Reliable and simple vehicles to maintain.

[Henry W]

Most of us are do it yourselfers when it comes to maintaining personal vehicles. I thought a good topic to start would be one that pertains to reliable and simple vehicles. Most of us will be looking for another vehicle down the road to replace the beloved one we have or had. One thing for sure, working on most newer vehicles have become difficult. But, there are still some vehicles out there that are not bad to work on and I feel this would be a good topic to share our experiences with vehicles.

I've owned a 2000 Nissan Xterra, 2 wheel drive, V six, automatic for 2 years. About a month ago the poor thing got rear ended and side swiped by a loaded semi dump truck. The driver could not stop and tried to go between my Xterra and another Vehicle. The Xterra was totaled by the insurance company but it was still drivable. The Xterra took quite a hit and held up very well. The best thing is I was not hurt in the accident. I decided that I will be staying with a similar vehicle since the vehicle did its job in protecting me.

Things I did not like about the 2000 Xterra was poor gas mileage and some of the maintenance. The mileage at best was around 15 highway. At around 210,000 miles the head gaskets needed to be replaced. Replacing the head gaskets was a job. After the gaskets were replaced the Xterra has been reliable until its last day. The things I did like about the Xterra that it was a good Vehicle for towing loads. The most I've towed was about 4000 lbs and never had any issues with the transmission.

The replacement Vehicle is a 2004 Xterra, 2 wheel drive, 4 cylinder, 5 speed standard. So far I like the Vehicle. It's simpler to work on. Most of all it gets around 23 to 26 mpg highway. It can tow but not as much. I've towed around 3000 pounds with no problems but I do miss the automatic when towing. There is a trade off with the standard but the better mileage is welcomed.

Here Are some pictures of the 2004 Xterra engine compartment.

[LowGear]

Looking at that engine compartment of your 200K+ makes me think that anytime you want to stop by and help with my vehicles let me know how you want your coffee. 

I've received great service from most of my vehicles but have vowed to not buy another fossil fuel car.  OK.  In some ways they're not simpler but in other ways the moving parts count is so low there has to be an advantage.  By the time the Tesla pickup has depreciated down to my price point I probably won't be driving anymore but I am looking for something small and easy for the Seattle, Washington area.

With the exception of keeping the oil and water in check I think adult driving extends the life of any vehicle.  One of my mantras is "The only thing worse than storing a car is loaning it to a teenager."

Casey

[veggie]

Hi Casey,

With all due respect... my understanding of non-fossil fuel vehicles (Electric cars) is that they have a larger carbon footprint than gasoline cars.
1] Cost of manufacturing uses more "equivalent barrels of oil" and the relative cost of "proper" battery disposal (whatever that is) after 7 years is considerable.
2] The electricity used for charging generally comes from a centralized coal fired or oil fired generation plant.

I could be wrong, but that's my current understanding.
If the vehicle is charged by solar, that would be a plus. But the majority are not.
Let me know if I am off base with these assumptions.

cheers,
veggie

IMHO
Regardless of vehicle type or environmental concerns, the giant auto manufacturing monster will continue to produce at all costs in order to increase shareholder value and pay share dividends.

[LowGear]

Hi Veggie,

Those are some of the great myths that guide us through life.
    1)  Barrels of Oil - How?  Fewer parts.  Lithium is recyclable.  Years may not be as important as cycles.  *1.a
    2)  Coal - Yes we must get rid of yester-years energy production processes.  Seattle is mostly hydro but some solar is coming to my roof.
         2.a)  Wind and solar are starting to compete with natural gas which is quite a bit cleaner and absolutely cheaper that coal or in Hawaii's case Bilge Oil.
         2.b)  Coal is cleaner than gasoline?  I don't think there's science that will support this assumption.
    3)  Batteries - Yup, nice stuff costs more.  It's tough to beat that 33+ something kilowatts of energy per gallon of gasoline.
    4)  The US has lost thousands of personnel fighting wars for petroleum.  How do we account the costs of military dominance?

I may waffle and go with some kind of hybrid like the Cruze.  Not at all a simple machine and I'll have to read the manual to learn how to open the door.

And then there was BeauFord.  That's a condensation of Beartiful and Ford.  He was a F250.  What a machine!  What a servant!  I could climb in under the hood and work on that straight six in any weather.  Fond memories of a time gone by.

Our hearts and souls must not be surrendered in the name of money.

Casey

1.a)  Some Math:  500 cycles at 100 miles per cycle should come out to about 50,000 miles.  
                         $5,600 for a Nissan Leaf 28 KWH Battery = $0.112 per mile.  
                         $0.10 per kilowatt = $2.80 per charge = $0.028 per mile
                         $0.14 per mile.
                         50,000 at 20 MPG = 2,500 gallons of gasoline = $5,000 at $2.00 per gallon or $0.10 per mile.                          
                         50,000 at 30 MPG = 1,667 gallons of gasoline = $3,333 at $2.00 per gallon or $0.067 per mile.
To be honest I don't know what a gallon of gas costs because I don't check prices when there's no real choice.   And yes I know that 30 MPG is more realistic but then gasoline in Hawaii is around $3.00 and electricity is $0.32 a KWH.
                          Oil Changes, Filters - Oil, Air and fuel - You'd know better than me as I only drive about 5,000 a year.  Brakes are used far more on gasoline vehicles than modern regenerative ones.

