NY to OR in the 80: Trip preparation (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 19, 2009
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Location
Maine
At the end of August I'll be slowly making my way to the hills south of Eugene, Oregon, where my girlfriend and I are renting a house for 8 months. After disqualifying the idea of shipping the 80, I'm trying to get it prepped for the journey, as well as prepping myself to spend some unknown amount of dollars on gas depending on the route we end up taking.

The truck has been pretty well PM'd - recent front axle rebuild, new brakes, newish tires, silicone PHH, tuneup, and battery...........and ARB.

The cooling system is all original and working fine as far as I can tell, although lately I've noticed the temps are sitting slightly higher at idle than they used to (193 vs 190). I wouldn't make too much of this, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to have the radiator flushed..

So in summary, any pre trip maintenance ideas would be welcome, as well as any recent cross country experiences/advice/etc!

Rest assured, I will be taking pictures.

Luke
 
- Make sure your tires are up to the task (including your spare tire), check to see if the jack and tools are all there and functioning, won't hurt to bring electric air compressor, quality tire gauge
- Jumper cables
- Bring TP and hand sanitizer
- Bring lots of water
- Extra oil and coolant maybe
 
Sounds like you are in pretty good shape. I live about 2.5hrs south of Eugene. Hit our club up while you're on this side. ;)
 
If the truck is well-PM'ed already, you should be in good shape, not much to worry about.

I'd for sure get the coolant system flushed, just to know it's working in tip-top shape during a hot time of the year.

If your fluids are old (diffs, transfer case, transmission), have them changed, too, prior to the trip.

Are your belts good?

Replace the 2 hoses from the EGR Valve to the VSV for EGR with 1 hose and bypass the pass-thru in between the 2 hoses through the Upper Air Intake Manifold. I have done this and am getting consistently better gas mileage, to the tune of 1-1.5 MPG. On a long trip this will add up!

Make sure the truck tracks straight, toe on the front wheels is correct. This will decrease uneven wear on the front tires.

Fresh oil change prior to departure.

If you're going to be doing a bunch of night driving, are you happy with you headlight output? Maybe upgrade the wiring harness with the Slee Unit, perhaps order the aftermarket low-beam bulbs form them while you're at it. No reason to replace the high beams - when you turn on your high beams, the low beam bulbs stay on, so you've got 4 headlights at that point.

The 80 will do great across the country. You will run through gas. If you have the time to take a route that will allow you to take in scenery starting in the Dakotas, state highways out west are wide open and typically have speed limits of 65. Driving 65-70 on cruise control you'll get much better gas mileage than hammering it on the Interstate doing 80.
 
Meh.

A cross-country drive is nothing more than the same number of miles you put on your rig between oil changes. (Just compressed into a shorter interval.)

My 91 has been back and forth across the US three times.

Don't over think it, and enjoy.
 
For the last 2 years I have dragged my 80 from Jersey to Utah and back. Not as long as the trip you're planning, but not a short run either. It's a fantastic way to travel and see the country. I absolutely love it. You will develop a symbiotic relationship with your truck after the first 2 days.

I do a complete fluid change before I depart. Motor oil, transmission fluid, all 3 diffs, coolant drain and refill, power steering drain and refill, brake fluid flush. I remove both driveshafts and check for any notches in the movement of the universals. If they're smooth they get greased, cleaned, and re-installed. If not, the uni gets replaced.

I do a basic tune up; plugs, cap rotor, air filter, PCV valve and grommet, maybe new wires if it's time.

Change all belts and hoses (if it's time) and bring the used ones for a full set of spares. They take up no room.

I clean the radiator and AC condenser and tranny cooler with a high pressure fine spray wand that HVAC companies use. I remove the 2 top bolts on the fan shroud and blow from inner to outer to flush all the debris and accumulated crap out. Then I go from under the frame rail between the radiator and condenser coils, and finally to the tranny cooler.

Check brakes on all 4 corners and replace with new if it's time.

Check the condition of all steering linkages and check for any play in the front wheel bearings and knuckles.

Check the condition of all lower bushings and go from point to point with a 24mm and 22mm wrench and make sure all fasteners are tight.

Someone already mentioned tires. Don't start this trip with tires that aren't up to the task at hand. Check for proper inflation regularly and adjust for load accordingly.

I do all this for the confidence and piece of mind. I KNOW that she's up to the task and it makes the drive that much more enjoyable and less stressful. It's alot to swallow at first, but it's worth it IMO.
 
Luke,

Let us know when u arrive and we will give u an official Mud welcome :)

A few fellow mud members right here in the south hills, Tim Blume 80, Chad 60, Kevin from Wagon Gear 60 and my 80 all reside in the south hills.

Oh ya and Kevin and I are both NE transplants like yourself! Bring Yuengling beer for instant friends!

Matt
 
Luke,

Let us know when u arrive and we will give u an official Mud welcome :)

A few fellow mud members right here in the south hills, Tim Blume 80, Chad 60, Kevin from Wagon Gear 60 and my 80 all reside in the south hills.

Oh ya and Kevin and I are both NE transplants like yourself! Bring Yuengling beer for instant friends!

Matt

Thanks Matt, good to know theres local cruiser folk!

