To make a long story short, my wife got lazy and didnt change the oil in her 98 Tracer. It went about 10,000 miles without a change before the service engine light came on and she informed me that it was running rough. Her excuse was "I'm a girl, I don't know these things!" Ughhh.

I started by using a parts store engine flush and idled it for twice the recommended time. I then changed the oil and air filter, which made things much much smoother and turned the service light off. I also put injector/fuel system cleaner into the gas and will dump a second bottle in there on the next tank. The idle is still a tad rough so I will be changing the PCV valve and hose on Saturday because it has buildup.

Following this kind of abuse, what other maintenance should I do on the vehicle besides not letting my wife drive it? It only has 85,000 miles and is in decent enough condition so I want to get more life out of it...and to punish her by making her wait to get the new car she wants until she learns to take care of the old one.

Your advice is appreciated.

 

This reminds me of another story.
In the early days a VW had a green light for the oil pressure warning light.
This poor gent's wife said when the green light came on I thought it meant GO.
So I did, why is it my fault the engine self destructed?

You could always meet her half way, and buy her a new used car.

 

Oregon: you probably want to make sure the other maintenance items are taken care of: plugs ignition wires, cap and rotor, or coil packs. The EGR system may be clogged up as well. Transmission service should come up at 90000 if it has been done at 60000. Engine coolant should be checked for Ph value and freeze protection.

In some way my wife is like yours. I make sure the maintenance is done as scheduled and repairs are done as needed. She is a gurl and wouldn't know nothing... And I make sure she is paying for it. This last part is very educational.