CA to TX quick fix questions?

[Longhunter]

Just an update. As some of you know I am in Syria on a military deployment so family (20 year old college daughter and 21 year old college daughter boyfriend. Both good kids and both at The University of Tennessee on ROTC scholarships) are picking up my 1985 Eagle Wagon from CA and driving it to TX.

So yesterday they picked her up. Brake master cylinder had what appeared to be brown yogurt/pudding in it. Oil needs changing for sure and transmission fluid was dark and needs a change. Other than that the only oddity I cannot figure out is the fuel gauge. It works and shows an accurate reading when the car is turned off. But when running does not show accurate amount of fuel. Any ideas?

Yesterday after picking it up they drove it from Lucerne Valley CA to Las Vegas NV with no problems. Today going to get an oil change and clean and bleed brake system. Anyone live in Las Vegas want to take this on for payment? After getting the fluids changed they will head out from Vegas to the Grand Canyon and spend the night. The next day from Grand Canyon to Albuquerque, NM for the night. Next day on to Fort Hood, TX.

Questions:
1. What brake fluid should I use? Is it DOT3 or DOT4? Is there really a difference in the two?
2. Is there a reason to use synthetic oil or is regular 10W 30 good to go?
3. I read some posts here concerning hoe Fram oil filters suck. Is this still accurate?

[djm3452004]

For brake fluid, DOT 3 is what the Service Manual recommends.

Any decent dino 10W-30 should be perfectly adequate, but it's not like you're breaking-in a new motor, so synthetic would be perfectly fine as well.  Purely based on price and the fact that the car has been in storage a while and is now going on a long, hot, sludge-releasing trip, you'll probably want this oil change interval to be shorter than normal.  Because of that, I'd opt for the cheaper dino 10W-30.

And yes, the chatter about Fram basic oil filters is largely true.  They are very cheaply made and taking the cheap road on such an important filtration component is unwise, especially since the difference in price between the "cheap" and more "expensive" filters is less than $10.  There's a million and one options out there, but I've opted for Wix filters over the years (Wix 51522 for my '83, probably the same for a bunch of years).  Napa Gold filters are just Wix filters rebranded and sold through Napa.  Though honestly, you could probably pick any brand filter and there's always gonna be THAT guy/gal who swears their motor failed because of it and they had to cut their beach vacation short or whatever...

And I'm sorry, I'm not remotely in your family's travel path (in SW-VA), otherwise I'd be glad to help with the work...


Hope this helps --
David