How much life is left in my car??

[1990lumina]

Alrighty guys, I'm looking at a job that'll have me driving quite a bit more then usual. I'll be putting roughly 200km (125miles) a day on my Lumina. Multiply that by 5 for 5 days a week and that's 1000km (620miles) a week. Take into account per month and that's 4000km (2485miles).

 

As it sits right now my Lumina has 158,xxxkm on it (~98,xxxmiles). I just did a full tune up and the car seems to be running quite well. I'm averaging 26-27mpg city and 35mpg on the highway. The tranny seems to shift fine, though it still likes to drop gears if I corner too fast....anyway...

 

The rear struts are brand new, front suspension is all original except for the steering rack which has 20,000km (12500miles) on it.

 

Now I'm looking at it that this car IS worthless right now. It seems that it would make a great DD, and I like it on the highway as well. I'm not scare of racking the mileage up, because honestly selling it now or crushing it later isn't going to make much difference.

 

I'm just wondering how much life do you suspect is left in the drivetrain and other suspension components? I'm going to be driving this car into the ground basically...just wondering how many years I might get out of it. I'd be puting on roughly 50,000km (31,000miles) a year.

 

just wondering how many years I can expect out of it. Only issues I've noticed withthe engine are the lifters are noisey as fuck but they eventually calm down when the engine warms up...i'm sure the mtor will go a long time in current condtion? As long as I don't abuse it, the tranny should have a fair amountof life left too. Keep in mind most of these miles are on the highway

 

Anyway thanks for your input!

 

[runt]

I was throwing about 20,000k (miles) per year on my old Cutty and it held up fine. I was doing about 70 miles per day back when I was in college. Personally, if you have a parents car that you *could* drive if yours went out, I'd do basic maintanence on yours and run the bitch till she dies. I bet you there is A LOT more life left in the car. Hell, it's a '90 and you don't have over 100k!

 

YOu know your not gonna get ANY trade on it, and even selling it outright would be tough to get something worthwhile. Yeah, it's a W and we all love our W's but run 'er till she's gone. I only WISH I could have had two cars...b/c I would own to W's right now...lol

[slick]

For the trans, add another half quart of trans fluid. It is common for the trans to slip out of gear going around a corner. The sloshing of the fluid causes the pump not to be able to pick up fluid. Many auto-x guys run there trans a half quart over to prevent this.

 

You car should run for a long while more. Just keep up on the preventative maintenance, and you should be fine.

[GnatGoSplat]

As long as you keep it up and fix the little problems as they occur, it's likely to keep going... and going... and going... till the rust gets so bad the rear suspension parts no longer have anything to bolt to or the subframe drops out. Even after that, it'll probably still start up.

 

[Supreme Cutlass]

You might want to install an auxillary transmission cooler for those long drives, but mechanically you should be fine until rust begins to be a problem.

[Regal_GS_1989]

Unless you total it or something, you should be able to bring it to 300 000km. My regal has 390 000 Km on the original tranny too, and its still going strong. Just keep the little issues at bay, and keep up on the maintenance and you'll be fine

[Lord Bowler]

shit dude just keep up with maintenance and ull be fine

[1990lumina]

I intend on keeping up on maintence and everything...thanks for the tip on the tranny fluid...I might add some today then if running it overfilled isn't going to be a huge concern..

 

Right now the car is pretty much rust free. The under carriage is pretty clean still, and the body is 99% no rust.

 

I'm thinking the way Jeremy is thinking...it's aworthless car to sell, so why not run it till it dies....when it will die is the question....apparently I still have half the life left which is pretty good....guess I'll hopefully get a few more years outta her yet.

[slick]

I intend on keeping up on maintence and everything...thanks for the tip on the tranny fluid...I might add some today then if running it overfilled isn't going to be a huge concern..

 

Right now the car is pretty much rust free. The under carriage is pretty clean still, and the body is 99% no rust.

 

Just don't way overfill it, and you will be fine. Like I said, 1/2 quart over should help. If it's right below the top level mark, put in 3/4 bottle.

 

Hell, if it's rust free, the trans shifts fine, and the engine is still running good(sounds like it when you posted your mpg), you still have a lot of life left in it!

[Stevo]

I think of the 2.8/3.1 as a housefly banging against a window pane.

 

It keeps going non-stop or what seems like forever with very little power.

[Euro]

Unless you total it or something, you should be able to bring it to 300 000km. My regal has 390 000 Km on the original tranny too, and its still going strong. Just keep the little issues at bay, and keep up on the maintenance and you'll be fine

 

you have under 100k miles, you should be good for another 40-50k with no major problems

[GOT2B GM]

Just keep her oil sprayed yearly and the body should hold up pretty good.

[Crazy K]

I have already driven my 93 vert 10,000 miles in about 3 months.... and my 92 lumina to 222k. If you recall I chopped it up. nothing wrong with anything on it other than it needed paint.... and I needed an engine for another car. now... the car that received the lumina engine has only driven 50 feet on it's new engine, but someday I'll start using it.

 

in my opnion. 1 city mile = 10 highway miles. A car in use at speed will suffer a minimal amount of wear, assuming you don't beat on it like GP1138. Take advantage of overdrive and roll.

