Back when I lived in the Washington DC area...I listened to Pat Goss' radio show. Constantly recommends BG 44K.
I had a problem with pinging, due to carbon deposits. Over a course of about 2 years...tried everything, from Techron Clean-Up to Redline (40,000 miles of driving annually...allows me to try different products). So, it was let's try out BG 44K, or shell out $150 for a carbon removal process (chemically). $20 for the can of BG 44K (you need a funnel), it's not diluted with alcohol....and a tank of regular gas (instead of the usual premium), and a long road trip (going up Baltimore, taking the long, long way, and avoiding traffic)....back to using regular gasoline, instead of premium fill.
For me, using it myself made me a believer of the BG 44K, the stuff ain't cheap though.
The battery well, the OEM is about 4 years, due ot low cost of replacements get a new one every 4 years in lieu of being stranded.
Wax the exterior more often then once a year.
I use a gas additive in my cars, either the Amsoil PI concentrate or the Schaeffers Neutra. Never had an injector problem (Camry has 147,000 miles)
I didn't see a fuel filter up there, I do mine every 30,000
I do a drain and fill of the tranny every 30,000 and use synthetic (gets 50% of fluid and you can do it yourself) . Pulled the pan twice, filter clean magnets had some debri but nothing major. To me a flush is overkill and dangerous and a boat payment for the dealer.
My mom's 1986 Camry ( built in Japan ) has 223,000 miles ( about 13,000 miles a year ), we only had to fix the A/C a few years back. No plans to reach the 1 million mark since my mom wants a new car in the next 2-3 months.
She looked at the 2002 Camry but is really interested in the new Accord ( EX V6 in Redondo Red Pearl with CD/MP3 player by the way ) MORE POWER than the Camry, more audio options, nicer interior are major differences for her.
Well, I have not even been trying, and I am at 235K with original exhaust!. No major work done whatsoever. Body like new, despite the fact that I gave it to my daughter when it would not die, and she lives near ocean. Air conditioning is very cold, and only annoyance is interior light bulbs.
I tried to change coolant on my 97 Camry LE(4 cylinders) this afternoon. After lose the radiator drain plug, the coolant was flowed out, after it finished draining, I found only about 1 gallon of coolant was out, check the manual, it should be about 7.3 quarts(less than 2 gallons), check the procedures mentioned in the manual again, found that another drain plug from the engine block needs to be loosen as well, I have no idea where this plug is located, anybody has this experience and knows where it is located? (on top or on the bottom side, etc) Thanks a lot!
Sorry it's been quite awhile since I have visited my thread. I have been very busy with business which has canabilized my Internet free time.
As it stands now I have racked up 20,454 miles on the Camry. I bought it new as an '01 Camry on July 19, 2001 with 9 miles on it. As aforementioned, this last year won't be indicative of my normal mileage. I will be traveling a lot more moving forward which will help propel me toward my goal of 1,000,000 miles.
So far no mechanical problems or accidents to report. The car has ran flawlessly. I have a couple very small rock chips on the hood and front bumper which I'm going to repair when I do my next detail. Beyond the couple chips, the paint and cosmetics look better than new. I guess all my detailing efforts have been paying off.
Thanks to all for keeping this thread alive - I will post again very soon.
That is only 16K per year! I do about 25K annually, and I am not the one trying to make my car go 1 mil miles!
I routinely keep my Toyotas out to 200K+, last one to 250K, have not ever had major mechanical problems, but lots of other stuff went as it got old. Expensive repair that happens around 200K: fuel pump - to the tune of about $600. Radiators go and seem to cost an awful lot from Toyota - $500-600 just for the part vs $175 aftermarket. Suspension all around every 100-150K costs another $500.
Still much cheaper than paying for a new car, and since the engines and trannies last without replacement, no expenses are huge. My last Toyota I was going to keep until one or the other gave up, but just eventually got bored with it - wanted something new. The curse of the well-built car!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Moving forward I will be doing a lot of road travel for business and thus will start racking up considerably more miles than I did the last fifteen months. In fact I'm getting ready to take a road trip to Vegas here in the next two weeks as I have a business conference there.
