It had to happen sooner or later. In fact, it’s been way too long, really, given my ’66 F-100’s age and benign neglect (from me). But rather oddly, the last decade has been a lot more trouble free than the previous two decades. As in zero breakdowns or repairs for over ten years. And I use it regularly, although annual mileage is no more than maybe a couple of thousand miles. Still, that’s some 20-25k miles driven without a breakdown or repair in a 50 year old truck that only gets absolutely minimal attention. Is it getting better with old age?
But a couple of days ago, as I was moving a couple of extra washers in my fleet of preferred Whirlpool direct drives (more on that subject to come) into my storage shed located where I have eight rentals in a cluster. And yes, loading a washer or two into the low bed is one of the reasons I keep it. So as I went to leave, suddenly wouldn’t start; just a feeble clicking of the solenoid. It had started instantly just earlier, when it was cold. And now it was somewhat warm? The battery couldn’t have croaked spontaneously.
Fortunately, one of my tenants was home, and she even had jumper cables in her car! When I attached the ground jumper, I noticed my ground cable was very loose on its battery post.
A closer look showed that it had broken, spontaneously. Aha; that explains. And it was a very easy and cheap fix. And now we’ll see how long the lucky streak lasts until the next issue. Oh wait; I just remembered. The radiator has a little crack where the top tank meets the core (the discoloration is quite evident in the top picture). I tried to find someone to fix it; all the old timers who used to do that for me for peanuts in the past (it’s happened before) apparently have all retired. They all want to sell me a new radiator. One of these days…
So what’s the last thing that’s broken on your car?
My 1979 mercedes 280s needed a new clutch slave cylinder last monday.cheap part to replace but bleeding took some time and effort.it was the original factory installed part considering the fact that it lasted 38 years,that repair did not bother me that much.
My 03 Caravan shattered its Flywheel while I was driving to work so now I drive a 93 Camry Stick Shift with 235K Miles and so far so good with that one. It has an oil leak, worn belts, and needs a coolant flush before the weather gets hot though. I sold the Caravan on January 31st and it is still in the parking lot.
Like yours, mine was ultimately a simple fix although it took a while.
Just before Christmas I went to start the van. No dice. It would turn over but never would fire. Figuring it was quite cold, had been sitting, and had a half tank of fuel, I flippantly thought it was moisture that had frozen. A can of HEET did not work.
So it sat until a warm, 70 degree day earlier this month. The inertia switch was fine and the multimeter revealed the fuel relay to be fine. The only part left in the fuel system was the fuel pump but I wasn’t convinced that was the issue. Besides, I didn’t want to drop the tank to replace it.
On a lark, I replaced the fuel filter. Hitting the starter she fired up instantaneously. I had replaced the filter after purchasing it in 2010 and the fuel in the filter was nearly black with all manner of crud settling to the bottom of the can I used to catch the fuel.
I’ll happily do a $12 fuel filter any day. And the black fuel helped kill some poison ivy in the yard.
Replaced the AC system on my Element last summer. Doing it in 100+ degree temps and learning refrigeration at the same time were minor challenges, as was having no budget and renting all equipment and living far out of town.
Advice given to my dad 30 years ago by mechanic was to leave the AC on all the time year round, and just use the temp dial when needed. His cars never had AC issues after that. But I hadn’t been following that advice, and it got noisy when turned on, then eventually fragged on a hot day.
Tip: don’t bother replacing a blown compressor only. The fragments of hardened steel will be in the whole system and will come by to kill it. They are very fine powder that mixes in with the lube in the system. Replace everything in one shot and take time to do it right.
If that’s all that’s happened to a 60’s-made pickup, you’re doing well keeping on top of it. That was the era of expendable parts and routine replacement of same.
The last thing to break on my 250,000 mile ’96 Corolla was the hood release cable. Since it’s most decidedly a beater and I didn’t relish the idea of snaking a new cable through the engine compartment on a route that I couldn’t even see, a $10 pair of hood pins did the trick. Sure, they look a little “boy racer” but I really don’t care.
Regarding your potential radiator leak, believe it or not, try some JB Weld. I have real world experience using it on a top tank leak on an ANCIENT Hi-Lux pickup.
I cleaned an area along the seam about four times the size of the leak with a wire wheel, naval jelly and soap and water. Getting it squeaky clean (and dry) is key. I then laid about three coats of the stuff on and let it cure for 24 hours. In the end it looked incredibly ugly, but the fix lasted for years until the frame finally succumbed to the tin worm. I had my doubts if it would work on such thin metal that went through so much expansion and contraction but it was still holding fine when the truck went to the junk yard.
P.S. There aren’t any old time radiator repair shops around here anymore, either. It’s generally more cost effective to buy a Chinese radiator for a couple of hundred bucks or less.
Thanks; I’m going to try that.
You’re very welcome, Paul. Nuthin’ to lose, right? Hope it works for you.
JB Weld did not work for me on a plastic radiator tank. The material stayed in place, but the steam blew a crack in it.
Should work fine on Paul’s old metal radiator.
Back in the day a radiator shop would solder or braze weld it for a few bucks.
While I was able to find a shop to recore my radiator here, it was much more expensive than I had anticipated. They did do a fantastic job, however and I would much rather frequent a local business than buying a Chinese radiator.
Amusingly enough, the ACDelco replacement for my car (’80s Caprice) was made in South Korea.
480 Lawrence pone 541-344-6332 see Mike
A clamp holding the swaybar to the r/h lower control arm on my Hillman. Ive heard an odd clunking sound for a while and with WOF inspection now well overdue I went looking for the problem, found it, went to a friends house who has tons of parts for his Super minx and got the correct replacement part, no clunks now so it should pass muster at the garage I use where the owner/mechanic has recently bought a Minx for his wife to use as her daily drive its Avenger 1600 powered but mint original inside and out.
Mine was forty-nine weeks ago; a completely predictable, matter-of-when-and-not-if one: the original A604 ProbleMatic transaxle failed in my ’91 Dodge Spirit with just 113,258 original kilometres (70,398 miles). There’ll be a COAL about it anon. I’d driven across town to pick up my mother (visiting from back East) to go to lunch with her. We got in the car, I put it in Reverse; there was a grinding noise and then a double klunk, and thenceforth the car would move in either direction, but only with a great struggle, as though the brake were stuck on. I replaced the car with an Accord and sold the Spirit to an enthusiast who had to clear the purchase with his wife, on account of wanting to fix the Spirit by swapping in a manual transaxle out of one of the 19 other FWD Mopars he already owned.
For me it’s been battery issues, either my fault (augh! left lights on!) or a mysterious electrical drain on our fleet vehicle. Frustrating, but at least an easy fix.
Dead battery in the Focus. AAA got it started so I could drive it home, but once there it wouldn’t start again until a fresh battery was installed.
The biggest complaint I had as a mobile marine tech was dead batteries. If I’m gonna pack all my tools and equipment down to your boat, the batteries better be good, fully charged, or your paying double. Got sick of peoples stupidity.
And when it comes to lead-acid batteries, you replace them every three years. If you don’t you are either a cheap screw or a moron.
