Re: CarTalk, Antelope Valley Press, Sun., 12/18/2016, '82 Toyota pickup, R-22 engine
I disagree with Ray’s answer. I routinely run my vehicles > 400k miles, tho in time, parts availability can become a problem, even in wrecking yards.
Just keep the engine lube oil pristinely clean - I use Frantz bypass (toilet paper) filters. Never drain oil. Ever. Just change the bypass roll each 5k miles and both filters (main (full flow) and bypass every 10k miles and top off as necessary. Engine oil consumption is minimal. Pull the engine oil filler cap and take a look. The camshaft and engine generally shine like new. Perfectly clean. I used to send off oil samples for spectrographic analysis periodically but it’s proven unnecessary. Keep the other fluid levels topped off also. Don’t let the engine coolant/antifreeze get contaminated over time. Condition/change it as necessary. Beyond that, just keep up with regular maintenance and repair. Gingerbread will fall off in time but, other than that, the lifetime is indefinite.