Most Reliable 200K Mile Car? Let's Settle This!

when a vehicle has 200,000 Mi on it most

people are trying to get rid of that

vehicle those are exactly the kind of

vehicles I want to buy so let's take

this $500 car spend $11,000 in parts and

make it highly reliable there's a reason

why my friend was able to purchase this

car for $500 when making sharp turns a

whole lot of noise is coming from both

sides of the front end this is going to

take some time and money to repair the

front bumper skin is loose on both sides

of the vehicle and the headlights are in

really bad shape the scaling over the

headlights is definitely blocking quite

a bit of light the Chrome coating has

delaminated from The Hub caps this car

is looking pretty rough the good news is

that the paint is still in pretty good

condition the front windshield does have

a crack that needs repaired the check

engine light is illuminated so let's see

what's going on with the engine the

onboard diagnostics Port is located

under the kick panel near the center

console I'll be putting together review

on budget code scanners very soon it

looks like there are two trouble codes

there's one for the engine and one for

the transmission and the engine code is

p 0128 the coolant temperature has been

too low indicating a bad thermostat it

could be a coolant sensor that's

malfunctioning but I doubt the

thermostat has ever been replaced the

trouble code for the automatic

transmission is p 0847 so we'll have to

replace the third clutch pressure switch

so this vehicle has great potential for

being highly reliable in a pretty decent

looking 200,000 Mi car the front brakes

are recently replaced so let's leave

those alone and the front tire looks

fairly even and it's time to rotate the

tires to the back of the vehicle so

let's get started working at the front

of this vehicle first I'll detach the

ABS wire in the brake line from the

strut I'm really curious about how badly

the axles are worn the windshield wiper

arm is out of the way so we can access

the three nuts at the top of the strut

now that the plastic trim is out of the

way there's plenty of space to access

the three nuts now that the three nuts

have been removed just a couple more

bolts and the strut is coming off as

Cousin Eddie says liquid Wren smells bad

but works good and both bolts were more

than tight enough that clunking noise is

more than likely coming from the strut

assembly and removing the strut takes

about 15 minutes while the strut is out

let's go and replace the drive axles and

the axle nut did come off a lot easier

than expected and the drive axle has

already shifted inward without having to

apply Force since the strut is out of

the way the actual shaft was slide out

of the Hub with plenty of room to spare

and the CV boot is out of place and the

CV joint is definitely worn out the end

of the pry bar between the transmission

and the drive axle and the drive axle

popped right out and the outer CV joint

is in really bad shape definitely glad

we're changing this one out since the

process is the same I'll go ahe and

replace the drive axle and the strut on

the passenger side of the vehicle off

camera I'll apply some lubricant where

the shaft makes contact with the

transmission seal and this blind for the

new CV axle lined up without a problem

and the drive axle is fully seated in

the transmission and the spline on the

CV slid right into the axle Hub pretty

easily and the axle nut is in place I'll

install the two bolts at the bottom of

the strut for now and won't tighten the

nut just yet I'll use the floor jack to

lift the control arm and the strut

everything is lined up and the strut is

in place all three nuts are tight and

I'll go ahead and reinstall both pieces

of plastic trim and the axle nut is

tight enough for now once the vehicle is

back on the ground I'll torque the axle

nut to the proper torque spec used in

the torque wrench the ABS sensor in the

brake line are fastened to the strut I'm

told that the front brakes recently

serviced but the back brakes are pretty

much used up let's lift the back wheel

off the ground place a jack stand under

the vehicle and then remove the back

tire fortunately the brake drum isn't

stuck a little back and forth on each

side of the brake drum and it's off with

a collection container below I'll spray

down everything with brake parts cleaner

to avoid Airborne brake dust I'd better

take some pictures just in case I forget

how everything goes back together I

could use some diagonal cutters to

really bite into the springs for easy

removal but diagonal cutters are likely

to cause a little bit of damage to the

spring there is a special removal tool

for brake Springs or you can just use

needle dose pliers before closing the

pliers I'll compress the spring now that

the spring is compressed I'll grip the

pin with the pliers and rotate the pin

90° the pen and the clip are in great

