What are the most critical preventative maintenance parts on older vehicles?
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AutoMechanic
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Suspension stuff if it broke you wouldn’t be going anywhere
Brakes and tires are critical.
Like any other car I guess...
Like any other car I guess...
Brakes, bushings, ball joints, bearings. Like AM said, if you can't roll, you're not moving.
By PM, you mean changing out parts before they break. I'm not changing out suspension parts as part of PM. Inspect them and change out if they look sketchy but other than that they are staying. I'd only change out alternator or thermostat or coil if the car was notorious for having them go bad. Only thing I've changed out as part of PM is a battery.
Depends on the car, those with timing belts are important. If the TB goes the car may be possibly toast since repair costs outweigh residual value.
The factory fuel pump in my 97 Silverado died at about 110K. The aftermarket replacement died at 105K. That's enough trend for me to decide when to replace next, assuming it ever makes it to that mileage as a secondary vehicle.
How old of a car are we talking about?
Tires, brake pads and lines, coolant and fuel leaks, maybe a coolant flush. Rust?
Suspension wear depends on how you drive and the condition of the roads in your area. I'd look it over but don't replace stuff that doesn't need to be done.
Tires, brake pads and lines, coolant and fuel leaks, maybe a coolant flush. Rust?
Suspension wear depends on how you drive and the condition of the roads in your area. I'd look it over but don't replace stuff that doesn't need to be done.
Could you be a little more specific?
Those 2 are my OCD.
Coolant, transmission fluid/filter, oil/filter, timing belts, serpentine belts, plugs/wires, thermostat, heater and radiator hoses. Things such as alternators, starters, I don't bother until they start giving problems. I drove an '88 Ford Escort 518K miles. I changed the brushes in the alternator 1 time and replaced the starter one time with a rebuilt unit. Batteries can be load tested free at most auto parts stores. Brakes and suspension parts can all be inspected to know when or approximately when they're going to need replacing. I listed serpentine belts, plugs/wires as a PM items but they can usually be inspected and/or use the manufacturers recommended change interval to know when they need changing. Tires I usually judge by the amount of treadwear and or dry rotting. Some people consider front end alignments PM but I usually don't do a front end alignment unless I've replaced suspension parts or know it needs done because of uneven tire wear. I've had cars in the past that went over 100K miles and never needed an alignment. Back in the summer I replaced the tie rods on one of my cars but didn't bother any adjustments except toe in. I reset the toe in by using a string line. Tires have now been about 6K miles and are wearing perfectly.
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Speaking of older vehicles (20 years or more) or high mileage vehicles (200K or more)...
Brake hoses (the rubber kind that go from your chassis to the caliper or slave cylinder) should bre pre-emptively replaced. Period. Just do it.
Brake lines (the metal kind) should be inspected at least once, yearly in the Rust Belt, and replaced with NiCopp when suspect.
Sway bar end link bushings, liquid filled rubber compliance bushings have a finite lifetime and will need to be replaced at some point. If I am doing anything else on a vehicle near the end links, or if I have the LCA off for some reason (e.g. strut replacement), I'll just do that too.
Struts lose gas charge and dampening, and springs sag. New struts will make your old car sit higher, but most of that height is temporary, the rest is back to normal. At some point in every long-lived vehicle life you should replace the struts, front and back (or shocks), before they cost you a set of tires.
Any fluid marked only "inspect" on the Routine Maintenance guide should be replaced. Manual Transmission fluid for example.
Any old/dry/cracked/shattered rubber. Chassis mounts for body over frame vehicle. Bump stops on my Dakota front and rear needed doing, heck one rear was missing, new ones greatly improved composure while 4-wheeling.
Sometimes replacing something not-yet-quite-bad is a very good thing. On my old Honda Pilot, the rear sagged to the point the headlights needed adjusting to stop oncoming drivers flashing me, and the car wallowed over bumps, but the original shocks passed the bounce test. I put it off for a while because replacement springs are pricey, and I didn't think new shocks would do much.
At one point I put on a set of Gabriel Ultra truck shocks at the recommendation of someone here. The rear came up over an inch, handling and ride improved greatly, I was kicking myself for not doing it earlier. Despite the brand's bad reputation among some, those shocks lasted for over 50K (160K to 214K when sold) and were still going strong. If they went limp, I would have bought another set in a heartbeat.
Brake hoses (the rubber kind that go from your chassis to the caliper or slave cylinder) should bre pre-emptively replaced. Period. Just do it.
Brake lines (the metal kind) should be inspected at least once, yearly in the Rust Belt, and replaced with NiCopp when suspect.
Sway bar end link bushings, liquid filled rubber compliance bushings have a finite lifetime and will need to be replaced at some point. If I am doing anything else on a vehicle near the end links, or if I have the LCA off for some reason (e.g. strut replacement), I'll just do that too.
Struts lose gas charge and dampening, and springs sag. New struts will make your old car sit higher, but most of that height is temporary, the rest is back to normal. At some point in every long-lived vehicle life you should replace the struts, front and back (or shocks), before they cost you a set of tires.
Any fluid marked only "inspect" on the Routine Maintenance guide should be replaced. Manual Transmission fluid for example.
Any old/dry/cracked/shattered rubber. Chassis mounts for body over frame vehicle. Bump stops on my Dakota front and rear needed doing, heck one rear was missing, new ones greatly improved composure while 4-wheeling.
Sometimes replacing something not-yet-quite-bad is a very good thing. On my old Honda Pilot, the rear sagged to the point the headlights needed adjusting to stop oncoming drivers flashing me, and the car wallowed over bumps, but the original shocks passed the bounce test. I put it off for a while because replacement springs are pricey, and I didn't think new shocks would do much.
At one point I put on a set of Gabriel Ultra truck shocks at the recommendation of someone here. The rear came up over an inch, handling and ride improved greatly, I was kicking myself for not doing it earlier. Despite the brand's bad reputation among some, those shocks lasted for over 50K (160K to 214K when sold) and were still going strong. If they went limp, I would have bought another set in a heartbeat.
I agree! That kills a car.
You could be stranded, by timing belts , serpentine belts, and batteries/ alternators. But cooling system failures probably kill a lot of cars.
Excellent lists up above. I’m just going to add, if a suspension item has a ripped boot, out it comes.
All things cooling system related.
I’ve always believed it’s the cooling system. One hose blows and it’s toast.
In general, new to me cars get a thorough inspection, repair/replace on these systems prior to any significant driving or other work;
brakes
cooling (always replace thermostat at minimum)
belts
charging system
seat belts
I'll give a quick once over to the ignition, but if there are no obvious symptoms, I won't do anything until later.
brakes
cooling (always replace thermostat at minimum)
belts
charging system
seat belts
I'll give a quick once over to the ignition, but if there are no obvious symptoms, I won't do anything until later.
Changed my struts and driveshaft this spring, have yet another set of control arm bushings in the mail. Anything made with rubber lasts only so long.
For most Subarus, the head gaskets 
