long drive, what can I do to make sure ill make it?...

[Jay18]

at the end of the month i will be moving to my girlfriends and ill be taking the car, so that a long drive in a SJ410 from Runcorn to Kettering, a total of 137 miles,

does anyone have any tips that i can do to make sure the car will make it, ive never took it on a proper drive before and i am MOT'ing it within the next couple of weeks...

anyone know of anything i can take with me or do to the car to make sure i make the journey in the car, not on the back of a RAC wagon haha...

any help would be great as id like to prove my girlfriend wrong about my SJ...

[Edweird]

So long as she's not pissing fluids and you take it easy (as in cruising at about 45/50 mph) there shouldn't be a problem. Just stick in the left hand lane and let the wagons pass you. I've been doing 40 miles a day for over a week now, driving to Hull Uni and back and I'll be honest, I think the regular and fairly easy drive is doing the engine good. I swear she runs smoother now.

I've done a 90 mile round trip to get a gearbox before, back when she ran like a turd (knackered carb and retarded ignition timing) and the petrol tank was full of rust and aside from having to stop and clear the fuel lines once she was happy as Larry then too.

[Jay18]

thaks mate, i had no intentions of going over 50 anyway, i will be taking it easy nice steady speed and a couple of stops to let her cool down a bit aswel...

[Edweird]

thaks mate, i had no intentions of going over 50 anyway, i will be taking it easy nice steady speed and a couple of stops to let her cool down a bit aswel...

Hehehe! You'll need a couple of stops to stretch your legs. I wouldn't worry about overheating if you're sticking below 50. The SJ has a very open grill and engine bay.
Mine never gets up to half on the gauge and the thermostat housing, when I measured it with a laser thermometer was only at 79 degrees after a 30 mile drive.
Yours might have a slightly harder time because it looks like you've got larger than standard wheels but I can't see it making much difference.

[Jay18]

right so i should be okay as long as i take it easy, i have the pajero seats for confort so this will definitly test just how comfortable they are haha, and i have replaced the standard 195's with 255's so they are alot wider and i think about 1 inch bigger in diameter so not alot of difference that way...

[Edweird]

Yeah, that's the only thing I think you need to worry about. Once it's settled into a cruise at 45/50mph it's actually pretty comfortable so long as the road is reasonable. Noisier than most cars, yeah, but I find the seating position much better than a Fiesta or a Corsa and the big wheels and tyres compensate for the leaf springs when compared to a leaf sprung car with little wheels.

[ScottieJ]

as long as it's serviced and running well then it will be fine, I've driven mine to France and all around Normandy in mine.

[ROBBIE]

Longest trip in mine, Dorset to Kent to Derbyshire back to Dorset.

[Highlander]

I drive a SPOA sj413 300 miles from Belper in Derbyshire to Scotland!

I was suicidal by the time I got home!!

If it passes the MOT ok it should be fine Jay

New plugs/points/dizzy cap/rotor etc never go amiss though

[Jay18]

thanks for the help lads, ive done all but the points as i dont have a timing light to do them with,

my gearbox is very noisy though...


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