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At 108000 miles what maintenance should I look forward to?

3K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  pandrad61 
#1 ·
Hi All,

Since I drive a lot I already racked up 108,000 miles on my 2012 2LT. What usual maintenance should I get done or should I look forward to? I already changed the water pump twice. I am a little worried since the car is not under any warranty now.

Thank You
 
#2 ·
not sure when the 1.4 needs it but at 100k i do timing kits including water pump, do a brake, radiator,transmission, flushes. new shocks too. thats all that stands out to me at 100k also fuel filter both air filters and spark plugs
 
#3 ·
Timing Kit? I thought the 1.4 came with a timing chain and it does not need a replacement. Yup I had already got the transmission flush done at 50K miles and will be doing one again soon. Changed spark plugs at 80k so that is good for now. why new shocks? how would one know that the shocks are due for a change?

Thank you
 
#11 · (Edited)
exactly, a flush for me is evacuate old fluid and top off with new fluid.


in the case of front struts im a believer of replace at the very least 100k miles for a calm daily ( for my supra at the 40k point i didnt need new ones but i upgraded to koni yellows), i also track my car every other month, live in Florida with rough roads, and am very spirited driver and can feel them. on my jeep i do lots of sand running and off roading so my shocks get lots of abuse and they start to excessively bounce around 30k for me, they are also dirt cheap to replace, i remember my first set of shocks i over heated them from taking the sand track a bit to fast and said f it life time warranty. they where soo faded lol
 
#7 ·
i actual never looked up the price at rock auto.com or my commercial account at advanced auto parts. i figure on average for a shock of the cruzes nature maybe 80$ each upfront and 30$ rear. DIY and save $. im rocking a 0 miles purchased CTD so shocks where the last thing on my mind
 
#9 ·
Shocks are not much and you can do it your self if you have a good jack. Struts are a lot harder. Took me less the 30 minutes a side for shocks. No need for timing chain its good for life. Shocks slowly go out over time. I changed mine at about 100k because I could feel it not as secure to the road as before. I could tell a difference after they were replaced. Struts seem to last longer. Fuel filter should be fine also.
 
#10 ·
If the struts (front has struts) show no sign of oil leakage and operate quietly they are just fine.
Failed struts will display external oil leakage (seal failure) or a rattling noise (deflected disc breakage) over bumps.....almost a 'jingle' type sound.

Many struts get replaced because they fail a 'bounce test'.......all fully broken in struts will fail a bounce test but the installer or provider of struts will not share that information.
The majority of struts are replaced needlessly as a result of this method.......and because few people understand how a strut works.

Quite simply, a strut, due to the damping oil control orifices (deflected disc pak) only dampens at the rate it was compressed.
By pushing up and down on the fender you are only mimicking the gentle rise and fall of the road....very little damping is required.
If a strut is stroked rapidly, like going over a rough railroad crossing, the deflected disc pak will restrict damping fluid at the rate the damper was compressed.

Bottom line......struts are actually considered a life of car component......but if I made a living selling suspension components I wouldn't share that information.

Now, the shocks found on the rear suspension of the Cruze are fairly traditional, gas charged units......the gas is nitrogen btw.
These, like any shock (damper) use a piston with rings that ride inside a finished bore in the shock housing.
The piston has orifices (little holes) that the damping fluid passes through as the assembly is stroked, damping the motion.
Over the miles, the rings wear out, and the damping fluid passes the sides of the piston as well as the controlled flow through the orifices.

Suspension control suffers.....and as the miles accrue the shock is, for the most part, just going for the ride.
Operators don't notice the degradation because it takes thousands of miles......when replaced, most are surprised how poorly the car was handling.

All this to tell the OP that if the strut bodies are dry, leave them alone and, due to mileage, it is indeed time for rear shock replacement (inexpensive maintenance).

I will embellish the strut thing though.....just a bit....and I said this in a post about a year ago as well......a new strut will indeed pass a bounce test.
This is because the strut seal is new and very tight around the strut shaft. (Called Sticktion....aka Seal Friction)
This extreme tightness is perceived as a improvement when, in fact, at about the 5000 mile point when the seal is fully broken in, the new strut will respond to the bounce test the same as the, still serviceable, strut that was needlessly replaced.

Rob
 
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