Sitting here in preparation of a permanent move to Sacramento, i'm wondering if the collective knowledge of Audiworld could offer advice, admonitions or encouragement, about taking the 10 year old beast for a 3,000 mile highway jog? Any tips other than maintain gentle and generous driving habits?

I'm predominately concerned with long-term stress issues and other goodies since i'm still on the fence about using my (aging) car for such a trying trip. The alternative would be to sell it before i left, because i'm on a budget enough as it is and the last thing i need would be an astronomical fee en route to the west coast due to some unforseen failure or another. My timing belt has been done recently along with the related engine seals, water pump, serp belt, etc. My transmission is good to go, ABS module rebuilt, and AFAIK the only outstanding problem with the car is a moderately clunking front control arm which i'm not sure if it's worth replacing just yet.

i plan to make it to CA in about 5-6 days which gives me a little time to turn the car off and let it chill out for a bit between intervals of long driving, although i do have a 14 hour drive from Albany, NY to Chicago planned for the first day. This is by far going to be the most strenuous portion of the trip - anything i can expect to happen (or not happen?)

oh and of course i'd appreciate any non-car related suggestions as well!

 

possible,) check for proper operation of the cooling fans, verify that the AC is working properly, check the wiper blades, make sure the washer nozzles are clear, check the condition of the spare, do a bulb check, and throw a few empty bags in your car (to hold the leftovers from all of the crap you're going to eat/drink

 

shouldn't be an issue....check all the things akb suggests and call us when you're in chicago

 

Oh yeah.. I almost forgot.. You might want to pick up a few rolls of blue tape for the front end ; )

 

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he's a cheesehead so those things are expected....8^)

 

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True. They are crazy over there.

 

I wanna try that sometime : ) That's a hell of a lot of blue tape though..

 

Good luck and keep us posted. Don't forget to take a lot of pics.