Mickey Mouse fixes

[Ross]

Sometimes you you need to make do with what you've got. What is your best "resourceful" repair?

[Alexlind123]

Bailing wire and a piece of inner-tube rubber to replace a broken radiator mount.

[SchnellE34]

Coat hanger looped and used as an exhaust hanger...

[gale]

The top radiator hose nipple cracked nearly all the way around leaving only about a 3/8" long stub to clamp the hose to. I ordered a new radiator but had to make a trip up to Denver in the meanwhile, so I scooted the hoseclamp up as close as I could, cinched it real tight, and wired it to the front bulkhead panel & carried several gallons of water & wire & ducktape in the trunk.

Made trip ok without any problem. I figured if it were to blow, it would be after it's parked and the hoses swell up, so once I was on the road I didn't worry as much about it.

[Ross]

Duct tape AND hose clamps! You are my idol.

[gale]

stripped & twisted the rear brake sensor wires together to get rid of the stupid brake warning check control chime every 15 minutes while on a roadtrip. Figured the token 1/16" of remaining pad was more than enough to get me home.

[gale]

My favorite was back in 1976 in my '58 356A when I was ripping thru Cachuma Pass late at nite, heading from LA up to Cal Poly SLO to turn in my senior project. I started smelling raw gas really bad coming thru the heater vents. Pulled over & found gas gushing out of the left carb & the side cover of the Zenith main jets laying on the sheet metal above the left head. Luckily neither the cover nor the bolt had rattled out of the engine compartment yet. The threads were stripped & the cover wouldn't stay on. I pulled a real McGiver with this one. My flashlight batteries were dead so I fashioned a reflector mirror with a beer can & worked by moonlight after waiting 20 minutes for my eyes to acclimate to the dark. A pine needle jammed into the threads was the best I could come up with to keep the bolt tight & had a some spare axle boot hose clamps in my tool box & put 2 of them together end-to-end & was able to strap the cover on clear around the carb. To this day, I don't know why all that gas pouring down the side of the head and onto the exhaust didn't burst into flames.

Got home & rebuilt the carbs & drilled & tapped all the holes out to the next metric size larger & block-sanded all the warpage out of the mating faces & re-sync'd the carbs. The car went like stink after that. :D Someday I put my perpetual garage queen back on the road, it's been sitting since 1979. :(

[Nick.Hay]

MMmmmmm..... 356. Yum!!

I once ripped off sleeve of my shirt to wrap round a broken fuel line... Then used 100mph tape (ie the race-tape/cloth tape stuff thats really sticky and strong) to secure it.

Didn't cure the leak, but atleast it slowed it, and stopped fuel spraying onto hot exhaust manifold!! :D No fuel stations nearby, and she ran out only 1km from my house!!


Race tape and electrical ties were also the basis of existance for my 323 Familia rallycar!!

[F4Phantom]

In my e30 the odometer stuffed up and it was not RWC. I ripped it to bits and found the rubbery teeth on the gear were gone in one point. I drilled a hole in the gear and put a smaller rubber band through the hole and over the teeth missing area of the gear so when the other gear got to that part it would have something to grip. I drove the car, it would pause a little at that spot but passed RWC and sold no probs.

Also we had a show in Australia called bush mechanics, one solution was some guys carved a brake pad out of some wood.

[Qube]

Oh damn... this thread just reminded me that I have some string tied in strategic places on the car I need to replace! :D

[Ross]

I notice you have a 7 with the 5 spd. My first BMW was a 735(E32) with 5 spd. It was great except in the Chicago winter it shifted like the lever was in cement. The 7 with a gearbox is a great combo,too bad they aren't more plentiful.

[McWatters]

Bought a new battery, and the Hose that connets to the battery exhaust hole or whatever was tooooo short. so i went to walmart, bought some fish tank tube. fit over the hole and over the previous hose. like a charm :)

not to mention proping up the front bumper with zip ties.

cheers

J.McWatters

[tgrandahl]

my shift linkage fell out (still dont know why) on a back road 100+ miles from home. The clips were missing so i tied it back on with a hairband from my girlfriend after pushing the car onto a curb. It went over 500 more miles to get home and it never fell out.

