Lyle - you mentioned tire pressure recommendations off the tire - I was taught to use the door sticker as the car manufacturer’s recommended pressures. Maybe I did not hear that correctly
You are correct, I couldn't believe I herd that... The number on the sidewall of the tire is the 'MAXIMUM Tire Pressure'. Do not put that much air in your tires, you'll prematurely wear out the center treads and have a harsh ride, always go by what the door label says.
Pre flight check is a good idea. Especially since owning a Corvette is such a joy. Nothing like enjoying your Vette for years and years and miles and miles.
I still remember the Gentleman that came into my Shop asking why his Oil Pressure Gauge was acting eradicatly, i went outside to take a look, told him to shut it off and open the hood, my thought what was that smell? Something was hot and was cooking oil, i reached down and pulled the Dipstick and wiped it off and reinserted it and pulled it out, to my dismay there was no oil on the Stick, i said Sir you are very low on oil, and his Statement to me was this.... I THOUGHT A LIGHT WOULD COME ON WHEN IT NEEDED OIL..😢 some people really don't have a clue about the Car they own and Drive...!😮
Ironically some of the newer cars no longer have a way to check levels. My wife’s BMW X 5 is like that. On it you get an email telling you to schedule service soon and then next they start calling you. Not sure how I feel about that. Would love to see much more C8 info. I have one ordered and I’d love to know as much about it as I can. Hopefully going into the 4th yr of the C8 you’re starting to do some maintenance on several.
From an old fighter pilot, and major airline Captain…well done Lyle. I would add a quick walk around light check. Maybe some more people will figure out what that stalk, on the left side of the steering column, is used for. Hint: it’s not for hanging your hat on.
Another great video. I know a lady that told her husband " that hole in the dip stick tube was only so big" when he questioned her about taking so long to add a quart of oil.
In Canada we are told to ONLY use windshield washer fluid that won’t freeze because if it freezes and cracks your washer bucket, on some cars, it can be crazy expensive to repair because the manufactures sometimes place these weird shaped containers in places that require half the car to be removed in order to get to the broken container.. better safe than sorry…. Thanks Lyle..
Thanks. I'm 82 years old and was taught this in driver's education when I was 16 years old. It's a practice that I still follow. It's too bad young people aren't taught this, especially with older vehicles. Thanks again for the reminder.
Lyle - another solid video - as a pilot and airplane owner - Steve’s thoughts have been part of my vehicle ownership like a preflight. My plane is in the shop for its annual inspection this month, so keenly aware of the importance of these checks. All our fluids were changed in our C5 with only the transmission yet to go. Thanks for this information- for new owners or less experienced very good reminders. Thanks Bill
For C5, from the manual : “Do not check the engine oil level after the engine has been sitting overnight. A higher than normal reading might be obtained. Check oil level with the oil warm. Turn off the engine and give the oil a few minutes to drain back into the oil pan. If you don’t, the oil dipstick might not show the actual level.” 👌🏼
You are supposed to keep your tire pressure at the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure which is on the sticker inside your driver's side door jamb, NOT the max pressure your tires can take which is on your sidewalls. I've never known them to be the same on any vehicle.
Another suggestion, especially for C4 & C5 owners, is to check the air filter. I bought two C5's and each was packed with road crud. Not sure how they even ran. These bottom air feeders also gather deris at the front of the radiator too. Inspect by the air dam and radiator for debris. Squeeze the C5 cowl udders too. Not necessary every time you drive but do not ignore for too long.
When I got my 99 C5 FRC this past April, one of the first things I did was squeeze out the rain udders. Loaded with crap, dirt, leaves. Replaced my air filter with a FRAM. While it was on the lift to replace pulleys and belts I asked the shop mechanic to blow out all the leaves and crap up inside the air intake. It wasn’t too junked up but it definitely needed a cleaning out
As a C4 owner and once a upon a time C5 owner. You nailed it. My C5 it was anything from plastic shopping bags to ever low laying thrash blowing around the freeway. Amazing how the stuff got there? Sure, wouldn't be trying to snag this stuff. With the low ground clearance, it's not the place you go inspecting. The C4 I picked up used. Had what looked like animal hair kind of balled up in the upper left-hand side. The fins were all fine after removal, so nothing was making a nest. Weird but nobody at the dealership noticed it. Or like most dealers Hey it ain't broke, why bother. The real treat is finding tools in the engine compartment. A real confident builder. Yup good habit doing prefights.
