gritineye Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 As every one must have a story to tell, this thread is the place to tell us how you, or someone you know, got their MV (or any thing else) home after a breakdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Half way through the Pickering War Weekend last year, the back of the silencer and tailpipe fell off ( rustworm!! ). We stopped off at a clothes stall, asked for two wire coat hangers and tied it on with them to get home. When the rear prop shaft universal joint died, I just took it off and used the front wheel drive, and when the master brake cylinder failed, I just used the gears and handbrake. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 We stopped off at a clothes stall, asked for two wire coat hangers and tied it on with them to get home. When the rear prop shaft universal joint died, I just took it off and used the front wheel drive, and when the master brake cylinder failed, I just used the gears and handbrake. Steve Now this is the sort of info we need, This sort of thing must be dying out nowadays as you don't see cars with the spare coat hanger stuck in the front wing as you used to! :-D I drove the Explorer in FWD once, and didn't the front tyres yelp pulling out of junctions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Baler twine, wire both barbed and coat hanger and duct tape have all payed their part in emergency get you home repairs for me but wire coat hangers are becoming a thing of the past since the dry cleaners have changed to plastic hangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topdog Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Half way through the Pickering War Weekend last year, the back of the silencer and tailpipe fell off ( rustworm!! ). We stopped off at a clothes stall, asked for two wire coat hangers and tied it on with them to get home.When the rear prop shaft universal joint died, I just took it off and used the front wheel drive, and when the master brake cylinder failed, I just used the gears and handbrake. Steve So tell me Steve, have you got much left that still works (snigger)...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Oh yes, it all still works after 3 years and over 6000 miles with the jeep. None of my mechanical failures stopped me driving the Jeep home! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Grosvenor Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Well the other week I was sub-contracting for Tesco driving an old bruiser of an Iveco Cursor. I tipped the first load, returned to the DC to change trailers but just as I was about to drop the trailer the gearbox got stuck in 4th gear. I tried the usual things like shouting at it and giving it a good thump but nothing worked so I called the boss man and left it for him to look at and blagged myself a nice brand new Tesco Merc Axor to finish the shift. On returning to the Iveco the "fix" was to drive it home ( about 20miles ) in 4th gear ( 15mph ) ! And this was at 2.30 in the morning! Believe me, I have never been so worried about falling asleep at the wheel or having someone run into the back of me before. And I will never complain about the Militant only being able to do 30mph again. Regards Richard Ps. It was the syncro ring breaking that caused it to stick in gear. And it wasn't me that broke it. I just happened to be driving it when it broke. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I'd rather drive a Militant than an Iveco any day of the week (see Catweazles word for such things on another thread):-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I'd rather drive a Militant than an Iveco any day of the week (see Catweazles word for such things on another thread):-D :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::clap: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 One of my favourites is bean tin enginnering. I had an old Montego, actually a reliable one. The end of the twin down pipe to the exhaust went a day before the MOT was due. I got an old bean tin split it wrapped it round and smeared plenty of gun gum round it and Jubille clips. When I got it to the MOT I explained and said I was really there to find out what it would fail on. to my suprise it pased. As the inspector said, it was a metal to metal repair and didn't leack. so for the next 4 years the pre MOT consisted of 'change the bean tin'. It has worked many times since. You do need a steel tin though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritineye Posted April 28, 2008 Author Share Posted April 28, 2008 You do need a steel tin though. Detail, attention to detail, this is what makes these things work:tup:: people need to know this in the Pot noodle age :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I called the local AA service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Hmm - not sure that counts as "Desperate/Diabolical" Joris. Might be borderline desperate but even so,,,, :whistle::whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woa2 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Half way through the Pickering War Weekend last year, the back of the silencer and tailpipe fell off ( rustworm!! ). We stopped off at a clothes stall, asked for two wire coat hangers and tied it on with them to get home. When the rear prop shaft universal joint died, I just took it off and used the front wheel drive, and when the master brake cylinder failed, I just used the gears and handbrake. Steve I used to use a wire coat hanger at work to install multi-million pound Computer sytems at Vodafone. Very useful piece of kit to reach power leads or network leads just out-of-reach under the false floor of a Datacentre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Ah data centres - do you know 6" nails make ideal replacements for the master fuses in a datacentres power supply?? Honest - and it must be a good idea 'cos my previous employers were paying the contractor who came up with that little gem £40K/year!!!! Which probably explains why they couldn't afford to replace the fuses for a few months. I'm told the glow from these diabolical fixes was quite something!