Oil pan: 32,000 miles.
Alternator: 78,000 miles.
Cooling fans: 109,000 miles.
EGR valve: 115,000 miles.
Distributor: 127,000 miles.
Oil pan (again) : 135,000 miles.
Lifter/valve knock: 156,000 miles.
Burning oil (blue smoke) : 178,000 miles.
Car is good on gas and is still somewhat reliable, but is on its last legs.
I beat the hell out of this car too, and it always starts first try.
It rattles around wherever I go.
I am still on the original clutch.
Car will be seeing 200,000 miles hopefully soon.
Are you sure about replacing the distributor, because if it's the 1995 LX with the 1.9 engine, it doesn't have one. Do you have the DOHC 1.8 engine?
If this is the 1.9L engine, the oil pan isn't the old-style stamped steel one, it's cast aluminum, and seems pretty tough, are you off-roading much? The only thing I can see is physical impact, a stripped oil drain plug isn't the car's problem, but it can be fixed without a pan replacement.
I like it, the classic double-edged sword! "It runs like crap, but at least it runs forever." Nice. I'm curious... do you want to beat it to death, or make it last as long as possible?
BTW, you can fix a stripped drain plug without replacing the pan. You can cut new threads and use an oversized plug, or you can coat the stripped threads with oil-resistant epoxy to restore the threads, or install a heli-coil. There are easier ways than replacing the whole pan.
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