Originally Posted by stanlee
How many starters, alternators, sensors, water pumps, gaskets etc did you change in the process? I'm sure I could make it to at least 500k miles but on many engines it's just not sensible financially For example a water pump was $30 on my engine and I have the ability to change it myself. Most auxiliary engine repairs on THAT engine follow that trend (cheap parts, not too complex to do yourself). Now if I have a 3 valve 5.4 Ford do you think I'm going to do all these $1000 jobs (cam phaser every 100k, worn roller rocker arms every 150k etc...stuff that breaks so often you are fooled into believing it's maintenance) to keep one with high miles going. No it's getting junked even if it runs because nobody wants to repeat $1000 jobs to keep a 400k mile engine and car with no value running.
Don't tell me you did nothing but change filters and oil. Things wear out in 930k miles no matter how reliable the engine is.
Right, and I can't stand it when people gloss over this stuff and make it seem like they did "nothing but fluid changes" on their way to super high mileage. Not possible.
I took a Honda Accord to 300,000 (well actually 289,000 before I sold it). Great car, owned since new and meticulously maintained, but it took some work to get it that far....
Engine mounts twice (and 3 times for the front mount)
EGR valve, vtec solenoids, O2 sensors, 3 timing belts/water pumps, hoses, belts, radiator. When I sold it the thing was burning 2 quarts in 3,000 miles despite 3,000 mile oil changes.
And those ^^^were more engine related things...that doesn't include...
tranny switches
rack and pinion, axles, control arms (4 times), tie rods, ball joints, brake and fuel lines, gas tank, evap charcoal canister TWICE, struts, engine cradle (that was a real fun one), five mufflers, several bandaid repairs to the rest of the exhaust system, brake calipers (twice), recalls, countless bulbs, radio, 3 windshields and at least ten other things I'm forgetting.
The only thing I never had an issue with was the transmission, but that's because I did drain and fills every 15,000 miles - which sounds ridiculous but Honda suggested frequent changes because their transmissions were prone to failures (class action suit, extended warranty, etc).
And this was a great car, it really was. But it did need "stuff" along the way. And no, it didn't "run great" the entire time. I also hate it when people say that, because it's either not true or they're just not paying attention. The braking system in the Accord never acted 100% "like new" after I reached 100,000 miles. It'd pull a little. Replaced calipers, hoses...pads, rotors. Nothing ever seemed to get it to that "new feel" again. It was safe, so I lived with it. And the car also had a slight vibration when I reached 150,000 miles...never could figure it out...rotated/balanced tires, replaced rims, replaced tires, replaced axles. Never figured it out. And at around 200,000 miles the idle became a little "touchy", it would stall on occasion if the AC was on if you weren't paying attention...tried everything...replaced the IAC motor, took the intake off and cleaned the EGR ports, made sure the coolant level was where it was supposed to be, cleaned the throttle body. Nothing. Never could get that right.
Oh, and for all the Seafoam lovers out there...don't waste your time. I Seafoamed this car as part of my regular maintenance schedule, it did absolutely NOTHING. ZERO. ZILCH. When I removed that intake it looked like I had never EVER ran a cleaner through it. Or when I removed the throttle body or IAC? Same thing.