What Are Your Best 'Alternative' Repairs

[Noel Tidybeard]

a friend* may* have effected a temporary** repair on a tyre by replacing a nail with a countersunk head screw which may* have been "tightened" on occasion to maintain air-worthyness

 

 

**18 months

[timolloyd]

Previous owner of my cheap and cheerful Spitfire had used foil in place of fuses.

[5speedracer]

I thought I would start a thread to see what pragmatic or ingenious alternative repairs folks have used over the years.

 

My dad repaired an indicator stalk with Araldite some 40 years ago and it is still functioning all these years later. The brand new replacement unit is still in the BL Box on the shelf ready to fit when the temporary repair lets go.

 

Last year I observed a CV Gaiter that had been replaced some 18 months earlier had a small 15mm split in it. Not due to perishing, it looked as though it had had a slice with some road debris. I cleaned it up with brake cleaner and smeared some black silicone sealent over the split. My MOT tester commented that it was a nice repair. With an MOT due a year and 15,000 miles later, I've just been under the car for a 'look see'. The repair is as good as it was this time last year. This is the second time i've used the black silicone to repair a damaged CV Gaiter.

 

At the same time last year, I observed the front exhaust hanger had broken off. I got an exhaust clamp, drilled a hole it in, filed a bolt head down a bit so the head of the bolt sat in the cradle of the clamp and was subsequently sandwiched between the exhaust and the clamp itself. The bolt passes through the exhaust rubber. A large washer and two nuts on the end of the bolt completes the 'hanger' The same repair is a solid now as it was last year.

 

We lost a lower alternator mounting. Which is basically a spacer (like a 20mm thick washer). A piece of 10mm copper pipe, cut to length with a washer on each end was fabricated until next time I was down the breakers. I did get my hands on the correct spacer on a trip to the yard. This still resides in the bottom of the 'spares box' because the copper pipe and two washer 'spacer' is still in situ some 45000 miles later.

 

Back on the Araldite, an ABS sensor ring had come off a CV joint due to corrosion, A dremel was used to clean the CV joint and the sensor ring was glued on with Araladite. Worked a treat and still does some 8 years later.

 

A pin hole in a metal power steering pipe was repaired with Araldite. The repair was still good when the car left us and I'm pretty confident it would have still been ok when the car was scrapped.

Are you a sales rep for Aaldite?

 

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