Subaru Impreza @ 209k miles. Am I driving on borrowed time now?

[TurtleCrusher]

To be honest, I've never seen an Impreza go past 200k and be in as decent of mechanical shape as my car is in. I've got a 1994 Subaru Impreza L, Sedan, 1.8L, Auto T, stock everything. I bought the car just over a year ago at 193K, and i'm just over 209k now.

The only things that have gone wrong are:
Dead alternator (fixed, refurbed part) last month.
Torn right CV joint (fixed, new part) since purchase.
Dead battery (bought new) 5 months ago.
Oil leak (fixed, changed the rubber seals) last month.
Knock Sensor out (not fixed)

So, that's pretty much it. I use Castrol Syntec (10-30) as my oil and I use plus gasoline to improve gas mileage.

Here's what I'm worried about:

I've never bought fuel injector cleaner. My mileage has been steadily declining (from 21.8mpg to 19.1mpg, I calculate EVERY TIME) and I'm worried it's clogged. My father recommends Chevron FI cleaner but I cant find it sold anywhere. Would gumout work fine?

I've never changed my Automatic Transmission fluid. Where and who could do this for a cheap price? When my car isn't warmed up, it sounds louder and it shifts a little bit rougher. Am I already screwed?

How often do I need to change out my radiator fluid? I did it this past September and I don't have any temperature issues. Should I even bother?

Sorry if it's a lot of questions. I'm kind of a car noob and I have no idea how to maintain my Subaru.

 

[Arkaign]

Well, you should be fine on radiator fluid provided you're not leaking anything.

Fuel injector cleaners are hit and miss, I'd be a little careful there. You might look into how cheap/easy fuel filter replacements would be, god knows how old the ones on that car are. I've heard, but not personally seen, that really old fuel filters + injector cleaner can cause gunk to break loose in there and get stuck, impeding or totally blocking the flow of fuel.

On the AT fluid, definitely change it! Now, I'll give you a personal recommendation, and this is somewhat controversial, but I'll tell you my brief experience :

I had an old Honda Civic, the '88-'91 series, with the automatic tranny. Got it used, had a zillion miles on it. Anyhow, sometime around 200k miles, the transmission would start to clunk at shifting, particularly the 1-2 was just brutal. I changed the fluid, same problem. So, before resigning myself to buying a new/rebuilt tranny, I bought a bottle of 'Slick 50 High Mileage Automatic Transmission Treatment'. Cost me like $20. Poured it in, took like 30 minutes to pour in, it's like molasses thick or thicker. Started the car up, let it run for about 10 minutes, and took it for a test drive. No more clunk Shifts weren't race-car fast, but it was a lot better. Gave the car to my parents, then got them a better car later, last I saw of the car it was over 300k miles on the original drivetrain. Those were the golden days of Honda

SO. I can't say for sure that you'll have the same experience, but it worked wonders on my car, and I had little to lose. $20 bottle chance to stave off a $1000+ tranny replacement. As for the relative worth or worthlessness of any other Slick 50 product, I have no idea, but they have the general reputation of snake oil salesmen.

And in general, you've got an old car with 200k+ miles, be easy on her

 

[thescreensavers]

many people would advise not to change the AT Fluid at that high mileage...

Redline SI-1 Is one of the best Fuel system cleaners, since it has 40% + of the vital and best ingredient that cleans.

I would change the fuel filter and then dump a whole bottle of Redline stuff into a full tank.

google "redline SI-1 bob is the oil guy" and look around lots of stuff on fuel system cleaners

 

[Meghan54]

many people would advise not to change the AT Fluid at that high mileage...

Redline SI-1 Is one of the best Fuel system cleaners, since it has 40% + of the vital and best ingredient that cleans.

I would change the fuel filter and then dump a whole bottle of Redline stuff into a full tank.

google "redline SI-1 bob is the oil guy" and look around lots of stuff on fuel system cleaners

For the trans....try to find out if the fluid's been changed before. Maybe call the previous/original owner? If it never was, would not be a good idea to do it now. But, I'd first simply check the fluid level to make sure it's just not low.

As for the injector cleaner, I believe your father meant the Chevron Techron cleaner sold in places like AutoZone, Advance Auto, etc. Black bottle. Decent enough stuff. The Redline isn't bad, either, and given Redline's reputation, I'd try it.

What Redline's gas treatment looks like:
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-60103...sim_dbs_auto_9

But remember, while those add-to-the-gas tank solvents/cleaners can clean up your injectors, they also "loosen up"/dissolve/whatever-you-want-to-call-it any crap before that point, like what's in your tank. Their solvents are indiscriminate as to what they break up. So, after running a bottle through your tank, change your gas filter.

