The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Howdy all.
In a past incarnation I used to be a marine engineer working on a range of private yachts and charter vessels.
Both sail and power yachts, globally roaming wherever the boss wants to go.

If it broke, I had to fix it.
With what I had aboard- very limited spare parts, manuals (hopefully in English), tools and ingenuity.

Things break at the worst times, always.
It is what you do after that point which matters.....how do you get it (her) home?

- hole in the boat...jam a mattress over it and some plywood and apply force with wooden wedges and BFH or a porta power.

- Windscreen smashed in from a big wave...similar repair.

- The ingress of the above wave fry your battery chargers....get a deckhand on the boss's exercise bike with an alternator strapped to it. Replace the deckhand after every 15 minutes, continue for 6 hours.

- hit a reef and ripped out the engine mounts (I don't drive, just fix other peoples stuff ups)....Hardwood blocks and ratchet straps work well.

To get to the point.
Tommo's unfortunate situation up the wrong end of this country was a wake up for a lot of people.
Let’s get it out there and brainstorm the situation and others like it, In terms of our Subaru’s.
Apologies and sympathy to Tommo once again but from now on let's work hypothetically.

I would suggest that hardwood blocks may have worked, with the ever faithful ratchet strap then wire holding it in.
I would even have cut or drilled holes in the tray, if I had to to make sure it was secure (through strapping or bolting).
A cold chisel or sharp punch will get through a Brumby's metal in 6 hits I bet.
Wooden wedges are awesome for this, 2 or more can stack to put a heap of pressure on specific points. Even just to brace them.

Threaded rods in foot lengths are a lifesaver too, with washers and nuts aboard, they take up no room in the tool chest and will get you home one day.

Getting even grittier, lash it up with rope from as many directions as possible.
Lock the item in situ then twist the rope with a screwdriver (Spanish windlass), then tie it off.
You can snap ropes doing this so it will hold up to a gentle drive home as long as you have faith in your rope...buy good stuff.
Shackles are very handy too in the recovery kit.

What does the forum think?

I Spent A Few Years Out Bush In The Territory And Saw Some Crazy Things Done To Get Home There---

Push Soap Into Cracked Fuel Tanks -- Will Last At Least 700 Klm (personel Experience)

Ive Seen Spear Grass Pushed Into A Flat Tyre To Keep Em Turning That Was Amazingly Sucessful

Id Heard Of A Clutch Plate Made From Wood From A Chep Pallet--
I Think They Even Did A Show At Some Stage ON TV ABOUT IT A FEW YEARS BACK

sounds like the show 'bush mechanics'

ZIP ties FTW....

i totally agree, because it could happen to any one going any where doing anything.

right, I had a bit of a look at thread on thommos loss, very sad, and i know how that feels, to walk away, but anyway in my case the subie was well and truly nearly used up anyway,but damn it could have waited a few months?....great memories tho....

anyway on topic, lol brumberty..lashings and wedges, very marine thinking i suppose, might work?
I used to go touring with dual batteries (for a fridge) but also had 2 battery cables and arc weld holder, and welding sticks and various bolts and steel bits.....however I never got into trouble...out there;) ...did fix things at home tho.

although I got a bit of trouble picturing the MY situation, but I reckon I would have just welded the thing back to the chassis...it would have to be all cut out later anyway....but imho it would hold enough for travelling.

I did see a episode of that show on abc, wish i'd seen it all, they should bring it back. The one I saw was some black fellows with an old hq, radiator holed, or was it the radiator side tank leaking or something, anyway they took the radiator out, got a fire going, there was melting solder etc,etc...er it was some years ago......I thought it was very cool:mrgreen:

googled "bush mechanics"
http://www.bushmechanics.com/home.htm

I think it is related to that show that was on the ABC.....?

check out the game, lol

I've seen a few of these on the road in outback WA over the last few weeks

Yes, the show was bush mechanics and it does look like that site is directly related.

A few I remember were four lads turning the HQ on its side (no jacks) to replace a diff with an appropriately carved bit of hardwood. Another was washing up detergent instead of brake fluid. Have seen really big-arse rope wound around a flat tyre to provide extra height and traction (gets the car off the edges of the rim).

I carry old clothesline wire and pliers with me everywhere. Have tied many a thing back in place with that.

yeh go read up on andrewt's thread about a improvised ball joint. something along the lines of a 17mm socket jammed in there

subi wrote:yeh go read up on andrewt's thread about a improvised ball joint. something along the lines of a 17mm socket jammed in there

Excellent example.
I was away when bush mechanics was on, good by the sound of it.

subi wrote:yeh go read up on andrewt's thread about a improvised ball joint. something along the lines of a 17mm socket jammed in there

showthread.php?t=4583&highlight=creek


I agree, lets brainstorm!

