Oil is oil, really. The only upgrade you'll get is a switch to synthetic. Transmission fluid is lighter colored and it, along with gear oil in a differential, are the ones that smell bad. But, if the fluid is old or has been worked hard it can be as black as motor oil and at that time it should be changed. Every 60-75k miles is probably a good time for a transmission flush. Valve cover gasket isn't a big deal. If it was a head gasket you would probably have some other problems as well. A small oil leak really isn't a big deal, just check it periodically to make sure you're not too low. You will want the tires with the most tread on the back, gives better grip to prevent a fishtail. But if the rears still have lots of tread it probably doesn't matter. As far as power steering fluid, I doubt it has to be changed and it is usually dark in color. When new it's lighter colored but gets dark quick. Unless it got contaminated by an outside source or has seen prolonged severe duty use power steering fluid could last the lifetime of a car. A fuel filter is something that will slowly get clogged over time, it could be due for a change. Personally I wouldn't unless I was having engine performance issues.
Pretty much what everyone else has said. It is always a good idea to change any oil in a system, oil break down over time, through wear and tear. Not changing you fluids is a major cause of failure in most applications. One of my biggest issues with newer vehicles is that they dont have an external fuel filter. Every time i change my tires from summer to winters and back, i rotate them. My front tires go to the rears on the same side, and my rear tires come forward on opposite sides. This way all the tires get even wear. So will argue this point with me, but i have always said, a name brand oil is the same as any other. "High Mileage" is just a selling feature, it may have a little different make up, but it is pretty much bs. I sell Castrol oil, and i don't stock there "high milage" cause it just takes up to much self space for no sales.
Every car/racing forum I've seen has at least one monstrous oil thread and it's almost religious. Having talked to some of the oil engineers from major brands at various Grand Am races, I've asked them about the different formulas, including high mileage stuff. Oil is really a big deal in the Porsche racing world, especially the older, oil/air-cooled, roller-tappet engines like what I race that benefit from the zinc and other shit that has been removed from most oils these days. The whole Brad Penn vs Mobil 1 thing; dino vs synthetic, etc. One of them told me that they engineer the high-mileage formulation so that it's less likely to leak out of old seals, but the lubricating features/performance are almost identical. They have additives that somehow target the seals and get absorbed into them, and doing so kind of expands/tightens the seals. So, on an older car that's leaking a bit, it might be worth trying. I've seen the same thing when switching between synthetic to dino oil, just because of the molecular size; synthetic is smaller, and can squeeze out of seals easier. I will tell you that we special order our oil for our modern race cars; Lubro-Moly. It's a pain in the ass to find, and expensive as hell, but in the 24 hrs of Daytona, our engine temps are 40 degrees lower than any other Porsche team. That's after running flat-out for 18 hours. The Porsche engineers couldn't figure out why we were so different, then they saw us do an oil change after a test session. "Really?!? That's it?" they asked. Yep.
Since it hasn't been mentioned, "tire rotation" is not "obvious bullshit." Rotating your tires regularly will even the wear over all of them and make sure that you don't get to the point where you can see abnormal wear.
Very true. But most people fuck up their tires more by underinflating them. Especially trailer tires. I was at a Home Depot last week and saw a guy picking up wood with a dual axle utility trailer, and all the tires looked to be down about 25+ psi. As in, you could see obvious bulging on the tire. I pointed it out, and he said it'd be fine. Moron. High pressure tires, like trailer tires, are really susceptible to excessive wear due to tire/sidewall flex. Keep them inflated properly, and you're all good. Carry a load on them when they're underinflated, and you're asking for problems. Ask me how I know. Oh... and in another "ask me how I know" bit of advice, don't use your super-fancy-and-accurate-as-fuck race tire pressure gauge to check the tire pressures on your race trailer. It's kind of funny watching the indicating needle spin around like a top, until you wake up enough to realize how much your new paperweight originally cost you.
Can I just say that I'm amazed that someone would call a maintenance task as basic as tire rotation, "obvious bullshit"? Ignorance is fine - really. If you don't know about a topic, then great, go ask the experts. But if you don't know shit about a subject, why would you leap to the conclusion that something is so obviously a load of crap - especially something so easily learned about by a basic Google search? Also, so as not to make this post totally devoid of useful information, minor fluid leaks are not necessarily sell-the-car problems. Engines with a lot of miles on them aren't as tight as they used to be. Minor oil leaks are not the end of the world - and are, in fact, quite common. Just check your oil regularly and top it off when needed.
My rule of thumb is that when I buy a used car, I redo ALL the fluids, because I have no idea when they were last done, or that they were done correctly and with the proper fluid. I'd rather spend $50 on fluid and a couple hours of my time than fry something that will cost a grand to fix. The best example I have of justifying this behaviour is when I bought an old Ram 1500 to use as a tow vehicle; the engine coolant was 99% tap water, they'd shoved a bunch of wood chips in the transfer case (a medium-aged cedar, I'd say), and the oil and fuel filters were almost plugged. So while the oil looked good and fresh, they obviously weren't changing the oil filter at the same time. And when I do change them, I paint-pen the dates on them of when I did it. Look at any of my oil/gas filters, and there's a date on the outside of when it was last done. I also rip apart my oil filters on my daily drivers to see if there's little bits and pieces in there that might indicate bigger, upcoming problems. I also nut-and-bolt the car, as in get under it and look at shit, become familiar with things. On the recent Jeep I bought, the emergency brake line was attached to the T-bar with a zip-tie. Just about every boot needed to be greased. Etc. Proper maintenance is about scheduled maintenance, so if you're new to the car, assume you're starting over from scratch. That's my advice. I mean, why wouldn't you? If you don't know the basics of auto maintenance (and I'm talking about what and when shit has to be done, not even the how to do it part), then you're setting yourself up to be taken advantage of.
