I just bought a beautiful 2002 coupe 6 speed with 48k miles. I intend to keep the car for a long time and want to do some preventative maintenance.

I was going to take it to the shop and have the oil changed and the coolant flushed (coolant was a bit low) and figured why don't they just change everything while it's in the air. (Rear diff, clutch fluid, brake fluid, and maybe power steering fluid?)

About how much should a complete fluid change be?

What's the average cost for each fluid change separately?

What should the service interval for each of these fluids be? (Excluding the oil and coolant, I know when to change those)

Thanks.

 

Maintenance is pretty easy on the C5. When I bought mine a year ago, changed Oil (Mobil One) and diff (Amsoil Severe Gear). If you have minimal skills, you could probably do it yourself, learn about your car, choose what goes in it and save some cash. I’m not mechanically inclined but I am cheap and particular about certain things. Do your research and do it yourself. Getting to know your car is invaluable!

 

1st congrats on your new to you purchase! Enjoy! Fluid change can be a gouge at the dealership and the quick stop places have people that I just don’t believe they love my car the way I do. So I have been doing my own changes. If your inclined not to it yourself I’m sure someone on the forum who lives in your area can point you to a reputable shop. Welcome.

 

If you have your car manual, all the service intervals are shown. If not, you can find your manual online or one of us can post it here.
As for the cost of fluid changes, log on to your local GM dealerships websites. Look under service. They always have specials.

 

I would say oil, coolant, trans, diff, brake would be around $100 each. Power steering and clutch may be a little cheaper.

 

Recent buyer here too:

The previous owner of my Z06 had all the fluids changed at a dealership in May of this year. I have the bill and.... HOLY COW did they charge a lot.
For yrs I've changed my own fluids. I complain about the cost of just the fluids.. but what they charge for labor is sickening. Earlier this yr I flushed trans fluid on my Jag and *my cost* was $550 for parts and fluid. Same service on my Ranger PU was only $200. I can't imagine paying triple those costs to have a shop do it for me.

IMO... if your intending to keep it for a long time.... do it yourself! There are several benefits. *you* know exactly what was done and the condition of the fluids that came out. You know the levels and on future changes you can see if its lost any. And you get to know your car to a greater degree. Sometimes while under there you discover other problems, leaks, ect....
Disposal of the fluids is a bit of a pain / cost. But its NOTHING compared to what a dealership charges for labor.

btw, I've heard that if your aggressive with clutch slip you'll want to add a bleeder kit and flush it often. (I'm still looking into that for mine)

 

I bring the fluids I prefer to use in my car. I usually pay for mechanic time and use of the lift.

 

What did the dealer charge for the fluid changes in the Z06? It cost you $500 to change the trans fluid in your Jag? Could you break that down?

 

Good luck with the new car. you can find a lot of info right here on the forum and many people to help learn all you can about the car it will save you in the long run.

 

Just curious, what year/model Jag are you talking about? We have a 2009 XF in our "family fleet", and it has 38,000 miles on it. My dealer is fairly honest, and when I inquired about a tranny fluid change, their reply was, "if it's shifting OK, don't worry about it". But for those unfamiliar with Jags, the filter is integral with the pan, so you change the "whole magilla", when you do a filter/fluid change, and this filter/pan retails for around $200. And if you use the "recommended" ZF fluid, that costs $$$, too. So, it isn't as cheap as the "old school" GM service where you drop the pan, swap in a $12.95 filter, and 4-5 quarts of ATF, at $4/quart.

See above reply...

 

I actually just got quoted $350 for both trans and diff from a shop. Mine hasn’t been changed in a long time.

 

I have a Corvette, so I do these things myself.
I am planning on changing the coolant and hoses and belts soon.
Here is my plan on the coolant, it's been over 6 years since I did this last.

Draining and Filling Cooling System

You will need 8.25 gal. of distilled water to do this, I would get 10 gal. of distilled water to start.

For 60% coolant:
You will need 7.56 qts. of coolant (almost 2 gal.)

Holds 12.6 qts. (3.4 gal.) (12.9 with manual trans)

Caution
With a pressurized cooling system, the coolant temperature in the radiator can be considerably higher than the boiling point of the solution at atmospheric pressure. Removal of the surge tank cap, while the cooling system is hot and under high pressure, causes the solution to boil instantaneously with explosive force. This will cause the solution to spew out over the engine, the fenders, and the person removing the cap. Serious bodily injury may result.

Important
If the procedure below is not followed a low or high coolant level condition and/or vehicle damage could result.


