I have abused Fester the F-150. Worse than I ever have any other vehicle I've ever owned. Straight up neglect. I'm absolutely embarrassed by the amount of miles between oil changes. Its bad.
I have abused Fester the F-150. Worse than I ever have any other vehicle I've ever owned. Straight up neglect. I'm absolutely embarrassed by the amount of miles between oil changes. Its bad.
In reply to Appleseed :
I bought my Touareg in December 2021. It had 128,882 miles on it. It had a sticker for next change due at 126k. I changed the oil for the first time today at 138,338 miles.
In that time I towed another Touareg home, towed a New Beetle home. Then towed away scrap metal of a Touareg, a Boxster, and the New Beetle. And for most of that too had 32" tires on it over the stock 29" equivalent. It's been a trooper.
In reply to dan0 :
I hope I can say the same for Fester's 5.4. I think the auto gods smited me. I forgot to pop the plugs in the drain pan and Exxon Vadez'd half of it down my driveway. Then the dipstick was rust welded tight to the tube. Fought that bastard for a half hour before I worked it loose. Whatever, I deserved it.
In reply to Appleseed :
You own Ford truck with a still functioning 5.4? Wow, that's a serious collectors item up here.
I won't add that they are so rare because farmers don't change their oil nearly often enough to keep the chains and phasers in one piece.
Is it just me or has battery lifetime on even quality UPS seriously shortened recently.? I just found another one that seems to have completely dead batteries that isn't that old.
In reply to BoxheadTim :
I have noticed it with car and boat batteries.
Despite reading what seems like half the internet and even asking chat gpt to explain it to me as though I were a goat, I still just can't quite get my head around responsive design and why this damned table won't scroll on a small screen.
mtn said:In reply to BoxheadTim :
I have noticed it with car and boat batteries.
Me too, recently I was told a 2 year old battery was "kinda old" too.
Not so long ago 5 years old seemed to be the time to replace but I'm apparently the only one to remember it
That's messed up.
The dealer battery in my '96 F-150 lasted 10 years.
Me: "have a soda instead of a bourbon because the medical people say you should drink less bourbon."
Me: "hmm, Dr Pepper seems like a good choice, in fact I'll have a second as well."
2 am not sleeping me: "well E36 M3, apparently Dr Pepper has caffeine in it and caffeine is kryptonite to my sleep"
Hence the post here. Glad I'm off on Mondays, this is gonna be a long day getting back on track.
ShawnG said:That's messed up.
The dealer battery in my '96 F-150 lasted 10 years.
We sold our Cobalt at 11 years old with the original battery, my son replaced the one in his at 13 years. I can't help but think that being out of the engine compartment had something to do with it
Peabody said:ShawnG said:That's messed up.
The dealer battery in my '96 F-150 lasted 10 years.
We sold our Cobalt at 11 years old with the original battery, my son replaced the one in his at 13 years. I can't help but think that being out of the engine compartment had something to do with it
Oh it has absolutely everything to do with it.
Automakers have taken to using heat sleeves over the batteries when mounted underhood. I've noted that batteries seem to fail in 3 or 4 years if someone didn't feel like reusing it.
Aside from that, Subaru OE batteries are junk after five years and this is something that can be etched in stone. Ford finally stopped using the batteries that could crack at the positive terminal allowing acid and vapors to demolish the battery cable, but for a while it was getting a bit tedious with replacing the batteries...
After they lost the class action suit in the US Subaru had a program here to replace batteries that failed early, and made it near impossible to collect. I recall hearing that the problem was not actually the batteries, but a parasitic drain. Don't know how true that is.
That Cobalt is the only car I've ever owned and not seen the battery, and we owned it almost 10 years.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
The battery in my Hummer is in a box with an air duct from behind the grill to keep it cool. I don't know that it helps much. The battery that came in it was a Walmart special that lasted almost exactly the 3-year warranty period.
Peabody said:After they lost the class action suit in the US Subaru had a program here to replace batteries that failed early, and made it was near impossible to collect. I recall hearing that the problem was not actually the batteries, but a parasitic drain. Don't know how true that is.
Hmm... This might explain why the Subaru dealership replaced my battery out of the blue when I was there for an oil change. This was a few years ago while it was still in the new car warranty period. I was just thinking I should replace it again because it has been sounding a bit weak on cold starts this winter.
Fresh rant: I keep reading that a family needs a household income of at least $250K to be in the top 10% of US households. I feel like we were in the top 10% for a while, but the rest of the country has been getting raises that my wife and I have not for a number of years.
In reply to WilD :
Imagine what it's like being in the bottom 90%.
In reply to ShawnG :
Last November the battery in our 06 Merc R350 died. I knew it was getting weak, but driving it every day seemed to keep things going. I took it to Walmart and of course the battery just flat died. My son and I swapped it out in the parking lot, the battery lives under the passenger seat, and when I took the old one out it was the original 2006 Mercedes branded battery. I could not believe it.
Wife going out tonight and Chicago's temp is at 66dgF and I'm leaving work at 4pm to get a solid 4-1/2 hours of project work on the 240Z.
Except at 11am I felt odd then queasy after I ate some Campbells soup. I then took a nap and an hour later I hurled my guts out. Body temp of 100dgF.
Classic me - I don't get sick all winter then it gets me at the end of the season.
ShawnG said:That's messed up.
The dealer battery in my '96 F-150 lasted 10 years.
I have a Walmart battery that lasted in my Explorer for 13 years, I only replaced it because it wasn't super strong for cold starts.
If I wasn't in a cold climate I probably would have seen how long I could use it
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I got 8 years out of a Subaru Panasonic. The FR-S was never garaged, so it ate 100 degree summers and below zero winters. I dunno. I was shocked it went beyond 5 years.
In reply to Appleseed :
A product we use until it fails us. Know when my wife's battery dies?
When I'm 300 miles away on a work trip.
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
Of course. I've had stupid good luck with blemish/returns at Interstate. $60 for a battery that's going on 3 years? All day long.
In reply to Appleseed :
I n ed to check that out. I wanna get my bus going again but for the little use at first I don't feel like dropping $500+ for the two batteries
In reply to Appleseed :
Interstate blems/refurbs are the best. $40 battery with a $20 core charge has kept the Yukon kicking through two winters now.
Dear U-Pull,
I'm happy to pay $24 for a strut with no core charge. But I'm salty over paying a $2 core charge on a $22 strut.
Your friend,
AC
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