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[JamesV6CDX]

Not talking triangles and hi vis jackets here.

As from 06 sept my DTi estate will be touring around, leaving Calais for Dover, driving down the west side of France and into Northern Spain and Beyond.

She has passed her mot with no advisories. I anticipate no problems of note en route.

That said she is a 13/14 year old 161k omega.

As such I want to be as prepared as possible to fix any breakdown myself, locally.

Please help me with a list of both tools and spares!

Tools

Halfords comprehensive socket set
Med size toolbox with pliers, screwdrivers, etc
Lightweight drive on ramps

Parts

Water pump
Crank sensor?
Hbv (though DTi I thinks different)
Drive belt (though mines new)
Few different diameters hose/joiners/clips
Engine oil / coolant / pas fluid
Spare pas/aux tensioner bracket in case famous bolt fails
K seal for a dire emergency

Please add to the list. We will be doing thousands of miles in this old bus, we have a month off work and want to see a lot

[Sir Tigger KC]

Swearbox! 

[VXL V6]

Crank Pulley

[JamesV6CDX]

Good shout

[Nick W]

Why would you take those parts as spares, instead of replacing them before you leave?
When I take mine abroad, I top up the fluids(if necessary), pump up the tyres, check I have the recovery details and leave. Anything I'm concerned about will have been dealt with beforehand. The only tools I take are the ones that live in the car anyway; decent wheelbrace, small Teng socket set, ratchet screwdriver set and a tyre pump.
The first time I took my own car, we had only just got it running 3 days earlier. Just got into a £25 Capri and left!

[Varche]

I would make sure I had a reference sheet (of a phrase book or similar) with names of parts although with a smart phone i suppose you could use google translate IF you had anything go wrong. Plenty of Opel dealers around (in Spain they often double up with Suzuki). Plenty of diesel variant Omegas not so many V6's.

Air con working?

A couple of things you might find useful are; The foldaway silver anti sun screens. They are about 2 euro fifty here. The other is the darkened mesh with a central rubber sticker. You aren't supposed to use them on front side windows but a hundred miles driving with the sun belting in gets a bit wearing. Both can be bought from a Spanish "euro" shop. Or you could use a tea towel like everyone else.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Hope we will see photos afterwards.

[VXL V6]

Why would you take those parts as spares, instead of replacing them before you leave?
When I take mine abroad, I top up the fluids(if necessary), pump up the tyres, check I have the recovery details and leave. Anything I'm concerned about will have been dealt with beforehand. The only tools I take are the ones that live in the car anyway; decent wheelbrace, small Teng socket set, ratchet screwdriver set and a tyre pump.
The first time I took my own car, we had only just got it running 3 days earlier. Just got into a £25 Capri and left!

Because DTi's are very good at destroying their crank pulley when you least expect it and Omega's HBV's are the epitome of reliability!

I wouldn't drive anywhere in a 54 degree V6 vehicle without a crank sensor in the boot either!

Doesn't matter if your 5 miles or 500 miles from home, either of the last two can be fixed quite quickly at the point they fail if you have the parts and you can be on your way. 

[r1]

cable ties!

[ronnyd]

Spare bulbs?

[VXL V6]

Teddy Bear

[TheBoy]

For my V6 Omegas - and I've thrown them around France a few times - I just take a crank sensor, and a portable compressor to bang the tyres up and down according to load.

That Insignia I borrowed a couple of years ago (tunnel, so couldn't use Omegas), I took nothing...  ...and had spares and tools flown out after I broke it about 600 miles in

[Rods2]

Spare alternator or alternator regulator.

[tidla]

Not talking triangles and hi vis jackets here.

As from 06 sept my DTi estate will be touring around, leaving Calais for Dover, driving down the west side of France and into Northern Spain and Beyond.

She has passed her mot with no advisories. I anticipate no problems of note en route.

That said she is a 13/14 year old 161k omega.

As such I want to be as prepared as possible to fix any breakdown myself, locally.

Please help me with a list of both tools and spares!

Tools

Halfords comprehensive socket set
Med size toolbox with pliers, screwdrivers, etc
Lightweight drive on ramps

Parts

Water pump
Crank sensor?
Hbv (though DTi I thinks different)
Drive belt (though mines new)
Few different diameters hose/joiners/clips
Engine oil / coolant / pas fluid
Spare pas/aux tensioner bracket in case famous bolt fails
K seal for a dire emergency

Please add to the list. We will be doing thousands of miles in this old bus, we have a month off work and want to see a lot

some washing powder, as i recon you wont have any room for clothes and will be wearing the same pants all trip.

[Nick W]

Because DTi's are very good at destroying their crank pulley when you least expect it and Omega's HBV's are the epitome of reliability!

I wouldn't drive anywhere in a 54 degree V6 vehicle without a crank sensor in the boot either!

Doesn't matter if your 5 miles or 500 miles from home, either of the last two can be fixed quite quickly at the point they fail if you have the parts and you can be on your way. 

All the more reason to change them before you leave, and not have to worry about them. When a new HBV is £20, it could be considered a cam belt service consumable.

As for carrying a crank sensor, if they were that bad I'd be scrapping the heap of junk and going back to a mk2 Granada.

There's a pretty broad line between being prepared, and being utterly paranoid about breaking down. No offense James, but I think you're well on the way to a free jacket that fastens at the back if you're actually going to take all that stuff on holiday.

[Webby the Bear]

Take your RAC card