Tools For a Road Trip - Advice please

[Blitzkrieg]

If you have a shockless beam, you'll need to carry spare kidneys too

[bugspray]

if you own a acvw, you probably sold a kidney.

[sarel.wagner]

This is what you use the tools for and how you then go about fixin it......

Herstelwerk.jpg

Herstelwerk1.jpg

Rgrds

[eben]

This is what you use the tools for and how you then go about fixin it......

Herstelwerk.jpg

Herstelwerk1.jpg

Rgrds

I vote: Head gasket failure....

[LadyHooligan]

If you own an air-cooled Bug, you become a mechanic. That is unfortunately not really negotiable. I got a lovely gift from my baby brother a few years ago: a small shifting spanner. That has gotten me out of trouble quite often.

AA membership is a good rule, especially for a woman. And tow rope... and jumper cables!

I plan to make a long road trip myself in 2011, so I really appreciate all these notes.

Hugs
Lady Hooligan

[Chris]

Welcome LadyHooligan.

Yes,I also always have a can of tyreweld in my wife's car just in case.

[Chris]

No-one mentioned bloudraad....???!!!

Eben,it's not the Ford.

[jmvv]

You guys left out the most important spare - FANBELT.

and a screwdriver to wedge the pulley....
and a shifting spanner to undo the pulley nut.......

With that, youll get home

I once drove a Beetle for 100 km with the engine running on one cylinder after the rocker shaft bolts came undone on one bank and one of the rocker shaft bolts came loose on the other bank.
(I was also a novice once - with a pretty girlfriend at the end of my journey)

The 1600 single port motor maintained 35 mph (60 kph) flat out on the level road, dropped to about 16kph on uphill bits and managed 80 kph on downhill bits.

On a serious note:
Spares:
FANBELT
points
condenser
plugs
6 mm fuel hose with clamps
500 ml engine oil
good quality cable ties: small and large

[fig]

This is what you use the tools for and how you then go about fixin it......

After dropping a valve in Aleppo, Syria:

[Chris]

Shit,you were young in that pic.

[Ron&Gill]

I don't know what the fuss is about... These cars were built, sold and bought on their reputation for incredible reliability. There Fig drove to Europe and dropped a valve, One-armed Bandit drove from Stockholm to Cape Town and stuck new rings in in Sudan, thanks to K&N air filters (non-standard), and we're fussed about driving to George??!? With the AA always hovering in the background and cell phone reception at 5 bars...

Make sure your tyres are tight, your car works (if it's a tight formation of loose parts, stay home), take a spare belt and the basic tools, like a leatherman, and yes, a couple of cable ties, a piece of electrical wire, a fire extinguisher, jumper leads and a tow rope (for helping others).

(I do take a extra 009 with me with points and condenser, but that's because I don't trust the EMPI electronic ignition module any further than it can walk on it's own.)

And don't forget your driver's licence.

You should of course be taking this stuff with you when you go anywhere in any car.

[Eugene]

After dropping a valve in Aleppo, Syria:

Who is that ugly Russian looking dude...

[Pine]

Pine, you mentioned carrying an extra dizzy .. are they prone to breakdown?

Being a mechanical device, anything is possible - and you are pretty much stuck if your dizzy has some major mechanical failure. I have found that original Bosch dizzies are a lot more reliable than the new ones, though.

But what I actually meant is that it is easier to replace a complete dizzy if you have problems with the points and/or condensor. Carry a spare dizzy with the points and condensor already fitted, plus a spare rotor and dizzie cap. Replacing the entire dizzy shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes, and it beats trying to adjust the points gap in the dark next to the road. (You have to take the dizzy in the car out anyway to replace the points.)

[Dirk]

Nobody here has mentioned the most important tool you should have in any car on any trip.

Seriously, not having the tools to deal with a dropped valve is one thing.
Not having the tools to deal with a bad curry pie you ate 50km back is another.

I hereby nominate the humble bong roll as the most important tool of all time.

[bugspray]

Dirk for president!