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Thread: 8k miles road trip - what to expect?

  1. #1
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    8k miles road trip - what to expect?

    Hey guys,

    I'm starting to plan a 5 week, 8k miles (yeah, it's about driving) road trip through Europe next summer.
    I haven't planned much regarding camping, etc. since I haven't thought much about the essential thing, yet:
    My 2004 530d automatic with 140k miles.
    I've had it for over a year now and I must say it still runs really well.
    Obviously some things had to be done on it but on a car that old I expected it to be a little more demanding.
    I can't put together a list from the top of my head but if needed, I could provide recent major repairs.

    What I hope to get from this thread:
    I'd like to get some insight, preferrably from people who drive or drove similar distances in such short time on what could go wrong and what I should be perpared for.
    Is 8k in 5 weeks much different from 8k in 12 months (which is my usual)? I guess so, which is why this thread exists.
    What's the standard gear, besides a spare wheel and the tools to change it?
    Obviously I'd like to avoid a 3 day-pitstop in Slovakia for something I could do myself if properly perpared.

    Just a few days ago I was made aware of this very cool document which already helps a lot.
    I specifically did not post this in the E60-section to get a larger reach and also address people who've had similar experiences with other cars.
    I'm sure the US also is very attractive for doing long road trips.
    However, is there anything in particular I should put my eye on?
    Before leaving I'd have the car checked up but many things could happen to a 12-year old car on bumpy, Romanian roads.

    Certainly, there's always a worst-case scenario where my engine dies hopelessly, all 4 tires blow simultaneously or I minimize the space between me and the front grill by the helping hand of a tree.
    I'll have tow-back available for this case.

    Should I bring fluids? Oil always seems like a good idea.
    Checking tire pressure every now an then seems sensible.
    Not sure if it's even available in the US, but any experience with premium Diesel? Might be worth a thought for a long trip.
    Last edited by chris30o0; 01-03-2017 at 05:20 AM.

  2. #2
    323i E30's Avatar
    323i E30 is offline ⅂!ʈө !ƨ l!ʞө ɐ ʇөlөbµouө
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    Wrenches, screwdrivers, flashlight, oil, coolant, wd-40, duct tape, some cloth and wire. Takes just little space.
    You could bring a small tank of diesel too if going for a long trip. You never know. Same goes for starting cables.
    Inspect your coolant lines prior to leaving, so you won't have to rely on the duct tape...
    ^ true story



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  3. #3
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    Sounds like reasonable equipment to me.
    Also, as you said it sure will fit somewhere!

    Bringing Diesel along isn't as easy as one might think. There are actually some countries I plan on passing which do not allow this due to safety reasons. In others it's limited to 5, 10, 20 or 25 liters.
    I'll think about bringing a 10l canister and empty it before passing certain borders. I really don't want to research/experience the fines for each country which might be 10€ or 1000€.
    Starting cables, but also a jump start kit (something like a power bank for cars) is also on my list already.

  4. #4
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    If your belts and hoses are more than three years old (or an "unknown period") I'd swap all of them. If you are close to an oil change, do it before you leave or plan on getting one somewhere early in the trip. That is, if you want to spend most of a day on your tour sitting around a service facility. Same with tires: Europe is easier on them with lower temps but anything over 5 years should be examined for checking sidewalls. Air up your spare prior to departure. Check all fluid levels and consider taking a gallon jug of water along -just in case.


  5. #5
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    Thanks, I'll have belts and hoses checked before leaving - some were replaced recently.
    However I believe just changing all of them will be costly, right? Also a faulty one could get in there which gets me the opposite of what I wanted.
    Oil change was scheduled early next year. After reading up about it I considered doing one now and one before leaving. That should suffice.
    Tires a new (like, new new. They'll get on my car tomorrow). They should be fine.
    Food and water (both for drinking and washing) will be on board anyways.

  6. #6
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    Many BMWs have two belts, some have three. The main serpentine is the big one and getting the rear one off usually requires pulling the front one off. Its usually a half hour of labor and the belts are inexpensive. I have never had a new belt fail under initial use in 40 years of motoring. The Serpentine belt is held tight by a tensioner spring. Can't goof that up. The others are basic auto 101 to install. If yours have been inspected, you are probably fine to go. Belts last a long time these days.

