AMD5150

Lets share some stories about "Crazy breakdowns and how I got home".

late one night i was out cursing and i see steam pouring out from under the hood while at a red light.

i pull over and pop the hood. a small hose caring coolant to/from the intake to i cant remember where had broke. but the thing is that the hose was fine, it was the port on the intake broke off like it just crumbled from age or something.

so i had some hi-tack sealer in my tool box that i put on a stick from the ground and i jammed it in the intake and the hose to plug the hole so that i could make it home.

the next day i took the garden hose and placed it in the radiator to get some flow from the intake and i taped a new fitting and was good to go.

TVLynn

I was cruising the Route 66 car show in San Bernardino and melted my B&M shifter cable.. This happened at night. Had to crawl underneath the car and disconnect the shift linkage :-(. Hooked some string to the shift lever on the trans jumped the starter and once I got into the car I pulled it into drive so I could get home.

I had the Volare, I was up in Northern Cal, long ways from home on the highway. I happened to look in the rear view and saw smoke... A heater hose was leaking on intake. I cut it shorter for a repair and drove 10 miles back to town.. for some antifreeze

67 Dodge van electrical fire in the engine compartment KEPT pulling on the battery cable until the cable broke.

74 Dodge van trans band anchor point on the band broke off at home
79 Dodge van, Trans broke, thank fully in the drive way the wave spring for the clutch pack broke

Buffalojoe426

Once I went to the gas station to get some gas in the Scout. After I had filled up and paid I went outside to see a puddle of coolant on the ground. The lower radiator hose had a small hole in it. I went inside and bought some gum and a hose clamp. Put the gum in the hole and the clamp around the gum and made it home.

Another time I was driving in a field when my break pads fell out because they were so worn. I used the parking break and planned driving to make it back home.

My dad has an international 140 tractor that will from time to time shear a pen in the searing. The last time we tightened a bar clamp to the tie rod and walked beside it to steer it.

440roadrunner

We don't have time and space for the story of my life.

Broken clutch linkage/ other broken clutch troubles? No problem, just start it up in low gear and shift without the clutch

Once broke a nearly new Holley mechanical fuel pump. Working on the side of the road with a flashlight, a CHP stopped by, asked me "whut" and concluded "well you seem to know what you are doing, I guess you'll be out of here soon" and left. I pulled the pump, removed the broken arm, put the pump back on and bypassed the line. Already had an electric pump in the car, so off we went!!

Blew out a seal in a 440 oil pump, leaking oil all over you-know-what. Stopped at a store and bought a case of oil. This was aboiut 1972, but as I recall, it cost me 3-4 quarts of oil before I made it the 20? miles back to Miramar, where I could pull the pump

Once punched a hole in the side of the fuel tank with a rock, jacked it up 'til the gas stopped running out, and made a Great Big patch out of the then new GE silicone rubber. That patch was still on the tank when I sold the car several years later

Broke the 3-4 shift fork in the gearbox right before a long holiday weekend. Jacked up the car, pulled the cover, and removed the breakage. Got to drive around all weekend in 1st and 2nd gear. Didn't get far that weekend!!!!


When I was supposed to be in Spokane for my Navy physical in the raging blizzard of early Jan/ Feb of 68, I got up about 4:30AM (the very definition of oh - dark - thirty) to drive the 80 miles from home to Spokaloo, only to find that I had misplaced the keys to my 60 Ford Falcon. (Found 'em 6 years later) No problem, just hotwire the ignition and heater blower and drive off!!!!

Broke the spiders (didn't we all) in my 57 Chev. So weld-a-lock!!!! Yank out the 3rd member, weld the spiders together, and toss it back in!!!!

Once I busted the 3 speed 1st--reverse slider in my 57, and just- didn't--have another "that week" so pull all the breakage out and drive around with no 1st/ reverse and with 2nd / high gear only!!!! Yes, it IS a little hard on clutches!!!

One I could NOT fix was when the sixpack came apart S of Stockton at wee hours of the morning. We walked for MILES, and knew there nothing behind us for even more miles. Came upon a couple of brothers? cousins? who had a gas station in the middle of nowwhere, who towed the car to the station. Gave us a ride to Stockton. Asked a motor cop "how to" get out of town? "Have ya tried hitchhiking?" "Oh no officer, we have money. We're looking for trains, boats, planes." "Have ya tried hitchhiking?"

So we stayed in motel overnight, found out the next morning there were NO truck rentals one--way in town, took a bus to 'Frisco, an taxi to Oakland airport, and a PSA jet to San Diego. Taxi from Airport to National City to my buddies house, got his pickup and drove clear out to Miramar, where we got my '64 426 Dodge, borrowed some tires, rented a U haul tow bar and drove BACK NORTH from Miramar to damn near to Stockton where the car was at the service station, then TOW BARRED the 70 sixpack RR clear back to Miramar, where............

my leading chief, the "Columbo" of the U.S. Navy, knits his eyebrows, frowns, examines the oily mess inside the engine bay and says,


"Are ya supposed to be able to look THROUGH the engine and see the GROUND???"

pro-tech

I had a B200 van and a rock kicked up and put a hole in the radiator coolant spraying out all over the place. I had just picked up dog food for my dogs so I thought for a while and remembered that Bars Leak looked like rabbit pellets in oil so I put dog food in the radiator started it up and within a couple of minutes the leak stopped. drove a little ways and found a pond and topped off the radiator. I sold the van months later and never even fixed it properly. Thats a cheap fix. lol

jacilynn_s

82 Reliant. In public parking lot car wouldn't turn over. Went under hood used my trunk key to get it started drove home only to find out the wiring beside the battery was all white.

79 Diplomat in parking lot was going for an interview in skirt heels blouse all done up. Guy knocks on window telling me there was oil under my car. So go look sure enough trans fluid all over. Walk into store bought 5 liter container of trans fluid drove an hour home stopping to put in fluid. Torque converter cracked. Never did go for that interview.

Not much in the way of other serious problems on my own vehicles since I maintain them quite well. I have had brake lines wheel cylinders blow out but driving in neutral with a parking brake along with only using the front or rear brakes is not a big deal.

Did make up a tow bar for the truck once to tow someone. It's a little different since half the hitch is actually hooks into the top of the box. Pulled a 3 ton truck with siezed brakes with it and didn't know the brakes were siezed till I saw the smoke billowing from the rear brakes.

Was in my bf monaco once and the heater hose went on the highway. Used my nail file to saw through the hose, remove clamp, and tighten it before filling rad with ditch water to make it to his house. Sawing through the hose with a nail file took awhile but we did it.

AMD5150

good stories....

mikerp76

my mother in laws 96 sunfire broke the shifter cable where it attaches to the transmission. she towed it home and asked me to look at it. once i found the issue i flipped the cup that attached to the shift mechanism on the tranny. pounded it on to it. and filled it with jb weld. it was fixed like that when she traded her car in.