hello all,
i am planning on driving my 1993 4x4 ford explorer with 130,000 miles down to panama and back (leaving jan 3rd) and need a list of recommendations of what to bring down with us. i already plan on bringing several oil filters along with air and fuel filters (any brand recommendations???). but is there anything else you can think of that i should bring along? hoses or spark plugs? fuses? fuse cable? etc. thanks a lot for your help. i should say that many roads will be rough, washboard, and dusty.

oh, also, a couple of countries down there do not have unleaded gasoline so do i need to do anything to retrofit my gas tank or bring a filter with me. i don't care about ruining my catalytic converter, but will leaded gas harm anything else.

really appreciate your help.

i would also appreciate any preventative maintanence recommendations you all have that i could perform/ get done before we leave.

 

First of all welcome to FTE.
You may want to post your questions in the different forums.
Fuel questions in the Fuel forum
Electrical in the electrical, etc.
Also try the offroad section

It would be great if we had a travel/expedition forum for people like you, that have serious questions, and I mean serious. Safety is a great concern and so is road worthiness.

Please place your questions in as many places you see proper. I am sure you will get many responses.

Try other sources too like AAA, Fourwheeler magazine and other auto sources.
I would suggest to you getting a Satellite phone and good maps(they don't need batteries). Post Photos after your trip and share your experiences with all of us.

 

If your water pump is orginal I would replace it and flush the system and refill it. Your alternator would also be at the top of my list. Instead of buying a rebuilt unit I would have the current one redone by a shop with a solid reputation. Upper radaiator hose also if your is orginal. I would have the tranny checked by a reputable shop as well as having the u-joints replaced. Take a grease gun and be prepared to service the vehicle along the way. How good are the brakes?

Don't mean to be hard but everything needs to be looked before you set out since NAPA or any other parts store may not be right around the corner.

Leaded gas will create havoc with your engine and the computer.

You have a lot to do before Jan 3.

 

Some basics for such a journey would be hoses, a spare serpentine belt, oil, gallon of antifreeze (maybe water if going through desert areas), a jumpstarter in case of battery problems (some also have a built in 12V compressor), duct tape, electrical tape, spare hose clamps, tube of epoxy putty (the JB WaterWeld is good, you can patch and make lots of things with this), tire plugging kit, translation dictionary (unless you already speak the languages), flashlight with spare batteries & bulb. These are a few things I could think of. Don't take any ammunition or firearms (Felony in Mexico), and I wouldn't take any road flares (possible confusion).

As to the leaded gas, that would be a concern. It will probably plug up the catalytic converters which will shut off the exhaust and run the engine hot before shutting it down. It may also screw up the O2 sensors. Before leaving I'd get all the hoses and the belt replaced, and then take spares.

This is obviously an incomplete list, just some things that come to mind.

 

I don't think diluted leaded gas will damage anything, but it will not be good for it. Lead was used as a lubricant.

For filters, Fram has been decent. For air though, you could just put in a k&N and carry some cleaning supplies. I think mobil1 or another brand has a filter that you just change the element out. How long your gonna be there will really dictate what you need maintance wise. Spark plugs may not be a bad idea, but if you change the wires before you go, you shouldn't need to change them again for quite some time.

 

Fuel contamination can be a problem so bring several fuel filters.

You may find yourself buying gas out of old drums and jerry cans. So you might want to pick up a "baja filter" which is a funnel with a super fine screen. Takes our water and particles. Use that when filling your tank from unconventional sources

I would recommend Motocraft or Purolator filters.

Carry two spare tires.

Make sure your battery hold-down is really good.

So, are you camping or staying in hotels? How many people?

 

Using leaded fuel will plug up your cats in a matter of a few miles, better to remove them now and replace them with pipes... then when you come back from your trip you can just remove the pipes and put the cats back on. I don't know about the legality of doing this, but I'm sure someone somewhere would be happy to do this for you.

 

I would make sure to have lots of coolant with you. I would change the diff oil and trans fluid and make sure your tires are inflated properly

 

leaded gas will not only destroy your cat, it can plug it, and will probably take the O2 sensors out so plan on buying replacements for them when you get back. I would also buy atleast 1 more spare tire (roads down there can be really hard on tires)

 

Well,
Serpentine belts would be a good idea as well as an actual truck tire inner tube along w/ fix a flat, that way if yout tubeless tir gets punctured in the middle of nowhere you can pry it off put the inner tube in air it up and limp to somehwere to get a new tire ( only use the fix a flat if you need to. As far as leaded gas, I know that sometimes if you had an older car that was designed to run on leaded gas and wanted to run unleaded you had to at least switch out valves if not heads to be able to do so. So maybey youd have to retrofit to go back, best bet is to ask your local Fors service shop and see what they have to say.
Some other things you might want to bring along as well, collapsable shovel ( you can find em at any surplus store) in case you encounter muddy conditions that you might have to dig out of. Make sure you have like at least two five gallon jugs of clean water and handheld water filtration (for obvious reasons) for either you or the truck. Fire extinguisher might not be a bad idea either and a reliable compressor just in case, if your going with other trucks have a tow strap w/ someone as well. A good multi tool along with a simple tool kit might also be handy and possibly even an off road high lift jack instead of the little one that these things come with.
Im sure theres a whole lot more I could think of but to sum it up dont sell yourself short on supplies cuz anything can and probably will happen especially if your out in rugged terrain. This comes from at least a couple of years taking trips to remote regions here in the states where the only thing you have to count on is yourself.
Anyway sorry for the long post and good luck,
-Chris
PS
You can get all kinds of speace saving tools that still work really well at most good camp stores like camping world or even Big 5.

