Cross Country Drive - Mechanic?

Actinguy1

Hey all! I'm planning to drive from Santa Barbara CA to Pittsburgh PA, and a lot of websites I've been reading say you should take your car to a mechanic...but they don't say what you should have done. I'm not ecstatic about the idea of saying, "I don't know what I need done, so you decide for me" since that's likely to get expensive. I know my tail light is out and the cigarette lighter doesn't work (I need it for my GPS)...and of course an oil change...but what else should I be asking for? I have a 2008 Jeep Liberty. Thanks!

eternalbl

On such a new vehicle probably just make sure your maintenance is up to date according to your owners manual. Mostly people suggest a pre trip thing like that to make sure your car doesn't break down on the way.

Is your car still in warranty? Then you're fairly golden because dealerships will be all over the place.

Wassermelone

Oil change for sure. Check tire pressure and perhaps rotate them.

And then just have em do a once over for any other problems. It pays to know about these things before you drive rather than breaking down on the on freeway while going 80.

Actinguy1

I think my warrenty is only to 36k miles...I have 36,400. Of course.

King Kong

As a tech I'd say just have your car checked over, make sure belts aren't cracking etc. make sure fluids are topped off and tires are at reasonable tread depths and at proper inflation. Make sure your coolant also tests ok.

In case something does happen...

Jumper cables etc a buddy of mine gave me an MRE I just threw in my trunk. Make sure your spare is properly inflated and your jack is in working condition.

RUNN1NGMAN

King Kong wrote: »

As a tech I'd say just have your car checked over, make sure belts aren't cracking etc. make sure fluids are topped off and tires are at reasonable tread depths and at proper inflation. Make sure your coolant also tests ok.

In case something does happen...

Jumper cables etc a buddy of mine gave me an MRE I just threw in my trunk. Make sure your spare is properly inflated and your jack is in working condition.

This is HUGE. I have a 2009 CR-V, and a few months ago I checked the pressure in the spare. It was about half what it should have been. It'll be a very bad day if you get a flat and then realize your spare is also flat.

On a related note you might want to invest in a small air compressor that runs of your car's cigarette lighter. They're pretty cheap and I use mine all the time.

scrivenerjones

As long as you're reasonably sure that your mechanic isn't a shyster, saying "I'm driving across the country, please check my car out" is a perfectly legitimate thing to do. The specifics that people have mentioned are all good too.

Kotenk

As a rule, I'd say If during the drive you'd be running into a regularly scheduled maintenance, get those things done.

IE 1,000 miles in you should be getting an oil change, get it before you go.

illig

i would do a minor tuneup myself.

Fluids: change oil; check and top up (if needed) brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and coolant

Tires: check all tires for uneven wear (if found, get alignment before going), bald spots or damage (if found, replace tire), correct air pressure... make sure your check includes the spare.... if you haven't rotated your tires recently (most people ignore this for some reason) then do it

Brakes: you checked the fluid, right? so check the pads to see if there is plenty of material left, make sure nothing is seized or overly gunky

CV joints: check your CV boots for tears and have this fixed if found... a torn boot may cause the joint to fail quite quickly, if it fills with water/sand, and you don't want to be stuck in bumfuck middle america getting a half shaft replaced

Get new wiper blades (personal thing i guess, but it bugs me to no end when i have to drive long distances with old/streaky/noisy blades )

Bring with you: jumper cables, a can of Fix-A-Flat, a Flashlight, a multi-tool (or a small set of tools with a screwdriver, knife, pliers, etc.), a couple of bungee cords, and some duct tape

You have roadside assistance of some sort, right? AAA or whatever? really helpful if you happen to get stuck in the middle of nowhere at night.

dlinfiniti

illig wrote: »

i would do a minor tuneup myself.

Fluids: change oil; check and top up (if needed) brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and coolant

Tires: check all tires for uneven wear (if found, get alignment before going), bald spots or damage (if found, replace tire), correct air pressure... make sure your check includes the spare.... if you haven't rotated your tires recently (most people ignore this for some reason) then do it

Brakes: you checked the fluid, right? so check the pads to see if there is plenty of material left, make sure nothing is seized or overly gunky

CV joints: check your CV boots for tears and have this fixed if found... a torn boot may cause the joint to fail quite quickly, if it fills with water/sand, and you don't want to be stuck in bumfuck middle america getting a half shaft replaced

Get new wiper blades (personal thing i guess, but it bugs me to no end when i have to drive long distances with old/streaky/noisy blades )

Bring with you: jumper cables, a can of Fix-A-Flat, a Flashlight, a multi-tool (or a small set of tools with a screwdriver, knife, pliers, etc.), a couple of bungee cords, and some duct tape

You have roadside assistance of some sort, right? AAA or whatever? really helpful if you happen to get stuck in the middle of nowhere at night.

good stuff
be careful with the fix a flat stuff though
if you can change to a spare, do it
some tire places will charge you more to change a tire with it

Grimm

As others of said, have all the belts, tires, fluids, oil checked out. Just ask the mechanic what else they would recommend doing before such a trip. Also don't forget things like wiper fluid, jumper cables, a small tool kit, change for toll fare, a small supply of emergency food and water, blanket, flashlight, etc. Don't forget to check your spare tire. No matter how much planning and checking you do though, shit still happens. Last summer before i drove from Pittsburgh PA to Holden Beach South Carolina, i had my truck checked out. This still didn't help the thermostat from going just as I crossed the North Carolina / Virginia border on the way home. My point being, make sure you carry some emergency cash. If you want some ideas on what to see or do once you get to Pittsburgh, feel free to ask here or PM me if you wish. I spent the first 22 years of my life there.

The Black Hunter

Do it a few weeks before you leave in case they unbalance something