Originally Posted by Spectre5

Hey everyone. I'm planning to do the 30K service on my vehicle myself - to save a little money (hopefully?) and mostly to learn more about my car. I've done a lot of reading through the manual and DIY section on the forums. I was wondering who else has done the 30K service on their car already? What needs to be done, where is the best place to buy the stuff, and most importantly, how do you "prove" the work was done to keep warranties intact?
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From the Mazda manual and some "menus" for the service I've seen, this is the list I've compiled so far (besides regular oil changes, I've done no other servicing on the car):
Oil/filter change Y
MAF air filter cleaning Y
Replace air filter (suggestions?) Y K&N pannel filter
Replace cabin air filter (suggestions?) ehh
Replace spark plugs (suggestions that keep warranty in-tact?) Y
Replace manual transmission fluid (manual says it isn't needed until 60k)
Replace rear differential fluid (manual says it isn't needed until 60k)
Check/add brake/clutch fluid Y do this when the car is level
Clean battery terminals (with what, is a wire brush OK?)Y
Grease locks/hinges (what kind is best?)
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Then there are a few things I don't think I can really do (mostly inspections since I don't know what to look for exactly...):
[B]Inspect usually means make sure there aren't any leaks most of that stuff they don't even look at.[ when you have the car in the air just look around for anything leaking./B]
Wheel alignment (I'll just wait til I get new tires which will be really soon)
Inspect Drive Belt (I wouldn't know what to do)
Inspect fuel filter/lines/hoses/etc
Inspect cooling system
Inspect brakes/brake lines
Inspect suspension, ball joints, steering linkages, etc)
Inspect drive shaft dust boots (??)
Other inspections...
Cooling system "pressure" test (what is it?)
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Then I don't think these are needed:
Flush/Replace coolant (manual says not until like 60k?? - I had to add some at one point when the light kept coming on though) Y becuase its easy and why not
Replace fuel filter (should I?)
Flush brake fluid (should I?)
Coils/Wires (do I need to replace these with the spark plugs??) Y and N its your call.. if your having rough idle issues you may want to look into doing those or upgrading to the bhr kit and never having to service it again.
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So - how does this list look? What needs to be changed/added/removed? What places (online or offline) do people suggest for the best prices, and to repeat - how do I prove the work was done so the warranties stay intact?

And finally, for the things I can't do myself, what do you suggest? Should I take it to a dealer or somewhere and ask them just to do all the inspections? I'd guess they would still charge me an arm a leg just for that though...

Thanks!