  7. #7
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    I know the Serpentine belt was replaced almost a year ago. It should be fine.
    It was either damaged by the pulley (correct word?) or the other way around.
    The replacement pulley lasted no longer than 3 months (or even less) when I noticed squeeking. Production error or something..

  8. #8
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    Chris,

    Yeah, BMW seemed to have "issues" with the tensioner pulleys for awhile as the bearings would go dry and squeek. They also had to change their tensioner design. I hope your service guy replaced the whole pulley and bearing, not just the pulley. If the pulley bearing wore so far as to allow the pulley to migrate off axis, it would eat your belt up pretty quickly. Sounds like you are golden.

    Have fun!
    Ray

  9. #9
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    A couple years ago I did a 1 week, 3k mile run to Yellowstone and back. My car did some time on logging/dirt roads it shouldn't be on, but it was fine (I drove slowly) and was keenly aware of my low clearance. The picture at my signature was at the end of one of these dirt roads. One of the headlight mounts snapped (headlight still shone fine, but was loose in the housing), but I wouldn't say it was a critical issue.

    To be honest, unless your car harbors a known problem and/or you're prepared to bring along the kind of equipment/parts they do for Dakar I think the best thing you can do is educate yourself on what kind of roadside type service is available for the areas you're going to be in and make sure you always have cell service and maybe a translation app.

    I never drive anywhere I can't walk out of in 1 day.
    Not so much a signature as a cry for help.

    Hold on, saw this in a cartoon once...think I can pull it off.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by CaptainStark View Post
    I hope your service guy replaced the whole pulley and bearing, not just the pulley. If the pulley bearing wore so far as to allow the pulley to migrate off axis, it would eat your belt up pretty quickly. Sounds like you are golden.
    I believe that's exactly what happened the first time. I didn't dare to touch this car, but my dad was certain it would make it the 700 yards to the shop
    I'm pretty sure the whole thing got replaced after that.

    I don't know what you mean by your last sentence. Note that I'm not a native speaker

  11. #11
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    In the U.S., if you call somebody "golden" that means you are capable, and all set for what challenge you face. By saying, "your golden" means you are all set. You are "good to go." Your are as ready as you can possibly be. You are "Wunderbar."

    I grew up in Germany as an American kid and we used to mangle a German saying for nearly the exact same description. You are "schmecks." I don't think it meant exactly that but even after I got home to the States, years later you still hear people going, "SCHMECKS!" when the see a nice car or a nice object, especially a nice car with a gorgeous girl behind the wheel. She's "schmecks" and her boyfriend is golden!

    Ray
    Last edited by CaptainStark; 10-07-2016 at 05:22 PM.

  12. #12
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    Hahah, thanks for the explanation

  13. #13
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    Shit's getting real, I'll actually pull through with this.
    Route is currently reduced to 6k miles but I guess that's enough

    Just wanted to push this thread up a bit, in case anyone has some tips which weren't mentioned yet.

  14. #14
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    Avoid eastern Ukraine!
    Not so much a signature as a cry for help.

    Hold on, saw this in a cartoon once...think I can pull it off.

  15. #15
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    Thanks, didn't plan on going there.

    Current country list is as follows:
    Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Swiss, France, Andorra, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg

    Not sure about going as far as Montenegro, though. I'll still have to check what the situation is over there - basically have no information about those countries.

  16. #16
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    Soo I'm back.
    Car made no trouble at all besides my usual battery-issues (e.g. when leaving the doors open for too long or just having the ignition on. Looking into those right now).
    Tour turned out to be 8.5k miles (2k more than planned) and I made some changes regarding countries after I posted here:
    Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Swiss, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark
    21 is still enough, also I only had 4 weeks instead of 5.

    Overall pretty nice experience, I might write something in my blog about it but not within the next few days.
    If someone is interested, I posted some pictures on Instagram: @ivy_e60

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    NIce! Welcome back
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