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Comments
At that rate, it'd take me 52 years fromwhen I started driving to hit a million miles! So I guess I'll be hitting a million miles right around the time I start drawing social security!
"So it's OK for kids on tricycles to hit Hyundais and Kias?"
Lance, I was presuming they would total them.
I don't think any car could go 1 mil on the original engine, but I do think a Mercedes diesel could make 1/2 million with fanatical care. A big truck or bus diesel could make a Mil I think if it didn't have to work too hard.
The Amsoil foam filter lasted about 3 years. I tried a Purolator air filter once and got terrible silicon count so went back to OEM which appears to be the best for air on my Toyota. Other cars the Purolators seem okay. .
I have done analysis at least once per year on all of my cars, currently service 5 in family. So on my Camry I think I have 12 or so print outs since 92. They are very consistent except for the first 15,000 or so miles when you get a lot of break in material, especially silicon from gasket material that can be misleading. Overall, pretty consistent except the one time I tried to go 15,000 between oil changes, that showed some much higher wear number and I went back to 7,500. On other cars I can go 12,000 with no problems.
You make an excellent point - it is important to enjoy one's car, and I do very much!
I'm predicting it will take me no more than 25 years (barring something unforeseen) to drive 1,000,000 miles. Hopefully all on the Camry.
On a side note... I do plan to buy a Toyota Tacoma in another couple years. I will need a truck as I plan to build a house around that time. It will also be nice to have for severe weather and camping. I don't suspect to put to many miles on it though as the Camry will be the daily driver.
Don't worry, by the time I make my goal (if I do) I will be collecting S.S. right along with you.
I hope he has as good of luck with this one too. Just don't show him the crash test pictures.
When deciding on what type of car to purchase, and what types I thought would be candidates for my challenge, I actually considered the MB diesel. The problem with this type of car is that the new E-Class was out of my price range and decent used ones aren't very prolific around Portland. There are of course many of the 70's abused ones advertised around for under 3k dollars - no good though.
In total, these were all the cars I considered before purchasing the Camry:
1. Toyota Camry 4cy
2. Toyota Camry 6cy
3. Toyota 4-runner
4. Honda Accord 4cy
5. Honda Accord 6cy
6. Acura TL
7. Nissan Maxima
8. Nissan Altima 4cy
9. Nissan Altima 6cy
10. Subaru Outback
11. Mercedes Diesel (mid 90's)
12. Volkswagen Passat 4cy
I drove each and everone of these cars. I realize that not all of these vehicles are in the same class (i.e. sport-ute, 4cy, 6cy, etc.) but they all held a type of appeal to me (can't beat the interior of the Passat by the way).
Based on my goals of longevity, safety, fuel economy, ease to work on, and gas mileage - the Camry 4cy ended up making the best sense.
Do you think of the aforementioned cars, I will get the closest to my goal with the vehicle I chose? I know you think the MB is probably better but keep in mind I was shopping used MB's when all the rest of my selections were new.
Now you got me second guessing the Amsoil air filter. I'll let you know what I finally decide.
If anyone has any thoughts on good tires for the Camry let me know - I'm already researching them. So far I think the best 205/65R15's for my needs would be the Dunlop SP Sport AZ and, for winter, the Michelin Pilot-Alpin.
Any thoughts??
225,000 miles.
Below, is a link to a late model, gas engine Chevy pick up that went over 1,000,000 miles hauling a 1,000 pound load everyday. The lab guys tore it down for inspection, noted 80,000 miles of wear, put it back together, and its still running under a second owner.
I don't think the Asian aluminum block and heads will go the distance with out major maintance and repair expences...Just an opion like so many others...:)
http://edmunds.yellowbrix.com/pages/edmunds/Story.nsp?story_id=24472595&ID=edmun
ds&scategory=Auto&
Stumpy
By the way, I have been purchasing genuine Toyota parts from this wholesale dealer in MI for a few years now and my independent mechanic will put them on if I cannot, great savings even after shipping. Never had a problem. Price is like 50% of what you pay at dealer. http://www.toyotapart.com/
Supposedly, once the conversion was done, it was found out that he had over a million miles on it. Chrysler gave him a new Intrepid to use, and he said it was a piece of crap compared to that '62!
