301,000 miles on a 99 300M!!

[G-MAN]

I met a man yesterday who has a 300M identical to mine; same color and everything. Only difference, where I have 72,000 miles on mine, his is approaching 302,000. He bought it new and is in sales so he's on the road a lot.

Now here's the kicker: He says the only thing that he's ever had to do to it other than routine maintenance is replace the in-tank fuel pump. It's still running on the original 42LE transmission. And it's about to get its third timing belt. Everything else is original, radiator, AC compressor, etc. Amazing.

I guess I can quit worrying about my transmission dying on me now so long as I take care of it.

 

[Mr Nice]

You forgot the most important info about his car...

What oil is he using ??

 

[JHZR2]

That really is the case for any ATs, per my discussions with a good transmission guy...

My father's 94 previa has 200k on his AT and it shifts perfectly, its just had ATF and filter changes, nothing else.

Gentle driving helps a lot too, as does highway driving... that said, the AT in my mother's 97 breeze gets shifted a LOT given her driving profile, and is A-OK at nearly 100k too!

Granted the power going through these trans arent as much as a 300M...

Good luck!

JMH

 

[JHZR2]

quote:

---

You forgot the most important info about his car..

What oil is he using ??

---

lol, probaby supermarket noname...

Sometimes these folks with lots of miles, who travel all the time really use the cheapest stuff, I know a fellow like that.

JMH

 

[buster]

This is why I never sweat these UOA reports in terms of wear metals. Amazing...he probably uses some cheap no name brand as JHZR said.

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

---

Originally posted by LT4 Vette:
You forgot the most important info about his car...

What oil is he using ??

---

Oil changes and service done at the dealership when he's home. Oil changes on the road at any available Quick Lube place. OCI every 3K to 4K, sometimes 5K.

He said he owned two Maximas before the Chrysler and put about 250,000 on each and the Chrysler has been more reliable and that's why he's kept it this long.

 

[The Critic]

quote:

---

Originally posted by G-Man II:
I guess I can quit worrying about my transmission dying on me now so long as I take care of it.

---

Well, 300K of highway driving is much different than a similar amount of city driving, especially for a transmission. Not a fair comparison, but outstanding nevertheless.

Did you ask him what ATF he used? I wouldn't be surprised if the transmission was regularly "flushed" with you favorite fluid

, bulk Dex III and Lubegard from a quick lube.

 

[va3ux]

quote:

---

Did you ask him what ATF he used? I wouldn't be surprised if the transmission was regularly "flushed" with you favorite fluid [Wink] , bulk Dex III and Lubegard from a quick lube.

---

Not likely. One thing you can count on with the 42LE is that it won't survive without ATF+4. Even with ATF+4, many of them don't survive well. Mine has 150K miles (this week), but it's developed a harsh 2-1 downshift.

Phil

 

[G-MAN]

He said all service work was done at the dealership, so the transmission has no doubt had a steady diet of ATF+4. I asked him how many times the fluid had been changed and he said he didn't know, "...but whenever they said it needed it." So it's probably been changed at least twice.

 

[Clyde65]

This is the old FWD 300M we're talking about, correct?

 

[rjundi]

No surprise with highway miles.

 

[Ray H]

Boy, imagine how many miles he coulda racked up if he'd only mended his ways and adopted GBR* extended oil drains...

*Genuine BITOG Recommended

 

[rszappa1]

There are many posts that even with regular service on the 42le that they are still having trouble with it....

 

[LarryL]

This run of 300k miles probably included good driving habits and not a lot of harsh weather. Other similar Chrysler products have not done so well. A friend at work had an Dodge Intrepid that went through two major engine repairs and three transmission replacements. Lots of other things failed, too, and this car saw only short runs, almost all city driving. As soon as the warranty was up he traded it in on a Honda. I would call the amount the dealer gave him on the car, the scrap metal price. But, again, just like the 300 owner you met, another employee had good luck with his Intrepid, the difference that he too put a lot of miles on the car, 125k in three years, with only a transmission replacement. Good driving habits and weather are very important to the life of a car.

 

[lght1]

Hi

quote:

---

This run of 300k miles probably included good driving habits and not a lot of harsh weather.

---

My '97 LSS has 226,000 on the original 4T60E. I've owned it for the last 3 yrs and 160,000 miles, and it has had a filter change every yr, and two other pan "drops" in that same yr for fresh DexIII fills.

A B&M cooler hasnt hurt.

Weather here is less thyan "nice". Filter changes, and frequent, fresh fluid is a must.

 

[Russ300H]

quote:

---

Originally posted by LarryL:
This run of 300k miles probably included good driving habits and not a lot of harsh weather. Other similar Chrysler products have not done so well. A friend at work had an Dodge Intrepid that went through two major engine repairs and three transmission replacements. Lots of other things failed, too, and this car saw only short runs, almost all city driving. As soon as the warranty was up he traded it in on a Honda. I would call the amount the dealer gave him on the car, the scrap metal price. But, again, just like the 300 owner you met, another employee had good luck with his Intrepid, the difference that he too put a lot of miles on the car, 125k in three years, with only a transmission replacement. Good driving habits and weather are very important to the life of a car.

---

Early Intrepids with 2.7 engine had a serious sludge problem causing timing chain failure at about 70k miles. 3.5 engines, standard in the 300 and available in the Intrepid have been known to easily surpass 200K. I know of a few earlier 3.5 engines ('93 to '97) that made it to 300K on Fram filters and bulk oil. They were company cars for district managers at a local auto parts store. I couldn't find out about the transmissions. I assume at least one or two per car.

 

[99]

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Critic:

quote:

---

Originally posted by G-Man II:
I guess I can quit worrying about my transmission dying on me now so long as I take care of it.

---

Well, 300K of highway driving is much different than a similar amount of city driving, especially for a transmission.

---

Exactly. This trans would've never made it this far if it hadn't been for the highway miles. Any auto trans runs it's coolest on the highway and the lack of shifting for miles on end adds tons of life to the clutch packs and torque converter clutch. Don't even remotely expect this kind of life out of your auto trans if you do any amount of stop and go driving day in and day out.

 

[GT Mike]

That's impressive for that drivetrain. The engine itself I'd have had no worries about, but the tranny has developed a less-than-stellar reliability record.

We recently sold a '96 Bonneville SSEi that had 319,000 on it when we sold it. The young guy that owns it now has well over 330,000 on it with no reported failures.