The hackjob repair thread

[rodslinger]

I'm not sure I ever saw this here but was something that came up randomly over at MMC.net (mostly dead site now). We shared stories about half-assed repairs you performed on your car to get back on the road.

http://modernmusclecars.net/forums/s...2&page=2&pp=15

What are yours? I'll have a few more to add shortly....

[DiRF]

I'm not mechanically-inclined by any means, so mine isn't that interesting...

...back around 2004-2005, was driving my Mirage coupe down the highway at ~65mph, when all of a sudden I hear a "WHAP-WHAP-WHAP-WHAP-WHAP" and notice something flicker in the corner of my eye, at the left-front fender of the car... I pulled over to find that the front-corner turn signal had become dislodged and was simply dangling by the electrical cord, and had been tumping against the fender. Popping the trunk, I found a roll of clear duct-tape, crammed the turn signal back in place and taped it there. It held for another two years until I junked the car (due to a blown transmission)

Why did I happen to have clear duct-tape? Both the Mirage and my earlier '83 Crapi had problems with the sheetmetal on the roof rusting through... and the clear duct-tape was the best jury-rig solution to keep water out of the interior.

[General Geoff]

Just a few days ago, driving the BMW to work, I went to shift gears and the throttle blipped when I put the clutch in. I tapped the throttle a few times and it backed down. The throttle was apparently sticking, and got progressively worse throughout the day. So on my way home from work, I pulled into a parking lot, popped the hood, and examined the throttle linkage. Apparently a plastic clip that held the cruise control cable end in place broke, and the cable end was rattling around and binding in an orientation not designed when letting off the pedal, which caused the throttle to stay partially open.

Enter: The twist tie.

This fix not only worked fabulously, but due to the nature of the repair, the twist tie is not under any stress. All it's doing is holding a <1oz piece of metal against the throttle assembly. As such, the repair will probably last the life of the car (or at least the life of the throttle assembly).

Win!

[rodslinger]

Originally Posted by DiRF

I'm not mechanically-inclined by any means, so mine isn't that interesting...

...back around 2004-2005, was driving my Mirage coupe ....

I actually had a 1997 LS Coupe. That was the most problematic piece of shit I've ever owned. Bought it new and by 30k miles it had two transmissions, three radios, cylinder head rebuilt, etc.. I was only 25 when I bought it and if I had a better grasp of the Lemon law I would have planted that sum' bitch in the front lawn of the selling dealer.

But with that in mind I recall a customer that owned a similar model come into my cousins shop a few years back. He had a blowout on the LF tire on the interstate at a relatively good rate of speed. The tire shrapnel went upward into the fenderwell taking out the liner and almost ripping out the engine wiring harness that was run just above it. He spent about 2 hours on the side of the road with black electrical tape and scissors splicing together enough to get the car running and drove it like that about another two months before it crapped out again. I wish I had a camera because the splice work was interesting. But kudhos to the guy for not giving up.

[DiRF]

Huh... my Mirage is probably the best value-for-money car I've ever had... '95 coupe, bought in 2004 for $1100... lasted me 3 years and 20,000 miles... coldest AC I've ever had in a car, and the only thing that went wrong those 3 years (before the transmission blew sky high) was an O2 sensor...

[wrxgoose]

mine wasn't that interesting, but when i had the miata in japan, the engine would always overheat. found out that the thermostat wasn't detecting the heat from the engine. ended up ziptying the sensor directly to the block. bought that car for $900, so i wasn't that surpised

[rodslinger]

Need more stories....

There was a short time when I worked as a tech at the local Firestone store. One day the boss drags in an early 80's shitbox Honda Civic wagon. The kind that has about 37,000 vacuum lines connected to the intake manifold. Well this thing has a blown motor and he snagged it for $100 bucks. Picked up another motor for $200. He thought it would make a cheap parts runner. So I was the enlisted man to swap the motor.

Well typical for the job would be step one. Remove the hood, set it upside down on the roof.... I was able to just remove the manifold with all the vacuum lines attached and tie it back to the wiper blades. THANK GOD!!!!

So I get the motor swapped out that day and was buttoning everything up that evening. I had keys to the store so I hung out until about 10pm trying to get it done. Also made sure to have one or two beers to keep the momentum. Well about 11pm I finally get it running, fluids OK, everything checked out. Time to blow around the parking lot one time.

I pull of of the bay and proceed around the end of the building. This particular store also shares a parking lot with a bowling alley. Well it seems to be running smooth and responsive so I give it a little gas and goose it around the parking lot. While doing so I catch something out of the corner of my eye and hear what sounds like metal dragging the ground.

Well I pull back into the bay to check things out, can't find anything wrong and figure what the hell. Let's put the hood back on. The hood.....

The hood was still on the roof of the car while I was taking my two beer joyride around the parking lot. Apparently it slid off on a swift turn and slid shiny side down about 45 feet on the asphalt. Nice. Boss was not amused. I on the other hand laughed my ass off.

[zombiekiller]

When I had my firebird over in Germany, the exhaust pipe/muffler weld broke while passing someone. It was hanging by one hook while one exhaust tip was dragging on the road. Happened to have a coat-hanger and got it somewhat back in place until I could get it fixed.

Next the rubber piece a hook on the exhaust pipe goes through to hang from broke. Pushed the hook back into the rubber piece and put a hose-clamp around it. Painted it black and added some dirt to the vehicle inspector wouldn't notice.

Came time to ship the car home, and I developed a bad oil leak, which will stop a car from being shipped (it wasn't a horrendous leak, but it was enough). It was coming from the front of my oil-pan. Seems I didn't seat the front gasket correctly after re-installing the timing cover after my timing chain swap. I didn't have the time or ambition to fix it correctly, so I used some bracket stuff, a chunk of an oil bottle, more black paint, and some RTV to make a very disguised 'catch' for the leak that wouldn't fill up until after I got it home.

Drove it like that for a few months after it was home before it filled up and started dripping again and I fixed it.

Weatherstripping is shot, so I cover the seams of one t-top with electrical tape (just the left for now) during the winter.

Hose clamp for the exhaust hook is still in operation. 10 years and counting.

[Xeron]

snapped the front leaf spring hanger off the chassis on one of my patrols, used a piece of rope through the eye of the leaf spring and wrapped around the chassis to limit its movement for a disgustingly long time.

[devnull]

My dad's '86 300ZX had cheap electric tape and twist caps holding together the stereo wiring when we bought it. Worse than that, the PO who installed it wasn't able to figure out that the screws for the center console were behind a piece of plastic on top and close to the dash, so they just ripped it out. To repair it they melted the plastic around the screws.

On one occasion the wheel nuts backed themselves off the right rear on my 240. For some reason I can't remember I had the tuner lug nut socket but no wrench. I drove 40 miles with finger tight lug nuts.