GANNET2 is repaired and ready for the road. Two days in the shop fixed our van in several different ways. The oil cooler got replaced to stem a small leak.
It’s not clear what exactly was leaking oil, possibly just a gasket but we changed the whole assembly.
Wilmar works slowly and methodically and thoughtfully. To him the credit.
Armando the carpenter fixed a broken latch on a large drawer in Layne’s galley.
The latch pulled a screw out and he repaired it so you can’t see it. It was a slick job well done.
The rain held off for the most part which was a nice change. The first day Wilmar did the oil cooler, and on the second day he installed the rubber parts we got from Dan in Oregon. They weren’t available on Amazon but we found them on Rock Auto snd sent them to Dan who shipped them to our forwarding service (Aeropost) in Miami. Bingo! And they fit too.
We had the brakes redone with some great effort in Boquete in Panama. However when Ben, the owner of this shop, checked our brakes for us to see how the new gear had been holding up, he found the dust seals were originals and worn out. I’d had no clue about them at the time but I’ve learned quite a bit since then so the time we get a brake job the rubber parts will be on my list of things to change alongside pads and rotors:
The rubber protects the moving parts from the intrusion of salt, dirt, water and anything that might interfere with the smooth functioning of the brakes so it’s important they not be torn up and holey. More than you wanted to know, I’m sure.
I slightly over ordered them so we have not only spare brake pads but a bunch of extra rubber bits for our next rebuild!
They even put a new screw in my Kermit chair that popped as I set up the chair and took a seat. All this cost us $250 over two days. Incredible service.
Rusty was not too impressed by the neighbor’s horse brought in to mow the grass. He doesn’t like big farm animals but he’s getting used to the fact that they exist. Like us he learns to adapt through travel.
Wilmar washed the engine to make it easy to spot any future leaks.
And that was it. We tipped Wilmar generously for his work and we said goodbye to his boss Ben, the French former overlanders now settled between Silvia and Piendamó in his shop.
Now we will spend a few days at La Bonanza campground resting…
…and next Wednesday we’ll take off for a little test drive to check out that everything is as solid as it feels. Then Ecuador next month.
