My wife and I might take a visiting family member on a bit of a road trip, 600-800km in total. If you are familiar with Western Australia, you will know there are no Mercedes Benz support outside a 40km radius of the CBD. Although there may be down in Bunbury.

This is my first ever road trip with the Mercedes. We are thinking of heading off on a Tuesday because I have the car booked in for the following routine maintenance on the Monday:

• Spark plugs replacement
• Air filter replacement.
  
• Fuel Filter replacement.
• Troubleshooting an issue with my radio antenna when demister is on (may be a warranty job)
• Getting them to check what that strange rubber is that came from under my car.
  

Since I have the car at the mechanic anyways. Is there anything else I should get checked out before I head off on my road trip?



I used to drive my V8 Holden on road trips and my V6 Holden before that. But I never took a 1.8ltr Kompressor on a long distance drive. Is there anything I should look out for? Remember, if something goes wrong down there, there won't be any Benz technicians around.

 

I would check the tyres for any damage, wear & correct pressure.Including spare.

Check fluid levels , radiator, oil , power steering, brake fluid & that the windscreen washer container is full.

Do you have windscreen insurance ?. A good idea on country roads. Take the contact details of MB dealers in the state in case of trouble. No doubt you are a member of the WA Roads Association in case you need towing.

If there are grass hoppers around in country WA ,it may be an idea to have a little screen & tape in the boot to avoid the radiator becoming clogged. . It is alway good to have a couple of litres of water in the boot for emergencies.

Always refuel in large well used servo's , not little country ones which may not have much throughput & have questionable quality.

You have a well engineered ,well serviced, low Km car which is capable of taking you around the world many times.

Relax & enjoy your trip.

JC

 

Good advice from JC!

A well maintained Benz is always a car that you can take out of the garage & do a 2000 Km trip with no worries. That's what they were designed to do. Great open road cars.

Enjoy!

 

Thanks guy! I'll try and remember to take some photos too :-)

 

I think you over think things a bit, relax! 600-800km is nothing - I regularly end up doing that in a weekend without ever really going anywhere. This weekend I'll put double that on my car.. and my car has ~209,000km - far more than yours.

 

Have them check bushings as well while they're at it, since they're such a weak point on our cars.

 

Yeah that is a short distance for your car. I have driven over 1500 miles on a whim lol with no special perpetration besides checking tire pressure and keeping my usual extra quart of oil in the trunk.

 

I forgot to mention that it is clever to be familiar with changing a tyre especially when travelling outside the metro area where help may not be as available.

Make sure the wheel studs are not too tight for the small MB brace to loosen them. Some times they are over torqued by gorillas & the threads may corrode if not looked after. I like to apply a smidgen of grease to the threads to avoid this & then apply slightly less torque when tightening. Makes it easier for the wives too if they are out alone !.

Good to be familiar with workings of the jack & its four lifting points .Make sure the thread is oiled & free.

 

Just to psych yourself up, a double feature for you and your wife of Mad Max and The Road Warrior might be helpful.

 

" Two men enter...one man leave."

 

you'll be fine.

+1. the car is good. we know you've maintained it, you'll be fine.

 

I personally wouldn't let a mechanic touch my car the day before I take a long trip.
It only increases the chances of a problem.
Double check everything after they're done.
Make sure no leaks, and everything is buttoned down.
Check to make sure those plastic pans are securely attached.
I'd triple check the fuel filter several times along the way.
Hopefully he's using the plain old clamps you can tighten.

Me, I'd wait on spark plugs etc.
But then I carry tools with me at all times, since i too drive in all kinds of
out of the way places.
One day, my front caliper came loose. Fortunately, I had my tools with me.
Other times, I've had coil packs fail, I always carry a spare, and
I've had them come loose, even though they were torqued down correctly, and
even had spark plugs work their way out a bit.
I've also had the damn plastic pans come off, and recently replaced both of them, and put all new
screws and clip on nuts. I drove without them for a year or more, but the thought of some piece of debris possible cutting through the wiring harness for the transmission or worse thousands in damage, I certainly would feel like an idiot. I had to replace the pans because they had holes ground in them from dragging on the ground, had to go 5 miles to the next freeway exit.

I also carry a CPS, but haven't needed it, and I even carry an extra bolt for it, that I ordered just in case I drop it. Bad CPS will leave you stranded I've heard. Not much luck to find one in the backwater.

I'd keep a full metric socket set 6-19mm + 5/8 spark plug socket, open ends, torx and inverted torx, metric allen wrenches +
screw drivers and a real jack with me if I were you. And a telescoping magnet.
A small issue is a big deal when the only tool you got is your dick.

