[the_pole]

Hello everyone,
My friends and I are taking a road trip from Colorado to Miami in 2 weeks. We are driving a friends 1998 Corolla, it has about 177k on it. I was wondering what advise everyone would have regarding things I should check out on the car before we leave. Of course I will be checking the fluids, doing an oil change (with filter), probably replace the air filter, and also check out the tires. Other than that I'm not sure what to really look for. I'm not very familiar with these cars, as I mentioned its a friends car, but I have a decent knowledge of cars from working on my own over the last few years. Any advise would be more than appreciated. Thanks a lot everyone

 

[BigTDogg (MA)]

When checking the coolant, I'd probably do a flush and fill (or at least a drain and fill) with some fresh coolant. Last thing you want is to overheat in Miami.

 

[Ed G]

Check the pressure in the spare tire and make sure the car has a jack.
Clean the Mass Air Flow sensor, may help out on the mileage.
Very easy to do with a screw driver, Qtips and carb cleaner.

 

[BigTDogg (MA)]

Check the pressure in the spare tire and make sure the car has a jack.
Clean the Mass Air Flow sensor, may help out on the mileage.
Very easy to do with a screw driver, Qtips and carb cleaner.

Good call on the MAF (and other points) but about the cleaning. I may be paranoid, but I wouldn't physically touch the MAF wires with anything except the spray from the CRC MAF Cleaner (or carb cleaner if you have it laying around, but if you don't and you're buying new anyway, get the CRC stuff).

Also, when cleaning the MAF, be sure to spray along the long axis up the hole shown by the red arrow. If you look down in there, you'll see two very small wires. Spray the green ones too, but the red one is what made the difference in my car. Spray it for a few seconds, then shake (Carefully!!) by hand to remove excess, allow to dry like 5 minutes and you're good.

 

[the_pole]

Good call on the MAF (and other points) but about the cleaning. I may be paranoid, but I wouldn't physically touch the MAF wires with anything except the spray from the CRC MAF Cleaner (or carb cleaner if you have it laying around, but if you don't and you're buying new anyway, get the CRC stuff).

Also, when cleaning the MAF, be sure to spray along the long axis up the hole shown by the red arrow. If you look down in there, you'll see two very small wires. Spray the green ones too, but the red one is what made the difference in my car. Spray it for a few seconds, then shake (Carefully!!) by hand to remove excess, allow to dry like 5 minutes and you're good.

Thanks for the advice. Now as I am not familiar with the car, where is the MAF located??

And ill make sure to check the spare as well as the jack, thats something i probably would have spaced out until we were in Kansas, so thank you.

 

[Buurin]

Thanks for the advice. Now as I am not familiar with the car, where is the MAF located??

And ill make sure to check the spare as well as the jack, thats something i probably would have spaced out until we were in Kansas, so thank you.

Other advices are sound. :thumbup: But the problem is the car in question does NOT have MAF.

If this car is from a 3rd party (not yours, and not your friend who's doing the roadtrip with you), sort out the insurance beforehand.

 

[BigTDogg (MA)]

Thanks for the advice. Now as I am not familiar with the car, where is the MAF located??

Looking at the motor, on the right is the air filter box, follow the intake path toward the engine. About 4-6" from the air filter, on the back side of the intake tubing. Disconnect the connector, remove two very small phillips screws (be careful not to drop them, I'd suggest a magnetic screwdriver bit), and pull it out. May need to remove the wire bracket next to it, that's a 10mm bolt.

 

[Ed G]

but I wouldn't physically touch the MAF wires with anything except the spray from the CRC MAF

I think this is a "Marketing Tool"
I try to use what I have on hand, and I think I have to much stuff :lol:
Or I could be just cheap

 

[Ed G]

car in question does NOT have MAF.


sort out the insurance beforehand.

I was thinking all 98-02's were the same engine/emission systems

Very good point if you are driving someone car other than your's

 

[cheesep]

Check the oil regularly on your trip.

From following this forum over the years its apparent that the 98-02 corolla's oil consumption varies wildly from vehicle to vehicle, from almost nil to lots.

My 98 uses very little in everyday City driving but it uses almost a litre every 1000km of highway driving. In other words I have to add some oil every 2nd time I fill up with gas. A friend of mine seized his engine for lack of paying attention to this. Fortunately he was only about 50 miles from home.

Don't forget your sunglasses . . .

 

[suprarob]

fuel cleaner man

 

[vibebreaker]

I'm making a long trip as well (from NYC to Savannah, GA), and I have my snow tires on right now. My snow tires are the same size as oem and would help me benefit from a spare that it came with. However, my all season tires are 15 inches and deems my spare tire useless...should i stay with the snow tires on?

BTW, has anyone bought a 14inch steelie and would it fit in spare tire area?

 

[rollatuner110]

I'm making a long trip as well (from NYC to Savannah, GA), and I have my snow tires on right now. My snow tires are the same size as oem and would help me benefit from a spare that it came with. However, my all season tires are 15 inches and deems my spare tire useless...should i stay with the snow tires on?

BTW, has anyone bought a 14inch steelie and would it fit in spare tire area?

I'm wondering the same thing. I've had a couple flats and the donut just is not cutting it.

 

[vibebreaker]

well i guess only way to find out is to just try putting on one of my 14inch steelies when i switch back to all season tires..

 

[BigTDogg (MA)]

However, my all season tires are 15 inches and deems my spare tire useless...should i stay with the snow tires on?

Why would it be useless? When sized right, the outside diameter of the 15's should be with in fractions of an inch of OEM. You could move another AS to the front if you lost a front tire, and the spare could be in back.

Better than driving on snows, IMO

 

[mike93082]

Good items to carry are listed below

*Extra belt*
*Gallon of water*
*Basic hand tools pliers, wrenches, sockets, extensions, etc*
*Towels to wipe your hands*
*Good jack*
*Good spare tire*
*Jumper cables*
*Have your battery and altenator checked*
*Spare plugs*
*Lots of oil for this car since the Corollas have issue with oil usage*

 

[vibebreaker]

Better than driving on snows, IMO

you're kidding me right? please say you are.. lol.


i would drive on my snow tires anyday over some spare donut tire.

 

[rollatuner110]

you're kidding me right? please say you are.. lol.


i would drive on my snow tires anyday over some spare donut tire.

Agreed. I hate having to change my driving style while on the spare donut since it's more likely to be damaged going over 55 mph.

 

[BigTDogg (MA)]

you're kidding me right? please say you are.. lol.


i would drive on my snow tires anyday over some spare donut tire.

Duh, so would I. But what happens if you get a flat in your snows?

 

[rollatuner110]

Duh, so would I. But what happens if you get a flat in your snows?

You can fix the flat or get a new snow tire. Snow tires have better longevity over summer tires anyways, so it's not something to worry about. Trust me. A spare donut is not fun. The car feels handicapped. Well... it is.