Our hearts and souls must not be surrendered in the name of money.

[Henry W]

Looking at that engine compartment of your 200K+ makes me think that anytime you want to stop by and help with my vehicles let me know how you want your coffee. 

I've received great service from most of my vehicles but have vowed to not buy another fossil fuel car.  OK.  In some ways they're not simpler but in other ways the moving parts count is so low there has to be an advantage.  By the time the Tesla pickup has depreciated down to my price point I probably won't be driving anymore but I am looking for something small and easy for the Seattle, Washington area.

With the exception of keeping the oil and water in check I think adult driving extends the life of any vehicle.  One of my mantras is "The only thing worse than storing a car is loaning it to a teenager."

Casey

The engine compartment picture is from the 2004 Xterra. The engine is the 4cyl.  KA24DE. I need to take more pictures of the engine. That one picture does not show much.

If you think the engine compartment in the picture is bad, look at a 2000 - 2004 Xterra with the 3.3 V6.
The 2000 - 2004 4cyl. Xterra's are a joy to work on compared to the V6 versions.

I drive too many miles a day and I'm not ready consider electric.

[Tom Reed]

I'm rather partial to my '74 IH Scout 2. Very simple and straight forward to work on. With an industrial 345 V8 it will occasionally get 15mpg on a tank. It uses a lot of common Delco and Holley parts.

[LowGear]

If you think the engine compartment in the picture is bad, look at a 2000 - 2004 Xterra with the 3.3 V6.
The 2000 - 2004 4cyl. Xterra's are a joy to work on compared to the V6 versions.

My remark was about how clean it is.  Beauford was my effort to get back on subject for this thread. 

We also really liked Shela Chevrolet.  She was a 3/4 ton Chevy that spent the first 10 years of her service helping the fish store that you always see on travel movies about Seattle where they're passing salmon around "The Market".  We'd eagerly pick up hitchhikers just to watch their reaction.  I'm not sure they all believed the Fish Store story.  Summer or should I write August was the most fun as the heat really brought out the petina of dead fish.  She too was also a joy on which to work.  Same small garage under the hood to fiddle with her inline six cylinders.  She taught me that you can put a disk sander against the flywheel at about 1000 RPM and get a damn nice flywheel resurfacing.  Beauford was our last six cylinder anything.

Casey

[vdubnut62]

Mine was a 2004 Camry. I bought @2yrs old with 134000 on the clock. Paid$ 5800 I did know the service history It was held to a rigorous schedule.   I replaced a couple sets of tires, brakes 1 time and the belts and hoses. It was gifted to my Wife's mother at 228000 with no problems and still has none.  She has strict instructions that no one gets under the hood but me. I do oil and fluid changes with Toyota filters and tranny fluid and Mobil 1 oil. No substitutes. Still gets 35 mpg on the highway. Her 93 Camry died at 328000 of water pump failure. I will repair it to be safe and dependable so she can sell it
 My Wife's  2010 Camry SE and my 2004 Tundra with 110000 and 86000  respectively get the same treatment.
Ron.

[Henry W]

 

If you think the engine compartment in the picture is bad, look at a 2000 - 2004 Xterra with the 3.3 V6.
The 2000 - 2004 4cyl. Xterra's are a joy to work on compared to the V6 versions.

My remark was about how clean it is.  Beauford was my effort to get back on subject for this thread. 

We also really liked Shela Chevrolet.  She was a 3/4 ton Chevy that spent the first 10 years of her service helping the fish store that you always see on travel movies about Seattle where they're passing salmon around "The Market".  We'd eagerly pick up hitchhikers just to watch their reaction.  I'm not sure they all believed the Fish Store story.  Summer or should I write August was the most fun as the heat really brought out the petina of dead fish.  She too was also a joy on which to work.  Same small garage under the hood to fiddle with her inline six cylinders.  She taught me that you can put a disk sander against the flywheel at about 1000 RPM and get a damn nice flywheel resurfacing.  Beauford was our last six cylinder anything.

Casey

Oh,  I did not read your post thoroughly. Some days are long and I just don't have the time to sit back and read things though. This was one of those days. Thanks for the compliment.

I think the Ford 300 six was one of the best gas engines ever put in a Ford pickup. I miss my 1993 F150  short bed 4.9 liter 5 speed 4x4.

[LowGear]

I figured as much.  Electrics are not for everyone; especially at this time.  Much the same goes for many SUV owners that could meet all of their needs with a Falcon station wagon or even a sedan.

We had a motor-pool sergeant that insisted that if they welded the hoods shut at the factory that the vehicles would last just about as long as they were with all of the incompetent maintenance that went on in all motor-pools.  He was the only one in the group not laughing.

Casey

 

[Henry W]

I miss the 1963 Falcon Sprint Convertible.  Such a simple car to work on.

