Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

General topics relative to the Caprice and associated vehicles. For items not fitting into other sub-sections in addition to general chat.
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chipperdoodles
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:12 pm

Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by chipperdoodles »

First all i'm terrible at forums but appreciate the existence of this one, it's helped me learn a lot and put some minor work into my own caprice!

That being said I worked in a ranch/farm mech shop for a few years little but was pretty much just an assistant mechanic so I still have lot to learn and this is the first car I've had that i've super cared about taking care of. I've got a 2013 caprice ppv with a 6.0 that's my daily driver and got it with 110k miles on it, it's got about 120k no (faithfully moved me from socal to colorado all by itself) and as much as I'd love to add performance mods or work into the car, the high miles have concerned that I should be prioritizing other general care and maintenance first as well as telling me to stop day dreaming about silly builds (don't have the money for anything really fun).

So i'm seeking general advice on just high mileage care taking, i know these engines can last a while if properly maintained and not super abused. I'm mostly concerned about bushings, suspension, transmission and stuff that will wear at first, though the engine is always on my mind.

What would you guys focus on taking care off on these cars? Any dos and dont's for modifications on a high mileage caprice?

disclaimer: I don't have a ton of money to spend otherwise it would be easy! I also don't have access to a shop anymore since I moved states.


Things I've already done:
new plugs, wires, harmonic balancer. rotors are good.
I need to replace the front sway end link.
I also have an hp tuner unit and have tweaked dod/afm so it only comes on in 6th gear under 2500rpm but i might go back to shutting it off completely.
I also exclusively run e85 cause I prefer it and it's much cheaper than 91/93.

Sorry for the wall o text but any advice is appreciated!
-cheers,
chipperdoodles
s/c'd cav
Posts: 1382
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 3:12 am
Location: PHOENIX AZ

Re: Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by s/c'd cav »

you should run a tank of regular gas in it , every 4th or 5th tank , to keep things clean

the biggest thing to worry about is the DOD lifters and cam
SSpeedracer
Posts: 149
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:34 pm

Re: Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by SSpeedracer »

Fuel pump, belt, pully, idler

Check fuel pump harness plug while there.
2016 Caprice
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garrett
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:16 pm
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by garrett »

In addition to everything mentioned already: trans fluid and filter, and rear end fluid. I wouldn't screw around with anything but OE spec fluids, the rear needs a limited slip additive as well.

Factory manual says these fluids are due at 105k.
s/c'd cav
Posts: 1382
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 3:12 am
Location: PHOENIX AZ

Re: Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by s/c'd cav »

garrett wrote: Wed Mar 27, 2019 12:51 pm In addition to everything mentioned already: trans fluid and filter, and rear end fluid. I wouldn't screw around with anything but OE spec fluids, the rear needs a limited slip additive as well.

Factory manual says these fluids are due at 105k.
the rear does not require additive , it does require a specific gear oil from GM


Important: Both LSD and Non-LSD Differentials use the same fluid.

Differential Lubricant-Castrol SAF Carbon Mod. GM P/N 92184900 for United States (88862826 for Canada).

Fill Capacity -1.25 L ,1.32 Qt
chipperdoodles
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:12 pm

Re: Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by chipperdoodles »

Thanks guys, appreciate it! Definitely will stick with oe specs for fluid. She's coming up on a normal oil service too so I'll see if I can fit those in.
chipperdoodles
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:12 pm

Re: Seeking General Advice for High Mileage

Post by chipperdoodles »

What do you guys think about a bushing overhaul? I'm been thinking of changing over to aftermarket sway bars and maybe the camaro 1le lca's (that's a question for another topic) and when browsing saw some bushing kits like this one: https://www.suspension.com/superpro/kit175k and was thinking for sake of longevity an overhaul might not be a bad idea (although most likely a pretty expensive one).
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