Ingenious trail repairs

[bad luck]

I stole this from another website, can you tell about any clever fixes that you or someone else did on the trail? Just to limp back to where you could get if fixed. I know it's not ingenious or even clever, but once my old 4 runner was running hot, and leaking coolant, so myself and the kids pissed in the radiator, I tried to talk my wife into climbing up there and giving it a go, but she flatly refused! And another time I came down on a rock or something and made a small hole in the fuel tank, I had a bar of soap in the 4runner and rubbed it over the hole and it stopped the leak, at least long enough to get back.

[NW99XJ]

Bar of soap to plug a hole ..... thats a good one....
Well I have done a few "ingenious" fixes on the trail a time or two, seen a few more as well.
One of my favorites, and what seems to be more common than anything, is the "Lets use the Hi-Lift jack handle to repair my bent tie-rod" trick.... Sleeves it pretty good, and you can actually wheel on it like that.

I have used much electrical tape to repair (temporarily) a split high pressure power steering line. And used speaker wire robbed from a subwoofer enclosure to bypass a faulty coolant temp sending unit to get a fan working again.

And one of the best is using excess ARB airline to splice a broken vacuum line.

[msmoorenburg]

Just a small tidbit lugnuts work great on tierod ends when the castle nut goes missing

[4.3LXJ]

You can pee in the brake master cylinder too

[ArmyGuy45]

I have been told that a bar of soap will stop a small fuel tank/line since it hardens when mixed with gas.

Also been told to use a potato in a radiator hole since it will swell in the hot temps to give a nice temporary seal.

I have helped a blazer on 40s who blew is rear hubs out of a rocky trail by removing his rear drive shaft and pulling him along.

[xj4life2]

Well here are a few I remember , pepper to stop a rad. leak. Yes bar soap will stop a fuel leak in the tank. Bailing wire tightly wrapped cover with duct tape will stop a rad or power steering hose leak. You can weld with your battery, jumper cables and a coat hanger. women's panty hose will work as a fan belt. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

[ArmyGuy45]

Well here are a few I remember , pepper to stop a rad. leak. Yes bar soap will stop a fuel leak in the tank. Bailing wire tightly wrapped cover with duct tape will stop a rad or power steering hose leak. You can weld with your battery, jumper cables and a coat hanger. women's panty hose will work as a fan belt. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

In the fuel tank? I thought it was rubbed on the outside.

[cpttuna]

We had a generator bracket break on an M151 back in 1972 in the field. Someone wedged a piece of a 2x4 to keep the belt tension up and the jeep was never turned off for 11 straight days. We were out in the middle of nowhere in west germany.

[Firemanray]

Just a small tidbit lugnuts work great on tierod ends when the castle nut goes missing

I remember that one. :D

[Brasscatz]

To fix that annoying noise from the passenger side, open the door on an incline and "let" your wife out. Keep going though, cause it'll just get worse!

[Carves]

To fix that annoying noise from the passenger side, open the door on an incline and "let" your wife out. Keep going though, cause it'll just get worse!


You're going to be in trouble if she reads that .. :p

:smiley-laughing021:

[abebehrmann]

You can pee in the brake master cylinder too

Well shoot! The girlfriend always gets mad at me when I do this in the backyard. Next time I'll have to tell her I'm just practicing for an emergency trail repair!

[Brasscatz]

You're going to be in trouble if she reads that .. :p

:smiley-laughing021:

HA! I read it to her and she laughed then gave me the stink eye!

[XJ Wheeler]

Wow, and I've been wasting money on coolant and brake fluid...


:smiley-laughing021:

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[XJ Wheeler]

Not much of one but going down the highway and look down to see my temp gauge at oh... 250! Pulled over and the aux fan wasn't running so a few feet of wire, a fuse holder, a spare fuse, and some butt connectors slip right on the fans connector. That and the heater running got me home.

More so just glad i had the stuff with me.

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