I too understand the curse of a well built car. I know that I will still be driving the same car ten years from now if I want to make it to my goal. At that time I will likely envy the drivers of the then late model cars.
I have purchased the equipment including an XM controller that I'm going to install but haven't yet installed it. I originally was going to put in a headunit that received XM but decided to go up market a little further and buy the McIntosh headunit. I will be adding a separate Sony XM tuner to the system when I'm done with it that will work with the McIntosh.
I can tell you though that I have a colleague who also lives here in Portland who has had XM in his vehicle for awhile now. He loves it and definitely feels it is worth the subscription price. He says reception has been excellent with exception to a particular parking garage he uses at times.
I admit lately that I have put a lot of energy into getting free music online. The usual... I download MP3's, convert them to Wave, and burn them onto audio discs that I can use in any CD player. I've been very busy with work and haven't had much time to surf the net, so I just go online in the morning before going to work, queue up a list of music I want, and let it download throughout the day. By the time I get home I have a few albums worth of music. I have so much new music to listen to that I may neglect the XM a little once I get it all hooked up in the Camry. Will see I guess!
I agree with you. GM trucks are very good. I own a 98 K1500 pickup truck and it is excellent, no defects yet in 62K miles. My dad's 62 1 ton GMC pickup truck (Manual Transmission) made it to 332K miles when he sold it. Very few repairs other than regular maintenance and replacing mufflers several times. But thats nothing unusual for Toyota trucks. Many toyotas will be able to exceed that mileage but not so many GM products. And if they do it will be at a much higher cost due to repairs.
I have a 01 Toyota Echo with already 53K miles and not one repair or complaint yet. Engine oil is synthetic and filtered with an Amsoil dual filter/bypass setup.
I admire your goal of 1 million miles but in my case I will be quite happy if my cars reaches 400K miles without replacing major parts. Only time will tell.
Good luck with your Camry. It's an excellent car but I opted for my Echo because of the excellent MPG's it is able to achieve. 41.7 MPG is my average.
I have been meaning to find someone who has installed and been using an Amsoil Bypass Filtration System - particularly on a Toyota. I have been considering the purchase of Amsoil bypass systems for both of my vehicles.
I have a few questions regarding the system that maybe you could answer for me if you don't mind.
1. How easy was it to install and where did you put? The only space large enough in my engine compartment is under the battery on the driver's side of the car.
2. How long have you been using the system and have you had any problems with leaks or changes in oil pressure?
3. Have you done oil analysis since you have had the bypass system? Specifically, have you done enough analysis that you can compare your oil 'pre installing the system' to your oil 'post installing the system'?
Thank you in advance should you have time to answer my questions. I have been planning on installing the system but have had small bouts of anxiety regarding the idea. I want the ultimate in oil filtration for my cars but not to the detriment of other problems - leaks, oil pressure irregularity, etc.
1) It was not very easy to install at all. You can imagine that in an Echo room is at a premium (not in the cabin but in the engine compartment).
The dual filter setup is just in front of the left front tire, in the fender, just forward of the splashguard in the tire well. It took some time to fabricate a bracket that would fit inside this small area. Now it looks like it came that way from the factory.
2) This was done about 7.5 K miles ago so I have not had an oil analysis done yet. I will wait until the 10K mark. As posted previously, the car now has 53k miles. As soon as I have the results from the oil analysis I will post them here for you and others to see.
Based on past experience with several cars and trucks, the longevity of the engine will most likely more than double. Unfortunately everything else on the car will fail sooner or later.
I have not been able to find a synthetic ATF that complies with the Toyota T-IV standard and therefore I will be draining and refilling my transmission about every 40K miles with Toyota ATF. I'm planning to install a bypass filter for the tranny as well.
I know, it makes no sense to most people but I don't care. I would like the transmission to last 400K miles as well.
So far no leaks whatsoever and I don't expect any to develop.
There's no way to measure changes in the oil pressure as this car only has one of those " idiot lights."
It will be tough for most people to justify the cost of the dual filter plus installation. The kit itself is about $ 200, plus two filters (full flow and by-pass). Figure about 4 hours labour (about another $ 200).
If you are somewhat experienced with mechanical work you probably could do it yourself.
