OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: popeye on June 12, 2012, 10:21:09 pm
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A couple of weeks ago l turned up at an event with a new to me but old sidecar, it had a damaged fuel tank on it, which was leaking quite bad, when l scoured the pits looking for bar of soap only one guy new why l wanted it, if you have a leaking fuel tank or crank case, rub the soap over the cracks and it will force its way through it and stop the leak, so long as there is no pressure it will get you out of trouble, and oil or fuel dosent affect it.........
So what bush fixes do you have?
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Back in the day when I was perfecting the art of putting a CCM clutch back on it's taper between races, my girlfriend was a dab hand at making CCM clutch cover gaskets out of the front cover of girly magazines (no, not that sort....).
Somehow she could even get all the little bolt holes perfect, courtesy of a small pair of nail scissors. Brilliant.
She would drive the van home too when I was injured. She drove it more than I did :)
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Finely ground black pepper works a treat in radiators.
It won’t fix major structural damage, large cracks and the like but it will stop that fine weeping.
Use one teaspoon into the radiator while the motor is running.
The waterpump will then get it flowing through the system and it will find its way into any pinhole.
I once watched a weep shut down with in 3 minutes of adding the pepper.
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Another old trick for radiators was to crack a raw egg [minus the yolk] into the filler hole. I never tried it
pancho.
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Another one from the early motor car days was if the condensor failed [fairly common then] was this temporary fix.
Disconnect the tail ight wire from the tail light.
Cut the front end of the wire from its supply and remove the offending condensor and connect the tail light wire to the points.
The tail light wire running alongside the chassis rail acted as a condensor and apparently allowed the vehicle to get home.
I believe a few of the older NRMA mechs used this trick.
I wonder what's out there now-days for computerised ignition systems??
cheers pancho.
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I wonder what's out there now-days for computerised ignition systems??
mobile phones and a mate with a trailer ;)
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I wonder what's out there now-days for computerised ignition systems??
cheers pancho.
Not much Pancho, in fact if a new Commodore blows a bulb it will trigger a code in the computer which will then have to be 'cleared' by a Holden tech, after the bulb is replaced. So that means a $3.50 bulb will now cost a punter $135.00 as that's what the code clearing costs at a dealership!!
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Not much Pancho, in fact if a new Commodore blows a bulb it will trigger a code in the computer which will then have to be 'cleared' by a Holden tech, after the bulb is replaced. So that means a $3.50 bulb will now cost a punter $135.00 as that's what the code clearing costs at a dealership!!
Same with my Jeep Grand Cherokee. If I blow a bulb or a fuse I can fix it as easily as any old car but I then get an annoying ERROR beep and message blocking all of the other info on the cars computer screen. Luckily I avoid the $150 dealer fee to reset the computer by taking it to my mechanic who has a counterfeit Jeep computer program. Cost: Zero ;D.
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Another one from the early motor car days was if the condensor failed [fairly common then] was this temporary fix.
Disconnect the tail ight wire from the tail light.
Cut the front end of the wire from its supply and remove the offending condensor and connect the tail light wire to the points.
The tail light wire running alongside the chassis rail acted as a condensor and apparently allowed the vehicle to get home.
I believe a few of the older NRMA mechs used this trick.
I wonder what's out there now-days for computerised ignition systems??
cheers pancho.
How often does a new car break down? Most electronic problems with new cars are battery related.
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How often does a new car break down? Most electronic problems with new cars are battery related.
Rarely.
The only time my Jeep has "broken down" in 6 years has been either battery related or a blown radiator hose (twice).
I owned my previous NB Fairlane for 12 years and 250K and a blown head gasket in the first year of ownership was the only time it ever broke down (fixed on warranty). A bit different to my old FJ Holden days where it seemed I had the motor out, the head off or the diff out every other weekend.
(http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m392/cherie_jones/fjholden2.jpg)
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Back in the early 1980's my wife was driving from Broken Hill to Adelaide when her Holden Gemini started running poorly. She pulled over and had her head under the bonnet when a good samaritan pulled over to offer assistance. The bloke was quite suprised to find her adjusting the ignition points using a nail file. She got it running a lot better and continued on her way, leaving the bloke who stopped to help with a story that nobody would ever believe about a cute young redhead with a heap of mechanical aptitude.
CJ
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How often does a new car break down? Most electronic problems with new cars are battery related.
You keep believing that and Ill keep making money from them ;D
I fixed my cr500 in the bush one day when the water pump case sprung a leak hole with a twig . pushed it in the hole and it expanded to plug it up. worked a treat got me the 60 km home :)
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I had a pinhole develop in my methanol DT1 tank which was getting worse as the meeting progressed. Not being aware of the soap method we emptied the tank, mixed up some quick cure araldite, cleaned the area and liberally coated the hole and surrounds with Araldite. That was in 1996 and the Araldite is still in place and the tank is still not leaking 16 years later despite still having a cup of methanol in the tank left over from it's last ride in '99. I never leave home without my Araldite!
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I never leave home without my Araldite!
so true Firko,
last year a couple of mates and i trekked through Nepal for a month,
not quite bikes i know,
i took some zip ties, electrical tape and a tube of super glue.
the super glue was used the most. ;)
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Pratley putty, Devcon or 2 part liquid steel. Rub together, press in place and voila. Fixed a broken case after a chain derailment - got me through the rest of the meeting.
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In the late seventies in outback Queensland a truck threw a rock and put a hole about the size of two matchheads in the radiator in my HT Holden.
Pulled the radiator out in about ten minutes and found an Orchy bottle on the side of the road.Set fire to it and dripped the molten plastic into and around the hole.Was going again in half an hour.Try that on a modern car !
