RECKLESS_TRENT
RECKLESS Photography
A good strong ratchet strap hooked to a tree or another truck or to the truck itself to pull the tie rod straight enough to drive it home. My bf has done it twice now
CK5
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Post Your Strange Trail fixes That Work!
- Thread starter Metrodps
- Start date
Saw another "fix" today that I thought was clever..
A Jeep came in my friends shop the other day..did some exhaust pipe replacement on it...
He notices a grey lumpy area on the rear diff cover..the owner was standing outside,he asks him "hey--your diff cover have a rot hole in it or something--looks like someone used bondo or silicone to seal it up ?.."
The owner suddenly gets one of those "oh YEAH,now I remember" looks on his face--and he explains how last winter he slid on an icy road one night,and it ended up bumping a granite curb with the rear diff cover--just hard enough to crease it and make a slit in it..he didn't notice it till the next morning when he sees a puddle of gear lube oozing out--luckily it happened only a few miles from his house!..
His father told him not to drive it ,otherwise it will burn up the diff bearings ,maybe more...not wanting to be late for work ,or having to pay for a tow,a new diff cover,etc,his dad suggested welding or brazing it up..but they had no welding torches or welder..
The father did have a propane torch though,and he pried some of those stick on wheel weights off the mag wheels on the jeep,and proceeded to heat them up till they "got just mushy enough",and used pliers to hold the lead up against the diff cover,and "peened" it into place with a ball pein hammer...
He topped off the gear lube his dad went and got, and drove it to work..
Evidently it worked well enough for him to forget he had patched it up that way!..he had my friend weld it up with his MIG,he said it didn't want to weld well because some lead seemed to have gone right into the pores in the steel cover..but he managed to get a decent weld on it after wire brushing and grinding on it..
I'm tempted to go mash a few wheel weights into the rot holes on my 6.2's oil pan,after seeing how they worked on that jeeps diff!..the J-B Waterweld just wont seal 100% and its losing a quart every time I go 50 miles or so..
A Jeep came in my friends shop the other day..did some exhaust pipe replacement on it...
He notices a grey lumpy area on the rear diff cover..the owner was standing outside,he asks him "hey--your diff cover have a rot hole in it or something--looks like someone used bondo or silicone to seal it up ?.."
The owner suddenly gets one of those "oh YEAH,now I remember" looks on his face--and he explains how last winter he slid on an icy road one night,and it ended up bumping a granite curb with the rear diff cover--just hard enough to crease it and make a slit in it..he didn't notice it till the next morning when he sees a puddle of gear lube oozing out--luckily it happened only a few miles from his house!..
His father told him not to drive it ,otherwise it will burn up the diff bearings ,maybe more...not wanting to be late for work ,or having to pay for a tow,a new diff cover,etc,his dad suggested welding or brazing it up..but they had no welding torches or welder..
The father did have a propane torch though,and he pried some of those stick on wheel weights off the mag wheels on the jeep,and proceeded to heat them up till they "got just mushy enough",and used pliers to hold the lead up against the diff cover,and "peened" it into place with a ball pein hammer...
He topped off the gear lube his dad went and got, and drove it to work..
Evidently it worked well enough for him to forget he had patched it up that way!..he had my friend weld it up with his MIG,he said it didn't want to weld well because some lead seemed to have gone right into the pores in the steel cover..but he managed to get a decent weld on it after wire brushing and grinding on it..
I'm tempted to go mash a few wheel weights into the rot holes on my 6.2's oil pan,after seeing how they worked on that jeeps diff!..the J-B Waterweld just wont seal 100% and its losing a quart every time I go 50 miles or so..
I can't think of any good ones right now, but all the talk about soap fixing leaks reminded me of how good a bar of ivory soap works for poison ivy. Just a few drops of water and rub the bar of soap on the blisters and life is good! Sorry it's not a trail fix but I learned this when I found some poison ivy on a wheeling trip. 
SUPER'BURB
1/2 ton status
Funny, that poison ivy trick will probably be the one I end up using most when out on a wheeling trip.
I have 4 kids so that is bound to come in handy!!
I have 4 kids so that is bound to come in handy!!
