Wis. Man Says Truck Headed for Milestone

Frank Oresnik is on the verge of making history driving his old standby -- the pickup truck he says is about to pass the 1 million mile mark.

[OLDE DUDE]

It was all that fish oil that kept it alive..

[skipper]

wow
one million miles

I have a ''76'' ford that has 650,000 on it so far.

I'll catch up to him and then TOPIX can do a story about that.

[WTF]

Volve will give you a new car if you hit 1,000,000 miles.
GM should do the same thing and shell should give him free gas for life for the use of his image!

[Romey Rome]

What an interesting story!

[Carlos]

Chevy truck reaches 1,000,000 miles. LOL. Down South we have a saying..... Even a blind pig gets an acorn every now and then.

[Reality]

If I run mine to a million miles it'll last me another 99 years. cool!

[betty boop]

congratulations frank! it's obvious you took good care of the 'ole girl'.

what will you buy when she passes on?

[Sheridan]

Could you please flesh out this article so that the rest of us can have some tips of how to keep our old beaters going? Sure, change the oil often. But what kind of other maintenance did he have done. How often did he change the plugs? What about hoses and belts? Universal joint? Any engine overhauls? I've got 124,000 miles on my '94 and want to keep it forever. And if you want to talk mileage, check with cab drivers. Many cabs have over 500,000 miles on them. When the auto makers price their cars so high. it's a lot cheaper just to keep your old one.

[Elizabeth]

I'd also like to know if he's still on his first engine and transmission.

Ford Club Wagon Vans - on my second one that has sailed past 200K. In fact, just hit 275K!

[Timmy]

I wish my last chevy would have made past 200k. I drove a chevy for over 20 years now all drive is toyota. Better value and service.

[John]

Sheridan wrote:

Could you please flesh out this article so that the rest of us can have some tips of how to keep our old beaters going? Sure, change the oil often. But what kind of other maintenance did he have done. How often did he change the plugs? What about hoses and belts? Universal joint? Any engine overhauls? I've got 124,000 miles on my '94 and want to keep it forever. And if you want to talk mileage, check with cab drivers. Many cabs have over 500,000 miles on them. When the auto makers price their cars so high. it's a lot cheaper just to keep your old one.

Fluids and filters are by far the most important thing you can do for a car. Using a full synthetic will help too - but if you go that route, STILL change it every 3,000. Synthetic does not break down like regular oil, but it does get dirty and needs to be changed.

If you change oil filters, air filters, and transmission fluid RELIGOUSLY you will be suprised how much longer it will go.

Manual trannys also last a lot longer than automatics. You'll have to replace a clutch & throwout bearing at some point, but that's all. And doing that is something you might be able to do yourself for about $200 in one day, whereas rebuilding an automatic tranny takes a pro shop and at least $1,000, probably more.

Having rebuilt a basket-case 1967 Mustang (rusted out, engine would stall going arond turns, brakes failed completely on me going down the highway at 60 MPH) I know what I am talking about...

[kevin]

I have a '05 Chevy Malibu. It has 16k miles on it. The thing has broken down so many times I'm about to drop it off in the Cal-Sag channel. Piece. Of. Crap.

[Da Snob]

John wrote:

<quoted text>
Fluids and filters are by far the most important thing you can do for a car. Using a full synthetic will help too - but if you go that route, STILL change it every 3,000. Synthetic does not break down like regular oil, but it does get dirty and needs to be changed.
If you change oil filters, air filters, and transmission fluid RELIGOUSLY you will be suprised how much longer it will go.
Manual trannys also last a lot longer than automatics. You'll have to replace a clutch & throwout bearing at some point, but that's all. And doing that is something you might be able to do yourself for about $200 in one day, whereas rebuilding an automatic tranny takes a pro shop and at least $1,000, probably more.
Having rebuilt a basket-case 1967 Mustang (rusted out, engine would stall going arond turns, brakes failed completely on me going down the highway at 60 MPH) I know what I am talking about...

Thanks- cool.

Hey - how do you deal with rust on the body - do you get whole new panels or just cut and patch?

[Dutch101]

Yeah, I think from the NPR story, which I happened to hear, that he has had to do a lot of the normal stuff to the truck. That having been said, prudent and consistent highway driving, near religious maintenance, and a manual transmission will contribute to a vehicle lasting a very long time. That, and as kevin's predicament indicates, a lot of luck. All the care, maintenance and caution in the world aren't going to save you if you get a lemon in the first place. I have known people with the same year, same model cars, one of which lasted forever, and the other which was nothing but trouble. Probably has something to do with the team on the assembly line or something.

[Shade Tree]

John wrote:

<quoted text>
Fluids and filters are by far the most important thing...oil and transmission

I agree with John, but I want to add that you should not overlook the cooling system. Overheating an engine does a tremendous amount of damage.

Flush and replace the coolant on schedule. Replace the water pump, thermostat, or radiator at the first signs of a cooling system problem.

[Da Snob]

Elizabeth wrote:

I'd also like to know if he's still on his first engine and transmission.
Ford Club Wagon Vans - on my second one that has sailed past 200K. In fact, just hit 275K!

He is on his first engine - and did not have it rebuilt - but changed the radiator and trans a few times - this from other articles in other papers.

[jjr]

IF IT WAS A TOYOTA,IT WOUD NOT BE NEWS!

[Tom]

You mean the same Toyota's with engine sludging. Get a clue.

[sfc]

Frank...don't get rid of that truck!

[Mr Spanky]

Mr Perfect wrote:

I got a 1960 fleshdong. Shes good for about 50strokes a day. I figure I got over a million on her right now. Besides a few friction burns, shes in great shape.

I have 58 model and she's can't go 0 to 60 4.3 seconds any more but she takes me where I want to go. Now that she is almost 50 I don't have any more premature detenation.