Or you are buying crappy cheap batteries and/or not maintaining them. In my experience only the worst batteries last 3 years. Quality ones last 5 or 6 years at least. I’ve received good service from batteries up to 15+ years old, when they receive occasional use. It helps to have a specific -gravity tester , a volt meter, a battery charger and a load tester…. and knowing how to use them. Questionable batteries can be charged and tested long before they let you down.
To be fair, though, precious few professional mechanics can be bothered with maintenance and testing. Their labor is so expensive one may as well replace the battery periodically, if you’re relying on a mechanic.
+1
Too many people don’t bother doing the spot check of batteries along with checking the oil and fluid levels. I can’t tell you how many times I had helped people with dead batteries in the past, refilling the batteries, tightening the alternator belt and clamps, and so forth.
The most common misconception is those so-called ‘maintenance-free’ batteries. The people it means absolutely no ‘maintenance’ per se.
It’s easy to check the oil on the feature vehicle. When the oil stops leaking from the front all over the water pump , just add a few quarts.
Depends on where you live, I’m sure in warmer climes three years is about it. But in Maine, I ran the factory battery in my ’98 F-150 for seven years and it still worked fine. I replaced it on the general principle, not because it failed. My dad got 11 years out of the factory battery in his Corolla.
The original battery in my xB lasted 10.5 years. All of my other (mid price) batteries (except the undersized on in the TXS) have generally lasted my 6-9 years. And I can almost always tell when they’re going bad, because the starter just isn’t quite as perky as usual.
I don’t agree with your advice to replace batteries every 3 years at all. It’s like Jiffy Lube telling me I need an oil change every 3000 miles. And there’s no need to call folks names over their choice not to heed your silly advice. I don’t know anyone who would do that, except you, obviously.
I finally had to replace 12 year old original battery in my ’04 Titan (this was actually last fall).
It still would start if I didn’t let it sit over a few days, but previously would start fine even after sitting a month or more. I replaced it with another factory Nissan battery (made by Interstate).
The last repair I did was fixing a cold start problem that the the ’87 Jetta had since I bought it around a year and a half ago. I fixed the wiring to the cold start valve a few months ago, but then found out the valve was also not working. Since I have other vehicles ( including it’s 86 Jetta “twin”) I waited until I (finally) found one at the u pull that is a couple of miles from here last week, now she fires right up even when the car is covered in frost. At two dollars the price was right.
Forget Jiffy Lube, what’s your suggestion?
On every single one of my vehicles, I’ve replaced the break-prone and corrosion-prone factory cast lead or stamped sheetmetal battery terminals with heavy duty brass marine-spec ones, including a cutoff switch on the negative side.
Since doing that I haven’t had a single no-start problem or battery failure due to a damaged or corroded terminal. These switches are great for vehicles that sit a lot ( to avoid battery drain ) or when you’re working on the vehicle’s electrical system.
And the non-switch version for the positive side.
Agreed; 13 year old factory battery here still starting my car about any sign of struggle. I suppose the climate here isn’t too hard on batteries though.
I’m curious about your favored Whirlpool washers, Paul. If they’re direct drive, the motors are more than likely designed by colleagues of mine at New Zealand company Fisher and Paykel appliances. Nice to see kiwi engineering expertise being valued worldwide.
Did you miss the fact that he was talking about marine use? That is a bit different that automotive use as they often use deep cycle batteries that come with a 24 month warranty and often are allowed to sit unused for 6 months which kills batteries. So yeah If you are talking boats doing it every 3 years is a very good idea to avoid trying to paddle your ski boat or cabin cruiser out of trouble.
There was nothing in his second comment about lead acid batteries that implied/specified he was talking only about marine batteries. It was aimed at lead acid batteries in general, by the way it was written. It was in response to Jim’s comment about his battery going dead, not as a qualifier to his other comment about marine batteries.
My 2004 Focus just started showing some interior electrical gremlins. Car off and the engine oil light and seat belt light are on. Overhead light flashes off and on every few minutes. With car running those lights are normal but there is a very faint charging system light on. Remote entry no longer functioning. None of that affects driving the car.
The battery was near 6 years old and the neighbor, across the street, drives a AAA battery truck to AAA members. Had him test the CCA of the battery and it was down to 450 amps from original 650amps. All else was fine as far as static voltage and charging voltage. Replaced it anyway as these cars can be funny about weak batteries but no change in my dash light behavior.
Ignition coil on my ’83 Ranger with the swapped in 5.0L. 3 years ago, bone stock Ford Duraspark ignition. It just died, but then restarted. Got me home from N. Portland then started running really weird and backfiring out the exhaust. New coil. No probs.
Clutch master cylinder in my ’93 Miata. It failed away from home so it was a trick getting back through city traffic without a clutch. But a relatively easy fix. With steering at full lock you can see and reach it directly through the wheel well.
The next fix is the airbag controller, which has been blinking “fix me” for years. No, a piece of black tape is not the correct answer. It’s way up under the dash. I’ll have to take the seat out and do the dashboard limbo. I expect I can fix the module, forum people say it’s just a couple of leaky capacitors. When it gets warmer I’m resolved to finally fix it this year.
PS: FYI I’m driving electric again. Couldn’t resist the killer lease deal FCA is offering on a Fiat 500e. It’s a wonderful commuter car, with lots of that silent smooth electric torque. A Reddy Kilowatt sticker will go on the back window. No fixing the lease car, it’s under warranty the whole three years.
I have no idea why, but I’ve been lucky; apart from the rare flat tire (maybe once or twice) or discharged battery (again, once or twice), I’ve only experienced one true breakdown in 37 years of driving.
It was 17 or 18 years ago, about a mile or two into my drive home from work. Suddenly, the entire electrical system crapped out in my ’83 GMC Sierra. Fortunately it was almost directly in front of a repair shop I was familiar with, and it was a simple fix, a fusible link.
Again, when it comes to car trouble, I’ve been blessed with incredibly good luck…or perhaps good maintenance habits.
I had two recently. Our 2003 BMW 325i started intermittently billowing smoke and then stopping. Internet search for intermittent smoke turned up likely culprit being the crankcase ventilation valve and hoses. Parts were reasonable through aftermarket sources but it requires that I remove the entire intake manifold, which meant a lot of attendant remove and replace. Ultimately successful and it ran better afterward than it had in a while. While it ran, we did have it towed since I had not yet figured out what the smoke meant, so this was a true breakdown. Following one was not really a breakdown…
Second was the driveshaft on my 2001 Miata. When under it last time I noticed that the front ujoint had some play in it. Then it started making the classic squeak. It didn’t take 100 miles before it had eaten itself with the caps ruptured and the needle bearings missing. Miata’s were not meant to have serviceable ujoints–they intended for you to replace the entire shaft with the trans yoke. There are ujoints on ebay for like 40/pair, but the originals are ‘staked’ in place and not just pressed and so google search indicated that the process for replacing them is no fun at all, so I sprung for a new shaft at $160 from rockauto.com. Pretty comical how small it is–like everything else on the miata–so it was pretty easy work after removing the exhaust, which runs down the tunnel under the shaft.
