Trail MacGuyvering. When you absolutely, positively, don’t want to be there overnight.

I keep hearing about recoveries performed with field-expedient parts and tools, then it happened to me today. It wasn’t some emergency, but I had to think of something so the situation didn't go from bad to worse.

I couldn’t find a thread dedicated to MacGuyvering on the trail, so here’s what I did today when I lost the DS leaf spring retainer nut:

Guess I didn’t torque this one enough during 3AAL install, but vice grips clamped around the retainer bolt, then held clamped with zip ties worked great on both high-speed and technical trails the rest of the day.

 

Necessity is the mother of invention. You used your most valuable tool. The one most folks use the least. Your brain.

 

Oofadoof, even with a zip tie I would be nervous as hell about that holding. I'm glad it worked!

 

what about on the road McGyvering? I came back from 500 miles in baja with a 5 gallon bucket of diesel between the passengers feet and tube feeding the fuel pump snaked throught the part open hood. Every 50 miles stop, siphon more diesel into the bucket and continue on. Many many times used a ratchet strap to keep 2X4's in place of boat trailer springs... the baja is tough on things even if they are new.

 

Yes! I should change the title to Field-expedient improvisation. @JEEPNIK reminds us the most valuable tool is our brain, but any photos of your exploits will help us.

 

Suggest to replace that bolt. I'm sure the vise grip bodged the threads.

Then use lock nuts. The most resistant to vibration are the lock nuts with the nylon ring. Generally, called Nylocks.

 

yup just did this with grade 5 bolts and nylocks!

 

BFI a fellow named Granville King wrote about feeding gas to the carb from a bottle.

Years later I crushed my fuel pump when my second battery bracket failed. Pretty far back on I used the Desert Foxes method and slowly motored out.

 

Educate me... what is the worst that could happen if retainer was removed?

 

Driving my 1991 Pickup back to Colorado form Alaska I had to fashion this oil filler cap after forgetting to put it back on....

 

Sheared all three transfer case mounts on the Samurai at once a while back. Got it lined back up on its mounting points and secured with duct tape, bailing wire, and paracord to get me off the trail. I like this thread a lot! I've done plenty of this crap over the years!

 

Yikes how’d you manage that!?

 

6.5:1 low range in the case, original rubber mounts from 1988....

It's in a hard mounted cradle now. Tons of sound and vibration in the cab but its a crawler.

 

Well that settles that. I bet nobody could top this fiasco, and makes me rethink what I need to keep in my bed toolbox. Never thought of bailing wire!

 

Back in 2000 or 2001 I was working for a custom harvester cutting wheat. I was driving a straight truck loaded with grain into an elevator when the upper radiator hose blew. This was in a town with a population of less than 1000 people. The next largest town with any big truck parts was 30-40 miles away.

There was one gas/service station in town. I dug through their hoses and found one that fit over the radiator outlet and necked down to fit inside the original hose. Then I found a scrap piece of exhaust tubing that fit inside the new hose. Cut the bad section of the old hose off, stuff the exhaust tube inside the new hose, stuff the new hose inside the old hose and clamp it all together with 2-3 hose clamps.

I got a pat on the back from my boss for the quick fix, but I bet the only reason it ever got fixed correctly would have been because the exhaust tube rusted away and caused some other problem.

 

Bailing wire FTW!

 

Holding "a little bit" is better than not holding at all.

I've heard of people using duct tape and/or bailing wire, hose clamps, etc...

You do what you gotta do to get you home.

I'm no expert but that seems bad.

If that were true, why to leaf spring manufacturers use them?

Probably to prevent this:

 

ok, well, you go ahead and not replace it or do anything to try and fix it if it fails on the trail.

I'd rather not take the chance, and I'm going to take the 5 minutes to try and fix it if I can.

 

amazing