So what do you carry for spare parts (and.. how my spare parts saved my night)

cableguymn · Mar 7, 2012

Made my first pickup tonight and heard what I thought was belt squeak. This van and I had been going rounds with belt noise since the day I got it. I had it licked for about 7000 miles till tonight. Figured I'd look at it in the morning.

Get to my first drop and the squeak is now more of a high pitched deer whistle.. (Rut ro...) Shut the engine off, load the plane and restart the engine to move away from the plane. Now it's obvious by the noise that a pulley has stopped turning. I move the van the 300 feet or so it takes to get to where I can park. I have 35 minutes before the next plane lands and I have to be on the road again.

I leap in to action. Tools? Check, spare pulley? dig though the box.. I know there is one in there because I replaced it as PM when I bought the van.. Find it. Open the hood.. Belt is worn through.. grab spare belt from under the hood by the battery.

Old belt off, old pulley (HOT HOT HOT HOT OUCH!!!) off.. dropped it on the ground.. New (used) pulley on. Belt routed. engine started all good.

I still waited 15 minutes for the plane to land and come to the ramp.

So.. What other spare parts should I (we) be carrying? I have a complete selection of bulbs and fuses (minus the headlights.. to darn big). I try to keep small, easy to replace items in my box that can mean rolling, or stranded.

I have a coil, cap/rotor/longest 2 plug wires/2 new spark plugs (from my last tune up) fuel filter, oil filter, belt, belt tensioner, idler pulley (well... Tomorrow it will be replaced), crank sensor and a hose repair kit (heater and radiator) not duct tape but connectors and clamps. I also carry 1 gallon of unmixed coolant (water is easy to find) and 1 gallon of oil (supply fluctuates as the van uses it) and a spare wiper blade.

I also have a can of Jig-a-clean and jig-a-lube.. Jig-a-clean is a completely waterless/toweless had cleaner and it works fairly well. Well enough to get my hands clean after dealing with my issue tonight.

skyraider · Mar 7, 2012

cableguymn said:
Made my first pickup tonight and heard what I thought was belt squeak. This van and I had been going rounds with belt noise since the day I got it. I had it licked for about 7000 miles till tonight. Figured I'd look at it in the morning.

Get to my first drop and the squeak is now more of a high pitched deer whistle.. (Rut ro...) Shut the engine off, load the plane and restart the engine to move away from the plane. Now it's obvious by the noise that a pulley has stopped turning. I move the van the 300 feet or so it takes to get to where I can park. I have 35 minutes before the next plane lands and I have to be on the road again.

I leap in to action. Tools? Check, spare pulley? dig though the box.. I know there is one in there because I replaced it as PM when I bought the van.. Find it. Open the hood.. Belt is worn through.. grab spare belt from under the hood by the battery.

Old belt off, old pulley (HOT HOT HOT HOT OUCH!!!) off.. dropped it on the ground.. New (used) pulley on. Belt routed. engine started all good.

I still waited 15 minutes for the plane to land and come to the ramp.

So.. What other spare parts should I (we) be carrying? I have a complete selection of bulbs and fuses (minus the headlights.. to darn big). I try to keep small, easy to replace items in my box that can mean rolling, or stranded.

I have a coil, cap/rotor/longest 2 plug wires/2 new spark plugs (from my last tune up) fuel filter, oil filter, belt, belt tensioner, idler pulley (well... Tomorrow it will be replaced), crank sensor and a hose repair kit (heater and radiator) not duct tape but connectors and clamps. I also carry 1 gallon of unmixed coolant (water is easy to find) and 1 gallon of oil (supply fluctuates as the van uses it) and a spare wiper blade.

I also have a can of Jig-a-clean and jig-a-lube.. Jig-a-clean is a completely waterless/toweless had cleaner and it works fairly well. Well enough to get my hands clean after dealing with my issue tonight.

Wow, u r prepared, dont forget the tranny jack,o2 sensor removal tool,and rearend seal, just kid n.

chefdennis · Mar 7, 2012

Nothing in this van at this time......well, yea bulbs including headlight bulbs (i dont have sealed beam lamps) fuses, case of oil and 2 oil filters, 1 air filter, 2 qts Trans fluid and a gallon of coolant, thats it....any other repairs, tow it to the dealer, its still under warranty...

My 05 GMC CV, basically the same stuff as you, plus 2 ft hubs....But there is a driver in that van now, and any repairs that are needed are on him, so i don't know what he has anymore..I know he is a certified diesel mechanic and can rebulit the thing if he needed, so i am not concerned...

Oh and both vans have a 2 ton floor jack...the new van does not have a spare...

OntarioVanMan · Mar 7, 2012

Couple pulleys, belt tensioner and a belt....and some coolants and bulbs.....AAA is a great thing to have

Steady Eddie · Mar 7, 2012

Belts, pullies, Oil Filter, Oil, Oil container for used Oil, Alt, Starter, Bulbs, Tool Bag for all things Sprinter, and a few other things. Needed that starter once, glad I had one. A can of Brake Cleanner for the EGR Value.

Moot · Mar 7, 2012

All I carry these days is the Mootco Miracle Chair™. The Mootco Miracle Chair™ is a chair, hand truck, wheelchair, spare tire, Johnson bar, upper body exerciser and your ticket to that coveted blue parking spot right at the front door of your favorite truck stop. It also slices, dices, makes mounds of julienne fries in minutes, safely removes tarnish from sterling, silver plate, copper, brass, gold, even platinum. And it really, really works. Order now and receive both foot rests absolutely free! Mention my name and receive a free pink wheel chock.
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RMPM01 · Mar 7, 2012

LOL, you forgot too add " but just wait, if you order now..."

In my CV i keep: front and back bulbs, license plate bulbs( since a nice Texas State Trooper stooped me just for that, funny story but I wont go into that) alt, tool bag, extra spear tire (no rim) fuses + couple cans of spam.

Turtle · Mar 7, 2012

cableguymn said:
... I also carry 1 gallon of unmixed coolant (water is easy to find)...

You'd think that, but not having water, or mixed coolant, when you need it, can turn a simple 5 or 10 minute problem into a 3 or 4 hour ordeal, all because you've got to go track down some distilled water.

cableguymn · Mar 11, 2012

Turtle said:
You'd think that, but not having water, or mixed coolant, when you need it, can turn a simple 5 or 10 minute problem into a 3 or 4 hour ordeal, all because you've got to go track down some distilled water.

(do you really think they mix it with distilled water)

I worked in a shop for 20 years.. "distilled water" came out of the end of our garden hose.

1 gallon of coolant, is all I have ever needed after replacing a hose. Does it fill it all the way? No. but enough to drive it unless your in death valley.

Turtle · Mar 11, 2012

Don't know who "they" are, but I'm quite sure many of them don't, just as I'm sure many of them do. Just depends on the water. If it's hard water (ionized, full of minerals), like it is here, dealers and shops mostly use either distilled water or they have water filters on their mains to prevent the hard water from denaturing the coolant. If your water isn't hard then unfiltered right out of the tap is fine. Most coolants today have enough corrosion and scale inhibitors that even modestly hard water isn't a problem. I carry a gallon or two of premixed with distilled, because I never know what kind of water I may run into while out on the road.