Maintaining Your High Mileage Car

Get Your A/C Compressor Clutch Checked

The A/C compressor clutch plays a key role in turning on your air conditioning. When you turn on the A/C in your car, this is the first part to move and start the process of carrying cool air into the car’s passenger compartment. While this isn’t an essential part of your car running smoothly, it could make driving much less comfortable for you.

Have an Alignment Done
The older a car, the more often alignments should be done to ensure the suspension system is working properly. Your mechanic should measure ride height during each alignment as well, so be sure they have done that for your car.

Schedule a Brake Fluid Flush

In general, regularly replacing your car’s brake fluid will help extend the life of key parts of your brake system, including the calipers and master cylinder. Over time, your car’s brake fluid accumulates dirt and water, which can lead to corrosion within the system.
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Check Your Drivetrain Seals

A leak from one of the seals in your axles or driveshafts are not a major problem in themselves and are easy to fix. However, if you have a leak, you can have damage from the fluid level is too low within your drivetrain’s components. A seal is easy to replace – components within your driveshaft are much more complex and expensive to replace.

Change Your Power Steering Fluid

Your power steering has additives for anti-corrosion and anti-foaming, both of which will break down over time. This may not be visible when you look at the fluid but that does not mean it shouldn’t still be replaced. If the additives in your power steering have broken down, it can cause damage to parts of the power steering system.

Clean the Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor

Over time, all filters and sensors become dirty and contaminated just by doing their job. Around this time, it’s a good idea to have your MAF sensor cleaned to help restore performance and fuel economy for your high mileage car.

Get Your Timing Chain Tensioners Checked

Wear on your timing chain tensioners is normal and comes with their job. However, if they become over-worn, you will notice issues with your engine. If you start to hear extra noise or timing skips, you most likely need to replace your tensioners. You may also see your check engine light come on.

Look at Your Engine and Transmission Mounts

Your engine and transmission mounts do just what it sounds like: they keep your engine and transmission held in place. If they wear out, your engine and transmission will be able to bounce and swing around when your car is in motion. This can cause a lot of damage to the complex and essential parts of your car.

Have a Mechanic Look at Your Catalytic Converter

With regular maintenance, the catalytic converter may still be fine at this point. However, it should be inspected for any physical damage and to make sure parts are still secure.

Get Your Fuel Injector Cleaned

By this point, several parts of your fuel injector may benefit from a thorough cleaning. Tiny holes in the injectors may become clogged from the fuel, the injector ’s needle or seat may need to be cleaned, and carbon can build up on the caps. You can either have a fuel injector cleaning done on your car or send out the injectors for ultrasonic cleaning.

Head in for a Chassis Inspection

If you have kept up with regular alignments, your chassis may be just fine. However, it’s a good idea to have your chassis inspected at this point to make sure parts of your suspension system are not wearing out, potentially causing major problems.