5000Km Tercel Migration

kingtercel · Post by **kingtercel** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:59 am

Gday all,

Im in Perth WA and i need to get to Adelaide SA for a special concert over the easter week.
This may not seem to bad but considering as perth is the most isolated city in the world and the 2500km (around 1500miles for the US) trip to adelaide (closest capital city) reflects this.
Of course flying is out of the question as the concert is free, and i own a tercel (despite fuel prices)

Is this a realistic proposal??

My 87 has had an upper-end rebuild, within the last year replaced; clutch, cooling system, regular services etc
It's a car thats 100 000kms short of the moon at 280 000kms (174 000miles) on the odo.
The nullabor plain is a the famous road stretch which crosses the desert and is recommended for a 4 day 1 way trip and seeing as it is still summery in australia it would be wise to stick to that schedule (maybe at nighttime)
30 - 40 degrees C in the day

I was thinking maybe replace all coolant hoses and main seals install duel radiators
but there are still obvious 18yr old weaknesses, trans, crank, head, valves, bearings, pumps etc (basicvally any moving part)

It is not in my interests to let my beaut terk melt in the deserts of Australia especially those of South Australia

Other option is takking a fully rrebuilt 84 terk
(sorry bout the obscure structure of my posts its the way i think)

jetswim · Post by **jetswim** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:55 am

I've known people who've driven there 25 year old Kombi across the Outback with only a flat tire to speak of so bring a spare and watch out for those road trains!

JOE · Post by **JOE** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 6:16 pm

IF I CAN DRIVE MINE ACROSS CANDA IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER WITH NO
PROBLEMS I THINK YOU SHOULD BE OKAY. PLUS I LIVE IN THE SUNNY OKANAGAN VALLEY IN BC, WHERE IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR THE TEMPERATURE TO BE 40+ CELCIUS. DON'T SWEAT ABOUT IT!!

ctishman · Post by **ctishman** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 1:07 am

Canada != Australia. I'm not sure you understand hot, JOE.

Most of this is common sense, but I'm putting it here anyhow.
Before you go:
-Change your oil
-Check your water level
-Make sure your main and spare tires are at good pressure
-Buy and fill a one or two gallon gas can and carry it with you.
-Make sure that your toolkit contains the jack and tire iron, and that both work.

Bring:
-Ten gallon jugs of water (for both you and the car)
-Two quarts of oil
-A spare fanbelt
-A first-aid kit

Enjoy your drive!

Also, I wanna see your Terc with knobblies and a roo bar within a year.

takza · Post by **takza** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:52 am

I drove mine with 600+ lbs in it around that distance 2 ways with a lot of trail crawling before heading back...temps didn't get over 32 C though. (230 K miles on car-trans went out due to increased power and climbing too many rough trails in EL)

I'd say all depends on the road...if it's a 2 lane paved highway...good. Take plenty of water...tarp with ropes for shade...couple of tire spares...tools...food....extra alt/waterpump belt...maybe water pump and alt/reg?

If your car is in decent shape...and you keep moving...the fan won't likely come on...but I'd make sure it will.

Change all the fluids...trans-engine etc...tuneup?

sandshadow · Post by **sandshadow** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:58 am

Canada != Australia. I'm not sure you understand hot, JOE.

That's for sure. It's like comparing winter in Australia to a Canadian winter. I took a surf trip to Australia in Dec & Jan a couple of years back and managed to kill two different cars due to overheating.

If you're changing all your belts and hoses, bring the old ones (unless they're totally shot - if so bring new ones).

Bring a well stocked toolbox and shop manual.

If you're doing an oil change before you go, maybe higher viscosity oil is in order.

If you don't put in a dual radiator, when you change the hoses and coolant, you can at least pull the radiator and clean any debris out of the cooling fins.

I'd want two spare tires. If you can't, than maybe fix-a-flat is in order but I've never had good luck with it.

How's the battery?

Waterless hand cleaner and some rags.

