my car is approaching 30k miles, and until now I have done all of my own (admittedly basic) maintenance all well ahead of schedule; engine oil & filter, transmission fluid, differential fluid twice, engine air filter, and cabin air filter.

so I'm reticent to pay whatever Honda (or an outside mechanic) is going to charge me to simply:
1) inspect the drive belt
2) inspect front and rear brakes
3) adjust parking brake
4) inspect tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
5) inspect suspension components
6) inspect driveshaft boots
7) inspect brake hoses and lines
8) inspect fluid levels*
9) inspect exhaust system
10) inspect fuel lines and connections

*fluid levels-- I haven't checked my brake fluid levels, particularly because I hear it absorbs moisture and thus deteriorates, and also because my brakes have been working fine)

I suppose I can take my car in to a trusted mechanic, get it up on the lift and we can both check off just the 10 items above, although to save money I'd like to do some myself.

#1 and #6, am I just looking for cracks in the rubber?
#2 and #3, will that necessitate me removing my wheels? (my brakes seem perfectly fine, btw)
#4, #5, #7, #9, #10, just looking for cracks, leaks, etc?
#8 I'm assuming this should be straight forward: radiator fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid. I'm not 100% certain how these fluids should appear after 30k miles, or what would be an indicator of a problem (other than, of course, very low levels)

opinions?

 

Hi there, TP. Let me shed some light on this for you.
1. The drive belt bends both ways, so you will see cracks on the ribbed side as a normal feature. However, you need to look at the smooth side. There should be no cracks there. If present, this belt is easy enough to replace. In fact, if in doubt, get an aftermarket one and just put it on. These will cost much less than the genuine Honda one and are just as good. Get a Goodyear "Gaterback" one.

2. You can see how the brakes are doing partly by looking at the rotor. If the rotor is severely scored, then it's likely the pads are in need of replacement and the rotor turned or replaced as well. "Score" marks look like deep gouges in in the face of the rotor that goes all the way around the disc. The service limite for both front and rear pads is 1.6 mm. It's best to have the wheels/tires off to get a good look at them. If any of the pads (inner or outer) are getting near this limit, change them.

3. The park brake can be tested as follows:
Jack up the rear of the car so both tires can spin freely with the ebrake completely off. Have someone rotate each wheel and you pull up on the brake handle. Each wheel should stop be able to be turned between 9 to 13 clicks on the ebrake handle. If it needs to be tightened, you must lift up the console cover to expose the adjuster nut. You will see this nut between the two cables where they are attached.

4. These are a little tougher to inspect. Tie rod ends are those ball joints at the ends of those rods with the rubber accordian boots on them. Jack up each side and grab each rod end (ball joint) and give them a good, firm wiggle. Neither one should feel loose. They may move a bit but with a lot of friction (ball and socket type of movement is normal). The boots should not be cracked. In fact, you should be taking care of these and the CV boots as per my "How To":
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=113452
The steering gear box is hard to tell if anything is wrong. I think if the steering has been working well, don't worry about it. Any evidence of steering gear lube externally may give you a clue that further investigation is needed.

5. Suspension components require you to jack up the car at each corner and remove the wheels. Look at all the ball joints for cracked or leaking boots. These can also be treated as in that link I just put up for the other rubber boots. These can't be lubed as they have no grease nipples. If the boot is cracked and shows signs of escaping grease, the boot and/or ball joint must be replaced.

6. Driveshaft boots (inner and outer CV joints on each side). Check for cracks and/or leaking grease.

7. Brakes lines and hoses are easy. Just trace each line from the master cylinder (on the firewall) to each wheel cylinder for leaks.

8. Fluid levels are easy. Coolant can be checked by looking at the level in the reservoir. Brake and clutch fluid, you clean off the area around the caps and remove the caps and look inside. Brake clutch fluid should be changed anyway every couple of years, however, there are "litmus" type test strips you can use to check for water content. Top up with DOT 3 fluid from sealed container. Don't worry about taking the caps off. It takes a lot longer to suck up water than the length of time this takes. Besides, those caps are vented and air goes in and out anyway.

9. Check exhaust system for rust through. Leaks can be heard or checked with blowing smoke at suspected leaks from joints. Light a cigarette and just move it around the system and watch if the smoke gets blown abnormally. Those places, will the leak be seen.

10. Fuel lines are the same as brake lines. Just check what you can see and smell. Run your hands along the lines from the rear (gas tank area) to the front where they go up in front of the firewall. The stretch along the underside will be covered with a plastic shield but you can still feel for fuel residue.

These are cursory inspections and any defects will be obvious. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to find them. Certainly, the guy at the Honda service bay won't look anywhere as carefully as you or I would.

 

xv, as I've said time and again over the years, Thank you very much for all the help.

[copy-n-pastes entire post above.] I'll have to find a viable alternative to the lit cigarette suggestion, as I don't smoke (I'm thinking of a small bit of smoldering newspaper in a dish)

 

Hehe, don't set your car on fire.
Leaks are rare on the stock exhaust (if that's what you have) unless you've run over something big to dent it up.

 

Everything that XV's recommended are the way to go, specially Brake and Clutch fluid should be changed every couple of years regardless of mileage, because it costs very little and easy to do and the brake system is the most critical component of any car.
If you can find an independent mechanic, with the car on a lift, you and that mechanic can do all those things for less than $100.