Breakdowns – which you can laugh at.

[jphanna]

Its never a good time to break down, but there are times when its an incident that you can look back at years or decades later and laugh.

1985 and its my first Bathurst trip. Catch a place from Adelaide to Sydney, meet up with cousins there, and then drive to Bathurst in a falcon 69 wagon, that will also be the accommodation. Sounds like all the essentials are in place for a great time.

At some point when we left, I glanced the fuel gauge and noticed it was pointing at half full (half empty for others!). Anyway I was enjoying the scenery of the Blue Mountains after a few hours of driving, when I glanced the fuel gauge again…..it hadn’t moved a millimetere. I mentioned to my cousin that the gauge hadn’t budged since we left. May god strike me down NOW, if I am lying, but with 20-30 seconds of that comment, I don’t have to tell you what happened…..

We pushed the car to the side away from road and walked an hour or so until we reached an historic old prison/police/holding cell (is it still there?). the person running it said we could get a lift to the nearest petrol station, after they finished closing down the place late in the afternoon. We missed the top 10 shootout that day but we still had a good time on Sunday watching GOSSIE win with the big JAG.

Any memorable breakdowns you had?

[Mr Hardware]

the only time i needed to clutch-start my last car (manual rwd corolla) i was stationed perfectly on the top of a nice big hill.
the joke was, it was raining. wheels would lock rather than grab.
RACQ to the rescue.

[MAV50L]

Originally Posted by jphanna

Its never a good time to break down, but there are times when its an incident that you can look back at years or decades later and laugh.

1985 and its my first Bathurst trip. Catch a place from Adelaide to Sydney, meet up with cousins there, and then drive to Bathurst in a falcon 69 wagon, that will also be the accommodation. Sounds like all the essentials are in place for a great time.

At some point when we left, I glanced the fuel gauge and noticed it was pointing at half full (half empty for others!). Anyway I was enjoying the scenery of the Blue Mountains after a few hours of driving, when I glanced the fuel gauge again…..it hadn’t moved a millimetere. I mentioned to my cousin that the gauge hadn’t budged since we left. May god strike me down NOW, if I am lying, but with 20-30 seconds of that comment, I don’t have to tell you what happened…..

We pushed the car to the side away from road and walked an hour or so until we reached an historic old prison/police/holding cell (is it still there?). the person running it said we could get a lift to the nearest petrol station, after they finished closing down the place late in the afternoon. We missed the top 10 shootout that day but we still had a good time on Sunday watching GOSSIE win with the big JAG.

Any memorable breakdowns you had?

Sounds like you broke down at Hartley. Yeah the old courthouse is still there.

[ch33z1l]

Coming back from Wagga one afternoon after a night of partying and the fuel pump in mates VX stuffs itself.

The esky was still half full/half empty, so we had a few casual drinks on the side of the road while we waited for the towtruck and our lift.

[CPOCSM]

Mine was a mild panic as I was on my way to Sydney for the Mini 45th anniversary celebrations. Got to Goulburn 2nd exitgoing from Canberra to Sydney when the mini started coughing and died! Was 4.30am and I was frantic as I had no mobile back then and it was middle of winter so sub zero temps.

One of the Boys in Blue turned up to see what was the problem...I had just popped the bonnet and I could see straight away what the problem was.....because it was so cold the whole carb assembly was white - completely frozen as it was a side draught Dellorto setup and the float assembly had frozen solid (water condensation all the way from the filter to the head!!)!!

Police dude gave me an option - I wee-ed on the manifold as we both had no water anywhere!! Worked a trick but the smell was pretty ordinary and the ploiceman got a good giggle out of it. Got me to Panthers unscathed but went to a car wash to give it a clean before I went into the pavilion.

Now I carry water wherever I go...just in case as wee does not smell nice on the exhaust manifold!!

