My wife will soon be putting 60 miles a day onto the old 98 xk8 as it moves form toy to daily driver. It's got 63k on it now. I replaced all the timing gear 1k miles ago. I figure if any issue were going to pop up that they would probably surface in that amount of time. I replaced the idler pulley, and belt as well. The front shock mounts should arrive on Monday and the new sway bar bushings arrived today. I also replaced the plastic thermostat housing with the metal one, and will be replacing the hoses as well.

additionally, the tires are a year old as are the rotors and pads...

What else can I do to help ensure a reliable experience for her?

 

Long list of other potential issues but most will fail softly. Don't remember if you had the TB service action done but cleaning and protecting the connectors with some dielectric grease couldn't hurt.

Don't know about your wife but mine would notice a problem only about the time a wheel fell off. You should drive it occasionally just to 'feel' the car.

 

The TB was replaced under warranty along with the water pump, and the motor in the steering column well before I bought the car. As far as greasing the connections would you expound on that a bit?

 

I think Tom might be talking about 303-58 http://www.gusglikas.com/AutoRepTB.htm

 

I would suggest that you don't let your wife see the subject line of this thread. You would not want any confusion there. LOL

 

Good Point!

 

Dielectric grease (silicone grease) goes a long way toward isolating electrical connections from moisture and, in your case, air borne salt.

Are there common auto electric problems out there in the middle of the Pacific?

 

I have been using CRC electrical contact spray. You need to be cautious when applying grease that it is Dielectric http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...uestid=1257964

 

More than a couple of times my car stumbled and stalled, both running at speed, and off idle while giving a "poor engine performance" light. Each time it was the part load breather getting choked off with gunk.

I now keep a drill bit or nail handy in the glove box to clean out this orifice. I'd go so far to either show your wife how to perform this fix; or at the very least write up a tech and keep it in the glove box so a roadside repair can be performed by a garage mechanic coming to the rescue.