Bootstrap Fixes Contest (Ends: October 31, 2009)

[TDRadmin]

Thanks to kenny61, we are posting our newest contest:





Tell us about your most creative on the road fixes. They will be evaluated on both creativity and difficulty of repair. If worthy, they may even get published in the magazine.



The fixes need not have been done to a CTD. And if you have first-hand knowledge of a fix done by someone else that is worthy of sharing, feel free to post it too. We're looking for good information here (and a few laughs, of course).



This is a test of your creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness.



Winner gets one year complimentary renewal to the Turbo Diesel Register and a $100 gift certificate to Geno's Garage.



Let us see what you've got.



Robin

TDR Admin

 

[bsappington]

Radiator Hose Repair

In the event of a blown upper or lower radiator hose I have emptied the batteries out of a flash light and cut off the closed end to form a tube. Then cut the damaged part of the hose out and replce it with the "tube". I then used some bailing wire on each end to hold the hose in place. This was not done on a CTD. It was actually a Jeep and it wasn't mine. :-laf However I was the one that came up with that idea that day.



I am glad it worked. Oo.

 

[DennyDay]

Skilled Fix? -Nope!, Shop Fix? - Nope! Lucky Fix - Yep!

Backround - August 1994



This goes back a few years when I was making my first long trip with my 1994, 3500 dual 4 X4, wheel Diesel truck with a five speed to visit our San Diego terminal. Truck had most of the bells and whistles, including cruise control, electric windows and door locks, and big mirrors, and a 35 gallon auxillary fuel tank. I had added a topper to hold my tools and some truck inspection material. Truck as loaded weight about 9700 pounds.



I put about 2000 miles on the truck running around locally, from Ft. Worth, to San Antonio where the company I worked for was headquartered, and Houston where we had a big terminal.



After returning home to North Texas on Saturday Morning, I serviced the truck, Lube, oil change, and filter, fuel filter and checked everything out - -and everything looked good, so then I washed and waxed the truck, and installed a bug deflector. At this point I figured I was good to head out for the West Coast Sunday at about 3 PM - - -



Little did I know, there was a problem hidden under the hood. As I drove through the night, tickled pink the way the truck ate up the miles, a little un-happy about the poor headlights. but the AC worked very well. I topped the fuel tanks up at the Chevron Truck Stop in El Paso, and again headed west. Between Deming and Lordsburg, New Mexico, I stopped at the Border Patrol check station, the guys there wanted to know all about my new truck, it was about 2 AM Monday, and of course I was happy to talk, and drink a cup of coffee with them.



As I headed out on I-10 again, everything was going to well, I should have known something would go wrong. I cleared Yuma at about 6:30AM and the sky was turning from black to grey, as the Sun peaked over the hills to the east. But somthing was amiss, when kicked off the cruise control to stop at the California Bug Station, the foot throttle felt funny, and it seemed to be awful close to the floor. What have I missed - - I don't know, but lets get on down the road for awhile.



Drove on foot feed for about 60 miles, just outside El Centro and the foot throttle went to the floor and the engine to idle! Oh Boy, just what you wanted, by a stroke of luck, I turned on the cruse control, and it picked up, so I was able to increase the speed to the speed limit (55 at the time) and look for a place to get off the road. I got off at the next exit, I think it was the Holtville, CA (Home of the origional Caterpiller Tractor) and into a closed gas station.



Getting under the hood, I quickly located the problem, easy to see the shreaded throttle cable coming out of the tube from the throttle peddle to the injector pump. Found out at that point the cruse control still worked because it was a separate cable from the cruse control unit mounted on the front of the battery housing on the drivers side.



