onboard auto tool kit

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Have had a Craftsman for decades that I carried in my 88 Bronco ll till now in my 2008 F 150.....any advice for a current carry on kit to replace it, most of the sockets and wrenches are rusting.....thanks

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There is not a lot you can fix on a modern car that breaks down on the road unless you have a scan tool with you as well. Why not just derust the set you have?
 
I ordered a Bluetooth dongle and got car scanner from app store. Highly recommend if you travel then this will at least tell you what is going on with your engine. You can then repair it or get it to a shop which in turn will help you from getting ripped on a trip.
 
Gorilla tape and ratchet straps... For a scenario where you are in a minor accident and you need to strap down a dragging bumper cover or side skirt while you limp home. This has happened to me several times, haven't ever done a roadside mechanical repair yet though.
 
I would focus more on safety than repairs. So flashlight, flares, first aid kit, water, candy bar. Blanket in winter. Jumper cables and tow strap.

One of those glass busting hammer combo seat belt cutter in driver door storage.
 
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Originally Posted by E365
Harbor Freight is great for this kind of situation.

I agree, although it shouldn't be too hard to piece together one's own kit from garage sales or the like. But those cheapo kits make it easy to have one in a nice (albeit short lived) blow molded box.

I have a toolkit in each vehicle. It's been used, if not on my own vehicles then in the parking lot at work or at other random places. Having both SAE and metric can be great for some random repair. Few times I've visited say the inlaws and wound up fixing a lawnmower or wheelbarrow or what have you.
 
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by E365
Harbor Freight is great for this kind of situation.


I have a toolkit in each vehicle. It's been used, if not on my own vehicles then in the parking lot at work or at other random places. Having both SAE and metric can be great for some random repair. Few times I've visited say the inlaws and wound up fixing a lawnmower or wheelbarrow or what have you.



sounds like me
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…..have most of the stuff Donald is suggesting, required with my beach buggy permit when I surf fish NJ AND I do have the AAA membership .

have 2 large bungee cords that hold the old Craftsman plastic lid on.....maybe I'll try to derust the current kit, thanks
 
Harbor Freight has a 301 piece set that I paid $160 for. Has pretty much everything to totally disassemble a car, and it's relatively compact.
 
Originally Posted by tiger862
I ordered a Bluetooth dongle and got car scanner from app store. Highly recommend if you travel then this will at least tell you what is going on with your engine. You can then repair it or get it to a shop which in turn will help you from getting ripped on a trip.

I put mine in during driving. With Torque you can customize the screen. like to look at stuff in real time like fuel trims, coolant temp, current drive cycle.. during long trips.
 
The 528e had a tool kit of open ends a plug wrench both flavor screwdriver. 17 mm crank for lug bolts ,a neat liitle jack and a folding chock. I hardly ever needed any of them, but I kept an extra 8-10 mm open end on top of the radiator. I had a small tool box and a tub of known good spares for road trips. Never needed any of it on the Borman 6. My son's '86 got some TLC in a rest stop in VA and more in Greenville SC. I lost the R side running lights in the headlight sw.. and the fix was to jump them off the left side fuse, I had terminals a crimper and some 16 awg MTW. Typical meet stuff.
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Nowadays, a code reader might be the most critical.
My Subaru came with a very basic tool kit. The Mazda came with a lovely built-in hinged panel of custom-fit clips to fit Mazda's corresponding basic tool kit---but no tools, which was pretty silly.
Besides the usual common tools, I'd recommend a length of wire with alligator clips (to bypass a bad switch, connector, or broken wire), a multimeter, and paper towels.

Some roadside emergency repairs I've done far from home:
Replace failed NEW ignition condenser in distributor (on a cold New Year's Eve in Pennsylvania, yet!),
Replace broken wire in distributor,
Replace electronic "igniter" in distributor,
Replace ignition resistor,
Bypass failed starter switch,
Flat tires,
Plug engine oil filter hole after cap broke,
Replace failed oil filter hose (very messy!).
 
Wow...I find it hard to believe some of you have never had to handle a roadside repair...almost speechless. I guess you just tow it home...or to a shop?

changed flat tires
plugged tires
spliced bad kick-stand switch (motorcycle)
wired up mufflers/exhaust
replaced starter (at a gas station)
replaced serp belt
used a paper clip to connect shift linkeage on a 5-speed cavalier
swapped relays to get my truck started (starting was more important than headlights in the daytime)
cut and spliced transmission cooler line
re-attached shift cable for my Xterra (this was my fault...happened after I rebuilt the tranny and guessing I forgot to tighten it)
replaced shift cable in a Cavalier in Walmart parking lot

...and that is just off the top of my head. Maybe I just have bad luck with vehicles???
 
Originally Posted by DriveHard
Wow...I find it hard to believe some of you have never had to handle a roadside repair...almost speechless. I guess you just tow it home...or to a shop?

changed flat tires
plugged tires
spliced bad kick-stand switch (motorcycle)
wired up mufflers/exhaust
replaced starter (at a gas station)
replaced serp belt
used a paper clip to connect shift linkeage on a 5-speed cavalier
swapped relays to get my truck started (starting was more important than headlights in the daytime)
cut and spliced transmission cooler line
re-attached shift cable for my Xterra (this was my fault...happened after I rebuilt the tranny and guessing I forgot to tighten it)
replaced shift cable in a Cavalier in Walmart parking lot

...and that is just off the top of my head. Maybe I just have bad luck with vehicles???


Or maybe you were driving beaters back in the day???
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by DriveHard
Wow...I find it hard to believe some of you have never had to handle a roadside repair...almost speechless. I guess you just tow it home...or to a shop?

changed flat tires
plugged tires
spliced bad kick-stand switch (motorcycle)
wired up mufflers/exhaust
replaced starter (at a gas station)
replaced serp belt
used a paper clip to connect shift linkeage on a 5-speed cavalier
swapped relays to get my truck started (starting was more important than headlights in the daytime)
cut and spliced transmission cooler line
re-attached shift cable for my Xterra (this was my fault...happened after I rebuilt the tranny and guessing I forgot to tighten it)
replaced shift cable in a Cavalier in Walmart parking lot

...and that is just off the top of my head. Maybe I just have bad luck with vehicles???


Or maybe you were driving beaters back in the day???
lol.gif



7 of them were in the last two years...I admit most were on my daughters 2008 Ford Taurus.
 
Oh how I remember those Caviler
On side of road repairs were many. I replaced water pump, thermostat, wired fuel pump direct, battery etc
Wife loved car I hated it. Drove from Atlanta to Louisiana many times and always had enough tools to do an engine swap. Oh I forgot we go to Louisiana and transmission quit pulling so I replaced transmission while visiting family. Changed in in driveway then drove back to Atlanta.
 
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