Yesterday I pulled my rear passenger wheel to learn why the brakes were squealing on that side only. I discovered that the inside caliper piston was seized. I could neither force it in, nor out. Extreme brake pedal pressure finally succeeded in forcing it out a bit.

I HAD to use the car. I was picking up an elusive friend at 3:30pm and it was already noon. So I dug through my parts crates, found an old rear caliper - pistons move? Check - and slapped it on in a couple of hours, despite tearing off a chunk of flesh between rotor and caliper and dribbling brake fluid all over the place. I half-ass bled by pumping the brakes a couple times, and buttoned her up.

Brakes work fine. Actually, quite a bit better than before (obviously).

Yesterday's scramble got me wondering: How many others have used old, barely trusted parts to make emergency repairs?

I have also used engine mounts of unknown vintage to replace broken ones, despite brand new Volvo mounts being on their way in the mail (still need to replace those).

What's your most recent success story of an emergency repair?