What should be in my RS America Tool Kit?
1. Wrenches
The 5 factory wrenches – sizes 19/17mm, 15/14mm, 13/12mm, 11/10mm and 9/8mm.
This close-up view shows the words “SELECTED-SPECIAL-STEEL” cast into the shank on one side, followed by “WEST GERMANY” on the two larger wrenches and just the word “Germany” on the smaller three. The reverse side of each wrench is blank.
2. Pliers
There were two types of cast metal pliers used in the RS America tool kits. The earlier pliers used in the 1993 model year cars were manufactured by Heyco and have the manufacturers name cast into the handle just below the hinge on both sides.
3. Screwdriver Handle
4. Phillips screwdriver bit
5. Flathead screwdriver bit
6. Extended Phillips screwdriver bit
The (3 1/2” long) opaque red plastic screwdriver handle comes with three interchangeable driver shafts, a 6 1/2” long Phillips head, a 7 1/4” long flat-head and an extended (10 1/2” long) Phillips head. There are no manufacturers marks or logo’s on any of the three metal drives, and the red screwdriver handle has no manufacturers mark but the words “Made in W. Germany” cast into the handle in letters that are so small it is difficult to see them.
7. Crank Handle
The crank handle has no manufacturers name or logo on it and is primarily intended for use to manually operate an electric motor in case the one of three electrical drive systems were to fail. It’s intended uses are
- To manually close the electric windows
- To manually close the electric sunroof
- To manually move the electrically adjustable seat forward or aft
It has a 6mm hexagonal drive on one end and a 6mm diameter on the other which is intended to fit into the red plastic screwdriver handle see item 3) above. The 6mm hexagonal drive end is inserted into 6mm-4mm Allen wrench step down adapter (see item 8 below) which is then inserted into the middle of the electric window drive gear – which is accessed by removing the door speaker per page 21 of the owners manual. The problem here is that unlike the C2, the RS America does not have the high mounted small door speakers located over the top of the window drive gear.
The crank handle is used in conjunction with the allen wrench adapter (item 8) and the screwdriver handle to manually crank the windows closed if the electrical drive system fails with a window open.
8. 6mm-4mm Allen wrench step down adapter
This Allen wrench 6 to 4mm adapter has a female 6mm hex drive on one end, and a male 4mm drive on the other. It is intended for use in conjunction with the crank handle (item 7) to utilize the 4mm hexagonal drive to manually crank the windows as detailed in section 7) above.
9. 90 degree straight drive.
The design of the 90 degree drive enables a high torque to be applied by hand to the sunroof drive tensioning screw.
This 90 degree straight drive is effectively a flat head screwdriver with a 90 degree bend enabling it to be used to apply a lot of torque in an area with limited access. It is primarily intended for use to undo the tensioning screw on the sunroof drive mechanism in order to manually close the electric sunroof in case the electric motor or cable drive mechanism fails. The sunroof drive mechanism is located above the rear windshield, behind the sunroof and is accessed by undoing a zipper in the roof lining. Once the tensioning screw has been undone with this tool, the crank handle with its 6mm hexagonal drive shaft (item 7 above) can be inserted into the sunroof drive mechanism to manually wind the roof closed. For further information, see page 61 of the owners manual. The manufacturers name “KLEIN GERMANY” is stamped into this tool.
10) 5mm Allen wrench
11) 10mm Allen wrench
The 10mm Allen wrench is intended primarily for use with the spark plug wrench (item 13 below). Once the wrench is fitted onto the spark plug, the Allen wrench is inserted down the center of the spark plug wrench and used as a means of applying torque to undo or tighten the spark plug. Once the plug is loose, the Allen wrench is removed and the knurled plastic ring on the plug wrench was used to twist the plug out by hand.
Each Allen wrench has its size stamped into its handle.
The 10mm Allen wrench (shown above) has “10 DIN 911 / W-Germany” stamped into its handle, whereas the stamp on the 5mm wrench reads “5 DIN 911 / KLEIN”.
12. Towing eye
The towing eye can be used to tow an RS America from either the front or the rear.
The towing eye is self explanatory, it fits in the front bumper in the one inch diameter hole blanked off with a body colored cap which can easily be removed by gently using a screwdriver. Likewise there is a similar towing eye hole in the rear bumper (behind the rear license plate) to enable the vehicle to be towed from the rear, or alternately, for towing another vehicle using your RSA (NOT recommended). The towing eye bears no manufacturers name or logo.
13. Spark Plug Wrench
The spark plug wrench is used in conjunction with the 10mm Allen wrench detailed above.
Once the Spark plug wrench has its hexagonal end slipped over the spark plug there is no method of applying the significant amount of torque required to undo a spark plug. Inserting the 10mm Allen wrench into the end of the plug wrench that has a black plastic ring, enables torque to be applied in order to remove a spark plug. Once the spark plug has been loosened somewhat the Allen wrench can be removed and the plug spun out by hand using the knurled black plastic wheel visible on the wrench in the right hand image below.
At first glance the plug wrench seems inordinately complex, but it is designed the way it is in order to facilitate use in areas not having sufficient access to the spark plugs on an RSA utilizing a straight plug wrench. The plug wrench has a universal joint between its head and handle in order to apply torque loads to undo or tighten the spark plugs in hard to access areas.
The spark plug wrench bears the words “KLEIN” and “21mm” stamped into the larger end of the wrench that would be applied to the spark plug (see left hand image above).
14) Locking Lug Nut Cap removal tool
It is quite rare to find this simple tool still in an RSA toolkit because most owners don’t know its purpose and therefore place no value on it. Consequently, it is frequently lost or even discarded.
When the RS America was new, to avoid the wheels being removed by anyone except the owner it came with four locking lug nuts which were the type which required a key to undo them. In order to protect the keyhole in the locking lug nut from road dirt and dust, a small plastic cap snapped over the body of the lug nut once it had been tightened in place. Due to the RSA having wheels with deep insets that the lug nuts were recessed into, it was not easy to gain access to the small plastic snap-on cap in order to remove it. This was the sole purpose of this tool.
15) Black Vinyl tool roll
The tool roll is as shown above. It has 9 pockets, a beige cloth lining and a black vinyl outer surface. There is a 38 inch black ribbon with its center sewn into the outer edge of the roll, which effectively makes two 19 inch ribbons. Once the tools are in their respective pockets, the roll is folded in half to cover the tools, and then rolled from the opposite side to the ribbon. The ribbon is then bound around the tool roll a couple of times and tied to secure its contents.