Roadside tips and tricks for alpine roadtrip
I’m planning an epic road trip through the alps with about 20 mountain passes in my old shitbox and I was thinking if something goes wrong I’ll probably have to bodge it myself.
Anyone have any tip and tricks for coolant leaks, etc? What should I bring with me other than the obvious fluids, spare wheels, toolbox? What are some common mechanical issues I should look out for?
How old are your radiator hoses? Are there signs of corrosion or leaks on the radiator? Does it currently overheat?
Are your tires old or worn? Is your spare tire as old as the car?
Has any scheduled maintenance been skipped?
What’s leaking right now?
I usually pack a harbor freight 100+ tool kit, 12v air pump, a small lithium jump battery, and my phone with AAA info already on it.
The radiator hoses are as old as the car bar a few that have been changed in the last 24 years. The radiator looks pretty good, the hoses look alright as well, I just had some problems before out of the blue so that’s why I’m a bit worried. I also had slight ovearheating last year during searing summer days under either very high load (slow and steep climb with 4 heavy dudes and luggage) or inching in traffic with the AC on. Nothing a short stop at idle with the AC off wouldn’t fix
I have some nice grippy summer tires that I used for a single season, so that should be okay. The spares will come from the winter set which are a bit older but they are good enough as spares (I wouldn’t drive on them for another season, but I tend get new tires after two seasons max).
Maintenence under my watch was pretty consistent. The car is at the shop to take care of anything I neglected. They’re changing the cambelt, waterpump, rocker cover gasket, a few bushings, pretty much the entire exhaust system and a few bits here and there. Pads are brand new, haven’t had the chance to bed them in yet.
Last year I went on a similar trip (roughly 2000km but only 1-2 passes in mild weather) and things went great. Now there will be a LOT of climbing and descending and it’s the height of summer.
Honestly I trust the car, but I like to be prepared. It’s an old hile milage hero (about 470k on the clock) with the venerable VAG 1.8T (and a cheeky map). On paper it has no business running, much less doing this sort of stuff, but it never let me down regardless of not being easy on it. If I had the time and money until the trip I would jury rig a sprinkler above the intercooler to cool the charge air a little further, but I don’t see how it would go well at this stage.
It shouldn’t overheat, ever. You probably have some clogged fins in the rad.
If the rad hoses are original then they should be replaced. Rubber breaks down over time.
The intercooler could also be full of crud.
I do this in my 335i and I bring spare coils and plugs, a jug of coolant, a jug of oil, can of fix a flat, air compressor, code scanner, toolbox
Fuck I should just get a Toyota