long road trip maintenance suggestions

[94HeavyChevy]

i am driving to phoenix from connecticut with a good friend of mine and then to las vegas. i have a 95 caprice with a 4.3. car has 105,000 miles on it. before i left i was going to do new plugs and wires along with the obvious oil change. plugs didnt need to be changed at 90,000 when i checked but i figured to change em now because of the 3,000 mile trip. any other things i should be concerned about? cap and rotor for multispark is kinda expensive, fuel filter and air filter are new.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by 94HeavyChevy

i am driving to phoenix from connecticut with a good friend of mine and then to las vegas. i have a 95 caprice with a 4.3. car has 105,000 miles on it. before i left i was going to do new plugs and wires along with the obvious oil change. plugs didnt need to be changed at 90,000 when i checked but i figured to change em now because of the 3,000 mile trip. any other things i should be concerned about? cap and rotor for multispark is kinda expensive, fuel filter and air filter are new.

check the radiator/cooling system hoses and cap condition...the tires should be removed , rotated..check brakes and repack front wheel bearings...

exhaust should be inspected for any rusted clamps/hardware that is in need of replacing..

tranmission fluid should be changed if not done recently..


pcv replace and make sure those vacuum lines are not split or collapsed...

[wafrederick]

Check the front end out for loose suspension parts and the tires also.Not worth going down the road with loose suspension parts and bad tires.

[inafogg]

what should be done???that depends...if you service like most every 3k than trans,coolant ect was done at 90k do again at 120k.check belts/hoses for sure plus fluids tires/pressures & you should be ok.Good Luck
btw changing the oil/filter is always a good idea

[wafrederick]

Another thing to do is check the fluid level in the rear end.Most oil change places do neglect to do this and always do this during an oil change.

[bhw33191]

On another note, your gunna love Las Vegas! I went there 5 years ago and it was FREAKING awesome!!

[94HeavyChevy]

ya i cant wait. hopefully the trip goes well. thanks to all for the suggestions

[silicon212]

Definitely keep that guy Murphy in mind. His law is what determines how well your trip goes. Anything that might cause an on-road failure needs to be looked at. Are your tires 3 years or more in age? Do they have uneven wear? If so, new rubber. It's expensive, but the highways in south central Arizona are not kind to tires in the summertime. Also, if the wear is uneven, have the alignment checked. Replace any parts that need it.

As for the engine, make sure your cooling system is topped off. New oil and filter as you've said you've done. Make sure, again, the oil is topped off. All the filters, as you've done. Check the condition of all of the hoses - not just the radiator hoses, but the heater hoses too. Check the condition of your brakes and make sure the brake fluid is topped off in the master cylinder. Make sure your transmission is topped off.

It doesn't hurt to carry two gallons of water, a quart of oil and a quart of transmission fluid - along with a good spare tire, in your trunk with you on your trip.

[94HeavyChevy]

should be all set now. got new plugs and wires, new air and fuel filter, new hoses(all of them were original and pretty soft), new idler arm in front suspension, pcv valve, rear end fluid, oil and filter, heater core and 180 degree thermostat, and injector/fuel system cleaning. pretty nice little tune up ill say. i will be carrying some coolant i have as well as some stop leak i have and oil and tranny fluid just in case and i do have a full size spare on a rim in the trunk. again, thanks to all for the suggestions.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by 94HeavyChevy

should be all set now. got new plugs and wires, new air and fuel filter, new hoses(all of them were original and pretty soft), new idler arm in front suspension, pcv valve, rear end fluid, oil and filter, heater core and 180 degree thermostat, and injector/fuel system cleaning. pretty nice little tune up ill say. i will be carrying some coolant i have as well as some stop leak i have and oil and tranny fluid just in case and i do have a full size spare on a rim in the trunk. again, thanks to all for the suggestions.

your pre trip maintenence looks very good... I hope you enjoy the ride. I happen to notice that you did not mention the front wheel bearing greasing ...but you most likely had that done with your last brake job... the shop manual states this be done at that time..good luck and try to keep your speed down,, out west in nevada/arizona 70mph looks like 40mph in conn....

[94HeavyChevy]

the trip went great. car ran like an absolute champ and i got 26.7 mpg on average for the entire trip. 2 days after i got here my ac compressor went though but its all good. thanks again to all for the maintenance suggestions.