[INFO] Brag here about your on the road "McGyver" fixes

['plain o joe']

One time coming back from Savannah, got a flat, and it was a slow leak. Pumped it up with a portable compressor, headed for an exit. Small time exit, one C store, which was out of fix a flat. Got back on, went for the next exit, same deal.

Started going down again, next exit was far off. So I took my knife and cut a piece of rubber off the tire, and since I had the same kind of tire glue in the truck, ie clear pvc glue, I slopped the piece of rubber nad jambed it into the nail hole. Pumped it up, and drove home.

 

[CTCStrela]

Used my wife's fishnet thigh high as an emergency waterpump belt

 

[FollowTruth]

In the '70s my husband picked up a little Chevy Nova from a local teenager. That first weekend we took off for the beach and got a flat. When DH went to change the tire he found out the tire iron was too big for the lug nut. He took a penny from his pocket, bent it to fit the nut and used it as a shim.

I still carry that bent penny in my purse

Until later...
FT

 

[Brutus]

I assume it's safe to say that I'm the only one here who's ever "jumped out" a faulty Ford solenoid with the cleaning rod from a 1916 Spanish Mauser????

I was riding with a friend who had just bought the truck and didn't have any of his gear and tools in it just yet. We were on our way to a gravel pit to do a bit of shooting, and the CR of the Mauser was the only thing in the truck that would accomplish the task.

 

[Bigbng]

Never tried it MYSELF yet, but I saw a guy do this, he had an old battery that was forever giving him problems. Whenever he couldn't get it started, he would go and get a can of Coke and pour it on the terminals, a couple of seconds later, it would start up. I have a feeling that this was because his terminal connects were loose, and the coke made a temporary contact.
As for myself, I once rigged up a couple of beer cans, cut off both ends, an used it a temporary vent/heater connector on my old VW beetle. Looked kinda neat in the there and was always a topic of discussion when the hood was open.

 

[Brutus]

BigNg,

More likely the Coke ate up the corrosion on the batt. terminals that was causing the connection to fail. Coca-Cola works wonders for cleaning crud off of batt. terminal connections.

 

[Bigbng]

...and it works worders getting rid of rust.
I used it last time I changed front brake rotors.
Thew them in a bucket with a gallon of coke covering them for a couple of days, them took them in to have them turned.
The guy couldn't figure out why it smelled so sweet when he was working on them, until I told him what I had done....

 

[Satanta]

The oil cap came off my old Jeep so I'd cut one end off a coke can and tunr it upaisw soqn icwe the filler then drop the hood on it.

Actually used bailing wire to hold the dricers seat of my XJ in.

Only had brights because of a short in a p,u, so I did the WW2 thing and taped out my headlights with electrical tape to dampen them for night driving.

 

[vlad]

I buy fuel at 100 mile or so intervals and check oil and PS fluid.

When travelling, each morning before leaving the motel I check
coolant level in radiator.

(One morning I was checking my truck when the people next door came out. I offered the man my flashlight to check his radiator . He said, "No thanks. I don't want to let the pressure out.")

Miles from anywhere I smelled hot coolant and saw green splashes on the windshield. That morning I had not properly secured the smooth-round-river-rock type radiator cap. With engine running I slowly filled the radiator from the 5 gal jug of 66AF-33water I just happened to have aboard. With wire I secured a shop rag over the radiator spout. At the next town I bought a hexagonal radiator cap.

 

[West]

Baggin my x-mas tree one year(I shoot mine down so I can tag it properly) we got hit buy a snow dump. In just a few hours 5" fell fast and we hurried up our task. Tying down the trees to the roof of our 1945 jeeps soft top was the right thing to do. Because as we was fighting to get out the snow was sticking to the windshield so bad that I was useing the old hand crank windshield wiper constintly just to beable to see the trail. Thats when it got ugly because the windshield wiper flew right off and burried it's self in the snow. We could not go any farther with out being able to see. I tried sticking my head out the side but it was snowing so heavy I couldn't see jack.

Then it came to me. I pulled my knife out and cut a slit in the soft top right at the top of the drivers side windshield and grabed a branch from the x-mas tree and used that for a windshield wiper. And you know what, it worked better than the factory wiper. .

 

['plain o joe']

How much did the new rag top cost?

 

[West]

Allmost as much as the side window I had to bust out with a BFR on my new Ford a few years ago, because I locked my keys inside. Way up in them thar same hills.

