Picture this: it has been bucketing with rain for the previous day and night, and the “woksop” is located just off a busy road, and is already half underwater. Only a very small area is on a concrete slab, and an even smaller area is under cover. The undercover area is occupied with stuff that can't be easily moved, so we work over a small patch of broken slab which is mostly earth (mud), with a torn plastic sheet strung overhead as an attempt to shield the front section of the vehicle (and the workmen) while the bonnet is up. We’re working right in the middle of a mechanical graveyard (or I should call them ‘resource heaps’). This is the ideal place to find that missing nut or bolt. Old carbies and starter motors and the like surround us.
Fortunately we had the use of a hydraulic jack that mostly worked, and we were able to get both front wheels securely mounted off the ground. Then we got to work pulling apart the front suspension and steering mechanism, gradually revealing severely battered and worn joints and bushes, if indeed the old bushes could still be found where they should have been! This is so common in Vanuatu. Roads are heavily pot-holed, and any hole-patching only ever lasts a matter of days until the next deluge arrives (which this year seems to be all too frequently). Vehicle suspensions take an absolute pounding. It doesn’t take long for even the newest suspensions to show signs of fatigue.
Now the real ‘fun’ begins! The search is on for all the necessary bits to do the rebuilding. I accompanied John (my chief mechanic friend) as we limped around town in his only-just-running old Corolla (complete with fractured windscreen and non-functioning windows) to visit the various spare-parts people. Some genuine parts would be available from the Mitsubishi dealer, but certainly not everything for our older model truck. And the price…! A typical suspension bush, like the fat 20 cent diameter size you use for shock absorbers, well the genuine Japanese variety retails for $25 each! Fortunately we found some others elsewhere for $4 each. To cut a very long and involved story very short - our Pajero has become the epitome of a multi-cultural truck. Of course some genuine Japanese parts, but a growing representation of Korean and Chinese parts too – depending on availability and price! It is so good to know John, he knows exactly what can be found and where.
My mates are geniuses at improvisation. From modifying almost perfectly-sized new parts, to making old parts live again, to finding ways to do the job when you don’t have the right tool (or you don’t have your pockets lined with mega-dollars). Next to our old Pajero they were lifting an engine with a block and tackle looped over a branch of the pamplemousse (grapefruit) tree.
On our second day, John was busy multi-tasking, so I did a lot of riding around town on my old postie bike (getting thoroughly soaked in the pouring rain) gathering and negotiating for the parts we still needed. A long, tiring, yet satisfying day. While we had the bonnet up we took the opportunity to fit new timing and balancer belts (important 100,000 km jobs), remove and flush the radiator, service the brakes, change the oil and fuel filters, do a complete front-end grease for all the newly fitted joints (once we got the grease gun working), and even fit new Hyundai injector nozzles into the Mitsubishi engine (now that’s improvisation!).
It was dark by 6pm, especially with all the cloud and rain through the day, and so from then on, the tiny torches on our mobile phones become our light sources. The last job was a front wheel alignment adjustment in the dark. The only tools required were a spanner and a straight eye using the mobile phone torch shone from the front wheels onto a newspaper held behind the rear wheels to show a straight line. Ever done that before? It works!
It was dark by 6pm, especially with all the cloud and rain through the day, and so from then on, the tiny torches on our mobile phones become our light sources. The last job was a front wheel alignment adjustment in the dark. The only tools required were a spanner and a straight eye using the mobile phone torch shone from the front wheels onto a newspaper held behind the rear wheels to show a straight line. Ever done that before? It works!
We finally got the ol’ bus rolling again at 10pm. Man, what a couple of days. I loved it! I learnt so much! Especially working alongside these fabulous young blokes as we shared our stories and jokes and biscuits.
Anyone want me to service their truck?
