Basic Maintenance

[signature16]

I have a 94' Mercury Tracer....not the sweetest care out there, but everything works and its in great condition for having 95k miles on it.

I am 19, and I don't really know anything about cars. Besides oil change, what should I do on a regular basis to keep my car in good condition? I wan't to make the car last a long time.


Do the fuel types really matter? Should I just stick with the middle quality gas at Mobil?

Is the more expensive oil worth getting?

Should I clean my engine?

[jdv45]

Originally Posted by signature16

I have a 94' Mercury Tracer....not the sweetest care out there, but everything works and its in great condition for having 95k miles on it.

I am 19, and I don't really know anything about cars. Besides oil change, what should I do on a regular basis to keep my car in good condition? I wan't to make the car last a long time.


Do the fuel types really matter? Should I just stick with the middle quality gas at Mobil?

Is the more expensive oil worth getting?

Should I clean my engine?

I always use the mid grade gasoline on my daily commute, I don't feel any increase on preformance when using the high grade one. I wish my car about twice a month and clean the interior almost every month to keep it clean.

[jdv45]

Originally Posted by signature16

I have a 94' Mercury Tracer....not the sweetest care out there, but everything works and its in great condition for having 95k miles on it.

I am 19, and I don't really know anything about cars. Besides oil change, what should I do on a regular basis to keep my car in good condition? I wan't to make the car last a long time.


Do the fuel types really matter? Should I just stick with the middle quality gas at Mobil?

Is the more expensive oil worth getting?

Should I clean my engine?

I always use the mid grade gasoline on my daily commute and my car doing fine with it, you might want to try them out to see the difference. I always keep your car clean in or out.

[jdv45]

Originally Posted by signature16

I have a 94' Mercury Tracer....not the sweetest care out there, but everything works and its in great condition for having 95k miles on it.

I am 19, and I don't really know anything about cars. Besides oil change, what should I do on a regular basis to keep my car in good condition? I wan't to make the car last a long time.


Do the fuel types really matter? Should I just stick with the middle quality gas at Mobil?

Is the more expensive oil worth getting?

Should I clean my engine?

I always use the mid grade gasoline on my daily commute and my car doing fine with it, you might want to try them out to see the difference. I always keep your car clean in or out.

[gw84]

If you're wanting information other than "detailing" maintenance, another forum, such as the Mercury forum would be best.

[gw84]

Originally Posted by signature16

I have a 94' Mercury Tracer....not the sweetest care out there, but everything works and its in great condition for having 95k miles on it.

I am 19, and I don't really know anything about cars. Besides oil change, what should I do on a regular basis to keep my car in good condition? I wan't to make the car last a long time.


Do the fuel types really matter? Should I just stick with the middle quality gas at Mobil?

Is the more expensive oil worth getting?

Should I clean my engine?

I'm not sure if cleaning the engine would have any effect whatsoever on the driveability of your vehicle Many people will probably tell you that the kind of oil is not the important thing, but the FILTER can make a difference. Although a certain [orange] brand is readily availiable, it is NOT the best. Among those recommended to me: AC Delco and Wix seem to be quite popular. The reason people dislike the one in the orange case (brand not named) is because the inside of them is made out of cardboard....plus the others don't cost much more!
There are a lot of other things to do to maintain a vehicle, but like I said, this is probably not the best forum for it.

[Andydg]

Originally Posted by signature16

Do the fuel types really matter? Should I just stick with the middle quality gas at Mobil?

It's not quality...it's octane rating. If your car doesn't need a higher octane then you're just wasting your money. If your car does need the high octane then you would feel a drop in performance if you used 87 instead of 93.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Andydg

It's not quality...it's octane rating. If your car doesn't need a higher octane then you're just wasting your money. If your car does need the high octane then you would feel a drop in performance if you used 87 instead of 93.

Exactly. If you still have your owners manual, check to see what octane rating the manufacturer recommends. If you don't have it anymore, post a question on the Mercury forum to see what the required octane rating should be used. Consumer Reports did a survey a few years back and found that many people are using the wrong grade of gas in their vehicles, wasting money and in effect, adding to the problem of our dependence of imported oil, as it takes more crude to produce a higher octane rated gas. Something like under 5% of vehicles produced require the highest readily available octane pump gas as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Most vehicles do just fine on 87 octane.