Spare parts

For a number of reasons you may find it difficult to obtain some (or even any), spare parts for your vehicle at your destination.  You may have chosen a vehicle which is not normally marketed in the country, or there may be no distributor for the make you have chosen.  Even if there is a distributor for your make of car, it may be that foreign exchange restrictions - or other factors - prevent him from stocking parts in sufficient quantity.

• If you are going to a country where you expect to have some difficulty finding spares, or if you are going to be working up-country, too far from the manufacturer's local distributor, we recommend that you take a "Field Kit" of parts with you.  This can be either packed securely in the back of the vehicle or supplied separately.
• The items to be included in your field kit list depend entirely on how much you want to invest in them ; you can spend anywhere between $200 and $2,000. However much you spend, there is very little chance you will lose money, as parts locally will almost certainly cost more.
• A typical parts "scaling" list for a gasoline / petrol engined vehicle might include :

4 oil filters

4 air filter elements

4 fuel filters

1 complete set of belts (to incl a/con if fitted)

1 complete set of hoses

1 set of disk pads / or brake linings (some vehicles have a mixture!)

1 steering damper

1 set of shock absorbers

1 set of gaskets

1 thermostat

2 sets of spark plugs

1 pr of wiper blades

1 rotor assembly

1 distributor cap

1 extra spare wheel & tire

1extra tire (+ 3/4 tubes if tires are tubed)

• A typical parts "scaling" list for a diesel engined vehicle might include :

  4 oil filters

  4 air filter elements

  4 fuel filters

  1 complete set of belts (to incl a/con if fitted)

  1 complete set of hoses

  1 set of disk pads / or brake linings (some vehicles have a mixture!)

  1 steering damper

  1 set of shock absorbers

  1 set of gaskets

  1 thermostat

  1 set of injector nozzles

  1 pr of wiper blades

  1 set of heater plugs

  1 extra spare wheel & tire

  1extra tire + 3/4 tubes if tires are tubed

If you are planning a long trip out of town it's a good idea to take a selection of your spares with you.  If your vehicle is a 4x4 and you use it a lot in tough, dusty, off-road conditions you might increase the number of air, oil and fuel filter elements, brake pads/linings, steering dampers, shock absorbers and tires. Brake pads / linings wear quickly where there is a lot of water / mud.

If you do take a field kit of spares out with you always keep them in a secure place.  They have a very high resale value on the local market and frequently disappear.

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