Spare Parts for Cars

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I am a klutz when it comes to cars. Besides fuel (duh), what would be good to keep around next year? I'm thinking oil change stuff, plugs ... what else?

I'm hoping to have an extra set of tires for my car and truck as well.

How about simple tools for minor car repair?

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), July 12, 1999

Answers

BD, I'm going to get an extra 12 volt battery. I'd also recommend trying to get a spare tire mounted on a second hand rim. My Honda only comes with a space saver spare. I personally would not be able to take an old tire off the rim and put the new tire on the rim. I'd also look into tire repair kits and equipment.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), July 12, 1999.

Adjustable fan belts
Compressed air tire repair in a can
tire hand pump
hoses and clamps
a case of two of your weight oil
air and oil filters
anti=freeze
wrenches and screwdrives to do the work

You will find there are many simple tasks that most individuals can handle. Necessity is the mother of invention.....and when we are in a "corner" we will surprise ourselves.

We should visit an auto supply and shop as we do at the grocery.

-- rb (ronbanks_2000@yahoo.com), July 12, 1999.


If car is maybe 4 or 5 years old (mine is seven): get belts and hoses changed in fall, or at least checked. As well as a general tune-up.

Duct tape, electrical tape, various size hose clamps for leaking hose repair and general fixes.

As said above; tire repair kit and extra rubber cement (thats what tire repair kits use besides the plugs) for radial tires.

"Heat" or other fuel dryer in case gasoline quality not good.

Antifreeze/Coolant.

A variety pack of those plug-in fuses --- they seldom go out but can do so randomly.

WD40 for rusty parts, improving electrical contact --- maybe some "Gumout" or other carburator cleaner.

Tools: Screwdiver and pliers first, then ratchet wrench and set of sockets (SAE and metric). Hammer to kill it if all else fails.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), July 12, 1999.


Greybear list from when he lived a long way from town:

Upper and lower radiator hoses. And any other little tiny pesky little hoses that are generally hell to change and seem to fail more often than the main hoses.

Regular fan belts (not the adjustable)

Lots of fuses.

Headlight and tail light bulbs.

3-4 cans of the tire fixer. Sometimes 1 won't do it.

Extra antifreeze.

Extra power steering fluid.

Extra autiomatic transmission fluid.

Wheel bearing grease.

Oklahoma credit-card.

Gas Cans.

Hydraulic jack and tractor jack.

Chains or nylon tow straps.

Come-a-long.

Axe and shovel.

Road Flares.

Flashlight.

And the obvious: duct tape, filament tape, several sizes of wire.

And more that I can remember now. Guess I should go inventor my van.

-Greybear

-- Got stuff?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), July 12, 1999.


EXTRA KEYS

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), July 12, 1999.


For everything:)

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), July 13, 1999.

Shop manual. Chains (thin wire European type), Rain-X for the windshield (you can drive in a downpour with no working wipers). Slime for the tires. This is a product available in bike stores to eliminate flats- Slime is also available in automotive sizes, although I have not used it. Prestone makes a portable battery for $110, at Sears. It will jump your car, also has a jack that with an inverter can supply energy to household appliances. Combination tools that Craftsman makes. Robo-grips, cutters, and instant-sizing wrench. Radio Shack wire ties. Roof rack and trailer hitch. Slick 50 additive for the engine. Anti-freeze tester. Battery charger. Hope this helps.

-- Tom (retro50@agapeis.net), July 13, 1999.

Emergancy Bug out Bag in auto: energy bars, drinking water (also enough for radiator), candy, dried fruit, map or atlas, compass, small change and small bills of cash, prepaid phone cards, a couple of blank checks, rope, list of phone numbers, tow truck numbers, emergancy blankets, (we carry wool coats/gloves/etc in winter that stay strictly in the auto), puzzel and word game books, reading material and pens/pencils flashlight with extra batteries, road flares, matches, firestarter, white material for a breakdown flag, and pepper spray or prefered self defense. I believe we have an automobile BOB list in the archieves? I think I remember a suggestion to premake a banner to put on windshield or rear window "Call 911 please." with duct tape of course.

Winter driving: Sand for traction, salt and tire chains. Also for those of us lazies that run out and burn fuel to defrost, if fuel is short, we may want to invest in a scrapper (or at least a piece of card board to put over windshield the night before :-)

Also spare wiper blades; and I am not sure what you call it, "block seal" that you put in the radiator? We got almost 40,000 more miles out of our Escort for a $9.00 can of this stuff.

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), July 13, 1999.


Buy an older car in good shape. The most popular U.S. models have very cheap parts, they are also very simple. I think every auto parts store in the U.S. would have basic parts for a 74 Nova, or 76 Dodge Dart. There are 1000 of junk yards with very useable parts to.

What would You rather work on a 1970 or a 1990 car?

-- Greenthumb G.I. (greenthumb@i.g.i.), July 13, 1999.


Run a second battery in your car in parallel.

sniffin'

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), July 13, 1999.



Regarding buying an older car, why not buy an older truck???

1963-79 Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge pickup.... Millions of them in the junkyard... parts are dirt cheap... plus they can carry your STUFF...

gettin' breakfast....

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), July 13, 1999.


I didnt see a spare alternator on the list....

lickin' my chops,

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), July 13, 1999.


OUr cars are all of the same make and vintage- we have 2 that we drive, 2 more that work but are in the shed, and 3 parts cars that sit out and are slowly being disassembled. I keep most of the spare supplies that have been mentioned on hand, and the extra cars give me lots of every kind of spare part. The oldest of the cars is a 1981 and the newest are 1985. The cost between $100 and $900 dollars each, and averaged around $300 each. I have factory, haynes, and other shop manuals for them, and m ost tools that I need to do repairs short of special transmission tools. They all have manual transmissions and good clutches. I would guess that my total investment for all 7 cars and specialized tools is under $3500, and they give us reliable transportation. Too bad that my pickup doesn't share parts, but it doesn't get anywhere near the use of the cars. A small car with a rooftop carrier can haul a lot! My opinion- get an older car, so you can afford 2 of them so you have a backup for parts. Jim

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), July 13, 1999.

I'd forget about stockpiling car parts altogether. Think embedded microprocessors in your vehicle, the refineries shutting down, the gasoline tanker trucks not working (and not running if they did), the gov't taking all of the fuel that does get made, it not being safe to drive around, not having anywhere to go if you did drive, not being able to afford fuel because your employer is bankrupt (and what money you have needs to go for food anyway), etc., etc. Buy a bicycle, walking shoes/boots, and (if you live in the north half of the U.S.) some snowshoes. Sorry if this isn't exactly what you were asking for in an answer. Yours in preparation.

www.y2ksafeminnesota.com

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), July 13, 1999.


I was one of those people that you probably saw on the news in the mid-seventies, lined up around the block on alternating odd/even days, waiting for gasoline. If you didn't have a locking gas cap, you'd be lucky if you had a tank of gas in the morning, and I lived in a 'good' neighborhood. You can bet a locking gas cap is at the top of my list. I've thought about picking extras up for trade, bet they're gonna be pretty hard to find when you need one.

-- flora (***@__._), July 13, 1999.


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