shape so let's move on to the other side

I'll compress the clip spring grip the

pin and then turn 90° and the pin and

clip look good I'll pull outward on the

brake shoes at the bottom this will

allow the shoes to move closer together

to release tension on the bottom spring

and the spring is in great shape I'd

rather not use the diagonal cutters on

the top spring so I'll lift both shoes

away from the wheel cylinder which will

release the tension on the top spring

for easy removal I'll go ahead and

remove the top spring and the adjuster

I'll go ahe and remove the parking brake

lever from the cable instead of trying

to capture this on video while

everything is suspended in the air

there's a special type of pliers

designed for removing this horse clip or

a regular pair of pliers will also do

the job a couple of gentle Taps and the

Horseshoe clip is off I'll go ahead and

remove the washer and DOW pin comparing

the old brakes to the new brakes the

shoes are just about worn out I'll go

ahead and transfer the hardware over to

the new brake shoe installing the

Horseshoe clip with pliers is easier

than removing it and the horseshoe clip

is secured in place I'll apply some

silicone grease that's designed for

brake parts onto the backing plate where

the brake shoes ride I'll reinstall the

parking brake lever onto the brake cable

I'll start reinstalling the brake

hardware beginning with the pin and

spring clip I'll compress the spring

grip and then twist the pin and the

brake shoe is secure I'll apply some

brake parts lubricant on all the moving

Parts on the brake adjuster I'll

position the brake shoe on the wheel

cylinder and then position the brake

shoe for easy installation of the top

spring the adjuster screw and Hardware

is all in place and the hold down pin

and clip are secured in place the spring

that pulls the bottom of the shoes

together is also in place and the final

spring is pretty easy to stretch to

install the new brake drum fits nicely

but the brakes do need to be tightened

I'll use a flat screwdriver to rotate

the adjuster the brake shoes are barely

coming into contact with the drum so

we're all finished new brake fluid

should be at 1% or less water content so

let's check out the moisture content

using a moisture meter and the meter is

maxed out at over 4% water content and

this definitely needs changed out you

could use a turkey baster but a fluid

extractor can reach into areas not

accessible by a turkey baster this fluid

extractor only took about 10 minutes to

build and I'll show you how to build one

later in the video the brake fluid is

very dark I just filled the master

cylinder reservoir let's put the fluid

extractor to use on changing out the

brake fluid beginning with the drum

brakes at the rear of the vehicle first

instead of using a fluid extractor

another option is to use a oneperson

brake bleeding kit the dust cap is off

of the bleeder valve and the extractor

hose is connected a fraction of a turn

is plenty so let's power up the

extractor and slowly extract the old

fluid I'll tighten the bleeder valve

occasionally and then we'll check the

brake fluid at the reservoir to avoid

running out out a brake fluid and the

fluid extractor is now pulling out new

brake fluid so we're all finished with

this corner of the vehicle I'll close

the bleeder valve and replace the dust

cap while we're already back here let's

go and change out the rear shock

absorber the three plastic buttons

holding the fabric liner in place have

been removed and the fabric liner will

just lay over I'll remove the nut that

holds a shock absorber in place as well

as the washer and bushing an impact

wrench makes very quick work of the

lower shock absorber bolt and the shock

absorber is off and this shock absorber

is definitely worn out it needs to be

replaced now that the new shock absorber

is in place all in the lower bolt first

to make it easy to line up the hole for

the bolt and the Top Nut is in place and

tightened the fabric lining is back in

place and we're all finished with the

shock let's go and replace the

thermostat next the engine is nice and

cool so it's safe to remove the radiator

cap before we drain the radiator let's

take a sample and measure the quality of

the antifreeze and the antifreeze

actually doesn't look too bad but let's

measure the ph and the concentration

level using a test kit my color vision

just isn't the best but the glycol

appears to be around 60% which is pretty

good and the pH appears to be very close

to 9 which is also good so the coolant

is still in good shape but we'll replace

the coolant that we drain out of the

system anyway and the petcot valve is

very easy to access and the antifreeze

is draining into the Container while the

radiator is draining I'll go ahead and

use the fluid extractor to clean out the

overflow tank it's not necessary to

remove the radiator hose but I'll do it

