You wrote:
*snip*
>What is the group consensus on how much damage can be done to the rest of
>the truck in 32K miles? I've heard of people (likely urban legend though)
>never changing oil until the engine seizes at 60K miles because all the oil
>has evaporated or been burned. Presuming that's not the case, and that the
>truck's never been in a major wreck (bent frame, or bondo-body) would it
>be fatal to have never serviced ANYTHING else?
You mean there's service to be done before 32k miles?!?! :p Aside from Oil
Changes (regularly), cleaning (K&N) or replacing air filters, and the coolant change
there isn't a whole lot. Yes, the spark plug wires suck, and need replacement
(yearly in my experience with a '91 and my '95 Dakota), but there's not a lot more.
>In a modern vehicle, I think you'd be okay.
>
>Of course there's the possibility the odometer's been messed with....
>
>
>Back to the topic of tires. You have to wonder about the raw intellect of
>someone willing to run the tires down to the cords. In any part of the
>country where rain prevails (count SoCal out) theis would clearly be
>quite dangerous. In the desert states you'd be running the risk of a
>blowout from overheating and carcass failure [note those stock tires are
>only 2 ply sidewalls, suitable for 2WD, but pretty flimsy].
I am a fanatic about tire pressures/wear! I replaced my original set when I got
a blow out on one tire...figuring the rest would go at anytime (25k miles, 40% tread
left.) Some people want the full wear out of there tires... Maybe they did a few
LAST burnouts, who knows.
>Maybe the owner just bit off more car payment than he could afford.
>The other way to look at at, at least he wasn't running the bald tires
>up front, where 60-70% of braking, and 60+% of the weight of the Dakota
>is supported.
>
>The available torque of the 318 through 225/70-15 (or whatever the stock 2WD
>tires are) probably wore the tread off faster than the owner suspected.
>Chances are, the tires were never rotated.
>
Also, tires seem wear faster towards the end of their treadwear... Maybe they
check 'em, thought "Ok, I need to get some tires soon." and a few weeks go by any
they are now shot. It happens... Haven't you ever seen the guy driving with sparks
around his tires at night??? Heck! Maybe the guy/or gal I should say, worked only
at night, and never saw his tires during the daylight...Yeah, that's the ticket!
..Sam
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:25 EDT