C7 General Discussion General C7 Corvette Discussion not covered in Tech
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Question about fluid changes

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 01:26 AM
  #1  
segen77's Avatar
segen77
Thread Starter
Racer
 
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 324
Likes: 57
From: South Dallas Tx
Default Question about fluid changes

I just got my 2916 recently still new on the lot, but it was built in Feb of 2016. I see a lot of posts about changing fluids out at certain time intervals. Oil once a year, Brakes every three years, etc. My question is, do I start the time clock from the moment the car was built, or the moment I bought it. (car had less than 10 miles when I bought it).

Thanks
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 07:43 AM
  #2  
Curahee's Avatar
Curahee
Pro
 
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 555
Likes: 126
Default Follow owners' manual. Can't go wrong.




P.S. Please post pics of your 2916.

Last edited by Curahee; Jun 18, 2017 at 07:45 AM.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 08:06 AM
  #3  
Larry/car's Avatar
Larry/car
Race Director
10 Year Member
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 10,742
Likes: 629
From: Manheim Pennsylvania
Default

I would start the clock when you took delivery, want make any difference anyway. I would check what the DIC oil life is.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 08:09 AM
  #4  
Larry/car's Avatar
Larry/car
Race Director
10 Year Member
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 10,742
Likes: 629
From: Manheim Pennsylvania
Default

I would use the delivery date. Will not make any difference anyway. I would check the DIC oil life remaining information. Might reset to 0?
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 08:46 AM
  #5  
rrsperry's Avatar
rrsperry
Safety Car
 
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 4,785
Likes: 1,417
Default

Rule of thumb.

Oil: at least yearly or as testing shows its needed
Brake fluid: at least every other year
Coolant: 5 years, or as testing shows it's needed
trans and diff: 3 years 30,000 miles.
Hoses and belts: 5 years

all from the date of build.

That's what I would do. You are free to do as you like.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 10:26 AM
  #6  
TEXHAWK0's Avatar
TEXHAWK0
Le Mans Master
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
Default

Originally Posted by rrsperry
Rule of thumb.

Oil: at least yearly or as testing shows its needed
Brake fluid: at least every other year
Coolant: 5 years, or as testing shows it's needed
trans and diff: 3 years 30,000 miles.
Hoses and belts: 5 years

all from the date of build.

That's what I would do. You are free to do as you like.
Might want to add changing differential fluid, or at least checking it, a little sooner since many come under filled from the factory. Mine was almost a quart low on a differential that only holds 2.5 qt.

Also, belts and hoses last a lot longer than they used to. When I sold my 2004 Z06 is still had the original belts and hoses, and they looked fine.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 10:26 AM
  #7  
Corgidog1's Avatar
Corgidog1
Le Mans Master
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 6,442
Likes: 2,535
From: New Jersey
Default

I gotta think that fluids age the same whether it sits in your drive or the dealer's drive. If it were me I would start with Feb. 2016. I would think the oil life computer has no idea when the car was sold.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 10:37 AM
  #8  
Patman's Avatar
Patman
Race Director
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 15,323
Likes: 2,077
From: Guelph, Ontario
Default

^^ I agree with the above. I once bought a brand new 1995 Trans Am in January of 1996 but the build date on the car was September 1994. So I treated it as such and changed the oil as soon as I got the car, especially since the car had 250 miles on it, so there were a lot of short trips/test drives that were done on it.

That being said, I don't think any of the fluids on your 2016 need to be changed any time soon, except for the oil (and even then it's probably fine but I would do it just to avoid a warranty problem if it arises). Don't even worry about the coolant, brake fluid, diff fluid, trans fluid, for a few years time.
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-1

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-3

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-7

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-8

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 05:59 PM
  #9  
segen77's Avatar
segen77
Thread Starter
Racer
 
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 324
Likes: 57
From: South Dallas Tx
Default

Oil life monitor says that it has 97% left. I'm not sure if the dealer just reset the monitor, or actually did a change prior to pick up. It would seem that if Oil has a shelf life of five years, it could also sit in a car the same amount of time without having to be changed yearly. What am I missing?
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 06:13 PM
  #10  
Patman's Avatar
Patman
Race Director
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 15,323
Likes: 2,077
From: Guelph, Ontario
Default

Oil in a sealed bottle does have about a 5 year shelf life, but once you put it in an engine and start it, you introduce contamination into it, so that shelf life is now a lot shorter. I'd be most worried that a dealer would periodically start the engine, move the car a few feet, and then shut it down, and repeat this procedure many times over.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 06:17 PM
  #11  
TEXHAWK0's Avatar
TEXHAWK0
Le Mans Master
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
Default

Originally Posted by Patman
Oil in a sealed bottle does have about a 5 year shelf life, but once you put it in an engine and start it, you introduce contamination into it, so that shelf life is now a lot shorter. I'd be most worried that a dealer would periodically start the engine, move the car a few feet, and then shut it down, and repeat this procedure many times over.
Starting the car and not driving it until it gets up to full temperature also allows moisture to accumulate in the crankcase and form acids and all sorts of bad stuff. The oil does not really wear out, it just gets contamination from combustibles and the additives get depleted.
That's why transmission and differential fluid last longer... They are not exposed to contamination from combustion and outside sources like dirt.

Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Jun 18, 2017 at 06:19 PM.
Reply
Old Jun 18, 2017 | 06:42 PM
  #12  
segen77's Avatar
segen77
Thread Starter
Racer
 
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 324
Likes: 57
From: South Dallas Tx
Default

Ok. That makes sense.
Reply
Old Jun 19, 2017 | 08:56 AM
  #13  
fredmills's Avatar
fredmills
Racer
 
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 435
Likes: 15
Default

Originally Posted by rrsperry
Rule of thumb.

Oil: at least yearly or as testing shows its needed
Brake fluid: at least every other year
Coolant: 5 years, or as testing shows it's needed
trans and diff: 3 years 30,000 miles.
Hoses and belts: 5 years

all from the date of build.

That's what I would do. You are free to do as you like.
Why do you think you know more than GM engineers?
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Question about fluid changes





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:09 AM.

story-0
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-2
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-5
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-9
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE