17 replies to this topic

[Minitrio]

Hi All,

I am currently putting together an emergency breakdown toolbox, to sit in the back of my '91 988. I am a member of the AA (other breakdown services are available), but sometimes its a quick 15 minute (in theory, reality can differ) fix, instead of waiting for over an hour or so for a van to turn up.

 

So I was just wondering what people had in their emergency toolboxes?

[fwdracer]

1/2", 3/8", 9/16" & 7/16" spanners. Mini LED torch. Mini side cutter plier. Leatherman. Fan belt. Cable ties including big f-off strong one. All goes in the Jack bag. 

Edited by fwdracer, 04 July 2016 - 02:17 PM.

[ger]

As above + selection of fuses, various insulated crimps and crimp tool, tube of instant gasket/hylomar, flashlight, set of points (if you still use them), rotor arm, dizzy cap, fanbelt, various bulbs, spark plugs and spark plug spanner, flasher unit/hazard flasher unit, reel of gaffa tape, cable ties (various lengths) and a petrol can.

 

Ger

Edited by ger, 04 July 2016 - 11:55 AM.

[purple_fly06]

Gloves and paper towel are a must!

 

and some gloves with padding are handy to stop you catching your knuckles on the floor when jacking the car up.

[ukcooper]

Don't bother carrying tools, aa card and parts you need the aa have the tools but no parts.

[monkey]

These threads make me giggle, some people seem to carry and entire spares department and fully kitted workshop in the boot!

Surly performance and MPG must take a hit!

I mean I don't want to knock anyone, but if you maintain your car regularly and properly then you shouldn't need things like spark plugs and dizzy caps and rotor arms

Indicator flasher and bulbs etc, unless you are hours away from home you should be able to get home - it's unlikely for all bulbs to fail.

All I carry is my mobile with breakdown cover - I pay them so I'll use it!

It's a pretty dangerous task repairing a car roadside, even if I did carry a full tool kit and spares, there's not many roads I would like to work alongside!

I like to think I maintain my mini well and (touch wood) it's no less reliable than the modern cars and vans I drive, and I don't carry spares/tools with them.

Just my two cents.

[Minitrio]

These threads make me giggle, some people seem to carry and entire spares department and fully kitted workshop in the boot!

Surly performance and MPG must take a hit!

I mean I don't want to knock anyone, but if you maintain your car regularly and properly then you shouldn't need things like spark plugs and dizzy caps and rotor arms

Indicator flasher and bulbs etc, unless you are hours away from home you should be able to get home - it's unlikely for all bulbs to fail.

All I carry is my mobile with breakdown cover - I pay them so I'll use it!

It's a pretty dangerous task repairing a car roadside, even if I did carry a full tool kit and spares, there's not many roads I would like to work alongside!

I like to think I maintain my mini well and (touch wood) it's no less reliable than the modern cars and vans I drive, and I don't carry spares/tools with them.

Just my two cents.

I could agree more, but my mini is a daily driver and I'm not frightened to drive it for a hundred mile or more trip.

Having driven to the Derbyshire dales and unfortunately broken down, due to a set of points failing with a broken wire and having no points to replace them with, I called the 4th Emergency Service. Unfortunately being in the middle of nowhere, with no phone signal, it proved a little harder. When I eventually got a phone signal, they turned up an hour and half later, spent an hour trying to carry out a roadside repair, it failed and I had to be recovered using 2 different relay trucks and ended up being an 11 hour trip home. The AA don't carry the basic parts and even with my regular maintenance, it was an impossible breakdown to predict.

So simply to cover, that unpredictable situation, I decide to put together a what if long journey recovery kit

[smurfomatic]

I have quite extensive sets of spares / kit. Spanners, sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, spare alternator belt, can of petrol etc.

etc.

 

 

I mean I don't want to knock anyone, but if you maintain your car regularly and properly then you shouldn't need things like spark plugs and dizzy caps and rotor arms

 

 

Funny you should say this, a few weeks ago the car suddenly started running really badly while I was a fair distance from home. Turns out one of the terminals on a spark plug had vanished, meaning it was only running on 3 cylinders. Fortunately, as I had a spare set of plugs it meant I didn't have to call out the breakdown service or limp the car 40 miles home.

[KernowCooper]

Obviously for me Jumper wire various lengths with croc clips on and a Multimeter, + various tools and cable ties and tape

[fwdracer]

All these clever b*lloxs-Mobile phone and an AA card, clearly a generation thing (For the record - I'm 40 . Self help? Errrrrrrrrrrrrr, areas of really poor phone reception? You know, like the sort of areas where you really might enjoy driving your Mini....

[monkey]

All these clever b*lloxs-Mobile phone and an AA card, clearly a generation thing (For the record - I'm 40 . Self help? Errrrrrrrrrrrrr, areas of really poor phone reception? You know, like the sort of areas where you really might enjoy driving your Mini....

Lol I'm 30, maybe mobile signal is better where I am :-P

Out of interest I assume that if you guys have a "modern" car you carry a shed load of spares in that too?

Maybe it is a generational thing, or maybe I'm just lucky and have reliable cars 😜

Last time I broke down the roll pin came out of the gear shift, maybe I need to carry a jack and axle stands 🙃

[fwdracer]

From a reliable car, to one that the roll pin falls out of, in the space of two sentences in a post. I'd start packing an emergency bag

[blacktulip]

I carry a roll of spanners with a pozi and flat screwdriver, pliers, electrical tape and a couple of long cable ties. It all rolls up nicely and fits in the passenger side rear bin.

[Dusky]

I cary a spanner set, screwdrivers and a jack and tyre foot pump.

[monkey]

From a reliable car, to one that the roll pin falls out of, in the space of two sentences in a post. I'd start packing an emergency bag

Don't know what sort of emergency bag would have sorted me out there, like I say, should I carry a pair of axle stands and a decent jack? 😜

It's the only thing that has failed on the car and the only other time a mini has ever let me down roadside was a head gasket and I'll be damned if I'm doing a head gasket at the roadside lol