brianpavlovic Posted September 25, 2004 Posted September 25, 2004 Hey all! I was wondering if it is possible to drive the car too much? I know this sounds stupid, but I would like to keep my Lex for a long time. I drive about 60 - 75 miles a day to and from work. You know, no matter how bad my day was, it suddenly gets better when I drive home in my baby Brian
ArmyofOne Posted September 25, 2004 Posted September 25, 2004 it is possible i suppose... my 1995 Ford Contour had 384,990 miles on it when i crashed it. the damned thing must have been a freak or something, cause it STILL runs like the day it was new, minus a radiator, a/c system and power steering.(due to the crash) as a result, i can only run it for a few minutes at a time. ..BUT...if a ford can make it that far, a toyota better make it farther. BTW... If i were you, i would switch to synthetic motor oil to get the most life out of your engine, also switch to synthetic tranny fluid as well. but...my next door neighbor has a 2004 VW golf, and it has 67,000 miles on it already (he runs his own courier business). so no, i dont think its possible to drive a car too much. understand that every part on a car is a wear item, some things just take longer than others to wear out (I.E. rod bearings Vs Spark Plugs). just a thought. highway miles are easy on engines and trannies, i think you will be fine for many years tocome if you stick to the freeways...how many miles do you have so far???
SKperformance Posted September 25, 2004 Posted September 25, 2004 Driving too much isn;t as bad as too little if it is mainly highway then it is very little wear on the car except the suspension ,otherwise you don;t use the brakes or gas which also reduces the carbon and wear on the tires
brianpavlovic Posted September 26, 2004 Author Posted September 26, 2004 The car has 130K on it right now and I did switch to Synthetic Motor Oil. I am using the new Valvoline Syn Max Life and the car runs great! Someone even yelled at me at a light that my engine must have stalled because they couldn't hear my engine! I also changed my tranny fluid, but the guys at Jiffy Lube looked at me like I had four heads! I showed up with Toyota ATF fluid and they all started laughing and saying that I payed too much for regular ATF. I guess all ATF is the same? I don't know, but what I do know is that if I follow the manual that came with the car, then I should not have any problems. I do not want to open another debate like the oil one, but IS ALL ATF FLUID THE SAME? Anyhoo, the car is driven all highway miles on the PA Turnpike! I heard that highway driving is not that bad, I was not sure. -Brian
ArmyofOne Posted September 26, 2004 Posted September 26, 2004 no, not all ATF is created equal... mobil 1 Sythetic motor oil and Mobil 1 synth ATF is above all others IMO. it goes in ever vehicle i own/maintain.
SW03ES Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 Not actually. I wouldn't use anything but the specified Toyota ATF in the car. It is a very sophisticated long life fluid and is far moreso than the Mobil 1, synthetic or not. As for the people at Jiffy Lube laughing I would have asked the manager if they wanted me to take my business elsewhere and write a letter to Jiffy Lube explaining why or if he wanted to have his employees stop laughing at treat me with respect. But thats just me ;) As for can you drive the car too much, short answer no long answer yes. A car is a machine and has many moving wearing parts. The more you use it, the more of its life you're using just like any other peice of equipment.
ArmyofOne Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 look at it this way, EVERY moving part on a car is a wear item, and some non moving parts as well (spark plugs for instance). but also keep in mind that a spark plug shouldnt outlast a rod bearing. different parts wear at different rates, but rest assured the rod bearings will go eventually. if they dont something else serious will. are you saying i shouldnt put synth in my 1990 es250 trans?? if so its too late...previous owner did it already...at the reccomendation of the lexus dealer: Sewell lexus.
SKperformance Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 I think every oil is different in properties just like cars some are better than others and some are lightyears ahead of the rest
steviej Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 are you saying i shouldnt put synth in my 1990 es250 trans?? if so its too late...previous owner did it already...at the reccomendation of the lexus dealer: Sewell lexus. no Army, you will be fine. Toyota T-IV ATF was not around when you tranny was built. Your tranny was built around the specifications of the tranny fluids available at the time (DOT-II or DOT-III). Mobil 1 makes a very good synthetic ATF as an alternative to DOT-II and DOT-III tranny fluids and you should be fine. However, if the car specifically calls for Toyota T-IV ATF then I would stay with that. I even asked Mobil 1 if I could be confident that their synthetic ATF would be a comparable alternative to T-IV and they have yet to get back to me in over 3 months. As a side note, they did post publically that they do not suggest that newer Honda owners use it when the manual specifically calls for Honda tranny fluid. I have to think that they will follow suit on the T-IV. steviej
ArmyofOne Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 cool, ok...thats what i figured. this site is great! :D BTW, call me Josh, man. BOT...
brianpavlovic Posted September 27, 2004 Author Posted September 27, 2004 So, All ATF is not created equal. Is it because of how the tranny is put together or what it is made of? I am just asking Besides the fluids, what else should I do to help my car help me get me to work? I am a firm believer that if you take of your car, it will take care of you! My family bought a 1990 Honda Accord that was eventually handed down to me and I still have it. Four door 5 speed and fully loaded. Is it weird to keep a car just because of all the memories that surround it? Anyhoo, it has 490K and runs really strong!!! Changed fluids regularly and drove it like an old man!!!! Oh, one more question, the last time I was at PepBoys, I noticed something weird. When I was in the oil isle and reading some of the labels, why does Honda require 0W-30 oil as opposed to 5W-30? -Brian
ArmyofOne Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 because they rev so high...most likely. did you know a Gen II civic (1993-1996) will top out at like 9K?? LOL. hondas have a relaly high revving engines. thats not where the limiter is set, thats where the tach goes. i have seen a jdm civic rev to 9500 RPMS. that sounded sweeeeeet.
SKperformance Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 I used synthetic mobil 1 tranny fluid in my tranny, it now slips like hell . Other memebrs with tranny problems have also used mobil one in tehir ES. So all in all stay away form their tranny fluid I switched to amsoil synthetic and it has much improved
mburnickas Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 I used Amsoil ATF in my 98 ES for almost 40K miles. No problems at all. smooths shifts.
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