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20,200 miles, original glass. I did get a tiny chip within the first few weeks of ownership, then installed the Aeroskin II. That has helped a lot. I leave a ridiculous following distance any time I am in traffic, and especially on the highway, and that helps a lot in avoiding front end and...

We're on the same page. It's free insurance for a few extra seconds of work. There's a trick for that. I like to use two o-ring picks and gently pry the o-ring over the top of the filter housing. Or, you can use a piece of dental floss or smooth nylon string (it wont slice the o-ring). You...

Exactly! Most engines are not destined to "die" from worn out bearing surfaces due to oil change practices, unless that practice is "never change or check the oil." :crackup: I say this as humbly as I can- the failure mode I fear worst is usually not the one that occurs, and that's because...

It's a good practice and doesn't hurt. It has been debated for years. The "theory" is that air entrapment in the filter and oil galleries causes voids in fluid film between bearing surfaces. The reality is that there should be enough residual oil in those areas to negate any...

I keep the tag off the oil filter box for every oil change. On it, I write: Date: Vehicle: Mileage: Oil Weight, Type, Volume: Tools: Torque (if applicable): Prime Method (if needed): As for not getting burned, I use heavy duty rubber gloves. I like to do an oil change when the engine is at...

I'm 6'1" and already wail my head into the door frame when getting in and out of my Bronco. My head pushes the headliner up in the '69 Mustang. I have to slouch forward to actually fit in that car, and I already installed seat track extensions that supposedly help. I swear they designed 1st...

Our Bronco quickly became the go-to family vehicle. My son's car seat doesn't fit in the F150 Supercab. We still use the F150 for trash runs, hardware store lumber/concrete runs, etc. Can't really use it much beyond that until the little dude is big enough to sit in the back seat. The Bronco...

My Mach 1 has wet-sanded jet black paint. One speck of pollen is visible on it from across the garage- it's as beautiful as it is annoying. I use a Ryobi 18v blower to knock off dust that has settled first, and then I gently wipe it down with a California car duster. I haven't seen any...

There are many factors... At the end of the day, it's a vehicle and it's meant to be driven... but here's some insight that may help: 1) Storage and parking Outdoors = good luck to you, especially with darker colors. Even in a garage, any condensation or residual moisture from the last drive...

I ran into that years ago- I had two daily drivers and several "weekend vehicles" and got sick of paying insurance for things that sit and don't move 99% of the time. Unfortunately there isn't much of a way around having a policy for every one of them (though it would be nice if we were insured...

I used to live in New England. Rust was just a part of life. My father had an F150, maybe 2-3 years old, and he kept it immaculate- pressure washing the undercarriage every spring and even spray waxing it. One of the rear leaf shackles rusted and the spring punched the bed. Traditional...

Lots of truth to this. A few months ago, I drove by the scene of a bad accident (police were directing traffic). There was oil on the ground and there had clearly been a fire. For the next week, my vehicle smelled like burning oil any time I turned on the heat or A/C. I even pulled over at...

Personally, I would have gone with the V8 had Ford actually offered it like they should have. :) But, The 2.7l V6 has been just fine and the fuel economy (with OEM tires, non-sasquatch) is about 21.6mpg average, upwards of 26 on the highway. In sport mode, the V6 accelerates similarly to a...

I have found that most protectants (including Chemical Guys VRP) become very tacky as they start to dry if used on flexible materials. Over time, they even seem to dry out rubber weatherstripping/gaskets faster in this fashion. I noticed that since it gets a sticky surface, gaskets would...

That's one of the reasons why I always tell dealerships "DO NOT WASH MY VEHICLE." That applies to service or the initial purchase. I've had two dealerships get upset with me for demanding that before. "It's a courtesy we do for all customers." "I've never had anyone request that, the vehicle...

I'm in a weird hypocritical position when it comes to test drives. I always advocate that people test out a vehicle before they buy it. With that said, I have only ever test-driven two vehicles before buying them, and I have owned 18 vehicles. In several cases, there was a...

There are leather repair kits on Amazon that work decently. Bolsters are always the first to crack. The only vehicle I ever owned (with leather seats) that didn't crack was an 08 Volvo- they used the thickest leather imaginable on those indestructible seats. When I had my '18 Mustang GT...

I wouldn't say your bar is low. You just haven't been tainted by unnecessary creature comforts that create unreliable and overly expensive vehicles. :)

I couldn't agree more! We have tools at our disposal that should be increasing efficiency and lowering costs. Instead, they are used to overly complicate everything. I remember in the AutoCAD 2002 days when it took 30+ minutes to save a .dwg on a Pentium II processor (I remember 386/486...

Understandable. But, just because the issue hasn't happened to you doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist. There are many threads on the window pop-out topic. Tolerances, incoming materials, set up differences, quality checks, differences in operators/inspectors, etc all can lead to a short...