How do you tell how much life is left on your car?

[Shrimpster78]

How do you tell how much life is left on a car?

[jeffcoslacker]

Simple answer, you can't.

You can gauge engine life with tests like compression level and oil content analysis, will give you an idea as to the general condition of the engine, and similarly what you find in a tranny pan and the condition of the fluid, along with pump and line pressure readings can give some idea of how healthy a tranny is.

But I've seen relatively new engines blow up without warning, and I've seen worn out, rattling old smokers run for years...there just are no guarantees when it comes to cars...machines are by nature a bit unpredictable.

All you can do is give it what it requires, and most times it will return the favor.

My favorite general indicator of engine condition is a vacuum reading. I always take a vacuum gauge with me when looking at a used car...if you know how to interpret the reading, it can tell you a lot about what's happening in there..you can spot problems like low compression, worn out timing valve components and valve problems.

A good hard look at the underside of the car is essentail to, things like worn out bushings and such are not that big a deal as they can be replaced...but you want to look for actual structural issues that are not easily repairable and are a safety issue, like front cradle (subframe) to body mount corrosion, and rust around strut mounts and other suspension locating/mounting hardpoints...when these areas go, the car is basically junk, the cost of repair exceeeds the car's value in most cases...

[jeffcoslacker]

"timing valve" was a typo, in case anyone caught it...should have just been valve...

Why can't we edit anymore?

[Shrimpster78]

Thanks for your help

[Forscythe87]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Why can't we edit anymore?

Using firefox?

Same here. Figured out you can edit using Mouse 3 (center scroll button for those that dont know). The edit box will open up in a seperate tab but it works. You can also right click and copy link and post in URL box. Funky...

['97ventureowner]

A problem was noticed when Firefox 3 was released. A quick way I found to get around this issue is to click the "Go Advanced " button instead of the "Post Quick Reply" button and post that way. I'm using version 2.0.16 still which has no issues and am reluctant to "upgrade" to version 3 until this bug is fixed on this site,( It's been reported that this is the only site this issue occurs on )
Going with what was posted above concerning looking at the engine AND the body, up here in the northern part of the US, the vehicles wear out with the body first due to heavy salt usage in the winter, and just the opposite for the southern regions. Twenty years ago I knew a guy who loaded his flatbed up with good engines and traveled down South and sold them or traded them for cars with great bodies but bad engines. He then brought them back North, replaced the engines and re-sold the cars.

[airsense00]

Originally Posted by Shrimpster78

How do you tell how much life is left on a car?

When is the last time you had someone in the back seat?