Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We've had this car for about 10 years now and it still runs like a dream and my husband would love to hang on it to until it croaks. However, it is making some odd little noises and is looking a bit banged up inside.
Anyone have recommendations on what to do to keep an older car running well? We do the regular oil change thing and the scheduled maintainance. We've replaced the tires recently.
So, any tips? anything odd I should be pouring down its throat to clean it out, etc??
How many miles on it? Standard or auto transmission?
If a car is making noises it didn't before, it might be a good time to get the chassis looked at. These are things like shocks, ball joints, alignment, etc. Items like the exhaust can slowly deteriorate over time and work themselves loose.
i, for one, am leary of pouring 'magic fluids' down any engine that's running properly. keep up on the standard maintenance, monitor fluid levels diligently, and drive with common sense and you should go the distance.
now, as for the odd little noises, what kind of noises are we talking about? is it the engine, the chassis, the brakes, etc?
It's got 110K on it.
The engine just sounds louder. It takes a tad longer to accelerate than it used to and it gives a bit less miles to the gallon than it did 5 years ago.
I'm leery about pouring things in the car too.
It seems like when I take it to a toyota dealership for service it doesn't get the same attention it used to sincei t is now an 'old clunker'. I'm wondering if things are going wrong and the service people aren't even bothering to check.
It's got 110K on it.
The engine just sounds louder. It takes a tad longer to accelerate than it used to and it gives a bit less miles to the gallon than it did 5 years ago.
I'm leery about pouring things in the car too.
It seems like when I take it to a toyota dealership for service it doesn't get the same attention it used to sincei t is now an 'old clunker'. I'm wondering if things are going wrong and the service people aren't even bothering to check.
Your car is far from an old clunker. Those Corollas are just getting broken at 110,000. With just basic maintenence, they are known to run well over 200,000 miles before any major work is needed.
Could be a number of things causing noise and lower performance, cleaning the EGR valve and MAF etc etc, would sometimes help.
Being a 96 Corolla with the manufacturer recommended maintenance done to it though, you shouldn't be to worried, but know that it's an older car, and things do get worn.
Personally I have an EDM spec 98 Corolla which is approaching 95.000miles and I've replaced a number of parts in the front end setup already, incl. a balljoint, the "dogbones" on both sides, both shock absorbers etc.
hmm. Come to think of it, I don't think the plugs have been replaced in the near past.
I'm leaning more and more towards an independent mechanic who is more willing to talk about how to look after the car on a daily basis..
DH isn't terribly handy but I am I've always been terrified of messing with the cars since they seem so complicated but frankly, I'm learning that anything is doable with a good book and some research.
Thanks for the advice on getting a shop manual. I will do that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