anyway to allow for a better view of the

thermostat assembly I'll go ahead and

remove the two bolts holding the bracket

for the oxygen sensor wires only two

bolts need to be removed to gain access

to the old thermostat and the two screws

are out so I'll go ahead and use a long

screwdriver to gently break the seal and

the old thermostat is out and the

thermostat is oriented with the jiggle

valve on Top This valve really comes in

handy for purging air from the cooling

system a genuine Honda thermostat wasn't

too much more than the aftermarket the

thermostat came with a new rubber gasket

and there's a carve out for the jiggle

valve the new thermostat and gasket fit

properly I'll gradually tighten each

side of the thermostat just to make sure

that everything stays in the proper

position and the two bolts for the

oxygen sensor wires are back in place

and I'll go ahead and reinstall the

radiator hose definitely a very easy

thermostat to replace this radiator has

a very small mouth and I only have one

funnel that'll work I'll use some

double-sided tape on the funnel to hold

it in place and to form a seal to avoid

spilling coolant squeezing the upper

radiator hose really helps get rid of

the air that's trapped in the system

most of the air is finally out of the

system so I'll go ahead and use the

fluid extractor to avoid making a mess

with the radiator cap installed we're

almost finished with the thermostat job

I just need to add some new premix

coolant to the overflow tank I need to

replace the air filter and while we're

at it let's go ahead and clean the mass

air flow sensor there are a couple of

clips and wiring connectors that need to

be removed in order to remove the air

filter assembly there are four buckles

holding down the air filter assembly and

the air filter is ready to come out the

air filter doesn't look too bad but

let's replace it anyway two Philips head

screws hold down the mass air flow

sensor and here are the filaments that

need to be cleaned the sensor uses these

filaments to measure the amount of air

that's entering the engine sometimes

cleaning this sensor can help the engine

operate more efficiently if you decide

to do this for your vehicle I highly

recommend using mass airflow sensor

cleaner instead of using another solvent

and the sensor is had a few minutes to

dry I'll reinstall the sensor and I'll

go ahead and clean out the inside of the

the airbox since everything is already

opened up I'll go ahead and reattach the

connector to the mass airflow sensor the

four buckles are snapped back in place

and the air filter and mass airflow

sensor job is finished let's go ahead

and replace the third clutch pressure

switch with a new one that's a genuine

Honda replacement part it's easiest to

access this sensor from underneath the

vehicle it's located on the driver's

side of the vehicle and it's very easy

to access I'll use a pick to release the

connector and the connector is a little

bit challenging to remove and the sensor

was also pretty tight there is a washer

that we need to reuse with the new

sensor the new sensor is a little bit

longer than the old one but everything

else looks the same I've cleaned up the

washer that we have to reuse so let's go

ahead and install the new sensor and the

new sensor threaded in very smoothly and

the connector fit nicely as well the

transmission fluid definitely needs to

be replaced even though that looks like

really dark used motor oil that is

indeed transmission fluid just draining

the fluid does not drain all the fluid

in the transmission since the torque

converter holds several quarts of

transmission fluid so I'll have to

repeat this process a couple more times

after driving the vehicle to freshen up

the fluid the old fluid is on the left

and the new fluid is on the right what a

difference the drain plug has a magnet

and there's a lot of metal on the magnet

fortunately I don't see any really large

pieces of metal the drain plug is back

in place so let's go ahead and add close

to three quarts of transmission fluid

I'll check the transmission fluid once

the vehicle is off the jack stands and

perfectly level let's go ahead and

change out the motor oil while we're

already under the vehicle it appears

that the oil change place installed a

new drain plug that's too long and leaks

oil I purchased a new drain plug that

fits properly and should offer a good

seal I've added some lubricant to the

new oil filter seal and the oil filter

is ready to be installed and the oil fil

filter's hand tight which is perfect so

let's add new oil and then we'll make

sure that we've added enough I've

already started the engine and the oil

level does look good but I'll need to

check it one more time once the vehicle

is back on the ground and the vehicle is

level I don't know how many miles of use

with the spark plug so let's go ahead

and change them out with brand new aums

a 10 mm nut holds down the ignition

