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DIY & Home Improvement

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HereSince1628

(36,063 posts)
Mon Nov 4, 2013, 05:40 PM Nov 2013

FYI aluminum foil as a "band-aid" for the pcv tube on '98 escort. [View all]

In the way-back I lost the oil filler cap on a 78 datsun pick-up, and had to bum some aluminum foil from a fastfood place to make a temporary cap. Ever since my emergency road repair kit has had a rolled up sheet of aluminum foil

Today I found another use for it...

The old car started surging and wanting to stall almost every time I came to a stoplight and idled. It seemed to run as well as usual otherwise--so, I thought maybe bad idle control valve, sticky throttle valves or all the above...at 185K gunk in the throttle valves or a carboned up idle control wouldn't be too unexpected.

But when I got under the hood and started checking for obvious broken things...spark plug wires, vacuum lines, etc I found that the plastic tube between the crankcase and the pcv valve had broken. Holding it together made the problem go away letting it come apart caused the problem to return... So I made a band-aid out of aluminum foil, wrapped it over the break three times and twisted it to make a tight fit and put on some twist-ties from old produce bags. It's back running smooth and not stalling.

Aluminum foil...15 cents. Not stalling in traffic...PRICELESS

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