Getting ready for a long drive

[mikl730]

1994
117000 miles
Im getting ready to take a 340 mile trip to maine for easter. Is there anything you would recommend doing before i left? I had the transmission fluid changed a couple of weeks ago, still 1000 miles left before next oil change. I guess ill bring antifreeze with me and a container of oil just in case but i think my buick will make it all together

[HotZ28]

When is the last time you had a new serpentine belt installed? I always carry a spare on long trips. On your particular car, you only have one drive belt driving the water pump and if it breaks for some reason, you will overheat quickly. A spare belt cost about 25-30 bucks. That is pretty cheap insurance for long road trips.


As for the rest of it, just verify all fluid levels are correct and that the engine is in good tune. A well maintained Buick with only 117K, should be road worthy!
Good luck!

[mikl730]

i put the belt in when i bought the car when it had 95,000 so i think it should be good? Good idea though anyone know how long these last, i looked at mine still looks good. I just put a nice new air filter in today so im think i get everything else i can think of covered. This trip will finnaly break in my new struts

[imidazol97]

Originally Posted by mikl730

i put the belt in when i bought the car when it had 95,000 so i think it should be good? Good idea though anyone know how long these last, i looked at mine still looks good. I just put a nice new air filter in today so im think i get everything else i can think of covered. This trip will finnaly break in my new struts

Those are good for 60-80K miles depending on environment and brand purchased.

When I put on a new one I put the old one in the trunk, just in case I'd need to switch on a trip.

[Loekee75]

Inspect all of your hoses, making sure they're not hardened or warped/ cracked in any way. Inspect your tires, including your spare (if it's a donut, make sure you have it aired up!)

[mikl730]

I dont know if this is a bad omen or what but i was on the highway aftr driving 40 miles and the fitting that screws into the engine about the manifold area and the other end connects to the water pump broke in half. So alot of water later i got it fixed lol dont worry i filled it back up with antifreeze.

[xs03mich]

You should not have any problems as long as you have done regular maintance. I had over 200,000 on my lesabre and would do 6 trips a year at 2500miles each with no problems at all. Have a good trip.

[mikl730]

Just so you all know my car made the 1000 mile round trip beautifuly. I was so happy with my car, i cant beilive it i got 29 miles to the gallon on the highway no lie. Although now it seems to be running rough at idle now that i got back but i think its time to change the air filter. Thanks guys for the support