So Im planning a 875 mile road trip from PA to MN, and I was wondering what you guys think I should check/change. I know all of you are going to say "do the TomP tune-up", I am already in that process. I was just wondering if there was anything else not in the tune-up you guys would recommend.
My car isnt that bad now, only about 118K miles, but I would hate to get to half way there and find a problem. Thanks in advance...

 

check the obvious belt(s) hoses,radiator,tires etc.
i recomend u carry a spare belt,jumper cables,1-2 quarts of oil,gallon of water/antifreeze. and a small tool kit

 

Get your wheels rotated and balanced along with checking your tire pressure. (not sure if that is in the tune up)

 

carrying extra parts is always a good idea. an extra belt, an extra Plug wire or two, long enough to sub for any that might burn out, 2-6" of hose, fuses. thats realy all i can think of.

ohhh... electrical wire (18-14 guage) and one 12V switch. you never know. i have had to do some road side wiring in the past. i rigged up a toggle to my brake lights once to get me home when my peddal switch broke. i have also used a similar repair to get me home when my fan turn-on switch went out on my 2.8.

 

thats funny
i had to do that to my fan one day after sitting in construction traffic.

 

Thats deffinatly on the list, seeing how Im changing all the steering parts(minus the steering box/pitman arm).
That reminds me, Ive been told my steering box has some "play" in it. Will this affect anything? Make the steering parts go bad quicker? I was told it isnt bad, just getting old.

 

the coolant and oil are the big ones. check them before your leave and check them when you stop at rest stops. deffinately bring some fuses because they always blow at the worst time. and wire isnt ever a bad idea even if you dont need it for an electrical repair it can be used to tie a part back onto the car if something the awful should occur. oh and slime all of your tires before you leave. fix-a-flat isnt good in cold weather it becomes a solid mass and throws your tire out of balance (found out first hand). slime is good all year round and will let you go for a long time after having a puncture.

 

Air filter is one that will pay for it's self quickly and Alot of people forget about it. They are LIke 5bucks from wall mart. I carry a little Air pump For a just in case. Even though it mostly gets used for Bike tires it's still handy to have. Take a look at your trans fluid carry some ATF, It also works as motor oil. Bring Drinking water and Food, sometimes It nicer to just pull over at that perfict spot then to eat one more greace ball burgar out of some GutBomb Goint.

 

IF you ever want to get a flat repaired DO NOT USE Fix-a-flat or slime or any of those. 99% of tire shops will NOT fix a tire that has had any of those in it.

 

carry your factory spare, or get AAA.