Maintenance advice before long trip, and need some replacement parts (1 Viewer)

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Hi all,

I’m planning to drive my family down to Disney World in April. It’s about 1300 miles each way. What maintenance should I be doing before such a long trip? What spare parts should I have on hand?

Or should I just rent something and save my truck from a 2600 mile drive?

Note: the truck is currently running great. No leaks, noises, or anything odd going on.

I do need to replace the front skid plate. When I bought the truck the front skid plate had a 2-4 inch rust hole. It’s gotten worse over the past year, and I should probably just replace it. Anyone know a part number and best place to get one at a reasonable price?

Additionally, there is a plastic cover that bolts on just about under the driver’s side (and passenger side) doors covering the bottom of the truck all the way across. That plastic is starting to fall apart. Anyone know what the part number for this is?

Thanks!
 
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If the truck is currently running great, you've kept up on maintenance, and are not away of any issues with the vehicle then make sure your fluid levels are good and gas it up and hit the road.
 
yeah you should know your maintance history, and make sure you are up to date in service schedules. If you are not then now would be a good time to address, like have you put off your timing belt, spark plugs, brakes, etc.

Are you close to one of your service schedules like 8k into an oil change maybe nows a good time to do one.

If you are asking what are some land mines people will say the heater Ts but other then that its hard to say what catastrophic failure can happen.. I've seen people in the forums mention alternators leaving them stranded in middle of nowhere, coil packs causing misfires, losing throttle response on 98-99 models, fan clutch going out... and many more. for every one complaint I'm sure there are hundreds with no issues.
 
Check all fluids and make sure everything is good, check battery to make sure nothing odd with it, check tires for wear, cracks, etc. and head from there. Other thing would be to have spare key hidden somewhere (to at least get you in vehicle) and maybe grab a small bluetooth OBDII scanner like the BlueDriver to keep in the glovebox just in case something crops up and you can quickly scan and try to diagnose.

Heater T's are a definite MUST if you have no record of them ever being done. That is one thing that will give little to no warning signs until it is too late.
 
Thanks for the replies folks!

The funny thing is, my wife just sent me an article that this spring might be the best time to go because park attendance is dropping due to the Corona virus. We have already booked/reserved everything, so short of a major disaster, are going.

  • Heater Ts were replaced a year or more ago when I bought it.
  • Belt was replaced by the previous owner around 180k miles. Truck has about 205k now.
  • I had the brakes professionally done maybe 6-7 months ago.
  • Tires have plenty of tread, look new (bought them a little over a year ago). Wait... have I owned this truck for over two years already? Wow.
  • I just replaced the alternator a few months ago.
  • I have a few spare coil packs, just in case, I plan to take with me.
  • I have been keeping up with oil changes.
  • A few weeks ago my brake light started coming on while driving. It would go out when turning. Yep, brake fluid was low. Not seeing any leaks though. Anyway, added a whole 8oz jug (it was below min).
  • I also have a simple wired orange ODBII reader. I always lose the Bluetooth ones.

I just need to take care of the front skid plate and that plastic splash guard.
 
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Spare parts: cooler, ice, dogs, and since it's Disney World, and lots of $$$$.

Unfortunately we no longer have a dog. Our dog passed away a month or so ago, at the age of 16, which for a Siberian Husky is OLD.

I appreciate the comment though. We are looking forward to the adventure. It won’t be our first time driving down as a family, although I didn’t have this truck last time, and we were a bit cramped in my Tiguan.
 
I personally carry a fuel pump, they are easy to change out on the road and can leave you stranded, sounds like you have the coil packs , I carry one of those as well as a serpentine belt and a couple spark plugs . I have a ammo can with a qt of oil, p/s fluid and brake fluid as well as a roll of duct tape and of course a pretty simple tool bag.
 
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ignition key shaft is another "may leave you stranded" item, if it hasn't already been replaced with the newer beefier item.
 
I got stranded a few months ago due to a sudden failure in the EFI circuit in the main fuse block. Anti- theft stops getting the voltage it needs and disables ignition. Had to get towed home. Couldn't get the truck started for several days until it finally just started. Seems to be a known issue in 100 series. I have a '99 LX470. The shop said it would be about $1000 to replace the fuse block. Luckily MUD has provided an effective solution.

@medtro makes a kit that you can easily install in 10 minutes to fix the problem. I think it was $80-something, and it arrived within two days. I had the failure three times in three weeks before installing medtro's bypass kit. I haven't had a single problem since installing it - it's been about 6 months now.

Excellent fix from a great MUD member. Highly recommended. If you don't already have the bypass kit, please consider getting it and keeping on hand. Here is a link to his thread.

 
Gee Wiz. I would say take a couple of spare parts like coil packs, serpentine belt, couple jugs of water or water bottles. Anything larger than that MAY be a spare alternator if you can change it yourself. It doesn't appear you need to do any maintenance but if truck is running well, no rare leaks of any kind and tires feel good, I certainly would not suggest allowing anyone to change anything like flush tranny or balance and rotate tires, etc. right before a long trip. That would just increase your chances of problems with no time to sort the problems out before your trip.

And remember, these vehicles were designed to go much farther than Disney World on much worse terrain.
 
Gee Wiz. I would say take a couple of spare parts like coil packs, serpentine belt, couple jugs of water or water bottles. Anything larger than that MAY be a spare alternator if you can change it yourself. It doesn't appear you need to do any maintenance but if truck is running well, no rare leaks of any kind and tires feel good, I certainly would not suggest allowing anyone to change anything like flush tranny or balance and rotate tires, etc. right before a long trip. That would just increase your chances of problems with no time to sort the problems out before your trip.

And remember, these vehicles were designed to go much farther than Disney World on much worse terrain.
I was wondering this very thing! Basically if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
 
Thanks again folks!

I need go through this thread and compile a list of possible replacement parts, once I’m on a PC.

I will check out the bypass kit by @medtro although I currently have no issues with my ignition. Just seems like a good thing to have on hand.

That reminds me, I should find the box of pfran LEDs I have and install them. Would definitely be nice to have brighter interior lights.


I personally carry a fuel pump, they are easy to change out on the road and can leave you stranded, sounds like you have the coil packs , I carry one of those as well as a serpentine belt and a couple spark plugs . I have a ammo can with a qt of oil, p/s fluid and brake fluid as well as a roll of duct tape and of course a pretty simple tool bag.

Makes sense. I have a bin full of stuff in the back as recovery gear is required to get a permit for beach driving in Nantucket. It sounds like I should be able to add a few things to my bin and be set.
 
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