Driving through the centre of Australia in an '01 V70XC

[hamlyf]

Hey peeps, my girlfriend and I are planning to drive my '01 V70XC from Melbourne to Darwin in a few months. An epic adventure of more than 4500km (about 2796 miles) over about 3 weeks.

It'll be the start of summer, this not only means average maximum temperatures of 38°C (100°F) but high humidity as well (around 34%).We'll mostly be on sealed roads, doing about 6hrs a day on average. Mostly around 100kms/hr. I guess I'd like any general thoughts on driving all this way in these conditions and tips on what to keep an eye on.

A bit about the car: It has about 260,000kms on the clock. The transmission seems good though and has probably been replaced/re-built according to a friend of mine who is pretty into Volvos . I don't really know the full service history of this car but I've put quite a lot of work into it. We are going to give it a big service and fix up a few things before we go.

More on the conditions:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averag...w_014618.shtml

[Scopeman]

I would perform, or have performed, a complete service; oil change, trans fluid, perhaps coolant, angle gear lube, etc. Have a knowledgeable person inspect the breather system. Complete inspection of tires, engine, and undercarriage. I would do this well in advance of departure, so that any problems could be corrected, and time allowed for latent problems to appear and be rectified.
All this especially since you don't know the vehicles history.

[JRL]

Make sure you have a LOT of water (and some food)!

[mapper]

Main thing is to be observant, know your car, know it's quirks and what might be causing any odd noises/performance. Be very observant on the trip and inspect anything that seems odd as soon as you notice it.

Unless your car is in need of service, I wouldn't prefer any unnecessary services (aside from oil change and fresh air filter) in advance. On an older car unnecessary work may introduce new problems. Just be sure all systems, cooling, charging, fuel, ignition, gearboxes etc. are working properly and free of leaks. If you have major leaks, address those. If minor leaks know why it is leaking, and address if needed. Know how to check levels and bring spare fluids for anything you think you may need to "top-up" over the course of the trip.

Bring a good spare tire, and a puncture repair kit (this is cheap, small, simple and light and works for things like screws, nails and thorns, not blowouts) and a small 12v compressors (can get for like $20ish US). Those items have been the most used repair items in any of my extended trips. If you don't already know how to SAFELY change a tire, learn and practice. Make sure you have the proper tools to SAFELY jack the car and remove the lugs. The tires will be taking the most abuse in any remote environment, keep good tabs on the air pressure, don't drive on a tire with low pressure unless you absolutely have to...as doing so may ruin, or unseat the bead a tire that could otherwise be easily repaired with the above referenced puncture kit. Bring jumper cables. Heat can kill a battery quickly.

Bring emergency water and food in case of emergency. Bring 1 liter of spare oil in case you develop a small leak, keep tabs on your oil level at each fuel stop. Buy fuel BEFORE you need it. Try to keep a minimum of 1/2 tank in case you make a wrong turn. Do this regardless of what car you drive. Any car, even a brand new car, can have failures. At least with the XC most of the common failure points are well documented. If it is all, or mostly sealed roads it should be a non-issue but the remoteness of the terrain is what you'll need to consider. We think about this a fair bit in the desert SW here in the US

Specific items of concern to this car would be:
Look up the posts on this forum regarding the ignition switch failure in these cars, there are some things you can do in case you have this failure. Print those instruction to carry along, and bring the proper screwdriver to use in case you have a failure. These things live in my glove box, just in case.

[hamlyf]

OK sweet. We plan on getting a few known issues fixed up and giving it a good service now. It's due for one. Good idea to give the service some time to make sure everything is good. Will take on board all those other tips too and print out some stuff and have a Vo first aid kit. Thanks a bunch guys!

[nickbw]

My Dad did this 25 years ago ( he died a while back) but in a Ford Falcon, travelling from Wagga Wagga to Perth via Alice Springs and all those amazing places iconic of the continent's past . He said he used more oil than fuel (petrol) and he was making an important point. Look out for Kangaroos and Wallabies: not just Land Trains or cannies!!!