Thanks, Docnick, a week or so ago, I opened a different thread, asking what repairs I should expect after 200,000 miles. (You know my high rel planning scheme.) I assumed that was a different topic.
The list the forum regulars gave me included things like starter; alternator; coils; and perhaps wheel bearings. I had it safety inspected today and asked them to check wheel bearings, which they said were okay. Left rear had some hum, but did not need replaced.
Wow, FoDaddy, that is some set of wheels! Thanks for sharing that tale.
You can proactively make a car very reliable! On my Chevy, during the first 200,000 miles I only had 4 breakdowns over a 12 year period. One was preventable; a rad hose blew which I should have inspected and noticed softness. Another was the windshield wiper motor failing during the rain, not a calamity, and I drove home looking out of the side window. The other two were a water pump bursting its seal, and a leaking radiator. Those two were hard to predict and are called “random failures” in industry.
If you live in rual Mexico, you can proactively prevent most failures with frequent inspections and dilligent maintenance. A Toyota Sienna is a much more reliable vehicle than my 1984 Chevy Impala.
Since the car went about 10,000 trips over that time, the “mission availability” in miltary terms was 99.96%, for a 4/10.000 failure rate. Uncle Sam would have been happy with these figures.
I am looking at 200k, 03 Trailblazer, hoping to make it, out of ordinary expenses, 155k now, 85k front pinion seal leak, $1200 for rebuild bearings, no leak when I bought it but a leak after 500 mile road trip, bought from an individual party at a great price, so the money almost bought it up to lowest trade in price, New thermostat, 100 bucks or so but a pain to replace as you have to pull the alternator, new serpantine belt, regular stuff but 2 new pulley wheels, one was walking, one was clicking, see previous post. New Starter motor, $200, 3 front wheel bearings, 2 on 1 side 1 on the other. Looking at changing transfer case fluid soon, expensive, 15 bucks a quart, 2 quarts needed, and looking at differential fluid change soon, 3 qt @ 30 bucks a quart. $30 a quart may sound expensive from the dealer, but at autozone 9.99 a quart plus a $9.99 tube of miracle fluid slip stuff, close enough in dollars to me to spring $30 at the dealer. Edit forgot to mention 6 stabilizer links, $50 or so each.
I am on trailvoy.com and some guy wrote mobil about their synthetic, and it was not approved for my car, asked autozone and they are like you need this other stuff for a limited slip diff, just an fyi
This is new ground to me. So, on the “what do I look for to fail” Mike said if a wheel bearing makes any noise better replace it. So, next year when I go back I will probably do that.
I have had repairs on this, but I think I am still under $1000 a year after 100,000 miles. I don’t mind repairs too much if I don’t break down on a trip. Except something induced once, I have never failed to complete a trip. And, that is what I want the most.
When I fail to complete a trip it will be time to look for another one.
@irlandes You have a good vehicle and you are looking after it! Most car experts agree that 50% of all car repairs should not be necessary; they are caused by neglect, misuse, or erroneous diagnoses. Your vehicle should never need unnecessary repairs! As a maintenance consultant I always have to explain preventable repairs and breakdowns, and “random” failures; those you cannot predict and prevent. Toyotas have few random failures. In industry you mitigate those with a backup system or a redudant unit, such as a pump installed beside the one running .
With cars only the spare tire fits that description. We cannot economically duplicate car components.
We had two cars go through our family that reached 200k by the time our kids dumped them. Now, our kids have better cars then we and we in retirement will never reach 200k before the car’s color fades so much it no longer meets with my wife’s approval and we have to replace them.
I just got rid of a Sienna very similar to Irlandes’ van. Although it was close to 200K miles and the engine and transmission were fine, keeping up with the pervasive rust finally wore me down.
When I came here, I think around 2005 when I first drove the Sienna to Mexico, a cousin said I had to cover it up fast so the paint wouldn’t come off. We didn’t have a roof over that car until maybe a year ago. No paint loss that we can tell. But, GM cars are really bad in this mountain sun. This last year I did get a scrape on the right side, not sure where it happened nor if I did it. That is, someone could have dragged their car against it, simply not sure.
As far as rust, there is a tremendous advantage from living out of the snow zone, and not near the ocean. I need to crawl under there and look, but last time I did there was very little rust of any kind, anywhere.
