ifit4x4
by Piet van Heerde
iplan4x4
itour4x4
Which tools
should I take
ispanner4x4
This must be one of the most difficult questions before an expedition. Should you prepare yourself for replacing a diff in the bush, or should you just prepare for a broken fan belt or clogged fuel filter?
The question about what tools and parts you should take on an expedition naturally doesn't have a right or wrong answer, but here are a few basic principles.
A good service! The best way to prepare for a trip is to have your vehicle checked over by the best 4x4 mechanic you can find. Don;t spare any expense. Make sure the vehicle is serviced as prescribed by the manufacturer and a record is kept
Your bakkie spanners. A Land Rover Defender has other foibles, parts, nuts and bolts than a Toyota Hilux or Mitshubishi Pajero. So it needs perticular tools and spanner sizes. Get advice from a mechanic specialising in your brand of vehicle. he'll be able to tell you what problems to expect and how to prepare for them.
Get the manual. It never hurts to get your hands on the workshop manual of your particular vehicle and learning, slowly
but surely, how to check over your vehicle yourself. Newer vehicles also often have error codes with lights that flash, and if you van;t read up on what it means, you'll have to be recovered at great cost.
Play it safe. We all have various levels of technical skill. Some guys can rebuild a gearbox under a tree next to the Kunene and other guys shouldn't be left alone with a Toys-R-Us tool set near a plastic tricycle.
It's always better to prepare for trouble thoroughly and take enough tools with you. Even if you can't replace a wheel bearing yourself, there might be someone else in the group who can, or perhaps you find a mechanic, but he doesn't have the right part. But be aware of weight. Arrange beforehand who in the convoy takes which tools. Don't duplicate.
Buy quality. When it comes to tools, it has to work properly and it has to be strong enough.
The Hardware
1. Spanners. Get a set of spanners in sizes 8 - 22. Make sure you have the spanners to remove the drainage plugs of the diff and gearbox.
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2. Ratchet set with extensions. Sometimes you just can't reach that bolt you need to loosen with a flat spanner. Make sure you have a socket for the spark plugs.
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3. Multimeter. If you know anything about electricity, you can measure whether there is current flowing and you can see how full or low a battery is.
4. Vice grip. A vice grip is a pair of pliers and a clamp or vice all in one, it can be very handy in the middle of nowhere.
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5. Large and small shifting spanner. It is very important to buy good quality, because if it slips, it'll strip all corners of your bolt or nut.
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6. Screwdrivers. It is important to have at least three sizes of both flat and phillips head screwdrivers, also pack extra small ones.
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7. Multitool. Leatherman, Gerber, Victorinox... Choose your weapon.
A multitool is very usefull for any work, best carried on your belt. It could be fashioned to have a T handle for more torque.
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8. Allen keys. If you need an allen key and you don't have one you are screwed.
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9.Pliers. Normal wire pliers, long nosed plier and a biggish side cutter. A pair of circlip pliers could also spare a lot of frustration. And don't forget the waterpump pliers, very versatile and adjustable.
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10. Scissors. What is a man without a pair of scissors, get a tough pair
that can cut through tin.
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11. Hammer. As they say, the bigger the hammer, the smaller the problem, get a good quality ball point hammer.
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12. Chissel and punch.
If you need this, it is very useful and will certainly save a screwdriver or two. Have a punch and a chisels of different sizes.
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13. Jumper leads. The jumper cables you buy at the automotive parts, usually don't cut it. The best is to buy welding cables and make up your own.
The Software
1. Five liters of motor oil. You'l never know when you need it. We've once been forced to drive a Land Cruiser through the Kalahari with gearbox oil in the engine.
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2. Pot of multipurpose grease. If your worst nightmare comes true and you have to replace a wheel bearing, you will need the grease. If nothing else you could use lip ice!
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3. Power steering oil. Also known as automatic transmission oil. It is not a matter of life and death, but a pipe might leak and then you will need to fill up the reservoir.
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4. Penetraing oil. Spookpis. You don't leave home without it. Use it to loosen something that is stuck and emergency lubricant for many things. Q20, WD40 or even Wynn's no5 or Spanjaard.
