[frankeeski]

Frank, great post, I also have indicator marks on a lot of the critical bolts which make checking them easy during the year.
-Scott

Thanks for reminding me Scott. If you don't have paint markers you can always raid some nail polish from the wife or girlfriend.

[Ray]

Here is a simple check list that I found, I think on the old-old forum:

Drive Line
□ Radiator hose’s - squeeze lower - checking for softness
□ Fan blades - look for cracks
□ Transmission fluid
□ Clutch cable - open cover and check end of cable - it tends to break at the lower end of the cable
(also check where cable leaves engine compartment that it's well away from exhaust!)
□ Check the 2 bolts for the shifter handle (on the T5 transmission)
□ Clutch inspection cover to have a look at the clutch disk
□ Check under side of side exhaust pipes where rear bracket welds to the side exhaust for cracks
□ Driveshaft Bolts (Grease)
□ Header Bolts, Exhaust System
□ Belt(s)/Pulleys or replace them every 70,000 miles
□ EFI, Clean out the Idle solenoid on side of throttle body/Carb’ed check-replace fuel filter(s)
□ Rear end fluid level
□ Change Oil
□ Coolant Level / Condition
□ Fuel Lines
□ Engine / Transmission Mounts
Suspension / Brakes / Steering
□ Clean and repack wheel bearings (replace them at 100,000 miles)
□ Brake fluid - flush and replace at 100,000 miles - or not a bad idea after hard day at open track event!
□ Inspect brake flex hose for rubbing on shocks and that plate you attached to the frame is still tight
□ Look closely at rear flexible brake hose - ends to be sure it's not been stretched
□ E-Brake cables that "slide" under the frame pipe - look for wear
Check the short e-brake cable
□ U joints for wear - move up/down side to side - there should not be any movement in the joint
□ Tie rod ends & ball joints (Grease)
□ A-Arms (Grease)
□ Rear Control Arms (Grease)
□ Ride Height (in case of sagging) = 3.75F, 4.25R
□ Steering Rack (Grease ball joints)
□ Shocks (ride height torque = 55 max
□ Brakes pads and/or shoes
□ Calipers
□ Brake Lines
□ Steering Linkage (all fasteners)
□ 3-Link Mounts (Grease) large = 120 max, smaller = 85 max
Other
□ Battery mounts - check bolts make sure they are tight!
□ Wire connectors, all you can reach
□ Seat bolts/nuts
□ Seat Belts
□ Fire Extinguisher
□ Body Mounts
□ Bumper Mounts
□ Wind Wings / Visor mounts
□ Light Bulbs
□ Tire Pressure 23F, 25R
□ Lug Nuts Torque = 85max
□ Fuel Filler
□ Door Latches
□ Mirrors
□ License Plate Mount

Torque Specs according t
O FFR Build School at Mott Community College hand out material and documents
Front suspension
Upper control Arms adjustment bolts 60
Upper control Arms mounting bolts 100
Bracket (Spindle) 70
Shock (bottom) 70
LCA 110-150
Shock Bracket (Lower Arm) 55-70
Ball Joint (upper) 80-120
Ball Joint (lower) 80-120
Rear Suspension
Upper control Arm to axle 70-100
Upper control Arm to frame 80-105
Lower Control Arm to axle bracket 70-100
Lower Control Arm to frame 80-105
Lower Control Arm Bracket to axle 90
Shock Bracket, Lower 55-70
Shock, Top 25-30
Shock bottom 45-60
Quad Shock bracket to frame 56-70
Quad Shock to bracket 56-70
Quad shock to axle 56-70
Rear Suspension (3-Link)
Pan hard Bar 250
Upper frame mount 90
Rear Suspension (IRS)
Rear Axle nut 250
Shock (upper/lower) 70
Spindle attachment 100
Driveshaft to center section 70-95
Steering Rack/Shaft
Steering Rack Bolts 30-40
Tie Rod Ends 25-35
Pillow blocks 20
Exhaust
Straight Pipe 35
Engine/Transmission
Transmission Mounts (Tranny to mount) 25-35
Transmission mount (Mount to frame) 25-35
Engine mount (Engine to mount) 35-60
Engine mount (Mount to frame) 50-105
Driveshaft bolts 70-95
Lights/ Trim accessories
Windshield 90
Quick Jacks 60
Body Bolts 20
Miscellaneous
Wheel lug nuts 80-105
Pedal box (front plate upper) 35
Pedal box (Frame down tube) 10

General Guidelines (Zinc Plated Hardware)
Thread Size SAE Grade 5 (ft/lb) SAE Grade 8 (ft/lb)
¼-20 10 14
¼-28 12 16
5/16-18 21 29
5/16-24 23 33
3/8-16 37 52
3/8-24 42 59
7/16-14 59 83
7/16-24 66 93
½-13 90 127
½-20 101 144
9/16-12 129 184
9/16-18 144 205
5/8-11 179 254
5/8-14 202 287

[Pierre B]

frankeesi: I had a similar experience with my MKII a couple of years ago. I was traveling at about 70, near home on the Interstate. I heard a 'tink.' A few hundred yards down the road, I heard another identical one. Both came from the left rear quarter, and I immediately assumed that I had lost both rear left caliper bolts. That turned out to be correct, and I was immediately very glad I was driving a standard. Right at the end of an off ramp, I managed to glide essentially to a stop in 1st. Shortly after that, I learned that the bolts had been worked loose by an out-of-round rear tire: right behind me but I had never felt any vibration. Moral: check that rear tire!

