9 Ways To Get Your Car To 200K Miles (Or More)

[jamesbond]

[b]Regular Maintenance Is Crucial[/b]

There’s no getting around this one: A car that’s not regularly serviced won’t last as long as one that is. It might not even make it to 100,000 miles.
Regular maintenance is “the key to the automotive fountain of youth,” says Tom Torbjornsen, author of "How to Make Your Car Last Forever."

What is regular maintenance? It’s what it says right there in the maintenance schedule of your owner’s manual, says Torbjornsen. Follow the “severe duty” schedule of more frequent servicing if your manufacturer specifies one.

But at a certain point, the manufacturer’s schedule may fail a high-mileage driver — as it sometimes lacks specifics beyond, say, 150,000 miles, other than to start over as if the car were at mile zero. “Can [manufacturers] truly believe that an engine with more than 50,000 moving parts – with 150,000 miles – is going to replicate an engine straight off the assembly line?” wonders Pam Oakes, a certified technician and author of “Car Care for the Clueless.” “What about a 180,000-mile engine? Would that have the same wear as an engine with 30,000 miles? I don’t think so.”

Like other experts we spoke with, Oakes recommends building your own maintenance schedule with a trusted, certified mechanic who knows you’re interested in going the distance.


[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/3ca07d06-f9b6-443b-bcff-47b0557ed46a_car_sight.jpg[/img][b]Use Your Senses: Sight[/b]

If your routine is to plop into the driver’s seat in a darkened garage at one end of your trip and slam the door behind you in a darkened garage at the other end, it’s time to shake things up a little. “Do a ‘preflight’ at least once a week,” says Tony Molla, vice-president of communications for the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (and a certified technician with years of experience). “Walk around your car. Have your kid step on the brake and see if the lights come on. By spotting a problem now, when it’s small, you might save yourself more than just a ticket.”

Lauren Fix, an automotive analyst and host of the “Car Coach” segments on Time Warner Cable, suggests looking back at where you’ve parked every time you pull away. “Just take a second to look back and see if there are any fluids left behind. If there are, next time park on some cardboard, and you’ll know where it was coming from,” says Fix.

[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/f8e540b6-a25a-42ca-93cd-db6c29862885_driver_sound.jpg[/img][b]Use Your Senses: Sound (and Touch)[/b]

Though your sight is the most important sense when driving your car, hearing may actually be the most important one to keeping it running. A car that sounds like it’s falling apart probably will soon.

What you’re listening for is anything out of the ordinary. “Any bump, squeak, knocking, ticking? Don’t turn up the radio — turn it off! At what speed does it happen? That’s a really important piece of information you can give to your mechanic,” explains Fix. “If you can guide a technician [with that information], you will save them hours of trying to track something down.”


[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/f46e4635-4d3a-412f-8f5f-fdc8e73d3b50_sniff_oil.jpg[/img][b]Use Your Senses: Smell[/b]

No, really, your nose can help you head off problems that could endanger your run for 200,000+ miles. When you’re checking the oil, counsels Fix, give it a sniff. If it smells burnt, that could be a sign that your engine is running too lean (not using enough fuel). Fixing this condition could save you from a costly engine rebuild.

Smell can also come into play if your car has a dipstick to check the level of the automatic transmission fluid (not as common as it used to be). If that fluid smells burnt and nasty, it’s also a bad sign. (We’ll discuss stinky transmission fluid more later.)


[b]Say No To Short Trips[/b]

If there’s one single thing you can do as a driver to get your car to last longer on its original parts, it’s to drive it less — specifically, on trips where the engine doesn’t have a chance to reach operating temperature.

Here’s what happens: Water is a byproduct of engine combustion, and some of it gets into your car’s oil and exhaust system every time the engine runs. Also, when your car is first started, more fuel is mixed in to get it running.

On a longer trip, your car’s engine gets hot, and the water and unburned fuel are boiled out of the oil, your engine and your exhaust-- no worries there. But a short trip won’t do that, allowing the water and oil to eventually turn into noxious sludge that eats away at your motor. So, how short is too short? It varies by temperature and how you drive, but AAA defines it as “trips of less than five miles in normal temperatures, or less than ten miles in freezing temperatures.”

Tony Molla, of the ASE, faces only a three-mile commute to work but often drives longer. “I go out of my way,” he says. “I take the long way in the winter, to make sure the engine gets up to operating temperature. That way it burns off the nasty stuff that can build up in your crankcase.”

Try to combine your short trips into a single run. And for Pete’s sake, don’t park in front of the garage and then pull the car in when you’re going to bed. That’s a short trip to the junkyard.


