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Comments
To everyone: Thanks for all the advice on Amsoil engine oil - keep the thoughts coming.
Comments???Thought you guys would like to know...
Claude
What State or country do you live in, well, not US with KM and not miles.
What brand and weight oil do you use?
Oil and filter change interval?
How many miles on your commute to work assuming you use this car communting?
How much oil does it use between changes. Please do not say none, you will blow your credibility!
327k miles without problems is great to hear. As Armtdm as requested, I'd also be interested to hear a more in depth explanation of your preventative maintenance program. What little problems have you had?
Any further comments would be great - thanks.
1/Car is 100% original,with no accidents.
2/Car was run on Dino oil till I got it at 220,000kms (Castrol GTX) and factory oil filters)
3/Oil was changed 3 times in the first 5000 kms of it's life(very important , I think)
4/at 220,000kms the car was switched to semi synthetic for 3-4 oil changes and at about 250,000 went to Mobil 1 10W-30 and premium aftermarket filters. Oil has been changed every 10,000kms religiously with the filter being changed every 5000kms I.e filter at the 1/2 way mark and filter again when I change the oil. Car burns about 1.3l per 10,000kms or a little more than 1/2 a quart per 3000 miles. I am convinced this consumption is through valve seals and NOT rings.
5/I am a consultant and love to ski and travel and visit family in North Carolina. car has been to Florida ten times, Colorado about the same. I drive to Toronto (2 hrs) all the time.
6/car is TIGHT, QUIET, rattle free except for an occasional dash rattle and drives like a car with 50,000 miles on it.
6/I run synthetic oil (redline gear oil) in the transmission. Changed every 100,000 kms. I change the Timing belt every 200,000 kms (Changing at 100k or 60,000 miles is TOTAL bull!!). Every belt I have ever seen on a car that racks up mileage fairly quickly is perfect when it is replaced and I have seen MANY.)200,000kms and my belt looked brand new. Did it at 500,000 kms in the late fall along with the water pump.
7/Word to the wise. If you are going for big miles on your [non-permissible content removed] cars , replace ALL the seals and tensioner(timing belt) at high mileage when you do the belt. 3 seals are the Cam seal, the Crank seal and the oil pump seal. ALL these are driven off the belt and DO wear. They become brittle. Any 10 year old cars out there even with low mileage. CHANGE them when you do your T-belts.
8/Car is totally original major parts except for front 1/2 shaft (300 bucks no big deal) and A/C system condensor. I now have a leak in system so will get to that in the spring. Struts have been done twice, clutch was done at 440,000kms and the rear brakes are ORIGINAL!!! NO bull, so is the exhaust!!All electrical(alternator, Power windows and locks, cruise, wipers original. Starter was replaced with reman. Toy. starter last year also. Car has been VERY cheap to run, excellent on gaz, quiet at 75mph and "who could ask for anything more???"
9/going back to Toronto once again today.
10/ Lastly, I am gentle with the car. I never slam the door, dont gun it when I take off, look ahead at the lights that are turning red and back off as I watch all the idiots fly by to then nail their brakes, let it warm up and NEVER drive it hard cold,Change the coolant EVERY year (never had a water pump go, original radiator,and original hoses), yet I drive quickly and pass a lot of traffic on the road.Air and fuel filter are done regularly and wires are original. That 2.2l engine looks GREAT inside. At 500,000 kms we replaced the valve cover gasket for the first time and the top end of the car was like NEW. Light brown, NO sludge and NO deposits or visible wear on the cam lobes at all. The mechanic was stunned. I was NOT. Synthetics make a difference.
I run synthetics in my lawn mower, my ZX-11 Kawasaki and in my gorgeous V8 Camaro Z-28, 6 speed that will NEVER see snow or rain.(NOT a daily driver just a car that RUMBLES!!!).
I am happy to answer any more questions.
Lastly, I met a guy on the #401 a few weeks ago with a nice looking Camry LE like mine with an Automagic Transmission like most of you. It had 792,000 kms on it. saw it with my own eyes. Looked excellent . His engine and Transmission were original.
Flush those Automatics and make sure they flush b ALL of the fluid. Your automatics CAN go big miles without replacing just be easy and maintain them. My parents have a 93 camry also with 160,000kms. Runs like a top. They will never pass me and I will NEVER sell this car although I might get a new daily driver this summer. I love the new Subaru WRX but lots of cash so might steal another Camry from some guy who thinks his is "worn out " at 200,000kms. I LOVE used cars. He who buys new has too much cash and should give more to Charity!!!
Have at it boys. Flame away!!!
Claude Pardo Tillsonburg (Tillsonboring), Ontario ,Canada
Uses some oil (I have the seal seepages you mention as I did not replace at the 120,000 mile mark and should have) but are very minimal. Currrent consumption is about 25-28 ounces of oil in the 7,500 mile change interval, less then a US quart so quite good. My new Buick uses the same. My coolant is every 2 years.
