Off road tips

[thedub]

From time to time we all have issues off road that require some “out of the box” thinking and MacGyver/A-team fixes.

They may not always be the most logical but they work.

Let’s hear them.



Here are some of mine from funny to extreme and they work.

Leaking radiator;

Always bring eggs on a trip, apart from eating them; if you have a leak in the radiator you crack one in and it poaches straight away plugging the leak… don’t laugh, I have used this more times than I can remember and it has never let me down.



Broken fuel pump; (twice so far!)

This always happens when you are a million F-ing miles from a garage! Simply put no fuel pump and your going nowhere.

I have a spare cap for my gas tank and have a tire nozzle drilled and glued through it, when the pumps fails, I put the spare cap on the tank, connect my compressor/pump* dial down the max output pressure before hooking it up* (or a line from the spare) and turn the pump on. In affect turning the gas tank into a pressure tank,* now this is not the wisest thing to do but at a pinch will get you moving, albeit slowly*.



Slow to start;

Cans of WD-40 & Brake Cleaner. A squirt or two of brake cleaner or WD-40 into the air intake usually does the trick , both highly flammable so they give the plugs a better chance to fire up.

If you have water in the electrics, spray WD-40 on and wipe off with a dry cloth and if you can use your compressor to blow it down as well* give the fumes a chance to disperse before starting your car.

[whitehumh2]

Wow Those are awesome!



I have heard about the egg in the radiator but I never thought about the gas tank thing...what a great idea!



For me, I carry spare parts for most common things in my truck and I have an on-board compressor, jacks, generator, impact tools, and I am looking into a portable welder.



I have learned that having extra cable and strap never goes astray...I learned the hard way once when I was short 5ft to reach the nearest tree, now I have a winch anchor, spare cable, straps, shackles, heck if you would shake my H2 hard enough you would probably have a spare Hummer that would come out! LOL!

[Khamul]

OMG that is hilarious!!! I have never heard of the poached egg thing in the radiator... that still baffles me....



Pressurizing the gas tank.... that is awesome, again never thought of that! SMART!



Basically when I go wheeling - I bring a full assortment of tools, spare tensioner pulley's, spare starter and all liquids. I've been fortunate in my breaks that they ahve been easily field repaired... JUST NEED THE RIGHT TOOLS!!! Especially big sockets for the driveshafts...

[Hesh]

On the same note of the pressurized gas tank, a long time ago, they used to sell an apparatus that would screw in to where a spark plug would, and had an air hose coming off it, and would enable you to use the compression generated in a cylinder to inflate the tires. Now, obviously there are safety concerns, and it wouldnt be something that could be universally used today, but I found that to be an ingeniously clever tool using something simple and unexpected.

[thedub]

Jump leads; they take up quite a lot of space (when you are trying to cover all your bases) I have a jump lead set I made; 2 cigarette lighter plugs and 20 feet of cable. The car doesn’t care where the juice comes from, just as long as it gets it. Plug it in to the lighters in both cars and it is the same as proper jump leads, you may have to wait a little longer but at least you don’t have to be out in the rain!



Degrease your engine;

Power washing works but spray oven cleaner on the areas you want degreased and leave for a while before the power wash then watch the grease come off.