[David Hodgkins]

GREAT thread Frank. I gotta figure out a way to put this in the sorely-neglected WIKI

[efnfast]

If you did it right the first time I don't see the need to be checking other than after the first 50 or 100miles. I don't check the bolts on any of my OEM cars and they don't fall apart. but that's just my thoughts.

[David Hodgkins]

If you did it right the first time I don't see the need to be checking other than after the first 50 or 100miles. I don't check the bolts on any of my OEM cars and they don't fall apart. but that's just my thoughts.

But Alex, that's the point. These aren't OEM vehicles, they are race cars for the street and require a maintenance schedule that is appropriate for race cars.

[efnfast]

But Alex, that's the point. These aren't OEM vehicles, they are race cars for the street and require a maintenance schedule that is appropriate for race cars.

At the end of the day it's just a piece of metal with a bunch of parts bolted onto it, just like an OEM car. If your, for example, front hub nut loosens up, then there's a problem - there's a reason it works just fine on a million+ mustangs, some of which race, other auto-x, others hpde, etc... If you have a 1/2'' bolt and you torque it to 100ft-lbs w/a stouver and the stouver loosens, there's a problem.

I can't count the number of times on the forum I've seen people re-use the front spindle 1-time nuts because "they still looked fine and I want to save $20", or under-torque the driveshaft bolts because they didn't have a 12pt socket so they used a 6pt and stopped before the head rounded on the bolt, or had difficulty accessing the driveshaft bolts with a torque wrench so they just used a regular box wrench and torqued it until they farted.

I still stand by my 'do it right and you only have to do it once' methodology

[mikiec]

The only maintenance I have done on my car is an oil change once a year. The car has been on the road 11 years.

Mike

[Someday I Suppose]

That is your method, but if you take the leap to these are race cars, I don't know a team out there at any level of racing, that doesn't nut and bolt the car after every race. Production cars, even sports cars have nice soft mounts in them to dampen the engine vibrations and take some of the harshness out of the ride, race cars don't have such niceness to them and all of those harmonics and vibrations go through the chasis and suspension. I'm not saying you need to nut and bolt the car every 100 miles, but for me when I get it ready in the spring, dang sure better believe I am going to go through it.

-Scott

At the end of the day it's just a piece of metal with a bunch of parts bolted onto it, just like an OEM car. If your, for example, front hub nut loosens up, then there's a problem - there's a reason it works just fine on a million+ mustangs, some of which race, other auto-x, others hpde, etc... If you have a 1/2'' bolt and you torque it to 100ft-lbs w/a stouver and the stouver loosens, there's a problem.

I can't count the number of times on the forum I've seen people re-use the front spindle 1-time nuts because "they still looked fine and I want to save $20", or under-torque the driveshaft bolts because they didn't have a 12pt socket so they used a 6pt and stopped before the head rounded on the bolt, or had difficulty accessing the driveshaft bolts with a torque wrench so they just used a regular box wrench and torqued it until they farted.

I still stand by my 'do it right and you only have to do it once' methodology

[mikiec]

If the car is driven as a race car, If you drive it on the track, then you must perform race car maintenance on it. A NASCAR car driven on the street with out the stresses of racing would not need the same level of maintenance as one seeing track duty.

An FFR that sees no track time and is used as a cruiser, in my estimation, should get the same maintenance as your daily driver.

But everyone should do whatever maintenance they are comfortable with. I know after 63K+ miles I still would not hesitate to take it for a 1000 mile journey at any time. If I want to put it on the track, then that is a different story.

Mike

[frankeeski]

An FFR that sees no track time and is used as a cruiser, in my estimation, should get the same maintenance as your daily driver.

But everyone should do whatever maintenance they are comfortable with. I know after 63K+ miles I still would not hesitate to take it for a 1000 mile journey at any time. If I want to put it on the track, then that is a different story.

Mike

Alex and Mike, This thread was not to start a pissing match or to preach to all of you on how to maintain your own car, it was intended as a gentle reminder that this IS A RACE CAR. Whether you drive it on the street as a cruiser or track the car really makes no difference. These cars do not have cushy bushings in the suspension parts. As I stated in my opening post, I found two caliper bracket bolts loose. They were installed with thread locker when I assembled the car yet 5000 miles later they had loosened. I built it right the first time but they still came loose. There have been documented instances where the upper control arms in the front have completely seized due to improper maintenance (such as never being greased for 63K+ miles). If you disagree with those of us that strictly and routinely maintain our cars, fine, keep ignoring yours. I will say this, one of the first paragraphs in the assembly manual states "this is a race car". If you don't think you need to corner weight your car, ever, then don't. Those of us that do, know full well, that keeping all 4 wheels in contact with the road during cornering and hard braking will allow our cars to perform, brake and handle that much better than yours and more safely. Agree, disagree what ever. Please just don't give new builders and other owners the idea that all you have to do to maintain these types of cars is to fuel it and turn the key.

