Hey guys,

I am hoping that some of the gurus might be able to provide me with some advice in regards to home servicing (I have searched through a heap of the previous forums and found some information but it's a bit all over the place and I am hoping to get some advice all in one post!!). I recently purchased a 2010 GU ZD30 (manual) with 120,000 km on the clock and in excellent condition having been owned by an older guy who never really took it offroad apart from a few dirt tracks. Anyway, I have decided that I am going to do all of my own oil changes, etc at home despite the fact that the last time I did this was in about 1991 when I had a VB Commodore!!! The guy I bought it from did all his own servicing and said that the last one he did was about 6 months ago but he wasn't sure on the kms (thinks its about 5000 km or so) and so basically I want to do an initial service to pretty much replace all the fluids so that I have a known baseline and then I can conduct a regular service regime from there.

Engine Oil - I saw in one thread a recommendation of Castrol Delo 400 Diesel Multigrade oil and in another I think I saw a Penrite 10-W40 recommendation. Is there any particular oil that I should be considering or is it pretty much a case of anything that is a reputable brand and rated for diesel engines will be OK? I haven't even looked at the owners manual yet to see what it recommends but I also think I read somewhere that after a certain amount of km you should consider changing to a different grade - what grade oil should I be using?

Oil Filter - I was just planning on going for a Ryco filter. Is it worth considering one of the filters that you can replace the filter element on or am I better off just going for the "standard" disposable ones??

Transmission Oil - I found a recommendation for Castrol VMX-M somewhere but would be interested to hear opinions on this or other options?

Transfer Case Oil - haven't checked the manual yet but I assume this is a different oil to the transmission oil? Recommendations?

Diff Oil - haven't really researched this one yet and was probably just going to check the manual to see what it says. Any recommendations?

Brake Pads and Fluid - to me the brakes seem a bit underpowered at the moment and I'm not sure if this is because of worn pads or potentially an issue with the system not being bled properly. I'm intending on flushing the brake system and putting in new fluid (I assume it will be DOT 3 or DOT 4 but I haven't checked the manual yet) and I am also going to replace the brake pads. I saw a couple of references to Bendix 4WD Pads - can anyone provide feedback on these pads or recommend another one?

Coolant - Not sure how often this needs to be replaced but thought that while I am setting a baseline and familiarising myself with actually working on a car again that I might as well replace it while I am at it. I assume that any standard coolant would be OK but would be interested in recommendations based on experience?

Power Steering Fluid - I have never replaced this on a car and have no idea what type of fluid I need (will check the manual on this one)

Air Filter - I guess that the standard Nissan filter element will be my starting point but I'm interested in any recommendations for aftermarket air filters.

Fuel Filter - car has an additional pre-filter fitted and the guy gave me three spare filters so I will replace it. I will probably replace the standard filter too and again would start with factory filter but I'm open to any other recommendations for alternatives.

Is there anything else that I should consider replacing/checking/servicing to establish a good clean baseline?

I'm actually looking forward to getting my hands dirty and getting a bit intimate with my car (which I haven't done for a long, long time)!!

Cheers,

Gags