Most people will never spend that kind of money on this Amsoil filter system because for someone that keeps a car for 5 to six years it means that they will never really benefit. Any modern engine should last at least 200K miles (assuming regular " dino" oil changes every 3k - to 5k miles).
Since you intend to keep the car for very long it certainly makes a lot of sense.
Depending on your type of driving you could do your oil changes every 15K miles or even longer. Only oil analysis will tell you what the ideal interval between oil changes is appropriate for your car.
I will take some pictures of the setup in my car. Send me an e-mail to cc4293@yahoo.com if you are interested in them.
What might be more convenient for you is the dual bypass system.
You can probably use the "spin-on" adapter which will easy the installation dramatically.
(it would be easier to install than my car, which has the oil filter "canister" molded to the engine block...which has a replaceable element instead of a typical cartridge).
That's exactly what I installed, the dual filter system. One of the filters is a full flow, the other one is a bypass filter. It's called BMK-13. You can look it up on www.amsoil.com.
The single remote filter was impossible to use in my case. No suitable adapters were available from Amsoil and my mechanic couldn't find one anywhere else (toyota and parts shops included).
OK, I have a dumb little question...I am killing some time here.
Imagine the following scenario: you stick the car on a dynamometer so that it is not moving and rev the car in gear until the front wheels are going 30-40 mph, and just let it run off the miles on the odometer without ever turning it off, except every 5000 miles for long enough to perform maintenance by the book. You could feed it gas when it got empty, without turning it off. Would this extend the life of the powertrain significantly in terms of miles? How much? At the rate of 40 mph, you could run off the whole million miles in about three years!
...now, what else can I do for a while???...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Interesting thought. I believe that Mobil One performed a very similar test on a BMW.
My assumption is that you could probably get most motors to run two or three million miles under those conditions assuming that you kept the temperature constant.
Real life dirt in the air, stopping and starting, cold weather, etc. are the main culprits to an engine. Your scenario eliminates most all of them.
Does anyone know how to removal the '90 Camry distributor cap and rotor for cleaning carbon with ignition file on the cap post and rotor? It is 4 cyclinder engine. Thanks in advance!
I was only kiding about towing your car behind a GM truck. My brother-in-law bought a 1976 Toyota, I dont remember the model. He drove that car to over 350,000 miles when my sister hit a deep pothole and the front left wheel almost fell off. The strut had rusted off the body. He did all of the maintenace on it and changed oil and filter every 4000 miles or so (dino oil). I think that car could have made it to 400,000 but we will never know. I hope you have good luck with yours.
Have you considered using a block heater every morning? Even in normal wheather? That is one way of increasing the chances of reaching the million mile mark. A warm engine starts easier and pollutes less.
Take a look at www.bobistheoilguy.com, do a search on block heater and wou will see what I mean.
especially if the weather is below freezing. Last night I plugged in my Mazda just after driving it, and upon starting, it immediately had heat. Even if it doesn't the engine runs so much smoother after starting in the cold since it is a warmer engine. I use a block heater on this car because of the hydraulic valves that tick until oil gets up into the system. Now, it hardly happens.
I actually just ordered a ZeroStart engine block heater form JC Whitney. It is the type that will plug in-line to the heater core hose and heat and circulate coolant. I will hook it up to an extension cord plugged into a timer that will come on about three hours before I go to work.
I'm excited to get it and see how it will work. Hopefully it will do it's job and it won't leak. I live in Portland, OR so our climate is pretty mild. I will definitely use it Dec-Mar as it gets down to the the 20's and low 30's (occasionally teens) during the night. At least the weather isn't too severe here like it is back east. Between the engine heater and synthetic oil I should be good to go.
You are right; it is probably overkill to use a block heater on my car when the lowest winter temps in my area only hit the high teens.
This said though, I'm still hoping it will benefit my car to some degree - even if it is small. I figure the less time the car is on high idle for the first mile or two of stop and go driving in the mornings the better. Frankly, I also hope the heater works faster for me in the mornings too.
I agree. 10 cents of electricity per day to run the block heater are going to save you at least that in gas and much more in wear that is not going to happen in the engine (and the battery, starter, alternator, etc.)
