Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 20:31:57 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Minimal vanagon support kit
In-Reply-To: <9f4608e90909061357s16bfa8c1i7b9d58e609170592@mail.gmail.co m>
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Dear Al,
At 04:57 PM 9/6/2009, Al Knoll wrote:
>For our aging road divas, I'm sure volks have the minimum support kit they
>keep always available in their diva...er van.
>
>What's in yours? Duct tape, WD40 and what else?
--> Soft iron wire, either mechanic's wire or the stuff they sell to
wire cyclone fencing to the posts <--
Something to twist it tight with, Leatherman usually -- because I
wear it usually.
At least a dozen or so 8-inch black Thomas and Betts Ty-Raps, the
fancy kind with the steel insert and no serrations because they're
very strong. I have a tensioner for them (cheap-type), not sure it
would get permanent room in the van.
Good-quality (Channelock 908) stripper-crimpers and some assorted
crimps -- butt, ring lug assorted ring sizes, faston lug both
sexes. Yellow and blue at least, preferably red ones as well. Good
quality, nylon cover if possible for the fastons.
At least a bit of medium wire, say #14. Can double or triple up if needed.
Fuses and spare bulbs including one side's worth for headlight (don't
have headlight ones yet for the new one)
Small multimeter and clip for at least one lead Incidentally Mueller
makes some gorgeous things that can grab anything from #24 or smaller
to at least the head of an 8 mm, maybe 10 mm or more bolt. But they
cost $13 apiece or more, without a lead (female banana plug end pretty sure).
12-v test light with a hook on the end so you can if necessary feed
it into a bundle, get behind the wire and punch the point in from in
front. Bought one recently, don't remember where. 15 feet or so of
#18-20 stranded wire with clip on one end and tinned end on the other
so either test light or voltmeter can use it to extend reach.
Digitool or equal if I had one
Electrical tape, high quality (Scotch 33 or eq)
Self-adhering silicone stretch tape. Dunno yet if it's good for
coolant problems but electrical tape for sure isn't. Silicone with
duct tape over might be great. Actually the rubber tape with
friction tape over it old-style electrical stuff might be even
better, and easier to deal with. The silicone stuff is a royal PIA
to get stretched enough to bond quickly, and to keep it clean while
you do. The rubber stuff doesn't need to be quite so clean, and I
think is cheaper to boot.
Vacuum gauge
Stethoscope
Two lightweight plastic wheel chocks
Long #4 or #6 jumper cables, can't remember if 12 or 16 feet.
Larger foot for tire jack in case it's soft ground. (bit of plywood)
Three road triangles in red case -- Napa under $30 for excellent
ones, case not so great.
3A-40BC fire extinguisher with metal safety pin or with plastic one
held in with 4" lightweight "Ty-rap" -- no problem at all for someone
who's excited to burst. The little break-off ends on the plastic
pins are too fragile. The substantial plastic thing I've seen with
two short legs should be fine by itself.
Ignition switch
Headlight switch (don't have it yet).
Throttle cable, though no doubt I'll install it at some point and use
the original for backup instead.
Voltage regulator
Usually a fuel filter, the little square one. Never lived with the
big aluminum one before, Bentley claims it's permanent. It's big,
that's for sure.
Usually one each spare belt. The ones in the FLAPS tend to be 11mm
wide instead of 10 which is why the ones they list don't actually
fit, they're too short because they ride higher in the sheave.
Coolant pressure cap (don't have yet)
Some bits of various-size braid-cover hose.
Some small-to medium hose clamps. All hose clamps other than
extremely small ones have to be the German type with a stamped thread
on the band, instead of little holes forming the thread. VW hoses
definitely don't like the US-style clamps, they get cut.
Exhaust paste (Victor) Unlike any other I've used, it works easily,
sets up like a rock, and if a leak is wound with above-mentioned soft
wire first can stop a substantial leak. Yellow tube, don't remember
exact name. Maybe exhaust gaskets, they sometimes shred out from the
inside and quit working -- but the paste can be helpful with that if
necessary, you work it down into the slot and then if it's bad
confine the joint with the soft iron wire. Wash hands afterward,
it's slightly irritating to skin (got some instant very-bad-magic
gummint-issue voodoo engine-killer in it). And don't wait, it dries
out pretty fast, easier to wash off before that.
Assortment of hex hardware in 8.8-grade 6,8,10 mm.
Tire gauge
Compressor
Plug-type repair kit with Tee handles (Victor)
Shortened 6-mm hex key for water pump. That's the already-short end
that needs further shortening.
Shortened ?8? mm hex key for Bilstein shocks if indicated.
8 mm triple-square bit for CV joints.
Right-angle screwdriver for voltage regulator.
Smallish tee-headed pin for probing and adjusting washer jets. Lives
in the headliner by the visor.
Nutdrivers for the couple common sizes of hose-clamp hex heads -- six
and I think seven mm. Easier and less likely to mung the head than
using a screwdriver, especially taking them off -- sometimes they
rust up pretty tight.
Maybe spring-clamp pliers for flat-spring type, Napa "heavy-duty"
version #SER3444 ~$30 -- the regular one won't catch the big cooling
clamps and this one barely will. I'm certainly carrying it now until
all the cooling questions are sorted out. Some folks like screw
clamps better than the original spring-type but I don't.
Other tools -- I'll have to do some heavy duty remembering, it's been
a long time. But you can get surprisingly far with #2 and #3
Phillips screwdrivers, a few different-shaped (open, box, angled-box
and 3/8-drive sockets ideally six-point) wrenches in lessee, 10 mm,
12 for a few things, 13 mm, 15 mm, possibly 14 but I don't think so
-- maybe on the alternator mounting bolt nut? -- my current one is 13
on each end; a 3/8" drive ratchet handle with three (half-inch,
three-inch, six-inch, something like that) extensions and a u-joint
adapter, and a 3/8-drive beam-type torque wrench. This last is
important and unless you're used to working on aluminum it's vital
unless you enjoy putting in Helicoils.
I seem to recall that an S-shape or perhaps half-moon 13 mm box
wrench is pretty handy on the J-pipe ends, maybe a few other
places. A stubby ratchet could be a minor convenience, and a
1/4-drive socket set with ratchet and extensions is a good thing and
not very big. Metric, of course. There may be more I haven't
thought of. There are at least a few hex keys that would be useful,
maybe 4,6,8 mm at least. I never bothered to really think and pare
the other tools down much, but I intend to with this van, not least
because there's pitifully little closed storage. But I'd throw this
in and sight-unseen go a good way with it without worrying too much, I think.
Oil filter and as much of one fill of oil as is easily practical --
I've seen two filters get a rust pinhole and start squirting, one on
my Vanagon and the other a Subaru. Filter wrench if possible, though
stabbing with a screwdriver ought to do in extremis.
0 or 1 gallon of 50/50 coolant, or one 50/50 and one or two
full-strength if I'm gravely suspicious.
Anything that I think is shaky but haven't dealt with yet and you
can't get on the streetcorner assuming I can afford it. -- right now
that includes a water pump and a bunch of coolant hoses that I'll be
sorry about if I get a Zetec right after; but I had six events
classifiable as coolant blowouts in three months after I started
driving it in April (bought February) and the sheave on the water
pump is starting to tilt.
How's that for a start, Mr. Cane Rattler? I don't necessarily carry
all these things strictly all the time, but if I'm going any distance
I do with caveats as indicated. And as I said, it's been a very
long time since I've done much with one, so I've probably forgotten something.
Yours,
David
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