Of course, I heard all this on the 'net, so take it with a grain of salt!
I think it would be cake to drive 1,000,000 miles on a car if it was done as follows.
Start the car once every day and drive it 1-200 miles at 40 mph in 5th gear on level roads. Drive in back into the garage (heated so there are no real cold starts) and leave it there until the next day.
Of course very few people drive that way.
Good luck.
I think I'd say beethoven would have a better chance if he just put the miles on as quickly as possible (like 100k per year). I would put my money more on a diesel truck, but even then it's typical to see things go to pot once you exceed 300K. A typical gas engine with good maintenance should hit 200K before things get questionable. Extending the odds for 5X that mileage is just probably beyond reach. And an automatic tranny, whewww. 150K on a lot of cars is doing good, but I've seen lots of Toys into the 200K range with no tranny problems but between 200K to 300K is when things normally go. I'm not saying the Camry can't make 1M, but with it's original engine/tranny I'd put the odds better to win the powerball. I've personaly seen little difference in vehicles that have been maticulously (anally) maintained and those that were just serviced as required.
I would think the thing that kills most motorhomes would be that they usually sit for most of the year, and then only get used for a few weeks or months. And then sit again.
Now I am not an expert here, but I think diesel is the way to go if you want to go the most number of miles on the same engine. I remember about ten years ago when I lived in Guildford - a small town in England not far from London - I used to take cabs all the time. Back then they used a lot of Peugeot diesels for cabs, and I remember seeing over 300,000 miles on cabs that looked in great shape. One cab driver once told me he had all these miles on the same engine and transmission. Of course all used manual transmissions.
I've heard that stopping and restarting, and short trips, are actually bad for a diesel. Never owned one though, so I can't speak from experience!
Note the above test was done in the lab and the car was only shut down once every 7,500 miles for oil and filter change...approximately every 100 hours.
All other fluids were changed at 30k and valves adjusted every 18 days and oxygen sensors and bets were replaced every 36 days [60k]
The catayltic convertors were changed every 200,000 miles or every 120 days!
If you follow the same proceedure [always keep the car at constant 55-85 mph and only shut it off every 4 days for oil changes you might have a chance.
PS the gasoline used was a special blend for the test since the car was kept at a constant temperature [no cold starts]!!!!!!!!
My bet is the 4 cylinder with FWD will crash and burn around 300,000 at best
FYI: own a 90 228k Q45 and a 90 LS400 with 307,000 miles
I certainly think our composer can do 500k without any problem. Heck I'm almost to 200K with a Dodge and a Mitsubishi engine. And, we all know that the quality of a new Toyota is much better than those old late 80's Chryslers.
They mentioned an engine flush. I've done the fuel injector flush with a machine and really loved it, but has anyone done an engine flush?
Beethoven--well, a Toyota engine is as good a choice as any. Theoretically, you should pick the engine with the least piston travel per RPM of highway speed in 5th gear. So this would favor larger engines rather than 4 cylinder.
I think most taxicabs that aren't real death traps are actually sold off at a certain mileage, maybe 150K-200K, since maintenance costs go way up past that.
I've had better wear luck with Michelin tires on some of my past vehicles over Bridgestones as well. I've been doing a lot of research on TireRack.com Very informative site - I'm sure you've probably checked it out?
Your driving habit example is funny - Just can't quite figure out how to bring it to fruition for my circumstances.
Do you think if I make it to 1,000,000 miles on the Camry I should by a Power Ball ticket?
I do agree with sgrd0q though, the test was so constant that most engines with most types of oil would have a decent shot of hitting 1,000,000 miles.
It would have been more interesting if they would have changed loads, temperatures, etc.
