ot High Mileage Vehicles

Anonymous-0 · Dec 22, 2011

I have been seeing several of you posting high mileage on your vehicles. Question - to what do you attribute your success? Synthetic oil? How often do you change your oil?

Bob Huntress · Dec 22, 2011

On reason that Trucks especially are getting to such high miles is that the vehicle cost so much new that even if the engine blows, it is usually worth the money to simply replace the engine as opposed to buying another truck. A good heavy truck with four wheel drive and a good set of options is worth a lot. If even a major component needs replacing, and a new truck cost a double fortune, repairing the truck is the most cost effective thing to do.

sammy the RED · Dec 22, 2011

Don't let women drive it.

ridgelane · Dec 22, 2011

We retired two cars, both had over 600,000 kms on them and still running well when parked.

Nothing special to operating, just oil changes at 2000 kms, regular multigrade oil. I don't ride them hard but I don't baby them either.

Bob Huntress · Dec 22, 2011

I'll give you an example. I have a 1992 Chevy 2500 with four wheel drive. I have had it close to 10 years, and at about 285,000 miles the engine went. It would not maintain oil pressure. A used engine with low miles only cost me $1200, while a new truck, even used, would cost $3000-$6000. My truck with a different engine now has 335,000 miles.

Truck · Dec 22, 2011

I drive for a living...150,000 or more miles a year. I buy used trucks with a little body damage, and maintain them at a normal schedule. So far I have gotten 300000 plus from several older Toyotas, two Chevys and a Ford ...I don't beat them to death, let them warm up especially when they get older, fix them when they are broken, and don't let them sit a lot over wet dirt or park them over grass, and normally stay out of the salt in the winter.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 23, 2011

Good roads also..... Was looking on line for a possible replacement for my little KIA sportage..... Saw several KIA Sorentos with 400-650k KM on them and still looked very good.......
My Brother has a 79 F150 4x4 that is prolly pushing 400k now...

John_PA · Dec 23, 2011

the best way to get high mileage is to drive daily more than 30 minutes per day, and change oil, fix things when they break and don't do stupid things.

Lots of my buddies take their new trucks to the mud pit... They don't last. regular use and maintenance will keep anything running a long time. average vehicle life for me is 150,000 miles before I just get plain tired of looking at the same vehicle.

My best was 410,000 miles on a 1995 F250. second was a 1990 ford Taurus... 401,000 miles when the tranny gave out for the second time. replaced teh tranny with a junkyard unit and sold it. It lasted the next guy 1 year after that.

Allan in NE · Dec 23, 2011

When I first started working for Chevy, a 50,000-mile outfit was, for all intents and purposes, nearing the end of it's run.

Computer controlled (perfect ratio) fuel delivery, electronic (precise) ignition systems and the addition of the overdriven transmissions (slower/fewer engine revs) automatically pushed the normal 'lifetime' miles to upwards of 300K.

When I was a boy, we normally set the cold fast idle speed to 1800 rpm to insure a good cold start. Heck, ya don’t even see the darned things hit 1600 running down the hi-way nowadays. :>)

Allan

oldtanker · Dec 23, 2011

Our Suburban has 255,000 on it at the cost of several sets of brakes, an alternator, one wheel bearing and fuel pump......ya would think that a fuel pump would last more than 250,000.....LOL..... Got rid of an Exploder at 225,000, and Crown Vic at 250,000 and a Town Car at 250,000 and an F250 at 400,000 an Olds at 225,000. Wouldn't call that luck.

Regular oil changes, no hot rodding or 4 wheeling. We are in the country so most of our driving is far enough to warm everything up good and evaporate any condensation.

Precise engine controls as mentioned. Thats a big boost. I use a regular oil 5-30W and 3000 mile changes.

You can argue motor oil till the cows come home but the simple facts are that 2 things ruin oil. Heat and contamination. That's what kills normal oil. The contamination from normal running and repeated heating. Synthetics can endure much higher heat without failing. Both get contaminated at the same rate. Worst thing is condensation. Letting an engine/tranny get up to operating temps and keeping it there until that moisture can evaporate out is a big help. On older carb fitted engine you had a bit of gas that got int he oil too. Worst time was cold start and the extra rich conditions cause by the choke. Another thing is filters. They are not all created equal. They all have a bypass built into them so that the engine will not starve for oil once they become plugged. But some filter much longer than others. Not all oils are the same. Look up properties of different oils.

