More adventures…

Well, to say we’ve been having a bit of a fiasco with the old 4x4 we bought is a bit of an understatement! The car ran out of gear-oil a few weeks ago because of an unknown leak and suddenly came to a noisy halt. The only place that said they could help find a replacement automatic gearbox was a roadside ‘workshop’ and having had it for several weeks they finally told me it was ready. However, when I took it for a test drive I quickly realised things weren’t quite as I’d hoped!

Firstly, I noticed the fuel warning light was on and the tank was basically empty which, considering the car had been parked up so long and mostly with its wheels off, seemed a little odd. I also noticed the engine warning light was on. Fortunately, I’d taken a photo of the dashboard just before I dropped the car off which clearly shows no warning lights (other than the hazards) on, the tank 3/4 full and an odometer reading of 175km less than I now discovered on the clock!

But with no explanation forthcoming, I simply went to the nearest fuel station to put some petrol in. I didn’t get up  much speed on the way there as it was so close, but considering what it felt like to crawl into the garage at 40km/ph some weeks earlier, the drive now felt a lot faster. I filled up, told the 2 two mechanics with me I was going to go a bit faster and was surprised to see them both immediately put on their seatbelts - they often don’t bother. Anyway, the next few minutes flew by - almost literally!

I was trying to get the car up to 100km which is fairly normal on the tar road we’d joined but not only were the gear changes late and the revs hitting 450+ but at 80kmph it felt more like we were doing 140!!

I asked them if the Speedo could have been affected by the gearbox and they said an emphatic no. But when I tried to pull into the next garage to turn round, I couldn’t help but overshoot the entrance! The car was definitely going too fast! At least the second entrance / exit I’d slowed enough to pull in!

Driving back, I pointed out the high revs and low Speedometer reading as well as how fast it felt like we were going again - they had to admit (as they clung to their seats) that something wasn’t right. One of them said, “I think the Speedo is right but the car is just going much faster” - what logic! Anyway, after my persistent questioning they eventually concluded they might not have forgotten to transfer the ‘speed sensors’ from the old gearbox to the new one - well that might explain it!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

Having checked online it would explain the high revs, poor timing of gear changes, the engine warning light, the high petrol consumption, especially if they had driven 175km like that, plus the now flashing ‘overdrive’ light and the faulty speedometer - I dread to think how fast I was actually going!!!

Now, a few days later and having brought the car home - still not fixed, we have the dilemma of what to do. While we can drive the car at a reasonable speed (if we ignore the Speedo!) we ideally would want it fixed or to sell it, but we’d either need to find a better mechanic or a thrill seeker buyer!!

Before anything else though, I’m off on a recce to Lake Tanganyika from 4am tomorrow (Sunday) to see what outreach possibilities there might be for our upcoming DTS team. It’s a bit of a trek into the unknown (and the suggestion that we take our own life jackets for the 6 hour ‘ferry’ journey makes it seem all the more extreme) but my backpack is ready and I’m hoping it will be another fruitful adventure!