roadside repairs with makeshift tools

[bhansen99xj]

Not really a roadside repair, but interesting to say the least. A buddy and I were replacing U-joints, tie rod ends, coil springs. When we put the axle shaft in the vice to remove the U-joint we damaged the dust shield. It was midnight so no auto stores open. We got some diameter measurements and cut a dust shield out of vinyl siding and it is holding up well!

 

[Yucca-Man]

JB Weld and a quarter.

I drove up to Boise in 2001 for a meeting with HP. On the last day I was there, just before the last exit I realized I was spewing an oil cloud behind me. I pulled into the Burger King parking lot and looked underneath...oil was pouring from the oil pressure sender.

I spent the night in the truck stop parking lot because nobody could find a metric bolt that would fit in place of the sender. They DID have JB Weld though, so I used a pair of vice-grips to hold the broken sender in place while I applied a layer of JB Weld to hold a quarter in place on the end. The next morning, after I decided the epoxy had hardened enough, I reinstalled the sender, picked up a spare at the dealership, and headed home from Boise to Denver. The quater sender stayed in place for several months until I changed it out; it never dripped a bit.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

 

[Sherman_thetank]

My buddy was trying to drift his s10 down this s-curve, and on the last curve got too wide and hit a stump...ripped the entire axle shaft right out of the axle. So we ratchet strapped a wheel dolly to the axle where the hub use-to be and drove about 6 miles before all the wheels broke off the dolly....luckily it was only another 2block to his house, because....we had quite the light show coming from that thing.

 

[Ecomike]

Impressive, most impressive list!

Mine have been minor compared to these. Had my starter mounting bolts shear off one day on my manual tranny diesel jeep. Pulled the starter off and push started it in the Wallmart parking lot and drove home.

50 miles from nowhere my alternator/battery voltage went to zero, AC died, knew something was very wrong so I pulled over..... a wire at the battery/starter relay was glowing and smoking. At the time I found and pulled what later turned out to be the O2 sensor heater relay which killed the short, but still let me drive home 200 miles. No tools and no parts needed, just some electrical savvy.

Found the real short a few weeks later, it was the O2 sensor heater wire shorted to the manifold.

 

[1995sport]

A couple of years ago I had an s-10 blazer with a built 350, and 6-speed. Taking off from a standing start, this thing would wheelhop so bad it felt like you were driving over a series of speed bumps.

I was coming home from college down the interstate, and a couple of cars blew by me going 100+. I took chase, caught up, and proceeded to murder them all. A couple of exits up, we all got off to B.S. I get down the exit, hit the stop sign, and dump the clutch.... clue the wheelhop.

Pull into the gas station, bs for a few minutes, and go to start the truck. I wouldn't turn over, nothing. Pop the hood and see that the wires going to the starter solenoid had come off, apparently the nut had vibrated off. Dug through my gloveblox, found an alligator clip, clipped the wires on, started it up, and drove the last 50 miles home.

 

[Shorty]

just got home with my new-to-me 3rd generation Firebird. Previous owner had begun an interior restoration and decided he would rather spend his money on wine, women, and song instead of the ol' bird. I got it running and off I went...... next thing I know, I'm in the back seat lying on my side! Evidently, he had unbolted the seats and "forgot" to mention it.

I slid the seat back over the studs it bolts to and gripped them with the only two tools I took with me for the trip-- two sets of vice grips. Home safe and sound and now the fun begins! I can't b**ch too much, though as it was a free car:clap:

 

[The Box]

Not in an xj, but somehow my buddys yj had lost a bolt on the alternator bracket and was pivoting on one. It wasn't holding enough resistence on the belt to keep it turning so I stuck a screwdriver through the alt hole and the bracket hole. Then tied a shoe lace to it and to the fender to wedge it into place. It worked well but every few miles it would vibrate loose and we would have to coast to the side of the road an readjust it.

 

[ehall]

I had to make a field repair today and thought about this thread. On the way to the garage, the Cadillac threw the "no charge" idiot light, so I pulled into a stop-and-rob parking lot to check it out. The nut on the alternator positive power post was a little loose so I cranked it down with a wrench, and the insulation boot on post broke and fell out, leaving the post dangling loose and shorting against the alternator body. In order to fix it, I rolled some electrical tape long-ways so that it was a long rubber string, wrapped it around the post and tied it into a loose overhand knot, then cranked the stud bolt back down pinching the makeshift rubber washer against the body

Seems to be working fine. I'll replace the alternator under warranty of course, but this should hold for a couple of days

 

[Blaine B.]

Back in March a friend sheered both passenger side balljoints and the axleshaft in his 90 YJ forging through some thick ice in water.....he was cruising along and the ice was so thick that he literally came to a standstill instantly, almost smacking his face on the windshield

Without much hope we tried tying a log to keep the wheel on...while we waited for a friend to bring a tow truck from his work.

Well he suggested we try and reseat the balljoints, lifted the front up with a hilift and slid the balljoints back together while I jumped on the front bumper to reseat them.

2 other jeepers broke the rest of the ice on the path leading up to dry land where the towtruck was parked. Somehow the YJ managed to stay together and make its trip through the water to the waiting towtruck!