In about a month i will be making a trip from california to rhode island. just wondering what are some things that i should check and be aware of when on such a long trip. any suggestions? 2000 civic ex sedan turbo just so ya know, thanks for the help

 

take a test drive and use your 2cent

 

regular maintenance. water, oil, fluids, and tire pressure. if everything if fine then you are good to go. enjoy your trip.

 

Bring an extra 5 gallons of gas and lots and lots of water. Either for your car or you if you get stuck. O yeah and dont take any dirt road shortcuts, have you seen the hills have eyes?

 

I made the trip from Cali to Connecticut. Only suggestion is never go under 1/4 tank. Next would be to get a cooler and throw some drinks in there like redbulls. Lastly prepare for the longest ride of your life lol. Did it in 36 hours, stopping only for gas. Brought my own food.

 

honestly i wouldn't make the trip with your car. Even if the turbo/motor is fairly new i'd rent a car. Is taking your car a have to?

 

Your car does take a major beating... even if you hit no rodents.

 

thanks for the replies, yeah i have to take my car because im completely moving back. thanks for the suggestions

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bmoua &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">honestly i wouldn't make the trip with your car. Even if the turbo/motor is fairly new i'd rent a car. Is taking your car a have to? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I've pulled that **** a few times going to one of the southern states.

Rent a car, and take that.

Why? Enterprise (or the like) has to keep a rep - so all the cars are maintained to the point where they won't break. Then, if they do break, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT, NOR DO YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT, and then, you can beat the **** out of it with no worries of wearing motor mounts or trans problems.

Rent for long trips ftw .

PS:
Man, I remember one time when the tranny blew on my benz, I had rental insurance and rented this like, '03 or '04 (whatevever year it was - brand new - same year) crown victoria - comfy as hell - powerful as hell - a lot more comfy than any civic, put that thing over a buck quite a few times w/o a care in the world.

Aight, if you REALLY wanna take your car (I wouldn't b/c turbo makes things less reliable, I don't care how professionally it was installed). Well make sure everything is peachy, make sure ur not leaking coolant or air from the tires. Make sure the oil lines to the turbo are all tight 'n good so you don't seize it up. Check all your vacuum lines, make sure none are dried out and cracking. Make sure ur not burning oil, and if u r, make sure u bring enough. Make sure you check the trans fluid - fill it up through the VSS hole until it overflows the VSS hole.

It'd still be smart to bring a gallon jug of 50/50 just in case and a few quarts of oil (which if you're smart you should always have on hand anyways).

Then DON'T BE STUPID ABOUT IT!

While you're on the road, you stop for gas or something, pop the hood, have a look, make sure ur not burning oil, check it, check your hoses, check the coolant res level, put it up to the max line if the engine is hot, even though it's hot check the oil to make sure ur not losing any. Just keep an eye on the engine.

Prep properly, and everything should be peachy.

Though you may not wanna hear it, if you were smart about it, you'd put the stock header back on (throw the turbo in the garage), you can leave the IC and piping, and just put the stock ECU back in it, aftermarket turbos have a higher failure rate than OEM turbo setups, even if it's pro installed - bu tlike I said, make sure all ur fittings are tight if u decide to bring the turbo.

<u>And bring some tools</u> - ratchets w/ extensions, TWO TEN MM SOCKETS, some wrenches, an adjustable crescent wrench (just in case u don't have the right size), some electrical tape, needle nose pliers, cutting dikes, zip ties, multi-head screwdriver, channel lock, vice grips, and you should be peachy. Throw all that crap in a 1 foot by 1 foot box or a crankshaft box or something and toss it in ur trunk, that should be everything u need to do a band-aid fix or quick repair.

EDIT:
Add to that list:
roll of 14 gauge wire, wire strippers, and if you really wanna make sure nothing happens, some 14 gauge crimps and a crimper.

 

All that or you can rent a uhaul and a tow dolly. That's a long trip to put that on yer ride.