Oh what a feeling

Several years ago I met an elderly gentleman who owned a 1970 something Commodore. It had done just short of ONE MILLION km. I asked him what was the secret to being able to get a million Km out of it. His reply was : " I change the engine oil and filter every time I look at the dipstick and the oil is just starting to go off colour. And another thing is to keep the engine running at its normal operating temp for as a long as possible" He stated that he was a sales rep in his younger days and he was paid a car allowance, and as he travelled the length and breadth of the country his engine never got a chance to get cold. Also mentioned that if he went from Perth to Melbourne he would change the oil and filter there, and when he got back to Perth the same procedure would happen all over again. Preventative maintenance can save on costly repair bills was his motto. I`ve started doing the same with my 4x4

My brothers 1991 Hilux has 460,000ks on the clock. Actually still runs well with no oil usage. He has had a bypass filter on it from an early age.. Or you can change the oil or fiter regularly, clean oil is the key.. Having said that , its had a few starter motors and alternators and because it has not been garaged, the plastic inside the cab is chalky and off colour.. So they still wont last forever.. Id say 715,000ks is a good run for an engine.. Michael

That's good going! I thought I was doing well: just sold my 1995 Jackaroo (petrol) with 396,000km and the most major work was replacement clutch (once) and reco starter (once), oh - and changing the timing belt (that wasn't much fun!).

It wasn't just nursed around on sealed roads either - it's done the Strzelecki Tk, Birdsville Tk Oodnadatta Tk/Old Ghan, Tanami, GRR ... and still going strong. Only sold it to go overseas for a couple of years.