I'm taking a road trip with my subie that'll take approx. 20 hours. Obviously if my car gets hot I'll give it a rest but assuming everything appears to be running fine... I'm curious... does it make any difference to the engine if I drive it for several (10+) hours non-stop vs. giving it a say half-hour break every 3 hours?

 

The car will be heavily loaded with all kinds of junk (basically everything I own).

 

I plan on taking extra fluids and belts, my tools will be with me, a full size spare and the donut under the hood. Any other suggestions, tips would be appreciated.

It's always good to give her a rest. I'm sure you'll appreciate a break as much as the car will. Keep an eye on the temp gauge and you should be fine. Have fun.

I have made a couple of long distance ea-82 trips back to Alaska (from Oregon and New Jersey) and only stopped for gas every 3-5 hours. After that it was right back on the road again. Didn't seem to bother the cars any.

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whenever i went on a trip with my ea82 i brought an alternator, and timing belts, and pullies, the two things those cars seem to eat. as long as your timing belts are not anywhere close to 50k miles old you should be fine with those.

 

aircraft guys use these motors because they can handle sustained high rpm. i've driven 1300 miles without stoping for anything other than gas.

I hopped in my '87 and drove it straight through from Whitefish to Baltimore, with stops only to gas up and two restaurant sit-down meals.

 

ADD IN THE MIDDLE: went running around the Pine Barrens with all those east coast crazies while I was back there too!

 

Six months later I came back the same way ... except I did stay one night in a motel (getting old I guess).

 

Used one qt of oil each direction.

I drove my EA 82T on a 17 hr trip. and only stopped for gas when i was low. the only problem i ran in to was my Steering rack started to leak on to the exhaust. causing me to FREAK out cause i thought it was the Rad. but after close inspection it wasnt. A smoky and hard steering ride but who steers on the highway anyway? lol got home ok though. no overheats at all!!!!!! And yes i did say it was a ea82t;)

Oh yeah, I guess I should mention I drove from E. TN to Missouri Valley Iowa in about 13 hours... 900 miles. Only stops were for gas and food, no overheats. Continued the last 400 miles to Golden Colorado... didn't stop at all. The higher elevations were KILLING the power though, it was carbed.

it can do it no problem of course. i would certainly have access to tools and as many parts as possible.

 

depending on what has/has not been done to your vehicle there are a number of common failure points. timing belt and all the pulleys, good to have an extra of each. alternator, crank pulley (they separate at the rubber ring), fusible links, coil and ignitor (doohicky attached to coil bracket), distributor cap and rotor.

 

don't overheat it or run it out of oil.

Don't forget extra rad hoses, 5/8 in. heater core hoses, and a 2 foot length of 3/8 in. transmission cooler line(for the little coolant bypass hoses) plus clamps and extra coolant. Having a hose blow is no big deal if you got the stuff to fix it. If not you're SOL.

bring duct tape, that sh*t will solve anything in a crunch

Is there a way to replace the timing belt without removing the engine from the car? If there isn't, what good is having a spare timing belt? Just curious.

thats a first "removing the engine to change the timing belts" just pull the rad pull the covers pull the belts replace them then replace the covers and rad.

Oh okay. I was looking at the USRM for instructions and must have clicked one too many links and got sidetracked. *doh*

Oh okay. I was looking at the USRM for instructions and must have clicked one too many links and got sidetracked. *doh*

 

i know that feeling all to well.

driving at 70 mph on the highway is probabaly much less hard on the engine than normal stop and go traffic. If you have a 3AT the drone will put you to sleep though...

I'm tempted to buy this car (after talking down the price) and selling mine.

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/503191829.html

It's newer. It's a wagon so I can move a lot more of my stuff rather than giving it away. There's no emissions "back home" where I'm moving to so the cat isn't a prob and I can replace the sensor.

 

Too many downsides though... Going through all the paperwork of buying it and selling mine. The fact that it has 90k more miles. I'd still be stuck with an automatic. Not knowing its character and what might need fixing.

as long as the engine stays cool and doesn't leak it can easily drive 20hr straight (if you keep filling it up with gas I might add...)

 

I drive my XT turbo every other weekend 250miles at 95mph @ 4000rpm and it doesn't mind at all, in fact, it always seems to run better after that...

just pull the rad pull the covers pull the belts replace them then replace the covers and rad.

 

I'd just pull the fans. Leave the radiator in place. Unless you want to have to refill you're whole cooling system on the side of the road.

Too many downsides though... Going through all the paperwork of buying it and selling mine. The fact that it has 90k more miles. I'd still be stuck with an automatic. Not knowing its character and what might need fixing.

 

But a different automatic. Electronically controlled 4spd AWD. 4EAT is a WAAAAAAAYYYYY better trans than the 3at. And 90-94 they had a manual shift mode, that holds the gear you select, 1-4.

Just an update...

 

The car did great, no problems whatsoever. In other news, I enjoyed a nice "Jailhouse Bock" from the Fredericksberg brewery. Just one though, had to get back on the road...

Just an update...

 

The car did great, no problems whatsoever. In other news, I enjoyed a nice "Jailhouse Bock" from the Fredericksberg brewery. Just one though, had to get back on the road...

so you ARE a bock drinker!!!!!

 

My personal favorite is the Celebrator, but Optimator (from spaten if I am correct?) is excellent as well!

 

Of all the things that are trying to pull me out to colorado, the Beer is the strongest tug.....