Well as I studied the situation (that's the clean version of the discription of somebody who has been up all night and has a tantrum)

I started to pull the shreaded cable out of the tube, but didn't make out so well, so I went under the dash and pulled that way, and after a couple of tugs out it came out in a jumble. Pieces of each of the cable strands were broken in numerous places, so there was no way I could put the cable back in. I got on my cell phone and called the company dispatcher at the Imperial Terminal, thinking it was now 8AM and I could get the shop mechanic go to the dealer, pick up a new cable and bring it out to me! Great idea right - - - WRONG - - -, it was 8AM in Texas, but only 6AM in California, so I had the dispatcher look up the phone number for the parts department, so I could call at 8AM and then call the day dispatcher to have it picked up . . Things were looking better. As I sat there stewing and drinking the last of a thermos of coffee, I had a thought that maybe I could jury rig something, and went in to my tool box, and while rooting around, a spool of stainless steel safety wire kinda' just rolled out in front of me! Safety Wire is what we use on trucks to seal certain equipment after we test it.



Well out came the safety wire and a pair of wire cutters, and I cut off a generous chunk of wire, doubled it up, and squeezed the end and shoved it through the tube from the throttle peddle end and picked it up on the engine end. There was a little ball on the balcrank that the origional cable snapped on too. I couldn't re-use the ball, so I took three wraps around the neck of the ball and then pulled it back to the peddle. After getting the throttle peddle to what felt like the right highth, I twisted the cable, and doubled it over about 4 times, and secured it with a small worm clamp that I was going to use for the boost gage tubing when I installed it.



Well it was now time to test my handy work, I started the truck, and slowly raised the RPM, low and behold it did as it was directed, except for the throttle peddle being a little low, it acted OK.



It was now about 7:15 AM, and I called the dispatcher to tell him I was on the road, and asked for dirctions to the Dodge Dealer. Showed up at the dealer, and learned the part was the subject of a re-call, and the parts were back-ordered - - (Go Figure) So I called my dealer in Irving and learned they had one in stock, so I had them FedEx it to me at the San Diego Terminal.



With my fingers crossed and a guick prayer, I started across the desert and over the mountains to my destination.



AND I MADE IT Oo. Oo. Oo.



Three days later, the 'next day' FedEX shipment arrived, at that point, after many visual inspections of my truck, and the work load I waiting for me, I was too tired to go back in and put it back to origional, so I just drove the damned thing back to Texas the way it was.



I was just plain lucky with this fix - - I've been doing emergency repairs to loaded railroad tank cars for years, in fact that was why I had the stainless steel wire it took to make the fix. I drove the truck a total of 1800 miles with this jury rig, and when I replaced it with the factory wire assembly, I questioned whether I should have taken the safety wire off. I did get my answer when it broke again at 36,000 miles. ( I was ready this time, had a spare with my tools)



There is more to this story, warranty notifications, availability of parts, and warranty coverage, being part of it, but its not a part of the emergency fix. Also learned about TDR during this time, sent my $$ in, talked to Robert Patton, and have gotten so much help from the Magazine, AND the problem of the throttle was covered in one of the early editions!!





Denny Day

September 1, 2009



Robin: I cleaned this up a little, as you could imagine I was as hot as a $5. 00 skyrocket.



DD

 

[moonranch]

Where's the Brakes?!

1963 Chevy C-10, driving down a remote road when I feel the truck quickly pull to the left then straight again. It happens a second time, so I decide to pull over and take a look. But when I apply the brakes, the peddle goes to the floor. So I downshift and coast to a stop. When I finally come to a stop, I get out and see brake fluid running out the left front drum. Upon further inspection, I determine I have a cracked wheel cylinder, and because the master-cylinder has a single reservoir for all four wheel, I don't have any way of building line pressure to the rest of the system. So in order to get the truck and me back on the road safely?, I cut the brake line to bad cylinder, fold it over on itself a couple of times and smash it with a hammer to stop the fluid from leaking and therefore get pressure to the rest of the brakes. It worked well, but I now had to be ready to steer to the left when I came to a stop.
#2 - Same truck, same trip. Driving down the road when I hear an awful pounding noise and the cab fills with dust/smoke. I pull over (with 3 good brakes) and find that the tread on my left front has departed the tire. No problem, I put on the spare. But on the way back home, I get a flat on the right rear. Well, I am still in a remote location(and before cell phone), so I decide to put the treadless tire back on. At least it still holds air. So now I am able to drive twenty more miles to the nearest phone and was able to call for help.
Moral of the story: Spend more that $300 for a truck.