In working order, right now…
1983 Chevy van – Started it up after it sat in the cold for 3 weeks. The alternator light came on, and it was not charging.
Normally one would think its a dead alternator, right? Nothing that bad. The alternator uses a switched 12 volt source to energize the field coil. It routes this source from the “gauges” fuse on the fuse block through the ALT light on the dash. The light comes on if either side loses power.
My first clue was a faint ‘snap’ sound from the fuse box when starting. I knew it was the sound of a fuse blowing. I found the”gauges” fuse was blown. New fuse goes in and the problem was solved.
This is the benefit of always having a fully stocked toolbox and milk crate full of basic parts in the vehicle… issues that might be a calamity on the road are (hopefully) fixed quickly and easily.
I’ve been extraordinarily lucky, most of the cars I’ve owned have been old, and close to used up. I seem to have been stuck in my new(er) cars more, lately… Right now I have a ’10 Chrysler minivan, and the TPMS sensors are built into the air valves. I check my air pressure religiously, and one night as I was getting gas, the whole end of the valve snapped off as I was filling the tire up. The only way to fix it is a whole new TPMS sensor, which is only on this year van, the newer ones are less susceptible to corrosion. But they’re well over $100 a piece, so I could only replace them one at a time. A “normal” valve is 99cents, but according to the tire shop guy, they aren’t allowed to sell those to replace TPMS valves… Ugh.
In 2012, I rented a Mitsubishi Lancer with a CVT on my final trip home to date.
Took a rock in the W/S on the way to Edmonton. Start phoning glass shops.
They ask me if has rain-sense wipers ($100 more). I don’t know, I said just put
in the cheapest one. He says, he can’t because a non-rain sensor glass lacks the connector for the wire, and this will trigger the CEL! Exasperating. I’m sure there’s a work around for this, like jumping the connector with a resistor, but what value?
Turns out the bottom-line POS (worst car I ever rented) had the plain glass anyway.
I’m starting to see a pattern here with modern cars and I’m not liking it.
$100 tire valves, $1000-plus headlights, hours of work to replace a PCV valve.
A simple on-the-cheap windshield change triggering a CEL.
I’m ready to boycott modern vehicles.
“$100 tire valves, $1000-plus headlights, hours of work to replace a PCV valve.
A simple on-the-cheap windshield change triggering a CEL.
I’m ready to boycott modern vehicles.”
You got a point. Of course in some states you can fix an innocuous CEL with a piece of black electrical tape. I have the tire pressure light on but I know the pressure is right. My wife’s ’10 Focus has slow leaks in two tires because of corrosion of the rims. Every two weeks she is all worried because of that yellow light. I will have to get the tires (they are new btw) dismounted in order to refinish the rims. And then I will probably realize that the sensors are 6 or 7 years old. A set of new ones will be about $160 at RockAuto. I know because I just did that job for the winter wheels.
I probably would have just brought the wheel and tire into a small independent tire shop that sells used tires and asked them to install a regular valve as this is only used as a spare tire.
Of course this defeats the purpose of the warning lamp and probably some states have inspections and this would not pass, but it would work as a temporary fix until money was available for a proper repair.
On Youtube I’ve seen another work-around. This guy took a piece of PVC pipe and endcaps. He put 4 TPMS in the tube, added a regular valve to the tube and glued the end caps on. After it was cured he put 40psi in the tube and placed it in the trunk. If a sensor conks out he won’t have to take the tire off.
That way the light stays off and would probably pass inspection, unless they look at the valves on the wheels as well. Doubly useful (and money saving) if you run winter tires and rims.
Leaking Delphi power steering box on my (newly bought) 2008 UAZ, about 2 weeks ago. Started to spit ATF in all directions after an ill-conceived attempt at adjustment (my fault, should’ve known better than to disturb something already working quite satisfactory; the adjustment screw just happened to have an inch-based, left-handed thread, therefore a replacement was quite difficult to find in this part of the world). It seems to me that the previous owner had already suffered from the same malady, and even devised a clever plan to rectify it through the use of a tight fitting copper sealing washer… which I recklessly deformed during my adjustment, starting the leak anew. Ultimately was an easy fix, too – some thread sealing string (the one usually used for the piping, mind you) did the job just fine (so far, so good).
In case you want to see a $125 tire valve… I’ve replaced all 4 of them now, but I did end up changing another tire because of a snapped-off valve. At least I was already at the gas station when it happened, so I was able to air up my dead-flat spare when I needed it.
Back in 08, I rented a 2009 PT Cruiser on my then yearly trip home. The tires kept losing air noticeably, triggering the light. Enterprise sent me to a Firestone twice, where they removed the tires from the rims and also checked for surface leaks. This was the first year for these warning-type valve stems and I suggested that this was the problem. Nobody would listen to me. Problem never solved. Finally, they switched me out for a POS Versa, which I took to Edmonton in foul weather both ways (late Dec). On the way back, I hit a blizzard. Wish I had the PT back, I can tell you.
1994, working 3Rd shift, temperature dropped to -40F. Battery died. Hood wouldn’t open. Had to peel the hood open like a sardine can over the battery to Jumpstart. Too damned cold to f#ck around.
2002 Protege5 … front catalytic converter died, and I can’t renew registration until it’s replaced.
My last few (all-FoMoCo) cars have been very breakdown-free: the recent Escape (barely 100K) has never been a non-starter, and likewise (knock wood) the ’99 Taurus that’s nearing 150K. The Contour only broke down once in as many miles: I kept putting off the timing belt change, and–sure enough–it snapped and left me coasting to the side of the road (around 105K). I had to pay the tow bill (very close to home), but a pretty small price to pay, I’d say.
Wow—that’s only one breakdown in more than two decades….
Isn’t that an interference engine?
^^^^Roger628, the whole time I owned it I somehow “knew” (and was comforted) that the 4cyl 2.0 was a non-interference engine, though I see one can unearth a bunch of uncertainty about it in Google-forum land. When it broke, the engine just went silent (no clatter at all), and with the new belt it ran 100% immediately and as long as I had it. If it *had* been an interference engine, I’d like to think I would have been more pro-active about it….
Had a couple of minor issues with my 2010 Sierra just before I retired it from service and passed it on to my brother. The CEL came on one day so I grabbed the diagnostic tester from work and found a failed fuel tank vent solenoid. Youtube showed me what to do and I had it fixed the following day. Then the inside door release broke off in my hand-Youtube to the rescue again, I bought a 75 dollar kit online instead of a 600 dollar door panel at the dealer. 20 Minute fix. Not bad for 275,000 kms, and neither one left me stranded.
It’s truly amazing the information you can find on sites like Youtube and some of the enthusiast websites out there.
+1. Forums and u tube have saved the day (and money) for me and family many times.
I contribute on some forums. I think I made a few guys smile from ear to ear.
A month ago with my Cruze. The coil pack failed and triggered the CEL.