 

I have an admission to make. I raised the hood personally once in 8 years on my C240 when it blew fuse 52 & would not start. Only other times she was touched was with me present at service time at the dealer on Motorplan/Mobilodrive.

Spent much time under the hoods of friend's Mercs but not my own.

Benz vehicles give the most trouble when fiddled with. Especially by ignorant Tech's.

Leave the hood closed & drive the damn thing. It will warn you if things need attention.

Most trouble free car I have ever owned. I'm sure the CLK will be similar. The hood is staying shut! On the modern car there is no reason to dive in there.

When we transferred ownership on the C240 she walked roadworthy. The officer said she was better than most new cars!

 

Arrh Glyn,

I enjoy being a little more involved mechanically with my cars as I do my own maintenance.

You are correct to say that things should not be fiddled with unnecessarily in the modern car. I am not looking forward to anything to go wrong electronically!!

Being a lifetime tragic DIY I consider it is both enjoyable & essential to get to know your cars habits & your way around its mechanicals. It makes it much easier to diagnose any faults & be in front of the dealers to save over servicing & idiotic diagnoses.

I have also the habit of regular underbonnet & under car inspections as my philopsophy is to spot a problem before it alarms & lets the car down. This thinking has gone by the board in industry as labour numbers are cut & every one depends on computor monotoring. An old leopard cannot change its spots!!

Having access to WIS & this forum improves my knowledge considerably.

Your old mate,

JC

 

Yeah JC. In my days of owning Alfa's I was under the hood most of every weekend. I have tired of that & with a car I know the history of, I'm content that the service intervals are close enough at 15K Km's to do a proper inspection then. So much easier to do proper inspections on a hoist. I'm good at tyre inspections & maintaining pressures & car cosmetics.

I guess I've replaced my old ways with cyber diagnosis & help on this forum & helping friends with their Mercs. I've also learned a hell of a lot from the forum. Collective mindpower & experience.

I also read extensively on automotive design & trends. I guess you don't have to have a baby to be a good Gynecologist.

 

I'd give the car a FULL look over. Beginning with the basics of course - Tires, belts, fluids, etc etc. I gave mine a full look over when I embarked on my Southeast United States road trip. I was on the road for 12-13 hrs a day, driving at least a minimum of 500+ miles.

I was on the road for almost 9 days and covered about 10-12 states. I took 1 quart of motor oil with me, along with power steering fluid, brake fluid, and a small set of hand tools that would fit in with my spare tire and jack. And food, water, clothing, and the first aid kit provided by Mercedes.

Every time I'd stop at a rest stop or for gas I'd pop the hood, and check fluids, belts, tires, stretch the body, and all the other necessary things to do when embarking on long road trips.

Total mileage of the trip = somewhere around 4,254 miles.

 

You'd stretch the body? By the time you completed that trip, was your C-class as long as a S-class Pullman limo?

Your trip was quite a bit more intense than a 497 mile journey. And I'd imagine your car to also have much more usage than his.

 

[QUOTE=I also read extensively on automotive design & trends. I guess you don't have to have a baby to be a good Gynecologist.[/QUOTE]

No, but it is enjoyable & rewarding to experience first hand how they come about.

 

Indeed it is!

 

600-800 is not really a road trip, it is called normal usage, no need to take it to a mechanic before hand. Last year my road trip was 8,000km though 16 states and did not do anything special other than order new tires from Tire Rack midway through it (this was planned) and changed my oil just before as I would have been due 2000km into the trip

* Take a spare litre of oil as Mobile 1 euro formula is hard to find sometimes
* Make sure tire pressures are correct (most common failure on trips are blown tires due to low pressures and the heat that builds when driving for hours on end) and that includes your spare which does lose pressure over time and most people never check this, and that tires are in good shape
* Make sure fluids are topped up or in the proper range (oil, coolant, PS fluid and brake fluid)
* inspect belts and hoses that they are not cracked
* second most common failure is an overheated motor due to a coolant leak
* finally do a visual to see if you have enough meat on your brake pads, you can also feel it by poking your finger at the side of the caliper

 

Not saying I'm taking it to the mechanic because of the 'trip'. I had it booked in before the trip was even discussed with my wife.

 

I think the responses here have you covered well. I would add four tips.

Make sure all of your belts are in good nick.

Bring electrical tape in case you have a busted hose. Lots of wrapping of tape can get you through the night.

Zip ties can also be a life saver.

This is oddball, but I once chewed up a transmission hose, and my quick fix was a male to male coupling made from brass that I got at home depot and fixed up with screw clamps.

Ed

 

Or this may happen lol


That was such a good day glad it was not my car and I was ridding shot gun

 

take some photos of your car and enjoy the ride

cruise control all the wayyy