 

[Grizzly]

Can it be an emergency repair to the 5th wheel in Canada on the way back from Alaska? No problem with the CTD.

 

[Missouri Mule]

On the way to Kansas City, Kansas with my Dad driving my 78 Ford 12 Passenger Van. As we neared St. Louis the Van started to overheat we pulled over several times to fill the radiator back up. I could tell that the leak was near the Thermostat housing where the upper hose connected to and was bolted to the head.

After filling the radiator up it over heated again 20 miles later 50 to 60 miles west of St. Louis we pulled over at a rest area. I pulled the upper hose off thinking I had blown the thermostat housing gasket. Pulled the thermostat housing off gasket is Ok.

I took off a metal shield that was on the backside of the thermostat housing and found a hole. I took out battery cleaning tool and used the male wire brush to clean around the hole, got out the Blue Goo (silicone gasket and sealant) put a dab of it over the hole let it dry a little. I took out the black electrical tape and wrapped it around the thermostat housing.

Put every thing back together, fill it with water and took off for KC. We made it with no problems.

I did put on a new thermostat houisng on while in KC and kept the old one as a spare.



I have used Blue Goo and black electrical tape on a few temporary hose fixes that got me to my destination. (88 15 passenger Ford van with heater hoses running to ac/heater for back seats. )

 

[Batphreak]

This was actually a fix to a friend's car. His little thing had a habit of throwing belts, which would then cause the car to overheat. He had done so on a trip home from Chicago. I happened to be going to Chicago the next day and he asked to tag along so that I could help repair his car on the way home (he had managed to park it in a lot along the road). The help turned into me working on the car (he had been shown a couple times how to put the belts on but wasn't terribly mechanically inclined). As I was putting his belts on I pried on an improper spot for one of the pulleys, the wrench I was using slipped and punched a hole in his radiator. I had him go to the parts store and get some JB weld Quik and antifreeze while I put the belts on. After the coolant drained below the hole I mixed up the JB and proceeded to gob as much as I could around the pin hole. We went ot get some food while the JB cured a bit, filled his radiator and he rolled on home. He was too cheap to buy a new radiator, that JB weld held at least a year, when he finally overheated too much and locked the engine.

 

[BDW]

I actually have two funny stories.

First, me and a buddy had been hunting for too long and we were ready to get home when a terriable rain storm caught us by suprise while driving home. He hit the windshield wipers switch and wouldnt you know nothing. So, we jump out and tie one boot lace to each wiper and get back in. Needless to say we drove on in (bout 60 miles) taking turns pulling on our laces.....



Second, me and the family were on a trip when in the middle of no where my truck blew a radiator hose. I pop the hood and the a/c clutch had let go and rubbed a hole in the hose. Luckly, it was the only thing powered by that belt so i cut it. Too fix the hose i cut the ends off a DR. Pepper can then split one side. I slide it over the hose and wrapped it in nearly a whole roll of electrical tape. took another can and dipped water out of the ditch next to us to fill the radiator. Funny part is that it nevered leaked one drop I finally got around to changing it six months later... ... .

 

[kenny61]

Can it be an emergency repair to the 5th wheel in Canada on the way back from Alaska? No problem with the CTD.

I think thats fine

The fixes need not have been done to a CTD. And if you have first-hand knowledge of a fix done by someone else that is worthy of sharing, feel free to post it too. We're looking for good information here (and a few laughs, of course).



This is a test of your creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness.

 

[DodgeWarlock]

I was going down the interstate in my old 66 Chevy C10, when it started a horrible bangin' and jumpin'. It turned out the carrier bearing bracket had broken off from rust. I found an old wire coat hanger under the seat and used it to wire the bearing back up. Unfortunately, the engine torque would still force it to one side. So I tied it back to the opposite framerail with the roughly twelve feet of speaker wire running to my blown Kraco speakers. I had to baby it, but it held for the 20 miles to get home. Never would have believed it.

