Longest "limp-home" journey?
Discussion
Driving back from Beachey Head to Portsmouth after having an argument with a sign during a pistonheads meet in 2007. I had one working headlight when I turned them off they retracted, then one got jammed inside the bumper and needed to have the hole enlarged with a saw while I saved up to repair the damage.
I have pictures somewhere but I am at work and cannot link them.
I have pictures somewhere but I am at work and cannot link them.
RemainAllHoof said:
2 metres with a failed clutch cable. Kinda. I was just driving home from work, about 5 minutes' walk from my house, pulled into a gap between parked cars to let someone through first, then *BANG* clutch cable housing snapped. Couldn't engage gear so pushed it back and forth to "park" it tidily then walked home to call the AA. Given that I'd just been driving through busy dual carriageways and fast country roads, I was quite lucky that the housing didn't give way sooner and leave me in the middle of a busy junction!
Rubbish effort 
I drove 50 miles to a mates garage with a failed clutch slave on my Land Rover. Had to start it in first at traffic lights and rev match to change gear, but it did a sterling job!
I drove from Granada to the outskirts of Toledo in a Peugeot 207 hire car that kept dropping into limp home mode earlier this year. That's got to be over 200 miles.
The problem struck just as the local branches of the hire company all closed down for the ciesta so we had to limp almost the whole way at 40mph. I wasn't impressed. There again, the car hadn't had an especially easy life. Quite apart from being a hired hack, that particular example had done about 50 laps of Guadix the day before.
The problem struck just as the local branches of the hire company all closed down for the ciesta so we had to limp almost the whole way at 40mph. I wasn't impressed. There again, the car hadn't had an especially easy life. Quite apart from being a hired hack, that particular example had done about 50 laps of Guadix the day before.
shouldbworking said:
130 miles in a peugeot 309 shortly after I pranged it. Bonnet taped shut, bumper crowbared off the wheel and a replacement headlight wedged in place.
60 miles in the tape worked loose and the bonnet started to lift, fixed with the aid fo more tape.
Mate...that's not a 'prang'!60 miles in the tape worked loose and the bonnet started to lift, fixed with the aid fo more tape.
I got nearly 100 miles (some motorway and even some city driving) on a Yamaha yzf600 with no clutch at all and a pillion rider (not proud but we really needed to get home and it was very quiet roads approx 2am).
Managed about 50 miles with the nearside wishbone hanging off my old 3 series, couldnt go over about 20mph the whole way, took friggin ages!
Managed about 50 miles with the nearside wishbone hanging off my old 3 series, couldnt go over about 20mph the whole way, took friggin ages!
I managed to nurse an 18 ton Seddon Atkinson 4 wheeler from central London to Penzance in Cornwall with no clutch release.
The pipe burst while I was going through the lights in Picadilly Circus and the clutch pedal gradually did less and less with each actuation until it just remained on the floor.
I stopped and bodged it up a bit with a couple of jubilee clips and some rubber pipe I cut off the washer bottle feed but I had no fluid, I put water in the pot and hope it might be enough to get me moving and It was, I then drove back via the motorways by matching the revs to the speed and changing up and down accordingly, still had all my tacho breaks and stops too, every time i needed to get going again I would just start it in gear and go from there, it was a bit tricky to start with but no problem after a while.
I can now drive anything without using the clutch at all.
The pipe burst while I was going through the lights in Picadilly Circus and the clutch pedal gradually did less and less with each actuation until it just remained on the floor.
I stopped and bodged it up a bit with a couple of jubilee clips and some rubber pipe I cut off the washer bottle feed but I had no fluid, I put water in the pot and hope it might be enough to get me moving and It was, I then drove back via the motorways by matching the revs to the speed and changing up and down accordingly, still had all my tacho breaks and stops too, every time i needed to get going again I would just start it in gear and go from there, it was a bit tricky to start with but no problem after a while.
I can now drive anything without using the clutch at all.
My dad did 18 miles without a clutch in rush hour traffic, not an epic distance but it was still pretty hairy doing it at 5:30 
Ive been quite lucky, worst ive had to do was 200 miles without any indicators, standard operation for any BMW driver hur hur, using my mate leaning out the window giving hand signals to the rest of the traffic.
EDIT: I also got my ST24 20 miles home using only 1st and 3rd gear (and no exhaust) on one occasion (ruined the linkage driving like a tit), and a 2nd time only using 4th gear with a Days of Thunder style push start
Ive been quite lucky, worst ive had to do was 200 miles without any indicators, standard operation for any BMW driver hur hur, using my mate leaning out the window giving hand signals to the rest of the traffic.
EDIT: I also got my ST24 20 miles home using only 1st and 3rd gear (and no exhaust) on one occasion (ruined the linkage driving like a tit), and a 2nd time only using 4th gear with a Days of Thunder style push start
From Bournemouth to Melksham in a Mk2 Cavalier with no exhaust (it detached from the manifold somehow (16yrs ago now, so slightly hazy as to how)
The owner of the car was nervous about driving it all the way home, but she was fine with me doing so... it took us ages and the hills were interesting (1300cc Cavaliers, 4 up aren't quick at the best of times) but we got back in the end... deaf and very very bored, but when you're 17 you'll do anything to save the cost of calling out the AA!!
The owner of the car was nervous about driving it all the way home, but she was fine with me doing so... it took us ages and the hills were interesting (1300cc Cavaliers, 4 up aren't quick at the best of times) but we got back in the end... deaf and very very bored, but when you're 17 you'll do anything to save the cost of calling out the AA!!
M25 (M40 Junction) to Worthing with a seized brake caliper on an 820 turbo. Beat the caliper free with the wheel brace and used the gears/handbrake for the rest of the trip.
Same car with a pin hole in a coolant pipe, heater on full, top gear low engine load, M25 M3 Junction to Worthing.
Cerbera from the regular Total garage stop off to the overnight stay hotel with no Clutch at all!! Luckily topped up the fluid and bleed it and it got me back after that.
R19, Dagenham to Brighton with a blowning HG for about 4 weeks....
Same car with a pin hole in a coolant pipe, heater on full, top gear low engine load, M25 M3 Junction to Worthing.
Cerbera from the regular Total garage stop off to the overnight stay hotel with no Clutch at all!! Luckily topped up the fluid and bleed it and it got me back after that.
R19, Dagenham to Brighton with a blowning HG for about 4 weeks....
My mk2 clio blew it's head gasket but as i didnt have access to a spare car i had to use it for 3 days before i could get it into a garage, did 100 miles in it.
Would cut out when i stopped or tried to reverse and was even slower than usual. 1.2 8v engines are not fast at the best of times.
£600 to fix.
Would cut out when i stopped or tried to reverse and was even slower than usual. 1.2 8v engines are not fast at the best of times.
£600 to fix.
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