When i first got this car I knew absolutely nothing about it and I have learned quite a bit on HCF and by working under the hood. I have done a full tune up and the car is running nicely.

But now I would like to make sure that underneath the car is doing ok. In my mind I see a matchbox car with 2 wheels that spin on a bar, and there are all kinds of springs, rods, and other crap clustered around the wheel wells.

What are some general things I should look into as far as preventative maintenance down there besides bleeding the brakes and replacing the pads which I am about to do?

 

brakes are a good place to start, and not to difficult. Make sure your shoes and drums (rear) and pads and rotors (front) are not glazed and that there is enough material there (you'll have to check a manual for safe limits)

Bleeding them is a good idea. A better one is to completely flush your brake system if you don't know if/when it was last done. Its the same thing as bleeding your brake system, you just bleed enough fluid out of each brake to completely replace all the old fluid with new.

As well, when you have the front wheels off, have a look at your CV boots. Make sure they're not torn open. if they are you will need to replace your CV axle/joint in the near future.

 

about how many bottles of brake fluid do you think it would take to replace all of the brake fluid?

 

let me go dig up my owner's manual for my 97. If its got a capacity listed for the brake system I'll let you know in a bit.

 

I couldn't find a capacity (but I didn't dig around on google very much either)

Best bet, have a few pints handy. Check a manual for the best procedure (there is a specific order to bleed the system) but when you're bleeding each wheel, keep flushing and topping up the brake system until you get clean fluid coming out of each bleeder screw.

Of course, do NOT let the fluid in the master cylinder get too low (there should be high and low marks) or you'll be forcing air into the brake system - the opposite of what you're trying to do.

Brake fluid is designed to absorb moisture. However the more moisture it absorbs, the less effective it is. Thus the need to flush it on a regular basis. My manual recommends every 2-3 years. Some people do it every year, some never do.

 

Have a mechanic take a look at the differential. You don't want any surprises down there.

 

indeed, drivetrain problems are not fun to deal with. However since you're looking at "do it yourself" stuff, then wait till you go to a mechanic.

just have a good close look at everything with the wheels off. Look at your brake hoses, emergency brake cables, springs, struts, whatever. Take pics and post them if you're not sure if something looks right. Buy or download a haynes manual for your car...those are very good teaching/ learning tools.