I second the motion to to use Muir as a guide and then fill in the
additional needs for the Vanagon.  I believe the bolt head that holds
on the rear brake drum is 11 mm, but that's real close to 7/16''.  I
bought a $60 tool set at Sam's Club made by Crescent that had a bunch
of tools in a gray plastic trifold case.  it had US and metric, but
not a huge selection of either.  Had deep wall sockets and 1/4",
3/8", and 1/2" drive rachets in it too. I'd probably build a separate
set for travel if I had  the extra cash, but I don't currently leave
the county without every tool I own, including the 3/4" breaker bar
and pipe to get those axle nuts off.

DM&FS

>Just consider what most of the bolts on the vanagon are, obviously.
>
>Sockets:
>
>There's nothing smaller than 10mm that I can think of, except for
>cable clamp screws and electrical connectors that are 7mm.
>
>There's no 11mm, and no 12 on the gas vanagon (but exhaust nuts on
>the diesel are 12).
>
>There are 13mm all over the place, no 14 or 15 (except for the
>tensioner clamp nut on the diesel).
>
>There are lots of 17, 19 and a few 22 (power steering rack union)
>fittings.
>
>The steering wheel I think is 24.
>
>Any larger than that and you're talking bigger than 3/8 or 1/2 wrench
>sizes.
>
>Of course you'll need a 5mm, 6mm and 7mm 3/8 drive allen (hex)
>wrenches and a standard folding set of hex wrenches. One of the 3/8
>allen wrenches, I think the 5mm is only used on the diesel but I'm
>not positive.
>
>You'll need two three inch socket extensions and one 8 inch.
>
>Box wrenches: All of them from 7mm up to 19mm.
>
>One combination screwdriver, one pocketknife, flashlight, telescoping
>mirror, magnet-on-a-stick, curved longnose and regular slipjoint
>pliers, small vise grips, cable ties.
>
>For clutch slave cylinder and a few other things, it's nice to have a
>13mm wrench that's been cut in two, as sometimes the whole wrench is
>too long.
>
>Electrical tape. Offset screwdriver for where a regular screwdriver
>won't fit, especially helpful for westy interior.
>
>This will all fit in a transparent plastic container the size of a
>book available at any big home store. The moveable dividers in these
>plastic boxes accommodate everything mentioned above and then some,
>except the the 24 mm nut.
>
>You can do about anything you're going to need to do on the road with
>this kit. I keep one in each car.
>
>
>Jim
>
>On Jan 31, 2007, at 11:31 AM, Chuck Baird wrote:
>
>>Morning Listmembers,
>>
>>My questions is this....Exactly what size sockets, wrenches, and what
>>tools do you carry/use on your Vanagons?
>>
>>I searched the archives and really didnt find anything pertinent.
>>Lots of
>>posts on "carry a tool kit", but nothing detailed.  If I missed it,
>>please
>>send me to the right message.  Thanks.
>>
>>Why I ask this question, is that I wish to assemble a tool kit to
>>keep in
>>my beloved 85 Wolfsburg.  Something as compact as possible, but
>>complete
>>in that I could fix just about any issue.
>>
>>I have a pretty extensive set of tools, which I load up and carry
>>on my
>>travels.  What I am looking to do is only carry the exact sockets,
>>wrenches, and tools needed.
>>
>>I parted out a 93 Eurovan Westy Weekended a couple of years ago.
>>In my
>>disassembly of this vehicle, I used the same 6 or so sockets and
>>wrenches
>>to strip that thing down to bare bones.  A friend had an 82(?)
>>Subaru back
>>when it was nearly new.  I was amazed at the time that only 4 sizes of
>>sockets and wrenches were needed to do just about any kind of
>>maintenance
>>and repair work, and these were included with the car in its' tool
>>kit.
>>
>>So.... any input would be appreciated.
>>
>>Chuck
>
>
>
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