GM Service (this is Korea) replaced it along with the plugs and an unnecessary change of the cam-cover cover gasket. This is when my troubles really began. After that, it was leaking oil like a b@$tard, and the burned oil smell made it smell like an old beater
(it has only 30,000 miles). Took it back, they installed a new one, but I still smell oil when moving slowly. I don’t know if this is is residue from the first time (the underside was coated in oil from the first time) or it still leaks. I’m plenty pissed as oil smell is a pet peeve of mine. If they can’t, I’m dumping the SOB and getting another car.
It was the reason I dumped the car before this one, a Lacetti (Optra or Forenza, with AFAIK the same engine)
Ecotec 1.8 Gas. Any and all suggestions welcome.
Have the engine compartment cleaned by a detailer. Watch Youtubes first.
Last fall we left for vacation in the ’09 Highlander, headed for the Gulf Coast. We stopped in Henderson, Kentucky, the town just across the river from Evansville (and my hometown) as my wife had a bunch of things she wanted to mail and the post office there is just off the highway. Wife was driving and when she came out of the PO so we could resume the trip the battery was completely dead, turning the key only generated the dreaded click, click click. Called my brother to see if he could jump start us but he was on the golf course. Tried calling my sisters but they were either at work or otherwise busy. Finally called AAA and they came and provided a jump.
Fortunately the local repair shop we utilize has a Henderson store so we went there. They tested everything and confirmed that the batter was bad. I knew that, and, not more than two weeks before this the Evansville store had, supposedly, checked the battery when I took the car in for an oil change, etc. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t, in any case we had to buy a new battery. The dead battery was the one that came with the Highlander when we bought it new in May, 2009 so we got seven plus years out of it. All in all we spent about three hours getting the car started and the battery replaced. Of course it could have been much worse; this could have happened at some point down the road and we would have been at the mercy of “out of town tourist” pricing.
When a vehicle of ours does not start I pull the battery and take it to a parts store for testing. Most of the time I come out with a new battery. Of course once you are on a road trip that’s not so easy to do.
I lost both belts on the ’89 e30 around the 4th of July, 2012 driving through the roads outside of Woodstock. Engine overheated soon after. When I heard the bang of the belts snapping I thought it was kids with firecrackers. No issues since. Long wait for AAA that night.
VW van refused to start in front of my folks’ house in LA the morning after a 250 mile drive from home. AAA got it going by tapping on the starter with a large metal rod; looks like the starter will have to be replaced. Worn out solenoid or corrosion is my guess.
Sounds more like worn or stuck brushes in the starter to me.
My’05 vibe needed windshield wipers. I bought Trico Ultra, not cheap but I hope they last longer the E-bay cheapos I bought a year ago. It needed a cabin air filter too.
My wife’s ’10 Ford Focus needed a battery.
My son’s ’08 Hyundai Sonata needed windshield wipers too. I bought some reasonably priced Bosch blades. It’s hard to find refills nowadays.
But the ’97 Mazda B 2300 made some real trouble. It needs a new clutch.
Well, those sound more routine maintenance than an actual break down.
That was the point. However, the clutch counts. It made a stink and then it did not release again. I had to limp home in 1 and 2nd with killing the engine to stop and clutch-less shifting. Other than that I have to go back to the air-cooled 1971 VW 1302 in my COAL series to find a real brake down.
Dead battery in the Civic. Turns out I’d left a map light on. My F-150 shut everything off after 45 minutes, so I haven’t been as fastidious as I should. The Civic has no such feature.
I feel your pain. What does and does not shut off automatically does seem to differ wildly between cars, and sometimes can be quirky in the same car, as I found out the hard way. My Sienna shuts off the headlights after a time if you lock it, but *not* if you get in, start the car (to, say, lower the windows) and then shut it off and stay inside. Sat in the car for an hour with the lights on – it was misty but still too light to notice – then had to kick myself when the poor car wouldn’t start. Lesson learned, and it was probably time for a new battery anyway.
09 F150, strange intermittent moaning. Drivers side vacuum hub/IWE failed again, allowing one CV shaft to spin. Unplugged the other side to allow both shafts to spin till the new IWE hub comes in…
Here in Indiana last year was our bicentennial, so they put on a torch relay through all 92 counties. Some legs of the relay could be by car to transport the torch bearer. Our ’66 Mustang was one of the cars chosen to transport a bearer through a 3 mile rural stretch. After doing our leg my wife and I returned the bearer to her car. I noticed a slight miss in our engine so I shut the car off and pushed a spark plug wire back up onto the plug. Then the car refused to even turn over. I had very few tools, for a change and couldn’t figure out what was wrong other than the typical Ford starter relay. Lucky for us a nice guy in an equally nice ’68 Impala stopped by to help. After trying several things we ended up swapping his battery for mine and my car started up right away. It turns out one of the connectors on the voltage regulator was bent and I evidently was running on the battery. How we ever completed our leg which started 20 miles from home is a mystery to me. Luck I guess. The reason the for the connector problem goes back to the last time before that the car broke down two weeks before. I was driving down the highway after visiting some old high school buddies I had not seen in many years when a wire got too close to one of the exhaust manifolds, thus shorting out and frying the engine compartment wiring harness. I did, luckily, make it home without burning it to the ground. When I installed the new harness I evidently bent the connector, as the voltage regulator is hard to access due to it’s location too close to the fender apron.
Blown tire at 70mph, leading to the replacement of all tires and a change of undies. The tires were about 12 years old with no sign of cracking or bulging prior to the event and little wear. I should have known better, as a family was recently killed on the 407 when their tire blew on a ’48 Chevy, and the car veered out of control.
I heard about that one, was it definitely a tire? I’d heard maybe wheel bearing.
I thought that it was a tire that blew out when they changed lanes or swerved, but I should probably have googled the story just to recall the incident. I’m thinking that a wheel bearing should have made plenty of noise before letting go?
The police report just mentions a “tire issue,” according to Google. Not many details besides that, but a tragic, tragic story.
12 year old tires qualify as ancient. Depending on who you talk to the common recommendation is 5-7 years old is when to replace them no matter how much tread is still left.
Last breakdown? Back in July of last year when the transmission went up in my 2007 Mustang at around 170K or so. Had the transmission rebuilt, and then took the car out of daily driver status as I’ve mentioned before here. Bought my 2016 Honda Civic to replace the Mustang as my DD. The Mustang is still my pleasure car, and one to tinker around with. I just fixed a common problem with those – the door panel trim likes to fall off on these cars. I re-glued it using a method learned by watching a YouTube video. You gotta love those resources! Other than that, it’s just been routine maintenance for the fleet, like oil changes and air filters and stuff like that, not actual breakdowns. The Honda is still under warranty, and it’s just been recalls and service bulletins. The Lancer needs very little attention (my wife doesn’t drive it far) – just the occasional tire pressure warning light from a very slow and intermittent leak I cannot find. The Fleet at Curbside….
I had a slow leak (months) before the light would come on between refills on one tire that was annoying. After I took a 900 mile road trip to Boise 2 years ago, I never again have needed to add air to that tire. Road trip self repair!
