I just purchased a 2010 R/T with only 8500 miles. I am planning to drive it from Illinois, where I bought it, to South Carolina. I am going to have a mechanic go over it before I start the road trip, but wondered if anyone can recommend what fluids I should change outside of the oil and any other thoughts on what I should do prior to it's first real road trip. I searched fluid life spans and they all go by mileage, not so much years. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
If it was me, I'd just hire someone to haul it down. Save the road miles and your time. That's what I did from St. Louis to Minneapolis. It's like 400$.
Remember Time is the enemy, not miles. I too have a 2010 Challenger R/T Classic but with white stripes. I have only 35,000 miles on it. I purchased it when only 2 years old, 12 years ago with 22,000 miles on the odometer Just a few months ago I finally flushed and replaced the coolant. It was in great shape, visually, but without checking it I knew there was some degradation because time is the enemy of fluids, not miles. I have changed the oil every 18 months not depending on miles but because of time. I probably should have changed it more, but I am sometimes just cheap, and the oil always looked great. The mistake I made was keeping my 10 year old tires that had plenty of tread and looked new, but because of age, it would slip and slide all over the road until I put some sticky Firestone Indy500 tires on. So check the date code on the tires and it they are older than 7 years, and I guarantee they are, have new upgraded tires put on before you drive across state. If you are planning on driving your new buddy as a daily driver, I would do the 35,000 mile maintenance now and check all that needs to be checked. 35,000 miles 1. change oil, filter (7 quarts) 2. change coolant, flush 3.65 gallons 3. check or replace air filter 4. check cabin air filter 5. Replace/inspect brake pads - (replace with ceramic in a perfect world) 6. Replace/resurface 4 brake rotors 7. Replace/inspect belts and hoses for cracks, stiffness, leaks 8. Flush brake lines - DOT 3 or 4 (higher boiling point) Bleed sequence - standard: rear passenger, rear driver, front passenger, front driver 9. Check for gasket and seal leaks on engine and transmission 10. check rear axle seals and u-joints My Classic has the Super-Trac Pack so it has upgraded sway bars, brake rotors, pads among other upgrades. Getting the correct discs/pads that are up to the super-track pack specs can be difficult. To find out exactly what your Chally has, email Dodge your VIN # and they will send you the details. [email protected] That's about it for now. And I feel you should drive it back. It needs to be driven to make the parts last longer. Hope this helps!
I would recommend new tires if it still has the original ones because they are now 14 years old. They may look great but at 14 they can be unsafe and come apart . Most tire manufacturers recommend not running tires that are over 6 years old.