A very good read is "Mail for the Back of Beyond" by John Maddock.(Kangaroo Press) It tells the story of the mail truck drivers travelling over no roads, heavy sandhills and dry/flooding creeks back in the 1930's 1950's...through the outback of South Australia up to and through the Birdsville area of Outback Qld. Men like Harry Ding and Tom Kruse..I have the book and it is a good read. Gearboxes pulled apart in the sand dunes...diffs and rear axles repaired in 40deg plus heat. A clutch plate made from the bottom of a 44gallon drum...just to keep going and get the mail through. I have the book.

I was stationed as an outback Police officer (resigned 1990) in Windorah western qld in 1983 travelling in a short wheelbased landcruiser through the far outback corner and I have seen the ingenuity of the outback mechanics. My eldest son now travels the gas line from Mt Isa to Bellara and lives in Windorah. Stories of mechanical make do's are common.

When we think about those courageous men bringing the mail and sitting in the sand trying to repair a broken diff..in the 1950's...sand ...flies...heat..all alone....!!!

Be prepared....think the problem through like Brumberty has said..and don't give in to it too quickly...

Trevor

just out of curiousity wt do ppl do when there strut tops break?

the liberty i got off dave had a broken strut top like the rubber had split on the top of it

i didnt even notice untill i jacked the car up

but i would have a very long list of BUSH MECHANICS cable ties is a MUST ive made fan belts out of these and the gaffa tape

Bush mechanics was a great show, i remember seeing them fix a gearbox that had snapped off it mounts, They got a branch and put holes in the floor near the doors and tied brach across the car and underneath the gb. I think they used fencing wire to hold it.

Another was using the windscreen washer pump to fill the carby after the fuel pump died, this was from inside the cabin too, it didnt seem to safe.

Then there was the one where they chopped the roof of an old holden wagon turned it upside down and used it as a sled/trailer to tow there crap.

I also remember seeing them knock up shock absorbers and leaf springs out off trees wire and fence posts, great ingenuity.

Sorry, haven't read all of this thread, but when we go on trips we always take welding gear (jumper leads, arc handle and sticks.) If your on your own, setup dual batteries before hand so you have enough power to weld.
In the case of what happened to Tommo, You would just get the welding gear out, and weld the torsion bar to the body of the car... Sounds messy, but it gets it done..
We had the lower spring mounts pop off their placings on lukes6's L series (he was running Honda Accord springs which in standard form are a little too long) So we bought some spring compressors (should remember to take these with us next time) compressed the spring, hammered the mount back up the shocker and welded it on with some cut up stardropper (hax saw ftw.) We did have one problem and that was the struts weree to thin to weld to and they burst loosing all their shocker ability with the gas (which did light up on it's way out, haha.)

Being able to weld is important outback with cars I reckon.

Just curious Phizinza, how do you set up the welder when you are using a second battery to do it? I have no idea about welding whatsoever, hoping to do a short course after Uni finishes in November this year, but I was telling some guys at work about taking a welder away on trips and they were unsure about how you actually do it.

One guy suggested that you might attach the welder to the coil, just interested to know how you actually set it up.

ta

Crundle

I've read of an old bit of leather belt making do as a big end bearing!

crundle wrote:J.....

One guy suggested that you might attach the welder to the coil, just interested to know how you actually set it up.

ta

Crundle

yo noob huh;) you mean ignition coil? NO!
welding needs lots of current, ie AMPS...you get that direct from the battery.
trouble is at 12v its just not quite enough to strike a arc and hold it, hence 2 batteries - in SERIES.
so you need
2 x 12V Batteries (at least 40AH) fully charged.
2 x battery starter sets. (ie 4 leads) 200AMP+
weld rod holder - or even just use one of the clamps on the leads.
welding glass - so ya dona blind urself.

very simple, and you can do buetiful welds with it too;) the ample current in this setup helps.....but there is no current control:twisted:

if the steel your welding is just not bulky enough and your just blowing it up:o, you need some kind of current control, this can be done too.

Fill a bucket with salty water, get 2 steel plates, they are going to be held separated in the bucket. The leads are in series, so one lead from battery to one plate, another lead from the other plate to your weld rod holder. Basically the bucket is being used as a resistor.

Oh yeh, Gloves! even the cables get hot, really you need like 400AMP starter leads, but I don't think I ever seen any.

bring a friend to tow ya home....

alex

That sounds like something straight out of 'bush mechanics' Fredsub, I like the sound of it - although I have a terrible hatred of anything electrical, got electrocuted once on a building site, put the fear of it into me....

Will now know what the setup is if I ever get a chance to give it a try, ta

Crundle

and yeah, with cars I am not a newbie as such (just a bit mechanically daft), but not very good with them either, whatever I normally go to fix will lead to anything attached to it breaking, always been that way with cars