The top was a rag anyway though. Never replaced it. Heck them drain holes in the floor boards need to be used. But I know a new one will cost some $$.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Not my fix, but I recall a neighbor who was quite a low-budget haywire artist. One summer, his 50's Dodge flatbed lost a fuel pump. Apparently, he didn't have time and money to change it right away. That truck finished the haying season with a 5 gallon GI gasoline can tied onto the roof, a fuel hose leading down to the hood and to the carburetor. Gravity feed will work on a carbureted engine, if you just keep the tank high enough.

Actually, I'm surprised at the number of people who are totally incapable of even the most simple "get-by" temporary repairs. I recall one night a few years ago, we were on the way back from a car show, and came upon a fairly serious accident investigation on our highway. The patients had been hauled away as we arrived, but the Troopers had much to do. I contacted the Trooper in charge, and told her I just happened to have two 4kW generators and a bunch of homebuilt halogen lighting standards in the bed of my incredibly ugly International (never mind the big white 1958 Cadillac on the trailer behind it).

The State Patrol was quite pleased when I turned a hundred yards or so of rural highway into "instant daylight." Once that was set up, I had some time free. A couple had their VW Rabbit parked in a pullout nearby. I inquired and found they could not drive, because their headlights had quit. I observed, "It has lights, a battery and wires; we should be able to get you some light." I made a couple quick checks, concluded it was the switch, and asked the guy if he thought he could drive the 5 miles to his motel in Marblemount on low beam. I stripped (without cutting) a bit of one low beam wire, took a 14 gauge test lead from my kit, let him watch me clip one end to the hot battery terminal, and the other alligator clip to the low beam wire ("Hey! The headlights are on!").

I confirmed that the driver had seen what I did, and understood that he was to lift the hood and unhook the test lead, after he reached his destination. The couple drove away happily.

What still amazes me is that this guy was essentially stranded and helpless, just because his headlight switch had gone bad. It's scary that there are so many guys out there who are just like him.

 

[West]

What still amazes me is that this guy was essentially stranded and helpless, just because his headlight switch had gone bad. It's scary that there are so many guys out there who are just like him.

It just amazes me too!

But OTOH it's people like that, that pays my bills. Even doctors and such, heh, heh......

 

[Hamilton Felix]

And some of those folks SHOULD know more. Now that I'm thinking of it, I'm recalling a time, perhaps 1977-78, when one night I stopped a a truck scale that was closed (nice place to stretch one's legs and check loading of one's pickup if curious). There was a young truck driver there. His 18 wheeler had headlights, but no markers. Like many, he was getting paid by the load, and he knew he couldn't run at night with nothing but headlights. He was stuck.

We flipped open the convenient dash panel that most big trucks have. He had a bad marker switch. I moved a wire or two, so his markers came on with his headlight switch. Warned him to replace the marker switch soon, as he now had more load on the headlight switch. Away he went, happy to be back on schedule. You'd think a Driver would know some of the basics. Oh well.

 

[West]

Just a vent. Sorry in advance. And almost on topic but not to much on the road. Yet stilll kinda a McGyver fix, for me anyway being a mechanical control guy.

I can't stand solid state control boards being used on applications that a simple mechanical relay and relay logic will do the job! Just because thay can manufactor the control board cheaper than a relay in China/Mexico! Then charge you a arm and a leg to replace the $.50 board for $80! And make you wait four weeks to get it! Also I see a lot of solderd in fuses installed in all kinds of solid state control boards and that just pees me off, haveing to solder in a fuse when thay could of just made it a snap lock type!

For over 15 years now I have been replacing stupid intergrated solid state control boards using relay logic on many applications in the field when the job needs to be done (ie the same day).

I know that there are a lot of you techie solid state PC type computer pocket protector guys here and you guys have my upmost respect! But sometimes I think, you can take your so called CPUs and ICMs, etc... and stick them up your computers where thay belong! ...

Best.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Right on, West!!!

I'm with you all the way! I am so sick of our engineers cramming things into the powerhouse that they think are cool, but are unnecessarily complex and not at all user friendly. We have processor controlling climate in our lunch room. All we really need is a two-contact thermostat. But now, if it acts up we have to call the supplier and get his programmer to sweet talk our PLC.

I don't care about "modern" or "high tech" or "state of the art." I just want "RELIABLE."


