Manhattan to Florida Road Trip! (going solo this year)

[kajcienski]

Hi guys! I'm leaving on my annual road trip to let my dad have fun with the D in Florida for the winter. In the past, we have made it into a 4 or 5 day journey together, taking our time exploring different cities. The timing didn't work out to drive down with him so going solo this year. It got me thinking about how much I can stress the car as far as hauling tail on the highway for long periods of time. I guess I am wondering whether it makes a difference if I drive pretty much straight through the first half (to Durham, NC) for 10 hours at highway speed, or better to let the car rest every hour or two and grab a tea or something...? I feel very good about the car mechanically, but once I am driving, I get major "DeLorean Paranoia". I have extra belts, fuses, etc... Wish me luck guys and let's hope I don't have to post here from the side of the road :(

[Chris Burns]

Good luck on your trip. Stop by Fernandina Beach if you can!

[dmc6960]

A well tuned DeLorean will not care if its driven 2 hours at a time, or 24 hours. Enjoy your trip!

[kajcienski]

Thanks guys. A painful 5:30am and about to head out of Manhattan. I'll be attempting it as straight through as possible until I hit NC for the first stretch. Unless I end up meeting some fellow D-ers on the way! My pending issues seem to be that A) My speedo started bouncing from 0-85 and the died on me (cable?) B) Rear defrost light out C) Door lock rods out of whack so module not doing its job. Nothing serious thankfully!

[thirdmanj]

Thanks guys. A painful 5:30am and about to head out of Manhattan. I'll be attempting it as straight through as possible until I hit NC for the first stretch. Unless I end up meeting some fellow D-ers on the way! My pending issues seem to be that A) My speedo started bouncing from 0-85 and the died on me (cable?) B) Rear defrost light out C) Door lock rods out of whack so module not doing its job. Nothing serious thankfully!

If you'll be comming through the Hampton Roads area of VA, let me know! I'll see if maybe I can't meet up with you!!

Edit: I've found I get the best fuel economy (FL-VA) from between 60-65. About 27-28MPG

[WelmoedJ]

A well tuned DeLorean will not care if its driven 2 hours at a time, or 24 hours. Enjoy your trip!

Your car easily can "do" 4 hours or more in a stretch also at highway speeds (70 MpH I recall?), but you will need to fill up gas at some point.
Even higher speeds can be done (in between pit stops I did 80-90 MpH on long stretches; 2 persons and luggage).

However you personal safety is better off with 2 hours driving and 15 minutes stops.
Your condition will tell you when it's time for a rest.

Have a safe trip.

P.S.: If you're curious to know the car's fuel economy, note the starting ODO meter figures and fill her up to the point the nozzle shuts off.
Keep all sales tickets and note the last ODO meter reading after you have arrived.
From the figures kept, you can calculate total cost, total fuel consumption and total MpG.
If you also note ODO readings at each fill station, you also can calculate the consumption (and MpG) in between fills.

[Evildeli]

I've driven ny to fl a bunch of times. Average about 21 hours but did in 17 once. Took the trip from Boston to Florida in the Delorean. Stopped over night due to the traffic but she was solid. I wouldn't worry if you have a solid engine.

[Lenny]

Where are you going in Florida?

[kajcienski]

Where are you going in Florida?

Tallahassee - my dad keeps it for the winter. Don't know of any other owners there...?

[kajcienski]

Well, made it to Durham, NC yesterday! Great ride, no hick-ups, playing all my tunes. Only thing odd was my system seemed to be charging (or reading) higher than usual. The needle usually hovers about 1/5 above to right smack on the 13v mark with the radio and air on. For some reason it was steady at about 3/4 above the 13v mark to the first orange mark. Is it overcharging? Or was it unusual before and now seems normal? I just don't get how of the sudden it can change like that overnight...

[WelmoedJ]

Well, made it to Durham, NC yesterday! Great ride, no hick-ups, playing all my tunes. Only thing odd was my system seemed to be charging (or reading) higher than usual. The needle usually hovers about 1/5 above to right smack on the 13v mark with the radio and air on. For some reason it was steady at about 3/4 above the 13v mark to the first orange mark. Is it overcharging? Or was it unusual before and now seems normal? I just don't get how of the sudden it can change like that overnight...

That's where the needle of my Voltmeter always is.
Did you change something in the electrical area (cleaning or changing grounds, cleaning connections?)

[kajcienski]

That's where the needle of my Voltmeter always is.
Did you change something in the electrical area (cleaning or changing grounds, cleaning connections?)

Nope - didn't change anything. Some drives, the voltage hovers above and below 13, and other drives it hovers a bit above 13 only. Identical drives.

[DMCMW Dave]

So - did you find enough gas to get out of New Jersey?

[kajcienski]

So - did you find enough gas to get out of New Jersey?

Hey Dave! The ban was lifted in NJ and had just enough gas to get our of Manhattan. Luckily! :)

[WelmoedJ]

Nope - didn't change anything. Some drives, the voltage hovers above and below 13, and other drives it hovers a bit above 13 only. Identical drives.

In that case, there have to be other reasons for this behavior:
If you haven't re-tensioned the alternator belt, it must have something to do with the alternator itself.
You may want to check the actual power (Voltage) at the jump start post.
That may tell you how much V's there are idling (and when using the accelerator, what's there running higher RPM).

What type of Amps is your alternator rated for?

[dmc6960]

Dont worry about the volt gauge. If your ever able to check the true voltage with a voltmeter when its on the "fritz" you'll likely just verify good voltage. Up to 14.4 is normal and even a little higher wouldn't hurt anything. I get this behavior as well with well cleaned grounds. I believe it to be the binnacle connection which is marginal at best, especially on my own car. I hope to steady that reading up next spring once I'm running my new instrument cluster. In fact I'm purposely trying to not fix a few problems I have so I can see if they go away with the new cluster alone.

[WelmoedJ]

Dont worry about the volt gauge. If your ever able to check the true voltage with a voltmeter when its on the "fritz" you'll likely just verify good voltage. Up to 14.4 is normal and even a little higher wouldn't hurt anything. I get this behavior as well with well cleaned grounds. I believe it to be the binnacle connection which is marginal at best, especially on my own car. I hope to steady that reading up next spring once I'm running my new instrument cluster. In fact I'm purposely trying to not fix a few problems I have so I can see if they go away with the new cluster alone.

For me making a new ground for the inertia switch (Bitsyncmaster's way) did the trick.
This ground also worked for a more stabilized fuel gauge needle (more accurately, less swings) and no flickering binnacle lights.

[DMC3165]

That sounds like alot of fun Matt. Good luck and enjoy the ride. See you at the spring social next year!

[kajcienski]

Thanks Guys! Made it safe and sound. BUT, looked under the car today and saw oil. The driver's side oil pan is soaked near the front, the chassis is dripping in front of that, and oil is dripping from the rear of the tranny. Rear main seal bad? Does this get a lot worse or okay to drive it with an eye on oil levels? Car was perfect otherwise... But am kinda isolated here in Tallahassee as far as a D mechanic to fix this :(

[Citizen]

Thanks Guys! Made it safe and sound. BUT, looked under the car today and saw oil. The driver's side oil pan is soaked near the front, the chassis is dripping in front of that, and oil is dripping from the rear of the tranny. Rear main seal bad? Does this get a lot worse or okay to drive it with an eye on oil levels? Car was perfect otherwise... But am kinda isolated here in Tallahassee as far as a D mechanic to fix this :(

Are you sure it is not transimission fluid? You have an auto, right? If the oil you found is "near the front" of the oil pan, and from the "rear of the tranny", then I'd suspect it might be trans fluid. If you have an oil leak from the pan, at 70 MPH, you could expect to see oil to the rear of the pan, not just on the front. Just a hunch of course, but sometimes really dirty ATF can look like engine oil. Did you notice any "funny" shifting of gears?

Keep a real close eye on both engine oil & tranny fluid. Wipe clean from under the car what you can see visibly, then place a large, clean piece of cardboard under the car. After parked for a long time, this can help you locate the leak. If no leak when parked, then run the engine (staying parked), and look again on the cardboard, and under the car for leaks again.

Lots of good DeLo mechanics in Florida, I hear. Good luck.

Thomas

...

[DMC3165]

Maybe ship it over to Tony at DMCFL? I'd definitely get it looked at before bringing it back in the spring. Or you could ship it to PJ Grady at some point but that sounds $$$$$. Good luck getting it fixed.

[kajcienski]

Are you sure it is not transimission fluid? You have an auto, right? If the oil you found is "near the front" of the oil pan, and from the "rear of the tranny", then I'd suspect it might be trans fluid. If you have an oil leak from the pan, at 70 MPH, you could expect to see oil to the rear of the pan, not just on the front. Just a hunch of course, but sometimes really dirty ATF can look like engine oil. Did you notice any "funny" shifting of gears?

Keep a real close eye on both engine oil & tranny fluid. Wipe clean from under the car what you can see visibly, then place a large, clean piece of cardboard under the car. After parked for a long time, this can help you locate the leak. If no leak when parked, then run the engine (staying parked), and look again on the cardboard, and under the car for leaks again.

Lots of good DeLo mechanics in Florida, I hear. Good luck.

Thomas

...

Yep - oil... We just washed and de-greased the underside so can identify the spot. So far - a rear seal looks right unfortunately. It shifts super, no problem there. Now, where do I take it for this? Thinking down to Tony for this and a couple other little issues... Advice?

[tiger38117]

Check your head bolts. Mine have a habit of backing off a bit over time which allows oil seepage that eventually makes its way down the engine. If your bolts share this problem, a long trip would certainly aggravate it. New bolts are on the list.

Not all oil leaks come from the bottom!

[82DMC12]

Check your head bolts. Mine have a habit of backing off a bit over time which allows oil seepage that eventually makes its way down the engine. If your bolts share this problem, a long trip would certainly aggravate it. New bolts are on the list.

Not all oil leaks come from the bottom!

I'm sure you mean valve cover bolts.... Right?

Andy

[DMC5180]

Yep - oil... We just washed and de-greased the underside so can identify the spot. So far - a rear seal looks right unfortunately. It shifts super, no problem there. Now, where do I take it for this? Thinking down to Tony for this and a couple other little issues... Advice?

A little oil leak, even the rear main is nothing to get too worked up about, unless it leaves a dinner plate puddle on the floor after one drive. It just means it's a nuisance you'll need too check it a little more frequently and add oil. If your not the DIY type, sending down to DMCFL over the winter is probably a GOOD idea. If wait till you drive it back to NY and take it to Rob that would be in the spring and eat into the driving season.