coils the connectors need a little

squeeze to release them from the coil

the old spark plug took quite a bit of

force to break loose but it's finally

out other than the spark plug gap being

out of spec the old spark plug actually

doesn't look too bad I'll apply some

electric grease around the ceramic part

of the spark plug and the spark plugs

are ready to be installed I'll hand

tighten the spark plug just to make sure

that I don't start them off

cross-threaded I'll use a torque wrench

to torque the spark plugs this back I'll

go ahead and change out the remaining

three spark plugs install the coils and

the wiring connectors and changing out

the spark plugs is a very quick and easy

process on this vehicle not always the

case on a

V6 and the engine sounds pretty good and

a serpentine belt doesn't look too bad

but it is cracked so let's replace it

I'll place a wrench on the Belt tenser

to release the tension and the belt is

off the old belt is on the right and the

new belt is on the left as a serpentine

belt becomes dried and cracked often

times it begin to squeak and make quite

a bit of noise and the new belt is in

place the car battery is just over a

year old but let's check the battery

health anyway a fully charged battery is

at 12.6 volts and this one is close

enough for this test and the battery

tester is indicating that this battery

is still good and it's at 619 amps which

is pretty close to a 625 amp rating s

so8 stands for state of health and the

battery is still in pretty good shape at

82% the state of charge just means that

the battery is at 79% charged and Below

12.6 Vols in order for this battery to

live a full life the electrolytes need

to be maintained at the proper level and

the electrolyte level is pretty low so

let's add some distilled water until the

electrolyte level is about half an inch

from the top of the vent even if your

car battery is almost new I still like

the idea of having a portable jump

starter in the trunk of the vehicle just

in case your vehicle or someone else's

needs a boost it's also a good idea to

keep a tire inflator in the car

replacing the windshield wipers is a

quick and easy task I usually place a

towel or sweatshirt under the wiper

blade once the wiper is removed from the

wiper arm if the arm slams down on the

glass there's a good chance it'll break

the windshield the tow of the sweat

shirt will absorb the impact and prevent

a broken windshield these headlights

could really benefit from restoration

and the light meter is showing a value

of just over 1,1 100 let's clean up the

headlights and we'll test this once

again to measure the Improvement I'll

apply some painters tape to avoid

causing damage to the paint finish

around the headlights restoring

headlights can really improve night

driving visibility and make a huge

difference the foggy headlights were

close to 1100 and the restored headlight

is just over, 1500 that's over 35%

increase in light very impressive let's

replace the cabin air filter the glove

compartment is a pretty common place for

most vehicles and the old cabin air

filter is done a great job and it's

definitely used up and the new cabin air

filter is in place reattaching the

plastic trim only takes a few minutes

there's just one screw that I need to

remove the front bumper skin just

presses and snaps into position and is

secured by just one screw however I'm

replacing the screw with a nut and bolt

along with several washers to maintain a

much better hold on the bumper skin skin

and this looks a lot better and

shouldn't come loose and everything went

back together nicely on the passenger

side of the vehicle as well and the

chrome grill is pretty affordable at

around $30 and only takes a few minutes

to install I'll remove the two bolts

that fasten the front bumper skin to the

body of the car this will allow plenty

of space to access the nuts that hold

the trim in place the bumper still has

some areas that need painted but this

will definitely improve the appearance

of the car often times people get rid of

vehicles for small issues that can

easily be improved or fixed to

Perfection with a little effort and

expense and the front trim is back in

place and I had to spend an extra $25

for the Honda badge Cousin Eddie has

some very creative ideas but I better

stick with the Honda badge let's go

ahead and repair the windshield chip

using this Permatex repair kit clean

loose pieces of the glass from the

damaged area with the push pin clean

windshield around the damaged area with

the alcohol wipe take the adhesive disc

and peel the backing off of one side

with tab pointing upward line up the

hole with the disc in the center of the

damage press the adhesive disc onto the

glass peel off the other side of the

adhesive disc line up the pedestal with

the adhesive disc making sure that the

tab points upward firmly press the

pedestal against the disc carefully cut

