What has stopped your vehicle? [Archive] - HuntAmerica.com Talk Forums

Bushman

10-02-2009, 04:49 PM

I guess we have all been stuck in the mud or the snow at one time or another, but what about other mechanical things that we all might learn from?
1, Broke a serpentine belt on a lonely stretch of road.
2, Ignition module went out on the truck way back in.
3, Serpentine belt pulley broke.
4, 10w40 oil was too thick to turn over in the winter.
5, Dead battery.
6, Ran out of gas in the front tank and truck would not start from the rear tank.
7. Broke the rear axle on the truck.
8. The torque converter went out.
9. Had all four tires that someone let the air out of.
10. EGR valve area burned through on two 3800 GM engines.
11. Broke one of the drive chains from ice build up on the sprocket on my Rokon.

Sooner or later if it has wheels... you are going to have trouble with it. What has happened to you?

Sidekick

10-03-2009, 06:08 AM

I had a '72 Chevy pickup that started throwing a fit one day. Missing, backfiring and just barely running. I pulled over and popped the hood to check it out and one of the heater hoses had a pinhole in it and was spraying directly on the distributor. I just wrapped a handkerchief over it and continued on. It didn't stop the leak but at least it wasn't spraying. I also had a coil wire pop off of the distributor once. That shut me down right now. All were easy fixes. I've never really been stranded because of my vehicle. Just lucky I guess. Now if you want to talk tractors I've blown head gaskets, had contaminated fuel, broken bearings, blown hydraulic lines, tires come completely off the rim (that's really fun), been unmercifully stuck in mud and snow, pto flew apart once as did the governor too. I've learned to be pretty handy with tools. :D

Hi Ball

10-03-2009, 11:29 AM

Bushman I use 5W-20 engine oil at the end of fall season! Belts always seem to let go when you least expect them to. I replace mine every 3 years weather they look bad or not. Batteries I like to depend on but after 2 years I get a new one before winter in our major driving vehicles such as my 1-ton Superduty and the wife's Jeep.

M99ER

10-03-2009, 04:32 PM

What has stopped your vehicle?

12: The cops :(

Bushman

10-03-2009, 04:34 PM

Yeah, 99 me too. Motorcycle cop got me the last time. I should have realized that anyone normal doesn't wear a white helmet on a Harley.

I use salad oil thicker than 5w20! Lots of automotive engineers smarter than me had them put "Use only 10w30" on the top of the oil filler cap. Some years back I was the pilot of a Saab with a turbocharged 2.0 engine. I fed it nothing except Mobil 1 5w20 synthetic oil changed every 2,000 miles because it was supposed to keep everything clean and friction free. Well, after it ate two turbochargers at $750. each due to oil seal failure, lets just say that I'm never going to be a big fan of Mobil 1, 5w20 oil or turbochargers.

Let me revise that EGR problem on the intake of the GM 3800 engines to three because that is how many of those 3800's that I've had. Not catching it on time in the wife's car cost me a new engine. Plastic injected molded part subject to exhaust gas heat! Great idea GM.

Rock Chuck

10-03-2009, 05:50 PM

I had a slab of back country road collapse under me and slide into a creek. It left my left rear hanging over 6' of air with the frame sitting on the 'new' edge of the road.

Perry

10-05-2009, 07:46 PM

A few years back, I had a an ol ford f150 custom, went over my fathers buddies property to hunt. Well, when i got there it was teetering on 32, 33 and when i went to leave it was about 15 degrees or so. Well my tires froze into the ground went to turn the wheel and snaped the shaft coming out the gear box. Was a fun fix out in the cold, luckily I had a few spare gear boxes layin around lol.

Bill Gunn

10-05-2009, 08:34 PM

Just had the A/C compressor loose it's bearings in my 2002 Ford F-150.
The thing that pissed me off is that I didn't want A/C when I bought the truck for EXACTLY that reason, but A/C is no longer an option, all the trucks came with it in 2002.

I've had carrier bearings go, and a few universals.
I never have been stranded out on the road (KNOCK ON WOOD) so far. Just lucky I guess.

I did run out of gas out of town with a company truck once. I was so close to the gas pump that I had to stretch the hose with all my might to just get enough gas in it to drive 3 more feet to fill it up :D :p :o

LampLighter

10-08-2009, 08:29 PM

The thing that pissed me off is that I didn't want A/C when I bought the truck for EXACTLY that reason, but A/C is no longer an option, all the trucks came with it in 2002

Beat it with a sledge hammer and throw it in the trash. :)

Bill Gunn

10-09-2009, 02:01 AM

Beat it with a sledge hammer and throw it in the trash. :)

L O L, that's to much work.... :D :D

ncboman

10-10-2009, 01:23 AM

What has stopped your vehicle?