I just installed my block heater this afternoon. It was a little tricky getting it mounted securely but the project ended with success. I'll test it for a few nights and post again.
#433 of 441 '90 Camry distributor cap removal by pundat Nov 01, 2002 (10:44 am) Does anyone know how to removal the '90 Camry distributor cap and rotor for cleaning carbon with ignition file on the cap post and rotor? It is 4 cyclinder engine. Thanks in advance!
Go to Pepboys and buy new parts. The guys at counter will show you how to remove it. I just replaced my dist.cap/wires & rotor (they come as a package) on my '87 Camry last week. I replace mine every 75,000 miles. Only $45 for part. Good luck
The best way to hit that many miles is to drive the car non-stop. Get a job that makes you to drive all the time with as few stops as you can. If you could keep the engine on all the time that wouold be perfect. What is also a good thing is to never rev the engine. try to drive below 2500 rpm. Diesel engines last long because they are never reved. Get a manual transmition. It takes a lot less maintanance than automatics and lasts longer. Keep the tires at high pressures, this decreases the load on the engine. Do not tow, or overload the car. And follow the recomended intervals of maintanance from the Toyota. DO not buy amarican brand named products and companies they control. If you put 100,000 miles a year in this fashion you will most definitely get to a million without any engine or transmition re-builds
So far no brake or suspension issues. I retorque my suspension subframe to body bolts every few thousand miles and don't drive on particularly rough surfaces so I suspect the suspension should remain in good condition for quite sometime. In terms of braking... I am easy on my brakes; I don't ride them or stomp on them to hard. I usually let off the gas and gradually brake as I need to come to a stop. So far the brakes are in great condition and I still have plenty of pad life.
Currently I've got 25,000 miles and some change on the car. I'm starting to drive it a bit more and for longer distances for my work. I will be driving to Canada here soon for example.
Just out of curiosty... I read in your profile that you have a 2003 Matrix. My wife and I also have an '03 Matrix XR that she uses as her daily driver. How are you liking your Matrix?
My car is an automatic, but I know you are correct; a manual transmission tends to be less problem prone as it isn't nearly as complex as its automatic brethren.
Ideally the conditions you described (always keeping the car running) are the way to go when one is trying to maximize a vehicles life. I try to do as much highway driving as I can. I'm aiming to see how far I can go though with a "real world" approach to driving (mix city / hwy). Will see I guess.
I LOVE this Matrix, except I wish now I had waited for a manual to become available, because this is the first automatic I have ever owned (new rush-hour commute last year), and I have decided I am not too fond of auto!
But the versatility of the inside is superb, as well as the steering and the looks, and the handling, and....I could go on! I am going to have the auto-headlights eliminated - they are the only irritant on an otherwise fine car.
I mentioned the brakes on your camry because I have a friend with basically the same car, and while he is a bit of a leadfoot, he is going thru front brakes about every 20K, which he laments! Of course, you probably do a lot more highway driving than he does, proportionally speaking.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
This is a great thread. I wonder how long Beethoven can keep updating on his journey! I have started to wonder if time plays as big a part as miles on a car. It seems like the useful life a an auto is about 12 to 15 years. Sure they can go longer with proper repair, I am just thinking out loud. People like cab drivers or couriers that run a lot of miles a year get very high mileage. They don't turn off the engine as often and obviously drive a great deal of highway miles. These cars routinely go 200M, 300M or 400M miles. However, most cars that only drive 12M to 15M miles a year are really used up by the time they hit 150M. I know the different type of driving plays a big part but how about the affect of time. Moisture and pollution that add to the wear of parts, mechanical and otherwise. I understand this isn't black and white but I am really starting to believe that the years as much as the miles add to the reduction of an autos life.
Glad to hear that you love your Matrix. My wife really loves hers (I like it too). She owns her own business and frequently halls stuff around and finds the versatility to be wonderful. Ours too is an automatic which we don't mind. I'm sure a manual might lend itself to a little better power and more driving fun but the automatic isn't a problem for us. It's a fun car to drive now and then around town when I'm not in my Camry.