My ’09 Mustang had the same door panel problem. Most come loose from the top. Mine came loose from the bottom. Of course this just makes it harder to fix. I tried several kinds of adhesives but none would hold for more than a few days. I finally used some hobby glue that I had and made small wedges to hold it in tight against the armrest for a few days to make sure it stuck. It worked. I did this in October and it is still holding. Mine was only loose along the lower edge, so I didn’t want to try and peel it way back to access the loose area. So far I haven’t had any trouble with the passenger side door panel.
I’ve had to fix both over the years, but the passenger side eventually held when I used a headliner spray adhesive I got at Advance Auto Parts. It worked better than the spray adhesive my wife got for crafts at Michael’s, which would only hold it temporarily. But even with the proper adhesive, it took me three times to get the driver’s side panel to stay put. It’s been a few months now, but let’s see what happens when it gets hot. The summer is when the problem always needed repeated attention.
The stuff I used was called Sig-Bond. I discovered it at Hobby Lobby a few years ago when I was building a scratch built model of Jim Rockford’s trailer. I had to use an artist brush to put it on the door panel. It is water based and I have used it for a lot of small repairs around the house like broken ceramic knick knacks, etc. It is a lot less messy than a lot of glues, especially super glue and is easy clean up. I think it is meant for those wooden model airplanes.
Yeah, that spray adhesive was a real pain… you needed to mask the entire area to avoid overspray. On the third repair, I only needed to do a small area at the very top which was being stubborn. So I thought, ‘Hey, I can do this without masking just this once.’ DUMB! – Now I have a discolored power window switch panel (and switches) on the driver’s side from the overspray after cleaning it off. DOH! – For such a small area, I wished I would’ve used your solution. When the weather gets hot, and it if the repair decides to fail again, I will take your suggestion under advisement.
Thanks, Rick!
My last flatbed-style breakdown was when the lower ball joint on my ’92 Saab 900(may it rust in peace) failed catastrophically, one mile after the rusted out front pipe sheared off at the converter and started dragging and making loud noise. While fixing it I noticed a rust hole the size of a grapefruit in the axle tunnel, which made me question the car’s structural integrity. I dumped it not long after and wound up with s ’97 E420, which was butt-ugly and cheap to buy, but darn reliable.
Battery crapped out last week on gf’s 06 Explorer. The 3 year old Wal-Mart battery got replaced for free. I changed the O2 sensors in an attempt to kill a CEL, no luck. Took the Exploder on a 500 mi trip to Atlanta this weekend, ran great, 21mpg, and turned 170k miles.
First “breakdown” in years thanks to warranties and new vehicles just the other week. The dreadful check engine light came on the other day after going over some bumps. It’s funny how an innocent “ooo, what’s this…oh it’s nothing dear, don’t worry about it…” morphs into stomach wrenching dread as you continue on to your destination and beyond. If hyper-miling is hard, mental CEL possibility analysis is simply exhausting. Ugh.
I knew it was okay to continue because my old Ford Club Wagon lived it’s whole life with a constant CEL and passed our AirCare emissions program at the time, everytime with no problems. Man I miss that truck! Anyway, as long as there is no metallic clanging noises and the engine runs smooth, it’s good to go as far as I’m concerned (touch wood)…
Luckily I had an old OBD II code reader from my Mercedes days… Plugged it in and got a P0442 code. This happened to be a leaky gas-fume recirculation issue related to emissions and Ford’s capless fuel filler. After a bit of Googling and scanning Fusion forums and eventually coming across FordTechMakuloco’s YouTube video’s spot on free fix, I was able to permantently clear the code; and I haven’t seen it since. Simply blowing near the capless fill hole and dusting off a bit with my fingers as well as opening and closing the outter fuel door a couple of times did the problem code disappear. Wonderful! As Rick Hunter next to his angry Monaco used to say in the 1980s, “Works for me!”
Otherwise I was readying myself to spend at least $1000 at the dealer (bad habit from the Merc dealer-specific-only-repair-days that I happen to still like). Dodged a bullet there!
HandsFreeLink Bluetooth module draining the battery overnight in a 2008 Acura TL – the fix is to unplug the module (if you don’t mind losing Bluetooth) or buying a new unit for $200-300. I’d like to say I didn’t waste my time and money at the dealer trying to diagnose this…but unfortunately I can’t.
Oct 2015, fuel pump died in the 1999 Miata on a dinner date night with Debbie.
Debbie’s daughter picked us up and then I met AAA at the scene in the Tacoma and had them carry it to my long term mechanic.
The Miata’s fuel pump was accessible from a removable plate behind the seats, so the repair was probably within my modest mechanical capabilities, but kind of glad I didn’t try it.
Regarding Dean Edwards’ burst aging tire (earlier comment above), I just ordered four new Hankook tires to replace the 15 year old tires on the Miata. Old tires can be risky, especially at highway speeds, even if they look fine and have good tread.
(photo is rightside up on expansion)
I thought that I would be able to see some visible signs of deterioration, but the one on the CDV looked fine, and only started making a “drumming” sound a few moments prior to going off. This was my second event this year. I drove my truck 600km to fetch a couple of couches, and noticed a fine line of cracking around the tires when I returned home. A long highway drive on an eighty degree day did the trick.
Friday, my wife reported that her tpm reported to check the front left tire, and that it was making a “noise” when she was trying to go from a stop. She has a Pontiac Torrent, so after i got home, i tried having her explain which new “noise” it had. I checked the onboard computer, and and saw tires were really all reading the same, 39 psi in the 73 degree heat. I know, it seems really high – must have pumped them up when it was cold outside. We then went on at ten minute drive. The noise seems to be a stuck caliper, and it would heat up the tire on the short drive, the tire pressure went up 2 psi, and it made sounds like the e-brake was on.. The tps may have detected the tire was too full. She told me then it was making the noise for the last week. It’s now parked until the shop can work on it on Tuesday.
My 1964 Goggomobil TS 250 caught fire after a roundhouse curve shifted its loose battery against the steel(!) tie-down strap and blew the top right off it. That was about 2005. Technically, the car did not break down, as it was running when I pulled over with smoke billowing out the back. My lady friend found a butt bucket of sand in front of the closed store at the far end of the parking lot, and we used it to put out the fire. The flames had licked out of the engine room intake and bubbled the paint, but I got it refinished and the car was no worse for wear.
Oh my, what a story! You really need to do a write up of it sometime.
My latest breakdown was about 3 weeks ago. Just after I got home on Friday, my wife called me: “I’m in the middle of an intersection on Main street and the car won’t start” so I recruited my 16 year old son and off we went. Luckily it was only 5 minutes away and we pushed the car onto a side street. We came back at 7am Saturday morning and pulled it home with the van and a rope.
I borrowed a code reader and to my surprise there was no code, OBD thought everything was fine, which it clearly wasn’t. So while I was pulling a spark plug out (to see if it had spark) I noticed that the ignition coil pack had a wire hanging off the connector.
After bodging it up the car started right away, but I had to go to the wreckers to get a serviceable connector to wire back in, there were about 10 Focii to choose from and about half had that connector bodged together or missing with the wires soldered right on to the pins. I got two good ones and the lady at the counter didn’t charge me for them.
