Cerbera Servicing - What is actually involved ? Plus Oil ?

[Rob1984]

Hi all, Apologies if this has been covered already but just wanted to clarify.

I am just about to enter into year 2 of Cerbera Ownership and still loving and very much living the dream..! I only did 1000 miles last year and not many this year.. SO I am looking to get the car a basic service. I have a good friend who is fairly handy mechanically and has offered to do the service for me. So the question is what is actually involved in a basic service - is it change oil and filter? Check and top up the break fluid? Check disc's and pads etc.. Coolant.. Am I missing anything major? My local TVR dealer wants £500 for a basic service so feel I can save money doing it myself..

Also what Oil do you use / recommend.. The car is a 1998 4.5. Looking at the TVR handbook it recommends mobil 1 0w40 oil. I can only find the "New life" stuff would this be the correct one to get?

Help please !

Thanks in advance.

[GT6k]

The service schedule and procedures are in the manual available here -

http://www.tvr-cerbera.co.uk/workshopmanuals.htm

It is all pretty simple but the one thing Cerberas don't like is hamfisted maintenance, it must be done exactly by the book.

[MoonMonkey]

As far as oil goes I would recommend Valvoline VR1 as it has a high ZDDP level which is good for reducing top end wear, particularly with the flat tappets of the AJP

Edited by MoonMonkey on Tuesday 2nd June 23:49

Edited by MoonMonkey on Tuesday 2nd June 23:50

[GT6k]

I use the current generation Mobil 1 in mine, I tend to feel it is more important to change it regularly than to worry too much about the exact spec. Doing only 1000 a year you are more likely to have water contamination in the oil than someone doing 10k per year so don't use the low mileage excuse to skip on changes. How much you do depends on how much you trust the seller or whoever serviced it last. Unless you are confident that it has had a 12k in the recent past it might be wise to follow that schedule first. This doesn't mean you have to change everything but its worth checking everything you can if only to get a good idea of condition.

[ukkid35]

Although brake fluid is degraded by overheating, it should still be flushed regularly. Not just because the fluid is hydroscopic, but also because you need to keep the bleed screws freed up and not corroding in the caliper bodies.

I'm with MoonMonkey, high ZDDP is essential for aggressive high profile cams on flat tappets, but GT6k is also correct, don't skip on the change interval just because of the low mileage - unless you only do a couple of long trips each year and keep your car in a climate controlled environment. VR1 is a good choice; I have put Motul V300 Chrono in mine, but that was an absurdly expensive over-indulgence.

Coolant definitely degrades over time even if you don't do the mileage, so flush it regularly - unless you look forward to the prospect of a head gasket change (believe me you don't want that).

If you've never changed the gearbox ATF, then change that as well for the most expensive Synthetic ATF you can find, if you are lucky the box will last a little longer.

[jamieduff1981]

Although I do corrective maintenance myself mostly, there is so much to the service schedule that I lean on the side of gratefully paying someone else to do it.

A) a fresh pair of experienced eyes is good
B) someone around different Cerberas a lot will spot deterioration that you may not if it's gradual
C) it improves the value of the car to have a stamped service history (even if you don't plan to sell but have a non-fault accident and have to argue valuations with the insurer)

[Byker28i]

I use Titan Pro S always have - car seems to like it, as recommended to me.