Preventative Maintenance
According to 14 CFR 1.1, preventative maintenance simple or minor preservation operations and the replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations.
Any certificated pilot may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot, so long as it is not being operated for part 121, 129, or 135 operations. - 43.3
Allowed items of preventative maintenance are listed and limited to the items of 14 CFR 43 Appendix A(c).
For instance, the following are allowed as preventative maintenance items:
- Removal, installation, and repair of landing gear tires
- Lubrication not requiring disassembly other than removal of nonstructural items
- Replacing safety belts
- Replacing bulbs, reflectors, and lenses of position and landing lights
- Replacing and servicing batteries
- Cleaning or replacing fuel and oil strainers or filter elements