Ok, you guys, no laughing at the newbie (uhm, that would be me). Jeez, until I started reading here a few weeks ago, I thought I knew a thing or three about maintaining a car. You doods have forgotten more than I ever knew.
Ok, it's a 92 Hyundai Elantra (rebranded Mitsu), 1.6L. Guy I bought it from didn't know about timing belts and it gave way at 89K. He put a new engine/5 spd. tranny in it, sold it to me for $1275 because he'd put enough into it. So, ever since, it's had Mobil 1, 10/40 Summer and Winter, until the last year or two when 0W-40 came out, which I use December-March. Car has never been crashed, has run great, and now has 238,000 (almost 150K on the engine) miles on it. I used to use Fram filters until last week, when thanks to you guys, I spent the extra buck or two for a Pure1 from Puro. Who knew Fram used cardboard inside???
Reading here has challenged some of my assumptions about how I've maintained it, however. For instance, for awhile, they (you know, THEY?)talked about extended-life coolants (Dex-Cool) not clogging the radiator with silicate, and I've used it to (what I thought was) great effect, in that the inside of the radiator and water pumps I've had replaced at timing belt-time are like brand new inside. Here, I've read that Dex-cool isn't so hot after all.
Dura-Lube every thirty thousand. Ok, ok, so I got hooked by the infomercials Pat Goss used to do. They ran an engine that had been Dura-lubed dry of oil for a half hour or some such with no oil, and the thing kept running. Obviously, Pat said, don't try this at home, but now I read here that other than Mystery Oil and some random FI cleaners, who needs Dura-lube or Slick? The rest of the work this car has has needed has been brake pads, tires, exhaust, corrosion-control, stuff like that. It gets around 35MPG HWY, no AC, a little less with the AC, and seems to do 85 all day long between here and Fla., and Massachusetts without even breathing hard. It burns no oil, and tests against particulate and CO comparable to a 2002 Elantra.
Nonetheless, with all this, I must have been doing something right, but is there something I should be doing different with the cooling system? I should add that I have them replace the water pump at the belt change just because, not because one ever failed. I gather the 0W-40 is a good move, and I change it every 3,000 miles. I know it COULD go longer, but it's so **** dirty by 2,500, I can't bear to leave it in there. It needs a half-quart or less between changes to keep it full. Also, I'd SWEAR the **** thing runs smoother after I change it. This is a car I know every vibe, in and out, and it FEELS smoother. Or am I high?
I'm off to test my new Mystery Oil I added (12 oz to 12 gallons of gas). Appreciate you guys, I've never seen such a body of work anywhere before I found BITOG, as you refer to him. Proof positive, the best work is for love rather than money! Thanks for any accumulated wisdom yall have to offer regarding this heap.
Merry Christmas!