[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/549a545c-fcd4-435d-9e92-32825de687c9_oil_pour.jpg[/img][b]Use Synthetic Oil[/b]

Few issues get motorheads more riled up than the question of which oil to use and how often to change it. But few will take the stand that synthetic oil isn’t better than the petroleum-based stuff.

Synthetic oil is more expensive, no doubt — up to four times as much as regular. But think of it as insurance against the cost of an engine rebuild. Note that more manufacturers are specifying synthetic oil, particularly in performance models. And if your engine is turbocharged or supercharged, definitely go with synthetic to handle the higher thermal stress. All the experts we spoke to are big fans of synthetic products, not just engine oil but also other fluids in your car, such as the transmission fluid.


[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/98ac5961-2998-44c2-ad1a-a04efb943741_transmission_filter.jpg[/img][b]Change the Transmission Fluid[/b]

If changing the transmission fluid and filter is specified in your car’s maintenance schedule, well, then, take care of it.

But what if no replacement is specified? Increasingly, car manufacturers are either just indicating that the fluid should be checked at intervals or assuring you that the fluid is “lifetime.” To which we say, how long is a lifetime?
If you’re looking for a long lifetime, plan on replacing the transmission fluid at least by 100,000 miles (and there’s no harm in doing it earlier).

Note that there’s considerable controversy about whether it makes more sense to “flush” your car’s transmission fluid or have the pan on the bottom of the transmission removed and cleaned out. Flushing allows all of of the old fluid to be removed but doesn’t do anything about the (possibly dirty) filter inside your transmission. Dropping the pan will get out any sludge that collected in it and will usually entail a new filter, but less old fluid will come out — and less fresh, new fluid will go in.

Our counsel: Never do a flush without replacing the filter first. That’s what the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association recommends.

And if you have stinky transmission fluid? Your transmission is already cooked and on its last legs. Flushing it, warns radio host Torbjornsen, will only accelerate its demise by introducing new fluid whose detergents will dissolve whatever’s still holding together in there.


[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/e60fa6fa-46af-4621-9855-640f2c8693c3_car_wash.jpg[/img][b]Keep Your Car Clean[/b]

Just as you keep the fluids in your car’s critical systems fresh and clean, you should keep your car’s exterior clean. Washing road salts and other environmental nasties off your paint and undercarriage at regular intervals will forestall corrosion and faded paint. If your car is going to run a long time, it ought to be nice enough to look at.

But getting up close and personal is also about looking for small problems that could lead to costlier repairs. “Wash your own car,” insists Molla. “Get down on your hands and knees. You’re going to notice things like cracked lenses, where water is going to get in and cause your expensive headlight assembly to fail.”


[img]http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/autos/2013-07-15/173f128c-4677-4ac6-bc28-916ebc0653d9_water_pump.jpg[/img][b]Be Prepared to Replace Bearings and Bushings[/b]

It’s a given that you’ll be replacing what are known as “wear parts”: tires, brake pads, timing and accessory belts, and shock absorbers. But as you head for the land of six-figure mileage, there are some other parts you should be looking to replace before they fail. Tackle these fixes proactively to avoid larger repair bills that might lead you to give up on a car before its time.

Lauren Fix specifically recommends looking at your suspension bearings and bushings — metal and rubber bits, often doughnut-shaped, that isolate your suspension from the rest of the car and dampen noise. If they’re allowed to deteriorate and break, “it could affect the alignment of the car, and that can affect the life of the tires and cost you money.” The regular inspections you’re having done (right?) should pick up a bushing going south, but if you’re replacing your shocks and struts, consider having all the bushings done at the same time.

The importance of replacing timing belts, which ensure that your engine’s valves open and close at precisely the right time, was also driven home by our experts. And when that belt’s being replaced, suggests Molla, go ahead and get the water pump replaced, too, even if it hasn’t failed.

On many cars, he explained, the labor cost of reaching both of these parts is high, but the parts themselves are relatively cheap, “so it’s worth it to replace them at the same time” to save on labor.