We're seeing more and more electronics in cars, and not just where it's beneficial. When I rent a new pickup and see the keyless entry lights up backup lights as well as interior lights, I know the backup light circuit is no longer a simple transmission switch and fuse. There's more to go wrong. Incidentally, that same pickup was sitting in an alley with park lights on, while I loaded furniture, when it just decided to turn its park lights off. I used flashers after that, but I'm sick of cars that think for me.

I think most of the folks in my special interest car club just enjoy owning something they can still work on.

 

[PilotFighter]

One thing I always carry in the truck is a bar of soap. Works great if you do any traveling on gravel roads, and happen to throw up a few rocks and ding a small hole in your gas tank. Just rub the bar of soap against the hole, and it will plug it up.

 

[MaxTheKnife]

I've had so many vehicular misadventures I don't even know where to start. But one of the most memorable was with an old '67 GMC 3/4 ton pickup/camper I used to have. I was loaded to the gills travelling from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Paris, Arkansas. My wife and I were moving some of our household goods and intended to park the camper on my Step-Dad's land so I could use the truck as a moving van for the second moving adventure down the road.

Anyway, we were somewhere in the middle of Kansas and had been looking for a good place to stop for a few hours of rest. The truck started running rough and I smelled gasoline! I pulled over at a likely spot and shut down the engine. Got out and popped the hood and gas was running from the inlet of the carburetor in a nice drizzle. I figured it was just that the fuel line nut vibrated off so I got my tools out and tightened the nut. It was one of those tubing nuts that's integral to the line. Well, that damn pot metal female orifice was plumb stripped out! I was so tired and disgusted I just went and took a nap thinking about the problem.

Now we had another several hundred miles to go and were way out in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to take the back roads so I wouldn't have to push that old truck at interstate speeds. Not one vehicle passed us in over 6 hours while we were parked there! After my nap I got out my spare parts bin and started scrounging, hoping to find the right part to fix my problem. No deal. Well, I found an old roll of fine electrical solder and decided to try building up the threads on that tubing nut. I wrapped it fairly tight and tapped it into the threads with a small brass hammer. Then I very gently inserted the nut and tightened it while pushing inward on the shoulders of the nut. It snugged up real tight and stopped the leak! We made it to Paris and I was able to put a good fix on the problem. I greased the threads of the tubing nut and smeared it with JB Weld and hand threaded it as tight as I could and let it set up. That fix lasted until I sold the truck almost 5 years later. Hey, if it works, don't fix it!

 

[MaxTheKnife]

Another time, many years ago, my wife and I decided to take a trip from Alamagordo, New Mexico to Elephant Butte reservoir/lake for a weekend camping trip. I had always wanted to fish in that lake. We were driving a souped up Chevy Chevelle SS with headers and mag wheels and the works. While we were slowly making our way up the dirt road/trail at Elephant Butte, I snagged the low hanging header manifold on a big rock and busted it half into! The only shade for miles was underneath that car and it was still over 100&deg under there.

Well, I crawled under the car with a pair of pliers and a roll of bailing wire and went to work. It was a tight squeeze and took some wiggling to get all situated under there and do my thing with the wire. Just as I was getting close to being done my wife jumped out of the car and squashed my head a good one and went to dancing around and hollering like the devil was after her! Well, I couldn't see much from under there and I was trying to yell louder than her so I could ask her what the big deal was. She finally looked under the car and pointed toward the back end of the car where I could clearly see a 6' rattlesnake making for my shade!!! Now it was no problem getting out from under that car and that's a fact. I was out in record time hunting a big rock to hurl at that rattler. My wife was still dancing around and I told her to get back in the dang car and quit all the noise. I lined up and slung that rock and busted that rattlers head a good one. We had him for supper after we got settled into our camp site. The wire job had to be finished up but it held all the way back home. I went around that big rock on the way back down.