While this was going on my FIL was looking for a new car for us and had emailed us the paperwork for a 2013 Focus with 5-speed, we would have bought it if I hadn’t fixed the car same day. We’ll be replacing the Focus this year I think…
I had a ’66 F-100. Fine old truck. Rebuilt the engine, transmission and brakes when I got it and then drove it until it needed another overhaul. 300 six, 4 speed, limited slip and twin I beam front suspension made a competent pickup. Now you have me missing it.
My 1995 Lexus LS400. Just this past summer the transmission lost all its forward gears, though reverse still works just fine. It stopped moving right at the infamous intersection of Florence and Normandie, ground zero of the L.A. riots. Nothing I could do except call a wrecker. It was my daily driver for 8 mostly trouble-free years until this happened.
I can’t park it in my garage because my Corvette is in there. I have to strategically park it on the side street outside my apartment complex so that I’m able to reverse it to the other side the day before street sweeping day. Sitting idle for most of the week also caused the aging battery to finally die, meaning I have to jump start it every time it needs to be moved.
In early January and axle shaft snapped on the 2007 Honda Fit. It is a known issue where saltwater works its way under a rubber vibration damper and stays there forever, eventually thinning the shaft by rusting. But I thought I had more time.
I towed the car to a nearby indy shop that replaced both CV axles for under $400. In 10 years and 110K this is the first significant repair ever.
2000 S-10, turning 200,000 next week. Got on the brakes hard and blew a rusty brake line. Limped home and looked underneath, brake fluid running off the left side of the rear axle. I sprayed liquid wrench on the fittings and bleeder and got lucky the next day with a “preflared” tube the right lenght after some work with a tubing bender. I tried the pedal for firmness and got fluid running off the axle again. I had been too quick to blame the rotten looking axle line and hadn’t seen the line hidden in the frame above peeing onto the plastic vapor separator box, then dribbling onto the axle. This meant cutting the line two feet ahead in front of the rear wheel, picking a spot where the line was clean and could be eased out for access with the double-flare tool. This was done with great difficulty, then copying the old line and another flare where it attached to the flexible line to the axle. I got my son out to work the pedal and was rewarded with firmer brakes than I’d had in quite a while. Seeing the crap fluid that came out with the bleeding reminded me that flushing every decade might be a good idea. The truck is back earning a living and I am back to pondering the coolant leak.
The only car, out of my nine, to actually defy me has been my wife’s 98 Sable wagon. A year ago she mentioned there was a faint ticking noise lately. I heard it and it did sound as exactly as she said and it reminded me of a lifter. At 208,000 miles one could be a little clogged so I changed the oil with some Penzoil Platinum which worked great in the 91 626 HLAs.
After that the noise was still there so I pulled the upper intake so I could look under the bank 1 valve cover in order to check pushrod clearance. All fine, put upper intake back on, started car and heard a godawful grinding sound like grinding rocks between two steel wheels. Pulled intake again, looked, saw nothing, started car and now it was a audible tap related to rpm.
From there the engine was broken down by removing the cylinder heads, the timing cover and the oil pan for a look see. Bottom end fine, timing end fine as the chain was newer, cylinder heads looked Ok, tops of pistons looked Ok, pulled lifters to clean out and then reassembled. No damaged seen and no pieces of metal seen anywhere. Started car and the noise still there.
That was 12 months ago and I was just in the car today running it and collecting live OBDII data to see if I could learn anything there. No, all data was well within normal limits. Stethoscope says bank 1 near cylinder 1 so off with the head once more.
Two weeks ago I was driving home from my parent’s home, roughly a 30 mile drive in my ’63 VW Bus, about 10 miles in, while passing someone on the interstate (yes you read that correctly) I felt the engine shudder and I looked down to see my alt and oil lights flashing and smelled burned electrical before the engine died. I went to the shoulder and the ignition did nothing. It wouldn’t even turn the power on. While waiting on a tow from a friend I assessed the situation, no blown fuses, no melted wires, no apparent burned connections only a burned smell from the headlight switch.
Once home and after looking up the diagram I saw that direct power runs to the headlight switch and then to the ignition switch. The headlight switch simply crapped out after decades of service and when that happened the connection was lost. An after work trip to my parts guy yielded a new headlight switch and Betsy the Bus was back in business. That was the third time in 5 1/2 years I’ve needed a tow so my track record isn’t too bad.
1995 Dodge Intrepid. Turn signals and four-way flasher stopped working. Probably some other stuff too, but I finally traced it to the separate cable that feeds those circuits. It plugs into a branch off the battery-to-starter cable, a couple of inches from the positive battery cable connector. The plug had corroded, so no electrical feed.
I’d first suspected a bum flasher and found that a midyear change was made in the turn signal circuitry. The service manual for the 1995 Chrysler LH cars differs from what’s in my car, which has what’s shown in the 1996 manual. The flashers have different pinouts and don’t interchange. Pep Boys sold me the wrong one and when I found it didn’t fit, it was too late to go back that night…they had closed. Then I tried looking for 12 volts and not finding it, traced back to the problem connector. The fix was some steel wool on the plug and its mate, and dielectric grease to keep air and battery gases away.
About 3 years ago I was driving my ’87 Audi 4000 quattro to work in the dark, early in the a.m. I noticed that the instrument lights were dim and the voltmeter was reading low. I pulled off the freeway and began making my way to the garage where I’d been having the car serviced, but after a few miles the car totally died.
I got it flat-bedded to the garage and waited for them to open. Sure enough, the alternator had failed, and they were able to get a new one installed by the end of the day. Since it was probably the original alternator, with 200K+ miles on it, I figured it was entitled.
If I’d noticed what was happening within the first mile of my commute, then the drive from my place to the garage would have been 2 miles, and I’d likely have made it.
Besides the usual long-term/high mileage maladies on the Trooper (2 starters over 250k) and 2 deer strikes (one towable and one drivable), I’ve lucked out over the past 40 years…
Until November, when in the middle of BFE on my way back to Houston from Dallas the CVT popped in my Outback. Only 75,000 miles on it. Had to flatbed it to College Station where it spent the next 2 weeks getting another transmission (which Subaru covered). I hate getting stranded, though, especially out of town…
An 8 month old battery gave up the ghost in my Sable. One day it started, the next day it wouldn’t start without a jump.
There’s no reason it would have died other than just being a bad battery, or one that sat on the shelf too long. It was replaced for free.
I’m a little over a year on the new battery and it’s been fine.
Just had the camshaft syncro replaced. I thought it was a belt – glad I didn’t wait!!!
Fun stuff .
.-Nate
At just over 50K miles, I just had the VCT actuator replaced under warranty on my ’15 Honda Fit/Jazz. It had been rattling on startup somewhat randomly, usually when colder outside. It took Honda a few days to replicate, after which everything was handled quickly.
The last breakdown that actually required me to make a repair to keep using was the valve stems rotted out on the rear tires on my ’50 8N Ford tractor a couple months ago. When I bought the new rims and tires in 2008, I had calcium chloride added for weight, which is what did them in. Next time, I’ll use beet juice or one of the newer, safer fills.
