should i chance the drive?

[mike87mj]

ok so I'm moving and wanna know what you all think about possibly driving my 87 mj 4.0 2x4 with 220,xxx miles on it to sacramento,ca? i live in co, i don't know anything about the history of it we got it from an impound lot. its my dd and I'm very comfortable driving it around town and even into the mountains. in my trip i would stop in vegas to drop stuff off then on to sacramento, i figure its roughly 1400 miles. would you do it? should i or should i look into trying to tow it? :dunno:

[Pete M]

totally up to you. :cheers: If you go for it, plan ahead and be prepared for the typical problems. put extra care into the cooling system. Now is a great time to flush if the fluid is old, and to replace old hoses and maybe the pressure bottle. Do you have metric wrenches and have a torx set?

[Harper]

"A man's got to know his limitations." - Harry Callahan

[mike87mj]

ya i have plenty of tools that are going with me thats part of my cargo I'm hauling. i figured maybe do a tune up and check the gears and change the oil, hadnt thought about flushing the coolant i just replaced the water pump about a month ago so it has tons of fresh fluid now. i guess I'm just worried about the motors life i keep thinkin what if the motor only has 1400 miles or less in it and i blow it while moving. ill need this truck as my dd in sacramento also. but its definately the cheaper option for me right now

[Pete M]

how old are the hoses? got an E-fan? does it work? I wired mine to come on with a switch so I could run it non-stop. You're going to be driving through some intense heat.

 

 

Bring extra water. At least 5 gallons. And make sure you have a way of charging your cell phone in the truck.

 

And the most important thing... gather up emergency numbers along your path. :thumbsup:

[jimoshel]

Save yourself the misery of worrying about it. Give me the truck and I'll pay for the bus ticket to Sacramento. If you feel comfortable enough to be driving it as a DD then Follow the advice given above. Check everything and don't push it. It's a Jeep. It'll make it.

[jteckmann]

I've driven cross-country (Alabama to Washington St.) a few times - and I'll be doing it again this summer in my MJ. I've made it trouble free in some high-mileage vehicles, but one time I had a <70K Nissan Altima self-destruct heading over the Rockies. 4.0's are tough motors, so it's not like it's automatically going to self destruct at 225K or anything - usually the rest of the Jeep rusts away before the engine can die 8) It just depends on the overall condition of the vehicle and how well it has been maintained.

 

That said - Murphy's Law. Before I leave, I do a thorough check of the truck. Oil change, radiator flush if necessary. Make sure the spare & jack are good. I pack an emergency kit of basic tools, hose repair kit, clamps, an extra belt, can of fix-a-flat, extra fluids and coolant. I also look at a map, decide the worst spot to be stranded, and figure that's where it will happen. So plenty of drinking water, a few protein bars or MRE's, change of clothes, blanket, etc. Cell phone & charger. So if worst-case scenario I'm stranded overnight or have to hike a few miles to get into cell phone range, I'm not S.O.L. Sounds like that won't be a problem for you since you're moving, and will be carrying plenty in the truck already. Also, you could think about getting an AAA membership for one year. I think a basic one is maybe $30-$40 (?) but then you'd have the insurance of 24-hr number to call.

[kastein]

I'd do it.

 

Heck, I drove a 2x4 Comanche 500 miles round trip in one day through a terrible ice/snow storm with no brakes and nearly bald tires, leaking a quart of oil every few hundred miles... made it through. It was one of those "must do this or I'm all kinds of screwed" type trips to get new parts for my daily driver which had broken down.

 

Bring with you - tools (already covered!), spare fluids (trans, diff, coolant, oil, brake, jerry can), some extra brake line, a spare front rubber hose, spare rear rubber hose, some extra rubber hoses (transmission, fuel, coolant), some hose clamps (standard and fuel injection/full circle), spare serpentine belt, pocket torch, favorite penetrating lube (pbblaster, aerokroil, 50/50 acetone/atf, whatever you like.)

[Pete M]

I would also plan my route to stay as close to populated areas as possible. Lots o' empty space out there.

[DJM/78]

I would listen to all the good advise on this thread .

Just my two cents , I would do a complete tune-up . It never ceases to amaze how much power dry heat and altitude effects your motor . All the time people come up here with

nice 4x4's soon finding out how much power they loose being tuned for sea level driving . Don't get me wrong the MJ puts along just fine but don't expect to be doing Indy 500

speeds on the highway and the higher you get over the passes the more you'll have your foot mashed in the gas . Depending on your gear set up , you should do just fine .

 

Heat is probably going to be one of your biggest concerns so get that coolant flushed go ahead and buy new hoses if you don't already carry them , get an alignment and check

the brakes for abnormal wear , just to keep the friction at a minimum , new belts are always a plus to have as well .

[dasbulliwagen]

Another thing that should help with heat is some water wetter added to your cooling system.... supposed to help heat transfer by breaking the waters surface tension.... all the drag racers use it to cool the cars off faster between runs. There are several brands of this, just do a search.

[DJM/78]

:agree:

They even sell the 50/50 mixes already to go up here .

[mike87mj]

well i think ill take all the advice given above and go ahead and try it i decided not to try and pull a trailer on the trip and have a friend following me with my trailer i guess i figured safety in numbers lol but thanx for all the good info ill be tuning up the truck and gettin it ready for the trip ill let you all know how it does

thanx,

mike

[DJM/78]

You better take picks ..... :fs2:

 

I'd like to see what passes you end up taking .

[mike87mj]

well the only way iv gone is i-70 over vail pass to i-15 to vegas from there to sacramento I'm not sure but we will see and ya cameras comin and i can access this board from my cell phone so if i brake down ill be on here lol so long as i have signal

[gl1200aman]

I bought my 88 off of ebay, had listed at 120k but showed 293K, and drove it from Carson City,NV to Milwaukee, WI. I used 2 qts of oil and was getting 20 mpg. The previous owner had installed a toggle switch for the electric fan which I left on all the time. I was cruising at 65-70 mph across I-80 until I got to NE. where the air temp was in the 70's and 30-40 mph cross winds gusting to 60, then the temp gauge was touching the 215 mark so I slowed down to 55-60 mph. When i slowed down I was getting just over 21 mpg.

 

When i got back I ordered a new radiator and thermostat. When I was replacing them I found the culprit was that there was no thermostat in it. Since replacing them it has had no problem with heat. Last week I was driving in 80 degrees and stop and go traffic and the temp stayed around 190-195 without the electric fan. I need to rewire the fan to work off of the sensor now.

 

With the advise given and the history you gave I would drive it on that trip no problem. Just watch your gauges. Have a good and safe trip.

[Sir Sam]

Owch.

[64 Cheyenne]

People do win the lottery......

[Harper]

Sure they do..... :shake:

[jimoshel]

Save yourself the misery of worrying about it. Give me the truck and I'll pay for the bus ticket to Sacramento. If you feel comfortable enough to be driving it as a DD then Follow the advice given above. Check everything and don't push it. It's a Jeep. It'll make it.

Gee, Guess I was wrong.

[DJM/78]

Save yourself the misery of worrying about it. Give me the truck and I'll pay for the bus ticket to Sacramento. If you feel comfortable enough to be driving it as a DD then Follow the advice given above. Check everything and don't push it. It's a Jeep. It'll make it.

Gee, Guess I was wrong.

:rotf:

Well at least you know a story behind this one , our own advise got you a truck ... :rotfl2: