Long Drive in 1997 Camry

[gsanjeev77]

Hi

I have a 1997 Camry LE 4 Cyl with only 47000 miles on it. I own this car for the last one month. Have not encountered any problem with it yet. Can I take this car ( mean such old car ) for long drives say around 400 miles in a day? What all things should I check before going for such a long trip?

Thanks in advance for your valuable inputs.

Warm Regards

Sanjeev Gupta

[xet]

i drive my 98 camry, 14x,000 ish miles many times on long trips around ca and it works perfectly fine

[eurohazard]

Originally Posted by gsanjeev77

Hi

I have a 1997 Camry LE 4 Cyl with only 47000 miles on it. I own this car for the last one month. Have not encountered any problem with it yet. Can I take this car ( mean such old car ) for long drives say around 400 miles in a day? What all things should I check before going for such a long trip?

Thanks in advance for your valuable inputs.

Warm Regards

Sanjeev Gupta

Fluids:
-oil
-radiator
-brake
-windshield washer (more important than people know...until you hit a bug storm, or an old ass car sprays oilly smoke like the Spy Hunter video game)

Lights:
-headlights, low beams and high beams
-taillights, running lights AND all 3 brake lights
-turn signals
-hazards

Tires:
-check psi, I prefer going 5 psi over "recommended", but it needs to be at least at the recommended setting
-check dry rot cracking on sidewalls
-check for enough tread (see wear bar indicators, or the lame Abe Lincoln's head on a penny trick)
-check the condition of the SPARE, or see if you even have one...it happens

Carry with you at least:
-can of fix-a-flat....sometimes it's too dangerous to change a tire (bad neighborhood, on a bridge etc), that stuff will get you through in a pinch
-jumper cables
-first aid kit

Depending on where you are located, you might add things like a blanket, water, snow chains etc.

-Rain-X the windshield, and make sure you wipers are good to go!

[John Mo]

Heh. '97 w/47k = old.

I have a '93 with 266,xxx miles on it. I've been driving it on a 500-mile trip about once a month now for over four years. On one trip I had to replace the radiator, but it didn't strand me because it wasn't a gusher.

You probably have a lot of very reliable miles left in that '97.

[92Camry5sp]

I drove my other 92 camry with 17xk miles from Cali to Mn, only time when i stop was to get gas, didnt left me stranded. im pretty sure with that many miles, you can go across the nation a couple of times and it wont break on you.

[xtremeskier97]

My 93 had over 320,000 miles on it when I drove it from Virginia to Louisiana (over 1200 miles) and had no issues.