I have to travel a lot for work - my '97 Civic it about to turn 210,000..I've had great luck with it so far (as far as not breaking down), but I feel like one day, something small could leave me stranded. I always carry the basics as far as tools go, but the point of this post is to lean more towards the parts side of things.

I want to have a small box..maybe the size of a milk-crate, with parts in it "just in case". I want to know what the most common things to go wrong COULD be - anything from something minor that could leave you stranded (relay, maybe?) or thermostat, etc.

I'd like to start a collection of spare parts to bring along with me, as kind of a safety net. Not sure which types of relays, fuses, misc parts would be good to have on hand. Obviously I can't bring along an entire spare radiator, for example. But it could be smart to have upper/lower rad hoses, thermostat, and a tube of JB Weld just-in-case. Thanks for any ideas - I want to get this thing compiled / assembled soon!

 

Distributor and main relay.

 

I personally had a radiator hose blow up on me. They are cheap and portable. Also, basic tools if you don't carry them already!

 

So, so far we've got:

Upper and lower radiator hoses
Distributor / Ignition Coil
Main relay
Basic fuses

I was thinking something small, even like the plastic clutch interlock switch, could leave someone stranded. Or a clutch slave cylinder (been there, done that), but it would be almost impossible to bleed with one person unless they make speed-bleeder valves for the slave cylinders as well?

 

Get some diff tubes sizes that you can cut to fit. Had various hoses blow off on me during drives. Cut tube to length, added fluid and kept going.

 

Heater hoses, razor blade, needle nose pliers
Dimmer switch or a paper clip to shove in the plug connector so you have parking lights
Alternator belt
Fill up a bottle with compressed air and have a tire chuck on it
Tire plug kit
Gallon of water
bottle of oil
jumper cables

No need for a thermostat. If it sticks closed, take it out and be on your way. Fix it when you get back to civilization.

I make frequent 1200 mile round trips between NM, UT, and SoCal. I honestly don't worry about it. I usually check the tire pressure on the spare and get a gallon of water to drink or pour into the car if a hose pops. Except for a couple of stretches in NV and death valley, I'm not that far from a parts store at any given time. The One time I broke down I was in death valley and I needed an axle. Axle popped out cuz the inner splines had been worn off by the previous owner. I'm not going to carry axles and a 32mm and a breaker bar. I don't even like jacking up the car outside of my garage.

I like to keep a tow strap, battery pack, tire patch kit and small bottle of compressed air handy to go rescue a friend, but I keep it in the garage.

 

I always have Headlight bulbs onthe trunk.You dont know when the one Installed will fail.
A few feet of small wire cables comes in handy when you encounter an electrical problem. Troubleshooting may take a lot of time.use the wire to make a temporary circuit so you can be on your way.
Brinng a multi tester and a test light.

 

If you have a manual and the rubber gromet in the clutch pedal falls apart and falls out you cannot crank the motor. You can push the car to start IF you are in the right spot or have help....which never works for me. So, I keep a lenght of small wire with a slide on clip that I can just plug onto the started and go straight to the battery hot post. Will crank the car and get ya home.

 

Honda in Europe sells a spare bulb kit, like this:


Story time:

Now you lower 48 whippersnappers might never be much further than a few kms from somewhere to buy headlight bulbs, but in Canada's far north things are much different. I had a real eye opener road trip one Christmas eve a few years ago when I had a high-beam filament die 2 hours out of town into a 7hr road trip, then my low beam of my other headlight kicked out half-way through the return trip back. There was nowhere to buy bulbs anywhere in between.

I learned my lesson and last year on a ski road trip in southern BC I had a headlight bulb die and I pulled out that kit and was back to normal in no time.

 

Given that my car is usually up to date on maintenance, and not waiting for a failure to happen, a tire patch kit is all I need.

 

Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

 

It was mentioned before, but the alternator belt and distributor, for sure.

If you have the trunk space, axles. They can be replaced within a few minutes with practice.

 

Hmm...if that were the case than yes, as you stated, distributor and a main relay. Also to note when I travel far my toolbox is always with me as well as my makita impact gun.

 

^ Yep. Fuel pump gave out on a 5-week road trip. Had my hand tools. Junkyard gave up a replacement one for $40. Saved a boatload of cash DIY'ing it.

EDIT: However, in this case, proper diagnosis of a seemingly minor problem I was having beforehand would have avoided this issue altogether, so your first point stands (re: maintenance).

 

AAA Card

 

^^^

 

Two spare tires for me.
Might be overkill for some and it takes a lot of space on the trunk. I dont want to get caught again on a double flat tire scenario.

 

On that note, I'm a big believer in carrying a full sized spare.

 

Best thing to do is change all the fluids and belts on time. Inspect often so you won't have to worry about the simple things failing. Def keep spare fuse/bulbs. I don't worry about batter packs because I have a MT that I can push to start.

I keep an OBD2 reader in the car at all times. Keep spare fluids in the car as well with your basic tools. Go to the junkyard and buy a spare alternator. Those can fail without warning. Its really the only thing I see that would leave you on the side of the road.

Also a full size spare, and tire plug/pump

 

As a guy who has done "many" long road trips in ef's over 20+ years, really only 3 things come to mind....and were already mentioned.

- extra dizzy
- full size spare
- small tool kit

All other items mentioned like rad hoses, axels and such can be avoided for the most part if you have a well maintained car, and replaced old parts over the years