Hello,

I am taking a 2500-mile trip in my 1995 Vanden Plas, and am looking for your suggestions for any common failure, easy-to-replace electrical parts that might be worth carrying along as extra insurance against being stranded because of something trivial.

Let me use a different car to give an example of what I mean: Some owners of 1980s-90s Porsches, particularly the 944, keep a spare DME relay in the car. The DME relay is a reliable unit, but it occasionally does fail, and is one of the most common (and simple) electrical causes of a non-running 944. Keeping one in the car is a great "ounce of prevention" on a long trip vs. being stuck in the middle of nowhere due to a small part that takes one minute to change.

So are there any relays or small electrical parts on an X300 (six cylinder) that can disable or cripple the car but are a reasonably quick roadside swap? I've had a coil pack (ignition) fail on my other X300, so I'll put a couple of those in the car. Anything else? And if so, where in the car might said part(s) be located?

Belts, hoses, fluids, bearings, U-joints, tires, brakes, all the "inspectable" stuff is good . . . just trying to be prepared for the unknown.

Thanks,

Tony K.

I have kept a pair of tights (sorry but I don't know the Americanised term) in my glove box as an emergency fan belt for 40 years or more. Ever since my wife found them under her seat.

How about taking along a box with one of each kind of fuse, a few light bulbs and then just open the hood and visually check the things that you can see and get a spare one for the box.
It may also be a good idea to get a small tent 'cos as sure as eggs is eggs if anything DOES go wrong, it will certainly be you that gets the blame and sleeping in a tent is far better than being nagged at all night.
But hey, look on the bright side. Jags don't even falter, never mind stop working.
Cheers,
Steve

Tony,

You have covered the obvious, belts, hoses, etc.

If the belts and that plastic a/c idler, are of unknown age, I would definately change them, and then put the spares in that box, you know they will fit, coz you just took them off.

Some "decent" duct tape, or whatever it is called up there, to patch radiator hoses, is always in my box of bits. If you do patch a hose, remove the radiator cap, coz the pressure will blow the tape off, and the car will NOT die if the cap is off, as long as your common sense is used as to speed etc with it removed. It is a "limp home" repair, so please take it on board as that alone.

The crank angle sensor (timing cover front), is now starting to become a fairly common failure item, and you are DEAD in the water if it fails. About 8 minutes to change on a cold engine, highway hot, NO idea.

I know 2500 miles sounds a "long way", but that car will do that with ease. The last "drive" we did in the XJ-S V12 was 12000+kms, and NEVER replaced anything on the car for the whole 6 months we were away.

I don't think you really need belts ,have them checked out and if you see some minor cracks just replace them . You may need to pick up spare circuits and light bulbs . Also, don't forget to take tyre reapir kit with you as well as jump start cables .
If you recently replaced your battery you don't need it at all
I wish you safe and happy driving