Yeah I know, the title is out there, and is meant to catch your attention. As a mechanic with some years of experience under my belt and seeing how I am nuts and I treat my car like a giant baby (love that commercial), a friend came and ask me: I just bought a new car, what are the steps you took to ensure your will last forever?

Forever is a big word, but I did do unusual things. Why did I do them? I can read a lot in the internet, in the forums, engineering books, etc, but nothing beats seeing something for yourself. I see the chosen few crazy as me customers that do these things, my boss and I of course, and I see the results. If 10 XKs come to the shop and their engine runs rough at 80'000 miles, and one customer comes with 120'000 and his engine runs better, I wonder why, look at the service history and and draw conclusions. My boss and his 30 years of experience also explain to me and after everything is said and done, these are the things I DO (I STAND BY WHAT I WRITE BY DOING THIS ON MY BRAND NEW BABY) because I know better. Because I'm the guy that opens up engines and sees what is inside. I write this knowing that some people are going to hate, but is what I believe. And some of you might want to try it. Here I share MY MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE:

jaghelp.com: How to make your car last forever

 

Overall I'm with you, except:
1. AMSOIL is probably the wrong fluid for a lot of transmissions (mine is ZF 6HP26), but use something appropriate instead
2. 5000 mile oil changes are a waste if the OE is a lot more (mine's 10000 / annual), besides oil isn't what kills cars unless you really foul up
3. stay away from fuel additives unless you're a car-industry chemist
4. use the right plugs & interval (mine are iridium not platinum and 100K miles - using platinum will not help)
5. brake fluid just does not need changing every 2 years (5 years, maybe)
6. coolant also does not, if you've a modern long-life one (5 or 10 years)
7. power steering fluid - sorry, no way every 2 years
8. here we need proper additive in screen wash and it's cheap plus lasts at least a year so no need at all to flush
9. wax any way / frequency you like (monthly is way too often I reckon but maybe our tastes in wax differ)

My last car lasted 11 years and 163,000 miles. Current is on 10+ years but I happen to do fewer miles so only 110,000 so far.

What I would say: Read The Maintenance Schedule and anything else the maker has and at least do that stuff!

Be reluctant to believe people's claims about what the car maker says. Often those people are PLAIN WRONG. (Not directed to the OP.)

For example, I checked, and found Jaguar say to change the ZF fluid despite endless people saying they don't say that. Well, Jaguar do and anyone can log in for cheap and see that they do. (This is an up to date version of RTFM.)

And for those in areas prone to rust: do serious treatment (such as Waxoyl). Rust kills cars (here).

 

i certainly agree with many of the comments here ESPECIALLY the transmission fluid change which seems to be forgotten by many people..... For some reason no matter what the previous owner says i always run a FULL service front to back as soon as i get a another car.

Great posting...

 

Well, the reason why I say use AMSoil is because I have a couple of customers that actually came in with their brand new cat and said, flush my transmission fluid, and put AMSOIL. I ask why, they say because its some mineral crap I don't like. AMSOIL gives a tranny fluid they recomend and we put it on. 100'000 miles later when the filter pan is changed I see no shavings at the bottom, whereas in other transmissions I do, that's my argument and why I use AMSOIL.

When I change the oil on my car and customers that religiously do it at 5'000, I stick a camera inside the oil cap hole, and see whats inside. And what I see is absolutely a new engine. Not even glazing one the parts. When I look inside a customers car that changes it at 10'000 miles, I see glazing, and a bit of black glazing. (I'm not saying is all sludged up, I'm just saying there is a notable difference)

I don't beleive that the spark plugs that come with your car are necessarily the best, I have customers (the performance enthusiasts) that have experiment with different more expensive plugs and different characteristics, like cooler running plugs, and have seen improved both performance and fuel economy (dyno) but not much.

About changing coolant, I change a lot of cooling system parts, and I see lots of corrosion inside, that's why I change it every two.

Brake fluid, I read in multiple sites of manufacturers of brake fluid and they recomend every 2 years, but even after two years I test mine for humidity and it seems fine, so that one I admit I don't have a strong argument, I just change it regardless because is cheap and I'm crazy I guess, but in this forums we all are crazy about our cars...

For the power steering fluid I think that the fluid that gets beaten the worst is the power steering, being that the power steering pump is the highest pressure pump in a car and a couple of quarts is not that expensive either...

And windshield washer fluid I've seen it create more problems than it solves, like a foul smell when not used, and I've taken out washer tanks and seen lots of solid residue at the bottom, which plug up lines and pumps, while water doesn't corrode that bad...

I try to give a solid explanation as to why each thing, if I let something out please do tell...

 

By way of example you state to use platinum spark plugs. Well, they're the WRONG ones for a Jag 4.2 AJV8, including my STR. So some of your advice is bad. I'm saying people should not blindly follow advice which is clearly not all correct and you ought to fix the advice.

