Most common things to break

[motas]

Hey was thinking the other day about what I should carry as a spare or improve/keep an eye on on my Jeep and thought this might be an interesting discussion.
What in your experience are the most common things to break?

Funnily enough I always carry a spare tire but am yet to use it. Early on I didn't take wiring tools because it was factory wiring what could go wrong, but after a few electrical problems I have added a soldering iron, wire and a multimeter to my toolkit.

So what do you see breaking the most on trips?
Cheers.

 

[libarata]

I always break my easy button.

 

[MuckSavage]

Common things to break are mostly vehicle specific. Inherent problems will always rear their ugly head at the worst time. Know your vehicle & you'll know what problems to expect.

 

[1stDeuce]

Hmm. Most common parts to break... Zip Ties. Honestly, I go through a lot of zip ties... In decades of wheeling I've hardly had anything break, but I don't wheel too hard. I think what breaks depends mostly on your driving style and your vehicle.

For general wheeling and exploring, I bring tools, but not much in terms of spare parts... When I used to drive across the country to go to Moab, and we did a lot of wheeling along the way in Colorado, I took both front axle shafts and a hub bearing the first few times. I did have a CV front axle shaft fail once, and was able to swap in my spare U-joint style shaft after we figured out what was bad. I rarely bring those parts anymore, since wheel bearings rarely fail suddenly, and I have more faith in my CV shafts now.

If I saw a lot of water, I might think about bringing a throttle position sensor, but I don't, and to be honest, the Jeep will still run even with a bad sensor, so it isn't mission critical... Not much is really. Crank position sensor and Cam position sensor failures would stop the jeep, so if I was heading far out in the bush I might carry those, but you're never far out in the bush here in the states, and any auto parts store will have the crank sensor for a 4.0L on shelf, and the cam sensor is not prone to failure on the older 4.0L engines. (Some of the newer 4.0's had a small cam position sensor instead of a distributor, and there was a fairly good incidence of lockups, which would result in a no-start once it happened, and require replacement of the entire sensor and drive unit.)

Good luck!

 

[Mertens]

Shoe laces. Always pack spares. Or para cord. So many uses other than shoes too.


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[red EOD veteran]

Belts, fuel filters, duct tape and zip ties. Pb blaster, brake fluid, couple gallons of drinking water (coolant and personal use). Other non vehicle related items, and recovery equipment.

If you drive a vehicle that needs electronics to keep running a spare alternator is a very good idea.

Everything else is vehicle specific.

 

[mtnkid85]

It does depend on what your doing and your driving style, somewhat. If your one to push the vehicle then youll be breaking drivetrain parts with some frequency.
But if your just traveling or are aware of your vehicles weaknesses then you wont be "breaking" parts as often.

Still Ive seen fuel pumps fail, belts break, air compressors seize, u joints break, radiator hoses split, radiators leak, wiring melt, suspension bolts/nuts disappear, ect. Most of which could have been caught by general maintenance.

All I carry is just general stuff a full tool box, misc wiring connecters, hose clamps, belts, zip ties, common bolts and nuts, fluids.

 

[olly hondro]

Ah, wiring melting, yes. The vehicles I have owned that have caught fire :

Ford Crown Victoria : cruise control.
Superior Motorhome : brake light switch.
Ford Thunderbird : something near the master cylinder under the hood.
Rambler American : +12 V wire somehow tangled in the steering mechanism.
Chevy Sprint : catalytic converter

Yes I have had 5 cars catch fire, so am always looking for chaffed wires, compromised insulation, exposed contacts.

 

[pappawheely]

U-joints, hoses, belts, fuses, bulbs, wheel studs, budgets. Bring extra fluids and a battery jumper. I always carry a fire extinguisher too Olly! No more helpless feeling in the world than watching something burn.