 

[Jim W]

When I was in high school many many moons ago, one of my friends bought a 1953 TR3 roadster. This car was in dire need of a rebuild from the ground up.



We being young kids did not know any better and started in. We did a full rebuild on the bottom end of the engine, new crank shaft, piston and main bearings along with a valve job and milling of the head. We reinstalled the engine and transmission and finished the rebuild with new side draft carburetors. Put in the proper break in oil and took the car out for a test drive.



Will he had to show off to some girls and needless to say he spun a bearing. What to do now, need to get home but did not want to damage the engine any more. Pulled in to a parking lot and drop the oil pan found the bad bearing and removed the bearing cap. We then cut a piece of leather from a belt and trimmed the leather to fit the bearing cap and bearing. Reinstalled the bearing cap and put the oil pan back on. Refilled the engine with new oil and started up the engine. We drove the car for another year until he sold this car. The last we know the leather strap was still in this car for another two years.

 

[georgej]

About 30 years ago my son in law and I had just finished a morning hunt and as I approached my El camino noticed the keys hanging in the ignition. Of course I had no spare key and hadn't any bailing wire to help me "break in" the Chevy. After about ten minutes an old Ford pickup came down the road and I just knew he would have some wire wrapped around the air cleaner or license plate . He stopped and gave me a couple of feet of wire to fashion a little loop to snag the lock button and unlocked the door.

On the way back to camp my son in law asked "how did you know he had some wire in the truck?" and I told him my previous truck was a Ford!

 

[Gweeds12V]

Sounds like a lot of fords and chevy's need these fixes not learning much about quick bootstrap fixes for our dodges lol

 

[Grizzly]

On the way back from Alaska in Sept 1995 with my brand new 95 Dodge Cummins 3500 Dually and my 29' 88 Holiday Rambler Alumilite 5th wheel, we broke down about 20 miles south of 100 Mile House, BC, Canada. The 5er burned out the left rear spindle of the axle. We had been having axle and tire problems on the entire trip. We had the axles realigned in Fairbanks and tires rotated and bearings repacked in Anchorage. Before the spindle burned out, I could see that the axles were out of align again. I had no idea what to do in the middle of nowhere.



Suddenly an old man in his 70's or so stopped to help. He said you'll have to get this broke trailer back to 100 Mile House where they have an auto mechanic shop. I asked how am I going to get it back to 100 Mile House on three wheels. He said I'll show you, get me a small 2x4, a large nail and some bailing wire. He set the 2x4 wood block in the shackles, fixed it with the nail and held it together with the bailing wire. I can't remember exactly how he rigged it up, but the axle was held up. He said turn around and go slow, not more them 15 mph to 100 Mile House and ask for (a person's name) at the auto shop, tell them I sent you.



We got to the auto shop at about 5 PM and it was on a Friday. They assessed the damage and had us park behind the shop and furnished us power and water. They told us to stay put until Monday at which time they would order the parts from Kamloops.



On Monday they ordered a new axle. brake drum assembly, bearings and other needed parts. On Wednesday they put it all together, which I was allowed to help. They charged me 1 1/2 hours labor, which came out to $52. 50 at $35. 00 per hour labor plus parts. which was very reasonable. I tried to pay them for power and water, but they insisted on no charge.



In the few days that we were there waiting for parts we visited every shop, restaurant, a church and got to know almost everyone in that tiny town. Those were the nicest, friendliest people we've ever known. They just could'nt do enough for us and they made us feel like part of a family. We were broke down and were at their mercy and they could have raked us over the coals, but they didn't. I will never forget those people including the old man who rigged up my broke axle. We did get their names and addresses and sent them Thank You cards. Makes me wonder if things would have been different if we had broke down in the lower 48.

