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Thanks Andrew,
10mm is already in the kit as is the multi bit screwdriver..
At the moment I have 8mm, 10mm 12mm, 15mm and 17mm combination spanners in the kit...
I already have others i could add or swap out, but in the past i have found the weight and bulk of my vehicle tool kit just seems to increase and I rarely used it.
At one point I stopped carrying it, which of course is exactly when you end up needing it! lol
So this time I am trying to keep things to a reasonable/practical minimum..
Regards,
Peter
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I would suggest having a look at the sizes of bolts on parts you might want to get at, you might find a workshop manual or Haynes manual useful for the less accessible parts if you are considering any.
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While I admire your sentiments 99% of roadside breakdowns are due to 'something ' failing and unless youve got that component in the boot your kna**ered, a bulb kit along with any tools required to change them would be useful along with some coolant mix, screenwash, torch and a old towel.
Probably worth checking you've got the locking wheelnut socket along with the brace and jack, assuming of course you have a spare wheel! Nothing wrong with building up a decent toolkit at home especially if you intend to do any service or maintenance work.
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If you're going to be carrying tools, best have some parts too, ie spare auxiliary drive belt(s) bulbs fuses etc, hopefully the car already has a spare wheel and a decent quality jack/wheelbrace.
As well as a basic toolkit of screwdrivers combination spanners decent pliers (water pump pliers are good too because they can grip a vast range of sizes) and possibly a small socket set, a powerful mini worklight that can be stood or hang from something preferably magnetic too, waterproof old coat you don't mind getting mucky and something waterproof to sit or kneel on if the ground is wet..if no spare wheel might be worth getting some plugs or similar that might just seal a cut or puncture enough to inflate it with the compressor you hopefully have instead.
Nice to see something thinking about being prepared to help themselves, ie not having to wait around for hours in the freezing cold for someone else to change a wheel or headlight bulb.
Edited by gordonbennet on 15/02/2024 at 19:47
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Hi Paul,
I absolutely agree with that, and it's another incentive behind the idea of a minimalist tool kit.
I already have a small bag with fuses, bulbs, a hank of electric wire (and some fencing wire) plus a few crimps for the electrical side if things. Additionally I have a bottle of RadWeld Plus, and a few different hose clamps...I want to add an exhaust bandage and some Rescue/self amalgamating tape for emergency hose repair and I think that will cover the more common "curable" problems..
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I can understand your idea of carrying a few “essentials “ , but tbh, any breakdown other than a flat battery or tyre , is likely to be electronic , which you’re unlikely to fix with your a***nal of tools .
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I can understand your idea of carrying a few “essentials “ , but tbh, any breakdown other than a flat battery or tyre , is likely to be electronic , which you’re unlikely to fix with your a***nal of tools .
Yes, these days I think there is little point in carrying more than a very few tools to solve simple snags at the roadside. Cars rarely break down when properly maintained, and as long as you can cope with a flat tyre or a loose battery connection, I don't think it's worth filling the boot with a shapeless heap of stuff you probably won't need
As part of the maintenance I would advise checking your wheel nuts/bolts once a year to make sure they can be loosened if the need arises in awkward circumstances - i.e. without needing a tommy-bar.
I remember the very old days, when in pre-war cars (my parents had one, a Standard 8) there was an open 'box' under the bonnet, where simple tools - pliers, spanners - rattled around loose. Now long gone !
Edited by Andrew-T on 15/02/2024 at 23:20
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I remember the very old days, when in pre-war cars (my parents had one, a Standard 8) there was an open 'box' under the bonnet, where simple tools - pliers, spanners - rattled around loose. Now long gone !
Clipped into the boot door moulding (hinged to one side) of the Landcruiser is a quite useful tool kit box where pliers various spanners and reversible screwdriver are held firmly within, thats apart from the tyre changing tool roll and bottle jack which sits within one rear inner wing behind a clip in panel, i wonder if the latest models still have the tool kit.
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I remember the very old days, when in pre-war cars (my parents had one, a Standard 8) there was an open 'box' under the bonnet, where simple tools - pliers, spanners - rattled around loose. Now long gone !
Clipped into the boot door moulding (hinged to one side) of the Landcruiser is a quite useful tool kit box where pliers various spanners and reversible screwdriver are held firmly within, thats apart from the tyre changing tool roll and bottle jack which sits within one rear inner wing behind a clip in panel, i wonder if the latest models still have the tool kit.
My father's Rover 105S had a wooden drawer under the glove box with all sorts of tools nestling in their cut-out foam spaces. I still have the small adjustable wrench and embossed chrome pressure gauge with its tiny tool for extracting a valve, which now lives in its very much younger distant cousin, my Triumph TR7.
My Audi A8 has a drop down tool set in the boot lid. It is mainly for a wheel change but also has a sturdy screw in tow hook (aluminium, of course), a 10mm/13mm spanner, a reversible screwdriver (flat blade and phillips) and an L shaped Torx T30/T45, one end of which I think is for emergency closure of the sunroof should the electrics fail. No idea what the other end is for.
