Newbie Takes Old Gal To South France

[kirk]

Well the trip is just 5 weeks away and the whole family (7) is looking forward to getting out of the rain.

 

But what about my old Gal -

[jkspoff]

Luckily its down hill on the way there ! :o

Good luck, I am sure she'll be fine, just make sure your A/C is working as it gets rather hot down there in August, and get European breakdown cover just in case.

Edited July 17, 2007 by jkspoff

[El Dingo]

Don't worry Kirk. The AA can always beam you up in case of any mojor breakdown.

 

Seriously, France isn't all that bad. Just avoid the service station scams - don't let anyone 'check your oil', and watch out for the knife in the tyre trick when you're filing up.

 

I know from personal experience that it's more risky in West London than it is around most of France, including the Peripherique at rush hour.

[kirk]

Ah Well ! From French Trek to Star Trek - But I appreciate the support guys

At least with 7 of us in on trip, we can kept a look out for knife wielding scam merchants.

But thinking of jkspoff's advise concerning A/C in the hot Fench weather - A/C Not fitted to mine. :( Guess its the dash mounted fan for us. :o

[Andrew T]

Just come back from France in our Gal' only 6 six years old but 153,000 miles on the clock. Didn't have any problems, but I'd given it a good check over before. I'd look very hard at your cooling system. Running with a full load, at high speed in high temperatures will find any weakness that may be there. Radiators are prone to silting up as they get old so it could be worth flushing It out before you go, replacing any hoses that look even slightly suspect and chucking a can of radweld in the coolant when you refill it as a precaution.

 

Good luck and enjoy your holiday.

[tim-spam]

Just think what your annual mileage is, and then compare with your trip to France and back. If you're fairly confident of the car lasting for the next year, France and back should be no problem. Bear in mind also that the car will be running nice and warm with no nasty cold starts - one long run is far less stressful on a car than lots of short ones.

[mumof4]

Have a bit of faith in the old Gal, they are a remarkably robust car ..(when they aint falling apart that is :D)

 

 

and how very dare you mention the Espace in place of the Gal!!..i hope the old Gal didnt hear you mention that! :D

[Andrew T]

I think a ten year old Galaxy could still be more reliable than a new Espace based on a Fiends experience. A few days out of warranty it's diesel engine "let go" big time resulting in a

[Tommie1]

I would not worry too much if it did not let you down lately.

 

Indeed keep a continuous eye on your temperature especially when you are in a traffic jam. Then it might help to turn up the heating and open all windows to keep the engine cool.

Do not overload it, and do not exceed speed limits (quite expensive in France if they catch you).

If you check tyre pressure regularly also your tyres should keep up for the trip.

 

Some extra cooling liquid and oil should be part of you travel kit.

 

I once did this trip from Belgium to the south of France with a 10 year old Passat 1.6 D that had 220.000 km. Maximumspeed of the car was 145km/h and I just drove 1000 km in 8h nearly all the time full throttle. The car did it very well.

During the holiday we cruised down the smaller roads and did 1300 km with only 60 litres of Diesel. Suppose the engine was 'cleaned' well.

 

Have a very nice holiday !

[mumof4]

also put a higher psi in your wheels, i believe fully laden it should be 50 front 48 rear IIRC??..cant find my manual..(yes i kept it)..to confirm.

 

Can someone confirm this please??

[seatkid]

Woah! 50psi sounds way high! :rolleyes:

 

Always refer to your vehicle documentation for tyre pressures. Mine has detailed tyre pressure info on the inside of the fuel filler flap.

[mumof4]

Woah! 50psi sounds way high! :rolleyes:

 

Always refer to your vehicle documentation for tyre pressures. Mine has detailed tyre pressure info on the inside of the fuel filler flap.

 

 

Thats fully laden galaxy and i did ask for it to be confirmed.....will dig out my manual..back in a sec.

[mumof4]

ok..tyre pressures..

 

for 215/55/16s with a load rating of 95.. a fully laden galaxy

 

44 front

50 rear

 

so i was wrong.

 

you should also find the max psi on the side of your tyre also.

 

ALWAYS check your tyre pressures when the tyres are COLD or you will get a false reading.

[seatkid]

But he has an old Mk1 probably on 195 15 65 tyres.

 

Each member should check his own vehicle - there are many variables - model, engine, tyre size and even model year

[mumof4]

Very true, they should either check their manual, or the the sticker which should be on the car somewhere..

 

the tyres on my vectra are tiny 14 inch ones and ive been told to use 35psi in them, according to the tyres themselves they can have a max of 52 psi.

 

Everyone is responsable for checking their own tyres, making sure that they have the correct pressure in each

 

in my Gal hand book...

 

195/65/15s should be 40 front 46 rear fully laden..

 

( i am assumeing that you got the 15 and 65 the wrong way round??)

[familyman]

If you do have breakdown cover make sure that it actually does cover your car -some will not cover cars over 10 yrs old in europe ,and getting a car back from the south of france might be a tad expensive !

[kirk]

Well I