Note:
The draincock is on the Right side down low. You get to it from underneath. You can use a 1/4" square drive or a 3/16" Hex. You turn the draincock until it "snaps" out of the detent, then pull out as you turn. Open only about 1/2 - 3/4 turn.
The draincock is plastic with a steel pin (.075" in dia.) pushed thru it so the pin is exposed about 1/8" out one side of the draincock.
This pin guides the draincock out by way of a groove in the Radiator. The pin guides the draincock out as you turn the draincock.
At a point the draincock will stop because the groove ends (about 3/4 of a turn), but you can remove the draincock completely, by backing it off a bit (1/8 turn) from the end of the groove and pulling the draincock straight out


1) Park the vehicle on a level surface.
2) Remove the surge tank cap:
3) Raise and suitably support the vehicle. Refer to Lifting and Jacking the Vehicle in General Information.
4) Place a drain pan under the draincock.
5) Open the radiator draincock.
6) Allow the cooling system to drain completely. You should get 9qts out (71%)
7) Inspect the engine coolant for the following:
Discolored -- follow the flush procedure below.
Normal in appearance -- continue with the next step.

7a) Drain and refill 3 times with distilled water only ( see procedure below )

8) Close the radiator draincock. Tighten.
Tighten the radiator draincock to 2 N·m (18 lb in).
9) Fill the cooling system through the surge tank.
10) Fill the cooling system with a 50/50 mixture of DEX-COOL® coolant and deionized water.
11) Start the engine.
12) Allow the engine to idle for 1 minute.
13) Install surge tank cap.
14) Cycle the engine RPMs from idle to 3000 in 30 second intervals until the coolant temperature reaches 99°C (210°F).
15) Shut off the engine.
16) Remove the surge tank cap.
17) Start the engine.
18) Allow the engine to Idle for 1 minute. Fill the surge tank to 12.7 mm (0.5 in) above the COLD FULL mark on the surge tank.
19) Install the surge tank cap.
20) Cycle the engine RPMs from idle to 3000 in 30 second intervals until the coolant reaches 99°C (210°F).
21) Shut off the engine.
22) Remove the surge tank cap.
23) Top off the coolant as necessary, 12.7 mm (0.5 in) above FULL COLD mark on the surge tank.
24) Rinse away any excess coolant from the engine and the engine compartment.
25) Inspect the concentration of the engine coolant.
26) Install the surge tank cap.

7a)
Step 1:
Add 9 qts. of distilled water only and run the engine a few min. to mix this up, your mixture at this point is:14% coolant (1.8 qts. coolant left inside the engine)

Drain and repeat step 1 above, your mixture at this point is 4% (.5 qts coolant)

Drain and repeat step 1 above, your mixture at this point is 1% (.15 qts coolant)

Drain and refill with at least 50/50 mixture of distilled water and coolant, I prefer 60%

You will need 8.25 gal. of distilled water to do this, I would get 10 gal. of distilled water to start.

For 60% coolant:
You will need 7.56 qts. of coolant (almost 2 gal.)
Your final fill should be 7.6 qts. of coolant and 1.4 qts distilled water ( 3.6 qts. in the engine that can't be drained )
(Use no more than 70% coolant)

Notice:
When adding coolant, use DEX-COOL® coolant. If silicated coolant is added to the system, premature engine,
heater core or radiator corrosion may result. In addition, the engine coolant will require change sooner-at
50 000 km (30,000 mi) or 24 months.

 

Secret237 provided some excellent info on coolant change. I also just acquired a 2002 Coupe and needed to get the coolant swapped (see my thread about 17year old Dex-Cool). I just changed my Dex-Cool this past Saturday, and here are a couple thoughts on my experience.

1. Raising the front slightly gave me plenty of room to work underneath for draining coolant. I simply drove the front tires onto a pieces of 2x6 cedar (one per side).
2. My radiator petcock can be opened only with 1/4" drive socket extension. As others mentioned, you turn it counter-clockwise (as you face it) to open. I only needed to open about 1/4 turn. You'll feel detents as you open / close it.
3. A 1 gallon ice cream bucket worked perfect for me to catch coolant as it drained.
4. My first attempt to drain was on a relatively cool engine, and only about 2-3 quarts drained out. I had to bring the engine up to operating temp for the thermostat to open to get the remaining coolant out. Be careful as you drain the hot coolant. Once warm, I was able to drain the amount I expected.
5. I drained the old coolant, filled with distilled water, ran the engine again (with just the water) and then drained again. After that, I added 6.5 quarts of straight Dex-Cool as suggested by one of the posters in my thread. Worked perfect.

While you are under there, take a look at the AC condenser. Mine had a lot of road debris up there that I was able to clean out. Be very careful as the fins bend easily. I also used compressed air to blow air through the coolant radiator. I blew the air backwards through the radiator by directing my compressed air nozzle towards the front of the car from the electric fan openings. Again, be careful for the delicate fins. Cleaning all this stuff out made a huge difference in my coolant temperature swings at low speeds.