Cross country road trip chcklist; have I

[Ramblin Fever]

forgotten anything??

Truck currently has 160k, will have roughly 170k +/- by the time we do our cross country road trip next summer.

What's been replaced (as a recap) in the last 8k miles:

Sparkplugs
All coolant/heater hoses; cooling system flush
Driving belts
Transmission service (REALLY - I DID do it ) - plus tranny filter
Timing belt, waterpump, tensioner, crankshaft/camshaft seals
New tires
New O2's; PCV, air filter, EGR cleaning
Oil/filter obviously get taken care of every 4k

What will be done this weekend: Fuel filter and new radiator (original is getting too old for my comfort).

Any other things you can think of? We will be going from west coast to east coast down into the southern route on the return to home.

[amigo-2k]

What is the history on the alt and fuel pump?

how long is your trip (days?).

[2000izusu]

wheel bearing repacking. just did mine and they were loose for the second time in 60,000. they are tight now with fresh grease.

brake pads (drums if you have em)

if you have abs consider a brake fluid flush. abs module controller (don't know what it is called) are exspensive.

differential fluid change (both) cheap insurance

inspection of the half shafts and their cv's (before you do wheel bearings)

inspection of ball joints, tie rods, yada yada yada.

and if they are factory originals, consider shocks.

clean grounds for electrical system, and battery cables. load test battery

lastly before you pull out of town due a voltage check of alternator with a digital volt meter. (not fool proof but at least you know volts are good!)

[highlandlake]

If you are going to be loading the vehicle, especially with a trailer, consider aiming & adjusting the headlights to match. Your travels will likely include night driving and it's easily overlooked until some light fog or desolate road comes around.
I use my garage door as the backstop in the evening while there is still enough light to see the adjustment screws but dark enough to see the whole light pattern and go from there.

Also check the air in the spare tire. Not easy to do on our models, but worth every minute it takes.
Have a blast on your trip!
Tom

[anthonyn]

Carry along some extra gas...sometimes you miss one exit and the next one is sooooooo far away.....been there done that.

[surferfletch]

Regrease the caliper pins, make sure they slide nicely. Last time I took the Rodeo on vacation I had to change rear pads for one sticky, corroded pin.

Diff fluid changeout is supposed to be done every 15K. Saw that in the manual the other night when I was looking at the rear diff. I haven't swapped it that frequently. I'll draw it out and put some fresh in. Make sure there are no leaks back there - pinion seal and diff cover.

[Ramblin Fever]

Forgot to mention a few things -

Brakes front/rear replaced 10k ago, still exceptional
Brake fluid flush done 10k ago
New Gabriel Sport shocks put on about 9k ago

Battery & Alternator just past 2 years old, in August

Differential fluid - had that changed at 50k intervals, last time at 118k.

Fuel Pump - ssssh, it's it's o..r..i..g..i..n..a..l.

Wheel bearings repacked at 118k miles

[Ramblin Fever]

Days will be gone - not quite sure yet, but I have 3 weeks next year.