:)

I was drivin by the pool one day and ...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/ncboman/Area%2051/photo-ffadult-r20-s3-52920150_92808.jpg

thought I saw my wife. ;)

:cool:

Greywolf

10-10-2009, 06:14 AM

Greywolf

10-10-2009, 06:27 AM

lets see:

Had two tires leave me flat when I wen't airborne and blew them off on landing.

Several blown head gaskets on flat head six bangers.

Broken tie rod ends a couple times.

Iced brake lines and no alchohol for a fix, that one got real expensive.

Broken air lines on shift tower of 13 speed, locked out of gear,
(down town Boston!) at rush hour.

Snapped axels.

And, A stone monument.:cool:
Was heading down a grade with a fresh loaded fuel tanker, and lost brakes, (hydraulic with air assist).
School was letting out at bottom of the hill, children everywhere.
I took the truck off road and up a long embankment into a stone monument on the front lawn of some historic building. Hoping not to burn up alive, or hurt anyone else in the area. It worked.

Bushman

10-10-2009, 11:33 AM

Wow Graywolf, lots of us think that big rigs are the safest thing on the road with professional drivers. I've been behind an 18 wheeler when one of their retreads peeled off and while that might not stop a big rig right away, it sure gets the guy behind him taking some evasive action.

Bill, never stranded on the road? You are a lucky man. It is one helpless feeling. We tend to take our vehicles so much for granted until you get a wake up call like that.

Lamplighter is at it again with that sledge hammer fix. Do any of you think that LL might be related to Gallagher?;)

Greywolf

10-10-2009, 03:15 PM

Lamplighter is at it again with that sledge hammer fix. Do any of you think that LL might be related to Gallagher?

only if he picks his garden with a hammer too!

Ya, I have dropped an "aligator hyde" or two on people who were following me. And I have had it happen to me while driving my lil truck too.

Bill Gunn

10-10-2009, 04:38 PM

Bill, never stranded on the road? You are a lucky man. It is one helpless feeling. We tend to take our vehicles so much for granted until you get a wake up call like that.

Nope I lied :o
I'm Sorry :(

I just remembered when I read your post...

Years ago (I think it was in '94) I had a front spindle break when a bearing went bad on an old POS Pontiac I once had.
I was lucky though, it broke on the entrance ramp to a highway, and the wheel folded into the wheel-well, and I was dead in my tracks...

In about 2 more minutes I would have been going 70 MPH when it let go :eek:

That was a $100.00 tow job :mad:

Bushman

10-11-2009, 11:08 AM

I've seen that front wheel folded under along the road on a lot of stranded vehicles and it worries me that there are so many high mileage cars on the road with worn parts like that. To get the mileage numbers up, they lighten up the components. Engines have improved to the point that if the car doesn't use oil, it must be good to go. Those suspension parts have gone the same hundreds of thousands of miles too. My old boss called me up one time really shook because the car in front of him on I-94 just did a 70 mph left turn across three lanes of traffic into the guard rail when the tie rod broke.

I was stopped Thursday on the interstate by a fatal accident up ahead. You could not even tell the make or model of that white car. Then a rubber necker in an SUV was crushed up to the driver's seat by the full speed semi behind him. It gives a guy pause if he wants to be on the same road with these people.

Sabre

10-11-2009, 09:13 PM

Bushman

10-11-2009, 10:24 PM

Sabre, I 100% agree with you, but in the real world a lot of the people driving the worn part cars are living paycheck to paycheck and those people are not going to pay someone $75. an hour for a safety check plus parts when they can not very well afford a full tank of gas. I would not plan on them having adequate insurance if they hit you either.

M99ER

10-12-2009, 05:55 PM

a lot of the people driving the worn part cars are living paycheck to paycheck and those people are not going to pay someone $75. an hour for a safety check plus parts when they can not very well afford a full tank of gas.

You are right on about their inability to afford the repairs but it`s the parts (and labor to install) more-so than the inspection. Around here I think inspections run around $12.00 But the cost of parts and labor beyond that is what they can`t afford, along with tools, time, an education, etc..

Replacing a tie rod for example is cheap and easy. The part doesn`t cost jack and a hammer and a removal fork aren`t expensive either. You`d think they just don`t like getting their hands dirty.

