I have a 92 legacy sedan that will soon have 145,000 miles on it. I was wondering what maintenance should I do to the vehicle other then an oil and air filter change at 3000 miles? Are there any parts that could easily be fixed to prevent them from breaking in the future? I plan on having this car for a very long time. I want it to run at the best of its ability.

Secondly, I am experiencing chipping on the black that surrounds my windows. The silver is showing through, every time I wash it (no matter how gentle I am) it seems to chip more. Is there an cost effective way to fix this my self?

Well, since I don't subscribe to "breakdown maintenance", I'd change the timing belt, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, all the fluids(tranny, diff, brake) if you don't know when it was last changed.
Also, how are the brakes?

Anyone else?

Paul

Don't forget coolant! My car was fortunate enough to have its coolant changed frequently, that's why I still have the original radiator!

I recently had to fight coolant gremlins. We replaced the thermosat, didn't help. Replaced the radiator and the thermostat again, still got hot. Finally a third thermostat, with some extra holes drilled for good measure, got the thing cooling again. It does take a bit longer to warm up, but in Texas that ain't much of a worry even in the dead of winter.

I recently cleaned out my glove box, (probably got rid of 300 receipts) and I found a little book from the person who previously owned the car, it's a written log of all maintenance done on the car. He loved to get the tranny fluid changed, and the radiator fluid changed as well, as well as replacing the belts.

He kept really good care of it.

I'm not sure when the transmission fluid or radiator stuff was done, I can't remember when it was done during our ownership of it.

I've had another problem, for a while since I've had the vehicle, hard accelaration on an environment such as snow or wet pavement will cause my wheels to slip, and I can feel a wild vibration that seems to shake the car, it's like I can feel it from the wheels. It's scary enough to make me back off the gas when it happens.

Would I be correct in assuming it's a U joint? I've already had one replaced, but they told us they couldn't get to the other one (I think it may have been due to rust, if I recall correctly).

Would it be better just to get a new axle?

Also when I go up a hill, and give it some juice, the car will accelerate fine, but will go *click click*.

I hope it's not something like my transmission. I surely can't afford that at all right now.

And finally, i've noticed vibrations that didn't exist before. The engine has generally been very quiet, and when given light gas would produce a little buzz sound and accelerate (similar sound to anyone who's owned a supercharged vehicle) At around 50-55 mph I notice the noise, which is constant, the noise is very hard to explain, but you can barely hear it.