BTW, impressive mileages on your two luxo cars. Have you had automatic transmission problems on the Q45. I've heard they are notorious for problems after 100k miles. For that matter how's the Lexus's transmission holding up?
What do you mean by composer? (I'm guessing MB)
I would imagine, if well maintained, they would go as long as a truck carrying a similar load to the weight of the motor home would go (300-350k perhaps)
Got to go, check in with everyone later tonight!!
Yeah, the Edmunds articles on maintenence in the ownership section are interesting. Much less claim of snake oils, or pooh, poohing the dealers extra recommendations than expected. I now follow a strict schedule after having a number of extra labor charges for idler arms, tensioner wheels, and water pump after I had changed a timing belt. Good maintenence also saved at least 1 of my current transmissions.
You could save some wear and tear on your suspensions by replacing the struts/shocks every 100K.
Annual checkups will also allow you to anticipate future problems.
I've never tried an engine flush machine before. I've heard mixed results. I'm sure you may have heard the same - can work great, can also cause oil canal clogs, etc. I think if my engine was badly sludged, I'd stay away from it. If it was only somewhat sludged I may try it.
Did you notice a muchly appreciable difference after doing the fuel injector flush? I may have to incorporate this in my preventative maintenance plan - Portland area gas isn't very good.
Got to go... Post more tomorrow...
Why were the '62 Mopars called "plucked chickens"? Is that because they were downsized and stripped of their fins from earlier years? Never heard that term before, but it's appropriate.
I heard about that high mileage taxi myself in one of my Mopar clubs. Did I at least get the other facts right, more or less?
It was posted on Edmunds news about 3 months ago.
I tried looking for an Edmunds news archive and I had no luck.
The link detailed a 95 Chevy pickup bought new and clicked off over 1,000,000 miles on gas motor. It went though two auto trannies, but the engine was never touched.
The first owner used it for hauling a four state magazine route that he had to run daily.
He had used Dino oil Pennz/Quaker State every 3,000 miles or four days of driving.
If anyone knows how to look up just expired Edmunds News postings, might have a clue on how to help Beetoven with his research on 1,000,000 plus miles project, could post the info?
Stumpy
Their web site seemed down early today but it is
www.fumotovalve.com
As for engine clean, I can tell you that I won't be doing it on the Mazda that just had 3 seals replaced. When they changed a seal on my Subaru they said that what they saw looked very clean on the inside. I suspect that syn runs much cleaner any way.
On a few cars I run the Amsoil PI concentrate pretty often but who knows if it makes any difference.
I have to say this, though: Camry's are good, maybe even great cars, but if you look at how they are doing after 10 years, they aren't any better than any other make. If they were really so indestructible, they'd be all over the streets in the form of taxicabs. Instead, you see old Dodge Diplomats, Ford Vics, and Chevy Impalas. Maybe that says something, maybe not; you be the judge.
I've always supported this regional tire chain in the NW called Les Schwab. I doubt you've heard of them out in VA. It is an excellent company in terms of customer service and efficiency. The company also serves as an excellent business model. I believe the owner shares something like 50% of the profits with everyone in the company clear down to the tire mounters. I think these guys get several thousand dollar bonuses multiple times a year for slinging tires.
In the event that Les Schwab doesn't carry the tires I decide to get I will most definitely order from Tirerack. Have you had good luck finding shops that will mount them for you?
Regarding older Mopars... Again I'm learning something new, I never realized they were as reliable as I'm hearing stories about. Perhaps I should have bought an old Dart instead of the Camry...
regarding fuel flushing... I actually agree with both of your takes on injector cleaning. I think that the machine is probably superior if there are true clogs and I will probably still have this done every 75k miles or so as Portland area gas is not nearly as good as some of the gases other areas in the US (it is oxygenated in the winter and has a different additive package than the same type of gas had when I lived in AZ). I also think though, as you pointed out armtdm, that most modern fuels systems run pretty clean and could probably get by with just Techron. I guess it largely depends on how dirty your fuel system is...