Beautiful day at the beach at Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Toluca, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Valle de Bravo on December 25th!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Playing mechanic

Well day two of playing mechanic didn't go quite so smoothly. I found out what was causing the brake squealing noise, and I'm going to need some parts.

Now that I had already taken apart the driver's side brakes, the passenger side came apart quite quickly. That is, after I was done building myself some shade! The sun comes around to the passenger side quite early in the day and it's too hot to be sitting and working in the sun like that so I found a tarp in Sal's garage and fashioned myself some shade.

Sherman, undergoing an operation.

So I got the brake caliper off, and noticed that one of pads was worn quite a bit more than the other. So much so that the built in wear indicator was what was causing the squealing noise. So we're going to need to go into town and see if the auto parts store there can get us the parts that we need. Should be interesting! If they can't get them, we could go into the city of Sahuayo where I know they have recently opened a brand new Autozone store. And even then, they may have to order them in, so we'll see. As a last resort, we could get Barb and Sal to pick up what we need on their way back through the states next week. So I'm going to take the old pads in to town this morning and see what the story is on parts availability.

Hmm. Are we having fun yet??!!

I hope this guy knows what he's doing!

Some new campers showed up yesterday! Peter and Barbara are from Germany and have come with their KIA campervan. It looks similar to a VW campervan with the pop up roof. They had the unit shipped across the Atlantic to Halifax in early June and have already been all across Canada, up to Alaska, down the Pacific coast through Baja and now into mainland Mexico. They say they are due for a break so they're thinking about spending a whole month here just to relax. Sounds like a good idea to us!

14 comments:

  1. Looks like you have it blocked securely, so it won't hurt it to sit until you find parts. Good idea on the lean to. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

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    1. Kevin definitely made sure that it was blocked up securely before getting himself under there.

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  2. Like the red T shirt we have two of the same. We went there right after you guys did.

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    1. You noticed. I remeber you blogging about staying at that casino after us. It was a good spot to stop for the night. I think we have been there twice now.

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  3. Wow, I am so disoriented from the cold here, it doesn't quite register that you are outside in tee shirts and shorts. I have been away too long. We will be happy to get the parts if you need them, and I got Ruth 2 bottles of Molasses, hope they are the right kind, it was all I could find. Hasta la vista, el mas pronto que pueda.

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    1. You need to hurry back then, I can't imagine being all bundled up anymore. We will save some sunshine for you Barb. As I am sure you know by now, Kevin was able to get the parts but thank you for offering to pick them up on your way back and thank you for getting the molasses for me. We have seen some tankers go by that are carrying melaza (molasses) but I haven't been able to see any in the stores.

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  4. A tarp? I thought you always resorted to an ice cold beer whenever it got too hot out???

    Alex R.

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  5. Aren't you the auto mechanic. You do make me nervous though sitting under that wheel. You really put a ton of faith in that jack.

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    1. Ah, Sherman is also supported at the front frame rail. I wouldn't be under there if I wasn't totally confident that I was safe!

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  6. After reading this, I am more committed to calling for help;)

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    1. Don't blame you, but Kevin had the time and the tools so why not!

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  7. The caliper might need rebuilding if only one pad is wearing out.

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    1. Kevin said the caliper was fine, it was just sticking so once it was cleaned and the slides lubricated, it was good to go. He also mentioned that he would have just gone out a bought a new one as it would have been cheaper than a rebuilding kit.

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