Tips And Tricks To Get You Home

[TravelingMan0491]

My hopes for this thread is a compilation of experiences that we've encountered on the road or off with our 6.5/6.2's and what was done temporarily to get us back on the road to the nearest shop, home or ultimate destination. With that being said, I present to you what I hope to market and make my riches with:

Upper radiator hose retention system!



What does the retention device retain from? From keeping the alternator pulley/fins from wearing a hole into the hose of course!









By the way, this is the kind of corrosion that happens when you run 100% distilled water for a good 2+ years but what I was trying to point out is how the alternator fins had worked over halfway through the thickness of the hose.

After installing the replacement hose, it too looked like it would come uncomfortably close to spinning parts and my solution was to trim about an inch or inch and a half from the hose on the radiator end. Take note not to trim the thermostat housing end also since this would essentially cancel out your trimming from the radiator end. The idea is to keep the thermostat end longer than the radiator end so that you create more clearance for the hose from the alternator.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

It looks like you have the hose on backwards to me. There isn't a bracket to go there that I know of. If you flipped it around, it looks like the bend in the hose would go right around the alternator like it's supposed to.

 

[JMJNet]

It is not that close on mine. Theferm is correct, you may have put it backward.

The bend will stay away from the alternator.
Actually on mine, there is a bend metal that suppose to hold the hose away but the hose sits slightly above the fan shroud anyway.

 

[TravelingMan0491]

I thought about that yesterday as I typed this thread out.....

 

[TravelingMan0491]

Help me out here with the use of the picture above that shows the two hoses. I have them oriented as I would have them installed while standing in front of the truck. Upper opening to thermostat housing and lower opening to the radiator. Flip it around?

 

[JMJNet]

Help me out here with the use of the picture above that shows the two hoses. I have them oriented as I would have them installed while standing in front of the truck. Upper opening to thermostat housing and lower opening to the radiator. Flip it around?

Yes sir!!!

 

[WarWagon]

Tip #2 "AAA membership"

And the Redneck award goes to...

After all that is a permanent fix right their! Suggest 100 MPH duct tape as an upgrade!

 

[schiker]

Get the upgraded "AAA" membership as the basic package only gives a 3 miles free towing. Had to pay for towing it home once and was disappointed to say it mildly with my "AAA" membership.

 

[TravelingMan0491]

During the beginning years of owning my truck, the AAA Premier membership was put to good use.

 

[Will L.]

Never used aaa even when we had it. I always rigged up someway to get er home. If not then a friend with a rope. Had my wife try towing the benz with the suburban once-oops.

I like your get'r home motivation thread though.
Tons of situations like that for me, friends, or just helping people broke down on the road.

I've done pepper in the radiator for a pisser radiator core leak fix in my 99 3500
Water pump seal bad in Death Valley cured with 2 raw eggs into the radiator, Hummer.
Panty hose to replace broken fan belt to keep water pump turning on a broke down stranger in a 82 1500 6.2
Broke my upper ball joint a few years back, I keep my aluminum 3 ton floor jack in ny hummer, so put it under there and chained it up and drove home in reverse (going forward made wheels toe out).
Guy on the road one time had his manual trans get stuck in reverse at a 7-11, we popped the gear shift and screwdriver-ed it into 2nd to get him home.
Flat tires in the desert on trail rides fixed with stuffed rags once another time and different truck with sand. Both
I think most of us have done the water on the ip thing to start along the way...

Lots more if you all really want to here them.
Grow up poor and you learn to do anything with nothing, anywhere and make it last.

 

[NVW]

^^darn good of you Will, sacrificing a pair of "Panty Hose"^^

 

[TravelingMan0491]

Used this one recently:

OPS connector jumper to bypass a failed OPS. Take note that this will peg out your oil pressure gauge. The paperclip is also handy to pull the DTC codes from the ALDL port.

 

[schiker]

If you have more post away Will. I haven't had much need to rig on my truck to get it home (knock on wood). Other cars I have used coat hanger to hold tail pipe, shortened a few battery cables, and jumped a few starter solenoids. Nothing all that creative. A few tools, electrical tape, duct tape, cord, rags, starting fluid, tire fix a flat, booster cables, and short piece of bailing wire are in my tool bag behind my passenger seat.