Change 1. I just went out from curiosity and crawled part way under. Just ahead of the rear bumper it looks sort of like an occasional freckle. And, some of the exhaust system looks to me like it is covered with rust spots, not sure. It is getting dark here under the sun roof and behind the trees.
Still, nothing like cars I have had in past years. And, I can see no rust through at all.
On the paint not coming off the roof from the sun, it might sound like a joke, but it is not. I do wonder if this is because this is a quarry town, so the car is usually covered with dust. And, I tell people when God wants my car clean, he sends the rain. So, I wonder if the dust on it protects it?
I won’t be getting 200k out of my cars as we are putting fewer then 10k per year on each car of late and we sell them between 10 and 15 years. Still, in the last five years of life they are totally rust free as I oil the inner body panels where rust forms. We live in the salt belt and IT WORKS. Lately I have been using G motor oil or biodegradable oil. It seems to last just as long because it isn’t water soluable. There is no reason for anyone to watch their cars rust. A 20 minute treatment per year per car. Though, when I turned a ten year old car over to my son, he kept it for 6 more years and the accumulated treatments kept it rust free till trade in time.
That is interesting. In one of the magazine/books Tom McCahill produced many years ago, he recommended that, too. I have two of those magazines, not sure if they are the ones which recommended that or not.
@dagosa I used to live in the “rust belt” around the Great Lakes. In the country there was a guy called |The Oiler|, who sprayed used crankcase oil on the underside of your car for about $15 per treatment. We did this yearly and prevented our 60s and 70s cars from rusting out prematurely.
Sadly the Goverment put an end to both oiling roads to suppress summer dust and oiling the underside of cars.
Guys used to do the same thing in Europe in the 70s
Only they would drive at high speed in a dirt lot after the oil treatment. I suppose the idea was that the dirt and sand would provide a protective coating
Unfortunately, all that dirt masked the rust that did eventually occur
So, the owner would look underneath and see a the sand and dirt still there. Their reasoning was “Everything’s fine, because I don’t see any rust.”
Well, later on, when they powerwashed the underside . . . there was nothing there at all!
@db4690 I agree you cannot stop rust completely, but you can slow it down. The Ziebert treatment when applied to a new car lenghtened the rust free time consierably. That’s all before the manufacturers were legislated into perforation warranties.
Before that, Ford put some rust protection on their Detroit-built cars like the Pinto, but NONE on those same cars built in California.
@Docnick@db4690
I think we are talking about two totally different approaches. I use biodegradable oil and it’s mixed in a garden sprayer less then one quart at a time for each car. Rust is generally not a problem on flat services under a car. If it is on frames and exposed surfaces, you don’t just spray the surface with oil but paint red grease on cleaned ( and they have biodegradable now) surfaces with a foam brush and only on areas that can’t be kept clean by washing.
The oil application is done instead through the drain holes in doors, rockers and fenders. Cars also have access holes through trim panels that can easily be removed. It is not haphazardly spread using toxic petroleum oils. You can use linseed oil and the drainage is minimal. Now that G oil is available…cheaper then regular oil, it’s a no brainer. 90% of car rust happens where water settles between the panels and no amount of spraying the bottom of the car…like Zeibart treatments, is going to help. Wax based products clog drain holes (Ziebart too) and exasperate the problem. The friend who showed this technique nearly 40 years ago has everycar he has ever owned in five garages, has it down to a science and uses less then a pint of oil from an oil can per car. It takes no more time then changing your own motor oil and is one of easiest tasks any one can do to keep value to your car.
Because it requires individual knowledge of your car and a little prep and clean up, it cannot be done by some one else on a lift in a garage without doing a slip shod job that drains toxic motor oil everywhere. That’s why it isn’t allowed. But, anyone can do it right…
@Docnick For all practical purposes, if decades are practical time to keep a car, YOU CAN STOP RUST COMPLETLY on any area you can reach…and that is the key. I have never had rust, nor has my friend, on areas we choose to treat. But IT IS NOT A ONE TIME TREATMENT. It’s a yearly or semiannual treatment and inspection. When you can offer a used car that’s ten to 15 years old and absolutley rust free in this area, you have plenty of takers.
Here is the good part! Unibody construction is now much easier to keep rust free with this technique then body on frame. That is the problem that older cars had. You didn’t have the access with a body covering the top of a frame and no access holes. With all due respect to your experiences with rust prevention, mine is totally different and it’s safe and it works. But, it’s a DIY project.