 

[kenny61]

In the late 80's I had a 79ish Dodge RamCharger 318 3speed on the floor. Following my recruiter into NYC to get sworn in for the Corp (think I had to go to Brooklyn) On the highway headed south popped her into third and the shifter broke. had no idea where i aws going and no way to contact the recruiter to tell her my truck broke. looked down and saw two pairs of vice grips. while driving down the highway (don't try this at home) I unscrewed the transcover un bolted the broke shifter and linkage than attached a pair of vice grips to each shifter lug on the transmission. Made it threw NYC stop and go traffic to the base shiffting by vice grip!!!!





Back in my early teens I was out riding my old Honda XR-75 when the side cover screws fell out I couldn't just pull it off because the shifter prevented it from coming off. but it would drop down and rub on the internals and the ground. No tools no parts what to do. . I made a tourniquet with a stick and the shoe laces from my boots to strap it to the engine. . Or in other words a true bootstrap fix!!!







One thing I am learning from this thead is that it looks like our trusty CTD's don't break down!!!

 

[GCroyle]

C.D. Day Gets my vote so far!

Sorry, I don't have the time to detail read all of the posts, but the homemade throttle wire is darn good. I was wonrering if maybe C. D. was going to tell us he took the hood off and pulled the wire with his left hand, darn good.



I'll have to think about this one before I submit.

 

[wcaldwell]

September 1994 my wife and I had left Belen, NM going to San Angelo, TX for my oldest son's funeral. We had an '84 Chevy Suburban and was going east from Mountainair towards Willard on NM Hiway 60. I pulled out to pass a couple other vehicles and noticed my Suburban wouldn't accelerate. It would hold a speed (at that particular time) but wouldn't accelerate. I pulled back in behind the vehicles and continued on down the hill when the truck simply died. I coasted to the side of the road a couple miles west of Willard and climbed under the hood. County Sheriff stopped and we talked a couple minutes and then get the truck started again. He suggested we get on into Willard - there's a grocery store/garage there who can probably help. I make it into town and talk to the store/garage owner. He told me to take the truck around into his garage and do whatever work I needed. Turned out the fuel pump had quit. This man took me 13 miles back to Mountainair to the NAPA parts store so I could get a new fuel pump and gasket, took me back to his shop, let me use his pit and his tools to replace the fuel pump. Then gave us a couple sandwiches and soft drinks. Wouldn't take a dime for anything. Said that this was how he could help us and pay respects for my son. Wonderful act of kindness and generosity.



Every time I go through Willard, I stop to visit.

 

[fest3er]

Fest3er's Bootstraps

People today are spoiled by reliable transportation. But it wasn't always thus. Admittedly, a couple of my anecdotes don't involve clever fixes; but sometimes not fixing a failure can be clever, too.



There was the time my brother, his GF and her roommate and I were headed to Pittsfield, MA in the GF's Mercury Monarch to visit friends. We were on the MA Pike and it was getting on to be dusk. We saw a car on the side, dead, a couple people milling about. We thought we might be able to help. The roommate applies the brakes then hits the clutch moments before remembering the Monarch is an automatic. The tray of brownies on the rear deck tries to decapitate me. We back up a couple hundred feet and inquire. Yup. The car was running just fine, then it died completely. No electric at all. The girls are humming and singing religious songs. Brother is poking around under the hood. I was a-ponderin'. Then I walked over to the battery, looked, grabbed a loose wire and asked, "What's this?" Stuck it on the positive post and, wonder of wonders, the car lights up! Problem solved!



Oh, wait. It ain't solved yet. No tools! I suggest stopping a big truck, since they usually have tools. Brother steps out and flags down a passing wiggle wagon. Sorry, no. He ain't got no tools. But wait! He does have a vice-grip holding his antenna to his mirror! We take it, jog back to the car, jury-rig the wire into the side post [properly called a Presidential Solution now] and return the vice grip to the trucker. He takes off. We take off. The UMass parents wait for their son to return with a wrecker; but now they had lights for a little added safety.