Rick

flambeauone · Dec 23, 2011

I commute 54 miles one way to work (most I work with do also). I believe the key to a high mileage vehicle is maintenance. I change oil every 5000 and use wix filters. Ive had a Saturn with 270000 before I sold it, a Cummins Dodge with close to 300000 on it, a 97 camry with 276000 and my current work car is a Honda CRV with 195000. Id drive any of these vehicles anywhere. Like I said though maintenance. Change the oil yourself, turn wrenches when they need it dont wait.

S.Crum · Dec 23, 2011

It mostly has to do with the attitude of the vehicle owner. I love to deal with the "everything must be perfect" bunch, I've driven their cast-off's for most of the 35 years I've been driving. I buy a truck with 140 or 150 K miles on it dirt cheap, it has a few dents or a little rust, maybe needs a couple hours of wrench work and a hundred bucks in parts, and aside from normal stuff, I'm usually set for the next 50,000 miles or so. So I'm not too proud. Sorry!

ASEguy · Dec 23, 2011

I don't run my vehicle's hard and I change all the fluids when I feel they need it. I also replace filters, plugs,wires "etc" on schedule.

flambeauone · Dec 23, 2011

I commute 54 miles one way to work (most I work with do also). I believe the key to a high mileage vehicle is maintenance. I change oil every 5000 and use wix filters. Ive had a Saturn with 270000 before I sold it, a Cummins Dodge with close to 300000 on it, a 97 camry with 276000 and my current work car is a Honda CRV with 195000. Id drive any of these vehicles anywhere. Like I said though maintenance. Change the oil yourself, turn wrenches when they need it dont wait.

Pair-a-dice farm · Dec 23, 2011

I try to get at least 250K miles out of a vehicle before I retire it or trade. I haven't had to replace an engine in over 30 years. I think that better roads, fuel injection are probably the biggest reason for longevity. Maintenance is another component as well as not using a truck for more than it was intended. Currently I have 3 Fords, 2 Chevy's and a Dodge with over 100K, one of the fords has over 275K.

showcrop · Dec 23, 2011

I believe that the biggest factor is how the miles are put on. If a vehicle is driven primarily highway and stays warm all day the motor and gear cases etc. will get condensation in them once a day and will have just one cold start per day. I have read that something like a fifth of an engine's wear takes place during cold starts. obviously the transmission shifts a lot less on the highway. Years ago a UPS line haul truck in the southeast set a record of a million miles without a major overhaul, because it ran 24 hours per day on relatively level going. If your driving is primarily AM and PM commutes, with two cold starts per day, that is severe conditions so your vehicle needs twice as many services as a primarily highway driven vehicle.

Stephen Newell · Dec 23, 2011

The environmentalists now are trying to get everybody to wait until they have 7000 or more miles before oil change. I believe this will result in excessive engine wear. They're so narrow minded that all they're looking at is saving oil, not the emissions from a worn engine. I have four old cars and I change the oil on one of them the first of each month. This way the oil gets changed in each vehicle every four months and it's not such a job to do all of them at once.

jose bagge · Dec 23, 2011

hoenestly- the vehicles are just that much better. I had a 1996 Civic go 325,000 for me before I SOLD it (got a grand)- never had the head off, original clutch, only did the timing belt once and often went 10,000 miles between oil changes-never flushed any fluids, hoses, clamps OE. 2002 Suburban w/ 170k, 2006 HD2500 w/ 180K, 2009 F150 with 165K: none of them really being cared for well, changing oil when the lights tell me to and regularly doing fuel filter on the deisel. Might be the lucky horse shoe we keep under the floor matt on each one.

Traditional Farmer · Dec 23, 2011

Run the He11 out of them and change oil every 10,000 miles or so,has worked for my 1992 Ford Ranger with 200,000+ miles and still going strong.

John M · Dec 23, 2011

My wifes 01 LeSabre bit the dust wuth 317000 miles on it. (MAJOR electrical I couldnt justify fixing, but someone else did) The oil got changed maybe evey 10000 miles, often going 15000, on REGULAR oil, not synthetic. NEVER had any serious problems with the engine, except an alternater. I dont buy into the sythetic hype, never have on oil, maybe trans fluid, or rear end lube, maybe even power steering fluid, but not oil. This car was driven daily, stayed warm from the time it was started, until she got home in the evenings, so about 8 - 10 hours a day. It did have a very small oil leak, and I added a quart before she left the moring the harness shorted out, what I could see inside the valve cover looked just as good as the day we got it.

welled deers · Dec 23, 2011

Have a 95 explorer with 245k miles on it. Oil was changed every 3ooo miles and changed all fluids as required. Still starts and runs like new and the only repair was a fuel pump. Still has the factory exhaust. We live in the country (northern Minnesota) and do drive a minimum of 20 miles whenever it is started. I don't idle it when cold, but do drive slow until it is warm. My goal is to get 250K miles minimum on all my vehicles.

