Parts & Sklls

**spincycle** · 09-10-2007, 12:09 AM

OK, so I admitting my inability/inexperience with less than trivial on-the trail repairs. In other words, give me a multimeter, hammer, socket set, high lift, and I can feel reasoanably confident on MINOR trails and the challenges encountered threin.

I often carry a generator, but no welder as of yet.

So, as a continuation of many previous discusions here online:

a) what addittional gear do I need?
b) what PARTS DO I NEED TO CARRY??????!?!?!?!?
And most importantly,
c) WHERE DO I LEARN to use those tools and parts and repair gear, without either
1) becoming a TOYOTA tech, or
2) finding someone to pay to show me how to do things like fixing CV joints, etc.

Comments, advice? (minus spelling comment, have soda-soaked maacbook)

I just want to be a) well eqipped, and b) prepped to help anyone I come across on the trail.

**spincycle** · 09-11-2007, 06:29 AM

bump.

taltyman · 09-11-2007, 07:02 AM

This link has quite a bit of info for a start. Val has been gone for several months though.
Lessons about CV axle failure

**spincycle** · 09-12-2007, 12:36 AM

Quote:

taltyman previously said:

This link has quite a bit of info for a start. Val has been gone for several months though.
Lessons about CV axle failure

Yes, well, it was his post that prompted my note. Hence my query about preparing, learning, and being as competent on trail as possible.

I'm just surprised that here, where users are routinely sniped at for not having been born automatically knowing how to fix a broken CV joint (and have all of the necessary bits and pieces on hand, as Val's post suggested), nobody bothers to actually educate folks without the going to train as a toyota tech all by their lonesome. Or perhaps I should quit grad school and go to ITT Tech?

NCFJ · 09-12-2007, 05:54 AM

We can sit here and chat about removing a CV joint all day, but the bottome line is the best way to learn anything about your vehicle is to do it. Personally, I am not going to go out and remove my front axle just to learn how to do it on this vehicle. Sin, the best I can reccomend is that you do your own maintenance on your FJ and become familiar with as much of the vehicle as you can. If your mechanical skills are such that you dont feel confident, perhaps a night course at a local High School. Good luck!!

AF Chief · 09-12-2007, 06:08 AM

I feel ya ... for now I'll pick my trails wisely and travel with people smarter than me

**1911** · 09-12-2007, 06:14 AM

Quote:

NCFJ previously said:

...the best way to learn anything about your vehicle is to do it... Sin, the best I can reccomend is that you do your own maintenance on your FJ and become familiar with as much of the vehicle as you can. If your mechanical skills are such that you dont feel confident, perhaps a night course at a local High School. Good luck!!

+1

Get a factory service manual and some basic tools and start doing all your own maintenance. Do your own mods and repairs as your confidence grows. Buy more specialized tools when the need arises; you will build up your tool set without breaking the bank at any one time. Make a note of the tools you use most often in these jobs and take those with you when you go off road. Ask a specific question here in the forum if you are stumped by anything. Go wheeling with friends so that you don't all have to take heavy air tools, a welder, etc.

**spincycle** · 09-12-2007, 02:00 PM

Get a factory service manual
already done.

and some basic tools and start doing all your own maintenance.
already done.

do much as you can, given the lack of a lift, full snap-on kit, etc.
already done, doing.

Do your own mods and repairs as your confidence grows. Buy more specialized tools when the need arises; you will build up your tool set without breaking the bank at any one time.
done & doing.

Make a note of the tools you use most often in these jobs and take those with you when you go off road.
done & doing.

Ask a specific question here in the forum if you are stumped by anything. Go wheeling with friends so that you don't all have to take heavy air tools, a welder, etc.
Will do...and do do.

My main goal with this thread was to find out how to go about learning more the fast way, rather than waiting until i'm stick at 10k feet, a box of crackers, some water and a sleeping bag...and in a position that prevents me to NOT help a fellow travelling partner. When I leave the pavement, I take what *I* think I'll need, even in an emergency, but want to be as well prepared as possible not only for myself, but for my trail partners as well.

What if I don't have air tools and an arc welder? What if I've READ about the necessary prep work...but don't have the expeience? I want to do as much as possible BEFORE the emergency to ensure we're all safe and don't pose problems to other trail users.

redthunder1202 · 09-12-2007, 03:49 PM

Duct tape and bailing wire will fix just about anything. You might buy a CV boot repair kit, it's easy to install in the field.Try looking at a local community college for classes on auto repair/welding. Where I live they have classes on the weekend and are very cheap.

And if something catastrophic happens off highway you will usually figure it out on your own.

**1911** · 09-12-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

spincycle previously said:

My main goal with this thread was to find out how to go about learning more the fast way, rather than waiting until i'm stick at 10k feet, a box of crackers, some water and a sleeping bag...and in a position that prevents me to NOT help a fellow travelling partner. When I leave the pavement, I take what *I* think I'll need, even in an emergency, but want to be as well prepared as possible not only for myself, but for my trail partners as well.

What if I don't have air tools and an arc welder? What if I've READ about the necessary prep work...but don't have the expeience? I want to do as much as possible BEFORE the emergency to ensure we're all safe and don't pose problems to other trail users.

Spin, I think I understand your desire and motivation (which is commendable) but like most any useful skill there's not really any fast way to learn auto mechanics, welding, etc. Practice, practice, practice. Your biggest "problem" is that you have a new Toyota, and are unlikely to get much practice on it because they are so boringly reliable. Can you make friends with local people that own older trucks or better yet Heeps or Rovers? They will be doing more repairs and you could volunteer to help them to get more wrench time and learn from watching too.

If you or your compadres do break down on the trail, that is just more motivation to try the repair even if you've never done it before, necessity being the mother of invention and all. I still remember the time I replaced a starter on a 70's Ford F-250, 60 miles from pavement in the Utah desert, with only a pair of vise grips and a flash light for tools. It took forever and some thought to do it, but it got that truck started. Taught me and the truck's owner a lesson about carrying tools too, much more emphatically than someone telling me I ought to.

All you need is money to get air tools, a power tank, a welding kit, etc. ad infinitum. Until you can afford to buy them, you just have to live without or use someone elses. Air tools make any job easier and quicker but are not a necessity for trailside repair. Like Redthunder said, a local community college is a great and cheap way to learn the basics of welding. It's easy to learn the basics of arc welding if someone else can show you, and then it's just up to you to practice.