As far as brakes go on the Camry. I have read before that some drivers have had to replace their brake pads at 20-25k mile intervals such as the case with your friend. I'm guessing that driving style has a fair bit to do with it such as you mentioned. Perhaps there is something inherent to the Camry that causes it too. I do plan to switch over to higher performance brake pads when I do my first brake job. I may replace the rotors too when I do this. I have no problem with the stock brakes in town. I have noticed mild brake fade on the highway while driving through mountainous terrain at higher speeds though. I'm hoping that a higher performance set up would eliminate this. I also know that generally higher performance brake pads tend to wear out faster and of course are much more expensive to replace. I will have to find a balance I guess.
I definitely agree with you that age plays a role in the deterioration of a vehicle. This said, I generally believe in most cases that a younger vehicle with higher mileage will be a more dependable vehicle than an older one with equally high mileage.
Luckily I live in Portland, OR where we have a pretty mild climate. We don't have salted roads, severe sub-zero degree blizzards, and ice storms like our friends in the northeast experience. I'm hoping that our mild climate will aid in the preservation of my Camry.
Unlike cab drivers and such though, I will have to drive my car more years to rack up the miles. I'm hoping to hit the million mile mark with a real world set of driving habits. This will make a million miles that much more impressive if I get there.
I was thinking back today about the 14 cars I have owned in the 26 years that I have been driving. With 3 children that will start driving in 3 years and college in 7 years my wife and I are planning to keep our current cars for as long as possible. We have broken the new car every 12 to 24 months habit by finding a lower cost hobby in motorcycles. I don't plan on 1,000,000 but would like to see the 200,000 area from my 2000 VW Passat.
I would definitely take the 5 year old car with 100K miles on it over the 8 year old car with 80K miles on it.
The mechanical parts of most cars built today will last 200K+ miles with a minimum of consistent maintenance and care, whereas the things that time affects - gaskets, paint, seals, all rubber parts, etc - will go bad in 10-12 years and are much more expensive to repair.
Not to mention a car that has been driven more has had more regular lubrication and charging.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I believe there is a complete set of TRD brakes for the camry now, I could be mistaken, and they will be a world of improvement if the anecdotes I have read are to be believed. I am sure that with the type of driving you are doing in yours, it will be a long time before you have to replace brake pads, though.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Comments
Back when I lived in the Washington DC area...I listened to Pat Goss' radio show. Constantly recommends BG 44K.
I had a problem with pinging, due to carbon deposits. Over a course of about 2 years...tried everything, from Techron Clean-Up to Redline (40,000 miles of driving annually...allows me to try different products). So, it was let's try out BG 44K, or shell out $150 for a carbon removal process (chemically). $20 for the can of BG 44K (you need a funnel), it's not diluted with alcohol....and a tank of regular gas (instead of the usual premium), and a long road trip (going up Baltimore, taking the long, long way, and avoiding traffic)....back to using regular gasoline, instead of premium fill.
For me, using it myself made me a believer of the BG 44K, the stuff ain't cheap though.
Wax the exterior more often then once a year.
I use a gas additive in my cars, either the Amsoil PI concentrate or the Schaeffers Neutra. Never had an injector problem (Camry has 147,000 miles)
I didn't see a fuel filter up there, I do mine every 30,000
I do a drain and fill of the tranny every 30,000 and use synthetic (gets 50% of fluid and you can do it yourself) . Pulled the pan twice, filter clean magnets had some debri but nothing major. To me a flush is overkill and dangerous and a boat payment for the dealer.
She looked at the 2002 Camry but is really interested in the new Accord ( EX V6 in Redondo Red Pearl with CD/MP3 player by the way ) MORE POWER than the Camry, more audio options, nicer interior are major differences for her.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
As it stands now I have racked up 20,454 miles on the Camry. I bought it new as an '01 Camry on July 19, 2001 with 9 miles on it. As aforementioned, this last year won't be indicative of my normal mileage. I will be traveling a lot more moving forward which will help propel me toward my goal of 1,000,000 miles.
So far no mechanical problems or accidents to report. The car has ran flawlessly. I have a couple very small rock chips on the hood and front bumper which I'm going to repair when I do my next detail. Beyond the couple chips, the paint and cosmetics look better than new. I guess all my detailing efforts have been paying off.
Thanks to all for keeping this thread alive - I will post again very soon.