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woa2 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Ah data centres - do you know 6" nails make ideal replacements for the master fuses in a datacentres power supply??Honest - and it must be a good idea 'cos my previous employers were paying the contractor who came up with that little gem £40K/year!!!! Which probably explains why they couldn't afford to replace the fuses for a few months. I'm told the glow from these diabolical fixes was quite something!!!! He sounds like the bloke I replaced. I kept finding his bodges and fixing them took ages. For example, a 3 phase power lead going into a junction box, and 3 single phase sockets coming out, all sharing the same neutral and earth connections. Another was using only 32amp breakers on 16amp or 11amp power leads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 When my Land Rover gear stick rather inconsiderately broke off right at it's base I hammered onto the remaining stub a 16mm socket and used an extension bar as a substitute gear stick. It not only got me home but looked pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Baked bean cans and (metal) coat hangers,...............brilliant bits of 'rural engineering kit',.......:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I've yet to find a girl I can rip the stockings off to use as a fan belt ( whether I need a fan belt or not!! ). The search continues!! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I've yet to find a girl I can rip the stockings off to use as a fan belt ( whether I need a fan belt or not!! ). The search continues!! Steve :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::clap: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I called the local AA service Our AA is more Oh Oh I'm one of the 5% but then I do know about engines, who would tell them where to place their spanners. I broke down once in a company car, the cam belt had gone, all of a sudden engine stops. when starter is turned over engine spins very freely , distinict noise on turn over. So phone AA, where are you sir?, Dartford crossing on the M25 going from Essex to Kent, Where is the M25 sir? :shocked: what is wrong with it? Cam belt has gone, Oh we can't take your word sir, we will send an enginner. You won't fix this by the side of the road needs recovery. No, sir an engineer will check it. 2 hours later, Up turns AA van little man gets out, whats Up? Cam belt gone, Oh open bonnet please, I oblige he removes oil filler cap. Will it turn over, yes, the cam belt has gone. Turn it over plaease, I did, Oh says little man, cam belt gone can't fix that by the side of the road. I walk away crying with the effort of keeping my hands off his throat. 2 hours after that flat bed turns up. Journey time home 20 minutes. Green flag on the other hand, Where are you M25 Essex side where are you going Kent, have you got money for crossing, or do we bill it, got money fine contractor on way. About ten minutes later phone call from contractor, what's up mate? Cam belt gone, Oh B**er, right be with you about 45 minutes, sorry but we are very busy. So about 30 minutes later on the truck and home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Got a 'phone call from Ruddington to tell us we hadn't cleared our lot. Apparently, it was a 3 lot and we had only picked up 1. This wasn't unusual in those days, half the time people didn't know what they had bought. It was two 109 FFR Series III non-runners. We convinced Dominic Ballard (of RRs) to take us up in his Citroen Safari; we loaded up half the yard as we hadn't a clue what we might need. On arrival, we saw the two Land Rovers in the middle of the 'burning ground'. There wasn't another vehicle on site. I remember it was cold so it must have been late in the year. On inspecting the vehicles, one had the rear end of the transfer box missing, hardbrake drum, etc. The other one was complete but, after we filled it with water, was definitely a no-go. We stripped the parts off the transfer box and re-assembled the other one. It fired up OK but it was obvious the rear diff was knackered and a ringer. So we took the prop off and drove round in front wheel drive and it was OK, but no brakes! We rigged up the A frame and attached it to the Citroen. We set off to Rick Wakeman's War of the Worlds - job done. It wasn't long after joining the motorway that the windscreen of the Citroen was covered with anti-freeze from a blown headgasket - so what was to be done? The only thing to do was fire up the Land Rover and push Dominic, in the Citroen. We had the power - he had the brakes, but with no servo! So off we set but it wasn't long before the Land Rover boiled up. We hadn't any water but found a traffic cone and found we could lift the drain covers and lower the cone down on a rope and fill it up. So again we set off with the Land Rover pushing the Citroen in front wheel drive with no brakes. With constant stops to fill up the Land Rover radiator, we got to the outskirts of London. We made sure we had a can full of water and set off to negotiate the Edgware Road and Park Lane. Remember, I am driving the Land Rover pushing the Citroen - he has the brakes. The difficulty was judging whether Dominic was going to brake or take a chance on a late traffic light change. I think at times he braked, I stayed on the throttle so he came off the brake and so it went on . . . . We managed to get back to Battersea without any more problems and retired to the Prodigals Return to celebrate. We didn't really think much of it at the time time as we were always getting up to things which was normal then. You would, of course, not get away with it today - I don't know if that's good or bad, but it was fun. Come to think of it, we never did go back for the other one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisg Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Towed a 15 seater transit mini bus with a blown engine from Milton Keynes with a 109 2.2 bmc diesel landrover on a rope back to brighton in january blooming freezing.Left milton keynes about 1am. Remember coming down the purley way and wondering where the tow vehicle was. I was trying to overtake it!! Its amazing what you could get away with or is it scarey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I've yet to find a girl I can rip the stockings off to use as a fan belt ( whether I need a fan belt or not!! ). The search continues!! Steve You lead such a sheltered life Steve but that comment brings back many a happy memory of the fifties/sixties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I often felt like ripping the fan belt off and raping round my first wifes neck.:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.