What Should I Replace at 175k

[jeffro312]

Hi I have a 04 Buick Rainier. 175k and am trying to get a list together of things i should replace. to enusre a long buick life.

Some history. just bought the car this past feb with 161k. Had a cracked exhaust manifold wich dealer fixed but in return snapped a bolt in the head and refused to fix. (No know issues with this at this time)

ive changed oil over to synthetic mobil 1 change it every 3k.
in april or may i drained and filled transmission, Front diff, and rear diff and more recently drained and filled transfer case fluid.

New ceramic brakes and drilled and slotted rotors a month after i purchsed so probably have around 10k on them.

Tires were new when i bought truck they slapped new ones on before i bought it.

K&n Air filter wich i am thinking of replacing with different. Any suggestions??

Just replaced thermostat (Horrid thermostat) on thanksgiving morning turned into night.

Spark plugs replaced same time i did brakes.




So what should i replace? Is it a good idea to kinda just go through and replace every sensor i can find. or one of those deals where if its not broken dont fix it?

no idea previous maintenence records. truck runs a little rough but goes ok. Never had a check engine light unless i somehow induced it.

I just feel it has 175k on it preventive maintenece sounds good to me. plan to start these updates/repairs beginning of next year.

i currently avg like 14-16 mpg that was with bad thermostat running at 175-185 degrees.. may improve now its changed.


well any sugesstions would be welcome... not sure how many miles ill get out of her but im going for the max...

 

[6716]

I'm at 195K, and I've been working on the suspension. Shocks and struts were pretty painless, plus I've done front upper control arms and upper ball joints. Lower control arms, links, and roll bar bushings are next on the list, but we just got our first blast of real cold here in Wisconsin, so all my "elective maintenance" will go on hold until either a nice break in the weather or spring rolls around.

It has been a noticeable improvement in ride quality so far.

 

[jeffro312]

Yea forgot to mention I put in the bilstein hd's a month after I bought it. Rear has air and I think its getting kind of leaky so have to look into it

 

[jeffro312]

I'm at 195K, and I've been working on the suspension. Shocks and struts were pretty painless, plus I've done front upper control arms and upper ball joints. Lower control arms, links, and roll bar bushings are next on the list, but we just got our first blast of real cold here in Wisconsin, so all my "elective maintenance" will go on hold until either a nice break in the weather or spring rolls around.

It has been a noticeable improvement in ride quality so far.

How hard were the control arms. When i did my struts I damaged the yolk bolt that's pressed into lower control arm so I was going to replace it but couldn't figure out how to get it out nor did I want to replace it


Is it a pita??

 

[6716]

I haven't done the lowers yet, so I don't know for sure. As I look at the procedure, one tough part looks like the amount of torque you have to put on the bracket mounting bolts.

In what way is the bolt damaged, and how did you do it?

Were you able to do your strut replacement while leaving the yoke attached to the LCA?

Pittman arm puller / tie rod end puller is what it took for me to get the yoke off the LCA when I did struts.

 

[jeffro312]

I haven't done the lowers yet, so I don't know for sure. As I look at the procedure, one tough part looks like the amount of torque you have to put on the bracket mounting bolts.

In what way is the bolt damaged, and how did you do it?

Were you able to do your strut replacement while leaving the yoke attached to the LCA?

Pittman arm puller / tie rod end puller is what it took for me to get the yoke off the LCA when I did struts.

Yea I used a hammer instead and that explained how I damaged bolt I missed haha. So it messed threads up so nut wouldn't catch so I tried a thread repair kit and made it worse. So i got my sawzaw out and shaved off one thread at a time until bolt cough thread and tightened

 

[IHZ05VOY]

No need to change Syn Oil every 3k. 5k is good for both oil n filter. I too use Syn Mobil High Performance oil/filter and 5k is a good mark IMO. Manual also will assist you somewhat on what maintenance you need to do

 

[gmcman]

I would check your lower ball joints for wear. Raise wheel by the lower control arm and with the tire about an inch off the ground, take a pry bar and see if you can raise the tire/wheel and observe the lower ball joint...if it moves up and down, replace it.

Check the upper ball joints for wear as well as the tie rod ends.

Check the serpentine belts for cracks and if it needs to be replaced, store the old one in the compartment in the rear deck....could be a savior.

I would ditch the K&N, get a Green Filter, stock A/C Delco, or an Amsoil and do your engine a favor. You will not see enough increase in your butt-dyno to warrant the K&N. This may cause disagreement for some, but they just let too much of the fine stuff through.

 

[CaptainXL]

I go by the OLM or once a year as oulined in the owners manual. If your not going by the OLM it would be good idea to change the oil every 7500 when the tires need to be rotated. Thats a good way to remind yourself that each needs to be done at the same time.

BTW, some people never change their oil until 25,000 miles if using full synthetic. Amsoil is known for this. They just make a point to make sure that the oil filter is changed at the halfway point at 12k.

Changing fully synthetic oil every 3k is just an expensive habit imho.

 

[Ed H]

I am in the exact same situation. I bought a 2002 LTZ 5-6 weeks ago with 156k. I changed all fluids except the tranny so far, and replaced the original stock shocks with Bilstein HDs yesterday. The struts were a 2 hour adventure down a dead end road. I could not get the strut arm off the lower bolt and could not lift the strut up and out of the strut arm. Heck, I barely got the lower strut bolt out due to massive corrosion of the original strut. A BFH was needed...

Not to hijack the thread, but how many miles are people getting out of the I6 with good maintenance (regular oil / filter changes, etc)? 250k?

 

[CaptainXL]

Not to hijack the thread, but how many miles are people getting out of the I6 with good maintenance (regular oil / filter changes, etc)? 250k?

I created a poll for you.

 

[TollKeeper]

Unless I missed it, the only things I can see that I would check into is the tranny service, diferentials, and the transfer case. Per the forum here, the transfer case is known to complain (expensively) if it isnt serviced regularly, with the correct fluid. Other than that, for preventive maintenence, just belts, alignment, and maybe a polish on the headlights. As far as I know, these trucks will let you know when they need service. My XUV remains very quiet, and dependable.. Althou I am thinking about selling it. I have driven it 300 miles in the last 2 months now. Company cars do have their advantage.