First Cross Country Trip: South Carolina to California. What can I expect/tips for the drive in my '95. (1 Viewer)

[Jhnpv]

I 2nd the above posts. Double check the wheel bearing preload and the dust shield. Heck, I would even triple check the wheel bearings at 500, 1000, and 2000 miles. Better safe than sorry.

Did you set/bed the new brakes?

We did bed them. We are currently in Little Rock, about 20 hours away from our destination. I will certainly give these a look.

 

[Jhnpv]

Agree that Memphis is a little sketchy. Downtown especially.
Tourists and police mixed with a lot of homeless folks. I would skip it in favor of a smaller town down the road.

If you stop for in Memphis, these were the best spots I found.

Central BBQ
The place to go, but the food in downtown has gone downhill.
Not nearly as good as Kansas City or Texas

Blue Plate Cafe
Good breakfast, not great
Large portions

Jackson is more relaxed and feels safer. Not sure it’s worth adding 30 miles to your trip though.

If you stop in Amarillo, visiting the stock yards is pretty fun. The Stockyard Cafe has good breakfast and you can walk upstairs to watch the stock auctions. I liked listening to the auctioneer, but couldn’t understand much of what he said.

Good restaurants are:

The Coyote Bluff Cafe - small hole in the wall place. Go on off hours to avoid the line. Burgers are juicy and big. If you like spicy, try the Burger from Hell.

It’s a Punjabi Affair - good Indian food.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery has a 72 oz. steak that’s free if you eat it all in one sitting. It’s huge. Expect food coma to follow.

Took your advice and skipped Memphis for a little town just outside Little Rock.

 

[Jhnpv]

Good morning everyone,

We set off at 4pm yesterday and stopped at 5:45am in a little town outside Little Rock. The cruiser is doing great so far. Sometimes I would forget I’m towing if it wasn’t for the rear view mirror. Haven’t had much of a chance to check the squeak. It’s certainly been annoying me this entire trip, and I’m ripping the wheel off and checking it first chance I get. Is there anything I can check without a jack stand (it was my buddies jack we used). Unfortunately, don’t have many pictures to share since we traveled at night.

Also, Memphis takes the crown for worst roads.

 

[Funner]

The factory bottle jack is plenty capable and sturdy. If you have to go under the truck place the tire you removed under the truck for additional safety.

 

[clx16]

You can try to pull the dust shield out without jacking or taking the tire off.

 

[ZackR]

This is when you post up your location and travel plan so you can visit a fellow mud member and use their driveway to check the bearing preload.

 

[Jhnpv]

Horrible news everyone

Before driving down the I-40, I checked my oil and decided to add a little more. Along with this, I added AT-205, a resealer. Drove down and noticed my oil pressure severely dropping.

this is going at 75 mph. It should not be this low for this speed.
Pulled over to check the engine and noticed this.

Pretty sure this hose isn’t suppose to be gunked with oil. Sick to my stomach. Really don’t know what to do.

 

[clx16]

That interesting that that hose is transparent. Not sure it is supposed to be that way. Anyway i think at205 is supposed to sit for a while after putting it in so my thoughts would be to grab some new oil and an oil pan and do an oil change. Probably a filter change too. You can recycle the oil at the place you buy oil and not carry it with you the whole trip.

Just an idea

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Sometimes I would forget I’m towing if it wasn’t for the rear view mirror.

Wait until you get into Arizona and further west lol.

Use the bottle jack and tire under the hub. The dust shield can be checked with the tire on the truck. Just climb under and pull/pry it away from the disc.

As for the oil pressure thing, I wouldn't sweat it too much. The oil pressure gauges are not reliable on these old rigs. I would be more worried about the stop leak stuff you added....

Make sure you have a toyota oil filter, not a wix and make sure the oil stays topped off. If your really having oil pressure issues you will hear/feel it in the motor.

In regards to the oil stop leak snake oil stuff, I would not be putting crap like that in my engine. If I were you I would stop at the nearest toyota stealership and either buy a new toyota filter and change your oil or just have the dealership change it just this one time.

There are only 2 correct methods to fix a toyota oil leak. Reseal what ever is leaking or add more oil.

Live long and prosper

 

[thatcabledude]

You decided to experiment with weird stuff mid cross country trip?!

 

[Jhnpv]

Did what you all recommended and got the oil changed. Nearest shop was about 5 miles away. Probably the scariest drive of my life, watching oil pressure go down to virtually nothing, but thankfully no engine lights came on. Oil shop flushed the old oil and replaced it for me. Back on the road. Running like a dream again.

 

[Jhnpv]

You decided to experiment with weird stuff mid cross country trip?!

My frontal cortex hasn’t fully developed yet.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

My frontal cortex hasn’t fully developed yet.

I don't think mine ever will lol.

Glad to hear you got an oil change. Just keep the oil topped off and watch the temps and she will keep on chugging.

 

[Jhnpv]

Made it to Las Vegas in one piece. Just wanna say thanks to everyone who contributed to the conversation and helped me. The cruiser did amazing all the way, with the exception of a minor rookie mistake on my part. Learned a few valuable lessons during this road trip like:

•Paying attention to how things normally operate
• Don’t fix something that isn’t broken
•Don’t experiment halfway during a road trip
•Memphis has the worst roads
•No matter how hungry you are, a gas station burger isn’t worth it.

thanks again everyone.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Great job. Every trip is a learning experience no matter how many you’ve done. God I miss the road.

 

[Comet]

Black. Always bet on Black. Vegas baby. Congrats. I am a few months behind you on the trip.

 

[lumbee1]

Agree that Memphis is a little sketchy. Downtown especially.
Tourists and police mixed with a lot of homeless folks. I would skip it in favor of a smaller town down the road.

If you stop for in Memphis, these were the best spots I found.

Central BBQ
The place to go, but the food in downtown has gone downhill.
Not nearly as good as Kansas City or Texas

Blue Plate Cafe
Good breakfast, not great
Large portions

Jackson is more relaxed and feels safer. Not sure it’s worth adding 30 miles to your trip though.

If you stop in Amarillo, visiting the stock yards is pretty fun. The Stockyard Cafe has good breakfast and you can walk upstairs to watch the stock auctions. I liked listening to the auctioneer, but couldn’t understand much of what he said.

Good restaurants are:

The Coyote Bluff Cafe - small hole in the wall place. Go on off hours to avoid the line. Burgers are juicy and big. If you like spicy, try the Burger from Hell.

It’s a Punjabi Affair - good Indian food.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery has a 72 oz. steak that’s free if you eat it all in one sitting. It’s huge. Expect food coma to follow.

We stopped at Central BBQ on our way back home. I expected to be blown away considering the reviews, the wait, and the amount of people there. It was somewhat expensive and underwhelming to say the least and each family member got something different.

 

[clx16]

The story of where a sparkplug shot out of the right side of my taco engine as i was crossing over the bridge to west memphis and dealing with taping and sleeving a head while people are getting arrested all around me is way more interesting story than an uneventful trip. If you watch the the show RoadKill, they only have fun when things go bad. Its good that you made it there and you have a story. keep creating stories!