Like you, I also changed my oil 3 times in the first 5k miles. I used Castrol GTX 5w30 dyno oil until 7k miles at which point I switched to Amsoil 5w30 extended drain synthetic oil. I used Mobil 1 oil filters up to the point of switching to Amsoil when I started using Amsoil oil filters. I changed my auto transmission fluid over to Amsoil Synthetic ATF at 10k miles. I also switched my air filter to the Amsoil foam type filter at 10k.
You made an excellent point that I think is equally, if not more, important as preventative maintenance and is often overlooked or not thought of by most people - driving cognizantly and easily. I too drive easily - no sudden bursts of acceleration. I particularly drive slow and easily when the car is still warming up. Portland drivers are generally horrible in my opinion - I constantly watch out for others when I'm driving. Portlands' worst offenders are HS kids in their built up Civics and those folks driving around their large vehicles (SUV's, etc.) while talking on the phone. I could start an entire new thread on these types of drivers - better stop now.
I'll keep on with my slow Camry I guess...
Where are the parents?
Off topic, sorry?
I mentioned 6 fatalities here in Portland. Three of these deaths were were those of teenagers (2 civic drivers raced each other then collided with one another). The other three deaths were incurred by other "innocent" motorists. A group of HS kids left their school for an open campus lunch, drove about 45mph down a residential (25mph) street, blew a stop sign, and T-boned an elderly couple in their Buick. All of the kids escaped with minor injuries. They killed the elderly man driving the Buick though and left his widowed wife in critical condition. Another set of kids were street racing late one evening and lost control of their car and T-boned a minivan killing the parents of three small children.
O.D.O.T. (Oregon Dept. of Trans) is trying to change the licensing laws for kids under 18 in the state of Oregon. They propose that kids should only be allowed to drive with a licensed driver over twenty-five until they are 18. They also are trying to prohibit kids under 18 from driving between 11PM and 6AM. I have to say that I support these motions. How many more people have to die before these motions are put into effect is yet to be determined.
I am not trying to stereotype youthful drivers. There are some very safe and contientious teen drivers out there. Unfortunately they will probably have to forgo some freedom (at least in Oregon) due to their out of control counterparts however.
Here are my Oil Changes:
1995 Camry
1.Oil Change.....6432...2/1/96 10W-30 Pennzoil
2.Oil Change.....9587...3/17/96 10W-30 Pennzoil
3.Oil Change....12443...4/23/96 10W-30 Pennzoil
4.Oil Change....15373...6/12/96 10W-30 Pennzoil
5.Oil Change....19799...8/14/96 10W-30 Pennzoil
6.Oil Change....23167...9/30/96 10W-30 Pennzoil
7.Oil Change....26480..11/24/96 0W-30 Amsoil
8.Filter ....38010...5/24/96 Changed filter
9.Oil change....44483...9/14/97 0W-30 Amsoil
10. Filter change 51685 1/19/98 Toyota Filter
11.Oil & filter.59600...7/4/98 5W-30 Amsoil
12.Filter & Oil 73623...5/3/99 5W-30 Amsoil
13.Filter & oil 83150..11/7/99 5W-30 Amsoil
14.Filter & Oil 91261..05/6/00 0W-30 Amsoil
15.Filter & Oil 105091.03/25/01 0W-30 Amsoil
16. Filter Change 110788..7/8/01 ST4967 model Walmart
Sold it at 123k with oil being changed last at 105k. Still running like new. Also no sludge problem. Just use a good synthetic!!
2002 Le has 1200 miles on it and runs much faster at speeds over 70mph. The car is much quieter at all speeds,especially from engine noise. MPG is better running the car hard. Got up to 5k on the tach once in 2nd gear and the torque is fantastic.
Mpg was 27 and 25 on two tanks of gas. I'm on my third tank.
Hopes this info helps you to feel confident with your Camry. Hell I bought another one and this one getting 0w-30 after 2nd oil change. Will keep you posted!!
Plumman
Maybe there is something to be said for using nylon leggings for belts as Al did.
Better stop now - I'm already embarrassed that I remember that much of Married With Children.
I'm jealous - it sounds like Toyota has finally addressed the under powered 4cy Camry engine. I'm not a lead foot, but a 136hp engine for a 3500 pound car is a little less power than I like. Overall I can't complain though - I love my '01.
Just curious... you mentioned taking your car to 5k rpm in 2nd gear and that you only have 1200 miles on it. Do you feel it was sufficiently broken in before you did this?
There was an episode where he sold his car and was going to buy a new Mustang, until he found Peggy and the kids raided his stash o' cash. He went out and bought a couple of non-running AMC products. I remember at one point, you could hear his radio playing "Welcome back baby...to the poor side of town", as he pushed a Pacer or Hornet onto the screen.
For the final shot, you heard his radio playing "I'm Walkin'", as another Duster slowly creeps on-camera, but this time, he's driving it instead of pushing! I remember him bragging "This baby's only got 20,000 miles on it!" or something like that. Of course, back then, odometers only registered 5 digits, so who knows how many miles the thing really had?
Appreciate the maintenance hints. I don't use synthetics, but am religious about frequent fluid changes. Synthetics that much better?
