Still alive
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We just got to Wyoming today. Cars are all still running... Just. The Piazza and the Fiero are doing mostly okay, with the Fiero seemingly coming out on top reliability wise.
The Volvo is... Well it's still running. It is still having trouble going uphills, seems to have a misfire, and is ejecting an alarming amount of oil from the fill cap. For the former, we've got new plugs and a new cap inbound which should help. For the latter... I have no idea. Might be the PCV valve is stuck? We fitted a new gasket to the oil fill cap and it got pushed out which is... Alarming.
The Piazza's doing well overall, except for yesterday when the heater decided to stick on and the driver's side window regulator exploded. So... Not ideal but certainly not the end of the world. I bought the supplies too bypass the heater core as the HVAC system on this is hideously complicated. The window regulator will probably just have to wait until I get back to Tulsa, though I do have some hope I might be able to get a part overnighted to Portland and fix it before the drive back. Maybe.
Anyway... We're going to keep chugging and hopefully we'll have better news on the next update.
Photo dump:
Discovery II
c900 Turbo
Alfa Spider
C30 Polestar
Isuzu Piazza Nero -
@AkioOhtori enjoy
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@AkioOhtori pcv or excessive blow by.
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@AkioOhtori if you need an address in portland to send parts or to crash LMK
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@AkioOhtori
Thank you for the update. I'm very glad you haven't had to default to the backup Morris Marina yet. -
I keep hoping for long driving trip. This summer was going to be a good opportunity, but life keeps getting in the way. Perhaps in August.
Here's a logistics question for you: are you all in constant communication between the cars? Do you have radios so you can talk back and forth without depending on cell service? Or are you just making frequent stops to chat about each section and plan for the next?
One of the barriers to long driving trips for my family is my wife's car sickness. Despite everything we've tried, she starts feeling ill a few minutes into any drive unless she's the one driving. The only solution is to take some benadryl and sleep through the ride.
Taking TWO vehicles just might be the answer. We've had some success with this approach when trips to South Texas necessitated two vehicles. It was usually because she intended to stay for two weeks and I could only stay for one, or we were combining trips and she was going to visit friends after we visited her parents.
The challenge here is sticking together. So we don't. We agree on the next fueling stop and just meet there. So it makes me wonder how you guys are handling the logistics.
Never discount the possibility that you might live through it.
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@AkioOhtori PCV sounds reasonable, but it's not a simple valve swap on those. There is an oil separator and flame trap under the intake manifold that is a bit of a pain to change out and is frequently ignored. Not sure easy (or safe) it would be to bypass. If you can get at it you might be able to clean it out a bit.
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@AkioOhtori said in Still alive:
with the Fiero seemingly coming out on top reliability wise
You know you're in dire straits when a Fiero is the most reliable vehicle on your journey
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@AkioOhtori said in Still alive:
We fitted a new gasket to the oil fill cap and it got pushed out which is... Alarming.
That thing must have ALL the blow by.
Comin' in first, never in last
'Cause my car too fast (Zoom, zoom) -
@HFV_Junkyardin said in Still alive:
@AkioOhtori said in Still alive:
We fitted a new gasket to the oil fill cap and it got pushed out which is... Alarming.
That thing must have ALL the blow by.
That sounds a bit more than a PCV issue..
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@AkioOhtori Pic #2 is just awesome! You should submit it yo Blipshift, or get @Arch-Duke-Maxyenko to make a shirt.
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@BicycleBuck said in Still alive:
Here's a logistics question for you: are you all in constant communication between the cars? Do you have radios so you can talk back and forth without depending on cell service? Or are you just making frequent stops to chat about each section and plan for the next
We have some FRS/GMRS 5w radios to keep in contact and it works pretty well. In super populated areas (which isn't common for us) they can bed a problem as there are only so many channels and a ton of users, but otherwise they've served us well over many, many road trips.
Honestly one car per person has worked really well over the years. It is a lot like being alone together haha. We don't get tired of each other nearly as readily and everybody has their own space and set up. Obviously not the best on gas or for the environment but... The trip is about the cars so...
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@drVanTraveler said in Still alive:
@HFV_Junkyardin said in Still alive:
@AkioOhtori said in Still alive:
We fitted a new gasket to the oil fill cap and it got pushed out which is... Alarming.
That thing must have ALL the blow by.
That sounds a bit more than a PCV issue..
Yeah... And these engines are known for issues with the PCV. Actually what happened to me on the 2019 trip in my Volvo
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@AkioOhtori Full send those suckers!
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@BicycleBuck said in Still alive:
I keep hoping for long driving trip.
You know, I hear there's one happening in July over in Vermont... just saying
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Does this Volvo idle OK? If not I would say busted rings due to premonition due to too lean.....