off tip to open the resin tube place the

resin tube 1/4 in into the pedestal

opening and carefully squeeze the tube

to load the resin into the pedestal

carefully and firmly twist the tip of

the syringe into the pedestal hold the

syringe with one hand and gently pull

the plunger upward with the other hand

lock in the plunger at the lowest indent

setting allow the entire assembly to sit

for 10 minutes after 10 minutes

temporarily remove the syringe from the

pedestal with the plunger still locked

in the lowest indent setting carefully

replace the syringe by twisting the tip

of the syringe into the pedestal hold

the syringe with one hand and gently

push the plunger down with the other

hand lock in the plunger at the

uppermost indent setting allow to sit

for 20 minutes after 20 minutes remove

the syringe use a safety razor and

slowly remove the pedestal and the

adhesive disc from the glass wipe off

any residual resin from the glass hold

the resin tube in one hand and the

curing strip in the other hand carefully

squeeze a bead of any remaining resin

into the hole of the damaged area Place

curing strip over damaged area to hold

in resin move into sunlight for 15

minutes or use a UV curing light I'll

good user securing light use a resin

knife to remove any excess resin that

definitely looks a lot better and the

windshield crack should not spread it's

a good idea to check the tire pressure

on all the wheels especially the spare

tire this one is pretty low so I'll go

ahead and add some air the Chrome

coating has delaminated from the hubc

Caps I said a four aftermarket hubc caps

cost around $50 and they might not be

balanced a set of four genuine Honda

hubc caps cost over $100 so I'll go Ahad

and clean these hubc caps up and use

some rum 2x to improve the appearance a

fluid extractor comes in very handy for

fluid changes so let's go a and build

one I'll use a wide mouth quart jar a

transparent 1/4in hose that's at least

4T long and a 3ft section of scrap air

hose a step bit is the perfect tool for

this just to be safe I'll wear some

leather gloves and safety glasses the

first hole is sized to offer a snug fit

so let's move on to the second hole and

leave around an inch space between the

holes the hose end needs to be inside

the lid by around a/ in to an inch let's

use some hot glue on the top side of the

lid to form a tight seal and the hold

the hose in place I'll go and repeat

this process for the inside of the lid

you'll need a vacuum pump and you can

pick one up at Harbor Freight for for

around $100 or an Amazon for well under1

I'll go ahead and fasten the air hose

with the hose clamp to the vacuum pump

in order for this thing to work to LD on

the jar does have to form a seal and

this thing is ready for action a good

quality ceramic coating will help

protect the paint finish and it'll

improve the vehicle's appearance I'll go

and wash the vehicle with the powerful

strip wash to remove anything that's on

the paint now that the paint is dry I'll

go ahead and apply a ceramic coating

that performed very well in a previous

episode on Ceramic spray Coatings and

this 2008 Civic looks a whole lot better

and it runs better too

no more clicking sounds when making

sharp turns so the CV joint was

definitely the cause of the problem this

vehicle should be highly reliable for

many more years to come I'm definitely

not suggesting that a 2008 Honda Civic

is the most reliable vehicle however

some vehicle makes and models are more

reliable than others with that said a

vehicle making model that has a good

reputation can be highly reliable if it

receives the proper upkeep for example

my 2003 Chevrolet Suburban has well over

300,000 Mi and over 9200 hours of use I

keep up on all the maintenance and this

vehicle is still highly reliable this

2000 Buick Las saber has over 257,000 Mi

on the original engine and transmission

and it's highly reliable it definitely

won't win a beauty pageant but on a

positive note who's going to want to

steal this car property taxes vehicle

insurance and vehicle maintenance are

very affordable in case you're curious

the total cost of all the parts and

fluids came in at

$823,000 goal if your vehicle has the

potential to be highly reliable it

usually makes more sense to keep your

used vehicle instead of BU buying a new

car the average price of a new car in

United States is around

$47,000 that car payment would be over

$700 per month full coverage Auto

Insurance on a new vehicle in Missouri

is around $2,500 a year which works out

to around $210 per month minimum car

insurance coverage on an older used

vehicle is around $650 per year or $55

per month in the state of Missouri if

you own a car you have to pay personal

property taxes based upon the value of

the car for a new car those personal

property taxes will cost around $100 per

month personal prop taxes on a used car

is very affordable at just a few dollars