Am I killing my car with TLC?

[Finz]

Been reading thru BITOG for years and see lots of posts about "drive like it's stolen", Fuel Dilution, Italian Tune ups, lots of people showing FAR higher RPMs while driving as compared to me,...

Figured I'd throw this out there for a general consensus as to whether or not I am "babying" my car(s) too much and whether or not I should change some routines in order to better care for the car.

Some Car detail:

2005 4 cyl Honda Accord owned since new

160,0000 miles - the first 120k: lots of highway runs. Last 40k: predominantly short hops with a monthly 200 r/t run on highways

Car has been using M1 0W-20 since new with 5,000 OCI

Fram Tough Guard or Pure Ones

PCV replaced twice so far

Trans fluid changed every 30k or sooner

Other Maint items per schedule

Used Lucas UCL for years with a recent switch to TC-W3

Last oil change, I added MoS2 - that was about 600 miles ago

About 1,000 miles ago or slightly less, I've noticed that the car now has a bit if a tick at start up - granted it's getting colder and, from all that I've read, this is typical of Hondas

How I use the car:

1. I allow the car to warm up at cold starts (summer/winter). A few minutes at least as I like to get the juices flowing before introducing any load

2. I rarely get the RPMs to anything over 2,000 - can't recall when it hit 2,500. Slow and steady wins the race -that's my motto. That applies to highway or around town

3. I rarely go over 60 mph on highways (in slow lane) so wave as you fly by (or honk like everyone else)

4. I'm reluctant to perform any ITO's - for the most part, my driving area doesn't allow for it to be done safely and I hate the idea of hammering the engine like that

5. The car is running well although it takes a little longer than I like for it to start in the mornings

6. I feel that the 5,000 OCI will help to mitigate any fuel dilution

7. Never had a UOA performed (3 kids in college so the $25 - $30 is used to buy a chapter or 2 of some text book about Cave man art appreciation or something)


My questions:

* Is my granny style of driving doing the car a disservice?
* Am I safeguarding the car from normal wear?
* What would you change and why?

One favor to ask upfront: if you're anti-MMO, TC-W3, UCLs,... that's totally fine. But, as you can see above, I like them and use them. Respect that please - you won't change my mind and I promise not to try and change yours'. Hope that's not too offensive

 

[eljefino]

You've got to get this thing up to 4-5K RPM once in a while. But otherwise you're at least paying attention to the transmission.

There's a dunkin donuts up your way with a BITOG member with a chevy blazer who loves overdoing chemicals.

 

[Finz]

LOL... Rats - I forgot to add that DDonuts vs Starbucks comment

 

[nitehawk55]

I wouldn't say your killing it but you are pampering it a bit too much .

I think the 30K transmission fluid intervals are a bit much , 50K would still be generous for the way your using it . I don't think you need to use fuel system cleaners so much , a couple times a year would be plenty spring/fall .
For the oil changes and what you are using oil additives are not needed nor are UOA's and I think you could push your OCI's a bit longer , maybe 6-8K depending on amount of use and time .

You really should give it a bit of an ITO and you could do that by putting it in a lower gear when on the highway and running it up to 60mph for a while keeping the RPMS at around 4-5K which won't hurt it under load .

Sounds like it's a great car !

 

[Finz]

Thanks Nitehawk... it is a great car - very happy with it

Lower gear to bump RPMs - should I expect to see smoke (carbon) coming out the exhaust?

How often should this be done?

I know M1 can go a lot longer than 5k but even before I heard of Fuel Dilution, I just can't bring myself to do it... too old school and the 3k OCIs still feel like yesterday to me

 

[nitehawk55]

If 5K OCI's makes you happy and sleep well it's fine , you aren't doing anything wrong .

I would get the RPM's up every so often when the conditions allow , once every 2 months or so would be lots I think . You may see some puffs of black carbon come out (and feel it too) but chances are it won't be noticeable but if it is then you know it should be done more often till it cleans up .

I had a 1968 Olds 98 years back I bought that had putted around the city all it's life with a 455 in it if I recall correctly...been a while .
Anyway , I live outside the city and the first time driving it home I nailed it . What a show , black smoke , engine missing , lurching , backfiring....I'm lucky it didn't blow . It took doing this several times till it cleaned up but what a difference in how it ran and performed !!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Hey Finz. Our CR-V has a very similar drivetrain, and I do very similar maintenance on ours. I, too, change the oil at 5,000 mile intervals, and like you, I'm currently using Mobil 1 0W-20. It could go longer, but I'm not here to save money and I simply enjoy changing the oil every 5,000 miles. I change the transmission fluid even more often than you do, but that is because both of our vehicles came to us pre-owned and now that I have much of the old fluid "cycled out", I think I do plan to move to every 30k miles like you are doing. I don't use the oil additives myself, but you certainly don't appear to be hurting anything by using them.

