So the mechanical saga continues in Argentina, the rattle in the van is still present so we turn around and head back to the mechanic. A quick conversation reveals he can’t realign the steering wheel as it needs to be done by a computer, having fixed the axial joint he is unsure what could be making the rattling noise and the ESP warning light is likely just a sensor and we’d need to go to a ford garage to get a new one. Oh and did I mention before, one of the bolts on the tyre needs soldering or we won’t be able to get the tyre on and off manually. We thought that issue had been taken care of in the UK but apparently not. It’s all fun and games owning a vehicle isn’t it?…
A trip to the welders
Heading into the adjacent town our first stop was to get the bolt on the wheel soldered, luckily this stop was quick and easy. The welder was more than happy to help and didn’t even charge us anything, but we did leave him some money to get a beer or two in thanks for his kindness. As we pulled away we could hear a new squeaking sound coming from that tyre “oh what now?” and didn’t get far before pulling back in to check it was okay. Taking the wheel of again it turned out the piece of metal soldered to the wheel was too big and had got caught in the break discs- now I’m no expert but that doesn’t sound good to me. Redoing his work in a timely manner, we thanked him once again and we’re off- with no squeaking noise this time.
Coffee and cake break
It was turning into late afternoon and we hadn’t had lunch yet so we stopped at a little cafe for an assortment of pastries and coffee. Feeling refreshed we set off to find a mechanic to realign the steering wheel, stopping at a couple places, we were booked in at 4pm the following day. There was nothing else we could do so we headed straight for the beach for a not so gentle but invigorating swim in the blustery South Atlantic. Staying the night on the clifftop with a sea view and glorious sunset we settled in for the night and awaited our next journey.
As usual we spent the morning working and stretched out into early afternoon. We didn’t however venture down to the beach again as the temperature had dropped to a rather chilly 20 degrees Celsius. Yes, I am aware this is a particularly good summers day in the UK but we have grown quite accustomed to this warmer weather. Plus in our defence there was a strong gale pulling in… okay, yeah we have grown a little soft to the cold.
Joys in trying to post a parcel back home
Anyhow, we make our way back to the town a little early as we have been trying to post a small parcel to the UK. I fear another saga may be born. I can only describe trying to post this little parcel as something akin to Goldilocks and the three bears tale. First entering the post office with a tightly wrapped parcel maybe 14cm by 10cm, we were told the parcel was too small and needs to be at least A5. Okaaay. We head back to the van and find a used envelope of the right size and wrap it up tightly. No, this parcel has once had a broken seal. Right. We were advised as to where we could get the right kind of packaging as the post office walls are sparse. But do you think anything is open between 2-5pm? Nope. Looks like we will continue this quest another day.
Coffee and cake break two!
Having a little time to spare before the mechanic we stop at the same cafe we did the day before for a coffee and more pastries. For the equivalent of €2 we could get a coffee with two free pastries. Excellent. Feeling refreshed once more we did the very English thing of turning up 10 minutes early to the mechanic. Some things don’t change. We first asked them if they could take a look at what could be causing the rattle, they took the wheel off and poked and prodded, they yanked, pulled, pushed, shook and banged but couldn’t see anything wrong. So they continued with the realignment and offered suggestions as to what the rattle could be but otherwise were unsure.
Here we are on the road again having visited two mechanics, and one welder, several mechanical issues resolved but still with the ever present rattle. Oh and one parcel wrapped twice.
Don’t forget to follow us on
Leave a Reply