Appreciate the PM advice - I'll try to take care of as many things as time and budget allows for, but at the very least change all the fluids, get an alignment flush the rad and inspect the bushings a little closer to departure time. All four tires are 5K old BFG's and have no signs of wear, although I must admit I've been driving around with a 275 sized spare while the mounted ones are 285's. But, I'll bite the bullet and get a matching spare.
 
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For the last 2 years I have dragged my 80 from Jersey to Utah and back. Not as long as the trip you're planning, but not a short run either. It's a fantastic way to travel and see the country. I absolutely love it. You will develop a symbiotic relationship with your truck after the first 2 days.

I do a complete fluid change before I depart. Motor oil, transmission fluid, all 3 diffs, coolant drain and refill, power steering drain and refill, brake fluid flush. I remove both driveshafts and check for any notches in the movement of the universals. If they're smooth they get greased, cleaned, and re-installed. If not, the uni gets replaced.

I do a basic tune up; plugs, cap rotor, air filter, PCV valve and grommet, maybe new wires if it's time.

Change all belts and hoses (if it's time) and bring the used ones for a full set of spares. They take up no room.

I clean the radiator and AC condenser and tranny cooler with a high pressure fine spray wand that HVAC companies use. I remove the 2 top bolts on the fan shroud and blow from inner to outer to flush all the debris and accumulated crap out. Then I go from under the frame rail between the radiator and condenser coils, and finally to the tranny cooler.

Check brakes on all 4 corners and replace with new if it's time.

Check the condition of all steering linkages and check for any play in the front wheel bearings and knuckles.

Check the condition of all lower bushings and go from point to point with a 24mm and 22mm wrench and make sure all fasteners are tight.

Someone already mentioned tires. Don't start this trip with tires that aren't up to the task at hand. Check for proper inflation regularly and adjust for load accordingly.

I do all this for the confidence and piece of mind. I KNOW that she's up to the task and it makes the drive that much more enjoyable and less stressful. It's alot to swallow at first, but it's worth it IMO.

This is a great list. Do these things and you should be fine.
 
Something I forgot to mention earlier:
While doing some light wheeling several months ago I put a kink in the muffler. It isn't loose, and doesn't have any internal rattles, but i definitely noticed a change in the exhaust note and possibly a drop in MPGs.

Is it plausible that this could impact the fuel economy? If so now would be the time to swap it out.

Any thoughts?
 
CJF said:
Meh.

A cross-country drive is nothing more than the same number of miles you put on your rig between oil changes. (Just compressed into a shorter interval.)

My 91 has been back and forth across the US three times.

Don't over think it, and enjoy.


I agree I just did crooks country in my fj 40, definitely nervous but once I got out of Florida it was good to know it can make the good distance. Though it was at a slow place,but u gotta enjoy the ride. Made it to Michigan then to California long trip no serious problems. Good tires, good wires and gas money. 1400 in gas roughly between 2 of us,trip was a bit longer then yours and mpg were about 10ish. So u should be better off. Enjoy the trip,scenic byways are the way to go, for sure!
 
I too was a little nervous prior to my 800 mile Santa Barbara to Bend Oregon move. Did all the PM stuff and once I got on the road it was fantastic. Look over all you can before and you'll be fine. Enjoy the ride. Oregon is beautiful.:cheers:
 
Cooler full of beer, mineral water, cliff bars and baby wipes. Plenty of No Doze trucker pills, asperin, wide mouth bottle for urine and a pair of sunglasses...Gun it!!!
 
If you're coming during or around bike week, you'll want to avoid I-90. I took I-94 when I moved from Cleveland to Washington state. Kind of a bummer because it's a much more interesting drive down 90. Also, even though we were on 94, hotels were packed. Not sure if this applies as youre going to end up a good distance south. I did it in a jeep grand Cherokee with 180k miles and made it, you should have no problem.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD
 
Two weeks away from departure, thought I'd post up some work; and then some more work done to the cruiser over the past few days.

8/5
OEM T stat
OEM belts
New Toyota red
Borg Warner/ACM Germany fan clutch - never heard of this application before, I was initially freaking out that it wasn't the toyota blue hub, but it moves some serious air when it kicks in. Curious to see how it holds up.

8/7
New Toyota red leaking copiously from the bottom of the radiator and at the upper hose (155K original)

8/8 New Koyo A1918 radiator (2 core as opposed to the C1917 3 core)
OEM hoses
OEM clamps
Toyota red again

Even while the old rad was leaking, I noticed a substantial drop in engine temps with the new tstat and clutch - A/C on sitting in traffic in 90 degree heat = 188 as opposed to 204 with the old parts. Hopefully the cooling system is happy now.
 
Wow, lucky break that the radiator let loose now instead of a couple of weeks from now. Very nice. I am sure it was a unexpected expense but damn that was good timing.

Do you have a link for the Borg Warner fan clutch?
 
Wow, lucky break that the radiator let loose now instead of a couple of weeks from now. Very nice. I am sure it was a unexpected expense but damn that was good timing.

Do you have a link for the Borg Warner fan clutch?

acm ® germany .en

All I know is either borg warner makes it for acm or acm makes it for borg warner. Seems to be what a lot of Benz and BMW owners use as a replacement clutch. Its listed around $100-110 on a bunch of parts sites as an ACM.
I'd be curious to get more info on it, but as of day 5 it works just dandy.
 

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