Post by izraf on Dec 12, 2007 15:51:04 GMT 8
The driver may be faced with a vehicle breakdown in the middle of no-where.
Some breakdowns can be dealt with on a temporary “Get you home” basis but others more serious will require a recovery by a professional outfit.
Being Towed: Apart from a tow rope, something strong to attach it to is needed. Most vehicles are fitted with towing eyes or hooks and should have a ball hitch or jaws on the rear end. All these items should be checked from time to time to ensure no defects have arisen.
An extended tow on the end of a rope for several hours is a very demanding exercise for the drivers of the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle. The towed vehicle’s engine may not be working so the power-driven steering and braking systems require brute force to operate.
Careful coordination between the two drivers is essential to avoid accidents. The driver of the towing vehicle must always try to keep the tow rope tight. Likewise the driver of the towed vehicle must also not allow the rope to become slack by judicious use of the brakes to avoid sudden jerks when the slack is taken up.
Broken Axle/Half Shaft Or Diff: If one axle breaks a half shaft or diff it must be disconnected from the transmission by removing the propellor shaft. This is not a difficult exercise providing you have the size of spanner in your toolkit.
If the front axle breaks all you have to do is to select 2 WD mode and drive home using the rear axle. If the rear axle breaks disconnect the rear prop shaft and drive home using the front wheel drive.
Radiator Leak: Yes, the hoary old chestnut about using white of egg to seal a leaking radiator is true.
All you need is a convenient egg handy. Radiators are pressurised systems and any leak will be compounded by the pressure in the system.
If you are on the highway and driving at a steady speed and the leak is not serious you could remove the radiator cap half a turn to de-pressurise the system.
By doing this the water will boil at a lower temperature so fewer stops may be necessary for cooling off and topping up. If you always carry a proprietary brand of radiator sealing material you won’t need to look for an egg.
Gearbox: In most 4WD gearboxes 1st and 2nd gears are located on the same shaft with 3rd and 4th on a second shaft.
So when one gear fails its partner will be inoperative as well.
If 1st/2nd fail you can still start off by selecting Low 3rd gear and after gaining momentum change up to High 3rd and 4th.
Clutch: If your clutch has failed completely there is little that can be done as an emergency fix. You will need a tow.
If the problem is loss of clutch fluid due to leaking seal it is possible to use any other fluid to pressurise the hydraulic system for short periods. Always check any mechanical linkages to see if anything has fallen out that can be replaced to get you home.
Even if the clutch has failed completely it may be possible to start the vehicle and drive off using clutchless gear changes.
To start put the vehicle in Low 2nd and turn the ignition key. The power of the battery will be sufficient to start the engine even though it is in gear and when it fires off you go. When you have gained sufficient speed change into High range.
Fuel Lines & Tank: Leaking fuel lines can be plugged using that old favourite - chewing gum. Masticate thoroughly and then apply it to the leak. On contact with the petrol the gum will harden and create an effective but temporary seal. The same can be done with some brands of soap.
Broken Fanbelt: Most serious off-roaders will carry a spare fan belt - end of problem. If you do not have a spare make a temporary substitute using a thin strip of tough material, even tights or stockings have been successfully used by many people. But as these are not usually worn in the desert you might try a fabric waist belt, length of cord or thin rope.
Brake Problems: Many modern 4WD vehicles are fitted with dual line braking systems so that if one system serving one pair of diagonally opposed wheels fails you still have braking from the other system serving the remaining pair of wheels.
If failure of one system occurs, drive carefully as the braking power will be less effective and could cause the vehicle to pull to one side or the other.
On older vehicles with a single system it is possible to carry out a temporary recovery if a wheel cylinder or brake pipe to one of the wheels fails or is damaged.
Disconnect the brake pipe leading to the wheel cylinder on the affected wheel and flatten the end of the pipe to seal it.
Then curl it up once or twice to reinforce the seal. Top up the system with your spare brake fluid, or other liquid and you can drive carefully away.
Lights: If your lighting system packs up you can use your portable hand lamp plugged into the cigar lighter.
If driving on the highway with other convoy members you can attach a torch at each end of your vehicle, the one at the rear being covered in red material, and drive sandwiched between two colleagues.
Overheating: If your engine is suffering from overheating you must not remove the radiator cap until the temperature is reduced as you could get badly scalded by steam or boiling water.
You must reduce the temperature first. One method of doing this is to switch the heating system on.
The hot water will circulate through the heater and the heat exchange unit will extract heat from the water to heat the air passing through it.
This will reduce the temperature of the water in the engine cooling system.
When the needle has gone down from the red you may then carefully remove the radiator cap very slowly using gloves or a rag to protect your hands.
Temporary repairs to get you home or back onto the highway require some ingenuity and lateral thinking.
