I recently picked up a '03 S2K with 30,000 miles, and am not sure what kind of maintenance schedule to follow other than the oil changes I've been doing every 3,000 miles.

I've read the owners manual and checked out a lot of the tech threads here, but if I follow their advice I'll be having half the engine checked every weekend and performing a complete fluid change every time I stop at a red light. I'm looking for a simple maintenance schedule to follow, something like:

every tank of gas: check oil
every month: check tire pressure & brake & clutch fluids

every 6K miles: tranny fluid change
every 10K miles: rear diff fluid change, change sparks
every 15K miles: valve adjustment

Any advice on something basic to follow like the above that will keep my S in shape?

 

tranny will last much longer then 6,000 miles. Change it and the diff around 12-15K

vavle adjustment calls for 105,000 I believe, check it around 70,000k if you feel inclined.

Brake/clutch should be changed every 3 years or (IIRC 50,000)

All the answers are here, just need to look

plugs last something like 120,000 miles, change them around 100k

 

Thanks for the reply. There are a lot of different answers here, and figuring out which are the right ones is kinda tough.

 

It comes down to personal preference since lots of people maintain a high performance car more often then the minimum requirements.

Yes, trans fluid will last a long time, but anyone who's ever done internal tranny work will never run it that long. I change mine every other oil change (which works out to 10-15k). Same schedule for the diff. I change the engine oil every 5-7.5K, and could go longer. I'll post my latest UOA once I get it.

Plugs are fine for awhile, check them when you have them out checking the valves.

Valve adjustments are 105K I believe or "when noisy".

I suggest checking them every 15K-30K. Learn to do it yourself, it's easy and cheap that way.

I don't check brake/clutch fluid that often, I generally flush the clutch every 20K or so in my cars, and brakes depend on use for me.

 

As noted it's a personal preference. Minimum guidelines are noted in the Helm Manual for both "normal" and "severe" driving. A great place to start is a thraed at the top of this page (i.e. DIY/Maintenance/FAQ). Many of the noted methods have been time tested here for many years.

Utah

 

If the previous owner did not provide you with any history of service. I would change out all of my fluids including radiator fluid. These are not the place to save a few dollars. It is cheap insurrance if you plan to keep this car for a while. Who know what kind of owner/driver this person really is. Some people who plan to sell their car often ignore the service.

 

Just follow what it says in your owner's manual. If you don't have one, get one. If you read the manual, you'll notice most of the service intervals for fluids are halved if you drive the car in "severe conditions".

 

I change the mtf annually, diff fluid every 2 years. Brake/clutch get flushed every 2-3 years. If you don't know if/when these have been done before, I suggest doing all of them now.

Also, if the car has never had the valves looked at, I would recommend a valve adjustment regardless of mileage. I have seen about 10 S2000s opened up at local tech days, and all of them had at least 1 or 2 valves out of spec (all to the wide side), even engines with just a few thousand miles. Setting the valve clearences towards the lower end of the spec results in slightly better performance, and you will notice a definite improvement in idle smoothness. But, unless you are doing the work yourself, or have a mechanic you trust completely, you may be wasting your money. It's very easy for someone to do a half assed job checking clearances - "eh, it's good enough".