[TENALI_TELUGODU]

[jersey babai]

gp

[kakatiya]

ee post lo engine idealing gurinchi cheptunnadu...... but new cars dont require engine idealing.. you can start it right away..

endukante.. the performance of the car depends on how fast you drive.. etc etc.. eppudaithe meeru idelaing chestunnaro.. adhi feedback lokelli car performance optimal nunchi normal ki vastundanta.. ma guruv garu chepparu

[Kakateyudu]

gp

[kakatiya]

[color=#336600][font=Arial, Geneva, sanserif][size=1][b]
Idling Myths & Facts[/b][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial, Geneva, sanserif][size=3]


[b]Myth 1: The engine should be warmed up before driving.[/b] True, the engine must be warmed up, but idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to do this is by driving the vehicle. With today’s modern engines, and the advent of electronic engines, you need no more than about 30 seconds of idling before driving away, even on the coldest winter days. Driving a vehicle cuts warm-up times in half. This reduces fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Every 30 minutes of idling costs you at least 2/10 (0.2) of a gallon of gas - and up about 7/10 (0.7) of a gallon for an 8-cylinder engine. Keep in mind that every gallon of gas you use you also produce about 19 pounds of carbon dioxide.


The catalytic converter - the device that cleans pollutants from the vehicle exhaust - does not function at its peak until it reaches between 750° and 1500° F. The best way to warm the converter is to drive the vehicle. Idling emits more pollution if the catalytic converter is not working properly.
In winter conditions, emissions from idling vehicles are more than double the normal level immediately after a cold start. Warming up the engine means more than just the engine. The tires, transmission, wheel bearings and other moving parts also need to warm for the vehicle to perform well. Most of these parts do not warm until the vehicle is driven.
It‘s important to drive away as soon as possible after a cold start just avoid high speeds and rapid acceleration for the first 3-5 miles. This lets the whole vehicle reach peak operating temperature as quickly as possible without paying a fuel penalty.
If your vehicle has a diesel engine, idling actually lowers the coolant temperature faster than shutting off the engine. In other words, switching off the engine keeps the engine warm longer.
[b]Myth 2: Idling is good for your engine. [/b]Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs, and exhaust systems. An idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, which means that fuel does not undergo complete combustion. This leaves fuel residue that can condense on cylinder walls, where they can contaminate the oil and damage parts of the engine. For example, fuel residues are often deposited on spark plugs. As you spend more time idling, the average temperature of the spark plug drops. This makes the plug get dirty more quickly, which increases fuel consumption by 4 to 5 %. Excessive idling also lets water condense in the vehicle’s exhaust, leading to corrosion and a reduction of the life of your exhaust system.
When not actively driving, people tend to idle their cars largely for one of two reasons: either to warm up the engine before driving or to avoid wear and tear on the engine in situations that require frequent restarting, such as drive-through service lines, rail crossings, car wash lines, carpool lines, and departure from concerts and sporting events, or while talking to friends or using the cell phone. By understanding the effects of idling and reducing the practice, you can improve your car’s performance, save money, and reduce needless carbon dioxide emissions.
[b]Myth 3: Shutting off and restarting your vehicle uses more gas than if you leave it running. [/b]The bottom line is that just 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine. As a rule of thumb, if you are going to stop for 10 seconds or more - except in traffic - turn off the engine. You’ll save money, and you won’t produce harmful Carbon Dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas.
[font="Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#464646"][i]Idling gets you nowhere - and it can be costly. Excessive idling wastes an enormous amount of fuel and money and generates needless greenhouse gas emissions.[/i][/color][/size][/font]

[font="Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#464646"][font="Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#000000"]Restarting a car many times has little impact on engine components such as the battery and the starter motor. The wear on parts that restarting the engine causes adds about $10 a year to the cost of driving - money that you’ll likely recover several times over in fuel savings.[/color][/size][/font][/color][/size][/font]
[b]Fact: Idling adds to global warming.[/b] Climate change is a serious threat to the planet caused mainly by burning fossil fuels, such as gasoline. Overwhelming scientific evidence links global warming to the earth’s highest ever average annual temperatures, melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, increasingly severe weather events, and to the threat of many plant and animal species. [img]http://www.makealeap.org/files/fact_frog.jpg[/img]
[b]Fact: Idling does affect the environment. [/b]Keep in mind that every gallon of gas you use produces about 19 pounds of carbon dioxide.
[b]Fact: Idling contributes to respiratory illness. [/b]The emissions of even today’s modern vehicles contain Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Benzene and several other toxic chemicals that impair our lungs and heart. Prolonged exposure can lead to death. Children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma are especially at high-risk.
[b]Fact: Idling can harm our health.[/b]Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more air per pound of body weight. Many people believe that they are protected from air pollution if they remain inside their vehicles. Not so according to a report by the International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA). CTA found that exposure to most auto pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide (CO), is much higher inside vehicles than at the road side. VOCs and CO are linked to serious health problems -- like respiratory infections and cancer -- are known to shorten life. The highest exposure occurs when sitting in traffic congestion on highways or in a line-up of idling vehicles at a school or drive-through. Idling is linked to increases in asthma, allergies, heart and lung disease and cancer.

