Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Milage 200,000

Bob had asked what have been the major problems over the 200,000 miles. The dealer changed the cats and the O2 sensors under warranty.

The things I have had to replace are a few of the usual; Water Pump, Alternator, Front Whel Bearing and Rear Stabilizer Bar Links

The thing that has been a pain is the rear brakes. The parking cables have been replaced twice and the calipers have been replaced twice. I think the calipers messing up is a combination of the cables and cheap rebuilds. The pistons froze. Also I had to replace the parking brake lever.

There has been nothing done to the engine or the transmission. The engine does have a small oil leak.

Of course there were 2 battery changes, a bunch of tires, many oil changes, and brakes pad and rotor changes.

So all in all for a car with that much age I have not had to do much to it. I am sure I have forgot something but could not have been to major or I would have remembers

Now for the more dramatic things that have happen to the car. It has slipped out of gear without the parking brake on twice. The first time it was almost brand new and all that happened was the back bumper had to get repainted. The second time it had well over 100K miles on it when it rolled into a tree and smashed the bumper and the truck. We bent the trunk back into shape and got a bumper and truck lid from the junk yard. The bumper was the right color champagne, but the trunk lid was white.

Next my teenage daughter, who was not use to drive a standard, while backing up side swiped a tree. She caused $600 dollars damage to the suspension and drive train on the left front and demolished the driver door and bent the driver fender. Off to the junk yard. At the time could only find a black door from a Mystic and no fender. So now the Champaign colored car had a whit truck and a black door. I drove it that way for 2 years figuring it would die soon. But it went through inspection in NJ with flying colors.

When I bought my SVT my son took the car. This was one year ago. He got new body panels all the same color as the car. Then one day a deer decided to high jump the car and missed. Luckily my son was only going about 40 and the deer did not come though the windshield but it did push back the roof. We went to the junk yard and cut off a roof and welded it in and put in a windshield. I has just gone back through NJ inspection and failed for NOX which was fixed by cleaning out the ERG passages on the intake. So inspection is good for another 2 years.

So will it make another 100K? I doubt it, but it has already been a good run. I hope the SVT lasts as long.

Rich S

Wow, that's quite a history! What a trooper! I'm glad my car has suffered as little damage as it has: 10 years have led to a few new body panels, but nothing too bad.

meancontour -

A fundamental understanding of how a clutch works helps.

Here's a good place to start:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm

You'll find many discussions on this topic on this site and many others. What follows works well for me.

It's important to recognize that a clutch's wear is essentially zero - when the pedal is pushed all the way in, or completely released. So clutch plate wear really only occurs when the clutch pedal is somewhere in the middle.

Changing gears once you're moving (i.e., anything except starting in first gear or reverse) requires virtually no "wear" time with the clutch pedal somewhere in the middle. It helps to learn to time your clutch and gas pedal work when upshifting so that engine RPMs drop (while the clutch pedal is pushed in) to the level that corresponds to the next gear at your current speed. This comes with time and practice. If you can shift upper gears without using the clutch, you're probably already doing this subconsciously.

So the key is learning how to get the car moving with as little wear as possible on the clutch. You've probably watched people over-rev the engine - and then partially engage the clutch until the car gets going. This is a common beginner's learning technique - and a good way to burn up a clutch. I try to use as low an RPM as possible when starting out - and then engage as quickly and smoothly as I can. With my Mustang's V8, I can "blip" the throttle before starting out (say from 750 RPM idle to 1200 RPM) and leave my foot off of the gas pedal while engaging the clutch. The 5.0 is big enough that the momentum of the engine will result in a smooth 1st-gear start, with almost no clutch wear. This is harder to do in cars with small displacement, higher-revving engines, but the same concept applies.

Obviously, such techniques won't help you get quick 0-60 times. But once the clutch is completely engaged, tromping on the throttle won't result in extra clutch wear.

BTW, it's harder to limit clutch wear do in a car with a rough idle, or unpredictable off-idle response. This is a case where tune-up investment (clean IAT, good TPS, clean throttle body) can pay off in long clutch life.

I've never had a clutch replaced while I was driving a car...Of course, that could be because I don't keep a car long enough to warrant a change...

As far as clutch wear, also don't rest your foot on the clutch while driving, at a stoplight, etc.

I'm at 143,000 miles on mine, and my Mustang GT had over 150,000 when I sold it.