Minimum Tools

[onething]

I have a tool bag for the Miata that stays in the AX trailer and weighs about 20 pounds.

Besides the duct tape and WD40, if you were putting together a 5 pound max tool bag to live in your Miata what would be in it?

Spanner
Multi-tip screwdriver

[POS Racing]

OBDII Scanner and a Cell Phone.

[wrx74]

AAA card and cell phone (w/ car charger)

[POS Racing]

Jedidiah on an newer miata what are you thinking your going to be able to fix if it dies?

Are you also going to bring along a compliment of belts, hoses, and sensors?

What are you doing to the car prior to your big adventure?

[POS Racing]

BTW. Make sure all the tools are Snap On!

[jrj512]

Pliers, regular and needlenose.

Maybe a socket wrench with 10, 12, and 14 sockets.

[J8635621]

Duct tape and WD40 take care of pretty much everything on their own. Maybe a nice can of beer and some ice for the rest of the weight limit.

[ken o]

I got one of those dog bone multi-size wrenches and found it to be too tight to fit into most places.

[modernbeat]

I've got the OEM toolbag that came in the Euro spec cars. The contents are: stock 21mm lug wrench, small cheater pipe with one end crimped for use as a 16mm socket (why?), combination 8mm-10mm and 12mm-14mm open end wrenches, pliers, A screwdriver with a two-sided bit for both standard and phillips.

If I were to put together a kit, it would have an adjustable wrench, a 3/8 drive ratchet with a 2" extension and short sockets for 8, 10, 12 and 14mm, small needle nose pliers, regular sized slip joint pliers, a length of wire and a handful of Scotch locks (for temporary use), a roll of plumber's tape and a length of bailing wire (rebar tie wire), heavy duty side cutters, sheetmetal screws, a screwdriver from Home Depot with a double-double ended bit that has large and small phillips and standard and is also a 1/4" and 5/16" nut driver when the bits are removed, tire plug tools, some random 10mm bolts-nuts-washers, and gorilla tape.

But why? Are you planning on making roadside repairs? When was the last time you had to stop driving because a Miata needed a repair that could have been fixed without spare parts?

I'll throw the socket set, multi-headed screwdriver and some better wrenches in my toolkit before I leave on a long trip this week. But not much else.

[onething]

Thank you modernbeat.

All comments are read. Constructive comments are appreciated.

[wrx74]

Ok, then, any and all the above + Rogue's phone number!

[Dudley Dawson]

I used to keep a small metric socket set and a screwdriver with reversible bits in my old car, but that was mainly so my tools wouldn't walk away or get lost. Never had to use them on the side of the road, and when that car got stolen I didn't bother to replace the tools.

I guess some epoxy might be handy if you crack an OEM radiator, and a spare alternator belt wouldn't take up too much space.

[shortshift]

Perhaps two wrenchs in the 10mm, 13mm 14mm and 17mm sizes. One of each can be a socket and the others combination wrenches.

[Dave04]

I'd also throw in a roll of THIS STUFF. It will plug a blown radiator/heater hose in a pinch and get you going again. It's small and light too, so it should fit in your requirements for the kit.

[onething]

Does that stuff really work? Have you used it?

[jrj512]

One more thing -- an old jacket or sweatshirt. I've had to bust mine out several times for myself and to loan to others.

[Rob®]

When I had the FM2 kit of my car, I made sure to have a wrench that fit the piping couplers' clamps. I used it all the time. Any other break down I had caused by the turbo stuff required a tow, so any other tools would have been useless. And I certainly wasn't about to pull the turbo on the side of the road to get to a water line or whatever even if I had all the needed tools.

Then I used to have just a generic socket set in the trunk of the Miata (read: $6 Walmart kit). I only bought it because my negative battery terminal magically loosened when I was parked there grocery shopping. Bought all my food, put all in trunk, went to start car. No good. Unpacked trunk (in 100° FL heat mind you), checked connection, repacked trunk, went back into store...

I left it in the trunk, then took it out for some reason right before I moved out here. Never needed it again, including the ~1200 mile drive, so I never bothered putting it back in.

Then...conveniently enough, the exact same thing happened in the Walmart parking lot in Euless almost 2 years later. Had to buy the exact same kit to get home.

Moral of the story: Unless your car is in rough shape, there isn't much that can go wrong that you'll care to fix on the side of the road. Sockets or wrenches for common/basic things, pliers, a screwdriver or two, and a roll of duct shape should be more than enough.

[farphle]

Does that stuff really work? Have you used it?

It does work! I fixed a vacuum leak on juxt3r's NB at the top of Monarch Pass in CO with it. Was still on it when he totaled it just over a year later, I believe.

[lostlorin]

rock, screwdriver and vicegrips

[Dave04]

Does that stuff really work? Have you used it?

Not on my car... but on a friend's car... popped a hole in the upper radiator hose... you have to wrap a good bit both sides of the hole (and let's be serious... if it's huge gaping hole, it isn't going to work), but he drove it around for almost 2 weeks until he got around to replacing it. You just have to remember to stretch it as you are wrapping it. Pretty cool stuff.