I am taking my 99 Malibu on a 13 hour trip one way at the beginning of May. I am slightly concerned because it has 245,000 miles and Im scared something will fail. It runs fine around on shorter trips (6 hours or less). The car has been maintained religiously since it was new, and is still in a mechanically sound shape. In what ways can a long trip like this affect a car? I will only be stopping for bathroom breaks, gas, and food. I do have AAA membership just in case, but Id like to make sure its okay before I go. Its never broke down on me before, but this will also be the longest trip Ive taken in this car that I havent stopped at a hotel. Thanks in advance!
Things To Check Before A Road Trip?
- Thread starter ChevyGuy3100
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Have the engine and transmission checked out.
Originally Posted By: ChevyGuy3100
We got 6 inches of snow here, and like an idiot I took my 99 Malibu down my driveway and out on the icy road to go get some milk(haha) and coming back up my driveway I got stuck. I spun and turned the wheel back and forth, the right wheel spin, then both of them started spinning and I starting moving up the driveway. Anyhow... I was stuck for a good while, I kept trying it, and the temperature gauge run up about 3/4, then the fans kicked on and it cooled back off. I then noticed when I snapped the throttle, I heard a loud rattle sound. The transmission started going into Drive really hard, and the gears change really slow, and the torque converter is slipping on lockup, worse than before. I didn't rock it back and forth, I waited for the engine to settle down before I shifted from Drive to Reverse or vise versa. My car has something called 2nd gear start. I put it in 2 and it starts in 2nd gear for better traction, and the transmission started "surging." The RPMs would go up and down a little bit. It seems okay now that it's cooled off, do you guys think I damaged anything? At least I got my milk back in the fridge!! Hahaha thanks guys.
Originally Posted By: ChevyGuy3100
We got 6 inches of snow here, and like an idiot I took my 99 Malibu down my driveway and out on the icy road to go get some milk(haha) and coming back up my driveway I got stuck. I spun and turned the wheel back and forth, the right wheel spin, then both of them started spinning and I starting moving up the driveway. Anyhow... I was stuck for a good while, I kept trying it, and the temperature gauge run up about 3/4, then the fans kicked on and it cooled back off. I then noticed when I snapped the throttle, I heard a loud rattle sound. The transmission started going into Drive really hard, and the gears change really slow, and the torque converter is slipping on lockup, worse than before. I didn't rock it back and forth, I waited for the engine to settle down before I shifted from Drive to Reverse or vise versa. My car has something called 2nd gear start. I put it in 2 and it starts in 2nd gear for better traction, and the transmission started "surging." The RPMs would go up and down a little bit. It seems okay now that it's cooled off, do you guys think I damaged anything? At least I got my milk back in the fridge!! Hahaha thanks guys.
That has been taken care of lol. Wow that was so stupid on my part. I changed the transmission fluid a couple times after that because I burnt the fluid that day. But the transmission operates fine now. What about the fuel pump? It seems rather loud sometimes. It always emits a high pitched whine when its running.
Any drive belts, tires, brakes obviously= when were they changed last, ALL fluid levels also get under car and check to see if it's bone dry or if there is any fluid drips of any sort, when was battery last changed??= if it's been 4 plus yrs well it's your decision... but I would just replace it, consider taking it to have starter and alternator tested at Advance Auto or Autozone, CV axles too I have had it happen where one failed and threw grease into alternator thus I was stranded.
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Interesting part is... I'm going to southern New York state in a month and a half. So, I am having to do all these things too. Going to have my main drive belt replaced. It has 130k miles on it. Battery replaced last yr due to it needed it and it was over 4 yrs old ( car was starting to struggle just a bit starting before we went on the trip).
Check all the fluids. Examine the drive belts. Put tires at the appropriate pressure. That's about as far as I'd go. You can check out the suspension & steering if you know how.
Check fluids and tire pressures including spare. Its also not just what you check but what you bring for emergency.
Like if you have jump starter unit with an air compressor. Or a quick tool set incase a nut or screw gets loose or comes out. Make sure your spare and all the tools needed to change a spare are also accounted for
Even if you have aaa if all you need is a jump, or you have a low tire, having the tools on you to tske care of it on you beats waiting like an hour plus for a tow truck or finding a gas station with air and working pump.
If you're on a long trip also ensure you can charge your cellphone via the car, and you have some emergency cash on hand
Like if you have jump starter unit with an air compressor. Or a quick tool set incase a nut or screw gets loose or comes out. Make sure your spare and all the tools needed to change a spare are also accounted for
Even if you have aaa if all you need is a jump, or you have a low tire, having the tools on you to tske care of it on you beats waiting like an hour plus for a tow truck or finding a gas station with air and working pump.
If you're on a long trip also ensure you can charge your cellphone via the car, and you have some emergency cash on hand
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Alternator... Thats the one thing that I do know is bad, now that you metioned it. Starter is less than a year old. Just bought new tires all around. There is a small oil leak between the oil pan and the timing chain cover still. Battery is 2 years old. Thank you for mentioning the alternator. I noticed a scraping noise coming from it on cold starts now. I guess its the bearings going out. I wish I could just replace the bearings, because its electrically still good.
Oh cool you live in Virginia too! What part are you from, if you dont mind me asking? Im going the opposite direction you are. Im going to Florida. New York is a pretty state. I really like the falls. Yes, my brakes are still good.
Just the basics, fluid levels, tire pressure, spare tire pressure. Bring a few things, compressor, tire patch kit. Besides that, there wont be a whole lot you can fix before it goes wrong. If something goes wrong, it will go wrong, not much you can do... check what can be checked and go and enjoy. Like Pop Rivit said.. hwy is easy miles.. just go easy on her, thats all.
Have someone who knows what a good and a bad drive pulley looks like take a look at your drive pulley. The outer part of the pulley is held to the inner part by rubber that can go bad. If it is bad the outer pulley (that drives the serpentine belt) will not be properly aligned with the serpentine belt. When it gets far enough out of alignment the belt will fall off. It is something that if you know what to look for you can catch and replace the drive pulley before it causes a belt failure.
If the belt fails you have to stop because the water pump will not run.
If the belt fails you have to stop because the water pump will not run.
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Isn't this the car with the silver metal shavings in the oil? And also, did you get the rear suspension fixed?
Check the spare tire, if it's really old, replace it.
I drove 20+ hours straight in my 1997 Camry with almost 200k miles to Montana, drove around up there that week and drove back that next weekend. Was 3,000 miles in one week. It did great.
Check the spare tire, if it's really old, replace it.
I drove 20+ hours straight in my 1997 Camry with almost 200k miles to Montana, drove around up there that week and drove back that next weekend. Was 3,000 miles in one week. It did great.
Has this car had the intake manifold gaskets done? If not that would be my main concern.
A credit card with some dollars remaining on it.
Yes, I did the intake gaskets about a year ago. They are still holding up. This is the car with "metal shavings" in the oil.... With that being said, it seems to have stopped wearing if that makes any sense. But I wasnt going crazy, I posted a link to a Youtube video in that thread to all the glittery stuff in the draining oil. It still has the slight engine rattle, but apparently all 3100 V6's have that rattle. Yes I did get the rear suspension fixed. That was a complete pain in the rear. All of my pulleys are good, I replaced the harmonic balancer, tensioner, and both idler pulleys. I think I mentioned this one time before, but my door sticker says tire pressure 29 front and 26 rear. Someone on here told me to go up to 32 all the way around. The car seems really floaty at that pressure. But man, 26 psi really seems too low.
Heck yeah!!! Hahahaha. Already stocking up and I've still got 3 months.
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