Before a long drive, inspect the components that leave you stranded rather than merely annoyed: cooling, driveline boots, wheel bearings, steering, brakes and ball joints. Almost every roadside failure on a road trip starts as something visible at home, usually a cracked rubber boot or a bearing with play in it. This check-list works through the vehicle system by system.
Planning a long trip and want no unpleasant surprises from the car? Here are the assemblies that cause the most trouble specifically when you are a long way from home.
In general, and particularly if the trip runs past 1,000 km, we recommend a full service beforehand so you can set off with complete confidence. It pays to be systematic and work through the main assemblies in groups.
Powertrain
Beyond the standard service checks of fluids, filters and spark plugs, a few extra items deserve attention before a long drive.
Check and clean the radiators. A summer trip means heat, so keep the chance of overheating to a minimum. Radiator and condenser fins clog badly in summer with insects, grass seed and dust, and a blocked pack cuts cooling capacity long before the temperature gauge tells you anything. Vehicles towing a caravan or boat need this more than anything else on the list.
Check the radiator fan. Confirm that the viscous coupling locks up or that the electric fan runs correctly. The reason is the same: no overheating. Airflow at highway speed hides a dead fan completely, and the fault only appears in traffic or on a long climb, which is exactly where a radiator cooling fan failure hurts most.
Check the alternator. Measure exactly what voltage the alternator produces under load. It often happens that the charge warning light stays off, so charging is occurring, but not always at a sufficient rate. On a long trip that means the battery slowly discharges, which becomes an unpleasant surprise far from home.
Inspect the radiator hoses. Cracks and swelling are unacceptable, since both are potential leak points. Squeeze each cooling system hose cold: hard and crunchy or soft and spongy both mean it is due for replacement before you leave, not after.
Driveline
There is no point going too deep into the driveline, or you end up dismantling half the car, but a few key components need inspecting.
Check the CV joint and propshaft boots. A small crack in a boot looks like nothing, but on a trip it will certainly turn into a hole. A few hours on dusty gravel, or the opposite, driving in rain, and there will be no grease left in the joint at all, and it starts clicking at the worst possible moment. Split CV joint boots are the single most common preventable driveline failure on a touring vehicle.
Check the universal joints and propshaft splines. This item applies to rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles. Grip the shaft either side of each joint and twist: any perceptible play means the propshaft spider is finished. If the propshaft is a serviceable type, which is still fairly common, packing it with fresh grease before a long drive is the best peace of mind available.
Check the wheel hubs. Before a trip, spin and rock each raised wheel as critically as you can, feeling for play in the wheel bearings. The longer they run continuously and the higher the average speed, the higher the chance of complete bearing failure. Listen as well, since a bearing that hums under cornering load is on its way out. Any hub that feels suspect goes on the replacement list rather than the maybe list.
Check wheel nut or bolt torque. The most basic advice, and the most frequently ignored. Remember that if the wheels have been off, the nuts need checking and retorquing after 100 km. Use a torque wrench and the manufacturer’s figure, not a rattle gun and optimism.
Steering and brakes
This part of the inspection is arguably the most important, because it affects safety directly.
Check the tie rod and ball joint boots. The logic is the same as with CV joints: a crack today is a hole tomorrow, with the difference that on holiday, tomorrow might be 1,500 km from home. Once a tie rod and ball joint boot splits, grit and water reach the ball, and the joint develops play within weeks on unsealed roads.
Inspect the steering rack for leaks and check the power steering fluid level. Losing assistance in the middle of an unfamiliar town is a poor idea. Driving with a leak on the “just top up the reservoir” principle is not acceptable here, because experience shows a rack leak past a seal can progress very rapidly, given the pressure in the system.
Check the brake pads. Assess where you are heading. Mountain descents, whether that is the Great Dividing Range or an alpine pass on the South Island, cut brake pad life sharply through the extra load. If the remaining friction material thickness leaves you in any doubt, err on the side of caution and replace it now.
Check the caliper slide pin boots. Same principle as the other boots, so we will not repeat ourselves. What we will add is the consequence: once a slide pin boot fails, the pin corrodes, the caliper stops floating, and you get uneven pad wear, a dragging brake and heat exactly where you least want it.
Check brake disc wear. This one is not obvious, but the more worn and therefore thinner the disc, the faster it heats up. If your trip includes long descents, that may be reason enough to replace a worn disc slightly earlier than you otherwise would.
Suspension
Here we will focus on just a couple of important points.
Check the boots and general condition of the ball joints. To avoid a wheel suddenly parting company with the control arms far from home, confirm the ball joints are in sound condition. Lever the joint gently with a bar and watch for vertical play, and treat any torn boot as a joint that needs replacing rather than resealing.
Check the condition of the front strut mounts. The state of the strut mount bearings matters. A heavily worn mount does not only make unpleasant noises, it is dangerous, because it can make the steering notchy and harder to control. Turn the steering lock to lock with the vehicle stationary and listen for grinding or clicking from the top of the strut.
The rest of the suspension, meaning bushings, stabiliser bushes, links, control arms and shock absorbers, can certainly fail as well, but as a rule a squeak or a knock, however irritating, will not stop you getting home. That is assuming a long-rotted control arm does not break in half, and we are confident you would not let the car get that far.
If the inspection turns up something that needs replacing, our catalogue is there to help, with a wide selection of suspension, driveline, steering and braking components. The availability of FEBEST parts makes them the best choice for a quick repair, so the holiday does not have to be postponed.
Safety note: support the vehicle on rated axle stands on level ground before checking hubs, ball joints or brakes, and never rely on a jack alone. Retorque wheel nuts to specification after 100 km if a wheel has been removed, and road test the brakes and steering at low speed before setting off on a long drive.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important thing to check before a long road trip?
Rubber boots, on CV joints, ball joints, tie rod ends and caliper slide pins. Every one of them protects a component that fails quickly once grit and water get in, and every one is visible without dismantling anything. Tyres, including the spare, and cooling system condition come next.
How far ahead of a trip should I service the car?
Two to three weeks, ideally, and never the day before. That leaves time to order parts, to bed in new brake components properly, and to notice a fault that only appears after a few hundred kilometres of normal driving. A service performed the night before departure is when new-part faults surface at the worst moment.
Can I drive with a small crack in a CV boot?
Around town, briefly, yes. On a long trip, no. A crack becomes an open split under sustained flexing and heat, and once the grease escapes the joint runs dry. On dusty gravel, a joint can go from healthy to clicking in a single day of touring.
How do I know if a wheel bearing will survive the trip?
Raise the wheel, rock it at the twelve and six o’clock positions and spin it by hand. Any play, roughness or rumble means replace it. Bearings fail progressively under sustained high-speed running, so a bearing that is merely noisy at home can seize on a long highway leg.
What should I check if the steering feels heavy or notchy?
Check the power steering fluid level and the rack for leaks first, then the steering rack boots and the strut mount bearings. A torn rack boot lets water into the rack and destroys the seals, while a failed strut bearing makes the steering stiff and noisy at low speed.
Does towing change what I need to check?
Yes. Towing loads the cooling system, brakes, wheel bearings and rear suspension considerably harder, so all four deserve extra scrutiny. Check the tow bar mounting and the trailer’s own bearings and brakes as well, and confirm the vehicle’s rated towing capacity and towball download before loading up.
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