I can't think of any good ones right now, but all the talk about soap fixing leaks reminded me of how good a bar of ivory soap works for poison ivy. Just a few drops of water and rub the bar of soap on the blisters and life is good! Sorry it's not a trail fix but I learned this when I found some poison ivy on a wheeling trip.
Dawn liquid dish detergent also works well on poison ivy--it cuts the oils in it that creates the blisters,and lets them dry up and heal...have to scrub up good with it--simply making suds and rinsing,wont remove the oils,it'll spread it around..
Exactly^^^ same as ivory only in a liquid form. Never tried dish soap though! Good thing to know!
Well I've got one.
About 6 months ago I was riding around with a buddy of mine when the water pump signed off on his ZJ. luckily he had about 8 ft of rubber hose, and a hand pump you would normally use on an oil barrel.
We hooked one end of the hose the heater core, and the other to the water pump, and it was able to keep it cool "enough" to make it 12 miles back to the highway.
Wish I had a picture of that one, hood propped open with a hammer, and me sitting in the passenger seat pumping away on this thing.
About 6 months ago I was riding around with a buddy of mine when the water pump signed off on his ZJ. luckily he had about 8 ft of rubber hose, and a hand pump you would normally use on an oil barrel.
We hooked one end of the hose the heater core, and the other to the water pump, and it was able to keep it cool "enough" to make it 12 miles back to the highway.
Wish I had a picture of that one, hood propped open with a hammer, and me sitting in the passenger seat pumping away on this thing.
Hey dere...long time no see! Welcome back to da club.
And that is a cool story. Kinda like the guys who use the windshield washer to squirt gas down the intake so they can get home with a broken fuel system. Would have made for a great picture.
I was about halfway up a mountain trail in BC, Onion Lake, and got to the bottom of another particularly nasty climb and suddenly had no steering. Jump out to have a look and the tie rod is broken. Ok, that's pretty bad, but my steering box was also about half off the frame. What to do. No one on this trip had a welder.
Solution, sort of: First I ratchet strap the box to frame, but the tie rod is in 2 pieces. So I bolted one end of my jack all to the frame and the other end to the pitman arm. This allowed me to sort of run the steering ram with the assist, as when the pitman has resistance in the form of pressure from me pulling on the wheel, it diverts fluid to the ram. The problem was the ram would rarely steer straight, it would divert fluid in either one way or other causing me to slalom down the mountain. It was a scary and unpleasant experience as several of came close to rolling on this particular trail the next time we took it. Many times I wound up steering into a bank which would then jamb the wheels full right or left and with a badly attached steering box I could only get the wheels to turn back by unlocking a one hub and backing up causing the wheels to straighten again. About half down I drove over a sharp stick on a burned log, because I can't steer and put a hole through my bogger. (Running about 8 lbs) My brother in law jumps out and put his finger on the hole, we thrown in a plug and keep going. Eventually getting to the bottom where we trailer home. Now of course I can laugh about, at the time it was a fairly unpleasant trip all round and I felt blessed to make it down in one piece. The praying must have worked as I took one particular corner with the wheels full locked and the next year with intact steering 3 of us almost rolled on the same corner, with 2 of us almost on our sides
Same trip another buddy ripped of the front panhard bar and drove home with ratchet straps centering the axle from each side. Next year we all did it again and no one broke. I ran new steering parts and put in ORD's steering box brace and frame repair kit. On another run there was a guy along with us, same setup as me, except a pickup. 40" Boggers, locked front end and crossover steering. I'd get that beefed up if I were you, of course he said, like me, I've never had a problem before.......... famous last words...... he broke about a half hour later, this time steering box off the frame, fortunately, Sheldon our resident club welder had an on board setup now and welded him on the frozen river and he was able to drive home. That welder save a lot of peoples bacon. A lot of wrenches and breaker bars got welded up for steering!
