Just bought a used car. How can I maintain it?

I just bought a used car. How can I maintain it?

I saved up for 3 months by working at my first job and now I just bought a car!

It was $1200 for the car and $600 for the tag, title, and insurance.

On the title, we clearly deemed the mileage on the odemeter to be 174,000. (roundabout).

However, now that the car is mine and I'm driving it on the roads… I can clearly see that the odometer reads 274,000… (roundabout
Naturally, I'm a bit concerned about that so I want to do my best to keep this car in the good condition that it still is for being a '92 Ford Explorer.
I'm interested in doing everything I can to keep it alive and well for as long as possible.

I'm kinda looking for maybe a list I can print out and familiarize myself with so I can get into a routine.

Oh, and one more thing… Is the odometer measuring miles driven or another unit? Because I reset the TRIP Odometer and it's 4 digits… It says "0085" already… The 5 at the end will become a 6 in like a minute of driving… If I'm going like 35.

It must be measuring something else? I stayed within the boundaries of my city and I got this car this morning. There's no way I already drove it 85 miles!

Back to the original question…

Can someone give me an in-depth answer?

For example: Don't just say "Change the filters and fluids!" because I don't even know what filters and fluids there are to change!

Try to be as specific as possible please… And thank you!

The best answer will get some points!

You bought a clunker.

The big issue is to make sure you never run it without oil or water. (Run it hot)

There are lots of other things involved the the above will ruin your cars engine and make it all but worthless if you ignore.

A lot of other things can be "maintained" as you go. When your water pump goes out, you need to get it fixed.

Dozens of other things could go out. And with that many miles you will be learning as you go.

A trusted mechanic is a good resource. One who won't sell you repairs you don't need.

A car with that many miles can suffer a major breakdown at anytime. You need a good mechanic to check it over and see if any of the fluids need attention. Oil is the lifeblood of an engine. Change it regularly. And be gentle on the car. A high mileage car will not stand being abused. That last digit on the trip odometer is tenths of a mile.

Honestly start simple buy a tool set and some jacks/jack stands start doing engine oil and move up the transmission oil that's how I learned to work on cars, now I know how to replace a whole head on a car just by using youtube and a few people who understand automotive mechanics also. Honestly I change my coolant yearly/oil/engine filter/ check my spark plugs/ after like 30k you do transmission fluid/ brake fluid every 3 years/ power steering fluid every 2 years for me/ clean all the sensors IAT/MAF/the throttle plate yearly for HP loss over time. Also I add about 4 bottles of that fuel injector cleaner from lucas every year. And run the highest octane of gas once every couple months because it helps the engine and my car can go up to like 93octane but I put the cheapest regularly.

Here's web site that has some tips:
http://www.samarins.com/maintenance/

However, your car is mostly "used up" so you should expect to have to do more than just normal routine maintenance. Costly repairs will likely be required, regardless of how well you maintain it. Parts simply wear out after lots of miles, and must be replaced.