Dedicated roadside repairs!
Discussion
On the way back from Broadway today there was a broken down Moggie 1000 with an RAC van behind and the RAC chappy having a conflab with the owner aroudn the engine bay, pretty normal...however, on the pavement was.....the Moggies CYLINDER HEAD!!! Never seen that level of spannering at the roadside!
Bit off topic, but a couple of years back I had the misfortune of snapping the lower suspension arm on my car (I blamed the poly bushes, over stressing the metal thus, fractured?) just south of Forth William. The car felt a bit weird, steering wasn't centred and it had a strnage desire to try and throw itself into Loch Linnhe. We stopped at the Corran ferry, thought "oh aye, the n/s/f wheel isn't centred" and then had a look and found the front section of the arm had sheared. Nasty.
Quick ring to the AA and having told them the damage and that we'd need a flatbed as it couldn't be flat nor suspend towed due to the 4x4, we had a beer in the pub and waited. I got a call from the AA patrol, told him what had happened so off he went and found a supplier in Fort William with an replacement arm, made a detour to pick it up and then arrived at the same time as the rain and proceeded to disappear under the car armed with an electric socket gun and some spanners and after some swearing, under an hour later we were back on the road. All I had to do was ring and pay for the part.
I gave the chap £20 for his troubles and left, somewhat very impressed at the AA and more so the patrol (whos name I forget) for his efforts. It was a job I'd only undertake in the workshop so in terms of roadside repairs, it's up there with the best of them.
Quick ring to the AA and having told them the damage and that we'd need a flatbed as it couldn't be flat nor suspend towed due to the 4x4, we had a beer in the pub and waited. I got a call from the AA patrol, told him what had happened so off he went and found a supplier in Fort William with an replacement arm, made a detour to pick it up and then arrived at the same time as the rain and proceeded to disappear under the car armed with an electric socket gun and some spanners and after some swearing, under an hour later we were back on the road. All I had to do was ring and pay for the part.
I gave the chap £20 for his troubles and left, somewhat very impressed at the AA and more so the patrol (whos name I forget) for his efforts. It was a job I'd only undertake in the workshop so in terms of roadside repairs, it's up there with the best of them.
I had an AA guy rewire the crank angle sensor at the side of the road on my Laguna snotter a wee while ago.
And another one dismantle and teach me how to hotwire my GF's Volvo 480 when the whole car threw the towel in on the M8 one rush hour when the ignition switch shorted.
'Some' of those guys deserve medals IMO!
And another one dismantle and teach me how to hotwire my GF's Volvo 480 when the whole car threw the towel in on the M8 one rush hour when the ignition switch shorted.
'Some' of those guys deserve medals IMO!
Davie said:
Bit off topic, but a couple of years back I had the misfortune of snapping the lower suspension arm on my car (I blamed the poly bushes, over stressing the metal thus, fractured?) just south of Forth William. The car felt a bit weird, steering wasn't centred and it had a strnage desire to try and throw itself into Loch Linnhe. We stopped at the Corran ferry, thought "oh aye, the n/s/f wheel isn't centred" and then had a look and found the front section of the arm had sheared. Nasty.
Quick ring to the AA and having told them the damage and that we'd need a flatbed as it couldn't be flat nor suspend towed due to the 4x4, we had a beer in the pub and waited. I got a call from the AA patrol, told him what had happened so off he went and found a supplier in Fort William with an replacement arm, made a detour to pick it up and then arrived at the same time as the rain and proceeded to disappear under the car armed with an electric socket gun and some spanners and after some swearing, under an hour later we were back on the road. All I had to do was ring and pay for the part.
I gave the chap £20 for his troubles and left, somewhat very impressed at the AA and more so the patrol (whos name I forget) for his efforts. It was a job I'd only undertake in the workshop so in terms of roadside repairs, it's up there with the best of them.
probably cheaper than the flatbed and didn't deprive the highlands of it's one none sub contracted flatbed for the night ... Quick ring to the AA and having told them the damage and that we'd need a flatbed as it couldn't be flat nor suspend towed due to the 4x4, we had a beer in the pub and waited. I got a call from the AA patrol, told him what had happened so off he went and found a supplier in Fort William with an replacement arm, made a detour to pick it up and then arrived at the same time as the rain and proceeded to disappear under the car armed with an electric socket gun and some spanners and after some swearing, under an hour later we were back on the road. All I had to do was ring and pay for the part.
I gave the chap £20 for his troubles and left, somewhat very impressed at the AA and more so the patrol (whos name I forget) for his efforts. It was a job I'd only undertake in the workshop so in terms of roadside repairs, it's up there with the best of them.
The highlight of my spannering career was changing the headgasket on a Ford Falcon, at Curtin Springs, which if you don't know it (and why would you) is here on the Lasseter highway, about 361km from Alice Springs, and about 100km from Ayres Rock.
I'd bought the car in Perth, driven right up to Darwin, working various places as I went and living in a mix of car/tent/whatever accomodation I could find, for about 6 months and had a flight out of Sydney (2,746Km away) in about 5 days time.