Make use of the different items you carry aboard the vehicle and with the application of just a little technical knowledge you will succeed.
Some breakdowns can be dealt with on a temporary “Get you home” basis but others more serious will require a recovery by a professional outfit.
Being Towed: Apart from a tow rope, something strong to attach it to is needed. Most vehicles are fitted with towing eyes or hooks and should have a ball hitch or jaws on the rear end. All these items should be checked from time to time to ensure no defects have arisen.
An extended tow on the end of a rope for several hours is a very demanding exercise for the drivers of the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle. The towed vehicle’s engine may not be working so the power-driven steering and braking systems require brute force to operate.
Careful coordination between the two drivers is essential to avoid accidents. The driver of the towing vehicle must always try to keep the tow rope tight. Likewise the driver of the towed vehicle must also not allow the rope to become slack by judicious use of the brakes to avoid sudden jerks when the slack is taken up.
Broken Axle/Half Shaft Or Diff: If one axle breaks a half shaft or diff it must be disconnected from the transmission by removing the propellor shaft. This is not a difficult exercise providing you have the size of spanner in your toolkit.
If the front axle breaks all you have to do is to select 2 WD mode and drive home using the rear axle. If the rear axle breaks disconnect the rear prop shaft and drive home using the front wheel drive.
Radiator Leak: Yes, the hoary old chestnut about using white of egg to seal a leaking radiator is true.
All you need is a convenient egg handy. Radiators are pressurised systems and any leak will be compounded by the pressure in the system.
If you are on the highway and driving at a steady speed and the leak is not serious you could remove the radiator cap half a turn to de-pressurise the system.
By doing this the water will boil at a lower temperature so fewer stops may be necessary for cooling off and topping up. If you always carry a proprietary brand of radiator sealing material you won’t need to look for an egg.
Gearbox: In most 4WD gearboxes 1st and 2nd gears are located on the same shaft with 3rd and 4th on a second shaft.
So when one gear fails its partner will be inoperative as well.
If 1st/2nd fail you can still start off by selecting Low 3rd gear and after gaining momentum change up to High 3rd and 4th.
Clutch: If your clutch has failed completely there is little that can be done as an emergency fix. You will need a tow.
If the problem is loss of clutch fluid due to leaking seal it is possible to use any other fluid to pressurise the hydraulic system for short periods. Always check any mechanical linkages to see if anything has fallen out that can be replaced to get you home.
Even if the clutch has failed completely it may be possible to start the vehicle and drive off using clutchless gear changes.
To start put the vehicle in Low 2nd and turn the ignition key. The power of the battery will be sufficient to start the engine even though it is in gear and when it fires off you go. When you have gained sufficient speed change into High range.
Fuel Lines & Tank: Leaking fuel lines can be plugged using that old favourite - chewing gum. Masticate thoroughly and then apply it to the leak. On contact with the petrol the gum will harden and create an effective but temporary seal. The same can be done with some brands of soap.
Broken Fanbelt: Most serious off-roaders will carry a spare fan belt - end of problem. If you do not have a spare make a temporary substitute using a thin strip of tough material, even tights or stockings have been successfully used by many people. But as these are not usually worn in the desert you might try a fabric waist belt, length of cord or thin rope.
Brake Problems: Many modern 4WD vehicles are fitted with dual line braking systems so that if one system serving one pair of diagonally opposed wheels fails you still have braking from the other system serving the remaining pair of wheels.
If failure of one system occurs, drive carefully as the braking power will be less effective and could cause the vehicle to pull to one side or the other.
On older vehicles with a single system it is possible to carry out a temporary recovery if a wheel cylinder or brake pipe to one of the wheels fails or is damaged.
Disconnect the brake pipe leading to the wheel cylinder on the affected wheel and flatten the end of the pipe to seal it.
Then curl it up once or twice to reinforce the seal. Top up the system with your spare brake fluid, or other liquid and you can drive carefully away.
Lights: If your lighting system packs up you can use your portable hand lamp plugged into the cigar lighter.
If driving on the highway with other convoy members you can attach a torch at each end of your vehicle, the one at the rear being covered in red material, and drive sandwiched between two colleagues.
Overheating: If your engine is suffering from overheating you must not remove the radiator cap until the temperature is reduced as you could get badly scalded by steam or boiling water.
You must reduce the temperature first. One method of doing this is to switch the heating system on.
The hot water will circulate through the heater and the heat exchange unit will extract heat from the water to heat the air passing through it.
This will reduce the temperature of the water in the engine cooling system.
When the needle has gone down from the red you may then carefully remove the radiator cap very slowly using gloves or a rag to protect your hands.
Temporary repairs to get you home or back onto the highway require some ingenuity and lateral thinking.
Make use of the different items you carry aboard the vehicle and with the application of just a little technical knowledge you will succeed.