| sbclayton |
Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:23 pm |
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NavDog blew a hose today, right as I was ferrying relatives from Brasil to their hotel from the airport. I was driving along and suddenly immense clouds of steam began blowing out of the left-hand engine bay louvres. No flashing red light and the temp gauge stayed okay, so I made it a few miles to the hotel parking lot.
(Note: I don't recommend anyone else trying to drive with a massive coolant leak - but NavDog and I have had this conversation several times in the past, and I know he's good for about 5 miles before meltdown. BTDT - and I'm glad he has an air-cooled genetic heritage!)
The #7 hose on Ken Wilford's hose chart (http://www.vanagain.com/21lchc.htm - thanks, Ken!) blew - the one running from the coolant distributor to the thermostat - a nasty 4 inch split. When everything cooled down, I tried to find my hose-mending tape. No luck. Also no duct tape, electrical tape or anything even resembling tape.
Then inspiration hit! I keep odds and ends in plastic ziplock bags. I grabbed a quart-size bag, dumped the contents out on the floor, ripped the sealing strip off of the bag, folded it in half, wrapped it around the burst hose, and used almost every big Ty-Wrap in my tool box to clamp the plastic around the split, using Ty-Wraps placed right next to each other.
It worked like a charm! I added coolant, did a quick bleed (rpm's to 2000, adding coolant to the expansion tank), shut the engine lid and drove 10 miles back to my house. The repair worked so well that I didn't lose any more coolant. :D
Just another trick to add to our collective toolbox. Hope you never need to use it, but remember it if you do! |
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| climberjohn |
Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:39 am |
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"From crisis comes innovation." Or something like that.
Nice work, thanks for passing this tip along.
Time to add a few more zip ties to the odds'n'ends box . . . |
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| transporterjr |
Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:10 pm |
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I'll have to add more zip ties as well. Here's another one, but maybe not so McGyver-ish.
I had a coolant level sensor leak - this is the one in the pressurized expansion tank. They are basically hollow inside and they get a radial split at the top of the threaded section, which is still within the hollow from the inside. I was on a camping trip, so I caught a ride to the hardware store and discovered JB Weld Quik Lube.
Turned the coolant level sensor upside down and with small stick filled in the hollow with JB, used a clamp (that I had for my tarp) across the top of the sensor and the bottom to seal the crack, left it in the dash in the sun, went swimming. Forgot to change to next year when that one split. Not a permanent fix, but I had easily 300-400 miles on this this way.
The next time, also on a camping trip, I had a spare - the new one that I forgot to install! |
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| tencentlife |
Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:03 pm |
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JB is awesome stuff.
Nice fix on the hose, too! I'll remember that one. Thre's always plastic bags around. |
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