I got towed along to Curtin Springs petrol station by a car full of drunken Aboriginies who had driven about 100km up the road to buy beer, as the local shops wouldn't sell it to them! Then I got a lift back up to Alice Springs with a guy I met in the petrol station, and I was planning on either picking up a one way rental or a cheap flight. Neither worked out especially cheap, and I had become rather attached to my car. So I got drunk and ate a camel steak instead.
Then I went and bought a skimmed second hand cylinder head, a gasket and some other bits and pieces and hitch hiked back to the car carrying them. Although it's a long way there's only really two possibilities for anyone heading south out of Alice Springs, so it wasn't that hard to get a lift.
Had an absolutely epic day and a half of spannering, with a little help and a few tools borrowed from the owner of the place, the curious looks of passers by, and an emu trying to peck at the wiring loom, then the moment of truth, with now 2 days to my flight out of Sydney. Splutter, bang, go.
It reluctantly started, then ran. And ran. And kept running.
I drove it back to Sydney in one go with just a few stops for food etc, and arrived the day before my flight. So I abandoned the car somewhere near the airport, and went home.
Totally irrational as it ended up costing me more than a flight or hire car, and could have gone completely wrong. And also since I ended up abandoning the poor car that I had crossed a continent with and lived out of for 6 months anyway.
But none of that matters. I completed the journey in the car I started it in, and I fixed it along the way in circumstances where far better mechanics would have walked away. And it still makes me happy to think of it now.
I'd bought the car in Perth, driven right up to Darwin, working various places as I went and living in a mix of car/tent/whatever accomodation I could find, for about 6 months and had a flight out of Sydney (2,746Km away) in about 5 days time.
I got towed along to Curtin Springs petrol station by a car full of drunken Aboriginies who had driven about 100km up the road to buy beer, as the local shops wouldn't sell it to them! Then I got a lift back up to Alice Springs with a guy I met in the petrol station, and I was planning on either picking up a one way rental or a cheap flight. Neither worked out especially cheap, and I had become rather attached to my car. So I got drunk and ate a camel steak instead.
Then I went and bought a skimmed second hand cylinder head, a gasket and some other bits and pieces and hitch hiked back to the car carrying them. Although it's a long way there's only really two possibilities for anyone heading south out of Alice Springs, so it wasn't that hard to get a lift.
Had an absolutely epic day and a half of spannering, with a little help and a few tools borrowed from the owner of the place, the curious looks of passers by, and an emu trying to peck at the wiring loom, then the moment of truth, with now 2 days to my flight out of Sydney. Splutter, bang, go.
It reluctantly started, then ran. And ran. And kept running.
I drove it back to Sydney in one go with just a few stops for food etc, and arrived the day before my flight. So I abandoned the car somewhere near the airport, and went home.
Totally irrational as it ended up costing me more than a flight or hire car, and could have gone completely wrong. And also since I ended up abandoning the poor car that I had crossed a continent with and lived out of for 6 months anyway.
But none of that matters. I completed the journey in the car I started it in, and I fixed it along the way in circumstances where far better mechanics would have walked away. And it still makes me happy to think of it now.
Friend of mine has a Beford Recovery truck which he's used to ship a few cars here and there around various parts of the country.
One trip involved heading down to Crowlas (Near Penzance) but upon hitting Bodmin more, something fluid started spraying up in the engine bay and forced him to pull over. Night was setting in and the wind was up with snow / sleet beginning to fall.
Inital thoughts were to a duff water pump, so a call to his contact down there had him zipping up in a van with spanners and the water pump. An hour later they arrived and the pump was swapped out in double quick time. However there was still fluid leaking into the engine, and further investigation it turned out to be raw Diesel
the mechancical pump diaphram had failed and was spraying fuel out against the fan.
Said contact knew where to get a replacement pump, and set off to get it, and came back with it a few hours later.
By now it was apparently 10pm at night, with winds / rain howling across Bodmin with my friend stuck in the Bedford, waiting for parts. Thankfully the contact returned with a replacement pump which was fitted, bleed out and the Bedford restarted without a hitch. He managed to get into the B&B at something around 11pm, having set out at 10am!
One trip involved heading down to Crowlas (Near Penzance) but upon hitting Bodmin more, something fluid started spraying up in the engine bay and forced him to pull over. Night was setting in and the wind was up with snow / sleet beginning to fall.
Inital thoughts were to a duff water pump, so a call to his contact down there had him zipping up in a van with spanners and the water pump. An hour later they arrived and the pump was swapped out in double quick time. However there was still fluid leaking into the engine, and further investigation it turned out to be raw Diesel
the mechancical pump diaphram had failed and was spraying fuel out against the fan.Said contact knew where to get a replacement pump, and set off to get it, and came back with it a few hours later.
By now it was apparently 10pm at night, with winds / rain howling across Bodmin with my friend stuck in the Bedford, waiting for parts. Thankfully the contact returned with a replacement pump which was fitted, bleed out and the Bedford restarted without a hitch. He managed to get into the B&B at something around 11pm, having set out at 10am!
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