5. Two 500ml's of gearbox oil. Not only for gearboxes but differentials as well. If you knock a hole in the diff, you can repair itwith steel epoxy but will need extra oil.
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6. Old rags. If you have to wipe oil off, your kids will not like their Ben ten T shirts full of oil.
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7. Brake fluid. Very important in an emergency If a pipe breaks or leaks. Without brake fluid, you can not stop. Make sure you know how to bleed the brake system. It is useful to know that you can wash brake fluid off with water.
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8. Packing silicon. With this you could make a new gasket when replacing a petrol pump.
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9. Vulcanising tape. There is a special type available that can be used to repair radiator hoses.
10. Insulation tape. A roll of black and a roll of red, for positive and negative. Buy the 3M or nitto brands for good quality.
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11. Hand cleaner. Some guys just carry a bottle with dishwasher liquid and water but the real deal works best for grimy oily hands.
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12. Duct tape. Very useful, strong adhesive tape, underwritten by US army. It helps to stick something down that came loose.
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13. Soldering kit. Not essential, but if you solder a wire, the connection lasts so much longer, take a gas soldering iron or a mini blow torch lighter to solder with. Don't forget the soldering wire.
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14. Fuses. Look in your vehicles fuse boxes and make sure you take extra spares of all sizes and formats.
15. Glue. Take glue, super glue, contact glue, pratley putty, pratley steel and epoxy, it has many uses.
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16. Cable ties. If they had cable ties on the Titanic it would probably not have been necessary to sit through that long movie. Is there something you can not fix with cable ties. Take different sizes.
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17. Electric wire. Take a length of different sizes and thicknesses and have clamps and lugs that you can crimp onto them. Make sure to have wire that you can use with your dual battery system as that is something that can spoil your holiday.
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18. Wire. Also make sure to take some ordinary binding wire and some "bloudraad", there is always work for wire.
Extra Parts
1. Fuel pump. It is something that often breaks. i have seen so often a guy sitting on the roof siphoning petrol to the carburetor.
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2. Tie down ratched straps. Buy quality straps. It is useful to tie things down and the cam buckle mechanisms are very strong.
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3. Wheel bearings. Make sure to pack a spare that your vehicle takes.
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4.Universal joint. Maybe you can't install it yourself but if you have the correct one someone else might be able to install it.
5. Radiator pipe. Cheap and essential, check your sizes and buy a peace of each size.
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6. Extra brake blocks. It might not be crucial, but they aren't bulky and can save a brake disc.
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7. Fuel filter. Dirty diesel or petrol is one of your enemies in Africa, you never know what you get.
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8. Fan belts. Forget about pantyhose, if your partner takes them to the bush you need to reconsider. Take the right sizes and make sure to know the pattern in which they must be installed.
9. Pipe clamps. Just take a handful of different sizes.
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10. Bulbs. Make sure to take the correct ones for your vehicle, roadblocks could be nasty.
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11. Battery clamps. they can easily get encrusted and erode to make bad contact.
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12. Nuts and bolts. Take a few of 4mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm bolts and nuts of different lenghts with.
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13. Washers, rubber and steel. They have many uses, just take them.
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14. Threaded rod. Also different sizes, with nuts and washers.
You never know when you need to make replacement u-bolt. Also the extra nuts is good amo against baboons and monkeys in your cam site.
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15. Extra car keys. Always take extra car keys. Swap them out with your fellow travelers to always have them available. Otherwise make sure to hide them somewhere outside of your vehicle, under the chassis in watertight container.
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16. Satellite phone. If all else fails you can always phone for help even if it is just to get the firing order of your engine.
If you take nothing else....
If you know you are traveling with guys that packs very big toolboxes and know a lot, at least pack the following.
Q 20 and duct tape
Tyre pressure gauge
Common spanners on your vehicle, Toyota uses 10, 12, 14 and 17.
One or two pairs of pliers and a shifting.
Phillips and flat screwdrivers
A hammer
A fanbelt and the diagram
A Leatherman
A can of oil
Silicon tape