high mileage

[philrollo]

hi im a new user to this forum,i have a 1993 montego countryman turbo diesel estate i bought it in november 2005 for £150 it had 112000 on the clock one owner from new and full service history it now has 165000 on the clock,i change the oil every 10000 miles,because i do a lot of miles do's anyone know anything i should be looking out for or getting checked?

[Stephen G]

Hi and Welcome.

Other thing that will need to be done it cambelt. If its not been done Recently Get it done as if it snaps then your in big problems.

[E_T_V]

Cam belts and coolant changes are the things to watch for engine wise (if coolant changes are neglected the headgasket rusts until it finally blows!).
Otherwise keeping the rot at bay is the biggest worry!

[jdmini]

with the coolant levels...is it the same with the maestro to make sure it's topped up?
what is the interval with a cambelt change?

[B18 GPC]

welcome to the forums.

Im not 100% , id image the maestro TD to be 60,000 miles or 6 Years , only at a guess...

Collant strenth and level .

Check the cooland strenth with a hydrometre , you want to be looking at "level 3" protection , approx -21 degrees C .

anti freeze to strong will eat into the block , too weak could result in freezing and internal engine damage

[E_T_V]

As I've said before Graham - Don't give advice about something that you don't know about or aren't sure about.

Antifreeze needs changing every 2 years (standard antifreeze) or 4 years (OAT antifreeze). If you leave it in for longer then even though it'll pass a hydrometer test and will provide the protection from freezing, it'll still allow corrosion of the pipework and more importantly the headgasket.

Cambelt I can't for the life of me remember at the moment for sure.

[Rich]

The book figure for the cambelt is 80k. I personally would change it just before, or, if it had to come off for another reason. Considering the belt is only about £12 its security. Don't worry about the mileage too much, I have a N/A diesel that has done over 250k and still going strong. I currently have 5 diesels TD and NA in service and it is noticeable which ones have been serviced well, and which ones haven't. So as long as you keep it well serviced and change the oil, filter and coolent often you should be fine. So far as Diesels go, it is very simple and easy to work on.

HTH Rich

[jdmini]

when is the interval for a 1.6 petrol? my car has done 29000 miles