I like to take my vehicles in about a month early, find the worn items, fail the inspection, pay the man, then go home and replace most of the parts myself. Then I go back to the previous garage who failed me and let them fix what I am unable to do or don`t have the time for and then `Sticker` it. Keeps them appreciating your business too.

Yearly inspections laws are a good thing.

Sabre

10-12-2009, 06:15 PM

You are right on about their inability to afford the repairs but it`s the parts (and labor to install) more-so than the inspection. Around here I think inspections run around $12.00 But the cost of parts and labor beyond that is what they can`t afford, along with tools, time, an education, etc..

Replacing a tie rod for example is cheap and easy. The part doesn`t cost jack and a hammer and a removal fork aren`t expensive either. You`d think they just don`t like getting their hands dirty.

I like to take my vehicles in about a month early, find the worn items, fail the inspection, pay the man, then go home and replace most of the parts myself. Then I go back to the previous garage who failed me and let them fix what I am unable to do or don`t have the time for and then `Sticker` it. Keeps them appreciating your business too.

Yearly inspections laws are a good thing.
Here in NY they remove your old inspection sticker BEFORE they do the inspection. If your vehicle doen't pass you can get a 10 day temporary inspection sticker to get it fixed but after that if it isn't fixed you ain't gonna be drivin' it.

Bushman

10-13-2009, 09:09 AM

Interesting that some states have a mandatory annual safety inspection. That is not the case here in Wisconsin. Given the way they salt down the roads up here in the frozen north, it is probably a better idea because of the corrosion. Our roads are way better than most in the north though. You can be 100 yards into Illinois on I-94 to know that you are in a different state. Pot holes in and of themselves will not stop your vehicle, but they could split a tire ply, wear suspension parts and wreck your alignment.

greenjeans

10-22-2009, 03:05 PM

What has stopped my truck in the past year alone:

Water pump
power steering pump
vacuum powered brake booster
serpentine belt broke
alternator
starter
all 4 oxygen sensors went
fan clutch
catalytic converter
cam shaft position sensor
Rear driveshaft cracked
oil pan sprung a big leak
two rear u joints plus two front u joints
fuel pump and sending unit
transmission went out
intake manifold leak new gasket
had to pull the distributor re time it

plus a few more i have forgoten just in one year. Now this truck only has 165,000 on it chevy k1500 z71 4X4 1997

I spent from january all the way to June just fixing my truck in the garage. And then theres the other two trucks. one has 600,000 and the other has 370,000 then the long bed has 350,000 and they never seem to break much all chevy half tons.

Bushman

10-23-2009, 10:11 AM

Greenjeans you win the prize. With a truck like that I'd be afraid to take the thing out of the driveway! A '97 1500 would have had the 5.7 liter 350 and they were known for dependability.

I've got the check engine light telling me that the cam shaft position sensor isn't working on one of my Buick's too. The garage guy tells me that the magnet in the thing gets weak over time and that it is an inexpensive part. The part is inexpensive, but to get to it for labor isn't. Good old GM. I asked him what the down side of not fixing it would be and he said that other than not starting right off, it might make the fuel injection switch to sequential from multi-port and the gas mileage would suffer. I pulled 33 mpg out of that 3.8 V6 on a trip so if it is suffering, I can't tell it.

greenjeans

11-17-2009, 06:27 PM

the cam shaft position sensor wasnt bad at all to change and i think it ran about 20 bucks to get.

Yep they all have 350 or 5.7 liter engines i think a wheel bearing is going bad now i have to check it after deer season.

Bushman

11-18-2009, 10:21 AM

Yes, I got mine fixed on Monday so the check engine light is off now. The thing that blew my mind was how fast the fuel pressure regulator could go out. That Buick was running like new earlier in the day when I parked it in front of the house. That night it hardly ran well enough to get into the driveway! 3,257 miles all the way to NW Montana with that car a few months back and not a lick of trouble. Do you know how many miles of desolation there are between here and NW Montana? I'm getting paranoid that these vehicles can leave you in a major lurch at the wrong time. I just hope that my Ford truck has developed an immunity for the deer season.

dave-t.

11-19-2009, 02:55 PM

This year I've had three flat tires, all back passenger, changed the spark plugs and plug wires, and replaced the compressor on the air conditioner.

The truck has been paid off for quite a while, so I'm going to keep patching her up until she's done for. If I was going to get a new truck, it would be one awefully close to what I have. It's a 2000, 4 door Nissan Frontier v6. Small truck, but it fits me and I like it.