I routinely keep my Toyotas out to 200K+, last one to 250K, have not ever had major mechanical problems, but lots of other stuff went as it got old. Expensive repair that happens around 200K: fuel pump - to the tune of about $600. Radiators go and seem to cost an awful lot from Toyota - $500-600 just for the part vs $175 aftermarket. Suspension all around every 100-150K costs another $500.
Still much cheaper than paying for a new car, and since the engines and trannies last without replacement, no expenses are huge. My last Toyota I was going to keep until one or the other gave up, but just eventually got bored with it - wanted something new. The curse of the well-built car!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Moving forward I will be doing a lot of road travel for business and thus will start racking up considerably more miles than I did the last fifteen months. In fact I'm getting ready to take a road trip to Vegas here in the next two weeks as I have a business conference there.
I too understand the curse of a well built car. I know that I will still be driving the same car ten years from now if I want to make it to my goal. At that time I will likely envy the drivers of the then late model cars.
Will see I guess....
Did you get your XM radio yet? How do you like it? Is it worth the monthly subscription fee?
I can tell you though that I have a colleague who also lives here in Portland who has had XM in his vehicle for awhile now. He loves it and definitely feels it is worth the subscription price. He says reception has been excellent with exception to a particular parking garage he uses at times.
I admit lately that I have put a lot of energy into getting free music online. The usual... I download MP3's, convert them to Wave, and burn them onto audio discs that I can use in any CD player. I've been very busy with work and haven't had much time to surf the net, so I just go online in the morning before going to work, queue up a list of music I want, and let it download throughout the day. By the time I get home I have a few albums worth of music. I have so much new music to listen to that I may neglect the XM a little once I get it all hooked up in the Camry. Will see I guess!
43K summary
Gas consumed: 1828.434 Gallons
Cost of Gas: $2910.56
Average Economy: 23.55 MPG
Best: 34.3 MPG
Worst: 16.8 MPG
Gas Cost per mile: 6.66 cents
Maintenance Cost: $2388.28
Maintenance Cost per mile: 5.5 cents
Miles Covered: 43,670
Running Cost (Gas + Maintenance): $5298.84
Running Cost per mile: 12.13 cents
Bought in November 1999 for $27,538.
Sold in October 2002 for $16,700.
Depreciation: $10,838
Depreciation per mile: 24.8 cents
Direct Cost of Ownership: 36.93 cents per mile
Insurance approx. $600 per year for 3 years = $1800
Insurance per mile: 4.12 cents
Total Cost of Ownership: 41.05 cents per mile
Are you sure that a GMC product will outlive a Toyota product though? History and statistics all speak to the contrary.
I like GMC/Chevy trucks. I think they are one of the best looking trucks on the road. A million miles though????
I agree with you. GM trucks are very good. I own a 98 K1500 pickup truck and it is excellent, no defects yet in 62K miles. My dad's 62 1 ton GMC pickup truck (Manual Transmission) made it to 332K miles when he sold it. Very few repairs other than regular maintenance and replacing mufflers several times.
But thats nothing unusual for Toyota trucks. Many toyotas will be able to exceed that mileage but not so many GM products. And if they do it will be at a much higher cost due to repairs.
I have a 01 Toyota Echo with already 53K miles and not one repair or complaint yet. Engine oil is synthetic and filtered with an Amsoil dual filter/bypass setup.
I admire your goal of 1 million miles but in my case I will be quite happy if my cars reaches 400K miles without replacing major parts. Only time will tell.
Good luck with your Camry. It's an excellent car but I opted for my Echo because of the excellent MPG's it is able to achieve. 41.7 MPG is my average.
I have been meaning to find someone who has installed and been using an Amsoil Bypass Filtration System - particularly on a Toyota. I have been considering the purchase of Amsoil bypass systems for both of my vehicles.
I have a few questions regarding the system that maybe you could answer for me if you don't mind.
1. How easy was it to install and where did you put? The only space large enough in my engine compartment is under the battery on the driver's side of the car.
2. How long have you been using the system and have you had any problems with leaks or changes in oil pressure?
3. Have you done oil analysis since you have had the bypass system? Specifically, have you done enough analysis that you can compare your oil 'pre installing the system' to your oil 'post installing the system'?
