Is my car ok for a 16 hour roadtrip?

Question

I'm driving a 2000 cavalier z24 and i'm wondering if it would make a 16 hour road trip (round trip, 8 hours each way) ok?

I've never had any serious problems with it, it has about 100,000 miles. Any advice?

Answer 1

it sounds fine to drive, just to make you a bit more comfortable read this.

i once drove a 67' impalla from russellville, arkansas to louisville, kentucky.  the car was 32 years old at the time,  used 2 quarts of oil every 50 miles, had hellatious blow-by because it needed a ring job bad, had a worn cam, worn crank, yea, i was nervous,lol

i got to little rock, the blow-by was so bad it blew the oil breather off the mottor and it got caught between one of the belts and the pulley, i pulled over on the side of the freeway, pulled it out and electrical taped it back to the motor.

i got to memphis, smelt a bad burning smell, i asked my wife if she smelt it too. she said it was the tire plant that was nearby, so i proceeded down the freeway. about five minutes later i noticed flames comming out of the crack between the fender and the hood on the passenger side. i agian quickly pulled over to discover the bearings in the air-conditioning compressor went out and had flames still shooting out the front of the pulley. i had to waste by delicious Dr. Pepper to put it out. i then took a pocket knife and cut the belt, and was on my way agian. after we made louisville, and did our thing there, we proceeded to make the trip back.

on the way back it started loosing oil pressure, every fifty miles it would loose all oil pressure and die, we would wait about 20 minutes and it would fire back up agian, and away we went agian.

that car lasted another 6 months after this and then i had it rebuilt.  god those 283 chevy's were tough.

  if that car could do that, you shouldnt have a problem out of yours at all, just check your tires, oil and water and you should be fine.

Answer 2

Do you have your car serviced as needed? If not the dependability goes way down. Things need to be Inspected ,changed and/or replaced to keep your car in good working order. Even then, things can fail, but without the needed maintenance, the chance of something failing gets higher as the mileage get higher. Before you go, if you have not had it serviced, get it checked out. ask everyone you can for recommendations on where to take it for a good honest inspection. Hose,belts,battery,fluids,brakes,tires..... and more should be checked! Have a safe trip!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

You should be fine.

A list of things to check:

1. Tire pressure.  You can check the recommended pressure on  the driver's door or owners manual.  You don't want to be getting a flat hours from home, so bring a jack, tire wrench, and spare tire (if you don't already have one with).

2.  Oil pressure.  Check to make sure you have enough oil by checking the dipstick.  Also, make sure you have had an oil change in the last (at most) 3000 miles.  You will be adding to that total after all.

3.  Coolant level.  Check that your coolant is in between the MIN and MAX lines when cool.  Otherwise, your car may overheat and fail.

4.  Wiper fluid also never hurts to check, killing those bugs on the highway.

5.  A/C.  You'll want it, and if it hasn't worked lately, it might need a charge.  So bring it to a shop (cheap and quick) or have a car-smart friend pump some frion in it (also quick and cheaper)

6.  Extra drivers.  Who's gonna drive when you're poppin beers?  ROADTRIP!!!

Answer 4

well to be honest, later 90's earlier 2000's cavaliers are not very reliable. But if you say you have not had any problems with it, then go for it! Just make sure you bring some oil, coolant, basically a jug of all your fuilds and a spare tire and jack to be safe...have fun!

By the way i drove my 1980 gmc sierra across Canada with a 3 speed transmission and i had no problems whatsoever!

Answer 5

it should make it fine. if you are worried, have the oil changed, the tires checked and pressure checked, and the transmission fluid checked by a mechanic before you depart on your trip.

carry a road side assistance kit (jumper cables, jack, extra oil, tranny fluid, break fluid, coolent, etc...) with you. AAA is also a nice thing to have no matter what.

Answer 6

drive it man, have a good trip!!!!!

Answer 7

YES...

Answer 8

If the tires and brakes are good and you've always changed the oil regularly you should be good to go. Little hint: If your windshield wipers streak at all toss on a new pait of Anco blades from Wally World (Walmart) before you go. Streaky wiper blades are a pain in the BUTINSKI !