Diver - 10-12-2005 at 09:11 PM
Next morning after breakfast burritos we packed for the day and headed towards La Paz as planned. Up over the hills and back down into La Paz on the
winding roads. Not a care in the world........white smoke ? Who said white smoke ??
We pulled into the propane plant, turned off the motor and handed over our empty tanks to be put in line for filling. Looked to be about 20 - 30
minutes to wait. As we watched another gringo pull into the plant in a van, my wife thought they were familiar and it turned out one of them worked
with her brother back home ! What a coincidence.
While we waited, I again popped the hood to peer deeply and thoughtfully at my engine....I just don't know.
The guy from home came right over with a loud, knowledgeable voice on what we needed to look at. Almost immediately, he says "Oh it's your oil filter
that's loose; I'll just tighten it."
Can you say righty tighty ? He couldn't. Not only did he loosen, not tighten the filter but it was the FUEL filter, not oil. About a pint of diesel
spilled down onto the hot manifold as he made his bold mistake. There was enough smoke that the vendors started going for their fire extinguishers; I
ran for mine asap !
As you can tell, I'm still here, no explosion, at least not physically. When the smoke stopped and we all realized that we weren't about to blow into
a million pieces, we tightened the filter, paid for our propane and sheepishly left the compound. The guy from home, of course, never apologized or
admitted any wrong-doing; just a smile and a wave.
A few miles down the road, I realized that the bits of smoke we had experienced had been the same color as the smoke from the diesel. Maybe I've
learned something here ?....?
I pulled over and with a rag and a wrench, did my best to tighten the "fuel" filter hoping this had been the problem all along.
After a valiant and macho effort, we got back into the truck on another bit of borrowed confidence and headed into town, towards CCC.
Another few miles and the smoke got worse than before...... what to do now ? We're in a foriegn country, we don't even speak enough spanish to use the
phone for help....what to do ?? Wait a minute; didn't we see a new FORD dealership being built somewhere in La Paz our last time through ? Now, how
to find it.
When all else fails, pull into the nearby Pemex and point to your truck, to the FORD letters, make a sick face and shrug your shoulders. It got us
directions that got us close enough to find the place after traversing a few construction zones.
Holy salvation macho man, this looks like a real Ford dealer with a fancy sign and new building and everything !! I walked in with a huge smile and
tried to get the service manager to check out my problem. He said something about two weeks but I kept on him to come and look. He finally did and
then with a serious look he called over the smallest mechanic I had ever seen. The guy was about 4'6" tall and under 100 pounds ! Almost like a
monkey, he climbed the bumber and stepped right into the engine compartment. His hands dissapeared below the "fuel" filter and came back out a minute
later as he said "Is good now."
Now wait just a second, here. Less than a minute to fix my two week and 1000 mile problem ?? The problem that I and half of the male population of the
La Ventana campground couldn't figure out ? Really ??
Well in case you diesel guys didn't already have it figured out, I was informed of the existence of a drain valve on the botton of the "fuel" filter
that is supposed to be shut under normal conditions and also is meant to connect to a "drip line" that acts to spill any drippage well below the
manifold.
Problem solved; no more smoke; no more worries !
On to CCC; back to La Ventana, south to Cabo Pulmo, around to Todos Santos and then north towards home with another story to tell.
Sorry if it was a bit anti-climactic. I know some of you expected a burning pick-up or a massive wreck. This was my best recollection of some
highlights of our two month trip to Baja in 1997. No need to sensationalize our Baja adventures; they're just fine as they are !!
Good night all and thanks for sharing with me !
.
Natalie Ann - 10-12-2005 at 10:02 PM
Bravo!
Sharksbaja - 10-12-2005 at 10:15 PM
Cool ending....Gracias!
" the smallest mechanic I had ever seen. The guy was about 4'6" tall and under 100 pounds ! Almost like a monkey, he climbed the bumber and stepped
right into the engine compartment. His hands dissapeared below the "fuel" filter and came back out a minute later as he said "Is good now."
I'm gettin' one and keep it my glove compartment!
Jus kid in!
Spyderman - 10-26-2005 at 01:53 PM
all right
Bajaboy - 10-26-2005 at 03:47 PM
that's my kind of ending...for certain.
Zac
woody with a view - 10-26-2005 at 05:42 PM
happy endings are necessary to even out all of the other stories we all have.