What preventative maintenance for long road trip with M42?

[lolcantturn]

Glad to hear it's doing a good job - these M42's are much more robust than many people give them credit for. Like others said, if there aren't already signs of something failing (strange noises, visual inspection of belts and gaskets), in addition to regular maintenance, you will most likely be alright.

Drove my E30 with about 200lbs in the trunk, a passenger and myself for 3000 miles two weekends ago. Up and down the tail of the dragon hauling it as hard as I can was also included in that trip, did just fine.

[megatron]

Hey guys, just quick update. Made it to Austin, heading out now to San Antonio then to Tempe then LA. Super long haul day today.

Beat up on the engine at the Tail of the Dragon for day Friday
Running 4000RPM + for the entire day on the highway
Got tired and took a nap in the car, but it was crazy hot and humid, so left it running with the AC on. Nap ended up being 4hrs... whoops

Car and engine is doing great so far, so thanks everyone for the advice.

Only mishap so far is I discovered my elephant nose drain must be clogged. Car usually doesn't ever sit in the rain, but had some rain last night with the car in the hotel parking lot, and came back to a wet passenger footwell. Tested heat, no core leak, so phew.

Onto the car wash to dry this out and clear out the elephant ear.

[Gerta]

AAA.

Whether you have the maintenance up to date or not.

Stalking your build thread. A guy can dream of turbo when kids out of house.

[Gerta]

Only worry is those long Texas and Montanabahn stretches where just keeping up with traffic can mean triple digits, but should be OK. Lots of things stacking up so probably won't get to a diff swap, and anyway, there are twisty mountain roads on the route!

Twisties. Good Times!

Getting a toolkit assembled, and rigging up one of my 3d-printers in the trunk.

This is mostly to print iterations of some parts I'm developing while on those long highway stretches. Nothing like live testing car parts on a road trip and printing the iterations while driving. But hey, if something bad happens and I need a part in the middle of nowhere, I guess I could 3d-print a replacement.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Print yourself a S14 engine ... immediate 4 cylinder upgrade! I'd love to chat with you about the whole 3d printing idea.

[econti]

I actually get better economy at 3000rpm than 2500rpm, so don't fall into the trap of lower revs = better.

[megatron]

I like the 4.10 LSD in mine ... I dunno if you will need that but hey ... give it a go!

I've got the 4.10 LSD as well. With the 4.10 and 0.81:1 5th gear overdrive on the E30, it's actually slightly longer than 3.45 and 1:1 5th on my 318ti, and I drove that thing from DC to FL and back without too much issue.

Only worry is those long Texas and Montanabahn stretches where just keeping up with traffic can mean triple digits, but should be OK. Lots of things stacking up so probably won't get to a diff swap, and anyway, there are twisty mountain roads on the route!

Update on everything else:
Maintenance records look good, A/C charged up, will change coolant, oil this weekend, putting spare belts, water and a few quarts of oil in the trunk.

Getting a toolkit assembled, and rigging up one of my 3d-printers in the trunk.

This is mostly to print iterations of some parts I'm developing while on those long highway stretches. Nothing like live testing car parts on a road trip and printing the iterations while driving. But hey, if something bad happens and I need a part in the middle of nowhere, I guess I could 3d-print a replacement.

Thanks everyone for the help!

[varg]

AAA.

Whether you have the maintenance up to date or not.

[AndrewBird]

Top off the coolant and give'er the beans.

This.

Throw caution to the wind and just go. If something breaks, fix it when it happens. Unless something is known to be bad or going bad (cracked belts, leaking water pump, etc), I wouldn't bother. Makes for a good story if something does happen. It's not the end of the world if something does go wrong.

[Gerta]

I like the 4.10 LSD in mine ... I dunno if you will need that but hey ... give it a go!

[spanish pants]

Top off the coolant and give'er the beans.

[megatron]

Sweet! Not sure if I'll have the time to do an installation before I leave, but a guy locally to here, Zimmerman Automotive, runs an completely stocked indoor used E30 parts store, so could definitely get the parts. I'm also contemplating whether to swap the 3.45 small case LSD out of my 318ti into the 318is to get some longer legs for the trip.

On a blitz right now catching up the order backlog on the cup holders and building some inventory to bring with me on the trip and also making another thing that's going to be uber helpful on the long drive, so not much sleep these days. :)

[Gerta]

Ryan, Just installed cruise control in the 318is and I have to say that it plus a gearswitch cup holder really are very helpful for a long cruise. If you can swing it you should see if someone local is getting rid of a cruise set up for an airbag car!

[Gerta]

Ryan - I think you will be fine if you do all the basic "tune up" stuff and replace any suspect hoses, coolant pipe, etc ... I'm a 318is guy myself and I have found the best mods for this engine is really basic maintenance items. Oh and a cup holder. You have to have a cup holder (mine will be here today).

[megatron]

that will be a neat trip! are you going alone or in a caravan

Alone at first, then into caravan getting closer to the event. There's a convoy heading up from California that I'll try to intercept in Portland or thereabouts. Along the way, will try to coordinate mini meet ups with local E30 folks.

[ethrty]

that will be a neat trip! are you going alone or in a caravan