High mileage car 'refresh'

High mileage car 'refresh'

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Discussion

caelite

Original Poster:

4,273 posts

111 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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Hey folks

There's another still active thread about 150k+ milliage cars floating about, where many are, very rightly stating that a 15year/150k mile car can easily be reliable and mechanically sound however many suspension and dampening components will be well past their prime. I was just wondering what the general consensus on here would be for a high mileage refresh to make an older car drive like it had just left the showroom.

In my opinion I would do the following:
1. Wheels + tyres, obvious one, tyres are consumable, wheels take a beating over their operating life and can easily be replaced with something lighter and more modern.

2. Full oil, belt, spark, ignition lead and gasket service, with modern engines suffering less from bore wear than they once did, I can't think of anything further than this to return an engine to its factory glory and compression.

3. Springs, shocks, suspension mounts & bushes, all of these components take a beating I would expect them to be still usable but tired at 100-150k

Just wondering if I had missed anything, actually tempted to get stuck in and perform some of these refreshes on my 100k mile Mazda 5.

ZX10R NIN

27,495 posts

124 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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If it's an Auto change the Fluid & Filters

Change the Diff oil (if it's RWD)

Change the Brake Fluid

Momentofmadness

2,364 posts

240 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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I don't think new wheels would be part of a refresh, but other than if it's what's you fancy then go for it smile

Other than that, suspension, including upgrade to poly bushes etc would make the world of difference.

Fix any niggles, broken trim etc and alsi give it the valet (or detail) of it's life to keep the love affair alive too? hehe

keemaklan

418 posts

149 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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Suspension refresh

Check engine mounts (especially on diesels)

Full belts and water pump

All oils and filters

Continue driving till the next hundred thou.


red_slr

17,123 posts

188 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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I have a high mileage Merc and its not really had anything other than normal service items. The suspension is actually ok at the moment. Might need attention at some point but will keep my eye on it. The main thing that's showing sign of wear is the gearbox. Little bit iffy. I bought a filter / dip stick kit off ebay yesterday planning to do the gearbox oil soon. The interior is literally like new. Wheels need a refurb but that's about it. Only exterior sign of mileage is marks on the headlamps from the headlamp washers that have actually worn a rough area into the plastic lens. I hope to buff that out at some point.

Maxus

951 posts

180 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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From a mechanical perspective suspension work tightens a car up. A steering wheel retrim and a new gearknob really help freshen up the feel of a car.

caelite

Original Poster:

4,273 posts

111 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
Momentofmadness said:
I don't think new wheels would be part of a refresh, but other than if it's what's you fancy then go for it smile

Other than that, suspension, including upgrade to poly bushes etc would make the world of difference.

Fix any niggles, broken trim etc and alsi give it the valet (or detail) of it's life to keep the love affair alive too? hehe
Eh, personally I would include them, or at least a full refurb, the majority of the vehicles I have owned (all 8-20 years old) have had wheel issues, although very minor. From being thoroughly kerbed to corrosion and cracks appearing and causing tyre pressure fluctuations. It's a very easy change to make, particularly as most retailers will do Wheel+Tyre packages at extremely discounted rates if you are doing the tyres anyway (I got a set of 15x7 Team Dynamic 1.2s for ~£70 a wheel if you factor in the tyre cost). Costs a wee bit more than a refurb+tyres do but can entirely change the look of your vehicle and eliminates potential niggles, helped my car a lot going down to 15s on 195/50 rather than the 16s on 205/40 that Mazda decided was appropriate for the late model NBs, high sidewalls increased comfort and made breakaway more progressive

And yeah currently refreshing my 5, my personal to do list is:
DONE
+Tyres&Wheels
+Oil,Filter & coolant flush
+Utility Belts
+Throttle & clutch cable readjusted, its surprising the amount of folk who don't bother with this but sorting it aids pedal feel a lot
+Trim, not necessarily fixing, but I ripped of a bit of rattling plastic from my driverside seatbelt column, was doing my nut in and 'weight saving'
+Compression test, all cyl well within tolerance (between 164 and 168psi), rules out so many mechanical faults.

TODO
-Struts&Springs, looking at a midrange set of coilovers, either FM Vmaxx, Koni Streets or low end Gaz units.
-Gearbox & Diff oil, this NEVER gets done in old cars it seems, very cheap & easy to do, particularly important with clutchpack LSD systems
-Silicon coolant hoses, I've got a minor leak, any excuse to upgrade
-Cam cover gasket, an excuse to paint the cam cover a laudy colour!
-Sparks & Ignition leads, got a set of NGK Iridiums sitting at a friends, been meaning to order a set of high quality 8mm leads
-Full 4 wheel geometry, holding off until after the struts
-Rust repairs, its a 13 year old Mazda 5... no doubt this (the most important job) will be left to last, I hate welding & I KNOW that my driverside sill needs replaced, I am about 90% sure that actually using the driverside rear jacking point will result in a rather large hole biggrin

Asides from that the only thing I am strongly considering is a fresh set of polybushes, although at £300 (which would make it the 2nd single largest purchase behind the coilovers) I am reluctant to do so until it starts squeeking. Toying with doing the cam belt & water pump, but its not due for another 20k miles, I will give it a good inspection whilst I am doing the cam cover though, I will most likely do a headgasket whilst the cam belt is out as that is half the labour for that job.

