Road side repairs.

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Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
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There is a thread on another site, (I won't mention which one) about AAA and AARP plans for roadside assistance.

I started thinking about it and I can't say I ever grew up with such a thing.

The only roadside assistance I have ever had is a tool box and various parts which are common fail parts.

I have a bike tire pump and tire plug repair kit......I have fixed flats on the roadside before.

I changed a fuel pump on a slant six on the side of the road.

Even changed a distributor that had a broken plastic gear on a slant. All on the side of the road.

Do you guys have a roadside assistance plan or do you fix your own stuff and what repairs have you done on the side of road ??
 
I have AAA platinum.

When I was younger I changed a timing chain on the side of the road.

I use to have 2 full truck boxes in my truck.
One full of tools and one full of parts.
 
installed a starter on the side of the road...fell out! :rofl:

Also a fuel pump and a water pump. The water pump was a ***** for obvious reasons, but it was in a parking lot and the only reason I changed it was because I was in another state. My work Silverado truck doesnt even have a jack. We are not authorized to change a flat for a spare. I swiped a battery from a wreck at work once when mine was dead, all under the radar.
 
Cast my own bearings and swapped a crank on the side of the road. OK that is a lie. HA ha.
Things sure have changes for folks these days. A father would pass down his knowledge for sustainability.

Today the advice is read the owners manual and buy AAA. Good advice If you ask me.
 
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I fix my stuff. I haven't done too many roadside repairs either. Replaced a rear axle on a one ton Chevy (work truck), rear axle on a Ford one ton (another work truck), replaced a distributor on a 302 Ford (Dad's car), a water pump on a Ford 302 (Dad's car again) and had to tape up a radiator hose on an Oldsmobile to get it to town. Mechanical issues on my cars have been able to limp home.
 
There is a thread on another site, (I won't mention which one) about AAA and AARP plans for roadside assistance.

I started thinking about it and I can't say I ever grew up with such a thing.

The only roadside assistance I have ever had is a tool box and various parts which are common fail parts.

I have a bike tire pump and tire plug repair kit......I have fixed flats on the roadside before.

I changed a fuel pump on a slant six on the side of the road.

Even changed a distributor that had a broken plastic gear on a slant. All on the side of the road.

Do you guys have a roadside assistance plan or do you fix your own stuff and what repairs have you done on the side of road ??

I do all my family vehicle stuff for the most part unless it's something that sucks and I don't want to do it. (like the timing belt on our Son's girlfriends PT cruiser:D)

When I had my auto repair business in CA I had an A100 long wheel base van that I had all my tools, compressor, jacks, ramps and so forth in for doing on site work.
Sometimes it literally was roadside repairs.
I also had waste oil recovery tanks with vacuum ability for pulling out oils and fuels because of CA's strict laws about waste fluids.

I can't list everything obviously, but one I specifically remember was a limousine service that called because they had an 8am high priority customer but their one limo available had water in the oil.
They called late in the afternoon and I went to check it out, and come to find out it had blown head gaskets.
They practically made me swear the car would be ready and I did it right there in the parking space.
7:30am the next day it was all done and went on it's service.

Now here's one I hope you never have. (I'll make it short)
Guy wants to buy a used motor for his Honda Accord.
He pays me for the motor and I give him a receipt and order the motor.
I put the motor in and he calls back 3 days later saying there is a small oil spot under the engine, and I explain to him that I would be charging him for the repair since it was a used motor bought by his choice and he pitched a huge fit about it.

Anyway we made an appointment for him 4 different times and he was never available to do the repair.
Next thing I know he's suing me for the motor and tells the Judge he had to go to work, so when the oil light came on he kept going and the motor seized on the freeway.
Then he tells the Judge that I would only accept cash and never gave him any receipts, but I had quadruplicate invoices with his signatures, dates and check numbers for the payments.

Ok, now I tell the Judge we made 4 different appts for him to get the engine leak fixed and he never showed when the appt time came and that I also had all these (held them up) invoices showing check numbers and this guy's signatures proving the guy was lying.

Judge wouln't even look at the invoices and immediately found in favor of the guy.
 
I'm lucky to have a friend with a wrecker service and a dad and brother with a car trailer, but I have fixed alot of stuff on the side of the road in the past, nowadays thing's seem more busy and people don't stop and help like they used to, cell phones have changed that thank goodness, unless you get stranded in a no service area help is just a phone call away.:)
 
Replaced a fuel pump on this one on the side of the road and on a wet September Saturday.
IMG_20170627_194435.jpg
 
Did a brake job and replaced all my shocks between the morning and evening elk hunt.
At my campsite in the mountains.
 
AAA $55 a year, drag it home and fix at your convenience.​
 
You break down a lot Rainy?
 
My plan is simple. I try to do my homework before I leave on any longer trips. I bring "some" tools, and will always try to fix the issue myself. If this all fails, I have towing on my insurance.

Not much issue really. I drove 150 miles on a wheel bearing that gave no warning in the middle of nowhere in a Durango we had. That thing just up and growled, shook, but we nursed it and made it till I could buy one, and a couple more tools to get the job done. I replaced it in the parking lot.
 
AAA $55 a year, drag it home and fix at your convenience.​
I tend to agree with that. My days of laying in the gravel on the side of the road trying to do repairs are long in the past.

I will say that back then, I used to do it quite often. No cell phones and with a trunk full of tools, I would just deal with it and get it done. I remember resetting the points in my ‘70 Duster on the side of the freeway using a matchbook cover as a feeler gauge after the points screw rattled loose and closed the gap. One time I had to hot wire the headlight switch after my headlights went out at midnight on a dark back road.
 
