Tool Kit Information / Recommendations?

[phuttan]

creuzern - Why would Mexicans get upset with you for pointing out that they are smart enough to realise that a crescent wrench works as good as a entire wrench set 90% of the time. Sounds like a compliment to me.

I can't add to much other than to say don't go too cheap with tools you want to depend on when a store isn't right around the.corner. Go for quality at a low price. Craftsman can last the average guy a lifetime. The cheapest set you can find may fail you in a bad situation. I wouldn't go with cheaper than Craftsman.

Plus, I also recommend a repair manual and starting to do minor stuff yourself. Think of the minor stuff as practice for bigger things.

Pat

[SteveandTracyinKY]

This forum never ceases to amaze me. I needed info, did a little digging, and tomorrow I am redoing my auto bag. Thanks for all the info gentlemen.

[LdMorgan]

A lot of good advice has been posted here. I do have a few things to add.

Hit the U-Pull-It for a humongous handful of radiator hose clamps in all sizes. Get lots of them. You can link them together if necessary and do amazing emergency repairs with them.

Get a six-inch length of old bicycle tube for making hose patches & rubber bands.

Get a big handful of metric & standard nuts and bolts, too. Keep them separate, with the nuts & washers already threaded on the bolts. Ditto fuses, light bulbs, spare wire, fuel filters, etc. All the small stuff you may need desperately on the side of the road.

Snag an complete dome light, and make your own 12V trouble light.

Carry both metric & standard sockets & wrenches. You may need to be able to work on both genders. Get a universal joint, a magnetic pickup, and an inspection mirror, too. Also one of those spring-loaded grabbers.

You can cut the bottom off one quart oil bottle, the top off another, wash them out and telescope them together. The resulting container will hold all the small stuff, and provides both a funnel and a gas-catcher at need.

Cut the tops off two gallon-size anti-freeze bottles, and you have a primo tool box, plus almost two gallons of oil-catching or water-carrying capacity. Or gas-catching capacity if you are salvaging gas from abandoned vehicles.
 
You can also use that gag for waterproof containers. Just duct-tape the seam. Great for keeping clothing clean in the trunk of a car.

Pack gloves, small towels, and a tube of Goop for cleanup.

Carry a 12V soldering iron, 5% silver solder, and rosin flux, plus a bunch of electrical connectors of all types.

Carry also a honkin' big coil of baling wire and buy a Stronghold Haywire Klamper. (See the video on YouTube.)

Pack a hacksaw & spare blades, and a cold chisel & hammer.

Carry at least one roll of Rescue Tape. (See the video on YouTube.) You need a roll for your first aid kit, too. For sure.

And duct tape & electrical tape, of course.

Carry 12" lengths of small diameter tubing so you can repair vacuum leaks, etc, plus straight connectors. A yard of heater hose can come in mighty handy, too.

Gasket sealer & thread-locker can also be useful, and don't take up much space.

[Thox Spuddy]

"lifetime guarantee" is meaningless. Quality tools are a must even more so for one who is not "handy". Cheap socket sets, wrenches often have a sloppy fit and the size imprinted on the sockets many times are near impossible to read, even in full daylight. Metric and S.A.E. can be found on the same motor, even on the same component. I once removed an alternator that was Metric on one part of the unit and S.A.E. on other end. Know which sockets/wrenches are which.

Also: carry a fluorescent orange vest.

[Hootie]

Also: carry a fluorescent orange vest.

Great idea. I can't tell you how many times a person working on a broken car at night can't be seen till I am too close.

Scares the $&@! out of me.

[bartsdad]

Hit the U-Pull-It for a humongous handful of radiator hose clamps in all sizes. Get lots of them. You can link them together if necessary and do amazing emergency repairs with them.

I buy hose clamps in the plumbing section of the big box store. They are way cheaper than buying at the auto parts store. I also like using new, and of the same brand, so they do link up together.

Lots of good info LD. 

[microdevil45]

Love the shower curtain idea.  I saw it in the pic but not mentioned but a Hammer and sometimes a BFH.   That almost always fixes things.  Also a prybar if you don't want to destroy your screwdrivers. 

[TimSuggs]

My stuff always breaks down in the middle of a monsoon, so I got 6 of those disposable rain ponchos in my "car" kit too.

Tim.