Longest you went without doing that repair...

[billt460]

I've had a leaky rear main oil seal on my 1991 F-150 for the better part of 20+ years, and close to 100,000 miles. I have no intention of fixing it. In fact, now that I've switched to High Mileage oil, it has gotten less and less. Trans drips a little as well. But as long as it shifts good, and doesn't slip, I'm not going to bother with it either. If drip pans were good enough under the SR-71 when it was parked, they're plenty good under my F-150.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I once managed to drive for a couple months with a malfunctioning thermostat. Must have been opening too early or stuck open. This was on a late 1980s Pontiac, it never set the engine light and it didn't have a temperature gauge. Noticed that the heater didn't seem to be working particularly well when fall started, but didn't really look into it. It was when I noticed the torque converter would engage and disengage at odd times, so I wired in a test light to see when it was engaged. I noticed the TC would engage going up hills, and after starting down hills, it would disengage after a while. Then I got stuck in a line at a toll booth one day, and the heater became quite toasty while sitting in line, and the TC worked fine for a while after leaving, until the heater cooled off and the TC dropped out. Say, I think maybe the thermostat isn't working right. New thermostat, and the heater and TC worked way better.

 

[Silver]

I'm getting like that. With kids, work and not enough space to keep a repair project out of the way I'm hesitant to do just about anything but change the oil.

I just changed the plugs and coils on my wife's van at 106k. I knew it needed done at 100k or before but just didn't want to do it. Upon a massive cylinder #5 misfire I started looking up parts. Well that took an hour to finally find the parts I wanted in the quantities I needed.

My 5.4 Triton needs a timing job (of course it does, it's a Triton!) and I keep putting it off.

Car needs an a/c compressor and power steering pump. Front tires are bald on the edges with a couple ridges left towards the middles and apparently wearing way faster on the insides. I'll do a DIY alignment... or maybe I won't. I mean the front end pops but part of that is the cv joints I'm sure, and I think one of the bearings is going out too.

 

[PF52]

I once managed to drive for a couple months with a malfunctioning thermostat. Must have been opening too early or stuck open. This was on a late 1980s Pontiac, it never set the engine light and it didn't have a temperature gauge. Noticed that the heater didn't seem to be working particularly well when fall started, but didn't really look into it. It was when I noticed the torque converter would engage and disengage at odd times, so I wired in a test light to see when it was engaged. I noticed the TC would engage going up hills, and after starting down hills, it would disengage after a while. Then I got stuck in a line at a toll booth one day, and the heater became quite toasty while sitting in line, and the TC worked fine for a while after leaving, until the heater cooled off and the TC dropped out. Say, I think maybe the thermostat isn't working right. New thermostat, and the heater and TC worked way better.

I had a car with EXACTLY those symptoms. No heat at all on the highway, especially in bitter cold weather, but reasonable heat when stuck in traffic. Lockup TCC would unlock itself once I hit the highway and I'd spin along a couple-three hundred RPMs higher than normal. But around town it was perfectly normal. One day I realized it was probably the thermostat to blame.... A new $7 thermostat and both issues were fixed.

 

[PF52]

On the same car as above, however, it eventually developed a little crack on one of the radiator tanks... Any time the ambient temperature dropped sharply overnight, it would leak a little coolant. Winter, summer; it didn't matter. If today was 20 degrees cooler than yesterday, i'd get a small leak. Otherwise, it was fine. This went on for a couple years until finally the crack worsened and I had to throw in the towel and buy a new radiator.

 

[UG_Passat]

At 200,000 miles... on my old Passat... I went another year and didn't fix, things that was due:

1) Timing belt/water pump
2) Clutch & Flywheel
3) Intake cleaning

,,,at 217,000 miles, I traded the car in and got a new car instead.

 

[Bud_One]

Personally , 9 years 110k miles .
I bought my Accord wagon in 2012 , 134k miles.
It needed rotors due to excessive steering wheel shake when braking in a panic situation.
I just keep driving it. It has captive rotors . I was in no hurry to replace them. It stopped and didn't make noise.
Finally I had both front hub bearings go out .
I replaced them along with new rotors that were purchase in 2015 two weeks ago.
Current mileage 243,934 miles.

