Belts and hoses

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Lazlo

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I’m new to the overland world, and trying to get prepared for contingencies- I have an 1996 FJ80 and I keep hearing that folks have “belts and hoses” in their repair kits. I’m wondering if someone can recommend WHERE to purchase and WHAT to have on hand for these kinds of replacement parts. I searched these forums and can’t find this info, but if it is already there and I just have not found it... my apologies!
Thanks!!!
 

Lunch Box

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Any auto parts house can sell you parts for a '96 FJ80. The real question is 'What parts to buy"? It wouldn't hurt to keep spare engine belts in your kit. And the tools to replace them on the trail. I've found cocooning burst hoses in duct tape generally works well enough till you can get to civilization.
Spare fuses, relays, tire plugs, and light bulbs couldn't hurt either. Ask yourself what could realistically leave you stranded on the trail, and what you could do about it short of calling a wrecker. If it's an item that looks dodgy right now, replace it in the comfort of your garage. If it sucks today, it'll REALLY suck out in BFE.
 

greydog

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Well for what its worth I usually carry upper and lower hoses and a new serpentine belt. Not really fond of one belt driving everything under the hood. Been stuck in BFE before and it was a long walk to a tow truck. Not mention big bucks!!
 
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Lazlo

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Well for what its worth I usually carry upper and lower hoses and a new serpentine belt. Not really fond of one belt driving everything under the hood. Been stuck in BFE before and it was a long walk to a tow truck. Not mention big bucks!!
thanks- sounds like a good plan.
 

Lazlo

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Any auto parts house can sell you parts for a '96 FJ80. The real question is 'What parts to buy"? It wouldn't hurt to keep spare engine belts in your kit. And the tools to replace them on the trail. I've found cocooning burst hoses in duct tape generally works well enough till you can get to civilization.
Spare fuses, relays, tire plugs, and light bulbs couldn't hurt either. Ask yourself what could realistically leave you stranded on the trail, and what you could do about it short of calling a wrecker. If it's an item that looks dodgy right now, replace it in the comfort of your garage. If it sucks today, it'll REALLY suck out in BFE.
Great thanks, I will head over to an auto parts store. Sadly, there are not a bunch of those around here and once I couldn't find it on Amazon I was stuck. I'm embarrassed! I appreciate the good advice!
 

SubeeBen

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My thoughts are replace at home instead of repair on the trail & you won’t need to carry extra parts on the rig
 

RangeDrive

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Just a tip, Rock auto online is the same type of system that auto part stores use. It’s very easy to find the parts you need, and it’s usually cheaper compared to your local store. If your not in a hurry for the parts, that’s what I would do, only down side is Oriellys and other store usually have a lifetime warranty. But in my opinion, if your broke down in BFE, a warranty is the least of my worries
 

slomatt

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I’m new to the overland world, and trying to get prepared for contingencies- I have an 1996 FJ80 and I keep hearing that folks have “belts and hoses” in their repair kits. I’m wondering if someone can recommend WHERE to purchase and WHAT to have on hand for these kinds of replacement parts. I searched these forums and can’t find this info, but if it is already there and I just have not found it... my apologies!
Thanks!!!
How recently have you replaced the belts and hoses on your FJ80? If it has been a while I recommend putting new belts and hoses on the truck and then keeping the old parts as trail spares. If you do the work yourself then you'll know how to change them on the trail if the situation arises.

There is a tricky balancing act between carrying spare parts and taking up a lot of room on your truck. Ultimately there is always something that can break that you won't be carrying, so it can be more space efficient to carry multi-use repair materials such as tape, sealants, bailing wire, etc.

A while ago I posted an inventory of the things I carry in my 4Runner. Here's a link in case you are interested in checking it out.
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/vehicle-inventory.10765/


Over 18+ years of offroading my friends and I have only had four critical breakdowns that meant the end of the trip, and only one of these was coincidentally repairable by spare parts that we carried.

1. The thermostat on my Grand Cherokee seized and caused the engine to overheat. Due to reliability issues with that truck I had a spare, and some RTV, and after replacing the thermostat was able to drive home.

2. The power steering pump pulley on my Grand Cherokee fragmented. Short of carrying a spare pulley or pump there's not much you can do about this, I had to get towed home.

3. A friend rolled his Nissan. Not much you can do to fix this on the trail.

4. A friend's wheel bearing was loose and destroyed the spindle. He had to be towed.

We've had several other failures that could be fixed with basic supplies. In the vast majority of these cases spare parts were not used.


I think the most important things are to keep your maintenance up to date, avoid traveling alone, carry tools and basic repair supplies, and learn to do basic repairs to your truck.
 

shoredreamer

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Like @slomatt said, change your belts out with new OEM and keep the old ones as spares. It’s an easy job with a couple end wrenches and a flexi 12mm Gear Wrench. The 3 rad hoses and a few feet of 5/8” hose is good to have also, along with spares fuses and fusible links. All of this can be had at a local dealership or online parts stores. If you haven’t yet follow this thread for good guidance on all things 80.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/80-series-faq-for-general-info-modification-and-repairs.84888/