Tmaccc

Hi everyone I recently bout a 2008 base automatic vette with 46,000 miles on it. What fluids need to be changed at about the 50k mark to ensure everything has a long life? I know for sure transmission fluid needs to be drained and filled (not flushed) but what else would you recommend me doing or not doing? Not too sure what the previous owner did already. Car runs good but I just want to do preventative maintenance. I appreciate your help.

EDIT: I was able to get in contact with the previous owner. He said all he did was replace oil when it needed it and rear shocks in his 5 years 6k miles of ownership. He is older, said it was never tracked. Gonna assume he did not abuse it.

dr_gallup

First thing is download the owners manual.

Then it's a crap shoot since you don't know what's been done. Some will say everything and it's hard to argue. I would certainly flush brake fluid as that is commonly neglected. I would also replace coolant, DexCool is only good for 5 years. Look at the hoses, you might want to replace them at the same time. Same goes for belts.

The highest dollar item is tires, check the DOT date code, they may well need to be replaced even it they still have good tread.

sramzzz

I will add to the above on diff and power steering.

Do some reading on replacing the coolant. For some reason these cars like to trap air. I finally pulled a vacuum on mine to clear the air.

RobLo

50K miles, change EVERY fluid in the entire car, start fresh and start your own maintenance log.

Tmaccc

please check my edit to make sure your responses would still be the same. Thank you for the help.

ws6outlaw

I read your edit. It's time to change every fluid other than oil. trans, diff, brakes, coolant

sramzzz

Yes I would change out the fluids. I would start with the coolant and then work your way through the rest of it.

Tmaccc

I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. The tread on them is good but I checked the date and they are all from late 2016. How many years are c6 tires good for? The rears are hankooks and fronts are Bridgestones so they should be good quality tires. Being their 8 years old that does seem pretty old but I checked for cracking and did not see anything.

yeller z06

Most tire vendors say 5 years is the life for tires. Of course, they want you to buy new tires. My thoughts:

- you shouldn't have different brand/style tires on the car, they should all match
- 8 years is old enough, they need to go
- the one single most important safety feature on your car are the tires. Tires allow you to accelerate, brake and steer. Do not, ever, cheap out on tires. Do not try to get "one more season" out of old tires. Do not try to get "just one more lap" out of worn tires.

Whatscooking

Every fluid except the windshield washer fliud.

PAPAYOYO

The problem with changing oil..fluids..on Any car is that I'm sure alot of people can do it themselves. The problem is where to get rid of it?

VetteVinnie

I had the fluids changed from front to rear in both my 2010 ZR1 and my 2011 Grand Sport when I first bought them (2019 and 2022 respectively). After 9-12 years, I felt it was justified to have peace of mind. That said, we've had our 2001 Corvette in the family for 22 years now, and it went 15+ years on everything but oil changes on occasion (and three sets of tires that just got old and crusty despite only putting ~14K miles on the car in that 22 years). It was my mother-in-law's, so when we transferred it to my wife's name a couple years ago, I had all fluids done front to rear also just to freshen it up.

dr_gallup

I would change them immediately but I push my car pretty hard in the mountains and want nothing but the best traction. Some people just tool around on sunny days. Still, 8 years is considered the limit.