I drive a 1999 Chevy Malibu with 177,000 miles on it and its been a great car for me since i got it with about 173,000. Nothing wrong with it now, i put new brake pads, new calipers on both sides, change the oil not too long ago and I'm wondering if there's anything else i should worry about or plan ahead to get something done so this car can last me a lot longer. Should i be worrying about the engine or transmission now with the high mileage if nothing has been occurring?How to maintain a High Mileage Car?With so many miles on the car, you should have taken it to a mechanic and have it checked out. Would have cost about $50.00. Since you didn't do this, there are a couple things you can do to check the engine and transmission.
Get a compression guage and remove your spark plugs. Screw in the compression guage to each cylinder. Crank the engine about 5 revolutions to obtain the highest reading and write it down. While you are checking each cylinder, pay attention as to whether the compression slowly drops. If so you have a compression leak in that cylinder, which could be caused by many things. If the compression slowly drops, get an oil can and squirt some oil in that cylinder and then take another reading. If the compression does NOT decrease as before, then it is caused by bad rings. The oil you squirt in will seal around the rings for a short period so as to check it. Or if you have low compression and it increases after you squirt in oil, that also will be your rings.
If the compression still drops after squirting in oil, then it is cause by a leaking valve. Of course this is taking into consideration that you do not have a warped head or blown head gasket.
Also, once you take a compression check of each cylinder, the highest reading of a cylinder and the lowest reading of another cylinder should be within 15% of each other. If more, then you need engine work.
As for your transmission, pull out the dip stick when the engine is hot. The color of the fluid should be red. If it is not red and has a %26quot;burnt%26quot; smell, then you may need transmission work. However, change the transmission fluid and filter.
NOTE: Never remove spark plugs on a car with aluminum heads when the engine is hot. You can tear up the threads that way.
The spark plugs can tell you a lot about the engine. When you remove the plugs, check them for fouling by oil. Your plug firing tip should be a light brown.
To be safe, I would have also changed the plugs and spark plug wires. A lot of people not in the know, believe that you can take a plug right out of the box and put it in. Gap them according to specs before putting them in.How to maintain a High Mileage Car?Joe's got good advice. If your engine is going, and the car is still good, a used engine can cost less than $1000 if you can do your own work.
Take care of a high miler, and it will keep running. If the timing belt hasn't been changed, install a new one, replace old belts and filters, keep a close eye on CV shaft boots, and fix little things as they crop up instaed of waiting for big failures.
I drive high mileage cars, and have had good luck with them. Repairs are cheaper than payments, they cost less to register, and you can get a car with more options than you could afford new.How to maintain a High Mileage Car?The best proactive measures you can do is scheduled oil/fluid changes, you say you took it over with 173,000 on it? When was the transmission fluid last changed, you need to track all this in a maintenance log.How to maintain a High Mileage Car?Just keep oil changed.
