mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
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squeak squeak.....grind grind....wham whamo
Before traveling the distanced dusty roads of Baja....do run your truck through a good ol spot check for mechanical issues that may need fix'in. I
did. Radiator overflow hose replaced. New complete brake work. New tires. General diagnostic.
Hell....I could had flown to Tulume for this sort of money!
Outside of Mexicali.....squeak.
And then there was more squeak.
Not enough? Lets add grind. Then real grinding!
By the time I got to San Felipe....the brakes were 90% gone. The Sacramento car repair messed up big time. Some how.
Now in Campos Ocotillo....I wondered what hundreds I'll be giving up. I get a "good" recommendation from Gloria, our neighbor. "He is very honest,
speaks English, .....I am very happy with this mechanic"says Gloria. The next morning I follow her in.
Serious issues, and no parts avail. "Come back tomorrow a.m. and I'll have it up and running by 5" says the mechanic.
Back home now and Chuck from the San Felipe Food Bank stops by. A Nomad here that goes by the name of CDB. Offers help in use of a car. Wow. Then
later Lee of the BN name Baja.BBQ comes by. Offers more help. End of the day, Ron swings by and tells be that he'll be driving in behind me to drop
off the truck the next day.....and to pick me up! Ron is BN's akshadow .
Next day is here. Car parts are in. WHOA! I cant get a price on cost repairs from this guy...but what's the hell. All day I am thinking 5oo-8oo
buckaroos. I'll have to call DavidK and ask him if he wants to buy my ownership of Shell Island...to pay for the repairs. Cash David...cash!
4:30 pm Judgment Day. May the Gods have mercy on me.
$200.00!!!!!!!!!!! I thought my hearing aid was whispering false numbers to me! $200.00 And the truck worked perfectly....in fact...better than ever.
I gave him an extra $40.00 to buy dinner out... for him and family.
So what am I saying about all this? If you break down in San Felipe...use this guy:
Taller Barney
prop. J. Efrain Quijada Fimbres
USA 01152686
Mex 577-17-91
Av Mar Amarillo Y Mazatlan #443 SF, B. CFA
Write this down and stick it into your glove compartment of the car.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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fishabductor
Senior Nomad
Posts: 800
Registered: 5-29-2010
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Reminds me of a time coming down into santa Rosalia. I lost my front brakes about a 1/3 the way down...so I ground them the other 2/3rds down. I was
lucky to find new pads in town and did a quick front brake pad replacement in the el morro parking lot where we stayed.
It pays to carry a full set of tools, impact wrenches and lights. Job took all of an 1 hr in the dark.
Luckily for you...you got hooked up and had fun doing so. That is a great price. what all did they do for that price? just replace pads and turn
rotors/drums? What parts were replaced.
The big difference in baja is the shop rate. In the states it is roughly $100/hr...here in baja it is much cheaper.
By the way are you rolling that green manx? or the white chopped bug?
[Edited on 4-4-2011 by fishabductor]
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krafty
Super Nomad
Posts: 1052
Registered: 8-23-2010
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we had the same experience in Rosarito when our tranny was slipping-fellow who fixed it charged next to nothing compared to Cali-love happy endings!
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CDB
Junior Nomad
Posts: 68
Registered: 2-11-2011
Location: San Felipe
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Efrain is my go to mechanic in San Felipe. Prices are fair and he does excellent work. He will even tell you when the car just isn't worth it instead
of taking a lot of your money like some of the others in town will.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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at one time there was a thread listing mekaniks all over the peninsula. maybe a good time to resurrect it, or start a new one if it can't be
found......
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nbacc
Senior Nomad
Posts: 770
Registered: 12-27-2008
Location: Northern California
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Nancy and Richard also had brake trouble after getting back from visiting with McFez in Puertocitos and guess who fixed us?? You got it Efrain!!! He
was awesome. He did it on a Friday afternoon! We needed it done so we could leave on Sunday which we did. What a deal! And a nice guy. Nancy
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wiltonh
Nomad
Posts: 302
Registered: 2-2-2007
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I do most of my own mechanical work and it bit me this year.
I normally pull off the wheels and check the brakes to see how much pads are left before I leave home. This year it appeared that I had over 60% so
nothing to worry about. When I got to La Paz, I heard the first noise.
After pulling off the right front it still appeared that I had almost 60% on the outside pad. Then I checked the inside pad and it was gone. The
calipers where not adjusting correctly and the inside pad got all the wear.
Next time I will not be lazy and check both the inside and outside pads.
A new set of pads and some brake grease seems to have fixed the problem.
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
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| Quote: | Originally posted by nbacc
Nancy and Richard also had brake trouble after getting back from visiting with McFez in Puertocitos and guess who fixed us?? You got it Efrain!!! He
was awesome. He did it on a Friday afternoon! We needed it done so we could leave on Sunday which we did. What a deal! And a nice guy. Nancy
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Get out of here!!!! Did I bring a "brake bug" to the party?
Yeah...Efrain was a funny guy too...cracked a lot of jokes.
wiltonh .....I wish I was a mechanic. I didnt even know what brake pads looked like till last week 
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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Desertbull
Senior Nomad
Posts: 558
Registered: 8-27-2003
Member Is Offline
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Efrain is KING! He's been part of my familia for more than 20 years. Both of his kids went to Mexican Universities as he's worked hard to make it
happen for a very long time. About a month ago, I stopped by just to say HI and he had just returned from his 25 year anniversary dinner with just he
and his wife. Efrain said he was very happy in his life and was blessed with great friends.
Efrain is top shelf person! I'm glad he made another person believe in people!
Thank you for posting!
Tim
DREAM IT! PLAN IT! LIVE IT!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I'm not selling Shell Island, at ANY price! 
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