Thank you in advance should you have time to answer my questions. I have been planning on installing the system but have had small bouts of anxiety regarding the idea. I want the ultimate in oil filtration for my cars but not to the detriment of other problems - leaks, oil pressure irregularity, etc.
1) It was not very easy to install at all. You can imagine that in an Echo room is at a premium (not in the cabin but in the engine compartment).
The dual filter setup is just in front of the left front tire, in the fender, just forward of the splashguard in the tire well. It took some time to fabricate a bracket that would fit inside this small area. Now it looks like it came that way from the factory.
2) This was done about 7.5 K miles ago so I have not had an oil analysis done yet. I will wait until the 10K mark. As posted previously, the car now has 53k miles. As soon as I have the results from the oil analysis I will post them here for you and others to see.
Based on past experience with several cars and trucks, the longevity of the engine will most likely more than double. Unfortunately everything else on the car will fail sooner or later.
I have not been able to find a synthetic ATF that complies with the Toyota T-IV standard and therefore I will be draining and refilling my transmission about every 40K miles with Toyota ATF. I'm planning to install a bypass filter for the tranny as well.
I know, it makes no sense to most people but I don't care. I would like the transmission to last 400K miles as well.
So far no leaks whatsoever and I don't expect any to develop.
There's no way to measure changes in the oil pressure as this car only has one of those " idiot lights."
It will be tough for most people to justify the cost of the dual filter plus installation. The kit itself is about $ 200, plus two filters (full flow and by-pass). Figure about 4 hours labour (about another $ 200).
If you are somewhat experienced with mechanical work you probably could do it yourself.
Most people will never spend that kind of money on this Amsoil filter system because for someone that keeps a car for 5 to six years it means that they will never really benefit. Any modern engine should last at least 200K miles (assuming regular " dino" oil changes every 3k - to 5k miles).
Since you intend to keep the car for very long it certainly makes a lot of sense.
Depending on your type of driving you could do your oil changes every 15K miles or even longer. Only oil analysis will tell you what the ideal interval between oil changes is appropriate for your car.
I will take some pictures of the setup in my car. Send me an e-mail to cc4293@yahoo.com if you are interested in them.
You can probably use the "spin-on" adapter which will easy the installation dramatically.
(it would be easier to install than my car, which has the oil filter "canister" molded to the engine block...which has a replaceable element instead of a typical cartridge).
The single remote filter was impossible to use in my case. No suitable adapters were available from Amsoil and my mechanic couldn't find one anywhere else (toyota and parts shops included).
To all... I will be leaving (driving to Las Vegas) tomorrow morning. I will check back in 2,300 miles later next Thursday or Friday.
I just sent you an email.
Imagine the following scenario: you stick the car on a dynamometer so that it is not moving and rev the car in gear until the front wheels are going 30-40 mph, and just let it run off the miles on the odometer without ever turning it off, except every 5000 miles for long enough to perform maintenance by the book. You could feed it gas when it got empty, without turning it off. Would this extend the life of the powertrain significantly in terms of miles? How much? At the rate of 40 mph, you could run off the whole million miles in about three years!
...now, what else can I do for a while???...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
My assumption is that you could probably get most motors to run two or three million miles under those conditions assuming that you kept the temperature constant.
Real life dirt in the air, stopping and starting, cold weather, etc. are the main culprits to an engine. Your scenario eliminates most all of them.
The lab-controlled testing is what companies to to baseline and compare designs.
That is one way of increasing the chances of reaching the million mile mark. A warm engine starts easier and pollutes less.
Take a look at www.bobistheoilguy.com, do a search on block heater and wou will see what I mean.
I actually just ordered a ZeroStart engine block heater form JC Whitney. It is the type that will plug in-line to the heater core hose and heat and circulate coolant. I will hook it up to an extension cord plugged into a timer that will come on about three hours before I go to work.
I'm excited to get it and see how it will work. Hopefully it will do it's job and it won't leak. I live in Portland, OR so our climate is pretty mild. I will definitely use it Dec-Mar as it gets down to the the 20's and low 30's (occasionally teens) during the night. At least the weather isn't too severe here like it is back east. Between the engine heater and synthetic oil I should be good to go.