Hooroo

[gtfpv]

brand new GT just picked up and brought home . decide to go for a night drive around local area. all get in kids in pajamas. GT breaks down at traffic lights on a bend at an accident hot spot , in the dark , in front of a needle exchange centre . my mobile went flat too. plenty of swearing and cursing to ford dealer . two big fat tow truck drivers come out in wrong , unsuitable tow truck to tow away. only for me to pioint them away. then another turns up tilt tray but unable to whinch cause of front bumper height . 2 big fat towies try to push car upthe ramp with big ***** up against rear bumper , me telling them to give up and leave before i king hit them both for incompetance and stupidity, only to be left there , on my own after sending family home in taxi . give up on FRAUD FPV CUSTOMER CARE and ring nrma who sympathise with my worries , and send a senior technician out who diagnoses short at engine bay and temporarily fixes vehicle . and follows me home .
he felt sorry for me as if he couldn't fix the car it would stay in a car park with me in it so it wont be vandelled . fat chance of that happening , i wouldve left it on the side of the road and let FRAUD look after it or replace it rather than risk my life sleeping in it .
NOT LAUGHING TO THIS DAY.

[Bmobile]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

the only time i needed to clutch-start my last car (manual rwd corolla) i was stationed perfectly on the top of a nice big hill.
the joke was, it was raining. wheels would lock rather than grab.
RACQ to the rescue.

hehe try another gear. But i'm one to talk after leaving the auto in drive and wondering why it would not start. 1/2 hour later and scratching head as to what's wrong and about to call RACQ when i jumped back in and saw that it was in drive and went Doah

[Watto_Cobra]

Late 80's, on my P's, borrowed my parents Valiant wagon to head into town with some mates. Throttle cable broke at the halfway point.

Got some baling twine off the roof rack and tied to the carby. Had a mate with his arms hanging out of the passenger window working the throttle, even in heavy traffic in town, till we got to a wrecker and found a replacement.

Took some coordination, but we made it :hihi: . Very rare prob for the old Val .

[stevepet]

Years ago had a HT monaro with a rather vicious 350 in it but the motor was getting a bit rattly. The boys decided we would go down to Lorne after work. Just as we reached the top of the Westgate bridge there was an almighty bang with lots of smelly smoke. Pulled over popped the bonnet and there was a hole in the side of the block I could stick my fist through. This was 4.00 on a Friday arvo. Rang RACV said i needed a tow they said they had to send a van first I explained they wouldn't listen. Van arrives has one look and calls a tow truck. At 6.45 we manage to get off the bridge. The traffic was banked up to I don't know where and we made it on the news the next day. HAHA

Steve

[nutter_x]

Originally Posted by ch33z1l

Coming back from Wagga one afternoon after a night of partying and the fuel pump in mates VX stuffs itself.

The esky was still half full/half empty, so we had a few casual drinks on the side of the road while we waited for the towtruck and our lift.

This wouldn't be a purple/blue VX that "never has any probelms" yet every time we take it somewhere it doesn't make it home by any chance? :

Speaking of which, instead of memorable breakdowns, this is more of a memorable car (that broke down alot). Dad had an old 67 Galaxie sedan that had a heavily worked 460 with the old Trimatic 3 speed...and there was not a time when the bonnet was up on the side of the road with hime fixing something.

Ask him about it now? "Better than any of your cars, it never had a problem!" :

[mrbaxr6t]

OK funny breakdowns - ZL 'lane that was riddled with electrical problems stopped one day, as I tinkered with it all the time I knew what the problem was and jumped out tools in hand ready to fix it (yes that often that tools were in the console) .... Anyway I lifted the bonnet and began to fix my wiring up and dude pulls up beside me in a commodore and goes "GET A HOLDEN" real loud I responded with "How's your timing chain?" which sounded quite rattly as his car was idling beside me, he then says "ITS EFFING FINE SMART ****" and drove off at wot - I turned around and continued to fix my wires, then confident I had fixed it put the bonnet down jumped in the seat and off I went, 4 minutes down the road what do I see? yes you guessed it the guy in his c'dore, so to return the favour I slowed down and yelled "BUY A FORD" to which he mumbled something that would melt the swear filter and off I drove. I swear this is true story.

[cheek]

Rofl!!!!!!! Hahahahha

[Mr Hardware]

hehe try another gear.

Oh...

[vanman_75]

on the newell highway on a weekend in my teens ,automatic camira ,and it gets worst the old varijet starts playing up in the middle of nowhere ,with all the winding the starter motor dies .we did get going after a day or two but but all by bodging things up lucky i carry tools everywhere i go, gee that was a good car .....2 speed auto and hotwire start ,was the worst few weeks of my automotive life .

[madmelon]

Originally Posted by jphanna

within 20-30 seconds of that comment, I don’t have to tell you what happened…..

My grandfather built us (siblings, cousins and me) a small sailing boat. Had been taking it out for some 5 years without incident. Out in the middle of Burrill Lake, I've chimed in "You know, we should probably capsize this in the shallows some time soon to see what it does". 2 minutes later huge unexpected gust of wind, not only capsized but turtled (180 degrees around, bottom of boat upwards) in a deep part of the lake... it floated and so did most of our gear. Unfortunately, the gear floated in a different direction.

Apart from losing stuff, all worked out ok. Seems every time someone takes it out now it ends up going over at least once and losing at least one bit of equipment or attire.

[66 coupe]

drove a customline from perth to merredin one year, where on an overtaking lane at about 120-130km/h got a bad uni vibration, heard a noise then the vibration suddenly stopped.
Kept driving to the next stop, and parked for lunch, came back and theres gearbox oil under the car. No jack, no tools and no oil, kept driving another couple hundred k's to meredin, once we got there, put the car up in the air, and the extention housing broke clean off the gearbox. How it didnt break the output shaft we still dont know.

[Torquen]

The clutch in my old daily diver VS 6 banga totaly died while taking a freeway of ramp. Got to the top, light where green rolled through and pull over on the side of the road in gear with my foot of the clutch and it ran perfect! lol. Clutch was soooo it didnt even stall. Wasn't funny then... classic now!

[66 coupe]

Another one was a number of years ago, towing a boat down the freeway, dad turns and says hey look some silly buggers lost a wheel. The wheel was headed dead straight along the centre divider barrier for at least 500m, before it touched the barrier then shot back over to the left and off the road. About 30 sec later we discovered the wheel was off our boat trailer (sheared all the studs). still drove it down to the destination on the other 3 wheels.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

2 big fat towies try to push car upthe ramp with big ***** up against rear bumper , me telling them to give up and leave before i king hit them both for incompetance and stupidity, only to be left there , on my own after sending family home in taxi . .

I find that a little hard to believe... id suspect you'd be going home in an ambulance if you did....

[66 coupe]

im guessing he meant

...2 big fat towies try to push car upthe ramp with big ***** up against rear bumper, [then] me telling them to give up and leave[comma] before i king hit them both for [being]incompetant and stupid,[then] only to be left there , on my own after sending family home in taxi . .

not as in he took them out

[Feathers]

My story requires a bit of set up, so bare with me...

Back in 2003 there was a picket line outside a can factory in Arncliffe, Sydney.
It got quite violent and made news a few times (A union leader threw rocks and spat at a manager's car), and we had been hired to drive a bus of workers into and out of the factory every day.
Eventually it was decided that the bus would be driven in, and left in the factory all day, with my Dad - the driver - being escorted out another exit, and back by police.

At about week 3 of the strike, I had to take my 1979 XD for it's annual rego inspection to a friend's workshop near the factory.
It had been organised with police that I could cover my numberplates, stop out the front, let dad out into the police guard, and go before things started flying at me.
I would then wait a few blocks away for Dad to drive past and follow, with a police escort.

It was all going well until I had to get away. Then the throttle cable pulled off the accelerator, and the car died on a crest about 300m from the picket line.

I knew immediately what it was, and I knew how to fix it, but I was still in sight of some pee'd off workers, and LOTS of hangers on.
I heard the call that the 'scab car' had stopped and to go and 'get it'.
I checked all the doors were locked, hoped the damage wouldn't be too bad, then put my head down and waited. I had absolutely no way out.

Moments later 4 large, mean looking men arrived at the car, but on noticing a very scared 19yr old girl alone, decided that they would help me instead.

I got lectured about their issues and such, but they pushed the car off the road into a nearby driveway, and then left to go throw food at the bus as it was leaving.

I got out my toolbox and was about fix the problem, when a truckie came over and said he needed to get out of the driveway I was now blocking.
He went into the factory and then came back, saying that the owners were happy to let me roll the car into their yard so he could get out.
He said there were 12 mechanics inside having coffee, and he was sure that they would help me fix it.

So finally I got out of everyone's way and again set about reconnecting the throttle cable.
As I leaned back up from extending the cable with a screwdriver in the engine bay I saw the 12 mechanics, all standing at the door with coffee or cigarettes, watching.
No one offered any help, so ignored them.

Dad was unaware of the breakdown until he drove the bus past and saw my car in the yard, but of course was unable to stop to check on me.

Just as I was packing up and closing the bonnet, a man who said he was the boss came over and said smugly "I suppose you'll be needing some help then".

I declined, said that I had already fixed it, modified it with a washer so it wouldn't happen again, and would be on my way after washing my hands, if he would be so kind as to allow me use of a tap.
He apparently thought I was joking about having fixed it, but pointed out the tap, and walked back into the workshop.

Walking back to the car I noticed the mechanics once again lined up in the doorway ready to laugh at my epic failure.
Joke was on them as I started the car, turned around and exited their driveway in a cloud of tyre smoke.

Dad loves retelling that story to his mates more than I do.

[Dezza]

Having my front right wheel fall off about 10 minutes after I'd picked the car up from a mechanic for a wheel alignment. The fact these were no telltale signs the wheel was loose, or that I actually stopped for fuel before it parted company, and that the mechanic had tested the car and it felt fine is the funniest part. The fact it came out of it with barely any damage was also amazing.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Drove into the city (Sydney) when I was a youngin with a few mates in my 180B. Get to the end of Parra rd, turn left into the start of George st and start to head down the main drag. Car dies and I pull over... right in front of Club X.... I call the NRMA and wait in the car while they buggered off into Club X.. came back after a few minutes telling me all the crap they had for sale... I stayed with the car the whole time and needed a new battery :(

[XRSIKS]

Dont know if this counts as a break down.

My parents live a hour south of canberra.... when i was living there, mum was driving me home in her 2001 Toyota corolla wagon...

we hit the biggest skippy, it was raining, and just on dark.... mum hit the breaks, being wet, there was no grab... BANG!. we pulled over to the side of the road, couldnt see the skippy anywhere....

i went to assess the damage on the car, and there was Skip, stuck in the bonnet, dead. no matter what i did, i couldnt pull his lard *** out, we had to leave him there till me and dad could pull him off the next morning...

the looks we got on the remainder of our 100km drive were priceless

[XR6_661]

Just had a new gearbox fitted in my XR6. Hadn't driven the car for over a month, so decided to pile the missus and her little sister in the car and go down to a new subdivision and have a bit of fun, take some pics, etc.

Halfway through, The car starts acting weird and the D symbol starts flashing, get out of the car and just as I look into it, all this fluid starts dumping onto the road.

We were off a main road, in the jungle. Couldn't call anyone.
Anyways, waited there for half an hourish, then start the car up, no D Symbol flashing, no flare...nothing. gearbox has been fine since!!

Last time I chuck 'victory' skids =P

[LethalLeigh]

I decided to take a trip to see my Dad in Bordertown while I was on holidays in my then newly purchased Alfa Romeo GTV6. Heading down Portrush Rd Just before the freeway I score a flat tyre. I popped the boot to find I had neither a jack or wheel brace. As much as it irritated me at the time I was glad it was still in town rather than out past the freeway.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

I find that a little hard to believe... id suspect you'd be going home in an ambulance if you did....

haha . i was pretty wound up, and the guys were just laughing . they did stop when i tolod them to. who wouldnt . negligence is a horrible thing and so is a stressed driver ( owner) . um by the way these tow truck drivers werent very fit . or worried .

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by 66 coupe

im guessing he meant


not as in he took them out

spot on . that is exactly what i meant . no violence occurred.