Trunk Carry - or - What tools and items should you always carry in the car?

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Originally Posted by Michael

Jeez, how condesending can you be? Does anyone here need a training course to use a socket set? Basic tools can turn a 3 hour tow ordeal and maybe a ruined night into a quick pit stop. Everyone should have them(unless that is you are an idiot when it comes to the mysteries of a Phillips head driver).


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I was not trying to be condescending. Perhaps I should have worded it better. Knowing how to use tools is not the same as diagnosing a problem and deciding on a repair. To diagnose a problem you must understand the system that is not functioning properly and know what to do to make it work properly. Tools are only a part of the solution. The key is the knowledge. If you don't have that all of the tools in the word are not going to help you. Not every owner possesses the necessary knowledge to do repairs whether in their garage or "on the road".

Well when an alternator belt breaks I will not only have the parts(I keep a spare one of those too) but the tools and the elusive knowledge to change that belt without waiting for a tow and/or the shop to open the next day(provided it's not a weekend or holiday). Same goes if a coolant hose clamp comes loose, or removing the air cleaner to get the car started during a hot start issue once, or if I need to swap out a fuel pump while in Gatlinburg on a Saturday afternoon(did that too).

I'm no DeLorean expert, but those basic tools and that jedi like knowledge that I somehow must posses by sheer accident saved my ass more than once. It doesn't take an expert a lot of times, just a little common sense to make a weekend trip over the mountain into Gatlinburg a little hiccup rather than completely ruining the Harrah's Casino trip and it kept my car out of whatever second rate garage Cherokee NC had to offer.

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This was the list I made when I first bought the car, and I still carry almost everything on it. Minus the spare alternator and fuel pump which I never got around to picking up although probably wouldn't be a bad idea, and the battery charger which I substituted with plain old jumper cables, and the bottle of Coke which I heard from the guy who had it on his list that it was just for use with carbs. Plus chocks and jack stands, an infrared thermometer, a borescope, a set of crimpers and wire terminals and a couple of rolls of wire. Also a thermostat, ignition coil and cold start valve that I'd had replaced but turned out not to actually be bad so I kept the old ones just in case.

After busting a shock last summer I've stopped carrying the service jack and associated accouterments around on a daily basis but I still take it with me on long trips. I've still got the original tire jack so I figure it'll do if I get a flat in town.

I carry nearly all my tools with me. The most important has been the trusty 13mm open end wrench and a spare alternator belt.

I've become superstitious that NOT having my tools in the car at all times will cause parts to start failing.

For me it depends on the trip.

I carry my spare OE fuel pump. I replaced it 17 years ago as a preventative measure. It still works and I’ve bailed out a buddy with it when his non - bosch aftermarket Hervey pump crapped out on him.

A spare alternator belt.

A gallon of 50/50 coolant

Jumper cables

Tools to change the FP

11” X 17” laminated color wire schematic. I also have a scanned copy on my phone.

Spare fuses and a couple jumpers.

12V test light for diagnostics or DVM.

All of this is stored in the Spare tire well. I stopped carrying the spare 10 years ago.

Car cleaning stuff if going to a show event.


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