My merc has developed an appetite for not changing gear when it should do. , not a massive problem though. Other than that, it needed an alternator about two years ago…. and that’s it. Not bad for a car that I got from the breakers yard three years ago!!:)
Mike. Change your gearbox oil and filter immediately. That should sort you out. Trust me, I’ve had to do this twice now when the box started ‘klunking’ through the gears and both times, the gearbox returned to it’s sweet nature. I now change the oil and filter every 30K……at least.
Paul, I’m glad you were able to easily fix the two problems. Had the truck been a 2016, you’d probably have to replace the engine, if not the whole truck just to fix a small part that fail. (I’m being facetious, of course.)
Here’s my unforgettable history:
1968 GMC with 292 inline 6: One day I was driving when I heard a loud bang under the hood and noticed a trail of white smoke from the tailpipe. Turned out a screw that held the air cleaner to the carburetor fell through the throat and into the engine, damaging a piston, valve and cylinder. Expensive repair and engine never really ran right after the rebuild. Would hear a piston slap whenever the engine was under load.
1988 Ford Taurus with 3.8L V-6: (1) Battery died (original battery 5 years old) while at a AAA Club office. Took TWO towtrucks to jump start it. Bought new battery at a nearby Sears. Turned out battery for the Taurus was a “special application” type (read: expensive) due to the high cranking amp rating.
(2) Another time, found big puddle of fluid under the car. Turned out heat from the exhaust manifold burned a hole in the power steering hose and power steering fluid leaked out all over place. Expensive repair. The second time it happened I found out about a TSB that had a heat shield kit installed between the exhaust manifold and power steering hose.
1997 Toyota Camry with 2.2L inline4: It was late evening around 10pm after finishing a project at work. Started the engine. Starter motor kept running after engine started. I managed to shut down the engine, but the starter continue to run. Couldn’t yank the battery cable as I had no tools. Finally battery died out and starter stopped but not without a strong electrical burning smell indicating starter motor burned out. Fortunately no fire. I was stranded for four hours before a AAA truck towed me back home.
2003 Buick Century with 3.1L V-6: Engine temperature gage kept running into the hot range despite having the radiator flushed and thermostat replaced. Turned out the intake manifold gasket was leaking coolant. I heard about this notorious problem. Buick dealer was still using the plastic gaskets. (Isn’t it odd that some dealers don’t pay attention to TSBs?) Local auto shop was familiar with problem and used the updated gaskets instead of the OEM plastic gasket. Engine runs fine now.
2009 Toyota Venza with 2.7L 4-cyl: So far no major mechanical problems…..but one morning starter went “click-click-click.” No doubt battery was dead. Called AAA and they came out, replaced the battery and I was on my way to work.
A dreaded hole in my muffler on my W124, just a day before it was due for the dreaded annual safety inspection that would have failed it. Used a 1/4″ copper gauze from a ‘pipe’ of mine, a slap of bondo and quick spray with a dying can of silver paint and everything sorted!
Payed nearly 250 dollars US for that rear exhaust box nine years ago. Not giving up on it yet.
Last thing that “broke” . My 1999 Mazda B3000 2wd p/u
Speedometer stopped working and the ”ABS” light came on.
I think I read the codes, I don’t recall? Anyhow it was a 10 minute fix & a $20/part.
Replace ABS/Speed sensor on differential.
I searched Google & Youtube for “Speedometer not working 1999 Mazda B3000” and found this quick fix tutorial. What did we do before the internet? We flipped through our Haymes manual for 1/2 hour to figure it out.
My Saturday morning ritual: Pop the hood, check all fluid levels, top up as necessary, take my utility light and do a quick check for leaks underneath, check the tire pressures. I do this every week, it takes 5 minutes.
Paul,
you mentioned the rad leak in your truck. Is there not someone in the area who can re-core the rad? I just had my original and untouched 45 year old rad re-cored and even had it upgraded to more rows and to the high efficiency core (more fins per inch). Only one guy locally does re-cores anymore, and he’s been in the business about 45 years. Even though he now mostly sells aftermarket rads because they are cheaper he much prefers to do re-cores and believe the quality is much better.
The last breakdown for my DD truck was also it’s only breakdown. It was about 2 years ago, the OEM battery died on me (it was about 7 years old). I drove the truck about 20 minutes, got out for 5 then it was dead as a doornail. I knew it was on it’s way out by how slow the starter turned over that morning, didn’t expect it to die so suddenly afterwards. I ended getting a boost and driving to parts store to install a new battery in the -20 weather.
As for long times without breakdowns, I know my brother’s old ’76 Malibu which was my dad’s daily driver for many years, has had 13 or 14 years (possibly more, I’d have to double check) since it’s last breakdown. It is still driven regularly, but left DD status in 2007. Now it only sees a couple thousand miles per year. Through it’s life, the only had two breakdowns, both alternator failures. Over 45 years my Torino has only had a handful of breakdowns too, but almost all were related to the voltage regulator failing (gone through 3 or 4, I would have to pull the records), and the most recent was 3 years ago when the original alternator finally died. Obviously for both cars there has been numerous other items replaced as part of maintenance.
Honda Fit, dead battery. When the voltage gets too low, the whole dash lights up like a Christmas tree, warning lights randomly blinking on and off. Honda uses undersized batteries in most of its cars, vs Toyota. Still, I got six years out of the Japanese OE battery. The oddball size, 151R made it a little harder to find and more expensive than average at most places. NAPA, however had an $89 one in stock.
It does speak to modern quality. The only two times in the last 10 years that any DD vehicle of ours to be towed (due to non-collision events) was when my wife burned the clutch out on my ’05 Legacy and when the oil pickup tube fell off the block in her ’99 Cirrus.
The ’66 Chrysler did strand me once due to a faulty fuel gauge / sender, still need to sort that out…
Battery just last week. Hadn’t needed a repair on the 10-year old car in 2.5 years. Not driving it much anymore let the battery drain (I guess)—every 7-10 days it would need a jump after sitting outside. It probably would be fine with summer coming, but I’m not much into risk these days. It tested out at 640 CCA, but factory requires 840. Looked brand new since it sat under the back seat!
HYBRID BATTERY NO CHARGE FAILURE
appeared on my 2006 Highlander Hybrid dashboard last summer.
WHAT? 18 months earlier a similar message had appeared just as I was about to drive to the York, PA Studebaker Swap Meet. Instead, I dropped it off that time at the Toyota Dealer (who else can deal with something like this?) who charged me $600 to find and ‘repair’ what was vaguely called a ‘bad wire’ at lower left kick panel.
This time, rather than go to Toyota, I removed that left kick panel and discovered ……. water. A clog in the sunroof drain had allowed water to spill from the sunroof down into the body. The water found a path where it dripped directly onto a connector that links the dash-charging gauge/warning system, and disrupt its function. Thankfully, the rest of the system works just fine without a good connection to the dashboard. After airing out the connector to let it dry, everything starting working normally. I don’t think the Toyota guy did anything more than let it dry, as I found no evidence of a wire repair…. but it might have taken him five hours of testing to find the wet connector…
I blew out the drain with compressed air, applied some plastic sheeting to the connector box, got out some flexible insulating foam I no longer needed for a window A/C unit in my house and pressed that into the spaces above the box to try and absorb any future leaks and used the kick panel to hold everything in place. So far, no return of the water drip/ FAILURE warning.
