Tips to keep older cars running smoothly...

[Guest]

Obvious, are you a mechanic in wigan?

And what's wrong with mechanics in Wigan?

With the improvements in spark plug technology and the advent on platinum and irridium spark plugs they tend to last around 60,000 miles or even the lifetime of the car.
Platinum spark plugs have been around for about 15 years so yes they are in older cars also.

Also petrol filters cost buttons why not replace them each time you change all the other filters?

Any tips on gearbox oil and brake fluid?
And what about brakes,suspension, tyres and exhausts?

Not all mechanics, I'm sure there are one or two competent ones in the town. Certianly the ones in the two or thee garages that I bothered with (one that 'specialises' in a certain kind of old cars) are rather useless

I still disagree about spark plugs - Even platinum gets dirty.

[a guest's guest]

i thought you would change your spark plugs after about 5 or 6 oil changes?

[Obvious]

You can change them as often or as little as you wish. If you take 'em out & inspect them for oil fouling, broken electrodes, deposits etc & there are some, then they may need to be cleaned / replaced.

[stan]

My Volvo 760 Turbo Estate is now approaching 17 years old and is in better condition now than when I bought it 10 years ago due to regular servicing at Volovs.

The most serious problem I have had was when a plastic bag got sucked from the floor into the air conditioning system.

It still beats the boy racers away from the lights.

I'd say that was £2700 well spent.

[Guest]

don't clean your spark plugs, you risk scratching the electrode which will cause extra resistance and a heat concentration - This will result in a much reduced service life as the plug starts to fail apart!

Replace them every 2 years or so if your cars running crap. Otherwise they will be fine for ages

[Clare321]

There is only one answer to the question posed:

Trade it in for a brand new one!

What do you mean? Isn't everyone as rich as me???

[Obvious]

There is only one answer to the question posed:

Trade it in for a brand new one!

What do you mean? Isn't everyone as rich as me???

No ... were richer, as we don't have the cost of a new car on credit

[Guest]

Platinum +4 sparkplugs last longer than you want to look at the car in your driveway. Now in the day of Champion plugs, every year was about right.

Then again these days getting the dratted plugs out means a engine disassembly... lol.

[Guest]

well, really it depends on your car tbh.

if it something a bit quick [scooby, evo, cosworth etc] where the condition and operation of the plug really does mean life or death [of the engine] then yes, be carful cleaning the plugs and do change them every year/12k miles.

if it's your average car, [saxo, fiesta, astra etc] then it'll typically be fine for 3 year/36k mile interval.
if not then as has been said have a look at your air/fuel ratio as something maybe wrong. or indeed a serious fault allowing oil to foul the plugs.

fuel filter is generally every three years/36k miles unless it's a diesel when it's more important to do it more often, 2 years 24k.

oil and filter, every 6k miles if it's a old ish car. although there are exceptions new vw diesel can cope with 20k mile oil change intervals.
again with oil, don't get the cheapest stuff from tesco. same with fuel upto a point, if shell is opposite tesco go to shell instead.

brake fluid, every 2 years regardless of mileage, it can be messy though.

a haynes manual is a very worthwhile investment, & consult a pro if theres anything you get stuck with. although be warned if you are a woman on your own the chances are you'll get stung by a dodgey garage, typically ATS/Kwik-Fit are ones to avoid despite the big friendly coportate image.

[ollloy]

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[Guest]

This is generally good advice for newer cars. Better still, read the owners manual and keep to that if possible.

BTW, old cars don't have pollen filters as most don't have heaters.
Old cars also tended to use oil bath air filters, just change the oil.
Few old cars have fuel filters either. Fitting one is generally a good idea provided the car has a capable fuel pump. Some are gravity fed from the tank.
Changing brake fluid is only needed on modern cars. Old car brakes are cable operated.
The biggest thing is to grease the various lube points every few hundred miles. New car suspension and steering components are vastly superior these days.

New cars require much less servicing. Impreza Turbo plugs last 60,000 miles by the handbook although oil changes are needed every 7,500 miles.

[Exodus]

New cars require much less servicing. Impreza Turbo plugs last 60,000 miles by the handbook although oil changes are needed every 7,500 miles.

They have oil that is tested up to 10,000 miles. However, if you read the container on these kinds of oil, it says that you still need to follow your factory guidelines with oil changes (to avoid warranty clashes). In the case of your Impreza WRX, if you let your oil last 7500 without a change and something happens to the engine, I'll bet you anything that they say its "warranty neglect" on your part and won't be covered. Oil changes have always been every 3000. I do know for a fact that the Impreza WRX, Impreza WRX-STi, and Lancer Evolution have extremely strict warranties, specially for general maintainence.

[Duckie]

If its an "old" vehicle, PLUG WIRES! I just had an issue with mine. It turned out to be a rather large issue, and only took five minutes to fix! Well worth the small cost!

[minigirl]

This is generally good advice for newer cars. Better still, read the owners manual and keep to that if possible.

BTW, old cars don't have pollen filters as most don't have heaters.
Old cars also tended to use oil bath air filters, just change the oil.
Few old cars have fuel filters either. Fitting one is generally a good idea provided the car has a capable fuel pump. Some are gravity fed from the tank.
Changing brake fluid is only needed on modern cars. Old car brakes are cable operated.
The biggest thing is to grease the various lube points every few hundred miles. New car suspension and steering components are vastly superior these days.

New cars require much less servicing. Impreza Turbo plugs last 60,000 miles by the handbook although oil changes are needed every 7,500 miles.

sounds like this person is still living in the 1950's!

[franfran]

brake fluid, every 2 years regardless of mileage, it can be messy though.

Be careful when handling brake fluid - it's a very efficient paint stripper.....