Better than the last

[robertc1024]

so - here I am just chillin - chatting with no-longer-banned-RSH and my daughter calls. The one who just wrecked my Maxima that I gave her. "Mom's car (the one she took) won't start" f'ing battery is dead. I get to make the 10:30 run to wally world, get a new battery - at least she was right about that. Change that sucker out in the pitch black night - which terminal is which? blah blah blah. Crescent wrenches are my friends sometimes. This episode pales in comparison though when in college I changed out the water pump on my MGB on the drag in Austin in the street. People were like "what are you doing?" - "I'm fixing my car, you don't know how to do it?" Been a suuuuucky two weeks.

 

[master hec0]

gotta love the on site repairs.

had my TFI give out in front of a police station asked them if i could park it there for a few hours then when i got back with the part i rolled it out of the parking lot and into the community center lot where i stayed till 1 AM fixing it.

 

[gwaii]

gotta love the on site repairs.

when moving up to the islands the f250 we were using to tow the trailer with all our possesions on it blew out the trans in parksville on vancouver island.i was low on money but had all my tools,so we took one of the other vehicles to find an auto wrecker.there was one on the road up to port albernie that had a c6 that had a cracked bell housing,and was a smallblock 2wd unit(our truck was a 460 4wd)but i knew the innards would work,so i got it for $50.long story short,i pulled the trans from the truck,swapped the innards,changed the tailshaft,and in 4 hours we were on the road again,with not a drop of tranny fluid spilled.the truck is still running that trans....and that was 5 years ago.

 

[robertc1024]

gwaii - you and I would get along. I've started boat moters with pull tabs from beer cans. Nothing's better than a road side repair when you HAVE to drink beer to make things work.

 

[milje]

when moving up to the islands the f250 we were using to tow the trailer with all our possesions on it blew out the trans in parksville on vancouver island.i was low on money but had all my tools,so we took one of the other vehicles to find an auto wrecker.there was one on the road up to port albernie that had a c6 that had a cracked bell housing,and was a smallblock 2wd unit(our truck was a 460 4wd)but i knew the innards would work,so i got it for $50.long story short,i pulled the trans from the truck,swapped the innards,changed the tailshaft,and in 4 hours we were on the road again,with not a drop of tranny fluid spilled.the truck is still running that trans....and that was 5 years ago.

Can't top that one


I did have to change out a belt tensioner and belt in the VFW parking lot once, that's about the best I got (besides batteries and that good stuff).

 

[gwaii]

i've done more roadside repairs than i would care to remember,mostly from driving junk that's been thorougly beaten on,but that was the best one.did it right on the sidewalk of this pretty little seaside town.my chop-top b2 has a tonneau from a 02 sport trac on it,and turned upside down it makes two large trays with 2" high sides-perfect for tearing down a tranny without spilling fluid.after seeing what we were going through the folks that lived across the street invited us in for lunch and to clean up.good people.time was of the essence too,as we had to catch the ferry out of port hardy fot the 22 hour sail to prince rupert so we could connect for the 7 hour sail to haida gwaii.miss that ferry,we would be screwed.

 

[jhammel85]

I drive 35 miles (to and from) work everyday and I've luckily only had this problem once...and it was my fault. So don't blame my ranger!

I was driving to work one day when it just went out and stalled on me. I found fuel dripping all over underneath. The fuel filter outlet line had blown off along with its clip. I got a ride from a family member to go by my 2 dollar box of clips and had it up and running in no time.

Reason why it was my fault...I put the clip on wrong the 1st time.

 

[robertc1024]

Man - I should start a thread - "What's your best-ever roadside repair?"

One time I was driving from Austin to Houston in my 1974 BMW 2002. They have a two piece drive shaft with a carrier bearing. The two halfs are connected with a rubber disc that lets them flex. While I was driving down the highway, the rubber disc blew up. I took my belt off, rolled it into a tight coil and sort of bolted the driveshafts together with the belt-coil. It got me to Houston anyway.

 

[feellnfroggy]

I spent 3 hrs on the side of 411 in sevierville, putting in an alternator on a 3 yr old chrysler pacifica. Have to remove the power steering and a/c compressor, holy geez what a bitch. I know how yall feel too. Glad you got it fixed OP.

 

[Will]

Driving a 5-ton at night pulling an M198 wearing a gas mask (before NVGs were widely available) I drove out of a big pit and ran the left steer tire over a line of sand-filled oil drums that were used the hold the road together. We were set up in this big mine and I was the gun closest to the ramp and could not turn sharp enough to get lined up straight with the ramp--and couldn't see anyway. Hard to describe, but the important thing is that when the tire dropped off of the last drum it smashed a fuel filter canister. These were not screw-on filters, but a canister with a nut on the bottom and a replacable element inside. The truck pulled to the top of the hill and then died. There was no mechanic around--which is normal--and it took me a while to realize that the fuel system was sucking air. I didn't know much about diesels back then. But I did see the big split on the canister. I made everyone open all the MREs we had and start chewing the gum. It was just a little piece in each one and a big friggin split to cover. I despise gum, and I almost puked sticking this golf ball sized wob of the stuff on the filter and hammering it down tight. But it worked and we managed to find our way back to our position.

The motor-t guys traded our truck for one of their trucks. Then, soon after, they hit a camel with my old truck and I watched it drive around for the next 6 months with a crushed hood.

 

[LiLRanger]

I got to change the entire rear axle out of my old '72 F-250 Hiboy 100 miles from town in NV one year.
We were moving and the axle shaft spit itself out going down the road at 65 MPH. My wife (driving the rental tuck) watched my tire disappear across the road into a field. Had to drive into town (at 4:30 pm) to find a wrecking yard, pull an axle, and drive back in my '83 Z-28. Changed the axle out only to find out the yolk was different on the new axle, and I couldn't find the right socket to change it.
So I just left off the rear driveshaft, and drive 1200 miles to our new home on the front axle alone!
As you can see, the truck was loaded. I had 3 Ford 360s, and tons of tools and misc in there, along with a 100 gallon fuel cell (loaded).