[1990lumina]

Hmm...well lets say the mileage on that car now is 90% city miles..my grandma used it as a grocery getter...went to the local Coop store every day even if she didn't need to buy anything lol

[White93z34]

i'd still say it has alot of life in it, i see w-bodys at the junkyard all the time with well past 200k on them. the 3.1 is a notoriously relyable engine, so the engine itself should be good for 300,000 or so.

 

i used to put about 125-150 miles on my z34 every day, did that for a long time, and i still put alot on it. and its been about 3 years of that now, and it shows no signs of stoping, and i have the "OMG 3.4 UNRELYABL!!1" engine, and i can safely say that its been the most relyable car i've ever owned. just keep up with the matniance, and pay atention to suspension parts, and you should be just fine.

[Brian P]

yeah, just like was said. Highway miles are much less abusive for a car vs city miles. You can also look at it like engine-hours vs mileage. Thats why if you see any newer vehicle with abnormally high miles, they'll usually keep going much further. I do about the same mileage as you. I did about 27,000 miles last year. You can extend your oil changes well beyond 3,000 miles, I did around 7500 miles or more with the synthetic (every 3 months). Keep up with 30k mile tranny fluid changes. Maintain the tires, rotation and pressure are very important, more so than it is just driving around town.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

 

My old 1988 GP would still be around if it weren't for tires, struts/suspension issues, and RUST. The fact that the undercarriage was so rusty I was afraid to go under the car when it was on jack stands- that's what determined it was time for the scrapper. However, the engine/trans were still fine!

 

Like Brian P. said keep up with the tires, alignment, and that will ensure the best highway drive. Maybe get the front suspension checked out and replace anything if you are worried about it. Other than that you should be able to double the mileage! And x2 on getting a cheap oil undercoating before the winter.

[1990lumina]

how much does this under coating cost?? I guess if i'm gonna be driivng on salt and shit all winter it'll help save the under carriage.

 

Yeah i'm gonna try and get this car into a front end shop ASAP...they can tell me what all needs to be replaced. I believe the upper strut bearings or whatever is up there are shot...might as well replace the struts while I'm at it...then all that will be brand new on the car...possible ball joints and tie rod ends too, but the wheels don't have any play when you pull 9 and 3 and 6 and 12...though the car does pull to the right on the highway, so I should have it aligned (replace shit then aligned)...plus new tires.

Now I'm debating a nice set of all seasonal touring tires or still going with winter ice tires...These Contennitenal tires on my dad's volvo are very good in winter tires, and they're just a touring tire...

[White93z34]

after last winter i don't ever want to run all-seasons in snow ever again, snow tires are cheep and are awesome.

 

i mean i can get around in the snow alright on all-seasons, and hell i ran half the winter on bald all-seasons at that, but the change to snow tires was amazing, plus it saves your alloy wheels. so my sugestion is get some cheep 14" or 15" steelies and snow tires.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

how much does this under coating cost?? I guess if i'm gonna be driivng on salt and shit all winter it'll help save the under carriage.

 

Call around.... you should be able to get just the undercarriage for around $50 IIRC. If you want the whole deal (shot up inside the fenders, door hinges, parts around the engine bay, gas cap area, in the rocker panels etc.) they have to drill holes sometimes and plug it with a little rubber grommet- it will run you at least $100. This will help prevent body rust whereas just the undercarriage will keep the bottem good.

[88Regal Limited]

I think of the 2.8/3.1 as a housefly banging against a window pane.

 

It keeps going non-stop or what seems like forever with very little power.

sigged!

 

And 1990lumina, your lumi should be good to over 200k miles! (m, not km)

My regal has like 140k and no maintenence its going along fine!

[Addicted To Boost]

how much does this under coating cost?? I guess if i'm gonna be driivng on salt and shit all winter it'll help save the under carriage.

 

Call around.... you should be able to get just the undercarriage for around $50 IIRC. If you want the whole deal (shot up inside the fenders, door hinges, parts around the engine bay, gas cap area, in the rocker panels etc.) they have to drill holes sometimes and plug it with a little rubber grommet- it will run you at least $100. This will help prevent body rust whereas just the undercarriage will keep the bottem good.

Dude I would undercoat it with POR 15. It costs $37 for quart of the stuff, which is enough for about 2 cars, so you can slap on a REALLY THICK coat on your Lumina and never have to worry about it ever again; it is permanent. BTW: It is very helpful if you can put the car up in the air high enough so you can comfortably put it on the whole underside of the car.

[White93z34]

I think of the 2.8/3.1 as a housefly banging against a window pane.

 

It keeps going non-stop or what seems like forever with very little power.

sigged!

 

And 1990lumina, your lumi should be good to over 200k miles! (m, not km)

My regal has like 140k and no maintenence its going along fine!

 

for the record how long has it sat in your driveway? almost a year now as i recall

[88Regal Limited]

I think of the 2.8/3.1 as a housefly banging against a window pane.

 

It keeps going non-stop or what seems like forever with very little power.

sigged!

 

And 1990lumina, your lumi should be good to over 200k miles! (m, not km)

My regal has like 140k and no maintenence its going along fine!

 

for the record how long has it sat in your driveway? almost a year now as i recall

it's getting inspected this coming week. I'm sorry, but I cant justify 400 bux for a leaking powersteering rack w/out labor at the other place. I'm just going to wash the bottom off and slap some duck tape over it and hope it passes.

[ZoomZoomFan]

What type of place would do this undercoating you folks speak of? A dealer?

 

I'd like to have it done to my Beretta.