What I wouldn't do is put any thing near any engine I own labeled Slick 50, ProLong, DuraLube, Z Max, etc. Snake oil being sold by huksters simply to separate a consumer from his money.

 

[CraigRT]

I would change the trans fluid honestly. Just a drain and refill, none of these dumb flushes that are advertised.

Also, as far as poor MPG. Think easier than replacing/cleaning fuel injectors.

How new is the air filter? Have you been filling up at a different station recently?

Check your air induction system for vacuum leaks etc.... I would just run some Redline SI-1 as mentioned in the tank, and leave it at that.

I was working on my friends 2002 Protege5 hatch a few weeks ago, getting horrible MPGs, weird high idle, misfires... It was a cracked and rotted out air induction tube between the throttle body and the air filter. Because he didnt have the $ at the time, we used some weatherstrip adhesive and gummed up all the holes. We let it dry for a little while and took it out for a drive. Perfect behavior afterwards and he reported after a few days, better MPG.

Just some food for thought.

 

[Bignate603]

I agree with the drain/refill on the automatic transmission. You may want to ask your mechanic about getting the filter replaced.

On some vehicles old O2 sensors can make your mileage drop. They're supposed to throw a check engine light when they die but they don't always do it.

 

[earthman]

I don't know about Subarus, but my Chevy has 278,000 and runs fine. The last one I had went to 351,000 before it got too tired.

 

[Hyperlite]

I would change the trans fluid honestly. Just a drain and refill, none of these dumb flushes that are advertised.

Also, as far as poor MPG. Think easier than replacing/cleaning fuel injectors.

How new is the air filter? Have you been filling up at a different station recently?

Check your air induction system for vacuum leaks etc.... I would just run some Redline SI-1 as mentioned in the tank, and leave it at that.

I was working on my friends 2002 Protege5 hatch a few weeks ago, getting horrible MPGs, weird high idle, misfires... It was a cracked and rotted out air induction tube between the throttle body and the air filter. Because he didnt have the $ at the time, we used some weatherstrip adhesive and gummed up all the holes. We let it dry for a little while and took it out for a drive. Perfect behavior afterwards and he reported after a few days, better MPG.

Just some food for thought.

Interesting. I have the high idle issue occasionally, though normally only when my car is hot and has been running for a while. I know i have a vacuum leak, but i can't nail it down. I'll have to take a closer look at my intake plumbing.

 

[Arkaign]

For the trans....try to find out if the fluid's been changed before. Maybe call the previous/original owner? If it never was, would not be a good idea to do it now. But, I'd first simply check the fluid level to make sure it's just not low.
What I wouldn't do is put any thing near any engine I own labeled Slick 50, ProLong, DuraLube, Z Max, etc. Snake oil being sold by huksters simply to separate a consumer from his money.

Good call on checking on potential service history.

Definitely a good idea to check if a simple fluid change will fix the issue, if not, there's a high chance the OP will need a tranny rebuilt/replace. That said, I have personally experienced something of a small miracle with the Slick 50 high mileage Auto treatment, and it wasn't just for a few miles or even a few thousand. I don't work for Slick 50, nor would I remotely recommend any of their other products having never used them, but ~$20 is an easy gamble in the face of an otherwise $1k+ repair.

People around here know me from years on, I've never_ever pimped a particular brand or item, but I've given my honest experience or opinion on subjects that I might have some input on. I've used a half-dozen or so fuel cleaners over the years that didn't seem to have much impact, used some motor oils that did seem to do pretty well, and then there's the ATF treatment above. If someone's tranny is a-ok, I wouldn't recommend it ever. If someone's tranny is failing/clunking, first thing to do is see if a simple fluid change changes it. If not, and the verdict is the thing has just had it, that's the only time I'd say to give the stuff a shot. It's probably nothing special, just something that thickens things up enough to stabilize what's left of the tranny and blunt the metal-on-metal grind in there. It's SERIOUSLY thick, you can't visualize it until you've seen it. Think of it as the last bullet in a 1911ACP during the zombie apocalypse : what the hell else have you got to lose? $20? If it doesn't work, get ready to eat $1k+, may as well let zombies eat your brains

 

[Eli]

and I use plus gasoline to improve gas mileage.

Using plus when the car only requires regular will not improve gas mileage. Infact, it can lower it. It will make your wallet lighter though, which I suppose could give you a slight MPG increase.