I'll let you guys know how the install goes.
This said though, I'm still hoping it will benefit my car to some degree - even if it is small. I figure the less time the car is on high idle for the first mile or two of stop and go driving in the mornings the better. Frankly, I also hope the heater works faster for me in the mornings too.
Does anyone know how to removal the '90 Camry distributor cap and rotor for cleaning carbon with ignition file on the cap post and rotor? It is 4 cyclinder engine. Thanks in advance!
Go to Pepboys and buy new parts. The guys at counter will show you how to remove it. I just replaced my dist.cap/wires & rotor (they come as a package) on my '87 Camry last week. I replace mine every 75,000 miles. Only $45 for part. Good luck
How many miles now?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Currently I've got 25,000 miles and some change on the car. I'm starting to drive it a bit more and for longer distances for my work. I will be driving to Canada here soon for example.
Just out of curiosty... I read in your profile that you have a 2003 Matrix. My wife and I also have an '03 Matrix XR that she uses as her daily driver. How are you liking your Matrix?
My car is an automatic, but I know you are correct; a manual transmission tends to be less problem prone as it isn't nearly as complex as its automatic brethren.
Ideally the conditions you described (always keeping the car running) are the way to go when one is trying to maximize a vehicles life. I try to do as much highway driving as I can. I'm aiming to see how far I can go though with a "real world" approach to driving (mix city / hwy). Will see I guess.
But the versatility of the inside is superb, as well as the steering and the looks, and the handling, and....I could go on! I am going to have the auto-headlights eliminated - they are the only irritant on an otherwise fine car.
I mentioned the brakes on your camry because I have a friend with basically the same car, and while he is a bit of a leadfoot, he is going thru front brakes about every 20K, which he laments! Of course, you probably do a lot more highway driving than he does, proportionally speaking.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I have started to wonder if time plays as big a part as miles on a car. It seems like the useful life a an auto is about 12 to 15 years. Sure they can go longer with proper repair, I am just thinking out loud.
People like cab drivers or couriers that run a lot of miles a year get very high mileage. They don't turn off the engine as often and obviously drive a great deal of highway miles. These cars routinely go 200M, 300M or 400M miles. However, most cars that only drive 12M to 15M miles a year are really used up by the time they hit 150M. I know the different type of driving plays a big part but how about the affect of time. Moisture and pollution that add to the wear of parts, mechanical and otherwise.
I understand this isn't black and white but I am really starting to believe that the years as much as the miles add to the reduction of an autos life.
As far as brakes go on the Camry. I have read before that some drivers have had to replace their brake pads at 20-25k mile intervals such as the case with your friend. I'm guessing that driving style has a fair bit to do with it such as you mentioned. Perhaps there is something inherent to the Camry that causes it too. I do plan to switch over to higher performance brake pads when I do my first brake job. I may replace the rotors too when I do this. I have no problem with the stock brakes in town. I have noticed mild brake fade on the highway while driving through mountainous terrain at higher speeds though. I'm hoping that a higher performance set up would eliminate this. I also know that generally higher performance brake pads tend to wear out faster and of course are much more expensive to replace. I will have to find a balance I guess.
Luckily I live in Portland, OR where we have a pretty mild climate. We don't have salted roads, severe sub-zero degree blizzards, and ice storms like our friends in the northeast experience. I'm hoping that our mild climate will aid in the preservation of my Camry.
Unlike cab drivers and such though, I will have to drive my car more years to rack up the miles. I'm hoping to hit the million mile mark with a real world set of driving habits. This will make a million miles that much more impressive if I get there.
I don't plan on 1,000,000 but would like to see the 200,000 area from my 2000 VW Passat.
The mechanical parts of most cars built today will last 200K+ miles with a minimum of consistent maintenance and care, whereas the things that time affects - gaskets, paint, seals, all rubber parts, etc - will go bad in 10-12 years and are much more expensive to repair.
Not to mention a car that has been driven more has had more regular lubrication and charging.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
00602-04491-015 Toyota Camry 1997-2000 Brake Pads Set, FT.Brake Pad, HP $63.27