Have towed some cars with a nylon strap or rope back when younger. My one tow with this truck was way too far to drag home and I wouldn't ask my wife to do it. I will only do it with a good driver and rider that know how to work in unison.

Old but true story I use to work with a lady who's car broke down. The husband went to help her and was going to try and push start it. He told her to get in his car behind him in hers and push him about 30 mph. He was getting ready and looked up into the rear view mirror to see her barreling down on him doing about 30 miles an hour and yep she ran into the back of her car at near that speed. She wasn't blonde but as you can imagine rather ditzy.

 

[TravelingMan0491]

The hose sure has a lot of clearance when it's installed properly!

 

[WarWagon]

Rare tool to get you home: AC clutch puller tool and tool to get the nut off the compressor shaft. Say if one of the drive springs breaks on the clutch and wedges the clutch in an grinding position you can remove it and get home on just the AC pulley. My feet were on fire in the blast furnace driving on the way home that day 120 degrees out. After sweating over a hot engine to remove the blown clutch...

 

[Will L.]

Rare tool to get you home: AC clutch puller tool and tool to get the nut off the compressor shaft. Say if one of the drive springs breaks on the clutch and wedges the clutch in an grinding position you can remove it and get home on just the AC pulley. My feet were on fire in the blast furnace driving on the way home that day 120 degrees out. After sweating over a hot engine to remove the blown clutch...

HA! Guess what happened the last time my ac worked in the hummer! There is currently a 1/4 gap from the compressor body to the clutch. Been driving that way for over 2 years now.

 

[Will L.]

NVW, you should have seen the guys face when I told him to ask his wife to take off her pantyhose if they wanted to get home! I'm sure the way I worded it didn't help any. I had heard that but never tried it before then. Vbelt btw idk if it would work on serpentine.

I had a truck that did not get a mount reinstalled for a injection line. Line broke from vibration near the injector and was spraying fuel. All I had was my leatherman, about 200 miles from nowhere near area 51 entrance.
I cut the line with the cutters and a LOT of effort. Crimped and rolled the lines over a couple times crimping flat as I went. It stopped the fuel spray and kept debris out of the injector.

Off roading in my buddy's cucv 6.2 he just bought. Were about 3 miles from his house and hit a funky shaped stick that broke the fuel line from the mechanical lift pump. Once again only my leatherman. Lucky he had a 1 gallon gas can in the back. He caught almost 1 gallon of fuel before the rest soaked into the desert floor. I took of the hose from the lp to the ip (all rubber on that one). Tied off the can with a boot lace to the top of the engine and ran the line into the ip. Had to use my other bootlace to tie the hood most of the way closed to see over it on the way back. Last time he went anywhere in flip flops, nasty cut on his foot getting under the truck in a hurry.

Lead acid battery not enough to fire off? Drop a aspirin in each of the cells and wait 10-15 minutes.
battery needs to be headed for the trade in pile though. It isn't nice to the lead inside.

You all know balancing a tire with a pint or two of antifreeze in the tire? You can use water but it rusts the wheel. (Do not do it on ctis systems unfortunately for me and my shaky 37's.) The centrifugal force will spin the liquid to the lite spot of the tire balancing the rotating weight. Get up to 44" tires and above you need 4-5 pints. P.S. tip the tire guy before he starts on your flat repair though it gets a little odorous.

It seems to me whenever I have a good tool selection and spare parts, nothing ever goes wrong.

 

[ak diesel driver]

Isn't that how it always is? I was driving up the ALCAN one time pulling a trailer and the springs on the trailer slid off the center pin. Cut some boards to wedge in to keep the axle from sliding back when the brakes were applied and secured it with hose clamps. by the time I got home I had done that to 3 of the four springs and drove it that way for a couple of years before I got around to fixing it right

 

[3bals]

Here's what I found yesterday.



Here's what I did. I've had good luck with these in my motorhome.

 

[WarWagon]

Replace plug on the battery maintainer. It looks nasty.