corolla 97 - lengthy drives ? should i be worred ?

[Rollamaster]

Hello all, my new job requires me to drive 300 kms to and back (600) kms total for visitng a site at least once a week. Given tht I have a stick shift 97 rolla with only 140 k kms and all maintainance done on time, wud u think rolla will be able to this ? I am worried and am wondering if my rolla will die in the line of duty ? Does any one think 97 is too old for a job like this ? Also curious as to how many hours can I drive on the highway before stopping to give my engine a little break ? Is it safe to drive non stop for 3 hours ? All advise and suggestions are welcome thanks

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by Rollamaster

Hello all, my new job requires me to drive 300 kms to and back (600) kms total for visitng a site at least once a week. Given tht I have a stick shift 97 rolla with only 140 k kms and all maintainance done on time, wud u think rolla will be able to this ? I am worried and am wondering if my rolla will die in the line of duty ? Does any one think 97 is too old for a job like this ? Also curious as to how many hours can I drive on the highway before stopping to give my engine a little break ? Is it safe to drive non stop for 3 hours ? All advise and suggestions are welcome thanks

Don't worry man, Corollas are built tough. As long as you've replaced your cambelt and water pump at 100,000km then you should have nothing to worry about. Driving non-stop for 3-hours straight is fine - I've driven 7-hours straight in my 93 Corolla (when it had 210,000 km on it) at highway speeds (100kph) and the temperature gauge stayed in the same place. The only thing you've got to worry about is a numb ass, stiff legs and running out of music to listen to .

As long as your cooling system is up to scratch and you have enough oil in the engine, it'll drive as far as you want it to. The only thing I'd worry about is a flat tyre (which is fairly unlikely to happen anyway), but make sure you have a spare tyre in the trunk just in case. Corollas are the most reliable cars in the world, and if you treat the engine right, it'll treat you right in return .

[REN69]

I drove my old GTS about 450km a week for a couple of years and other than regular maintenance there wasn't much that went wrong.

-Rear caliper seized
-Alternator went
-Starter finally went

The car had 349,000km on it when I sold it and it's still kicking around with the new owner... it was an 89 GTS so it's older than yours.

[iToaster]

There's nothing wrong with that Corolla. I take my '95 anywhere and everywhere I go and it's got a good (converting miles to km) 372,000 or so on it. My previous one lasted a fair bit longer before an old lady hit it and totaled it.

[PhatRoyale]

Nothing to worry about.

As long as you keep up with maintenance it's fine.

[jt14894]

I think you're taking it a little too seriously my friend. If you take good care of it and maintain it very well, as you are already doing, then the car will last you forever.
I also have a 1997 CE and it's a 5-speed. I've never had any issues with it dying or anything while on the road. I had a little minor issue with it having problems starting, but I figured out that my battery terminal cables were loose and so I made sure they were clean and retightened them and now all is good.

That's pretty much the most recent mechanical issue I had with it.
It runs great on the highway and I am confident that it won't ever break down.

[jelly53]

Originally Posted by jt14894

I think you're taking it a little too seriously my friend. If you take good care of it and maintain it very well, as you are already doing, then the car will last you forever.
I also have a 1997 CE and it's a 5-speed. I've never had any issues with it dying or anything while on the road. I had a little minor issue with it having problems starting, but I figured out that my battery terminal cables were loose and so I made sure they were clean and retightened them and now all is good.

That's pretty much the most recent mechanical issue I had with it.
It runs great on the highway and I am confident that it won't ever break down.

well if you havent replaced the CLUTCH yet, might as well as think about buying one. Because I got the same exact car as you do and my clutch went out when the car had 135000 miles. The thing is... it happened all of a sudden...so I ended up towing the car. However, other than that.... I got no issues with the car so far... 142000 miles as of now.

[jt14894]

Originally Posted by jelly53

well if you havent replaced the CLUTCH yet, might as well as think about buying one. Because I got the same exact car as you do and my clutch went out when the car had 135000 miles. The thing is... it happened all of a sudden...so I ended up towing the car. However, other than that.... I got no issues with the car so far... 142000 miles as of now.

True Jelly53.

Rollamaster,

You might want to have your clutch checked or at least have the gear oil replaced, if it hasn't been done yet. Luckily, on mine, the previous owner replaced the clutch at around 100,000 miles. So far at 128,000 miles, mine is good. Although, you should periodically check the clutch master cylinder to make sure the fluid level is normal. If it gets really low, it will get harder and harder for the shifter to get into gear. That happened to me once and I thought my clutch was going bad. When I checked the fluid level, it was almost empty and so when I filled it up with the receommended PS fluid it started shifting smoothly again.

[hungt1999]

I see you live in Toronto where salt is used on roads so inspect your brake and fuel lines underneath to see how bad corroded they are

If the brake lines are rusted, replace them. In my case, they were rusted and one of them burst one time when I had to apply brakes harder than usual

[Rollamaster]

Thank You All

Gear oil was changed in my car about 20,000 kms back and regular brake maintanance was done too. I will get my clutch checked up and tires replaced..

I pretty much get an idea from all the responses here that corollas particularly the 95-97 are solid as TANKS. I was worried if this is something i need to be worried about but i guess i am firm that my baby will be ok to take this challenge on.

Thanks you all once again for your feedback. This forum and its users all ROCK !

[modernage]

Mines a 96 with almost 160,000 miles and still drive it on long distance trips. The only thing I worry about is my butt hurting from the stiff suspension and my right leg being numb because I don't have cruise control.