 

[Rumpig]

i was out in the middle of Australia a few years back at Coober Pedy and had a rear wheel bearing collapse on my Cruiser, my fault as i never bothered servicing them in ages. When at the local mechanics shop getting some new bearings, the mechanic mentioned to me that it's the most common failure he sees out there, something that many people neglect to get serviced on their vehicles.

 

[155mm]

Ah, wiring melting, yes. The vehicles I have owned that have caught fire :

Ford Crown Victoria : cruise control.
Superior Motorhome : brake light switch.
Ford Thunderbird : something near the master cylinder under the hood.
Rambler American : +12 V wire somehow tangled in the steering mechanism.
Chevy Sprint : catalytic converter

Yes I have had 5 cars catch fire, so am always looking for chaffed wires, compromised insulation, exposed contacts.
View attachment 249692

I've never personally known someone's vehicle to catch fire, but always figured it may happen to someone... but to have FIVE vehicles catch fire under you??? Holy crap, man!!!

 

[Kevin108]

Depends on the vehicle. In my Silverado, I carried spare spider gears since that was what I'd broken before. Also had a spare tie rod u-bolted under the bed.

In my Jeep, I carry a spare crank position sensor and cam shaft position sensor since either of those can render the vehicle inoperable even when nothing's wrong. I also carry the 32mm (or whatever it is) giant socket for pulling the front axle shafts in the event I have to replace a u-joint on the trail. I also carry one of each size u-joint, a spare serpentine belt, and a spare starter.

I also carry fuses, a full size spare, tire plugs, a ViAir compressor, a belt tensioning gauge, a power inverter, an extension cord, wire strippers, a soldering iron, solder, heat shrink tubing, etc.

Yeah, cargo space was a primary reason I went for an XJ over a TJ.

 

[drcoopster]

On a Jeep? If it moves, it might break.

On a Land Rover? If it involves electricity, it might break.


DAMHIK

 

[Buliwyf]

Spare parts I carry:
alternator
starter
battery
fluids
plastic bags
electrical tape
crimp connectors
12g wire
hoseclamps
belt
rubber ducky
tire plugs
valve stems (seriously, no one mentioned valve stems)
air
tire chains (especially if you lose drive to one axle)
fuses
vacuum line t's and connectors
vacuum line and fuel line and hose clamps for said line
headlight, turnsignal, brake light bulbs
air filter (no snorkle)

i know I'm forgeting a few things. I'll have to spill out my 55g offroad tote and see what else is in there.

 

[AFBronco235]

What you bring depends on the vehicle, what you do with it, and how much care you put into maintaining it. There are plenty of older vehicles out that receive regular maintenance and never had a major fail. Some vehicles have weaker points than others.

Here are my general recommendations for things to carry besides tools.
1. Duck Tape. duh.
2. Steel wire. Not electrical wire, so much as electric fence wire. Such useful stuff. In a pinch, I can even use it as a hose clamp.
3. Sisal twine/rope. Its resistant to burning and won't melt, like paracord or similar synthetic fibers.
4. A copy of FM 20-22. It covers a whole host of field repairs relevant to off road and camping breakdowns. I've actually used some of the tricks in this to temp repair my old truck.
5. Tire patch/plug kit. Make sure you get both patches and plugs. They can be used for more than just tires.
6. A good assortment of hose clamps, screws, nuts and bolts is handy too.

This repair kit is based off my own experience and can handle most vehicle disabling problems. Leaking radiator hose? A tire patch, rubber cement (from the kit) and the sisal twine can fix that. Using the glue, slap the patch on the hole and tightly wrap the twine around it. Should be good for a while. Exhaust hangers ripped/broken? Wire it back in place. Fenders partially torn off? Reattach with sheet metal screws and duck tape. Coolant hose fell off because hose clamp broke? Two wraps of the steel wire and twist it down tight. Fan belt snapped? Carefully wire the two ends back together like a suture. Fan belt schredded? Twine can be woven to make a VERY temporary belt. Replaced ASAP of course.