The only thing I'd suggest that goes against what you've been doing is to rev that engine up some. I can drive our CR-V around at less than 2,500 rpm all day long, but the engine's a peach...it loves to rev, it's smooth while doing so, and you do likely keep any carbon build-up at bay. You also do your oil a favor by getting it to a higher temperature.

But here again, your routine has been working for you. So if it pains you to rev it up, or you'll feel guilty or lose sleep over it, why change anything you've been doing at this point?

 

[dparm]

Stop letting the car idle for extended periods to warm it up. Pollutes a lot, bad for the oil, bad for the car. Just drive it -- engine load will get it warmed up quickly.

And yes, stop babying the car so much. Driving that slowly is probably annoying to the other drivers on the road.

 

[Brule]

I must have missed it but I guess you have the 2.4. My 2.0 is rarely below 2000 rpms. It also consumes a lot of oil at 224k miles.

Granny-style driving is saving you a lot of money on tires and suspension parts I can only assume. Tires by far have been the biggest expense during my civic's 104k miles of ownership.

I don't think you are hurting your engine by being gentle. Why not try a different oil like a shell or COP product to see if that start up noise goes away?

 

[Astro14]

You are killing it...poor car...in fact, it's only miles from being totally dead...and really, the best thing for you to do is sell it before it dies completely.

You would never be able to sell a well-maintained, gently driven car with all highway miles...everyone is looking for a car that's driven hard in the city, with maintenance ignored in favor of installing a coffee-can exhaust...

I would be glad to help you out of this unfortunate situation that you've created...by buying your car from you...purely as an act of charity...

 

[nitehawk55]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
You are killing it...poor car...in fact, it's only miles from being totally dead...and really, the best thing for you to do is sell it before it dies completely.

You would never be able to sell a well-maintained, gently driven car with all highway miles...everyone is looking for a car that's driven hard in the city, with maintenance ignored in favor of installing a coffee-can exhaust...

I would be glad to help you out of this unfortunate situation that you've created...by buying your car from you...purely as an act of charity...


And looking at your sig you need another car ?
Hahaha!

 

[cutter]

Get moving immediately when you start the car up, you're just wasting gasoline. While you're moving, you can grandma it for the first 5-10 minutes. Then you need to just relax and enjoy driving. Go fast sometimes. Listen to the noise of high rpm. Just feel... something.

 

[blackman777]

Originally Posted By: Finz
2. I rarely get the RPMs to anything over 2,000 - can't recall when it hit 2,500. Slow and steady wins the race -that's my motto. That applies to highway or around town

That's a bit extreme. It would be good to get your Honda above 3000 and exercise the VTEC camshift a bit. Also rapid accel to the top 5th gear gives better highway MPG. (5th is more efficient than lower gears.) 1500-1600 rpm gives the best fuel economy once you are in 5th.

As for costs I stopped doing major service on my old car when I realized the $1200 timing belt service was more than just buying a used model ($400). I figure if the car dies I can just get another one and save 800 dollars.

 

[bruno]

Does your car have mechanical lifters ? If so they may need adjusting .

 

[andyd]

Originally Posted By: bruno
Does your car have mechanical lifters ? If so they may need adjusting .
Good point. DIL's '99 CRV , twin cam 4 cyl. burnt #4 exhaust valve. Seat recession tightened the lash. This was at 105K miles. Another point regarding lifter noise is that a little is better than none because there is not enough lash. I replaced both #4 exhaust valves only, and it is still putting around 75 K later.It had mechanical tappets. Sweet engine, even though it runs backwards and is side wise, wrong wheel drive.

 

[nitehawk55]

Just wondering...you look after the engine and drivetrain real well but have you done any rustproofing to save the body ?

 

[Finz]

LOL... I didn't make the speed limits dparm. I just follow them

Bad for the oil? How do you figure?

Bad for the car? How do you figure?

Bad for the environment? OK, I'll give you that one but I compost and change my underwear every third day so let's call it a wash

 

[Finz]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
You are killing it...poor car...in fact, it's only miles from being totally dead...and really, the best thing for you to do is sell it before it dies completely.

You would never be able to sell a well-maintained, gently driven car with all highway miles...everyone is looking for a car that's driven hard in the city, with maintenance ignored in favor of installing a coffee-can exhaust...

I would be glad to help you out of this unfortunate situation that you've created...by buying your car from you...purely as an act of charity...


LMAO...! You're all heart Astro

 

[Finz]

Bruno... Good call and I forgot about that.

I wanted to check the valves once I noticed the ticking and it could very well be valve lash but the weekends just fly by too quickly. I plan on doing that before it gets too cold out

 

[Finz]

No rustproofing and, so far, the body is clean.

I did get tagged by Sandy last year and lost the rear window... you wouldn't believe the amount of work that went into repairing THAT: over $7,000 worth of damage. Roof, trunk, bumper, front window... thank God for insurance. I can't believe they didn't total it