Spare parts on board when travelling

[Don in VT]

Hi All,

Just wondering what spare parts ZR1 owners carry in the car when they make longish road trips (longer then 1000 miles}. As an example, for my 87 I carry a spare alternator and all the tools necessary to change it out on the road. With the ZR there must be more that are mission critical. I just read that at least one owner also carries an alternator. Any tips for traveling with the ZR would be appreciated.

Many thanks to all that have helped us with our new ZR!

Regards,

Don and Cherry

[xlr8nflorida]

Serpetine belt
Water pump
Coil packs
Upper/ lower radiator hoses
Oil pressure sensor
Alternator
Gallon green antifreeze / gallon distilled water
Thermostat
Oil cooler lines

5 of the items I listed can go in storage compartment behind passenger. You will need medium size box for water pump, hoses, alternator, coolant and distilled water.

[tf95ZR1]

Good old Jerry taught me that a low profile, light weight
jack can come in handy. Don't ask me how I know.....

And do you really want to change out a water pump out
in the middle of nowhere? For less than $200 I rented a
U haul truck and trailer and just brought my car back
home to work on. Don't ask me how I know....

[xlr8nflorida]

I just loaded a very historic zr-1 that we all know but I'm not privy to say from sc to ga. The owner wanted to have his mechanic fix it 400 bucks for uhaul and truck to go about 300 miles. The original post said 1000 miles which would be way more expensive so yeah changing a 200 dollar water pump might not be fun in the middle of bfe, you will save the haul charges and have money for 2 backup water pumps.

[jrd1990zr1]

Originally Posted by xlr8nflorida

Serpetine belt
Water pump
Coil packs
Upper/ lower radiator hoses
Oil pressure sensor
Alternator
Gallon green antifreeze / gallon distilled water
Thermostat
Oil cooler lines

5 of the items I listed can go in storage compartment behind passenger. You will need medium size box for water pump, hoses, alternator, coolant and distilled water.

Make sure you invest in the remote style radiator clamp pliers. Best $39.00 I ever spent at Sears.

[phrogs]

well be sure to do a good pre flight before you go.

The only time I was really stranded by my ZR-1 I was about 4 hours from home and no parts.

But I have to say that now I do not travel with sparts now but for a 1000 mile trip I like the list xlr8 posted.

I always have some tools with me as well 10 mm 13mm 8mm and my torx bits.

half inch braker bar for the serpentine belt, and the special tool for the coolant hose clamps.

but really you can't travel with a car load of spare parts but you can have the internet close by and ups will deliver to a hotel!

I have changed a head gasket on my 87 L98 under a tree got towed off the highway and the guy let me change it at his place in some shade summer time south of Atlanta!

[Dynomite]

PARTS
I used to carry parts such as radiator hoses, belts, but never carried spare alternator or thermostat or for that matter spark plugs. You can run without the thermostat for a ways, on the older cars you could run on battery for a ways, and you can run on partial coil packs. If you are going to change thermostats, you need a BIG bucket to catch the coolant in.

I do carry a spare spark plug on my Yamaha Raptor because it only has one cylinder

And...where I get caught with a Raptor engine not running might be 70 miles off road
On my Raptor, I carry Mission Critical drinking water

Now to summarize, I am positive my belts and hoses are in good condition as well as my belt tensioner before I leave so I do not carry extra belts or hoses.

My cell phone is charged up. My Garmin will tell me how far I have to go to get parts and my iPod Touch will let me log on to this forum for Solutions or Ebay for parts as well as weather

http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread....7041#post87041

TOOLS
I do carry set of tools including all metric sizes flex ratchet combination wrenches, complete set of 3/8 inch drive metric sockets, and complete set of metric allen heads. I include a set of good screw drivers and a couple of channellocks. I carry these tools to make sure all my bolts and screws are tight and for the special case where I limp into town and visit O'Reilly's for an alternator, water pump, or coil pack

All the tools fit in the storage compartment behind the passenger seat.

I do carry jumper cables and a digital ohm meter as well as this list of codes

http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread....2722#post12722

The cables and ohm meter fit in the storage compartment behind the drivers seat. The Codes list I place inside the operations manual in the glove box.

[A26B]

Holy cow!

It's apparant you guys don't travel with a female companion who MUST have make-up & hair stuff, several pairs of shoes and 2 changes of clothes per day.

With all these parts & tools, you're starting to scare me.

There's 3 reasons I can think of for failures during road trips.
1. Wear & tear from high mileage
2. Failure due to age
3. Murphy's law, which means you will never have what you need anyway

What about this....
Before going on the first long trip, do some higher echelon preventative maintenance.

1. replace the alternator (keep the original)
2. replace the water pump (while the alternator is off (1/2 the job)
3. replace the coolant hoses, (incld T/B coolant hoses) (while the pump is off)
4. replace the thermostat (while the hoses are off)
5. replace the belt tensioner pully (not the tensioner) (while the belt is off)
6. replace the serpentine belt (when you go back together)
7. replace the coils & wires
8. replace injectors on 90~92 (and all o-rings) while the plenum is off

Routine maintenance should also include
1. removal of the cooling stack to thoroughly clean debris from the radiator
2. replace spark plugs
3. tighten oil pan bolts
4. check for oil cooler line leaks, repair as required
5. check P/S hoses, tighten suction hose clamps
6. normal stuff, chng oil & filter, check trans & diff fluid levels, tires, etc.

You have now greatly reduced the liklihood of a trip spoiling breakdown associated with the LT5. Of course, there are no guarantees, even in a new car. Working on my cars is a lot of fun for me, but not so fun along the road, in the weather and not having just the right tool.

[Don in VT]

Hi,

Gotta love the info I am getting from this string. I have one question, what are "remote" style radiator clamp pliers ? Whatever they are I got to have them.

Thanks

Don

[John Boothby]

With 48 years of driving I have had one flat tire and one blown head gasket. The flat I changed with standard spare tire jack and wrench; and the blown head gasket I was out of state in Illinois and had the truck towed to the nearest GMC dealer (St. Charles). The engine was out of warranty and the dealer did not want to make a deal with me (since I was out of state) so I went to Elgin Jeep and bought a new Grand Cherokee ('95) which I still have. I used to carry basic tools and parts (hoses and belts, etc) but now a days with cell phones I just call Triple A! Plus at my age, I just don't have the ambition to do maintenance on the side of the road. In addition. good driving habits and preventive maintenance go a long way! Besides, it is always the unexpected, the one part you don't have or the one tool you did not pack that you need. Old Muph's law! I would rather carry my golf clubs! lol