Fast-forward a few years. I'm driving my '66 Gutlass, gadding about town. Stop and visit some people I know in Lawrence, MA. Also visiting was a young black man who insisted no one's driving bothered him. Always up to a challenge, I allowed as I might be able to unnerve him. He gets in, crosses his arms and prepares for a boring drive. I ease to the intersection, wait for all to clear, then put my foot to the floor, and leave it there. Screech around the rotary, 60-70 MPH up over the twisty hill and down the other side. Jam on the brakes, slide through a couple intersections, then ease down the main road and drop him off near where he lived. I could swear he was whiter'n me when he got out. Not 200 feet later, I was grampa'ing up the road and stepped on the brake to stop for the traffic light. Pssssssssss. Brake pedal goes to the floor. Yup, L/F brake hose failed. Single cylinder master: no brakes. I drove it home as-was (traversing that same hill again for good measure) and installed a new hose later that week.



A year or so after that, I drove my cousin down to Worcester one summer day to visit my campus. We had a good time, chatting and ogling all the way. We got there and were easing around campus when the brake pedal unexpectedly goes to the floor. Again. Hmmm. Nope. Not a front hose. Not a rear hose either. Ah! The rear steel line had rusted through. Being the adventurous sort, we decided to drive it the way it was the 50 miles back home, on the back roads where braking was more predictable than on I-495 and I-93. Whenever I had to slow or stop, I'd downshift into low (2-speed) with my right hand, steer with my right knee, touch the brake pedal with my right toe (for the brake light), and apply the parking brake with my left, while keeping the parking brake ratchet released with my left hand. Talk about busy driving! But we made it without incident.



Still later, commuting with a fellow student in the Gutlass as co-ops, I stopped at a junkyard on the way home to get a part I needed to fix something. Driving away, I saw a puddle and decided to drive through it really fast. I'd've handed her my beer to hold if I'd had one. I hit the puddle at 40MPH. Sploosh! Up goes the rooster tail! Woo hoo! This is fun! Water's splashing on me and my glasses! And out go the passenger's hands to fend off the water that was soaking her! Whoops. Seems the floor had rotted through and the water flew up through the vinyl flooring at her! The water that hit me was merely collateral damage. A piece of HVAC tin and some silicone or roofing cement and some heavy PE sheeting took care of that problem later on.



Then there was the '71 Plymouth Suburban I owned. The windshield wiper would park in the middle of the windshield, and the driver's side wiper would run a couple inches completely off the window. I looked, and researched, and pondered, and researched some more, and came to the conclusion that the wrong wiper motor was installed, even though it had the right electrical connection. So I bought the right motor. Of course, the electrical connection was wrong and there was no way to mate it. Also, the dashboard wiper switch was wrong. It was all weird. By all accounts, the car should've had this motor and switch. Instead it had that motor and switch. But I solved it.



I found a piece of thicker aluminum and made a bracket which I screwed to the driver's door. I punched/drilled some holes in it for a potentiometer and a 4-pole, double-throw toggle switch with center off. I wired the switch and resistor directly to the wiper motor between the door and the A pillar. The only wire I could find was some phone wire, so I quadrupled it for each lead. Once I got it all together, it worked. The wipers worked right, stayed on the windshield and parked properly. And I could adjust their speed from very, very, very slow to really fast by twisting the potentiometer. It stayed like this for months. One day, I started the car and drove off, only to stop very quickly and open the door, because the car was filling with dense white smoke. After a moment, I knew what happened. Sho' 'nuff, the door had crushed the wires against the pillar; the power wires had shorted. I shortened the wires (had an extra foot or two anyway) and positioned them better. That's how it stayed until I junked the Plymouth after I bought my first new car: an '84 Nissan 200SX.



I once performed a bootstrap fix on my '98 12V, which I'd forgotten until Andy (Hammer) reminded me. Having enjoyed MDTDC's Fall Brawl up in Pickletown, PA (Dillsburg for you literalists), scrubbed down the dyno bay (boy was it sooty without ventilation) and closed up, I headed on down the road back towards Ol' Virginny.