[shogun]

Talking of girlfriends:
On my old beetle the V-belt cracked once upon the time.
Used the stockings of my girlfriend as (V)-belt, worked perfect.

[Zeuk in Oz]

Talking of girlfriends:
On my old beetle the V-belt cracked once upon the time.
Used the stockings of my girlfriend as (V)-belt, worked perfect.
Just goes to show the wisdom of dating girls with long legs ! ;)

[kyleN20]

broke a starter bolt on my f150 due to PO wiring the starter with a home eletrical nut, anyways, 2 bolts hold the starter, and i broke the bottem one (closer to the ground) its a hardened steel bolt so drilling it out and through would be tough, and also trining it to put a "easy" out in would be hard. there was about 1/4 inch sticking out from the bellhousing, tried to clamp with vice grips, NOTHING WOULD WORK FOR ME. the solution, put a c-clamp from the starter flange, to the trans housing. on month and going strong, haha

[Ross]

That was recommended in a FOMOCO service bulletin.

[632 Regal]

I did a simple but very effective nagging fix to my car, can see it with the hood open. Saving it for the Chi Town meet, drinks on me if anyone spots it...no cheating and telling everyone...lol.

I laugh every time I open the hood that its still holding. Even my son saw it and asked what it did, I explained and he still points to it and says "remember this?"

[BillionPa]

i had to fix the laser pickup assembley on a sony portable cd player with a piece of steel gardening wire and superglue.

[632 Regal]

1968 Buick Skylark 455: Back in my youth I blew the rear universal joint doing a doughnut infront of a friends house while I was on suspension, there was no way to fix the thing and with everyone at school I couldnt get a tow (no cell phones then either) I tied my leather belt around the broken U-joint in position and made it 4 miles home, this was a lot of rotation since I was running a 4:30 rear gear setup. The belt was trashed but still pretty solid.

1968 Buick Skylark 350-3 cylinders: Used a carb return spring on the wipers and a radio wire on my ghetto cruiser when it rained, impressed the ladies... :D

1990 GMC 4x4: another drive shaft story... lost the rear drive shaft. No way to get a ride or tow at the time. Simply put the busted yoke in the back of the trans, popped it in 4WD and drove home, yoke had a lip and for some reason it didnt fall out the back. That was impressive to me.

[Rustam]

Sometimes you you need to make do with what you've got. What is your best "resourceful" repair?

Best resourceful - using 4 inch span clamps to depress valves on m30 head to clear the camshaft. Saved a ton of $

Best efficient - small screwdriver - used to pry open evaporative purge valve yesterday. Shook the charcoal out sealed it - good as new. ~$60 saved...

[mzarifkar]

I will tell you my grandpa's story:
He was driving a Peykan, a persian brand of car with a fundemental design flaw in every part.

His fuel pump broke down in the middle of the desert, even though he covered it with a wet sandfilled sock to keep it cool.

He tied his windshield washer container to his antenna, using the tubes from the windshield washer, he devised a drip system into the car's carburator. then added gas to the winshield washer tank and went on his way

[BillionPa]

that is totally hardcore dude

[632 Regal]

me and him would have got along great!

[Alexlind123]

I will tell you my grandpa's story:
He was driving a Peykan, a persian brand of car with a fundemental design flaw in every part.

His fuel pump broke down in the middle of the desert, even though he covered it with a wet sandfilled sock to keep it cool.

He tied his windshield washer container to his antenna, using the tubes from the windshield washer, he devised a drip system into the car's carburator. then added gas to the winshield washer tank and went on his way

That is awesome...i would like to hear the story to beat this :)

[jbourke]

Also we had a show in Australia called bush mechanics, one solution was some guys carved a brake pad out of some wood.