 

I've made the trip and have considered going again within the next year. First thing is tires! Definitely bring 2 spares, you'll most likely need them both. Get some decent all terrain tires (leaning towards more aggressive, but not mud tires) if you don't have them already, or if you do, if they are anywhere close to being worn out. Make sure the wheels will easily come off the truck before you go. Good shocks will help you out too, especially if you have a full load like we did. A Hi-lift jack can be a lifesaver, get a platform to use it on and read up on different ways to use it.

Finding unleaded gas shouldn't be too much of a problem, when any at all is available. Panama uses it still, but unleaded is also available. When in doubt, fill up while you can. We had 2 full 5 gallon gas cans stolen at separate times. Get a filtered gas funnel. A small mason jar is also nice to squirt some gas into to have a look when at some of the more suspect places.

Put on a new high quality belt and take a spare. If your battery is more than a couple years old, get a new one. We even took a spare alternator. A bit much, and we didn't need it, but I don't regret it either. I'm not sure on the more common sensor failures for these trucks.

Take a replacement bulb for all the lights! Crossing some of the borders they will do an inspection, maybe just passing through at night and they see one. If you don't pass, you don't proceed. Some good bulbs like some GE Nighthawks and some driving lights will really come in handy if you plan any night driving, especially once you get off of the Mexican HWY. There really are people who drive around without any lights on!

Take a decent tool kit with multi use tools (different vice grips, a big flat screwdriver etc.) and some JB Weld for radiator repairs. You might even get some of that radiator hose repair tape (never used it myself). Take some spare food and hide it from yourself, nuts and raisins were a good choice for emergency food for us. Make sure you have a couple days worth of drinking water in RESERVE. Water will be around, but that doesn't mean you want to drink it. Take your choice of something to filter water for drinking.

Do a thorough inspection. If the hoses haven't been done in a while, it's cheap insurance to go ahead and replace them. Change all the fluids. Actually if the ATF fluid will make it back, and doesn't stink, you might hold off on it. Old fluid with clutch particles can give you enough friction to limp it somewhere should the need arise (so I hear).

Some of the "roads" we encountered were absolutely horrible, it depends on the routes you take, but expect them any way you go. Some were just mud, some were steep rock roads made of saucer shaped rocks that just slide on each other. Expect to get lost, roads are often poorly, if at all, marked. Expect to have to backtrack on the smaller roads, try and pay attention to where you are and have been. We even got a notepad, on the advice some other travelers had given, to make a crude map of the small roads we were using. It came in handy.

I'm sure some of it has changed since we went, I'm confident some has not. Don't trust mechanics, especially the really friendly, and don't expect the police to help if they try to screw around with you. Don't expect parts to be easily available. Border crossings weren't too bad and I hear they are much better now, especially within Mexico.

There's tons more, and if I think of anything else really important I'll send it your way. You'll never have all your bases covered, but it wouldn't be such an adventure if they were . Expect to get places hours or days late, if you have many expectations at all.

Oh yeah, take a camera. It's beautiful!

Google 'driving in central America' 'driving to panama' and the like and read up. Tons of useful info out there.

 

Also buy a Hilift Jack put a winch on your X they also don't have much trafic so if you get stuck you need to be able to get unstuck without help probly gonna need extra gas cans since gas stations down there are far and inbetween the metal jerry cans will work best and lots of cash they don't have alot of atm's in mexico and central america if you really need some good info try the camel series guys that run the Range Rover's they can tell you exactly what you would need down there or any of the off road adventure company's that do mexico and C. america.

 

How about a handheld GPS loaded with maps of the region? I'd pick a handheld over a dashboard-mounted unit, in case you get stuck and have to hike somewhere for help. You can set a waypoint at your vehicle's location so that you can find your way back. I'm severely directionally-challenged, and I never go anywhere without my walking, talking GPS (that is, my wife).

Oh yeah - don't forget your passport! Have a fun and safe trip!!

 

i'd get the oil changed with some good stuff. have the tranny fluid changed and flushed. flush and refill your radiator. top off all your other fluids. i dont think leaded gas will hurt anything but with it being so new i am not sure. i think you can get an additive for gas. maybe i am thinking of the additive that puts leqad back in gas

-cutts-