Took me a few days to think about this one. My older cars have all had problems (some spectacular), but Paul did ask for the most recent.
Last year while my wife was running late for work our ’00 Diamante coasted to a stop just around the corner from home. Prodding the accelerator had no effect. After 340,000km the transmission had let go; just plain worn out inside, according to the mechanic. As we’ve owned the car from new we know the rest of it’s in good condition, and know of these going 450,000-500,000km without problems, so we figured it was worth the cost of a replacement tranny. The mechanic got one in from the junkyard, checked it out, and installed it. Back in business again!
Then last month a trunk spring let go. Ever had this happen? Like me, you probably never spare them a thought. They’re these cranked torsion bars under the rear parcel shelf. One of them broke just as we were pulling out of a parking space. Made an awesome noise! My wife wondered what she’d hit! We could see there was no damage to the car, so we drove on. Went to open the trunk at the next shop and it was immediately obvious what had gone wrong – the thing was so heavy!
No problem, said our son. He’ll take it to the welder at work who owes him a favour. Looked like a real quality job, too. We found out the hard way that you can’t weld trunk springs. Well, you CAN weld the part, but it will snap again as soon as you install it and put it under tension. Junkyard to the rescue again!
My last breakdown was Friday the 24th at about 11:30 pm. I was on my way home in the ’02 Buick Regal when I heard that unmistakable flup-flup-flup noise made by a flat tire (coming from the left rear).
I pulled into the parking lot of a Speedway station, by the air pump. I tried a can of fix-a-flat that was in the trunk. It didn’t work. So I wasted $7 on a can from the station. THAT one failed as well, other than spewing white foam everywhere.
At that point, I thought about calling AAA, since the lugs had last been tightened by an air wrench. But I didn’t want to wait forever, I wanted to get home.
So I pulled out the jack (which had never been used) and the donut spare (also never used). To my surprise, I had no trouble getting the jack in the correct place, and the lugs were not too tight for me to take the wheel off the car.
It’s been so long I honestly can’t remember what was most recent. Probably one of several VW’s or my BMW 528; breakdowns were pretty common on those. About as bad as my Vega. I’ve never had a true breakdown with any of the Japanese cars that I’ve owned since 1993. But I did come out to my 2 or 3 year old 1981 Honda CB900F after picking up some small item at the hardware store, and it wouldn’t crank or maybe cranked slowly (can’t remember exactly, after all this was almost 35 years ago). Anyway, some quick troubleshooting showed it too was a broken clamp on the battery ground cable. I went back in the HW store and found a short heavy gauge ground strap that fit perfectly, and even the cheesy Honda tool kit was sufficient for me to hook it up.
EDIT: after reading other comments, I see several mentions of dead batteries and flat tires. I didn’t consider those breakdowns, but yes, even my late model Japanese cars have succumbed in that way. Most recent was our 2008 Prius 12V battery.and in fact two flats with that Prius too.
probably my most memorable fix was during my first long distance trip alone (from PA to FLA) in my first car (68 Galaxie XL). i was just 18 and what little mechanical knowledge i possessed was gifted to me a little bit at a time from my uncle who worked as an airline mechanic. my 2nd day on the road and the 302 in the car started missing a cylinder. not really stranded but not wanting destroy my pride n joy trying to keep up with 80MPH interstate traffic i exited onto the shoulder. it was common practice, at least in my family, to have on hand a basic tool kit for long trips. as my other pride n joy was a shiny Craftsman Mechanics starter tool set, i was covered for anything down to a head replacement. not that i could do that yet. especially on an interstate shoulder.
fortunately, after checking up on the plug wires i started pulling plugs. at about the 5th or 6th plug the culprit was obvious as a solid chunk of something was lodged between the tip and electrode. easy, fast, free fix.
Some people have responded about the most recent repair, but my reading was actual “breakdown”: the car won’t start or go (or, worse, won’t stop and crashes).
For me that was November 2015. I had just had the ’75 Oldsmobile painted its original Horizon Blue over a not very good repaint from the previous owner. I had proudly driven the gleaming behemoth to the tony center of town of a New York suburb for a celebratory lunch, and had received a few compliments. But when I returned to the car, it wouldn’t start. Perfect timing–the ignition module had failed. I certainly had to eat my pride as the shiny and new looking Oldsmobile, still smelling of paint, was loaded onto the flatbed.
In general (fingers crossed) my old GM cars don’t break down. Like the old adage, they just have periods where they suddenly and without warning run poorly until I make, or have someone else make, a necessary repair. And then, off they go again.
My last breakdown was some time in the mid-late 90’s in my 1987 Subaru Leone turbo wagon. Partly my own fault, I ignored a sticky throttle cable for too long, and the mounting flange broke off the accelerator pedal. Luckily I wasn’t going anywhere important, I was close to home, and my brother was there with a tow rope in minutes. As a poor student, I had the old parts welded back together and they held perfectly until I sold the car about a year later.
My last “breakdown” was at a gas station in rural Alabama at 7:00 am on a autumn morning. Out of the blue, the battery went “dead” for no reason. All I got was the clicking sound of the starter attempting to engage. Fortunately, a farmer who heard me cussing and cursing was kind enough to give me a jump and let me know that a Walmart was just right down the road and they sold batteries. I was never more thankful to the gentleman.
Since then, I carry a set of jumper cables and I make it a practice to return the favor to others.
last show-stopper breakdown was a few years ago in my 77 Chevelle, in Biloxi MS as we were coming back from the 2013 Powertour, decided to detour through the Gulf coast rather than cannonballing back down I-40/30 to DFW. Stopped at the lighthouse and took in the sights and sounds of the beach, got back in the car, after it performed flawlessly for the whole duration of the Tour from Dallas to Charlotte NC other than drinking 5 quarts of oil.
We get in the car to head for lunch stop in New Orleans, and nothing, not a click from the starter, got strong lights, and accessories so it had good power, and nothing dimmed when turned to start. crawl under it and whack the starter a few times with a hammer (brought all my tools) and still no love from the starter. look up where the closest parts store is and its 3 miles away – no biggie, I can hoof it while the gf soaks up the beach some more. Fortuneately a good samaritan from Indiana gave me a lift to the store and brought me back, even hung around while I changed it out to make sure itd start.
Started right up, and worked for two weeks where it died in the garage when I was getting ready to take it to a car show. Fixed it a week later.
Lessee… my last breakdown was in ’07 IIRC. Had a ’95 Grand Marquis at the time. Driving home one day the steering just disappeared, as in I turned the wheel and the front wheels didn’t. Quite fun at 35 mph. Stood on the brakes and rode it out. Came to a stop in a gentle left turn with the right front wheel on the edge of a ditch. Turns out a bolt at the joint between the steering column and the intermediate steering shaft had backed out and became disconnected. My guess is that someone had the column out for some reason (probably clock spring replacement) and had forgotten to tighten that one last bolt.