I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice (car, driving, and life as well). I have to say it made me feel a lot better about my own car maintenance (see below) as well as driving such a long distance and the job choice i made.

That aside, I guess you guys all helped point out that I'm not as far behind on upkeep as i thought. I replaced all the belts (timing included), water pump, splash pan, wire harness, oil trap, thermostat, and some other stuff. The summer before saw a lot of work done on the brake system. I'll probably hit up the local pick and pull yards for some spare parts (amm, icv, ecu, etc.), and check over the whole thing before i leave. oh, and thanks for that idea about finding all the volvo dealerships and auto parts stores on the way. i wish i would have thought of that one!

Mike

(ps see the next post about this year's inspection problems.)