What about that time those Aboriginal guys put petrol in the windscreen washer bottle and connected it to the carb because the fuel pump had died ... While driving one of the passengers had to press "wash/wipe" regularly!

Oh I do miss Ozz:(

Cheers,

John

[mikell]

'66 MG Midget - middle of Alabama, 10:00 PM, in 1971 or so. Fuel pump stopped (a frequent Lucas stunt). Decided it was the electrical feed. Hitched in to a gas station, scrounged about 3 pieces of scrap wire (household type mostly), walked back and wired the pump to the tail lights using duct tape as insulation. (British car owners should always carry duct tape) Drove all the way to Boston with the lights on. Oh, and whilst doing this, some state troopers came along just to make sure I was not Dennis Hopper or somebody (Easy Rider was still a recent memory then) and left without so much as offering a ride, a call for a tow or even "have a nice trip".

[KenB]

'66 MG Midget - middle of Alabama, 10:00 PM, in 1971 or so.

1971? Weren't you still riding around on dinosaurs back then?? LOL, just kidding, I started driving in 1971, my Dad had 2 MGB's back in the early 60's and he was always fixing electrical gremlins but said he would never go back to "Detroit Steel" he passed away in '66 but that statement stuck with me, I've only owned 1 American car, all the rest have been German.

When the return spring on the accelerator cable on my '63 VW bug broke in the middle of nowhere, I used my shoelaces to tie together and tie to the gas pedal for return. What a fun drive that was!

[BigTed00]

in the e36:

in my 328is I was driving down I-95, when I hit something in the road and all of a sudden heard a loud grinding noise. Luckily there was a rest stop 1 1/2 miles ahead. I coasted into the rest stop and on inspection found the plastic wheel well liner had broken loose and was rubbing against the wheel. took it apart right there with a screwdriver and was on my way. I have a pic too ill post later

in the e34:

when I bought the car the huge CAI wasnt secured to anything. When I hit a bounce in the road it would bound up and down as well, damaging itself and the intake boot. Solution? I just put two black zip-ties together and zipped it down, havent heard a peep since. Its ghetto but works

[chris_e34]

props to that mzarifkar, i would of loved to hear more of his stories. i think my most resourcefull fix on the go would have to be the old bubble gum trick, to plug a hole in my radiator. i put alot of pepper in the coolant to stick to the back of the gum so it wouldnt bubble. it took my girfriend and i a good amount of time to chew 4 packages of bazooka to get enough to fill the hole. i duct taped a sock over the gum/pepper mix and it held for 72 miles. it was int he middle of a snow storm which made it even more fun. while i was doing this, a nice local asked if i needed help (2am at a gas station in bumf**k va), when he came over to see what i was doing he laughed and told me a story about how his team won a national level race with a bubblegummed radiator (he was on the pit crew) im not sure i beleive him but it was defintiely funny at the time. btw it was a 92 mit. eclipse, i would never risk this in my bimmer. :)

[mikell]

1971? Weren't you still riding around on dinosaurs back then?? LOL, just kidding, I started driving in 1971, my Dad had 2 MGB's back in the early 60's and he was always fixing electrical gremlins but said he would never go back to "Detroit Steel" he passed away in '66 but that statement stuck with me, I've only owned 1 American car, all the rest have been German.


Midgets WERE dinosaurs! The finest pre-war (take your pick of whichever war you wish - Crimean, I think) technology available. And, I have never owned an American manufactured car - working on my brother's Corvair cured me of that notion.

[KenB]

Midgets WERE dinosaurs! The finest pre-war (take your pick of whichever war you wish - Crimean, I think) technology available. And, I have never owned an American manufactured car - working on my brother's Corvair cured me of that notion.

Come to think of it, when taking apart my "American" Chevelle (1971) I found a sticker on it saying "Manufactured In Canada" I guess that's why it lasted so long?

