Older car, long trips

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If you have taken care of it I wouldn't worry. My 2000 Jeep Cherokee with the 4 liter I-6 has around 115k on it and I'd drive it cross-country tomorrow if I had to.
 
Originally Posted By: Danh
Originally Posted By: hsd
I drive my 2000 Honda Accord with 138k miles on 2500 mile trips twice a year for the past 5 years. Its always run perfectly on all of these trips. The Honda auto trans is very similar to the Acura trans. Only extra maintenance I do is change the ATF every 20-30k and run a Magnefine filter.


Thanks for the comment. That transmission is a 4 speed, right? How long have you been using the Magnefine filter? Any complications with it? Just splice it into the ATF return hose from the radiator?


Yes my Accord has the 4 speed auto. I have been using the Magenefine for about 2-3 years now (25k miles?). Its spliced into the cooling return hose. No problems other than is seeps slightly at the big end like some others have reported. Not an issue for me. I also switched from Z1 to Maxlife when I installed the Magnefine.
 
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I bought a nearly 30 YO MB diesel with 162k miles on it all the way on the other side of the country and drove it back. All I did was bring a suitcase of tools.

The most important question is how handy are you?

Even when doing that and driving Rte 66 back home, I was never insecure over being OK to get to safety with my iphone and AAA membership. Some auto parts store was never far away.
 
I wouldn't. The transmission on those TLs are serious turds. The 4-speed auto on the 99 isn't nearly as bad as the 00-03's 5-speed, but I still would not trust it, sorry.
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
The only real concern seems to be to be the hoses.---

Your hoses likely have the same likelihood to break if the trip is short or not. If they are good on the outside they are likely good on the inside.----


I disagree. I just saw some rad hoses on a '98 astro that looked fine on the outside, and when I squeezed the upper, it was crunchy. When I showed the owner, it split in my hand and started weeping.
 
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
The only real concern seems to be to be the hoses.---

Your hoses likely have the same likelihood to break if the trip is short or not. If they are good on the outside they are likely good on the inside.----


I disagree. I just saw some rad hoses on a '98 astro that looked fine on the outside, and when I squeezed the upper, it was crunchy. When I showed the owner, it split in my hand and started weeping.


I've driven six Hondas (Acura) since 1980 to well over 100k and never had a radiator hose failure. Maybe I am just lucky, but their hoses seem to be better quality than some other cars.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
I wouldn't. The transmission on those TLs are serious turds. The 4-speed auto on the 99 isn't nearly as bad as the 00-03's 5-speed, but I still would not trust it, sorry.


If that's really the case and as the the transmission replacement cost is approaching the value of the car, I guess the only rational thing to do is sell it.

Unfortunately, information on the subject of 99s is pretty anecdotal - there are stories of several failures with low mileage in the same car and stories of long, untroubled service. And no way to correlate failures with driving style, environment and maintenance, all of which surely play a role.

Conclusion: who knows?
 
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