Lots in store for a big drive my buddy Tyson and I have been planning for almost a year now. To recap, we will be making a drive this May to Fairbanks, Alaska and back again in a smidge over two weeks. Check out the proposed route…that’s about 138 hrs with my butt in the driver’s seat or nearly 8,200 miles of road time.
I have had a lot of time to think about what sort of disasters I could prepare for and I bet I have not covered them all. However, here’s what I have done for the 6:
- New hydraulics for the clutch
- New Thermostat which already had a slight leak
- New drive belt
- New battery (I have no idea how old the current one is, and I’m definitely not going to find out on this drive)
- A full-sized spare wheel
- New oil pan gasket which led to a new oil pan
- A few annoying rattles hunted down and fixed
This week, my odometer rolled over 190,000 miles and I predict I may be at 193,000 by the departure date.
People quick on math will see that I just might hit 200,000 miles on this trip. That’s the highest mileage car ever within my immediate family.
Tires are good: The Continentals even with 40,000 miles on them seem to have sufficient tread and they are just over a year old. The A/C isn’t the greatest, but I think I’ll just go with it since most of the driving will be highway, and I doubt there will be many scorching heat waves in Alaska.
I’m not going to go crazy with social media on this as this trip is more like a 30th birthday present to myself. However, I will be documenting highlights of the journey on here and on Instagram under hashtag, #mazda6alaska. Keep an eye out for Tyson’s Acura ILX coverage with his #ILXalaska as well!
Pawela's Garage 
I can’t believe we are so close to departure! The reality is starting to sink in. I’ve been thinking of picking up a new battery as well. The nice thing about having stick shifts is we can always push start each other! Haha. I didn’t realize until today you’ll be passing 200,000 on the trip! That’s awesome!
Bump starts will never get old! I do hope though that I make it to 200k somewhere cool…not on the side of I-10 on the New Mexico side. Haha.
This is so exciting for you guys! I can’t wait to check out all of your guy’s posts on IG!
You’d better be updating us on your Euro stuff too, James! 🙂