John M
Super Nomad
Posts: 1907
Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
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Trip Report 4th and final part
Breakfast at Alfonsina?s was the order of the day.
The new Pemex was closed but we used the place to add 5 gallons of gasoline in a couple of the cars. We didn't check for gasoline at Rancho Grande.
The checkpoint just out of ?town? was another painfree experience. The day?s journey was off to a fine start.
The road to San Felipe is tedious, and it hasn?t changed for the better. Slow, slow and with an old CJ Jeep, everything rattled and soon things
sounded like something had already shaken loose and about to fall off. The particular new rattle noise we were hearing got worse, to the point that we
thought we?d better stop and look things over. I popped the hood and looked at the important stuff (like the radiator brackets and motor mounts) and
everything seemed ok. But it wasn't long before the racket got worse so we stopped again, this time determined to find the source of the loud rattle
that had developed.
It didn?t take long to find the culprit as the left front shock absorber was just sort of waving in space, the top had come loose. No big deal, I
thought, just find a new nut and bolt it back in place.
But wait, the nut was still there, so was the mount, so was a big chunk of frame, all attached to the top of the shock - the frame had separated ? now
it was easy to see the cause of the terrible rattle. Nothing to do but unbolt the shock and put the ?spare part? in the back for a later fix.
Ah, quiet, well quiet as you can expect with a load of junk shaking and bouncing all around in the back of our Jeep. But for now at least the frame
wasn't getting pounded with a wayward shock at every rock we drove over.
We soon found a deserted cove and took a nice break, walking the beach enjoying the serenity of being in a wonderful place, Baja.
Hours later we arrived in San Felipe, tired, hungry, dirty and ready for a nap. We found a sort of quiet little campground actually near the south end
of town. We cleaned up and had dinner at Don Jesus Restaurant. A real treat. Great food, a sparklingly clean place, and friendly help. A good night?s
sleep was in store for all of us despite the fact that it was a Friday night.
Saturday began with breakfast on the beach front patio of the El Cortez Hotel and before long we had gotten through the east Mexicali crossing. No
hassles, and no traffic. It was then on to lunch in Calexico before heading for Agua Caliente Hot Springs in Borrego.
Trouble?s weren?t quite behind us. On Highway 8, just two miles from our offramp, the Rader died. Resuscitation, in the form of removing a possibly
defective thermostat seemed to help. No gasket? How about a piece of cardboard scavenged from a Budweiser carton? Well, we limped on in to camp and
enjoyed the recently redone hot springs. A nice ending to a potentially troublesome experience on the shoulder of an Interstate Highway.
Sunday morning we went our separate ways, each determined to get home without further trouble. That scenario didn?t quite play out.
As Barbara and I headed up I-10 from Indio, the new engine started once again to run hot. We pedaled as hard as we could. We nearly made it to the top
of the little uphill grade, no more than 100 yards from the top of the Whitewater hill, when the Jeep died. Instead of just pushing it over the
guardrail to an early death we tried to revive it by letting it cool.
Success, it soon restarted and we were back on the road. It made sense to let it cool some more so we drove to the Outlet Mall a few miles away.
Barbara thought it best if we let it really take a long break and let it sit for a good long time; while we saved lots of money by shopping and by
buying a bunch of stuff. I don?t quite get it, we spend, spend, spend so we can save, save, save? And then we have to strive to find the room to stuff
all the new things into an already packed Jeep.
We got home last of the four of us who had made the trip. We were happy and relieved that this trip was over. Not the best Baja trip by far, but one
we won?t forget.
Epilogue?.The Dodge Rader is in the shop getting a new engine. Our CJ-7 just got released from emergency surgery, proudly sporting new brakes and a
radiator and a fan-clutch that actually works, frame repair is on the schedule. The Wrangler is in line for a little $3.00 part that will bring life
back to the 4WD. And the fourth guy, the fellow so sick at Bay of L.A. ? he?s got a doctor?s appointment soon. Can you say gallbladder?
Ugh.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64490
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Wow!!!
You have a good 'positive mental attitude' about things John!
If you could give the name of that $3 Jeep part that makes 4WD work, it may be great for Wrangler owners to buy a spare one and take it with them!
Thanks again for a complete trip report!
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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Not booring - sounds like a great trip to me----
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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BajaRob
Senior Nomad
Posts: 722
Registered: 9-15-2003
Location: Bahia Santa Maria y Newport Or
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Mood: Life is good
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Great attitude
All of your trips will be sucessful
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5867
Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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The adventure makes it GREAT - so you had a great Baja experience. This was a great read and yes, I agree, you have a great attitude to boot!
Bob H
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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John M
Super Nomad
Posts: 1907
Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
Member Is Offline
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$3.00 part?
Well, I may have exaggerated the cost, one way or the other but from looking at the part I wouldn't bet it was a lot more than that.
I'm not certain what year the Wrangler was, I seem to recall it was a '94.
Anyway, if you raise the hood and stand facing the firewall and look just to the right of the battery you see two very thin vacuum lines. These go, in
a round-a-bout way, to some sort of actuator on the front axle. One of the lines, right at the battery makes a sort of u-turn and about 8" further
down has what appears to be a plastic check valve, maybe an inch and a half in length, 3/4 inch in diameter. The check valve is what was missing,
allowing engine vacuum to escape through the broken off vacuum line when we tried to put it into front wheel drive. Thus the front wheel drive
couldn't engage. Apparently this is not a rare happening. My Jeep mechanic knew of the problem and said there is a mechanical device made to replace
the entire vacuum actuator - bet that costs way more than three bucks though!
Someone else later suggested that if we would have raised the right front wheel off the ground, P-nched off the end of the vacuum line where the check
valve should have been, and then rotate the tire slowly, the mechanism inside the axle tube would have locked that axle into front wheel drive.
We had sort of tried that except after we P-nched the line we didn't think to rotate the tire at the same time.
All this information comes from what I've been told, and have no experience to verify its accuracy. But I'd sure try it next time!
John M.
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