 

[brake pedal]

i have done the jumper contacts

for headlights before for a friend that "has no clue" same dude spent two days in a motel, a wrecker bill and 156.00 bucks to a mechanic over a broken fan belt.

during a recent snow storm i stopped for gas on the way to work. it was about 9 PM in the evening. man in the next isle asked if there was a garage open at this time of night. i said no. then he asked about a wrecker company. i asked whats wrong with his car. this guy actually tells me he was cleaning his windshield and raised the wiper blade to clean it good. anyway the wiper blade "snapped off" i asked if he had the blade which he retrieved. it was still intact no breakage. i simply snapped it back into place, flipping it a few times to test it. man was so grateful he hauled out his wallet but i wouldn't accept.(actually the situation was so silly i thought it was a ruse to snatch my wallet while i fixed the blade.)

ok my mc fix. i had a flat and on the way home i hit a chug hole with the donut spare which dented the rim and dumped the air. i aired it up with my little compressor to get to a c-store just down the road. there i took the donut off laying it flat on the pavement. i then used the backside of an axe to beat the rim back into position. it still holds air today.

ok a mcfix gone bad. a dude was coming 115 miles from nashville to do weekends in a jail i worked. on the last day of his time a trooper told me he worked an accident on the interstate involving that POS car that guy drove. seems he was driving along and the car just disintigrated at 65 mph. dude was ok but what caused the car to vaporize was the 2x4's snapped. seems the frame had rusted in two on both sides and dude used 2x4's and baling wire to bridge the gap

 

[West]

seems the frame had rusted in two on both sides and dude used 2x4's and baling wire to bridge the gap

That sounds kinda like a indian fix for me, . (me haveing alot of indian in me blood)

As a teenager I couldn't afford new tires and since the old ones(cool looking raised white letter fat racing type tires) was worn right threw the belts, I had to do something. My dodge demon just had to get to the next party. So I bought used inertubes and had a friend that had some old tools and knew how to change tires the old fashion way,(alot of work) knocked out the rim mounted valve stems and installed the tubes. And then I took the good kind of real ductape and rapped the tires at least 30 times each. Lasted atleast a 100+ miles, driveing real slow and easy. Plus a few more rolls of duct tape. Didn't dare step on it!

I have also used old wooden shakes to keep many a batteries in place. A good thick choker chain works great for busted engine mounts. Bailing wire a must in any stock. Have used that stuff for many a things, from welding with it to tieing everything up and down with, Good stuff, .

"Vice grips" now theirs a tool. Kinda like a "cresent hammer".

Heh, heh, I hope more post come in this thread, so far it's great!

Best,

 

[vikan]

Now, you guys, I'm an engineer and I ascribe to the if it ain't broke philosophy too. What you are describing is the techno-geek who is in love with technology. Real world engineers usually aren't when they've had to fix the flippin things too.

My most memorable was just after I had gotten my license. I got the privilege of going out to get gas for my folks in my mom's plymouth duster.
{The real one from the early seventies, no air, no power steering, stick shift and would run like a scalded dog with an inline six!!}

I got the gas and headed home. I smelled gas and it kept on getting worse. I stopped and popped the hood. The fuel line had a rubber vibration gap in it. It had sprung a leak and was squirting fuel on the exhaust manifold. Fortunately, the header was still pretty cool. I waited a bit and scrounged around for a fix. Found a toilet paper core from my mom's head wrapping habit for her big hair and some tp still on it. Nothing else in the car or trunk. Split the core, wrapped it around, stuffed it full of tp so it wouldn't spray any more onto the manifold and drove like a bat out of you know where home. Borrowed Dad's car and went and bought a new fuel line piece.

 

[don24mac]

Once driving down the Kankamangus Highway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, my VW squareback just up and died. Engine just stopped and I coasted to the side of the road. After checking for about a half an hour I found that no power was getting to the electric fuel pump in the tank. Something in the computer system switch broke I guess.

I connected a wire to one of the the parking light sockets and ran it to the fuel pump wire. We drove home from New Hampshire with no problems, other than having to have the parking lights on.

Since I didn't want to replace the computer in that thing, which was well over my budget, I simply wired the fuel pump to the ignition switch to be on whenever the ignition was on. Ran that car that way for a few more years before I finally got rid of it.

 

[Bigbng]

Well Max, you story about your wife brought back a "memory" of mine, we used to wash, and vac the car together until one time, she was vacuuming the interior while I was jawing with the neighbour, well I was leaned up against the right front fender with my hands streched back behind me, one on the hood, the other in the door jamb.
You can imagine my howl when she went to close the door, unbenownst to her, my fingers still there!
Last time she ever helped me cleaning the car....

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Need a McGyver fix here...

My friend had a little mishap when a bare metal "tee block" junction on the main positive battery cable rubbed against his clutch cable. He didn't have an extinguisher, and the nearest neighbor had three dead ones...

Anyone giving away a 1988 Dodge Colt that needs an engine???

 

['plain o joe']

Bump