2000 Civic With 248k- Maintenence Woes

[Roch96]

I'm buying a one elderly owner 2000 DX sedan with very high miles. It was well maintained. Timing belt every 100k, so it's not due for 50k miles or so.
The only thing I plan on doing is switching the gauge cluster to a CRV one, so I gain a clean looking tach and amber color.

My questions are:
With 248000 miles, should I be changing the oil every 3500 miles? I've read Honda recommends 10000 mile OCI which seems way too high to me. Also, should I be replacing the plugs, wires, belts, etc sooner?

Should I be using top notch plugs and full synthetic oil? I plan on keeping it 5-30 like it says, unless heavier is better for so many miles. Plus it gets pretty cold in winter.

I've never owned a car with so many miles, thanks for the help!!

 

[HeX]

1. Stay on top of regular interval maintenance. Mileage is only relevant to the wear & tear experienced on engine parts, not the car as a whole.

2. If you choose standard oil, use a 10w30 & change it every 3000 miles or so. If you use full synthetic, you can stick to 5w30 since synthetics dont thin out easily like regular oil. Since your Civic has nearly 250k I suggest you baby it with synthetic from here on out.

3. Most members will agree that NGK plugs are the best option. Which type of NGK plug you chose is up to you but you cant go wrong.

4. I would strongly suggest cleaning out the EGR chamber. Its likely congested from never being cleaned as the average owner doesnt service the EGR chamber.

** Feel free to click on my "HowTo" signature for more helpful maintenance tips.

 

[Ice Cream Kid]

haha I drive an ej8 and it has like 277k miles, I guess it got regular maintenance because it runs 1000 times better than the focus zx5 I had for like two weeks before it died, and it has 100k on it

 

[ReedMann]

If the vehicle has been run its whole life on conventional oil, I would recommend NOT going to synthetic. Changing from conventional to synthetic will produce leaks since synthetic is much thinner. Other than that, just keep up with regularly scheduled maintenance like HeX said.

 

[lethal6]

If the vehicle has been run its whole life on conventional oil, I would recommend NOT going to synthetic. Changing from conventional to synthetic will produce leaks since synthetic is much thinner. Other than that, just keep up with regularly scheduled maintenance like HeX said.

This statement is only partially true. Synthetic won't CREATE a leak per-se. Synthetic does however, have cleaning properties that could clean the caked on gunk around seals or old leaks. Cleaning the gunk away could reveal that old leak or show you how weak an old seal actually is now that the blockage is now cleared away.

Synthetic is different from conventional oil in that it is created in a lab. Created with enhanced molecular properties and cleaning agents to help coat better and in turn lubricate more efficiently. How thick or thin an oil is has to do with the weight or thickness rating of it NOT weather it is conventional or synthetic. 5w30 synthetic is the same thickness as 5w30 conventional, it just coats and cleans better.

 

[HeX]

This statement is only partially true. Synthetic won't CREATE a leak per-se. Synthetic does however, have cleaning properties that could clean the caked on gunk around seals or old leaks. Cleaning the gunk away could reveal that old leak or show you how weak an old seal actually is now that the blockage is now cleared away.

Synthetic is different from conventional oil in that it is created in a lab. Created with enhanced molecular properties and cleaning agents to help coat better and in turn lubricate more efficiently. How thick or thin an oil is has to do with the weight or thickness rating of it NOT weather it is conventional or synthetic. 5w30 synthetic is the same thickness as 5w30 conventional, it just coats and cleans better.

Well said! And might I add that conventional oil thins out over time whereas synthetic does not.

 

[sleeper si]

Well said! And might I add that conventional oil thins out over time whereas synthetic does not.

Homie, you are getting it wrong again, Like the previous member said how thin or thick an oil is determined by the oil weight and not because conventional is thicker than synthetic. A 5W30 conventional oil has the same "thiness" as a 5W30 synthetic oil. A conventional oil will degrade sooner than a synthetic oil of same oil weight/grade.

 

[ReedMann]

This statement is only partially true. Synthetic won't CREATE a leak per-se. Synthetic does however, have cleaning properties that could clean the caked on gunk around seals or old leaks. Cleaning the gunk away could reveal that old leak or show you how weak an old seal actually is now that the blockage is now cleared away.

You're right, I should have phrased it better. This is basically what I what I was trying to say. Thanks.

 

[Failsafe88]

Don't switch to synthetic. Change oil around every 3k miles.

 

[xxBLOOD88SHOTxx]

There is nothing wrong with switching to synthetic if it has had conventional all it's life, just do it gradually ( and I would change the oil on a more frequent conventional type interval until you are using full synthetic). Especially since your civic is newer, it wont have the issue older cars have with "leaks". The leaks were caused because the seals manufacturers used back then were made with some type of material that the full synthetics of that day would either break down or seep their way past them (that is how I understand it). Newer vehicles don't have this issue and current synthetics have been reformulated to help with this as well.

I think was Hex meant was conventional degrades faster than synthetic, and is more sensitive to drastic temperatures (as in when super heated, conventional oil is damaged far greater on a molecular level than a full synthetic).

Or you can just read this.....

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

 

[Killa_CiViC]

Mileage is only relevant to the wear & tear experienced on engine parts, not the car as a whole.

So very wrong.

Mileage is relevant to the entire car. Rubber bushings/suspension parts wear out, interior parts and pieces wear out with age and mileage.... a 2000 model is still a 13-14 year old car anyways.

If the oil was changed regularly, there shouldn't be any issues with switching from a non-synthetic to a synthetic. Oil leaks will occur over time even with non-synthetic as the rubber seals get old and hard and naturally degrade over time. I'd still recommend a 3,000 mile oil change interval, even with synthetic. 5w-30 is the recommended viscosity.

The standard NGK spark plugs do fine... I wouldn't recommend using bosch or ac delco or anything like that.

At that mileage, you'll also want to keep an eye on things like your coolant, radiator condition, radiator fans, radiator cap.... and basically anything else made of rubber or plastic, because rubber and plastic wear out with time and mileage and get brittle and don't always perform as well or break.