Regular oil changes, getting the engine warm and good driving habits are key to long mileage - my opinion

LJD · Dec 23, 2011

I had a 87 diesel Suburban that made it to 520K. Always used conventional Shell Rotella T. That was just a freak. But when the engine block lost two main bearing webs and crank snapped into three pieces - I examined what was left. Bearing and crank journals still looked near new. Cylinder walls still had factory cross-hatch marks.

I also know a logger who bought a brand new Chevy LUV diesel pickup many years ago -early 80s. He hated the truck and NEVER-EVER changed the oil. He figured he'd run it into the ground. He made it to 120K and then sold it - still running fine. Had the little 2.2 Isuzu diesel that was built from an gas-engine platform.

I've got 10 cars and trucks. All with at least 150K. My 92 Dodge-Cummins and my 94 Ford F250 with an IDI turbo 7.3 both have over 300K. All run fine and I've never used any synthetic oil - not the real stuff or the fake stuff made from hydrocracked petro.

Dean · Dec 23, 2011

Most modern vehicles will operate for several hundred thousand miles if most of the mileage is highway travel and the vehicle is serviced regularly and not abused.

Dean

Ky. Hauler · Dec 23, 2011

I sold my 1993 Ford Econoline van I did home repairs out of. It rusted away. (Bought in Bloomington, In.) It had 140K on it when I bought it, and 240K on it when I sold it. Ran like a top, nary a leak, maybe a cup of oil every 4000 miles at oil change. Then I know people who can't get 100k out of a car. I think they probably run them low on oil and won't admit it.

Clodbuster · Dec 23, 2011

Modern engines are made to very exacting tolerances that could not easily be met with older machining technology. I have read that newer engines with 100K miles still have much closer tolerances than older engines had when they were brand new. Add in fuel injection not washing down the cylinder walls and contaminating the oil and you can get some long life out of an engine if all goes well. I'm young at 45 and I can remember when any car or pickup was considered worn out at 100K miles, now they are just getting broken in! Synthetic oil is great for a race engine or where the oil will be pushed to heat limits but not really needed in a normal engine. Check what the manufacturer recommends.

GordoSD · Dec 23, 2011

Wix filters every 5000 miles. Easy to know when to change, on 5000 and 10,000s.
Have never had to open an engine in 55 years of driving both new and used.

tjdub · Dec 23, 2011

By the time one of my vehicles hit 250K, they're so rusted out that they're probably not safe to drive anyway. 3 miles of rock-chipping gravel as a prep before I hit the long Minnesota salt-lanes guarantees that. I've never worried about using synthetic oil, because what use is a high mileage motor after the vehicle has rotted out from around it? I change timing belts every 100k, other than that, I don't do anything but change the oil (and not very often).

oldtanker · Dec 23, 2011

(quoted from post at 10:30:52 12/23/11) By the time one of my vehicles hit 250K, they're so rusted out that they're probably not safe to drive anyway. 3 miles of rock-chipping gravel as a prep before I hit the long Minnesota salt-lanes guarantees that. I've never worried about using synthetic oil, because what use is a high mileage motor after the vehicle has rotted out from around it? I change timing belts every 100k, other than that, I don't do anything but change the oil (and not very often).

I think thats another factor in the life of ours. While we do live in MN we are right on MN highway 210 so most of our driving is on paved roads.

Rick

BANDITFARMER · Dec 23, 2011

I bought a 1995 F350 new 5.8 auto and used Ford oil and filters till it hit 30000 miles and the warranty ran out. After that it was changed to Pennzoil 10W30 and a Ford filter, When it hit 100.000 miles it was changed to 10W40 Pennzoil. At 180.000 miles it was 30W summer and 10W40 Pennzoil in the winter. At 250000 I started adding a bottle of STP to the oil change. The truck now has 294.000 miles on it and the oil and filter was changed every 3000 to 3500 miles and has never had the valve covers off and is still running strong! I don't believe in switching oils brands and I have never had engine problems because of Pennzoil in my trucks, tractors, combines of anything else I run. (The oil Nazi will be after me now!) I don't know if its the way I drive or the oil I use but I can get lots of miles out of a car or truck that I drive. To be fair my wife had an Astro van with a 4.3 that had 315.000 miles on it(original engine) when she sold it, its still running today. Good oil and filters make a difference! Bandit

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