List of things that fit in a corner of the trunk or backend of a mustang in a gym bag that over the years either were or would have been instrumental in self rescue in the event of a breakdown
Jump box or jumper cables or both
fire extinguisher (maybe in plain sight)
Code scanner and spare 9v battery!
test light or spare 12v light with socket and wire
Basic set of metric and sae sockets and wrenches
vise grip
hammer
screw drivers
small bolt cutter (cuts stuck ebrake cables)
Rebar tie wire- works great to wire stuff up
zip ties - same
electrical tape - well, you know
20-30' 14 gauge wire and misc connectors - well you know
butane solder pencil and butane and rosin solder - obvious
1/4" vacuum line - insulator or other uses
spare brake line hoses
spare brake pad or two (crappy glued on junk these days!)
extra inner and outer wheel bearing and seal
high temp gease
misc hose clamps - obvious
spare fuses
spare fusible link
starter relay - has lots of uses, even running headlights in a pinch
headlight switch and dimmer switch if you want
spare belt - your old one is fine
distributor to coil wire - saves needing the OL hose and wire trick
distrubutor rotor - obvious
WD40 in case under the cap gets wet plus other purposes
86 and up - ignition module and correct sized socket
fuel pump and screen
fuel inertia switch
fuel pump relay - obvious
fuel filter
greasable U joint and grease gun
flexible universal radiator hose and clamps
metal heater hose sized male/male nipple - "heater core bypass kit"
Wheel blocks - aka 2x4's unless you're fancy
Consider 1-2 jack stands
consider floor jack
1 liter bottle of gas stored inside larger insulated container
extra oil
radiator stop leak
50/50 antifreeze
Old 2 liter bottle smashed flat for just in case
10w90 gear lube
brake fluid
ATF and suction gun (for ps and trans)
rear transmission seal
radiator cap
thermostat and high tack and gasket
properly inflated spare tire
a few misc bolts and nuts
lug wrench
Consider extra clutch cable
consider extra throttle cable, especially if automatic (manuals can crank up idle)
Spare ECU that matches yours or will "work"
In over 25 years and nearly 400K miles of motoring I've personally done in my Mustang that list encompasses everything I can think of that I've ever needed to fix minor breakdowns beside the road.
It's not and end all list
- I had a transmission fully fail which still would have required a tow.
- I've had a clutch disc break in the center hub or explode which would have required a tow.
- I've limped home with broken motor mounts
- I've limped home a leaking water pump
- head gaskets sometimes let go
- engines on rare occasion give up the gusto
- rear diffs sometimes just explode instead of getting noisy
Some of this crap is getting hard to find. You can't just walk into the parts store and ask for the parts
Please contribute.
The goal is a pack that shouldn't take up more than a bag used for football helmet and pads and save your bacon without a phone a friend 99% of the time
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