Had to change axle studs on the side of the road once. Wheel came loose and destroyed them. Another time I ran out of gas and went to the nearest house and they gave me a gas can of what we thought was gasoline. It was diesel fuel. I had to pull the manual choke to make it run but I made it to the gas station. Hitch hiked home a few times and dragged em home with help from dad or a friend. Lots of stories like that. The good old days.
 
You break down a lot Rainy?
2019: so far, so good and I have a longer commute than ever.
2018 never
2017 twice. Once because the timing chain and once because of a clogged fuel filter.
2016 three times, once tire blowout (old tire), once because the coil went out, and once due to a z bar cracking and the arm broke off.
2015 once, collapsed rubber fuel line.
2014 the first year, I had a lot of break downs because i had to work out all the kinks on a car that had been parked for 18 years. Swapping to electronic ignition and upgrading under hood wiring helped greatly.
 
I tend to agree with that. My days of laying in the gravel on the side of the road trying to do repairs are long in the past.

I will say that back then, I used to do it quite often. No cell phones and with a trunk full of tools, I would just deal with it and get it done. I remember resetting the points in my ‘70 Duster on the side of the freeway using a matchbook cover as a feeler gauge after the points screw rattled loose and closed the gap. One time I had to hot wire the headlight switch after my headlights went out at midnight on a dark back road.

Any car I am driving or I is covered, 4 Cars, dont have to worry about the wife getting stranded 30 miles away, they'll even bring you gas, change her tire. One serious piece of mind!

Oh yeah, then there is the kids getting stranded at all hour of the night, dead battery, flat tire......
 
2019: so far, so good and I have a longer commute than ever.
2018 never
2017 twice. Once because the timing chain and once because of a clogged fuel filter.
2016 three times, once tire blowout (old tire), once because the coil went out, and once due to a z bar cracking and the arm broke off.
2015 once, collapsed rubber fuel line.
2014 the first year, I had a lot of break downs because i had to work out all the kinks on a car that had been parked for 18 years. Swapping to electronic ignition and upgrading under hood wiring helped greatly.
Yeah, the bugs are going away. Lucky you "got skills" I'm sure you dont have all the Crazys on the road we have here in Central Florida. I dont trust cars going past me, way to many distracted drives here. I'm in the process of testing the Barracuda for extended trips, every time out i go a bit further, but I do carry tools and spare parts just incase.
 
The ice melt around here sure raises hell on aluminium wheels. Makes them extremely difficult to remove. I carry a BIG hammer with me these days if not for me maybe somebody on the side of the road who knows how to change a tire but cant get it off.
 
My old DD, the 05 Impala, left me stranded one time in 13 years, and that was because of a water pump going out. But recently on way to work, Sunday night the exhaust came loose from rusted out. I had to crawl under it, the side of a freeway where cars are going 60+. Like others, getting too old to crawl on the ice cold ground on the side of the road anymore. But in past my old 71 Swinger died a couple times. Bad points, condenser, easy fix. Also ballast went out.
 
I do all my family vehicle stuff for the most part unless it's something that sucks and I don't want to do it. (like the timing belt on our Son's girlfriends PT cruiser:D)

When I had my auto repair business in CA I had an A100 long wheel base van that I had all my tools, compressor, jacks, ramps and so forth in for doing on site work.
Sometimes it literally was roadside repairs.
I also had waste oil recovery tanks with vacuum ability for pulling out oils and fuels because of CA's strict laws about waste fluids.

I can't list everything obviously, but one I specifically remember was a limousine service that called because they had an 8am high priority customer but their one limo available had water in the oil.
They called late in the afternoon and I went to check it out, and come to find out it had blown head gaskets.
They practically made me swear the car would be ready and I did it right there in the parking space.
7:30am the next day it was all done and went on it's service.

Now here's one I hope you never have. (I'll make it short)
Guy wants to buy a used motor for his Honda Accord.
He pays me for the motor and I give him a receipt and order the motor.
I put the motor in and he calls back 3 days later saying there is a small oil spot under the engine, and I explain to him that I would be charging him for the repair since it was a used motor bought by his choice and he pitched a huge fit about it.

Anyway we made an appointment for him 4 different times and he was never available to do the repair.
Next thing I know he's suing me for the motor and tells the Judge he had to go to work, so when the oil light came on he kept going and the motor seized on the freeway.
Then he tells the Judge that I would only accept cash and never gave him any receipts, but I had quadruplicate invoices with his signatures, dates and check numbers for the payments.

Ok, now I tell the Judge we made 4 different appts for him to get the engine leak fixed and he never showed when the appt time came and that I also had all these (held them up) invoices showing check numbers and this guy's signatures proving the guy was lying.

Judge wouln't even look at the invoices and immediately found in favor of the guy.

Karma is a bytch and judges can get voted out too!
 
I've had some type of road side assistance for years as I like to know that my wife won't be stuck when I'm traveling for work. We've both used it before.

The only time I can remember using it myself was when I flew to Minnesota, bought my Power Wagon, and drove it home to Ohio. At about 90 miles from home the alternator locked up and broke the belt. I parked it in a gas station and walked to a parts store. As you can guess, they didn't have a belt or alternator available for my truck, so I called for a rollback to get it home.

When I was younger, I would always carry spare parts and tools so I could fix my vehicles on the side of the road and have done it many times. Same thing with my Panhead Chopper as I've fixed it on the side of the road as well.
 
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