Your car ever left you stranded?

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Your car ever left you stranded?

March 04, 2007, 10:38:31 AM

Neither of my birds ever have! Sure, they'll break down for awhile, but I've never NOT been able to get the to a location where I could fix whatever simple problem was wrong.

This comes up because of a friend's pile of Alero. It is a last run model (already bad news) and has been riddled with problems since day one - mostly electrical. I can't count the number of times it's required a jump start even with a new battery and alternator. Sometimes it wouldn't start at all, due to some neutral switch in the tranny. There is a power drain somewhere that no shop can find and it's random. Many times it has left her stranded, without reason or so it seemed. Days like this I'm glad I drive an antiquated classic :D.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #1 – March 04, 2007, 11:49:08 AM

Well let's see... my 86 Stang died at a traffic light in the middle of a thunderstorm. Fun. Then it died in downtown Huntsville and me any my buddy had to walk 3hrs home. ;(

Darkthunder died at my ex's house right after we got into a huge fight. ! I was only there for 5 mins. While dropping my sister off in the middle of the night it died while coming home with my 1.5 year old son in the car. Needless to say I was not dressed for the occasion and neither was he. Had to walk about halfway home before some nice lady stopped and picked us up. Then it died after I filled out an application for a job. The same lady that asked if I needed help, friggin interviewed me....... needless to say I didn't get the job.

My 88TC died in a intersection and going up an incline on my way home from work. Some lady helping me push it out of the way failed to mention she didn't know how to drive a stick. My silky smooth trans never shifted the same again. Thank god I had a cell phone this time and AAA.

My 87TC hasn't... yet. If it does it's curtains!

And the worst car I ever owned, 95 Grand Am GT, has left me stranded so many times I told the bank to come repro it. And they did. Best. Decision. Ever.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #2 – March 04, 2007, 12:46:53 PM

Amazingly enough, none of my cars have ever left me stranded, despite the fact that I used to drive 70+ miles round trip every day.

The closest I came to being stranded was with my old Mustang...the first time the clutch cable broke in town, and I was living in town at the time (had to call a tow truck, every other time it broke I just drove it home with no clutch) and when I ran out of gas once, which was my fault.

My thunderbird, I've never been stranded, despite once having a busted radiator, and another time losing almost all my oil pressure due to a cracked remote filter mount (somehow it didn't lose all oil pressure until I pulled into the parking lot at school).

My tempo, even...shortly after I got it, the water pump went out and it was g coolant all over the place, so I bought a couple gallons of water and nursed it home. And, the starter on it died awhile later, but it waited until I was home to conk out

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #3 – March 04, 2007, 02:41:06 PM

my new 87 cat, the starter is going out. As fun as the motor mounts look to pull, and how its been less then 20 out side for a high for the last week, I just hit it with a hammer till it starts. It always does.

My 86 black car, never left me stranded. Even when two of the lugs pulled out of the hub of the disc, I just tightened down the other two and drove home slowly.

Old 87 blue cat, waterpump went out, dumper water in and it got me home fine.

old gray 86 cat, water pump went out,and so did the transmission. Its really fun to be neutrual revving while over heating on the freeway. But for some reason, that car always got me home, up till the day it got impounded.

The only car that didnt get me home, was an mutang 89 lx convertible that I never got the title to. Thru a rod, and I got sick of dumping oil in it, so I towed it home. fun times.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #4 – March 04, 2007, 02:48:28 PM

I was late for a football game and the temp gauge in my '85 TC didn't work. Turns out the water pump let go completely and I tried making it home. Engine started losing power, smoke was pouring out the exhaust, engine lit on fire. Coasted it to a gravel road, thankfully the fire went out. Upon pulling apart the engine (horrible smell), I found the water pump impeller sheared off, two burnt valves and large cracks in the head in multiple places.

I was driving my '86 TC down to school this year, timing belt decided it had enough and let go 40 miles from home and school. Ended up changing the belt in the parking lot of a truck stop the next day.

I run out of gas a lot too.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #5 – March 04, 2007, 02:51:21 PM

Mine has tried to. A few days after the new harness in it, I took it to my GF's house. It ran fine there, ran fine as I let her idle outside. Her brother sat in it and reved it up then turned it off as I decided to say for a bit. I went to leave and all it did was crank. WTF? Somehow the coil wire from the dizzy came off in that time. Reconneced it and off I was.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #6 – March 04, 2007, 04:24:32 PM

My worst one, was when the fuel pump went out right as I pulled into a gas station - I though I had just run out of gas - wrong! At least it was only a couple of blocks from my house. I've ran out of gas a couple of times - my retardedness! Other than that, it's always started.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #7 – March 04, 2007, 04:34:39 PM

Like two years ago i had a bad TFI. At the time i didnt know how to fix it, so i was suspecting about the fuel system (the car simply shut off at any speed). Well, i was cruising at 45 in the highway climbing a hill when the car died. Well, i pulled over. The only way to get home was going downhill....3 kms. Well, i had no choice, i started the car, acelerate as fast i can when the engine was running (like 5 or 6 seconds). The car turned off, but i was running enough fast to keep up with the traffic....even i passed some cars (i never brake). The people was amazed how silent my car was....