[mobile_bob]

gotta be my '83 toyo diesel p/u truck

no it isn't comfortable, for trips over about 30 minutes
no it ain't pretty, but i guess that is in the eye of the beholder
no it isn't easy to drive, not having power steering and a/c
no it doesn't carry much weight and it has all of maybe 52hp on its best day, meaning maybe 60mph if i shove
my foot through the front bumper. even then it won't make 50 if i am running into a stiff head wind.

but dang, it just goes and goes, and goes some more.

it gets about 35mpg around town, which means i spend about 10 bucks and month on fuel to scoot around town
and to and from a couple local towns from time to time.

i am thinking maybe i will change the oil soon, it has been hmmmm i guess over 5 years now?

maybe i will replace the front glazed squeaking break pads?  nah.... been squeaking for what 7 years now!
maybe i will repair the broken header pipe so it ain't so loud around town?  probably not it doesn't bother me that much.

and best of all?

it beats the hell out of walking

bob g

[Henry W]

That Toyota diesel pickup is one reliable vehicle. In the early 80's Ford, GM,
Mazda, Isuzu, Nissan and Toyota made a reliable mini pickup with diesel engines made in Japan.

[LowGear]

Ahhhhhhhh, Dudley Dented Diesel Datsun.  A perfect slug but 50,000 with out so much as a cup of coolant.  I got more money from the first wreck settlement than I paid for the truck in the beginning. A perfect oxidized brownish maroon except where the scrapes were rusting over pretty even.  And $200 for scrap when the day came.  They just don't make them like that anymore.

Casey

[SteveU.]

Like all things . . . depends, depends, depends.
But limiting prioritizing just down to this topics intent of, "Reliable. And simple to maintain."


Those that need the least repairs. Period.
Those that when repair is needed TO MAINTAIN AS USABLE, are easiest, and cheapest to repair. Period.
These attributes have to be designed-in, then manufactured-in.
All of the preventative maintenance in the world will not turn a 20% annaul failures rate gives-problems vehicle into a good only 5% gives-problems vehicle.

Engines: only one cylinder head designs will always simple-to-mainatain beat fritzzing with two cylinder heads, two exhaust manifolds; and now commonly two sets of timing belts/chains/sprockets/adjusters and sprocket-sets.
Even saying that I'd much rather change spark plugs on my 1994 5.0L Ford p/u V-8 than the nieces MUST LIFT PLENUM/TB/EGR, PT Cruiser. Got family shamed/brow-beat having to do the VERY difficult/tight clearances, many steps T-belt/water pump on that one last summer.

Bought used favor much dry timing belt designs. You will still have to belt replace with a couple of three accessible shaft seals and a belt tensionor. A high miler OHC chain design now from previous sloppy, not-done oil changes you will get to replace chain(s, sprokets, chains guides, AND oil pressure pushed chain tensioners. 2-3X the costs. And the worn engine, low oil pressure will never tension up the new chains properly.
Bought new favor mightily a chain cam drive system. Then Severe Service Intraval oil change and then never have to do any valve/seals/cam-drive repairs.
ALL types: every 2-3 years drain/suck out coolants and DO use a factory grade spec coolant with DISTILLED water to save head gaskets and water pumps.
Bought used factor in dong two of these coolant refreshes immediately to try and save remaining life's before forced repairs.

Transmissions?
Manual transmission only if you, your favorite B-I-L, the Family can R&R for clutches yourself. The only "simple" maintenance possible.
Buy new go auto stepped gear-type tranny. Avoid the CVT ones. Then every 15,000 miles drain (if a drain plug type), or suck out at least 4 quarts of fluid and replace with factory spec fluid to the longest life, least wears.
330,000 on a still shifts fine 1999 Plymouth mini-van 'they-all-fail' auto doing this. 207,000 on a Hyundai Tucson doing this. Wife's "new" 2014 Ford Edge now at 42,000 has been 4 quarts fluid refreshed, once already by me.

All of these, and others bought as third-year-in-release production model cycles. After all of the must-have the latest, greatest, newest folks paid the break-down price's to real world use beta improve the designs.

For the rest of it no manufacture seems to be able to keep all of their now electronics dependent systems 100% reliable past the first 7 years, 175K miles of usage. Expect having to diag, pay for parts to keep maintained-functioning in this area.

Bought used and the power sunroof electronics fail you can manually disassemble enough to crank it shut, then overlay tape it waterproof. IF you'd purchased without this bell&whistle then you will not be deafened by her complaining.
I can repair/fix any manual AC/Climate control system out of my tool-box cheap. Electronic ATC (her Hyundai Tucson) it will gobble up $$$$ is must order-in from Korea parts.
Even nice simple manual crank window can be a go-back pita if you have to door crack every few years. 80's 90's Chrysler/Dodge's window lift plastics. VW 90's window lift plastics.
Look on-net for replacement parts offered to sort out the problem areas in plastics problem desgnes for the problems childs systems. Much available parts offered - much problems.

Mr electric man Casey you need a 2nd gen used Toyota Prius for Seattle. They are well proven now. Always have been four passinger w/room for luggage vehicles.
Divorces, death-in the family put many of these out reasonable to a cash-now buyer.
Not full plug-in electric, no. But a very practical half-way there solution.
S.U.