To start off, I'm impressed that my apparent ignorance prompted to you to write not one, but two posts about my perceived dismissal of the importance of tire rotation. Maybe I should have explained the situation better, or maybe you possess terrible reading comprehension skills. Either way, I'll go into more detail about the nature of my original post, and the history of the vehicle in question. I went to get an oil change at Valvoline. This is a place notorious for selling things you don't need. My intention was to ask everyone here some advice before performing the necessary maintenance, as its obvious some of the posters on this forum are quite knowledgeable about these types of things. I think this venue is a reasonable alternative to a google search. I don't think that tire rotation in general is bullshit, like you suggested, I just think his claim that I should get it done is. This is because the front tires are brand new, with maybe 2,000 miles on them, at most. The rear tires are about four years old, and have very good tread. Why would I want to put older tires with less grip up front, on a front wheel drive car? What it comes down to is trust. I'll get something done on the car if its suggested by the local Ford Dealer. They're top notch, and have always done a great job. Heck, the last time I was there one of the mechanics told me he was impressed by the condition of my car, so I must be doing something right. I just take anything said by a dude working for Valvoline with a grain of salt.
Two things: I'm about to be on the market for a new truck. I bought my current one nearly ten years ago when it was new, and it's time for a change. My current truck still looks and runs like a new one, so I figure I can either trade it in or sell it, which will aid me in actually paying for a new one. What's the deal with trade-ins? I've never done it, but it seems fairly common. Should I trade the current truck in or sell it outright? Secondly, I'm trading up in order to get a bigger truck. I hate to spend the money, but my wife pretty much has me talked into it. I've narrowed my choices down to two trucks. I am looking to buy a 2008-up Ford F150 or Dodge Ram 1500. I want a V8, four door, 4x4 truck. The four door thing isn't a must, but it will at least need to be an extended cab. Is there anything I should know about either of these specific models when making my decision?
Don't get dead set on trading in your truck. You'd probably do significantly better doing a private sale and putting the cash towards your new ride. Ever wonder why so many new car dealerships have so many used cars? They make higher profit margins on them (most of the time) than they do selling new ones. They almost always offer you significantly less than it's worth. I'm a big fan of the Ford F-series trucks. They're reliable and easy to work on. I've never owned a Dodge but friends who had them did not keep them very long. Lots of front end issues that the dealerships said came from plowing with them.
I am going to second Guy Fawkes on this. Whenever I have decided to change vehicles, I would put my present vehicle up for sale first. Only after it sold and I have the cash in hand would I go looking for its replacement. People do trade ins because they do not want the hassle of selling the old vehicle, but it is really not that difficult as long as you price it right and actually stick around the home until it sells. The last pickup I sold, I cleaned it up on Sunday, then Memorial Day I drove it out to a nearby street that gets quite a bit of traffic. I put a for sale sign on it and started walking home. When I walked in the door the wife gave me a phone number of a guy who wound up purchasing the truck later that day. I then went out the next day and purchased a new truck. The old saying amongst us geezers has been, you buy a Chevrolet pickup for comfort, you buy a Ford pickup for work and you buy a Dodge pickup (Cummins) to tow.
No way. It's gotta be this: In other news, our Expedition with the 5.4L Triton just puked up another spark plug. Back at the mechanic, I don't fuck around with trying to heli-coil the heads, so we're going to have to go get another big truck. I was thinking of switching to a Suburban. I might be trading my Grand Prix GTP in on a Dodge Magnum wagon with the Hemi. Anyone have experience with either of those?
On the Rams, be really, really careful with the front ends. The ball joints are absolute shit. There's a huge stink about them right now, as the original parts are cheap Chinese metal that might not even last 25k miles, and are having to be replaced way, way too often. If you're going to buy a Ram, get it inspected and get the proof that the front end was done. Otherwise, just assume that you'll have to have them done as soon as you buy the truck.
Nah, that won't fit into my garage. I love the front end though. Excellent "end of days" survival vehicle. Why not buy some aftermarket heads for the Expedition? Lots of parts available, less expensive than buying Ford MoCo parts, unless you're going used. Some headers and 3.5" pipes... rumble rumble.
2003-2005 BMW Z4, thoughts? I'm looking to Guy, Nettdata etc here, not "ragtops are for hairdressers" types. These are cheap, good on gas and cost the same to insure as my Miata. The Boxster is better, but out of my price range, I like the S2K but insurance for an early 20's single man living downtown with no garage is, to put it lightly, a nightmare. My NASA PT racing friend swears the Z4 is awesome, but I'm soliciting other opinions.
A friend of mine has one, and they're not bad. Where as the Miata says you suck cock, the Z4 says you're more of a power-bottom.
So I recently got my dream job offer to work in the deep, deep south (Arizona/Mexico border). I drive a 2007 Chevy Impala, this might sound stupid, but with no moving/traveling experience what so ever, what do I need to do to get it ready? Anything? I'm assuming I'm going to drive it down (from New York). Should I get it checked for whatever it needs before I leave? Sorry if this is rambling, I'm still celebrating with a bottle of gin, and I'm not familiar with this situation at all. Thanks.