Oil for the Alcan!

[bxd20]

It's been my dream to drive the ALCAN from the continental US through Canada into Alaska.

Only I would STRONGLY prefer to do it in the dead of winter.

Keep us posted!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
Is there any reason that your driving that distance.

I think it's one of those adventures where the trip/travel is more fun than the destination itself. I would certainly love to do this. For someone who enjoys driving, it's a treat.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I have a friend who drives back and forth from Cooper Landing,Alaska to south Texas twice a year. Her 1998 Nissan Altima (4 cyl) has hit the 300,000 mile mark on 10W30 pyb. Still runs like brand new!

 

[Gene K]

Is their a reason not to continue using M1 10W40 HM?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: TurboWagon
Unfortunatley I don't have a full sized spare, but the tires are high quality (Michelin Primacy) and only a couple years old. I've heard that the highway is not nearly as bad as it was a couple decades ago, so I'm not too worried.

I'll be bringing all my tools, as I have them in the spare tire area all the time anway. I can do almost any repair with these tools, and I'll have a little jack as well as a portable battery starter. I have a good set of spare parts: MAF, coolant hoses, thermostat, spark plugs, fuel pump, fuel pump relay, light bulbs, oil filters, 5 quarts of Super Tech emergency oil, gallon of coolant, gallon of water, fire extinguisher, jumper cables, and a few MREs!



spare belt?

When reading about it last year, it was recommended to have a full size spare if not also an extra unmounted tire!

Some places said to expect to replace the windshield from the trip...

 

[TurboWagon]

My friend says most of the damage to vehicles occurs in the winter. Trucks going in the opposite direction will hammer you with ice, rocks and gravel. He said it isn't so much of an issue during the summer time though.

I've got the spare tire, but I'll also bring a couple cans on "fix-a-flat". The only flats I've ever gotten driving my car have been from roofing nails in the city.

I'm thinking of getting a spare belt, even though this one is still very pliable and has no cracks. I think it was replaced at 115K.

 

[j_mac]

This is a no-brainer. You need to run German Castrol 0W-30!

 

[JOD]

When you last did the t-belt, did you do the tensioner?

I think the mid '98-2000 models they used the mechanical tensioners prone to grenading if they weren't changed with the belt.

While an extra drive belt would be good to have, just since it's pretty unique. I ran mine for 100K (3 times the recommendation) with no issues.

 

[TurboWagon]

T-Belt was done at 117K (12K past due...) and everything minus the water pump was changed. It isn't due again until around 200K.

I think I'll just try and find a cheapie spare aux belt to have, can't hurt at all.

I need to make a trip to Walmart and Autozone to see their stock. Unless I get a good deal on GC, then I probably won't both with it. I know it's seen as the holy grail on this forum, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the newer stuff is comparable if not better.

 

[ArtDart]

I would stay with the M1 10w40 HM
stout oil that you know works
please do uoa at end of your trip
enjoy the ride !

 

[JHZR2]

+1 to the M1 HM

 

[TurboWagon]

I've never done a UOA before, so I'll be pretty interested in what this one will show after such a long trip!

I'm curious to see if I'll have "elevated" silicon right off the bat in the oil from my K&N cone filter. I know people make a big deal about it, but this engine has already excelled in doing 166,000 miles... I'm pretty sure a few PPM of silicon isn't going to destroy anything.

My new intake system along with my new exhaust system have netted me a couple MPG, which is totally fine with me considering how much I drive.

 

[TurboWagon]

WOW!

What a trip that was. The Canadian Yukon is incredible, as is all of Alaska. I've absolutely made it my goal to live in Alaska someday... and I can say that confidently having been there during the winter at one point as well!

Now to the good stuff, since after all this is an oil forum! I used Mobil 1 10W-40 with a bottle of Lubro Moly MOS2. The car leaked and/or consumed only about 0.75 quarts, so I added no top-up fluid. I ran the oil and filter (Mahle; OEM for 2000 Volvo) for the whole trip and just drained it. Refilled with same combo, minus the moly.

I'm going to be sending off a sample to Blackstone tomorrow morning. I'm very interested to see the results!

An Amsoil Ea filter was installed about 50 miles prior to the road trip OCI. During the trip, we experienced some very dusty moments on the unpaved sections of the Alcan. The car was fully loaded and I had 2 adult passengers. We went up some very steep mountain grades (10%+), so the turbo got a LOT of work done. Ambient temps ranged from 40 to 70 degrees F for most of the trip, with only about 1,000 miles in 90 degree plus heat.

Car now has over 176,000 miles on it. Not a single mechanical issue during the whole trip, minus the alignment I had to have done after (some real nasty potholes out there!).

 

[addyguy]

Nice - any trip pics you could post?

 

[LC4RN8]

It's a Volvo - you can debate oil all you want - it's going to develop some kind of weird electrical gremlins long before anything else.

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

Originally Posted By: TurboWagon
I've absolutely made it my goal to live in Alaska someday... and I can say that confidently having been there during the winter at one point as well!


Our winter lasts October thru May. Keep that in mind. Fall is already here. Trees in front of my house are turning yellow as we speak. It has been raining non-stop for the last two weeks.

Lack of sunlight is the worst. 20 hours of darkness gets to you after awhile.

Not trying to scare you, but it is big difference from AZ.

 

[JP2085]

Awesome! It is also a dream of mine to drive the Alcan highway.

Nice Volvo, btw. Before I got my F-150 I had a 2001 S60 T5. Was such a fun car but too high maintenance for me. Before that I had a 1988 760 GLE with the PRV V6. Had 210k miles on it and never a major problem. It was a real brick.

 

[BobFout]

I lived in Fairbanks for 5 years. I'd move back tomorrow if I could...

 

[TurboWagon]

This car has been in the family since it was new, and yeah, it's had its fair share of weird problems, but hey it's a Volvo!

I'm from San Diego, even bigger weather difference! Honestly though, I'd do anything to move to Alaska. I'm the sort of person who seeks out a winter storm just so I can go drive in it. I love what most people consider "bad weather" and I adapt very well to changes around me!

Sadly I was only armed with my smartphone camera, so the pics aren't too impressive. But here are a few:

(Click picture to make it bigger)

Lots of open road!



This was taken at around 11:30 PM.



Driving, driving, driving...



Moose action shot! Glad she didn't decide to run on the road.



There's a story to this one. Middle of nowhere Yukon, Canada we come across this little lodge. We decide to stop in for breakfast, and a few minutes later, someone runs in frantically yelling to the person working the desk: "There's a cabin on fire, quick, call the fire department". To which the desk clerk, promptly responds: "There is no fire department!". So we watched helplessly as some people tried to battle the inferno with tiny extinguishers to no avail. When we came back 2 weeks later, the cabin was gone. But thankfully it didn't take out any of the propane tanks or the main lodge itself.



Teddy bear!



Beautiful lake in the Yukon.



That's me, standing in front of Exit Glacier near Seward, AK. It's a couple hours South of Anchorage.



Anchorage sunset, around midnight.



We saw this guy hanging out near a lake. Very cool!



And then we had to wait about 15 minutes for these guys to stop crossing the road.