Solution, sort of: First I ratchet strap the box to frame, but the tie rod is in 2 pieces. So I bolted one end of my jack all to the frame and the other end to the pitman arm. This allowed me to sort of run the steering ram with the assist, as when the pitman has resistance in the form of pressure from me pulling on the wheel, it diverts fluid to the ram. The problem was the ram would rarely steer straight, it would divert fluid in either one way or other causing me to slalom down the mountain. It was a scary and unpleasant experience as several of came close to rolling on this particular trail the next time we took it. Many times I wound up steering into a bank which would then jamb the wheels full right or left and with a badly attached steering box I could only get the wheels to turn back by unlocking a one hub and backing up causing the wheels to straighten again. About half down I drove over a sharp stick on a burned log, because I can't steer and put a hole through my bogger. (Running about 8 lbs) My brother in law jumps out and put his finger on the hole, we thrown in a plug and keep going. Eventually getting to the bottom where we trailer home. Now of course I can laugh about, at the time it was a fairly unpleasant trip all round and I felt blessed to make it down in one piece. The praying must have worked as I took one particular corner with the wheels full locked and the next year with intact steering 3 of us almost rolled on the same corner, with 2 of us almost on our sides
Same trip another buddy ripped of the front panhard bar and drove home with ratchet straps centering the axle from each side. Next year we all did it again and no one broke. I ran new steering parts and put in ORD's steering box brace and frame repair kit. On another run there was a guy along with us, same setup as me, except a pickup. 40" Boggers, locked front end and crossover steering. I'd get that beefed up if I were you, of course he said, like me, I've never had a problem before.......... famous last words...... he broke about a half hour later, this time steering box off the frame, fortunately, Sheldon our resident club welder had an on board setup now and welded him on the frozen river and he was able to drive home. That welder save a lot of peoples bacon. A lot of wrenches and breaker bars got welded up for steering!
bnow48
Registered Member
If you're broke down and your beer gets hot, bury it in about 6" of WET sand and pour about a cup of gasoline on top of the sand and light it. When the fire goes out, your beer will be cold and you can continue to work on whatever is broken.
Bnow48
Bnow48
The "Life Hackers" show claims shaking up a warm soda or beer and popping the top causes the CO2 to cool off the contents at least 20 degrees--too bad it also sprays 90% of it all over you and everything within a ten foot radius..
..
I heard a friend telling someone one day he was camping & wheeling,and a leak sprung in his radiator-looked like a stick poked a hole in it..
..
-he had no eggs with him,so he could not use the egg whites trick--but he did have some instant oatmeal,and about half a package added to the coolant plugged the leak perfectly,it didn't leak a drop the entire week --when he got home, he tried flushing the system,but saw no clumps of oatmeal come out--he noticed quite a bit was clinging to the outside of the radiator where the leak was..most of it probably escaped before the hole was plugged..
He planned to replace the radiator,but as far as I know he never did,and he's still driving the truck daily..(and so far it hasn't overheated--he said the heater core may have been where the rest of the oatmeal went,the heat wasn't that great last winter until he flushed the core,and a lot of goopy stuff came out)..
..I heard a friend telling someone one day he was camping & wheeling,and a leak sprung in his radiator-looked like a stick poked a hole in it..
..-he had no eggs with him,so he could not use the egg whites trick--but he did have some instant oatmeal,and about half a package added to the coolant plugged the leak perfectly,it didn't leak a drop the entire week --when he got home, he tried flushing the system,but saw no clumps of oatmeal come out--he noticed quite a bit was clinging to the outside of the radiator where the leak was..most of it probably escaped before the hole was plugged..
He planned to replace the radiator,but as far as I know he never did,and he's still driving the truck daily..(and so far it hasn't overheated--he said the heater core may have been where the rest of the oatmeal went,the heat wasn't that great last winter until he flushed the core,and a lot of goopy stuff came out)..
Ok, so this was on an ATV, but maybe it will help someone out.
While ATVing, I lost my transmission drain plug (improper torque, I know). A friend retrieved some extra oil. I used the largest bolt I could find off the foot pegs, but still wasn't wide enough. I wrapped the threads in gauze from my 1st aid kit, threaded it in, and used a rock sandwiched between the bolt and skidplate to keep it in place. It kept oil in the trans during the ride back, I just had nothing past 2nd gear because the bolt was so long it interfered with the gears.
