Nearly 176k and doing a 870 Mile trip in June

[highmileage02sleConv]

Im moving to Nashville from Jersey in June for school and work. The original plan was for me to get a new car, but since I started to get insurance quotes that plan has been scrapped. I have a 2002 Solara convertible with nearly 176k, my dad says he is comfortable with putting 2k into the car to get it down there. I know the charcoal canister needs to replaced and all the wiring damaged by the valve head leak needs to be placed as do the brakes.
Is there anything else that we should have checked out before me and the Solara take on this epic journey?

P.S this isn't the first time i've driven to TN, we I usually do it with my family in the Sienna.

[1gSE]

you're at 176k....870 is nothing. And how exactly is the wiring damaged? Or did it just get oil on it? I'm at 167k and I put some hard (boosted and lots of WOT) miles on my car and she runs like a champ

[highmileage02sleConv]

Oil got on it...on a side note my dad and alot of my friends say the car doesn't ride like it has the miles on it that it does. I don't get how its still running, but it is!

[1gSE]

Its a Toyota If that's all that happened, you can get some electrical contact cleaner and spray it off, or just go to a car wash and hit it with the pressure washer

[highmileage02sleConv]

the first four years we had the car my dad put 100k miles commuting to NYC... I am comfortable bout takin her on such a long trip its just that im gitty about it....the top has at the most a year or two left it in it. I get to test the true millage of the Solara with the V6

[yaddadaimsayin]

pshhh.. 870 miles for a toyota? chump change!

[JonB]

Just change your oil, top off the fluids, and check your tire pressure (including the spare). You don't need to spend thousands for it to make that trip. I used to drive more than that per week in a Camry that had twice as many miles. I would recommend getting your windows tinted though. Tennessee will get a little warm

[ThurzNite]

pshhh.. 870 miles for a toyota? chump change!

Agree.

OP: What are your symptoms of the charcoal canister? Do you top off the gas when u fill up?

Dr J

[crispone]

8-900 miles is a day trip. Just do what is recommended already, oil, tires, fluids, tune-up IF needed before heading to college/long trip etc...


Honestly, your car isn't particularly "high mileage" at ALL! Toyota's GENERALLY run a couple hundred thousand miles EVEN when they aren't particularly well maintained! Well maintained Toyota's are engineered for a fairly easy 300k miles. I've got over a million miles on JUST my Toyota vehicles over the years.


Good luck on your trip!



-crisp

[highmileage02sleConv]

pshhh.. 870 miles for a toyota? chump change!

Agree.

OP: What are your symptoms of the charcoal canister? Do you top off the gas when u fill up?

Dr J

My mechanic says that the EVAP system is going bad and the code that it he keeps pulling up is either the wiring (damaged by the valved head leaks) or the charcoal canister