Beyond Haynes manual - suggetions needed

[seekingbuddha]

I am sure this question has been asked here before, but i could not find any in my search (the search is not powerful enough, and i will write to admin about it). Neither could i find any stickies, related to common maintenance questions.

Haynes manual gives a list of maintenance items to do and the service intervals. But, once a car is at or above 100k miles, additional items need to be checked or replaced. Where can i find a list of typical maintenance items for 100k + mileage ? For example, i am considering replacing the water pump on my Altima, in the hope that i can successfully run the car till 200k miles. But this is not mentioned in regular maintenance (Haynes manual).
(Water pump is still the factory original).

I have already taken care of, (and will at regular intervals), are the usual items :

• Brake system flush and new fluid
  
• Transmission fluid flush and refill
  
• New set of tires (replaced when needed)
• New front brake pads (Hawk HPS) & rotors (Brembo)
• Wheel alignment
• Air filter about to be changed
• Regular oil changes (Mobil 15k Extended performance + Mobil filter)
• Going to order my first set of UOA for both cars (i will be back here with questions after this one
  
  )
• Fuel filters changed
• Engine coolant flush and new coolant fill.
• Replaced cabin air filter
• I also add MMO periodically, to clean out the fuel system.

Things under my radar are...

• Spark plug change
• Water pump
• Honda manual says "replace timing belt", but there is no timing belt in my civic !!
• Manual also says check valve clearance, and i am not sure when to do this.
• Check all the drive belts and underside components of car

What else should i be doing, as preventive maintanence, beyond the 100k mark ?

 

[tomcat27]

change belts and hoses. I'm not sure that I would change a water pump on speculation. It wouldn't hurt to check your valve clearance at least once around 100k - although I bet most people dont check it and run their engines well past that point ( you could also wait until the valves get noisy)
struts sometime in the next 50k...

 

[01rangerxl]

I wouldn't put too much weight in Haynes manual recommendations. A lot of the basic stuff in their manuals is copy/paste.

I wouldn't worry about the water pump either. It's only a "replace before needed" part on timing belt cars where you might save some labor by doing it proactively. On a timing chain engine, leave it alone until it displays warning signs of failure.

What you need to do is monitor and replace all fluids as needed. Also, keep an eye on rubber and plastic parts like hoses, vacuum lines, etc. That doesn't mean replace before needed, just monitor them since you know the car is getting older and these things will age.

Also, consider getting something like a Scangauge or similar active monitor that will give you real values and not just the "everything is good!" reading the normal gauges give you. This will alert you to slight abnormalities that a factory gauge might not indicate, and tip you off to a pending issue. For example, when my truck's precats started clogging, but it wasn't throwing a code, I noticed higher than usual coolant temps while climbing steep grades. The Scangauge would read 210*F, which is high for my truck, but within "normal" for the factory temp gauge. The truck wasn't throwing any codes, but I knew something was up and started looking into it.

There is nothing magical about 100K, or even 200K miles. The car doesn't know it has that many miles. Monitoring things and catching problems in their early stages is what will give the car a long life. Replacing good parts won't.

 

[Kuato]

Sounds like you're doing a good job so far, only thing I can think of would be shocks/struts.

Water pumps IME don't simply fail, until after they develop a leak. Check for leaks periodically and replace when you start seeing coolant.

 

[eljefino]

Stuff like hoses and water pumps are cheezier on the aftermarket than they are on OE. A hose will go bad quickly if oil drips on it but could last 20 years if it stays dry. Grab the hose with your hand; if it's in poor shape it will leave black goo on your skin as the rubber decomposes. Also don't let yourself or a mechanic replace your nice OE hose clamps with those worm screw ones that strip out and don't stay tight.

Even parts from the dealer with the honda brand may not be the same as came on your car... but would be closer in quality.

I'd spend more time refreshing the struts, bushings, and front end parts of the car than powertrain stuff-- which will give ample warning that they need attention.

 

[Vikas]

Which year Nissan Altima? Have you looked in to nicoclub? Somebody should be able to locate the factory service manual!