We’ve been in the road for fourteen months. It’s a lot of miles for a 24-year-old vehicle. Still, the Westy has behaved very well. I thought I would make a photo-list here of all the mechanical issues we had in this time.
Less than two weeks into the trip, in Baja, a CV boot failed. Not a big deal, just noisy. We patched it in the little town where we were, and drove to La Paz for a real repair. Total stranded time: 2 hours.
A week or so after that, and because I had asked the mechanic in La Paz to change anything that looked worn, one of the off-brand CV joints that he had installed failed. We were two blocks from the shop when it did, so it was easy to tow the van back and get original German parts installed. Total stranded time: 2 hours.
In Oaxaca last January, we had a gasoline leak. We were lucky to discover it immediately, that is, before it set the van on fire. We stayed an extra day in that hotel and fixed it in place. Total stranded time: 1 day.
In April near Cobán, Guatemala, the ignition switch failed after we hit a speed bump at speed. It took me one night of sleep at a gas station to realize what it was, and install my spare. Total stranded time: 10 hours.
In May in Suchitoto, El Salvador, the coolant pressure tank started leaking. Much later I realized that the tank was ok, and it was the sensor that screws in what was leaky. We stayed in Suchitoto two extra days, then drove to San Salvador to get a new tank and sensor. Total stranded time: 2 days.
In Panama, in August, the hall sender connector in the distributor cracked, shorting the cables and making the van die. I fixed it with a latex glove and a zip tie, until I found a place with the right tools to install the new distributor I was carrying. Total stranded time: 1 hour, which included pushing the van downhill for three blocks to the hotel where we were staying.
In Ecuador, in September, a coolant hose in the front broke, and we overheated the engine. We had to get a 150Km tow to Quito, and then hunt around the city for good hose fitting to fix it correctly. Total stranded time: let’s say three days, I’m not counting the week or two we had to wait for some parts to arrive from California, because the van was running during that time.
So that’s less than six days stranded because of the van, in over 400 days of travel. I call that a great performance.
The last breakdown in Ecuador was the worst one, and one that maybe had some consequences. I now suspect there is a slow coolant leak, and I have used my pressure tester and tightened things around, but need good tools and a shop to make sure everything is as it should. We will spend a few days in La Paz doing just that, in the next week or so. There’s been some other issues, like brakes that make some noise because the pistons are not retracting fully (thanks, Medellin mechanic who changed our pads!), a belt that wasn’t tight enough and made a lot of noise, and a very small leak of power steering fluid that I have to keep an eye on. But none of these can leave us stranded, and I’m dealing with each as I have the chance. In the meantime, I’m learning more and more as we go, and I’m driving a vehicle I trust. Not in the way you trust a brand new Toyota with a warranty from the dealership, but in the way you trust your old friend. He’s slow and lazy sometimes, but he will be there for you when you need him.
steph