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Reminds me of one of my brothers, back in the early 80’s he had a Buick with a 445 (455?)
It used to use a lot of oil but it was being blown out of the breather in the rocker cover.
Obviously it had too much blowby but it still ran okay.
His bush fix was to weld a tube into the rocker cover and attach a piece of garden hose that led into a coke bottle.
Every 50 miles or so he would simply tip the oil back into the motor.
Put up with that for about a year or so until he finally pulled the motor down to find a huge chunk missing from one piston.
Still can’t believe how so much alloy got out past the valves without damaging them.
I ended up welding the piston up for him which he turned down and recut the ring grooves and refitted it.
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A few years ago I was checking stock waters on the station,45degrees middle of summer 50ks from home nobody knew where I was broke a fanbelt on the landcruiser.Tried everything but couldnt get the waterpump to turn,until I noticed the little rubber strap that holds the toolkit up against the rear of the cab,Stretched it around,fitted perfectly,drove home,strap was still perfect.Necessity is the mother of all inventions!
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20 years ago heading up past Kempsey and the crappy box trailer I had scored from someone finally snapped the welded join in the axle,dead centre in the middle of the ''axle''. Happened to have spare chain and d links which we used to tie down our Yammy's with.
The floor was 12 mm ply,punched 4 holes through with a cold chisel and lump hammer,inserted chain through each hole around the axle and also around the angle iron which was part of the support to hold the floor in place.Lucky I had a hacksaw to cut the chain.
Did this on both sides and finished up with independant suspension,adjustable camber etc. Tested it at 40 kph and eventually back to 100 clicks,all good. Welded and boxed the join a few days later,all good for a few more years.
Saw this set up using steel rope under tension on a logging trailer some years ago,it had a lot of articulated travel over uneven ground and holes,nearly like long travel suspension I suppose.
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Back in the late seventies my family was heading to kyneton from qld in a Fiat 124 S these have a bit of a front end drama with the mounting bolts some time the top broke of the mounts bolts a bit loose probably, the left side of the front end moved back luckily they had a tie down in the boot the front end was put back in place and the tie down located just so and tightened with a lump of wood for a lever and driven the next 6 hundred or so miles to my wedding, if they hadn't got there i was going to call it off ........Bloody tie down straps.. ::)
I also have seen a Cr125 first model with a hole in the piston no parts on hand so the good old Areldite 24 hr type was used to fill the hole wit a bit of alloy and baked in the oven then sanded worked fine after rejetting was done got through the whole weekend.
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Vic to Qld in a 1970s Fiat! That redefines "bravery" for me! :)
Ratchet tie-downs are super useful: substitute engine mounts, short-distance LSDs (lock the spinning wheel and force drive to the other wheel - usually tells you when you're on solid ground by breaking the tie down, but if it gets you out of the bog...), bonnet hold-down catch etc etc.
I once used a cut-down length of jack handle as a replacement for a broken strut insert in the rally car.
Hose clamping an old open-end spanner to both sides of a broken/cracked exhaust pipe is far more effective at holding it in place than any other temporary repair.
Desperation is the real mother of invention. We just call it nesseccity to be polite.
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1974.Broken engine mount, passenger side in a HG holden panel van automtic 202, in the carpark of the Elizabeth hospital South Aust. Whilst I was inside getting grit out of my eye ( wrestling with my mates the night before in a caravan park,I lost). They decided that rather than jack up the engine just put it in drive after loosening all the bolts, rev motor and it lifted up,remove bolts and broken mount replace with new mount insert bolts. Tighten up after shutting down motor.
They then amused themselves trying to chat up the poor nurses passing by. Job done. It was the seventies remember.
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Coming home from a weekend of bush riding our busted up old mazda broke down due to the fuel pump packing in (electric fuel pump). scoured the trailer and boot for bits to make a fix and came up with a 4 litre plastic oil bottle and windscreen washer hose. We used a bicycle pump and a spare tube valve stem forced into a hole cut in the oil bottle lid to pressurise the bottle and pump the fuel out thru the windscreen washer tube to the carb. A couple of pumps every quarter hour or so and we were in business again. Soap in cracked Diff housing + super glue smeared liberally over the repair = permanent repair, still holding strong years after the initial patch up offered to us by fellow Endeavour Bash crew. great post keep them coming.
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WAKA STATION. 1973. Just near the border of South Aust,Queensland and NSW. Known as Cameron's corner,I had a blocked fuel pump pickup pipe from the fuel tank in my HR panel van(2 wheel drive,but that didn't stop us idiots from being out there). Easy fix remove the top of the stromberg carbies (twin carbs on an X2 manifold with X2 headers) drain some fuel into a container from jerry can,get a mate to sit on the top of mudguard,bonnet up, and drive back to local sheep station while topping up carbs straight into float bowls .
Get back and pressurise fuel tank with comp air,blow out rubbish,all good. We then proceeded onto further mischief,had a sore neck though from hanging out the drivers door.!!
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Does a couple of strips of packing tape attached to windscreen wipers and the you pull now I pull approach count as a bush fix
The wiper motor on an old commodore gave out during a Sydney thunderstorm and I was late for a meeting so a work mate and I we managed to get from Sydney's northern suburbs into Alexandria on time with this approach albeit a little wet!!
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Was replacing an alternator in a 74 Cadillac somewhere in the Arizona desert and split my elbow open on a bolt and used super glue to stitch myself back together.
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This is an excellent thread! Great stories. Late 70s after a late race meeting finish on a Sunday night coming back from Cessnock to Sydney and a trailer axle snapped one side. Wired a 14mm T-bar in as a replacement, shifted the load a bit to the other side, it was a bit wobbly but we made it back to Sydney.