[Anthony (M5 in Calgary)]

'69 Ford Cortina (English) - Starter motor bolts fell out during a drive and, as I was alone, a push start was not an easy option. Besides, the starter motor was hanging by its cable - not good. The only tool I had in the car was a 5" Vise Grip. Clampled the starter back on and was on the road again.

Lucas electrics: 8.5 volt drop betwen the alternator and battery. If you can believe it, the charging cable went through about 8 connectors (bullet and spade types) between alt, bulkhead, ignition switch, ammeter and starter relay. The face of the ammeter got so hot you could burn your fingers on it. What a disaster.

[Mike-AZ]

Using a hammer-on style grommet from Home Depot after my aux fan fell of of it's motor because the proprietary clip fell off. 1.5 years and counting. -- Mike

[Rodericb]

The top radiator hose nipple cracked nearly all the way around leaving only about a 3/8" long stub to clamp the hose to. I ordered a new radiator but had to make a trip up to Denver in the meanwhile, so I scooted the hoseclamp up as close as I could, cinched it real tight, and wired it to the front bulkhead panel & carried several gallons of water & wire & ducktape in the trunk.

Made trip ok without any problem. I figured if it were to blow, it would be after it's parked and the hoses swell up, so once I was on the road I didn't worry as much about it.

Had the same problem once and used a Bic ink pen top. Cut the end and stuck it into the opening as far as It would go. Put some silicone around it and clamped on the hose. Ran it like that for an entire year until I replaced the radiator.

[mzarifkar]

[QUOTE=chris_e34]props to that mzarifkar, i would of loved to hear more of his stories. QUOTE]

Everyone seems to speak of him in past tense but he is still around and fixing things around the house. I will talk to my dad sometime and see if he recalls anymore of his stories.

[tasman]

We were in an Artillery strike and I was trying to get out, when I see a civilian HUMMV broken down. I get out and it is the camera crew for Ted Kopel (Ted Kopel was with our Unit). They say that their vehicle will not start. I check and the battery is dead. I tell my driver to get the jumper cables and when he tries to start it, we melt the jumper cables. I go check the batteries and the Military batteries are hooked up in series-parrallel to gain both volts and amps. I look at the civilian HUMMV and notice it is hooked up in two different 12 volt systems. I figure out which one goes to starting system and disconnect it and hook the other battery in and now it cranks but will not start. I do not have time to trouble shoot, so I take a shot as I have seen where the fuel injection cut off has poor clearances and sometimes when they get hot, it blocks the solenoid from letting fuel through. I pour 1.5 liters of water on the top of injection pump and it starts; I tell them not to shut it off until they don't need the vehicle any more. I find out later it was a Kuwaiti rental.
TasMan

[kyleN20]

you serious? it works like a charm

[Ross]

No,but glad it works.

[kyleN20]

it might as well be, iv drove on some shitty bumpy roads, and nothing has fallen off yet

[rob101]

Also we had a show in Australia called bush mechanics, one solution was some guys carved a brake pad out of some wood.
still on TV on ABC i saw it the other day, probably mine would be helping a friend replace a broken thermostat housing for a nissan gazelle (200sx for you gringos) we couldn't find one so we put one on from a ford courier that we saw in supercheap with the same bolt dimensions.
worked too! i couldn't believe it!

[genphreak]

Bought a new battery, and the Hose that connets to the battery exhaust hole or whatever was tooooo short. so i went to walmart, bought some fish tank tube. fit over the hole and over the previous hose. like a charmKeep an eye on it, it carries gaseous vapours most of the time; of sulphuric acid. Poly hose may not be the ideal material but of course it may be fine. I don't know.

[Derek A.]

Current Uses of Zip Ties on my e34:
1. Drivers side door lock connecter. Got three of the holding it together since the regulator too a chunk out of the plug.
2. Aux Fan - its a generic aftermarket unit. Got a bolt on one mount - zip ties on the others.
3. Clutch switch - I bent the piss out of the brachet trying to get the clutch helper spring in. cracked the switch. So now there are 3 zip ties holding it together.