While ATVing, I lost my transmission drain plug (improper torque, I know). A friend retrieved some extra oil. I used the largest bolt I could find off the foot pegs, but still wasn't wide enough. I wrapped the threads in gauze from my 1st aid kit, threaded it in, and used a rock sandwiched between the bolt and skidplate to keep it in place. It kept oil in the trans during the ride back, I just had nothing past 2nd gear because the bolt was so long it interfered with the gears.
So, this one was before we hit the trail.
While heading out for a night run to Central City, my friends called over the CB and said I had no tail lights. After 30min of unsuccessful diagnostics, we duct taped flashlights to the bedrails and wrapped the lenses with red shop rags. They glowed red and was enough to head up and back without any interference from the fuzz. (I was 17, I understand it wasn't safe or the best idea, haha).
While heading out for a night run to Central City, my friends called over the CB and said I had no tail lights. After 30min of unsuccessful diagnostics, we duct taped flashlights to the bedrails and wrapped the lenses with red shop rags. They glowed red and was enough to head up and back without any interference from the fuzz. (I was 17, I understand it wasn't safe or the best idea, haha).
I find nothing wrong with it! Lol if you ran it like that forever then that's a different story. Otherwise it's a great idea and definitely better than getting rear ended or having to park it till morning!
Joe In Montana
1/2 ton status
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Here comes a war story, since it looks like the OP has drifted just a bit from the original concept.........
It was in the Fall of 1963 and a buddy of mine asked me to ride with him to Riverside California Ford Obsolete junkyard up on Arlington Street.
The old 91 freeway wasn't complete at that time as it had a few traffic signals - one at Imperial Highway where the freeway ended for about 100 yards, crossing Imperial Hwy at a traffic signal.
After it crossed the intersection there were signs that said that the freeway was ON again... or words to that effect.
Some salient points you need to know.............
Enough facts, now the story:
I knew that I could stand outside the Model A on the passenger's side running board (you Millenials, Google that word) and wrapping my left arm around and through the windshield pillar, I could hang on and stick my mouth on the filler neck, blowing into the fuel tank, pressurizing it and getting gas to the carb.
It ran pretty good really! We were clipping along at 40-45 MPH when a California Highway Patrol cruiser came up and just paced us - looking at the circus that was before his eyes on HIS personal freeway.
He pulled around behind us and hit the lights and Gene stopped and I hopped off the running board and we both just stood there.
"I cannot believe what I am seeing here" he bellowed; "What in the Hell do you think you guys are doing?"
It got really quiet, and after a few pregnant moments, I said: "I was the fuel pump." I knew immediately after I said that, it didn't make sense to me either.
That it didn't go over too good with the CHIP is an understatement.
He was biting his lower lip which now was also seriously twitching and I could see that he was mulling over whether he was gonna call for the guys in the white coats or shoot both of us.
Instead, he went back to his patrol car, saying over his shoulder: "Stay right where you are until I check this out".
He never asked for a driver's license or insurance papers or even a registration form; he was that angry.
He was also gone a long, long time, and the sun was going down and the Model A didn't have working lights of any kind, neither front, nor rear.
Well, like I said he was gone a long time ---- but after a while he just came back and said: "I KNOW that what you were doing is illegal SOMEwhere in the DMV code book ----- but for the love of god, I cannot find a solid citable reference for this kinda situation. Get the hell off my beat and I don't ever want to see either of you guys ever again. Leave. Now!"
It was in the Fall of 1963 and a buddy of mine asked me to ride with him to Riverside California Ford Obsolete junkyard up on Arlington Street.
The old 91 freeway wasn't complete at that time as it had a few traffic signals - one at Imperial Highway where the freeway ended for about 100 yards, crossing Imperial Hwy at a traffic signal.
After it crossed the intersection there were signs that said that the freeway was ON again... or words to that effect.
Some salient points you need to know.............
- Fact #1 - The traffic light turned red (natch!) at the bottom of a steep offramp, and now you've just got to know that the return to the freeway was very much uphill.
- Fact #2 - Those old Fords had the fuel tank on the cowl, below the windshield.