Great video Lyle, Don't forget the c6 and c7 corvette with z51 dry sump systems need to be checked 5 minutes after shutdown and the OIL temp NOT coolant temperature needs to be 175 degrees F. some oil techs at the dealership don't know this...
Lyle, I love your youtube videos. I do have a suggestion regarding your preflight check. FYI, fluid levels cannot be viewed through opaque fluid reservoirs. A windshield is transparent or clear. A translucent surface you may be able to see through to see a fluid level but is less than transparent. Keep doing your educational and entertaining videos.
Once again, thanks Lyle. These checks were taught to me by my Dad, and to this day I still do the monthly check. Makes a difference and helps catch issues before they become problems.
Thanks for the reminder... Typically I don't treat my Corvettes like my '58 Comanche. Wouldn't skip a preflight step... Period! The cars on the other hand are too often... "Kick the tires & light the fires!" (my bad)
I don't drive my vette in Canucksville winter, lol, but for my other rides a hydrometer test of glycol is good to do. I test ours to -45'C, and our engines our safe through our winter months. Super easy to do with a cheap hydrometer. You tube it.
Thanks for that Video. Its very Helpfull. I will definitiv buy me a Break Fluid Check Stick. To be serious, i always check Oil and Coolant. But Break Fluid i always left alone. I will check it in Future regular.
just triggering the algorithm , I can't add anything to the advice. The aircraft pictured did remind me of a book I read that corrected my notion that the P 51 was the fastest race plane out of WW2, because that was all I ever saw. Turns out fastest was a 27 cylinder rotary piston plane ( grumman Hellcat?) that was designed for fast take off to protect it's carrier . the plane could be built with nine cylinders, or you could stack another nine cylinder pancake in the most common configuration, or put a third rotary piston bank on for the carrier based interceptor type. These high torque planes were highly valued by air racers after the war, when WW2 planes were cheap . How do you go faster than the other guy with the same plane? You saw off part of the wing to reduce drag. How do you beat that guy? Saw off more wing than his plane. Racers being what they are, few survived. I am guessing the mustangs are sill around because nobody was chopping the wings off of a less competitive plane. Just a guess, the book mostly focused on earlier racers. You might have seen pictures of the most famous racing plane with dinky wings, a red and white "Bee Gee" plane, from the thirties that liked almost like a flying fat cylinder stuffed with a radial piston motor, the wings were so small . Two were built, they won races, set speed records, both crashed.
Good basic training video. I have been doing these checks for years. However, not monthly. Your video prompted me to start keeping a small spiral notebook to record this check list procedure monthly.
Hi Lyle. I really love and appreciate your video's. I do want to make a suggestion about radiator fluids, mainly the Water. I ran an auto shop here in Loganville, Ga for 21 years and found that tap water has minerals and chlorine which will over time cause rust and contaminate the cooling system. I found that using distilled water fixes that issue. The cost is minor compared to the damage done by tap water. I started doing that years ago wether I flushed the cooling system or replaced anything that had to do with the cooling system. Thanks for all you do. Barry
I did know aik of this and I check it every time before I use the car and there is something you left out the rear axle fuld that needs to be checked to see if it is full or down because that is very expensive to fix on a Corvette
If you live in winter climate, use summer washer fluid in summer but make sure it is changed to winter fluid for winter. "But I don't drive my Corvette in winter" Okay but where you store it, is it heated 100% of the time? ;-)
Ironically some of the newer cars no longer have a way to check levels. My wife’s BMW X 5 is like that. On it you get an email telling you to schedule service soon and then next they start calling you. Not sure how I feel about that. Would love to see much more C8 info. I have one ordered and I’d love to know as much about it as I can. Hopefully going into the 4th yr of the C8 you’re starting to do some maintenance on several.
All of this not new for me, but what I really would like to know: How to check a transmission fluid at C6 vette ? )) as it's not the same as most cars have ))
It is really ridiculous .Drive the car till the trans temp is around 100deg. Then with the car running in park take the pan bolt off the bottom. fluid should just drip out. that means its full. If not, there is a plug on the passenger side where a dipstick would go if it were in a car or truck. Pull the plug out and add fluid till it starts to drip out of the plug on the bottom. If you use the top off of a differential fluid bottle and a hose, you can just squeeze the bottle to get the fluid in the trans. There is no room to pour it in. Or you could use a hand pump.....
@@KazanskyAlex No kidding! If the car was German, there would have been a completely over-engineered access panel in the rear compartment floor with a coded lock and titanium dipstick! :)