JOE · Post by **JOE** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:13 pm

Okay, maybe not as hot as Australia,

but the region of Canada I live in is the northern tip of the Sonora Desert. There is no winter here, and in the summer its not uncommon to see 40-45 celcius-no bs.

Check out this website osoyoos.ca

I live in Summerland, 40km north of the only desert in Canada.

My Tercel never grunts or groans about the heat.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:38 pm

JOE wrote:Okay, maybe not as hot as Australia, but the region of Canada I live in is the northern tip of the Sonora Desert. There is no winter here, and in the summer its not uncommon to see 40-45 celcius-no bs.

Check out this website osoyoos.ca

I live in Summerland, 40km north of the only desert in Canada.

My Tercel never grunts or groans about the heat.

Joe, I used to live near a town called Midway in the Kettle River Valley, about an hour east of Osoyoos. I know just how hot it can get in that area of Canada! No one believes me though when I talk about it in Victoria. It only hits about 30C here in summer. I've seen it 45C in the southern interior though (in the shade!!).

sandshadow · Post by **sandshadow** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:26 am

Joe: I have a house in Twisp, Wa - that's 100 or so mi south of you. I'm an Okanogan neighbor.

Twisp is the town just south of Winthrop (or Winthorp on the osoyoos.ca map)

Lots of snow now, but it is plenty hot in the summer.

Bought the Tercel 4WD for my girlfriend to get over the pass from Seattle in winter - her Accord doesn't have the clearance to get down our road.

Post by **Mattel** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 5:06 pm

I have driven half way to Perth from Adelaide and ended up near Penong at Cactus Beach. It's a great place to stop for a night or 10, especially if your into surfing or fishing or just want to see the biggest sand dunes you'll ever witness (you don't have to drive through them though)

you will need to bring water and supplys with you though. Petrol is fairly well available every couple of hundred kms on the Adelaide to Penong section or so so you shouldn't need to bring any extra fuel containers.

Your car should be fine,As well as what everyone else has been saying about spare belts etc. Not sure if you have a newish water pump or not, (might be worth looking at) and make sure your tyres are well up to it.

If you stay at 90 to 100kms hour you won't be putting to much stress on your car, I drove my last Terc to Qld and back in mine for a 5000 km round trip a couple of year or so a go and it didn't miss a beat.

Temps shouldn't be to bad but can fluctulate wildly between 20-40+ depending on the wind direction. So just be prepared.

hope you got some one travelling with you, lots of music and a thermos of coffee cos it's pretty damn repetitive scretch of road

Good Luck!

p.s can give you some mechanics contacts in Adelaide if needed! I'm sure you will be fine

Matt

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:16 pm

One thing no one has mentioned is to make sure you have a good radiator cap. I toasted two in a 6 month period on my two Tercels. Granted, they were both original and 20 years old. Without a good working cap the system can't maintain the proper pressure and the coolant would boil out at a lower temperature. Also consider a spare t-stat and gaskets.

Do a tune-up: plugs, valve adj, all filters, timing (check your timing advances...mechanical and vacuum. Not having full advance could cause overheating.) and also a compression check (for piece of mind). Also check the distributor cap (inside and out) and plug wires. When was the last timing belt replcement?

Back flush the coolant system...hose out the exterior of the radiator (from the back toward the front to clean out dirt and other debris). Plus all the other forementioned coolant suggestions.

I like the idea of a little heavier oil viscosity all the way around ( trans, rear axle & engine) but don't go too heavy. I don't know what you usually run.

Just a few ideas...you probably have already done those things.

Sounds like a fun trip...good luck, mate(?)

kingtercel · Post by **kingtercel** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 12:36 am

hey thanks for all the confidence building advise

If you think about it, it's not realy that big a feat for the terc, i mean i used to find 500 km daunting, but now i will think nothing of a days notice drive to geraldton etc.
it turns out im not goin anymore due to bad scheduled workload, well i suppose ill be able to in the future with a bit of smart prep work