I might actually clean the car at some point too...

cj2013

1,314 posts

125 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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By 150k, most of the car should/would have been replacing for new in a recent window anyway.

NiceCupOfTea

25,280 posts

250 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
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I know you just mentioned the 4-wheel laser alignment, but I'll just add it again - recently had it done on my 18 year old / 115k miles e36 convertible after it failed the MOT on badly worn front tyres (outer edges looked ok, inner were like racing slicks eek ). So hopefully improved tyre life and more even wear, and the twitchiness, especially in the wet on the motorway, is totally gone and it drives beautifully.

Best money I've spent on a car in a long time - will be doing the same with my Saab 900 (190k miles) when my new suspension is on, and my e46 Touring (150k miles) once I get it back from its service.

Aside from that, full service including diff/gearbox oil, shocks/springs/bushes.

caelite

Original Poster:

4,273 posts

111 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
I know you just mentioned the 4-wheel laser alignment, but I'll just add it again - recently had it done on my 18 year old / 115k miles e36 convertible after it failed the MOT on badly worn front tyres (outer edges looked ok, inner were like racing slicks eek ). So hopefully improved tyre life and more even wear, and the twitchiness, especially in the wet on the motorway, is totally gone and it drives beautifully.

Best money I've spent on a car in a long time - will be doing the same with my Saab 900 (190k miles) when my new suspension is on, and my e46 Touring (150k miles) once I get it back from its service.

Aside from that, full service including diff/gearbox oil, shocks/springs/bushes.
Yeah I have heard a good geometry can transform most 'sporty' cars. Although from what I have heard it is well worth taking your car to some sort of specialist who can advise on a model specific geometry rather than just the local tyre places who use the manufacturers rather wide tolerances. My 5 doesn't seem to scrub but has a lovely 'feature' where holding the steering wheel ~5 degrees to the right equals straight dead centre on both front wheels, really minor compared to a lot of what I have put up with in my history of ropey 4x4s but I actually find it really irritating in the mx5 biggrin.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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It's quite likely that an insurance company would ignore any 'refreshing' work when considering a payout. If I bring my 13 year-old car back to 'factory freshness', I doubt that Aviva would stump up any more cash if it was written offfrown

ambuletz

10,693 posts

180 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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if gran turismo has taught me anything is that you do an oil change and go for the chassis/body rigidity refresh

Riley Blue

20,915 posts

225 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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cj2013 said:
By 150k, most of the car should/would have been replacing for new in a recent window anyway.
???


BuzzBravado

2,944 posts

170 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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ambuletz said:
if gran turismo has taught me anything is that you do an oil change and go for the chassis/body rigidity refresh
Super expensive but totally worth it.

MJ85

1,849 posts

173 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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I'd go for a double oil change. Normally, change the oil, then run it for a short while (few hundred miles), then change it again (plus filter, both times).

james_gt3rs

4,816 posts

190 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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caelite said:
Just wondering if I had missed anything, actually tempted to get stuck in and perform some of these refreshes on my 100k mile Mazda 5.
Unless you are doing all the work yourself, would be cheaper just to buy a newer one?

V40Vinnie

863 posts

118 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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james_gt3rs said:
Unless you are doing all the work yourself, would be cheaper just to buy a newer one?
Potentially but also missing the point of the topic.

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
If you can replace with polybushes (from Powerflex or Super pro for example) then I would recommend that.
Only difference between a new car and a 10 year old car is in the rubber and metal components in the suspension.

ZX10R NIN

27,495 posts

124 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
red_slr said:
I have a high mileage Merc and its not really had anything other than normal service items. The suspension is actually ok at the moment. Might need attention at some point but will keep my eye on it. The main thing that's showing sign of wear is the gearbox. Little bit iffy. I bought a filter / dip stick kit off ebay yesterday planning to do the gearbox oil soon. The interior is literally like new. Wheels need a refurb but that's about it. Only exterior sign of mileage is marks on the headlamps from the headlamp washers that have actually worn a rough area into the plastic lens. I hope to buff that out at some point.
You need change the Filter & Fluids every 40k on a Merc box.

Monkeylegend

26,227 posts

230 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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cj2013 said:
By 150k, most of the car should/would have been replacing for new in a recent window anyway.
294k on my Merc and the only non consumable that has been replaced is the water pump at 220k, but being plastic is almost a consumable, and a rear shock at 80k due to a slightly worn top mount bush.

Nothing else has been replaced but it has been serviced properly, passed the MOT in January with an advisory on surface rust on a brake pipe.

There are no creaks, rattles, suspension knocks, the interior is almost like new, and it still does over 50mpg on a decent run.

The wheels could do with refurbishing but that's down to me and a few curbs.