[Ford Man]

My '88 Escort with 518K+ miles has probably averaged an oil change about every 5K miles over it's lifetime, I've used whatever oil/oil filters I can find the cheapest. The fuel filter has been changed 1 time since new and the only reason I changed it then was because the car was running poor and I thought possibly it was clogged, should have left the original filter on it, ended up being water in the fuel. I drove it until it was nearly empty for a couple tanks got all the water out and the problem solved itself. Air filter has probably been changed 7-10 times. Lots of stuff that parts manufacturers and even owners manuals recommend are not necessary. I usually run a set of platinum plugs anywhere from 100-150K miles and usually they're still good and delivering good fuel efficiency when I change them, I just feel guilty that they've been in the car for so long. I think a valve adjustment is recommended about every 30K miles, it's never been done on the Escort. I do recommend fluid and filter changes on a regular basis, checking fluid levels every 500-1K miles, changing timing belts/tensioners/water pump on schedule or even earlier if an interference engine if it's a non interference engine I'll push it to 100K knowing it won't damage anything if the belt breaks, a tensioner gets weak or seizes, or a water pump bearing wears out or seizes. I've never changed the tensioner on the Escort since it's non interference and it's still good. Also repair known problems as soon as possible to prevent the problem from growing into a larger problem. I've never really beat on the car, but it has had some fast driving. When I was working construction and sometimes driving 150 miles a day it wasn't uncommon to run it for 30-40 miles at a time at 85-90 MPH on 4 lane and interstate highways, I did that until I got hurt and became disabled even though the car had about 350K miles. It also helps the pocketbook if you buy parts with lifetime warranty when replacing parts then when it wears out just take it off and go get another one free. Nearly all the normal wear parts I've ever replaced on the Escort have a lifetime warranty. Auto Zone will be glad when/if this car ever wears out!!