The 6 ‘Brokest Desperation’ Car Repairs Drivers Have Actually Pulled Off
I’ve loved classic cars since I was a teenager. So of course, my younger years included some “no money, no sense” car repairs. From leaky gas tanks patched with soap to mufflers held in place with plumber’s strapping, I thought I’d heard it all. But I guess not.
The Primavex Instagram account asked the car community for stories of janky fixes. Spoiler alert: there are some doozies. Here’s the original post wording: “Tell me your brokest desperation car repair. And I don’t mean ‘mismatched tires.’ I wanna hear something GHETTOOOOO.”
With no further ado, here are my favorite six that (reportedly) worked.
1. Subwoofer amp powering the fuel pump
User _jor_w takes the cake for sheer ingenuity — and 2,120 likes agreed. They didn’t expand on the fix, but user jribbink explained how a similar setup worked. “Me too. I just needed a wire, amp was in the back already. Turn on the radio before starting the car.”
To clarify: they unplugged the 12-volt DC line running into the subwoofer. That means no, the fuel pump didn’t run faster when their music got slapping.
2. Gas tank sealed with bed liner
An Instagrammer with the very relevant username “lifting_and_s—boxes” wrote, “My gas tank was leaking pretty bad, so I sprayed it with bed liner. Still holding three years later.”
For those who aren’t pickup fans, spray-on bed liner comes in a can like spray paint. It’s a tough polyurethane or polyurea material designed to protect metal from corrosion. And apparently, if you get lucky, it can seal up a leaky gas tank.
But gasoline is volatile. It eats through most sealants, and leaking gas is dangerous. I’d leave sealing your tank to a professional.
3. Starter hammer in the glove box
How’s this for an icebreaker: “Hey you, mind hitting my starter with a hammer?”
It worked for rehcrarcher, who said their brokest repair was “asking strangers to hit my starter with a hammer I had in the glove box for about six months.”
How does that even work? If a starter’s brushes are worn, they may only work in certain positions. Or if the solenoid jams, you may need to knock it loose to crank the engine.
It’s a great way to diagnose a bad starter—but a terrible way to live. It probably led to some very awkward gas station encounters.
4. Condom O-ring
Instagrammer “good_enough_garage_440” (another all-time great username) had his F-250’s oil pressure sensor gasket fail at the worst possible time. He was using his 1978 truck to tow another 1978 he’d just bought.
The situation was already dire. He said. “It was midnight and we had almost no oil.” Luckily, his co-pilot was one of the prepared types.
“Asked ol’ buddy to pull his wallet out and he had a crushed-up Magnum since middle school. Cut the base to use as an O-ring.” Did it hold? He reports, “Works to this day.”
I’m not sure why “ol’ buddy” had carried the same condom since middle school. Probably best it got donated to a DIY fix at that point. These guys obviously have more F-250s than girlfriends. But hey — a gasket’s a gasket.
5. Pulling the strings
User Ahkeepontruckin’ (perfect handle) might have the best road-trip story ever: “Me and a mate had to use string to work the wiper blades for a good few days until we found somewhere for parts on a road trip in Europe ??.”
Yes, you can pull your windshield wipers with a string. But to pull them back, you need a second one.
All I can imagine is both windows cracked open, the passenger rhythmically tugging back and forth every few seconds. That’s what you call a team-building exercise.
6. Drilling for power
Brodycoulter pulled off a fix that left me with a hundred questions. “Used a Milwaukee drill and some cable ties set to spin my alternator when I snapped a belt six hours from home.”
Here’s the logic: your engine spins your alternator, which generates power and charges your battery. No belt, no spinny, no juice. So theoretically, you could use a drill to spin the alternator and recharge the battery.
But what’s the plan here? Do you pop the hood every 30 minutes and hold the drill in place until your battery’s topped off? Maybe it was a diesel, which doesn’t need the battery to stay running. Or maybe the cable ties were to hold the drill in place, even when the car was driving!
If you’re reading this, Brody — please reach out. I think the internet needs to know exactly how you pulled that off.
You can see the original post, embedded below:
