Share your roadside (mis)adventures!

902 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by ORCoaster, Jan 7, 2019

RuralTowner

Discussion Starter · Jan 5, 2019

WELL the drive home today had it's own adventure. NOT with the Lemon Snowball made famous by its own thread...dragging my feet with finishing repairs on that thing...but with the 84. Got half way back...heard a squeal and looked in rearview to see a cloud of smoke pouring out behind me. Pulled over to check...the crank//WP//AC belt was spinning but the AC pulley wasn't. Locked up solid. So pulled out the toolbox...got box cutter and cut away the belts. The AC//alt was already on its way out (again) so no loss there (had another with me anyway) while the other...well it was cooked. Pulled the alt which is now on pass floorboard so could check the AC pulley better...YUP locked up solid. Since I was on the shoulder a 1/4 mi from a main road junction with traffic buzzing by...needed to make it to just past junction to where there was a much larger clearing. So made the drive up...shut down...then made the "Come and get me, I need a tow." call to home.

Now bear with me...

No sooner do I finish the call do I start thinking. DAMN! If only I had baling wire or even tape while I rummaged around thinking I had another LONGER belt from when I was about to do an AC delete but didn't because the belt was too short (remembered during search). Already had the pulley with me but as I typed this I would've been screwed anyway since didn't have sockets big enough to pull the alt pulley. Then I looked in back of car...and there I saw it in all its pristine white glory...a nearly full bundle of cheap 3/16" fiber wrapped nylon rope. Same type might use for on a flagpole. EUREKA! I'll use IT!!!

Having the crank//WP pulley right next to one another made the job simple...just had to make sure to get rope as snug as possible since no way to otherwise remove slack. 1st go...started with 3in or so hanging loose then made 4-5 passes around the pulleys...square knotted them together then wrapped the excess around the strands then tie again. Fire it up then get out n check. I SEE SLACK! Turn off then retie. Checked...all is good...drive 2 miles (keeping speed to no more than 20mph) then pull over to check. Rope came undone. Okay...pulled the blackened mess off.

2nd attempt this time making a loop with one end of the rope then repeating the number of passes. This time when reaching the end run end of rope through loop then pull it as tight as can...wrap end once around the strands then tie as many half hitches as had free rope for. Start up and all looks good. Only see marginal slack since the rope has some give after all. Take off and get a couple more miles before seeing the other vehicle from home that would have towed me. Instead had them just follow while I kept going. Gradually over the course of miles gave it more throttle for speed while cars pass myself and the one behind (hazards on the whole time ofc). Since the car has an analogue temp gauge I kept an eye on that the entire time...stayed right around 180F. Pulled over only once to double check (all still good)...eventually got back up to highway speed to eventually make the side road home.

From now on after this going to be keeping a batch of rope on hand just in case as long as the vehicle uses V-belts. Couldn't have done this with serpentine.

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briano1234

· #2 · Jan 5, 2019

Always bothered me that the WP/ac/crank was a single belt. There is another pulley that you can bolt up to the Crank and the WP and run a separate belt so then you have a crank wp belt and a crank wp a/c belt.

see cabby-info.com she has a pdf somewheres that shows the belts and pulleys, or the etka

https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/

Been there for roadside repair broken by-pass hose that I fixed with plumbing parts from an all night walmart I was 25 miles from home.

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RuralTowner

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 6, 2019

Already have a Ford-type double pulley that should do the trick...would poke out even with the AC's outer pulley. Had I already had a suitable belt with me and socket big enough to remove the one on the alt...it would have gone on right there. However it will be going on this weekend as long as the weather cooperates then will have to measure for a longer belt.

Anyone else?

Ideally the tales should pertain exclusively to the watercooled VWs of the era when you COULD jury rig a repair on the side of the road...but air cooled ones are okay. Barring either of those...if you happen to have had such an escapade in something else...share away.

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briano1234

· #4 · Jan 6, 2019

almost 40 years of wrenching on these critters I have a ton of them.

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ORCoaster

· #5 · Jan 7, 2019

Likewise here. Many to share but I think the all time best is the rear wheel bearing going out just after I serviced them. I cleaned and repacked and thought about ordering new ones. Well in the meantime I was on a commute of 300 miles and it was late Dec and nearing 10 PM. 25 miles from the nearest town I get this grinding noise from the passengerside when coming out of a left hand corner. I quickly found a light to pull over under and proceeded to jack it up and check for a loose bearing.

I had it mostly apart but couldn't get the nut to budge as the washer had wrapped up around it and the bearing was in pieces. A guy came by asking if I needed help and I took him up on his offer of a bigger hammer. The lightweight one I was using was just bouncing off the chisel I was using to get the nut off. A couple of swings and the nut was moving. I applied the vice grips and was lucky enough to get the nut to come off without buggering up the treads.

The guy asks what now as I was picking out the pieces of the bearing. I said no problem on that and stood up and reached in the car and pulled out a used set that I didn't put back on the shelf. Did I know I would be using them so soon? No! But he was dually impressed that I had them and that I was able to fix it so easily.

I thanked him for the use of the hammer and away he went. I was close behind. Just made for a long dark drive home. Wife got a bit worried until I made it to town and was able to text a message. No coverage just miles out of that town.

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