> Thanks Kelly! I was able to find some notes from the last gear oil
change....it's been 5 years and 90K miles since i put Mobil-1 GL-4 synthetic
gear oil in the diffs, tranny and x-fer case 75W-90.
>
> I read your other post about putting in Mobil-1 synthetics and just leaving
it.....i didn't know how long it's been until about 15 minutes before i typed
this post. I don't have any diff problems that i can see/hear/smell. i just
have this urge to change the stuff out because >>it's been there so long. Oh
what to do!?

Bah! If synthetic is already in there, just leave it. Seriously. I moved to
synthetic not because of cost, per se, but it typically means, save for engine
oil and ATF, it can be changed one time, and that's it. You'll be sick of
looking at it/fixing the minor stuff, before something lubrication-related
fails.

This is, of course, unless water/contaminants get in, then you're stuck
replacing, but you've got other problems, anyway.


> I wanna eventually change out the old suspenders to KYBs and put in 225/70R16
BFGs...but i don't wanna spend too much on it because i don't know how much
longer it will last....although my clutch throw-out bearing has been chirping at
me for the last 5 years.
>

Well, tires you can move to a new ride. You'll like the BFG's. They're not
going on a 2002 Kia Spectra, but I hope you'd not go there...

The KYB's aren't horribly expensive, but make note, you *may* need to get some
camber adjustment bolts to prevent too much positive camber on the front. This
is when the tops of the wheels lean out...bad for handling, tire wear...just
bad. Rockauto.com has 'em, like $20 for the pair, and I eyeballed mine after
installation, then towed the beastlet for, sheesh, 80K miles...drove it another
20K, and the tires looked like they had *maybe* the 20K on 'em. There's a
definite art to getting these to tow like a trailer...i.e. no significant wear
on anything...save for glass and paint.


> I don't know how much time i have left with the GV...but the sucker doesn't
feel like it's about to give out. i wonder how much those GV repair bills
are........anybody got those?
>

Throwout bearings are weird. They can make no noise and fail, or make noise for
years, and not fail. Clutches are one of those things which I've given up on
diagnosing for others, unless they can guarantee the clutch reservoir was never
refilled, and even then only how much life is left is the only info to gain.
It's cool, hydraulic clutches are exactly like brakes in this regard, but they
don't have a light. Once you near 'MIN', time is limited. I've verified this
on several different makes and models, and have been right every time, so it's
not a fluke. If and when clutch parts require replacement, do ALL of them.
Pressure plate, throwout bearing, disc, the whole bit. I don't care what it
looks like. I've been down this road, personally, before. Replaced just the
plate in a '67 Dodge A-100 forward-control passenger van which was my first
vehicle, and sure enough, not 150 miles later, I was back in there putting in a
plate and bearing. I got good at working on that truck, but I almost always
enjoyed it because it encouraged creativity. Parts were scarce, when new, so at
18 years old...pffft. You want what?! I've never heard of one of those....
This from the grizzled old guy at the greasy parts store (not Autozone, or the
like).

Sorry for the tangent. Hydraulic clutch mechanisms are much, much better than
the old adjusting rod...or worse, cable...
ACK!...systems, in which it was a total guess how much life was left. When it
started slipping, you were *very* close to walking.

Oh, and I contend, to this day, *any* vehicle, can be patched/repaired to last
as long as it doesn't rot away. It may not be economically smart, but it can be
done. Rot, you can't fix, but if it's not structural, than besides being
hideous, it's not really a problem. I include Yugos in this non-scientific
analysis, so I've thought about it.

Kelly
happy to be the GV list-guy, indefinitely. If it's car-related, I'm there.