This said, I think 20 extra horsepower or, more importantly, 15 to 20 extra foot pounds of torque would be nice. I'm not a fast driver so all in all I get by just fine though.
I'm glad to hear you have had such good luck with your Camry. When did you start getting A/C leaks? Do you turn your A/C on every couple weeks to keep your system seals from cracking? It is something I believe is beneficial. 29 MPG is pretty good. I only averaged 26 MPG the first 10k miles on my Camry with 56% city driving and 44% highway driving. Do you drive more highway miles?
To all... While on the subject of weight and engine size I have a question about gas mileage. What types of mileages are others getting on their '97-'01 Camry 4cy cars? I averaged 26mpg in the first 10,000 miles with 56% city driving and 44% highway driving. Most of my best mileage occurred late summer and early fall (also the bulk of my highway driving time). The best mileage recorded to date was 34mpg while on a straight stretch of highway travelling to Arizona in about 80 degree weather. The worst mileage recorded was 17mpg in the start of winter with city driving. I have only been averaging around 20-21mpg the last several tanks (mostly city but some highway driving) I have always used 89 octane in the summer and 92 octane in the winter (oxygenated) Chevron gasoline. Do my mileage recordings seem reasonable for my car? Do they parallel other owners mileages?
My camry has only had Chevron gasoline since the dealer fill. I did quite a bit of research on the additive packages local Portland area gas stations add to their gas. By and large, Chevron seems to have the best additive package in the area in my opinion. It does vary somewhat though from station to station.
I agree with your friends thoughts on different additives cleaning in different ways. I will once or twice a year run Amsoil Quick Shot Fuel System Cleaner as opposed to switching gasoline brands though.
I think you can keep anything going nearly forever if you keep throwing money at it. I read somewhere else here at the town hall that an old timer german auto mechanic said "cars don't wear out, parts do". As long as you can avoid rust, and todays cars are vastly superior to older cars in their rust proofing, you can keep almost any car going.
I'd like to talk about how long machinery can be kept running.........I sail as an engineer on Great Lakes ore carriers. Some of the boats have been in service for close to one hundred years. This is possible because corrosion is not an issue on fresh water vessels. There are still some steam reciprocating engines in operation, "up and downers". 50 year old vessels with steam turbines are actually quite common. A diesel powered boat built in the '70's is considered "new". Just goes to show what a little (or maybe a lot) of maintenance can accomplish.
By the way, "boat" is acceptable nautical nomenclature for a laker, but we are talking about a vessel from 650 to 1000 feet long, 15000 to 80000 gross tons.
I'm hoping of course to hit the 1,000,000 mile mark without replacing any major parts - perhaps impossible. We'll see.
I think specifically with automobiles that people could save money by keeping one vehicle running indefinitely through the replacement of parts as needed rather than buying a new vehicle every few years. As an example, my Camry cost around $21,000. Let's say it only makes it to the 300,000 mile mark before major problems. Let's also say I average around 30,000 miles a year - thus at 300,000 miles the car is 10 years old. At this point I could spend $26,000 (given inflation) for a new quality midsized car or I could spend around $7,000 and rebuild the car with a new engine / transmission / paint job. If I took the rebuild route I would be spending around $19,000 less every 10 years - this doesn't even account for loan interest, etc.
I of course realize that most people (and realistically I may become one of them) grow tired of their vehicles after a few years of ownership and the desire for something new and better prompts them to buy a new vehicle.
I also think it is funny how certain types of mechanical devices inherently last so much longer than others. It sounds like some boats and vessels fall into the category of long lived mechanical devices. Take watches as another example. You can buy a mechanical Patek Phillipe that is 75 years old and working as well as it did when new. Boats, cars, and watches are all very different of course - not an apples to apples comparison. Still interesting though.
I currently have an Amsoil foam air filter installed in my Camry. I chose this filter on the premise that it would provide equal or better air flow to the OEM filter while filtering out more and smaller debris. Now, I'm unsure if my goals are being met.
Do you think I would be better off with Toyota OEM or TRD (Toyota Racing Development) filters or keeping the Amsoil?
Plumman
http://cartalk.cars.com/Mail/Letters/2000/01.14/5.html
I know that sometimes it costs more to rebuild a vehicle than to purchase another decent used one of the same make. My main point is that it is still cheaper to rebuild one than to buy a brand new vehicle of the same caliber as the old vehicle was when new.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/features/1282620
I just got rid of an almost 13 year old Honda that "only" had 154,639 miles. At that rate it would have taken me 65 more years to reach a million. Although it was a great car I'm pretty confident it would not have made it ;-) .
It certainly seems possible for an Accord driven almost totally on the freeway to hit 1 million miles. Given the claims of the story though, the driver would have to had driven an average of 356 miles a day every day of the year which seems a little hard to swallow. It also seems a little strange that the story hasn't been more publicized. You have to wonder I guess...
The car has been completely trouble free the first 13k miles - no hint of a problem. I'll check my stats when I get home and post the total preventative maintenace costs to date, the total amount of gas used, my average gas mileage, etc.
Claude