What's yer mileage?

Oh yeah, regardless of model, year, etc.....

1986 Mercury Capri 5.0L 5spd. 151,000 mi. Daily driver for 17 years, never garaged. "Miss Scarlet," my other woman.

Not counting misc. self-inflicted or other damage (i.e., non-wear associated): rebuilt T-5 @ 55,000mi on it's 3rd clutch (repl. @ 55,000 & 130,000) fuel pump @97,000 water pump @125,000 Radiator @126,000 AC system overhaul @93,000 heater core @116,000 lots of little things here & there (brakes, tune-up parts, weatherstripping, etc.) can't think of anything else major always passes inspection, always starts right up

Been very dependable over the years, can't fault it. Outlasted my sister's Celica and her Acura, consecutively (yes, I rub it in). I still have it because I have no reason to get rid of it, and it's bucket loads of fun. Bought it in 1988 with 15,000mi on it, it's been paid off for like 13 years. "Cheaper to keep 'er." It's older than all the rice boys around and they have no idea what it is. Usually they only get a rear view anyway.

I plan to keep it at least until my 8-year old can drive it. Should be over

200K by then. I'll be seriously disappointed if it doesn't make 200K, I fully expect it to get there.

MKL

My 183,000 miles is probably irrelevant, since I have a '93 5.0, while you've got a '97 4.6. Hardly the same engine. To answer your question, though, I've never had the engine opened. Replaced peripherals, sure, but never had any engine work.

But the '97 is now 8 years old, and even 160,000 miles on the clock would be pushing it. You need to hear from other 4.6 owners with high mileage, but I'd be shocked if any were over 200K (let alone 300K).

dwight

Here's the question, how many miles do

any make, model, year you say?

well....

my parents, before the Land Yacht was purchased had a 1977 Granada they had special ordered. Big black thing, 2 doors (most were 4), 8 cylinder engine, auto tranny on the floor (most were on the steering column). that metal tank had damn near 300,000 when my mom finally sold it for 100 bucks to the guy across the street about a year ago (I'm so glad I wasn't awake to see it flat bedded away when the guy found out it was too much money to make it run again... I would have cried, I wanted it!)

over the years... the transmission was rebuilt... twice. some engine work (at some point, only 6 cylinders were firing, but that got fixed in a hurry). master cylinder went a few times radiator got replaced once erm... that seems like the only major things... that I remember at least... aside from the engine catching fire once on I-95.

Moral of the story: when one is a mechanic, one's car lasts many years. pity the mechanic got sick and wouldn't let anyone fix his car when he couldn't do it anymore. >_<

::sigh:: it probably would have been cheaper to restore that car than to buy what I drive.

patricia

Congrats on the find, but come on! "Was," "enough," and "before" too tough to write? Don't be lazy now...

Anywhere from now to 150,000 miles. It really depends on how your car was and will be treated, and your luck.

118,000 miles on the V6stang, and other than regular maintenance items, all I've needed to replace is the water pump, radiator, and valve cover gaskets. Oh, and I had the carb rebuilt once at about 90,000 miles.

Despite the relatively low mileage, V6stang is starting to get tired; too many years of Grandma driving at 25 MPH to church and back once a week, I guess. I definitely need to replace the main seals, and probably do a rebuild (if I don't end up doing a full swap).

You said regardless of model or year? OK: I'm currently giving V6stang a break and driving the Tan Van, a 1991 Voyager with 138,000 miles. Other than regular maintenance items, the head gasket has blown and been replaced. Twice. Once at 100,000 almost on the nose, and again at about

125,000. I've heard that engine blows gaskets like clockwork after 100,000, so I've probably got another 11,000 to go on the current gasket...

Don't know my '66 coupe only has a 99.999 milometer they didn't expect much in those days did they ? ......

The 4.6 is a pretty stout engine. While there may not be many Mustangs out there pushing 2 or 300K, think of all the taxi cabs, police cruisers, and trucks that are doing so.

You can't really say "regardless of model year", since 93 and prior GTs have the venerable 5.0, and 2005+ has the new 3V and a new auto transmission...even the 99 and up has different heads.

I'll just focus on 96 - 98 Mustangs. I drive a 98, Automatic GT, with

110,000 miles on it, and roughly 250 drag strip passes. I have never so much as had the valve covers or intake manifold off, but I've also maintained the car very well. Change your oil every 3000 - 5000 miles, keep the car clean, and service it regularly, and you SHOULD get at least 100K out of the drivetrain before anything "major" pops up. One thing you shoudl watch is the coolant crossover on the front of the intake manifold, if it hasn't been replaced with the updated version. Stock is plastic, ford had a recall, which replaced it with aluminum, as the plastic was prone to cracking.

It's all in how well the car was taken care of by the previous owner(s), and how well you take care of it. You can beat on these engines pretty hard for quite some time, as long as it's properly maintained.

Nice! This is like my two Escort GT's I had. First was a brand new 1986 GT that I put 186,000 miles on it before I grew tired of it. Still ran good when I gave it away to my sister who ended up selling it. At that time, I got a brand new 1993 GT that I put 137,000 miles on it before I bought something else and gave that car away to a friend. Never did ANYTHING major to either car, just brakes, bulbs, belts, and simple stuff. Both cars still had the original clutches in them, for all those miles too. Lots of fun!

Now I have a 2002 Mustang GT vert and I hope to put many many miles on that car. The kids are 11, 12, and 13 and they hope to be driving it when they get their licenses. We shall see.

Rob

weatherstripping,

my 97 XR7 has 166k and is still going strong, regular oil changes as well as other filters go a long way. i average around 16mpg in town and over 20 on the open road. car will still chirp the tires going into second if i hit it to hard

You'll change your opinion on them driving it when you see the insurance rates for a Kid in a GT, especially one of the male variety.

Hey, I'm 44 and sometimes it helps me feel young to write like a teen... =)

You sure fooled me! :)

LOL see? it works......

The only major work done so far is rebuilding the AOD at about 66K. Other than the normal maint and expected breakdown (I've replaced the alternator, water pump and radiator).

It should be duly noted that I have not made any modifications and have not raced it (I know I'm a boring old coot). It was my daily driver from 91-04. She now sits and is driven only as a backup as it is suffering from slow/no idle.

I ran only synthetic oil since 30K.

91 Red GT 265K+ miles

A lot of it also depends on your driving style and maintenance schedule. The engine itself will last at least 200K with normal maintenance and appropriate driving style (ie take it easy on cold engine)

The tranny is another example of this. If you're easy on the clutch it will last about 100K before the throwout bearing will give up. Earlier if you drive it hard. Powershifts and other crap like that will shorten the life of the tranny for sure.

Then there is normal wear; O2 sensors, fuelpump, radiator, hoses, battery... stuff like that. Overall cheap to replace, especially if you know how to work on it yourself. The AC system is always a gamble. Could be a bit more costly and you never know when they give up. Some at 25K (warranty, on my old mustang) some will last indefinite. Overall these cars are fairly simple to fix and I'd go for it if you can find the history on it.

trotzo, My 2K auto GT has almost 115K on it. It's had 3.73 gears since day 2.

could be reliability/endurance related. It's had uncounted passes at all of the tracks in the Houston area and is autocrossed.

Replaced fuel filter and plugs at 103K mis. out of guilt. Replaced battery once. Fixed a surging problem (way over lean) by repairing a broken ground reference wire to the ECU and one O2 sensor, which broke after I ran over a cinder block...ouchie. Windshied wiper switch, or motor (never fails when diagnosing) has intermittant problems.

All in all, a pretty darn good car!

bradtx