 

[wpod]

I've had a leaky rear main oil seal on my 1991 F-150 for the better part of 20+ years, and close to 100,000 miles. I have no intention of fixing it. In fact, now that I've switched to High Mileage oil, it has gotten less and less. Trans drips a little as well. But as long as it shifts good, and doesn't slip, I'm not going to bother with it either. If drip pans were good enough under the SR-71 when it was parked, they're plenty good under my F-150.

SR 71 drip pans are special drip pans.

 

[Chris142]

21 years on a broken windshield. No new available. Finally found a good one in picapart. 1973 international pickup.

 

[Andrew1972]

150k-250k on my 95 Civic Walmart changed the oil. Nothing else. Radiator failed as coolant was pegging into H and I sold it for $2000.

 

[Kestas]

Not a repair, but I once ran an air filter for 110,000 miles before it tripped a code. It didn't look too bad, but sure enough you couldn't see light through it.

 

[CR94]

Long, long ago, when heaters were optional, my parents bought a Chevy with no heater, but had the dealer install the OE-type heater. It had an "Outside Air" setting and and "Inside Air" (i.e., recirculate) setting, but the outside setting was unusable in winter because a lot of cold air came out one of the outlets---despite the owner's manual recommending that setting. Very odd, I thought. Despite being fastidious about maintenance in many ways, my father didn't realize there was a problem, so it stayed that way for roughly 12 years, by which time the car had been replaced as their primary car. I was about 16 then, and belatedly realized that the whole problem was the the dealer mechanic who installed the heater failed to adjust one of the control cables properly. I adjusted it, and the heater finally worked properly for the car's final few years.

 

[Doc8404]

I went about a year with a severely blown out exhaust manifold on my truck. cracked between 1 and 2, rotted completely out between 2 and 3 and the ear was broken off on 4 so the corner was completely gone.

I had a post on here about it , but as soon as it would hit closed loop, it would max out the fuel trim on bank 1 and run on 4 cylinders. I could smell the raw fuel on the passenger side. But it was always a pain , because it would start running on 4 cylinders right as I would start to hit US11 any time I drove it. I would have to sit for a minute or two trying to get it to run right, then it would figure itself out (assuming running on some sort of default strategy as emergency ?) and run okay.

It gradually got worse too. One of the times towing my Jeep to an off road park with it and got 4 MPG. Really had to have my foot in it because the AFR was way off and it was down on power. On one of the hills, my friend noticed the floor was getting really hot on his side.

Sounds like an older F150

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Sounds like an older F150

Well the engine is from a F150! But we transplanted it into the F-350

So here's something funny ... I had the exhaust manifold done after that post, and it blew out again. So I had to do it yet again!

Something with the 5.4 and blowing right exhaust manifolds!

But some more repairs with this engine that I've been putting off: leaky head gasket, broken ears on transmission where it bolts to the mount.

 

[tblt44]

Long time

 

[Gimpy1]

The only time I delay the repair is if the part is back ordered or its over 100 degrees outside (Im on Texas)I've learned the hard way that delaying repaors makes the more expensive. Like ignoring the squealer on your brakes goes from a simple pad swap to a pad and rotor swap etc

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Have a real need to replace the rear strut (leaking & bouncy) on the passenger side of my 2009 Honda Accord. Well. When ever I get to it they will all 4 be replaced along with a 4 wheel alignment. Its just that I only use the car to go from house to store or the Doctor.... Less than 5 miles that its easy to keep putting it off. Not normal for me thought. I usually fix everything ASAP.

 

[Doc8404]

Well the engine is from a F150! But we transplanted it into the F-350

So here's something funny ... I had the exhaust manifold done after that post, and it blew out again. So I had to do it yet again!

Something with the 5.4 and blowing right exhaust manifolds!

But some more repairs with this engine that I've been putting off: leaky head gasket, broken ears on transmission where it bolts to the mount.

Sounds like my 2001 5.4

Sold it to a Marine down the road. He drives by daily and I cringe.