Sunday, March 7, 2010
Oil Service
The car had been due for an oil service for about two months but after several record snowfalls, prolonged subfreezing temperatures and a recent frontal sinus infection I just couldn't manage to do any work on the car. My usual oil service interval has averaged around 4500 miles, but this one stretched to 6123 miles.
Of course, my maintenance efforts were not the only activities to suffer recently. Pilots are required to conduct a certain amount of practice instrument flying every six months to maintain the ability to legally fly in clouds and my currency officially lapsed at the end of February. When I read the weather forecasts for this weekend I figured I'd do some flying on Saturday and work on the car Sunday. But alas, the dealer is not open on Sunday so I figured I'd stop there on the way to the airport and pick up an oil service kit.
Surprisingly I found my technician in his bay again, this time working on an associate's E46 M3 and using a brake paint kit to dress up the calipers in satin black. The paint is designed to be brushed on and based on the result of the first caliper it seemed to do the job reasonably well, though no matter how carefully the stuff is applied brush strokes in the finish are inevitable. I couldn't help but wonder what this stuff would look like thinned out and sprayed on through a HVLP gun. Done properly, of course, that would require removal of the calipers and this kit is clearly intended for those that would prefer to avoid that extra work. Nothing wrong with that...just a matter of preference. Would I paint my calipers? If I had the opportunity and tons of time and money to kill, perhaps. Likely? Not.
Today I completed the oil service after without any problems and took an oil sample I plan to send out shortly to verify the trend for higher lead discovered in the last sample. I'll post the results here when they come in. My usual undercarriage inspection revealed nothing other than a bit of ATF dripping off the bottom of the low pressure nipple on the power steering pump. I cleaned the area with a couple shots of brake cleaner so I could better track the state of the leak. I have plans to replace the power steering pump later this spring or early summer so if the leak persists I'll address it then.
Mileage: 189306, Parts $47