At the end, i finished at 2 blocks near my house....and guess what ? the car started again and i was able to get home, to finally die...O

Only one time i ran out of gas.....

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #8 – March 04, 2007, 04:41:12 PM

All the cars my family's had, never been stranded. One time we went to maine in my dads old 88 f250 with a de smoged 460. The thing hated any parts other then motorcraft. Well needless to say we had to jsut throw a cheapo filter on it to get us on our way. We get about to where we are going truck starts to run funny, backfires, and stalls out, but fires back up every time. Got to maine, changed the oil with a new motorcraft filter, ran perfect. That truck was weird. My moms 318 jeep, drove it till it burned all the oil except for 1/4 of a quart, drove it for a few days like that, not a problem, and its still going today, with the same motor, and 198k miles. Needless to say i now check the oil every week since my mom can't seem to read the pressure gauge and realize its getting low

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #9 – March 04, 2007, 04:43:11 PM

well... let's see... i've had to replace rear bearings in a truck stop parking lot in lafayette, louisiana. not fun! i slept in my car for 2 nights. got the axle shafts welded so i'd have enough "meat" for the bearings to roll on. drove it for a lil bit like that in texas, gave it gas to get through a yellow light, and my d/s rear wheel nearly came off because the axle shaft broke. all of this was really my fault, but still...

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #10 – March 04, 2007, 05:15:08 PM

1966 Galaxie 500 left me stranded when I goosed the throttle with a bad motor mount - the engine rolled over on its side, pulled all the tranny linkage apart, and stuck at wide open throttle

'80 Formula Firebird, blew the radiator at about 90MPH just after passing a bunch of cars. I mean "blew", too - the end tank completely separated from the core. A windshield full of hot coolant at 90 is NOT fun.

1985 Thunderbird left me stranded when the alternator went out about 100 miles from home, and I drove it anyway. It was dark and raining. By the time the rain stopped and the moon came out the battery was so dead the digital speedo was acting up, but the car kept running (thank god for carburetion - an EFI car never would have kept running like that), so I kept going. I turned the headlights off and was driving by the light of the full moon and following some tail lights about 1/2 mile ahead. All was going well until I got pulled over by a cop. The cop had been sitting in the median and picked up something coming on his radar gun at 108 km/hr. He could hear it, too. Couldn't actually see it, though. It wasn't until I drove by and he saw a glimmer of reflection off my door that he decided he wasn't being abducted by aliens and came after me. gave me a $60 fine for driving with defective lights and drove me home. Had to leave the car there, which was just as well - as soon as I pulled over it stalled.

The night two cars let me down in the same evening - late December 1994, when I was on my way to the dealership's Christmas party, and the HG blew in my '91 T-Bird. Called dad on the cell phone, he came and picked us up, and we grabbed my ex's Nissan Sentra and tried again. The clutch cable broke in that a few blocks from home. Night wasn't a total loss, though - I won the door prize at the party, a $350 certificate for a weekend at a local resort.

The day the brakes failed in my Nissan truck I probably should've been stranded, but drove home anyway.

My old '82 Toyota 4X4 had a carburetor icing problem - at close to freezing (a few degrees either side) the carb would get choked with ice and the truck would stall. After sitting a few minutes the ice would thaw and I'd be on my way again. Usually. This one very cold, rainy day the same thing happened just as I approached a stop sign at a busy intersection. I waited a moment while cars backed up behind me, then attempted a restart. Nothing. I got out and looked under the hood to find the starter lying on the frame of the truck - it fell off the engine. The bolts were nowhere to be found. Meanwhile the idiot in the Cavalier behind me was honking her horn. I peeked out from behind the open hood, walked back to her car, and told her "Lady, if you keep honking that horn I'm gonna reach under the car, rip it out, and throw it in the woods. I'm broken down and not going anywhere, so go the hell around". I called my father and asked him to bring my "bucket o' bolts". Meanwhile the guys at the garage across from the intersection helped me push the truck into their parking lot. Dad showed up with the bolts but none fit, so I started looking around under the hood for things that could give up a bolt or two. I settled on the motor mounts, took a bolt from each, bolted the starter on, and drove home, thoroughly soaked and half frozen. Never did put those bolts back in the motor mounts...

Once my GF's Hyundai Pony had a blowout. I took the cross wrench she had in the back and tried to remove the wheel nuts. Promptly twisted it into a pretzel. Thoroughly disgusted i turfed it into the woods, then stuck my thumb out. A guy in a mid 70's Vette pulled over and drove me home, so I could get my car (and tools). I was so thankful I gave him a transmission shift kit for a TH400 for his troubles.

Once, in the Nissan truck (same one the brakes went in), I had a flat way, way back in the woods while on a fishing expedition. NO problem, I thought, until I discovered that my father, who had borrowed the truck to pick up some lumber earlier that day, had removed the spare tire to make more room for wood. I called him on the cell phone, told him to get his ass and that tire to the mouth of the woods road I was on, and proceeded to drive out with the flat. Wasn't much left of that tire/rim after about seven miles...

