question on a longish trip

Hi all new to the forum but have lurked around for a while here and there. I have a 2003 ALH Jetta 5spd. 225K miles. Been driving it daily since Sept 2002 and literally nothing has ever broken on it (original clutch is still fine).



So I'm going to head off on 800 mile round trip, oil is freshly changed, it doesn't use any oil at all, the radiator hose is new (it developed a leak). Really it just keeps chugging along. The only real issue I have is that the shocks need replaced. Question I have is before I take my 16 year old daily driver off on a long trip anything I really should be checking? Tires are good, plenty of tread.



Just wondering if there is something I'm not thinking of.
thx

How old is the brake fluid and when was it last changed. Long trips build up head and old fluid with about 5% water content in the fluid drops the boiling point about half or more. this gives a soft pedle, when i did a long trip, i had NO breaks after 2 hours of 65mph on CC. for no other reason than the fluid was old AF.

Check your pads, possible brake fluid flush if older than 2 years.
Check the level of your transmission fluid, if its been too long or its low, drain and fill with new proper fluid.
Tire pressure and wear check
make sure all your lights work,
get a volt meter and test your battery, its getting cold out and you dont want to get stranded on a dumb battery.
Or you can have autozone test it.

In most cases, 800 miles is a tank of fuel.

Unless you've done it recently, check the basics as Mongler suggested, ,,, tire pressure, top off fluids, check lights, etc.

Drive Safely.

My new to me 03 Jetta has 302k miles on the engine and 251k miles on the rest of the vehicle. It is due a timing belt job in 2000 miles. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it on an 800 mile road trip. We did almost 400 miles down to the Great Smoky Mountains last weekend, which, once there included the Smoky Mountain parkway and Dragon Tail on the west side, back roads on the southwest side and the Great Smoky Mountain Expressway on the south then up and over the mountain back to I40 over to Knoxville and then back north on I75 to home. We may do it again next weekend.

Why would brakes heat up at a constant 65?

Must have been dragging.

Check oil, coolant level, tire pressures, and go. I'm driving my '02 to Wisconsin later this week. 375K on it. The GSW with 11K on it is staying home.

I drove my 2000 NB from Raleigh NC to KC in August on a move. No problems at all, but I'm pretty sure my mechanic had taken care of those. (368K miles).

KLXD said:

Why would brakes heat up at a constant 65?

Must have been dragging.

Click to expand...

nope, the brake pads do make a small amount of contact to the rotor during normal operations. normally nothing happens but when the fluid is so old that its boiling point is close to 150*F, its not going to take much! Most brake fluids have a boiling point of about 350*F some more and some less. 5% water content will cut that number in half. well really old fluid is much higher than 5% so, it does cause issues.
Most people don't bother with brake fluid but it really should be changed every 2 years at the MOST. every year is better though.

Hmmm... is there something I'm missing about brake fluid? I know it has a high boiling point (fresh stuff, that is). But, doesn't water boil at 212f (depending on elevation). Does the water mix decrease the boiling point below 212f? Also, with no foot on the brake pedal, doesn't the fluid, at whatever mix/age, just relax & go back to the same level in the reservoir? There's zero restriction in the brake lines between the caliper and the reservoir if there is no foot of the brake pedal? Boiling fluid would just push the fluid back up into the reservoir. Sure, the bubbles in the system as a result of the boiling would cause a no brake or spongy brake...

I shouldn't admit this but I've never changed the fluid in my '98. Up until two years ago I was making two 150 mile trips a week, most of it at highway speeds.

I never experienced any degradation in braking.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but doing 800mi straight doesn’t even make me blink.
I’m typically in top of tire pressure, regular rotations every 5k, and typically check oil level when I do that.
But I live in Texas, so everything is 800mi round trip.
Rest easy and enjoy the road. Cheers!

I typically put 400 miles on a week if I don't go anywhere, and its not unusual to put 1000 on in a week. End of this month im meeting friends in Illinois then were driving together down to texas for a weekend. Not sure if we will run his 14 GLI or my TDI but either way ill have a minimum of 900 miles one way on that trip! Like the other guys said, check this and that but probably don't overthink it... These TDIs just go and go........

KLXD said:

I shouldn't admit this but I've never changed the fluid in my '98. Up until two years ago I was making two 150 mile trips a week, most of it at highway speeds.

I never experienced any degradation in braking.

Click to expand...

well when i got my mk3 its fluid was probably never changed in 15 years.
id suspect maybe some drag but not enough to notice. that was the issue and a flush fixed it.
the worst brake fluid i have ever seen was on my g30HD, brake fluid thats 20 years old looked like black sludge. took 6 flushes over a year to get it all cleaned out.

Since when is a checklist required for 800 mile trip in a tdi ?
Most people do that every week, and this nonsense about brakes heating up at highway speeds is laughable. Really!
The only thing that worries me this time of year is maybe hitting a deer or something.



Bajan

welp no issues. thx for the tips all.