High Mileage Elios?

[Kuda]

Note to moderators: We need a new emoticon. One that we can use as shorthand for speculation. I bet that word appears on this site almost as often as Elio!

TOO MUCH: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=active&q=cogitation+definition

 

[TeamCoconutOreo]

I have an 85 Ford Ranger XL with half a million miles. My whole life I have heard how awful American cars are, how 80's American cars are the worse and how
Ford Rangers could never compare to the great Toyota and Nissan trucks. My point, with proper maintenance, quality motor oil, and fixing things immediately after noticing something is wrong you can make anything last a very long time.

As far of longevity is concerned and staying Eco-friendly, keeping an old car running right will always win out. My ranger has gone through a timing belt every 50,000 miles; plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor and coil about every 25,000 miles; two oil pan gaskets; radiator, hoses and water pump; two mechanical fuel pumps; one catalytic converter; one alternator; three batteries; two clutches and oil changes with Mobil 1 10w30 every with Fram filters (air and oil) 5,000 miles.

All parts have been the cheapest parts I can find at Autozone. No premium parts except for the oil and filters go into my ranger. I'm sure I forgot something, but that's what is written in my log.

I bought it used so I can't say much before I owned it. I got it in 92 with 78,000 miles. According to the previous owner he did all recommended maintenance with nothing else ever going wrong.

I see a Base Elio Much like my Ranger. A small, simple, efficient vehicle that will be easy and inexpensive to maintain and repair. My ranger is powered by a 73 horsepower 2.0l inline four. It's enough power to drive cross country maintaining 5mph over the speed limit except for high grades. If you have a little mechanical skills and pay attention to your Elio, absent some bad engineering it should be a good little workhorse for many many miles.

Edit: My Expedition and Mercedes are both high milage vehicles. I like to keep cars for a long time. Usually well over 15 years.

 

[rdoearth]

From "The Elio Automatic Transmission" thread

I have heard two clutch design as well. Wet or dry? Dry is good for low torque/horsepower... Either way, I'm pretty sure I read that the transmissions would be essentially the same and Vassalo told me that other than a couple of servos they were essentially the same transmission. Now, he's a PR guru and not necessarily the Tech guru so he could be mistaken or perhaps he overexagerated the similarities.

Okay, I'm not far off base - single clutch...

Q. Has an AMT product been selected, If so who is it?
A: No, still in discussions.
Q. Can the AMT be flat towed in neutral?
A. Yes, it's a standard transmission. That's something that came up in the tour that people didn't know. You actually get better mileage in our automatic than our standard. Because it's a standard transmission both ways, and one way there's a computer shifting and the other way is a human being.
Q. Single or Dual Clutch AMT?
A. Single.

 

[RKing]

I was told in Rome that the manual is Aisin 5 speed from a Toyota application. Also the engine block looks staright out automotive in the trans flange area. So I think the chances that it shares oil with the tranny is incorrect, now it may very well use the same type and viscoity oil as the engine. That would explain the missunderstanding that was posted in another thread about a common oil supply. I was very interested in the manual so I kept asking until they checked and told me Aisin from a FWD Toy. Also note the starter hole in pics of the machined block.

 

[rdoearth]

I would prefer they were separate for sure. But if it's a wet clutch, the tranny will need changes almost as often as the engine, correct?

 

[TeamCoconutOreo]

I was told in Rome that the manual is Aisin 5 speed from a Toyota application. Also the engine block looks staright out automotive in the trans flange area. So I think the chances that it shares oil with the tranny is incorrect, now it may very well use the same type and viscoity oil as the engine. That would explain the missunderstanding that was posted in another thread about a common oil supply. I was very interested in the manual so I kept asking until they checked and told me Aisin from a FWD Toy. Also note the starter hole in pics of the machined block.

I doubt that the transmission will use engine oil, most modern manual transmissions use ATF. They don't need the high tempreture resistance of engine oil, so the use ATF for its longevity as it provides the proper amount of lubrication for a very long time.