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Can you help me write a scene in my novel where a pick up truck breaks down?
Here's what happens:
(1) The engine makes a very loud noise and then dies.
(2) The owner, who is a mechanically enclined teenage boy, is able to fix the truck himself.
(3) Because the truck has a history of breaking down, the owner carries tools and perhaps spare parts in the truck.
So, the question is this: What is wrong with the truck and how does he fix it?
It's important to me to get this right. Ten points for the awesomest info!
Thanks much for the help.
Homework? Well, I'm a writer and I work at home, but that's a stretch.
Wow, Marvinator, that is much more than I hoped for. Good stuff, especially the way you describe the sounds and the smells. I would never use anyone else's writing word for word but you have given me some great material to work with and I thank you. You must be a writer also or perhaps an avid reader.
Dave, your suggestion was also helpful. Spark plugs might just do the trick. Thanks.
3 Answers
- MarvinatorLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
Hot engine, blown radiiator hose. owner knew it was going bad and carried a couple of spares.
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The stretch of road was long and desolate, but it's a trip that must be made. The old truck was rattleing along at a good 65 miles per and I'd hoped it would make the trip without giving me any trouble. I had put in a new set of plugs and even changed the oil just before the trip so I was in high hopes for no problems.
Then came that sound. It's a sound any mechanic knows and knows well. A loud low pop like a balloon but with a muffled and wet after shock. Of course it's not the sound which is the big tell, it's the smoke pouring out from under the hood and the humid sweet smell of coolant which lets me know that the dang radiator hose has busted yet again.
It's not like I wasn't ready for it. I'd seen how it was soft in the center and even considered replaceing it when I did the shocks. I just wanted to get this quick trip out of the way before I had to repair the hose. I had wrapped it with a couple of layers of good ol' duck tape hoping that the stuff would help in keeping the hose from expanding and breaking. I guess there are some things even duck tape cannot solve.
The truck coasted to the side of the road and as luck would have it, under the only tree within sight. A bit shade for a shade tree mechanic is always a help in times like these. I put on the parking brake and climbed out of the cab. Lifting the hood, I waved the cloud of coolant scented steam out of the way and sure enough there it was.
The hose was in two parts, both ends still attached. The center of the hose was gone and amazingly so was the duck tape. It wasn't going to be a difficult repair, just one I hadn't planned on making. I even had the replacement hose as well as a gallon of coolant stashed in the back of the truck for when I got home.
I stepped back from the jungle heat of the engine compartment and looked up and down the road. Not another car in sight. No time like the present, I thought to myself and headed for my trusty box of tools. I only hoped that I remembered to put a bottle or two of water back there with it.
- 1 decade ago
A spark plug came loose and got blowed out and when it did it sounded like a gun shot so he pulled over and just so happened he had a new set of plugs or a spare set or a extra plug that was bad that he had changed yeah lets go with extra plug that was bad but a bad plug is better than nothing and he replaced it and went on his way....... By the way this really happened to me once in an old 79 camaro it scared the crap out of me but i didnt have no tools or extra plugs lol