 

I agree that changing fluids, at minimum, by the book is a good thing.

If you change the brake fluid every two years you will have less trouble with your brake system, including the ABS.

I change transmission fluid more often than the book recommends. Cheap insurance and in my experience, most people have their transmission crap out before the engine does. I rarely have issues, even with transmissions that are known to be problematic. I'm referring mainly to automatic transmissions in this case.

In the 'old' days Mercedes recommend many regular fluid changes, for example annual brake fluid changes. These cars were expected to last for decades and did if the maintenance was kept up and rust didn't get them. I've personally seen old Mercedes with over 750k miles on them and still running strong.

Original poster has some good points.

To each their own.

 

A generic one-size-fits-all maintenance schedule usually does more harm than good by promoting inappropriate or incorrect recommendations. Pulling intervals out of the air that conflict with the OEM interval just causes confusion and controversy.

I see little purpose in publishing this list.

 

Thanks for publishing this list. I have a similar one for each of my cars. Your reasoning and the discussion by others is interesting.

Personally I dont have much faith in factory schedules for a car you are going to keep. Especially at the commodity/commercial end they seem more about giving the appearance of lower running costs rather than long term.

 

I change oil every 5000km in all vehicles ,filters every 10000km. Brake fluid and coolant and diff oil on the 12 monthly rego due date every second year(or the nearest convenient day) and transmission fluid every year. This way nothing gets overlooked.
When I get another vehicle I change oil,coolant and trans fluid then carry on from the next 5000/10000km mark, year or two. This way nothing gets missed
I don't use mechanics so every vehicle has a hard cover book with km/dates/receipts for all parts right down to every nut bolt and washer replaced, and a hand written description of everything done to the vehicle. Which goes with the vehicle to the next owner. Therefore they have a comprehensive record of every cent I have spent on the vehicle(unfortunately ,so does my wife).
The last pic is for work completed today,so I am about to grab the glue stick and pen and write up today's work.

 

Changing fluids more often than the OEM recommends does no harm but is very hard to substantiate that it actually helps anything. There's little or no proof that the factory intervals are not anything but conservative already. Cutting them in half again makes little sense. Modern engines are rated for 15K mile oils changes, so the 10K interval on ours already looks 'old school'

I do object to recommendations introducing incorrect fluids or materials. No idea why the OP doesn't recognize this.

 

Wish I had your faith in the manufacturers. Whats incorrect in terms of fluids is another classic. That well known oil company Toyota (?!) suggests (via their dealership spin doctors) that the world may end if you dont use there Toyota labelled products. It doesnt of course and last time I checked the cans came out of a Castrol plant.

At the end of the day we do what makes us happy as car enthusiasts. I doubt anyone on here has a car that doesnt get at least basic love.

 

Yarpos, I was about to post something a bit similar:

Remember that the car Manufacturer would like to sell you a new car every 50k miles if possible....good for the economy but not for my pocketbook.

On the flipside, the manufacturer can't have cars crapping out at 50-100k miles as this is bad for their image. So I believe their maintenance intervals are a bit of a compromise.

I run my vehicles for 250k+ miles and then usually sell them, still in good running condition.

I like to change fluids on a 'regular' basis, which does vary depending on the type of driving one does. Cheap insurance in my view.

 

BTW, I do agree that oil change intervals in modern vehicles have increased If one uses high quality filtration and quality oil, especially synthetic, extended drain intervals are not a problem.

But if your driving involves a lot of short 1 or 2 mile trips, for example, then drain intervals need to be shortened considerably.

 

I agree. I call it the 'feel good' factor.

We all have a quirks, I guess. Me? I'm an over-maintainer, changing fluids and lubricants on a strict schedule and more often than most people (but less often than some others). It makes me feel good to do so and I admit to as much. I think it helps my cars last longer but I certainly can't prove it and won't pretend I can. I don't own or operate a research and testing center.

OTOH, I'll rather nonchalantly use any name brand fluids and filters...."whatever is on sale that day".... or even 'store brand' is some cases. If something terrible is supposed to happen as a result of my methods I haven't seen it, heard it, or felt it.

As for the original posting/subejct the term 'forever' is used vaguely. There's no mention of 300k-400k-500k mileages as we'd see in discussions about big truck fleets or taxi-cab fleets and the like. For most of us I'd say that 150k-200k miles is a 'lifetime' or 'forever' and, that beng the case, I'm fairly sure....almost positive, really.... that most people can get there without boutique fluids/lubricants or synthetics and without exceptional effort.

Go visit a wrecking yard. I'm betting that the overwhelming majority of cars lined up at the crusher are less then 200k miles and still have good running engines and drivetrains with lots of life left ahead. The cars ended up at the scrapyard for other reasons.

Actually, I'll revise a previous comment. I'm no longer nonchalant about oil filters. I've gotten this idea in my head recently the Baldwin oil filters are something special and bought a slew of them. I have no way of proving that they're really so great but I'm getting a lot of 'feel good' satisfaction out of using them. But, I won't try to convince anyone else that what I do to 'feel good' is something that they really, really, really oughta be doing as well. Everyone is respsonsible for their own 'feel good'.

For the OP it's clearly Motul and Amsoil products !

Cheers
DD

 

I also add a 100mph run once or twice a month to keep all things in shape. Car is made for these speeds cannot overlook as you do not want to sell a Jag that cannot reach 100mph, (IE: "The British car tune-up!)

 

I made no reference to brand names. Each fluid has a specification that it must meet irrespective of what brand name is on the container.

Not all cars (or all Jags) call for the same spec- for very good reasons. The OP's list erroneously suggests some one-size-fits-all specs. This is a serious mistake.

 

I'm a fluid changer. Oil 3-5k, Trans 15-24k, brake 15-24k, p/s 15-24k, coolant 24-36k, or when any of them show signs of getting contaminated/darkness.

They are the life blood of the car and relatively cheap insurance.

 

Often the manufacturer has fluids made to thier specs by oil companies.

Honda p/s and Toyota "world standard" atf are good examples. Put the wrong product back in there and they will fail prematurely.

 

This is true, but they are not permitted to forbid other fluid manufacturers from making a fluid that meets the spec, nor can they insist that only their own fluids be used.

 

1. As soon as you get the car, replace the transmission fluid for a GOOD ONE.

>>> Really? So the factory fluid is NOT good? Not only is that incorrect, but you may actually void the manufacturer's warranty doing it. If I had a client bring in his brand new 8 speed F-Type with shift problems and anything other than the high-performance factory fluid, you can bet the subject of warranty coverage would be discussed with the factory. ZF doesn't build high end transmissions for luxury vehicles and then ship the cars with Pep Boys generic fluid.

1. Your first oil change at 3000 miles, change it and use Motul synthetic. Then change it every 5'000.

>>> And if synthetic is not specified for your vehicle, if it starts to burn (or leak) oil after 50,000 miles (right out of warranty) chalk it up to "some mystery."

1. There is no such thing as LIFETIME fluid. Nothing last forever. Chemicals lose its properties especially when they are constantly being beaten by a transmission. So no matter what your mechanic, Jaguar engineer, or fuc*ing Obama tells you, follow this schedule:
   1. Change the air filter every 30'000, stay away from reusable filters, every 15'000 take it out and shake it a little bit. Every time you change the air filter clean the throttle housing and the MAF sensor. (If you are by a dusty area like a construction zone or the dessert, then do it every 15'000, is not that hard to change (unless you have a new XK) and they are not that expensive.

>>> Driving conditions vary. Why not just replace it when dirty?

>>> True. Don't forget about intake induction services on direct injected engines. They're nasty at 15k.

>>> Please go by what the manufacturer (conservatively) recommends unless you use gas in Mexico. That's waaay too often. 5.0L are every 150k.

>>> Sooner on many models or larger city dwelling

>>> Really. I mean...Really? Have you looked at the plugs out of even an older 4.0 after 100k. They're not that bad. You just cost the owner more money, and contributed to our landfills.

>>> Waste oil is bad for the environment. That recommendation is 2 to 3 times MORE than specified from the factory. I'm for more frequent than specified from the manufacturer in certain circumstances but...

>>> Too often with later DOT spec fluid. 3 years, as specified is plenty.

>>> More crap going into the environment, and at $60 plus per gallon the manufacturer will thank you. Four years is PLENTY on long life coolant.

>>> I'm speechless

>>> Trust you? That's some of the worst advice I've heard. I've seen countless washer tanks contaminated with all kinds of crap that grows in plain water. I just looked up the last time I charged someone to clean their system out and it was $290. That was a DEAL for them, as we had to pull out the tank, bleach it, blow out all the lines...OMG

1. Do not wash your engine. Just get a rag and wipe it, then put armor-all in another rag and wipe the black plastics

>>> Or have it washed by someone that knows where to spray. Use spray dry silicone one a year and the dirt won't stick like it does to armor all.

1. Put gas only on clean reputable gas stations. I use shell, and Chevron

>>> Good advice. And don't use Costco gas...

1. When replacing the tires, replace them with the ones that came with your car or better. If your tire is 5 years old, time to change them, no matter how much thread left. Make sure they never sell you old tires.

>>> Six years, unless Yokohama (they claim no expiration)

1. Wax it every month.
2. Wash it every week. Two times a week if it is black.