[CraigS]

Good reminder. I autocross my car regularly and I have been slowly upgrading it and replacing worn stuff including the crossbar mounts for the front UCAs. I did the RF 6 weeks or so ago and was surprised how much noise I eliminated over small sharp bumps but the LF seemed OK so I put off doing it. Did it today cause I was getting just a tiny amount of noise in the last week or so. Found the jam nuts on the front link of the UCA were loose so that was actually the noise. I had gone over the entire car in beginning of April as the AX season started. So I will be giving those jam nuts a harder pull w/ the wrench from now on.

[frankeeski]

I am bringing this back to the top as a gentle reminder. It has been another year and this years trip is one week away. I dove under the car this past Sunday and started from the back and worked my way to the front checking all of the nuts and bolts for proper torque. No issues this year with anything loose. Even with the witness marks I put on the bolts and nuts last year, I went ahead and re-checked those that appeared to have stayed in place. The only mishap I had this time around is that my grease gun decide to spit grease all down a brand new t-shirt. Good old moly-lube, it seems to have partially liquified in the grease gun over the past few months since it's last use and dripped out of the spring plunger end of the gun. CRAP! Changed the oil, checked all of the fluids throughout the entire car and check the air pressure in all of the tires as well. Just need to wipe the car down and vacuum the carpet and the roadster is ready to hit the road again. Tow rig and trailer are next and should be taken care of this week after work each day.

[carlewms]

Folks,

I am relatively new to the FFR world but have been involved on various levels in building vehicles for the US military.

1. This is a electrical-mechanical machine and there is not a e-m machine in the world that does not require some level of periodic maintenance;
2. Any comparison to the maintenance of a daily driver just does not make sense. OEM go through years of testing, failure analysis, conditioned based maintenance, and in more recent years, have installed built in test systems. Our cars essentially have none of these and therefore must have a higher level of preventive maintenance than a daily driver;
3. For those that take a minimalist view to maintenance, I would not want to be in your shoes in case an accident occurs that is traced to these minimalist maintenance practices. The answer that "I built it right" will provide little or no protection legally;

In my humble opinion, taking a day each driving season, per Frank's advice, is time well spent and a small price to pay when compared to the risks and costs associated with a less rigorous practice.

Carl

[skullandbones]

I like frankeeski's approach of periodic maintenance. It's like changing the 9v batteries on the smoke alarm on the same day every year even if there is no sign of trouble. I would add that every time you are doing an upgrade or just inspecting a certain area of the car, have a look around the surrounding area just to look for fluid leaks, unexpected wear, or any thing different than when you finished building it. It never ceases to amaze me when I do this, how much I have forgotten. "Who did that? Oh yeah, I did". Of course you did, no body else has ever touched it. My point is when you are doing your normal observations, you will more than likely catch a lot of issues before they cause a failure. The technicians that do your scheduled maintenance on your OEM driver are supposed to do the same thing with their multi point inspections say at every oil change or tire rotation. So really OEM vehicles usually get their share of preventive surveillance too. Anyway, good advice and good thread. See you next year! WEK.

[Doutie]

OMG, I'm a mechanic so I must be messed up, but spending time to do maintenance on my FF is part of the fun. I'd live in the garage except momma makes me come in the house every night!!!!

[ram_g]

Excellent thread - I must have missed it the first time, so thanks to Frank for bumping it back up!

I agree this isn't a pissing contest on whether or not everybody should maintain their cars one way, but I do think that Alex and Mike are missing an important point with their minimalist maintenance philosophies - it's a point that Carl raises in his post and which I'd like to emphasize. A HUGE difference between these cars and OEM daily drivers is the amount of engineering, analysis, testing, and so on that goes into the OEM cars but not the FFRs. Now to be sure I think Factory Five does a great job with their designs and these are safer than most other component cars, but over time we have seen numerous examples where something has failed that might have been assembled exactly per instructions (shocks, clutch pedals, accelerator pedals, upper control arms, etc. etc.). A thorough "hands on" inspection at a periodic interval might catch some of these.

At the end of the day everybody can do what they like with their own cars, but Frank's point about emphasizing to the newbies that these are race cars and should be treated with extra care and inspection/maintenance is spot on!

[Wjhutchings]

I originally asked the question because I have an aviation background and managed an FAA office that was responsible for over-seeing the development of the manufacturer's maintenance program for new jet aircraft. For me (and for many of you) I would never consider operating something like a FF Roadster without a maintenance program ..... so thanks to Ray for putting his out there!

Walt