[b]Fact: Idling wastes fuel. [/b]In this time of ever increasing gas prices, needless idling burns your hard earned dollars through your exhaust pipe. And remember that fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource and are being depleted in the face of ever increasing world demand.

- Idling your vehicle for more than just 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine.

- Idling your vehicle for just 10 minutes can use as much fuel as it takes to travel 5 miles.

- Idling your vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses more than 27 gallons of fuel a year.
[b]Fact: Idling wastes money & natural resources. [/b]Thirty seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. If you are stopped for more than thirty seconds - except in traffic - turn off your engine. An idling car is the most inefficient car on the road -- it gets zero miles per gallon. Turning off your car will save gas and money. Idling for one hour burns nearly one gallon of gasoline.
[b]Fact: Idling damages engine components in our vehicles.[/b]Idling is not an effective way of warming up your engine, as your vehicle is made up of many moving parts. To properly warm your vehicle’s transmission, tires, suspension, steering and wheel bearings, you need to slowly drive-off.
An idling engine is not operating at peak temperature, resulting in incomplete fuel combustion. Fuel residues can condense on cylinder walls, contaminate oil and damage engine components. With more engine idling these residues tend to deposit on spark plugs. The resulting plug fouling can increase fuel consumption by 4 to 5 %. Excessive idling can also cause water to condense in the vehicle’s exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system. On the other hand, frequent restarting has little impact on engine components such as the starter motor and the battery.
A poorly tuned engine uses up to 15 % more energy when idling than a well-tuned vehicle. Keeping your vehicle in good condition is a key to fuel efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Idling your vehicle with the air conditioner on (to keep the interior cool) can increase emissions by 13 %. [/size][/font][/color]

[kakatiya]

coming to oil changes ... use genuine oil..

i use toyota oil from the delaership to change my engine oil..... and change the transmission oil every 30k miles.. its easy and takes 3 hours... for transmission oil change..

come to autoparts.. i usually get them from rockauto or a car auto shop... junkyard

[Nellore Pedda reddy]

GP

[babu_andrew]

[chittibob]

[quote name='kakatiya' timestamp='1374071815' post='1303964809']
coming to oil changes ... use genuine oil..

i use toyota oil from the delaership to change my engine oil..... and change the transmission oil every 30k miles.. its easy and takes 3 hours... for transmission oil change..

come to autoparts.. i usually get them from rockauto or a car auto shop... junkyard
[/quote]


There is nothing like genuine engine oil bhayya... engine oil specs will be given in your manual for different operating conditions.. you have to use as per your requirement.. hot humid conditions of operations like in South of US, oil with less viscosity vadutaru.. ade cold climate lo higher viscosity oil vadutaru..

When it comes to transmission fluid, its better to use manufacturer recommended.. endukante trans. oil lo additivies untayi to prevent oil from breaking..


Autoparts exact fit ayte chalu.. should not be a prob..

[kakatiya]

[quote name='chittibob' timestamp='1374080821' post='1303965692']


There is nothing like genuine engine oil bhayya... engine oil specs will be given in your manual for different operating conditions.. you have to use as per your requirement.. hot humid conditions of operations like in South of US, oil with less viscosity vadutaru.. ade cold climate lo higher viscosity oil vadutaru..

When it comes to transmission fluid, its better to use manufacturer recommended.. endukante trans. oil lo additivies untayi to prevent oil from breaking..


Autoparts exact fit ayte chalu.. should not be a prob..
[/quote]

nenu toyota vaadu maufactured oils ne vadtanu... coming to viscosity... depeding on region vere vadtava?? okkate specify chesi vuntundhi kada ??

[Darling999]

JamesBond how r u Rey

[chittibob]

[quote name='kakatiya' timestamp='1374081216' post='1303965724']

nenu toyota vaadu maufactured oils ne vadtanu... coming to viscosity... depeding on region vere vadtava?? okkate specify chesi vuntundhi kada ??
[/quote]


ledu baa... oka vela ne car cold climates lo vadute lower viscosity oil vadutav.. ade hot climatic conditions ayte higher viscosity oil vadutav...

[narsayya]

haha.. MILES..

Veellu eppudu maaruthaaro Metric system ki. Inka 19th century lo ne unnaru

[jamesbond]

[quote name='DARLING...' timestamp='1374081487' post='1303965752']
JamesBond how r u Rey
[/quote]

good amma... nuvvu ela unnav