Then there's the Volvo. Bought the car Dec 23/05. Blew the engine Dec 25/05, 200km from home on my way to Christmas dinner. $345 tow bill, plus the dealer had the car for a month. The dealer did pay for the engine, at least...

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #11 – March 04, 2007, 06:17:22 PM

Actually,my 'Bird has taken good care of me.I got stranded on the Highway once,but it wasn't the car's fault,it was the POS Autozone alternator.The pulley came off and it went ugly for a while.The car was NOT at fault.So,no,she hasn't let me down.She knows that there's love.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #12 – March 04, 2007, 07:15:46 PM

I don't want to talk about it.

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #13 – March 04, 2007, 07:19:33 PM

Hmmm...20 years in these cars, I've had some things happen alright. Nothing really major though.

First car, '84 V6...I remember calling AAA to get a jump for a faulty battery. That car ended up being my wake-up call to the Ford world and keeping the battery terminals spotlessly clean. The tow truck jumped the car, alright...ended up with electrical feedback the whole trip home. At night. Nothing like watching ALL your lights flash on and off with the turn signals. I called AAA again, a few years later, when it wouldn't start (no fuel). That ended up being the inertia switch...spring rusted and wouldn't stay depressed. Oh yeah, the time when I was in the middle of a small town and the front end just dropped down. Ball joint. Ooooopsy.

Convertible had to be towed once, during 1999, the summer of 5 transmissions. Yep, despite 5 AOD's, only one tow, and that was to the trans shop to get it fixed the final time. I don't consider that to be bad odds. I had it towed once again in 2005 when the battery wasn't charging...that was on the Ohio turnpike, exactly halfway to my destination. On the ride home I remembered why the alternator wasn't charging the battery: I forgot to hook the two old amp meter wires together when I put in the Auto Meter gauges. Ooooopsy again. That was totally my bad and the only time that getting a tow was my own stupid fault.

The '88 T-Bird Sport got towed home once, from the junkyard. My mechanic then picked it up on his flatbed and put in an AOD. Never saw a hook after that. It was absolutely the most reliable car I ever owned. I don't recall ever having the '86 black V8 towed. Neither was the Blue Max. Or the '88 XR7.

Now I've had plenty of adventures on the road, but those were the only times where I absolutely needed to have a tow truck haul the cars. Every other time I either got to the destination by babying the car, or fixed the problem on the road. I have been very lucky. Case in point:

In 2001 I'd had the convetible back from paint for barely a month, just got the ed thing together, everything is going cool. Driving from OH to VA for a Cougar show. I was on the PA turnpike for about 45 minutes. My brother and his woman rented a car and were in front of me. He pulled over to a rest stop and I followed...as we're slowing down to park, steam billows out from under the hood. I was going maybe 20 mph. Found a parking spot, popped the hood open...here the power steering hose--yes, the pressure hose--flipped around and was resting against the header, which rather quickly put a hole in the hose. It popped precisely as we were pulling in.

Now I ask, is that the Luck o' the E Man?

Most certainly.

My brother volunteered to go to the next exit (Cranberry Twp., right outside of Pittsburgh) because he knew the area well, and find a parts store. He got the correct hose, drove back the other way past where I was, paid the toll, did a U-turn at the turnpike booths, got another toll ticket, then got to the rest stop. I'd rolled the front of the car up on a slight grassy hill, just enough to get my hand to the rack. We changed it right there with no jack and basic hand tools. It sucked...but I got it done. Essentially if my brother didn't have to piss so much and pull into to the rest stop when he did, things would probably have been much worse. After that I bought his coffee for the rest of the trip. :)

Later that day I picked up a huge screw in the tire. We stopped overnight and got it plugged the next morning. Got to the show...it rained all weekend...and my top leaks. That was interesting. On the way home my alternator locked up on I-79 right outside of--you guessed it--Pittsburgh. My bro ran and got me another one.

Three breakdowns, one trip, zero calls to AAA.

God, I love these cars. :)

Your car ever left you stranded?

Reply #14 – March 04, 2007, 07:59:10 PM

I've been stranded at least five times by these cars.

1. I ran out of gas in my first '86. Yeah, the gas gauge didn't work (get outta town!), so my trip odometer calculations must have been off. On another note, I've had some very close calls with the '86 XR7. Its gauge is also broken, and I know I've stopped at a gas station and put 17 gallons into it (18 gallon tank). I need to keep my foot out of that car.

2. The transmission (C5) let go in the black '86, so I just left it where it was and had it towed. I sold the car three weeks later.

3. The fuel pump ate itself in the '88 XR7. Had to get it towed.

4. The alternator died in the middle-of-nowhere WV in the '88 XR7. Boy, that was fun... walking for three hours in freezing temperatures in a one-horse town looking for an auto parts store. I'll never forget that day.

5. The headgasket popped in the '86 XR7 back in October. I left the car in front of my brother's house for a few days, then had it towed to my parents' house where I later fixed it.

Quote from: EricCoolCats;132481

...right outside of--you guessed it--Pittsburgh.

I seem to have bad luck when driving around Pittsburgh. It's like the city doesn't agree with cars.