For the OP, don't forget a roll of duct tape, some thin wire plus cutting pliers and some chewing gum, matchsticks and fast acting resin adhesive (last used 50yrs ago after sustaining a pierced fuel tank in the Sahara).
Edited by John F on 16/02/2024 at 12:02
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a reversible screwdriver (flat blade and phillips)
Are you sure it's not a Pozidriv, I doubt if it would be a JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard)?
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a reversible screwdriver (flat blade and phillips)
Are you sure it's not a Pozidriv, I doubt if it would be a JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard)?
There are plenty of Torx bolts on my 207SW !
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a reversible screwdriver (flat blade and phillips)
Are you sure it's not a Pozidriv, I doubt if it would be a JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard)?
Nope - not sure at all. Just a crosshead which may or may not work.
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As part of the maintenance I would advise checking your wheel nuts/bolts once a year to make sure they can be loosened if the need arises in awkward circumstances - i.e. without needing a tommy-bar.
If you grease the studs and put thin polythene sheet (or, Id guess, Clingfilm, though I havn't actually tried that) on them, before putting the nuts on, that can pretty much be guaranteed.
I got around the
"OMG, that'll screw up your torque settings, which specify DRY threads. The HORROR!"
NON issue by NOT using a torque wrench on them.
I THINK the plastic acts like NYLOK, as well as being a thread protectant.
Looks a bit like a shed snakeskin when you take the nuts off.
EDIT: I tried the Clingfilm on a motorcycle bolt yesterday. Seems too fragile, especially for wheel studs.
I usually used a bit of one of the polythene bags my steamed breakfast buns came in, but binbag plastic also works OK
Edited by edlithgow on 18/02/2024 at 00:26
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While I admire your sentiments 99% of roadside breakdowns are due to 'something ' failing and unless youve got that component in the boot your kna**ered, a bulb kit along with any tools required to change them would be useful along with some coolant mix, screenwash, torch and a old towel.
From memory, my roadside "repairs" have been
Transit van in Edinburgh (not mine) Loose HT lead. Put it back on again.
Morris Marina 1800 - Loose battery cable - tightened it
Morris Marina 1800 - Throttle jammed on. GF (driving) de-clutched but didn't turn off engine, which raced its nuts off - reset tappets in a snowstorm (A9 just South of Aviemore) with a failing torch
Lada Mk1 1200 - forgot to tighten timing chain tensioner and it took me a while to realise what all that rattling was.and re-tighten in a snowstorm (A9 just South of Aviemore) Lada came with a good toolkit with an inspection light.
Daihatsu Fourtrack - stuck in mud - dug out and used brushwood to aid recovery
Petrol Series III Landrover (not mine) in Thailand. Suspected fuel vaporisation. Doused carb with paddy water to cool. Started after but I'm not sure thats what fixed it
Diesel conversion (IZUZU) Series III Landrover (not mine) in Thailand. Loose battery cable - tightened it.
Sierra DOHC 2L. Flat tyre. Fitted spare.
Sierra DOHC 2L. brake servo plastic vacuum elbow broke. Fitted end of Japanese ballpoint pen. Better than OEM.
Skywing cooling fan control circuit failure - limped home, stopping to pour ditch water over radiator at regular intervals
Skywing cooling fan control circuit failure - jumpered fan direct to battery with wire I was carrying after the first failure
Skywing - failed to start - hit starter motor with rock
Skywing - stuck in beach sand - dug out and used floor mats for recovery
Toyota Avensis (GF;s) stuck in beach sand - dug out and made bamboo mats for recovery
So mostly electrical failures even on these primitive vehicles, and no spares (apart from a tyre) required, though I needed a fairly complete toolkit for the Marina tappets
Modern electrickery would probably continue that theme, but might not be fixable anywhere, much less on the roadside.
That of course is probably mostly what its for
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Thanks everyone...
I am certainly aware of the limitations of doing roadside repairs on modern vehicles.
Like others have said, electrical problems have been the most common "repairable" issue my various vehicles have suffered over the years, then exhaust damage and tire punctures. I will use those as a guide for the tools in my kit...
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For many modern cars, the best tool to carry is a laptop with a good diagnostic package pre-loaded, eg Ross-tech VCDS for VW - without it, it's often impossible to know what the exact fault is.
I've always been able to do my own maintenance but the last time I can remember a roadside repairable fault, excluding punctures, was in 1985, probably half a million miles ago!
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Thanks everyone...
I am certainly aware of the limitations of doing roadside repairs on modern vehicles.
Like others have said, electrical problems have been the most common "repairable" issue my various vehicles have suffered over the years, then exhaust damage and tire punctures. I will use those as a guide for the tools in my kit...
Maybe add a shovel. I did that latterly (actually technically I think it was a mattock) hence ensuring that I didnt need one again, but if I had it would probably have worked better than the bits of bamboo I used in the previous excavations
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Years ago, I acquired a snow brush. About a foot long with soft bristles for brushing snow off. I put it in the boot every Winter - never used it!
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