My wife took in her '96 Caravan with 202,000 miles on it (and the ORIGINAL
tranny) (also does duty as racecar tow vehicle--not lately-- and camping
van. She went to our favorite gringo crap fix-it or sell-it shop. (Guy
races a Bugeye, just to put it into perspective).
The owner said, "There's no Chrysler guidance on 200,000-mile service, they
never thought they'd last this long."
I told him I replaced the plugs at 97,000 miles and he said I should
consider doing that again.
He said the power steering pump leaks a little and recommended keeping a
bottle of fluid under the seat.
He said the muffler's starting to go (original muffulor) but thought it
sounded cool and to leave it alone.
He said the rear brakes were getting down and said I should put on new shoes
if the van lasts until racing season starts again--if ever for the Works
Midget.
He said each rear wheel bearing made a different hum but looked okay. He
suggested I buy a wheel bearing and seal and throw it under the seat too,
unless The Misses was no good at doing wheel bearings on the side of the
road. He then backed off and said, hold off until it gets in the way of the
stereo-- who knows, somebody could broad-side you tomorrow-- no sense not
putting it off until the last minute.
He pointed out I still had the original rear wiper and it had no rubber. He
suggested I go to NAPA and pick one up lest I scratch the glass.
I asked him to change the trans oil and clean the filter. He said it looked
new to him and to "wait till you gotta buy a trans."
I asked him to flush and replace the cooleant, and he finally said,
"Okay....But you could probably do that at home."
I made an appointment for next week for him to do the 200,000 mile service.
When I did, he said, "You know you've been on the lucky side with this
thing. Don't forget to bring it back for the 300,000 mile service. You
gotta keep up on the maintenace or they won't last."
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 19:27:43 EST
From DLancer7676 at cs.com
Subject: Shysters
My son called me a couple of weeks ago and told me that the "Check Engine"
light was on on his Saturn. I told him to take the car to Advance Auto or
Auto
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