- Fact #3 - The fuel tank was almost empty - but we didn't know that since.......
- Fact #4 There is no gas gauge, and.........
- Fact #5 - The carb is ABOVE the fuel tank at that fuel level.
- Fact #6 - The fuel pump was weak and recently, say, within the past twenty years or so, and ......
- Fact #7 - The fuel pump pushrod had been replaced with a rattail file - a typical Ford owner's trick.
- Fact #8 - The engine wouldn't get any fuel, but the battery being a new, big, fat 12v bus battery.......and good.... and could crank the engine almost all the way to Riverside from where we were by now anyway.
- Fact #9 - I was much more ingenious* then ........ and daring ....... than I am these days. (* read: 'stupid')
Enough facts, now the story:
I knew that I could stand outside the Model A on the passenger's side running board (you Millenials, Google that word) and wrapping my left arm around and through the windshield pillar, I could hang on and stick my mouth on the filler neck, blowing into the fuel tank, pressurizing it and getting gas to the carb.
It ran pretty good really! We were clipping along at 40-45 MPH when a California Highway Patrol cruiser came up and just paced us - looking at the circus that was before his eyes on HIS personal freeway.
He pulled around behind us and hit the lights and Gene stopped and I hopped off the running board and we both just stood there.
"I cannot believe what I am seeing here" he bellowed; "What in the Hell do you think you guys are doing?"
It got really quiet, and after a few pregnant moments, I said: "I was the fuel pump." I knew immediately after I said that, it didn't make sense to me either.
That it didn't go over too good with the CHIP is an understatement.
He was biting his lower lip which now was also seriously twitching and I could see that he was mulling over whether he was gonna call for the guys in the white coats or shoot both of us.
Instead, he went back to his patrol car, saying over his shoulder: "Stay right where you are until I check this out".
He never asked for a driver's license or insurance papers or even a registration form; he was that angry.
He was also gone a long, long time, and the sun was going down and the Model A didn't have working lights of any kind, neither front, nor rear.
Well, like I said he was gone a long time ---- but after a while he just came back and said: "I KNOW that what you were doing is illegal SOMEwhere in the DMV code book ----- but for the love of god, I cannot find a solid citable reference for this kinda situation. Get the hell off my beat and I don't ever want to see either of you guys ever again. Leave. Now!"
MaxCrack
1/2 ton status
Way back before we knew anything, we broke a center pin on a rear spring pack on an old rail road line turned trail run. We kicked the axle back in place and then found a railroad spike and pounded it between the axle and the spring pack with a rock.
Then we drove 10+ miles back to where all the tools were.
Then we drove 10+ miles back to where all the tools were.
Kain
3/4 ton status
whatever works!!^^
Back in college, I had a friend with a stockish jeep grand cherrokee. He decided one night to go try his luck with some girl on the power lines. 1st mistake. The particular area that he decided to drive down was a restricted travel area and was routinely patrolled by NY DEC and game wardens. Anyway, he decide to try his hand at off-roading. 2cnd mistake. He buried his jeep up to the middle of the doors and got hung up on a railroad tie just under the surface of the swamp. After calling everyone he could think of, he got ahold of me. I had another friend ride out with me since she grew up in the area. We got out there, and realized we had about 20 feet of chain and I was gonna have to pull on sand but I figured it would be fine. He wouldn't get out of the jeep since it was still dry inside, and he had water 6 inches under his front door handles so she ended up hooking up the chain for him. 3rd mistake. Never let a crazy naked chick hook a chain for you in 38 degree water up to her neck in the dark. Well we got all hooked up and I figured the old 6.5 would ease him right out in low. I got his front end up and over the railroad tie before the tierod center link she hooked the chain to gave up the ghost. Sooo, she hooked it back up to the sway bar. Eased him the rest of the way out. Spent the next 2 hours or so putting the steering together every 5 -600 yards with the one ratchet strap I had with me. Had to change one tire after the driver side folded in and popped off the bead. I made a decent amount of money putting the jeep back together for him but I never went back down that set of power lines again. Also never went wheeling without tools and stuff for trail fixes after that. I wish I had some photos of that night still.
