Top 5 Old Car Tricks

Here's an incomplete list of critical rubber components that will leave you stranded—or worse—if they fail: Tires (including spares that have never touched asphalt), valve stems on wheels, brake lines, seals inside brake calipers and master cylinders, seals inside clutch cylinders, fuel lines, radiator hoses, heater core hoses, suspension bushings, water pump bypass hoses, fan, accessory and engine-timing belts, and spark plug wires. Inspect each one and replace them if they are cracked or brittle.

4. Grape Jell-O Bad, Apple Juice Good
What's a better buy: the little old lady's 10-year old car with 12,000 on its odometer or the long-distance commuter's 7-year-old SUV with 100,000 on the clock? I'd go with the high-mileage vehicle. I bet Granny changed her oil no more than four times, if ever. The gelatinous goo in her oil pan offers little lubrication. Her two-mile journeys to church never got the oil hot enough to boil off the water and other by-products of combustion that condense in the oil pan. Instead, it just created a sludge that's more like roofing tar than 10W-30. Meanwhile, almost every time the commuter cranked his vehicle, it ran for 45 minutes. If he changed his oil frequently, the engine will be in excellent shape.


If you suspect your older vehicle has been neglected, change the engine oil—yourself. You may have to do it several times. Here's the drill: Drive around for at least 20 minutes to get the oil very warm. Next, remove the oil drain plug. If the oil looks like not-quite-adequately-chilled grape Jell-O, you're in for a long day. Here's the next drill: Add new oil, replace the oil filter, drive around for another 20 minutes, and again change the oil and filter. Repeat until the oil runs as clear as filtered apple juice. Change the oil (and filter) again in 500 miles. Serious cases—such as when little or nothing comes out when you remove the drain plug—may require a mechanic to remove the oil pan.


Be cautious with engine flushes, home remedies, or switching to synthetic (or synthetic blend). These may suddenly free sludge and build-up, which can block oil passages and clog the filter. If you can't resist one of these treatments, follow it immediately with a couple of immediate oil and filter changes. Idle for 20 minutes before each change. It wouldn't hurt to cut apart the filter to see if the debris is in danger of clogging it. Then again change your oil in 500 miles.


Engine oil is just the first fluid in your old vehicle that needs this attention. Here are more: transmission fluid (or oil for manual boxes), transaxle or differential oil, transfer case (for four-wheel-drives), center differentials (for all-wheel drives), power steering fluid, brake fluid, and coolant (a.k.a. anti-freeze). If any of these systems employs a filter, be sure to change it as well.