(continued in my next post)

 

[Hammer]

N...

The best bootstrap fix you have had was the one with the fuel filter cannister from the fall show a few years ago. You need to put that one here and will will be a winner hands down,LOL... ... ... Andy

 

[fest3er]

Fest3er's Bootstraps (cont'd)

(cont'd)



It was a nice, easy drive heading off into the sunset. There was little traffic, the cruise was set at 60, when, unexpectedly, the truck's usual 17-18 MPG suddenly inverted to 30 GPM and the low fuel warning chimed. Knowing I should have almost a half tank of fuel, I pulled over and investigated. Nope, nothing under the truck that registered, though I did smell fuel rather strongly. Oh, well; no matter. I checked the back and found the bumper and tailgate well-coated with fuel.



"Self," I said to myself, "you might just have a fuel leak. No way could your anemic engine burn that much fuel that quickly. " So I checked under the hood, where some things looked a little cleaner than they had a right to.



Well, almost out of fuel and having no tools, I did what any sane TDR member would do. I started calling TDR/MDTDC members until someone answered, who looked up JStyer's number; I knew he lived in the general vicinity. I called him and he agreed to pack a few tools and come down. By and large he arrives, sticks his head under my hood and says to start it. I do, and he immediately says, "Kill it!" Fuel was pouring out the top of the fuel filter canister. Turns out the bolt that holds it all together broke. Just then, one neuron in my brain fired, cascading a memory of one of the last filter changes I did, when I heard and felt a distinct SNAP! as I was re-tightening the filter; now I knew what had broken: the 3/8" bolt.



Well, John didn't have any bolts remotely close, so we got in his truck and headed over to I-81. We drove 10 miles north and 20 miles south; truck stops were either closed or didn't have what I wanted. So then it was off to the store of last resort: Walmart. They didn't have the right size bolt either, but John thought a 1/4" might last long enough to get me home. Besides, it was nigh on midnight, and I realized he was needing his beauty rest. I pondered a bit, visualizing the internal o-ring seals, and figured the 1/4" bolt shouldn't leak too much. So I bought a bolt long enough and a matching burr, and we headed back to my reeking truck, sitting along the southbound side of US-340 with x's in its headlights.



To make a short story longer, I reassembled the canister. John handed me a paper towel and said to stuff it up the bottom of the filter canister. Huh? Oh. Aha! A make-shift gasket to slow down fuel leakage, should there be any. I stuffed it in, ran the bolt up and through, then had to set it aside so I could remove the attached OEM burr from the top of the housing. Then I reassembled the whole thing, cinched it down, and gave the burr an extra 1/4 turn for good measure. I wiped the whole thing down just in case it wanted to leak.



We fired that mother up and there weren't any leaks, but we waited a few minutes just in case the truck had ideas of its own. Once we were satisfied it wasn't going to leak any more, I opened the water drain to soak a rag with #2 to clean up, thanked John and shook his hand profusely. Or did I shake his hand and thank him profusely? I don't remember now. He turned around and headed home, and I headed off to get some fuel before driving the remaining 180 miles.



Some weeks later I finally got around to ordering a replacement bolt and brass fitting from Cummins Atlantic. With the diesel vibration and dynamic load of the filter and fuel, I didn't want to trust that 1/4" bolt too long. But it never did leak enough to worry about.



Travelling with me was always an adventure back then along those first 50,000 miles I drove. But it all fell by the wayside when I started buying more reliable vehicles. Even though the '88 F150 had its moments and my Dodge has thrown a surprise or two at me, I've driven 600,000 relatively trouble-free miles since those adventurous days of my youth. And it's not always convenient when my vehicle breaks; sometimes I don't have the money and sometimes there's simply nothing near by to fix it. So I'm usually content to apply a presidential solution I mean a bootstrap fix until I can effect a proper repair later on.