Car problems
Given some of the recent posts have been short and boring about quick crosses through Central American countries, it seemed a good time to provide some commentary about the car, the problems it has had to date, fixes, my relationship with it and plans for the future. At this point in the journey Jolene, my 2002 Land Rover Discovery 2, seems to have entered a relatively trouble-free period and my confidence in both the car and my ability to deal with issues has grown tremendously.
Getting a tow in San Carlos, the biggest issue to date when the driveshaft came loose and put a whole in my transmission
At the time of writing, the below is the list of car issues I’ve had:
Central locking on the two rear doors malfunctioned on the first day I had the car in the West Coast Offroaders workshop. Eventually fixed in San Jose with second hand parts
Side turn indicator light housing came off. Superglued back on
Windscreen wipers stopped working in Canada. Replacement acquired. Turns out they just contorted their shape in temperatures less than -20C and they wouldn’t make contact with windscreen (which absolutely sucked while driving through snow storms). No longer an issue in warmer weather
Windscreen washer fluid line to left bonnet (hood) nozzle broke. Replacement part acquired and fixed in Costa Rica but I used duct tape and cable ties to hold the tubing in place until I was able to fix it properly
Oil leak that presented at 5,000km mark of the journey in Northern Canada. An expensive fix to solve properly, so I will live with this issue and simply add oil after every two days of driving. Ongoing oil top ups are cheaper than identifying and fixing the leak (a large undertaking that I’m not interested in doing on the road)
Cracked windscreen. A rock from a truck in front of me put a nick in the glass on the Alaska-Canada Highway and later on the during cold weather, the car warming up quickly in -25C temperature caused a crack across the whole bottom of the windscreen. Cosmetic, no fix required
Multiple coolant leaks from cracked hoses leaking onto the block and making some pretty funky smoke while driving through Grand Canyon National Park. Initially patched this issue with additional hose clamps until I was able to source and install new hoses in Arizona. The problem is now gone and subsequent pressure tests on the cooling system are fine and coolant level has held for the four months since
5th and 8th cylinder misfire in Colorado. Warning lights combined with losing a lot of power during a mountainous drive to warranted an emergency stop at the first mechanic I could find and 3-hour Uber back to Loveland to my uncle and aunt while the car sat in a shop and waited for parts to arrive. Three-day delay. One of two ignition coils, leads and spark plugs. This issue eventually came back a few months later and is one of few active issues I have now (presenting sporadically but never for long). Brad, Josh and Chui at Goodway Auto Repair were champions and helped with some subsequent issues over the phone
Brush wires running from the bull bar to the roof rack pulled loose. Re-tightened with pliers and held with super glue
Brief period of various brake warning lights going off (which I believe is a well-documented issue known as the ‘three amigos problem’ in Land Rovers caused by dust in the ABS housing). Problem persisted for a while but went away by itself
Drive shaft and transmission replaced. Two-weeks of downtime, US$4,000 problem (see the San Carlos post). The only catastrophic issue to date. One of the front universal joints broke, putting the driveshaft into the wall of the transmission and putting a nice big hole in it. Involved two mechanics and a welder, a dash across the US border to pick up my new transmission, some costly import tax and as a result completely screwed up my exhaust - all dealt with over Christmas making it all the more troublesome.
Exhaust manifold and various exhaust leaks (after pulling the transmission, transfer case and exhaust out to switch the transmission). I drove for two months with homemade gaskets and with poorly bolted-together exhaust system. Before getting this fixed properly in San Jose, I was having to tighten the bolts on the exhaust almost daily and simultaneously dealing with constant check engine lights related to O2 sensors, as well as an obnoxiously loud engine sound while driving as the exhaust gases poured out of various leaks in the exhaust system. I stop in at countless exhaust mechanics during my drive but none of them had the parts to deal with a Land Rover
Lost a washer fluid line to a front headlight nozzle. Repaired by Mexican mechanic for US$3.00 on the roadside in three minutes
Low brake fluid warnings during steep inclines. Still unsure how / why my brake fluid levels dropped but I topped up the reservoir with some Dot 4 and I haven’t had issues since
Wheel alignment is off from bad roads and too many pot holes and speed bumps. The car shudders above 115km/h. However, I probably won’t go out of my way to solve this – it’s rare that I go above 115 and if I do, I’m speeding so it serves as a natural way to keep me within bounds of the law
Air conditioner condensate drains plugged up and flooded the floor of the car with water (and shorted out the car stereo on and off for a month). Hadyn and I pulled the floor covers up, cleared out the drainage tubes in Tulum which resolved the issue
Tailgate latch at times couldn’t be opened which was extremely inconvenient. Requires occasional attention (WD40, dust removal, tightening of the screws on the latch). Ongoing issue but easily managed
Low range is difficult / impossible to engage. Requires attention but not urgently
Multiple cosmetic parts of the car have been knocked off. Twice I’ve lost a plastic fitting above the rear bumper (fixed once but currently sitting in my dirty gear bag) and a plastic bolt cover on the bull bar needed to be glued together and reinstalled after being damaged during shipping from Panama to Colombia
Recurring issue with 5th and 8th cylinder misfire. I’m in the process of procuring spare coil, leads and spark plugs for this so I can deal with it down the track. Seems to be a common Discovery problem
Lost a piece of my water carrier latch during a drive in Colombia outside of Bogota. The metal piece dropped to the road and then embedded in the tire. Latch piece was retrieved from the tire and tire repaired with relatively little inconvenience
Jolene’s first workshop, the West Coast Offroaders shop in Vancouver. These guys did such a great job. Of all the problems I’ve had, virtually none had been attributed to any of the equipment they installed. At the time, I felt like I’d completely overcooked the fit out of the car. Now I wish I’d done more
My first fix on the road. Supergluing a side turn indicator back on just outside of Vancouver
After 5,000km (and admittedly quite negligently not checking my fluids the whole time), oil indicator light went on and I stopped in at a Jiffy Lube to find out she was bone dry due to a pretty significant oil leak. I’ve lost count of how many gallons of oil I’ve subsequently had to put in her. I’d say it’s typically it’s about 500ml of synthetic 5W30 (if I can find it) for every 12 hours of driving
While this may sound like a lot of issues in less than six months, there have only been a couple that have had me worried, required urgent attention or were costly or time consuming. The truth is that I have enjoyed the mechanical challenges of the car. I’ve always wanted to be mechanically handy and I can’t think of a better way to learn about a car than being forced to in this way. In the same way I’m enjoying the immersion into Spanish speaking countries to learn the language, I am also immersed into the mechanical idiosyncrasies of my Land Rover and forced to sink or swim. To me this is a part of the journey I’ve chosen and a part of the journey I cherish.
Equally some of my favorite times I’ve had on the trip have been hanging out at small and simple mechanic workshops. I love the creative approaches some of these guys take to solving and fixing issues. Their workshops lack the tools, spare parts and diagnostic equipment of modern workshops but they always seem to get the job done. And I love the challenge of communicating with mechanics about nuanced mechanical problems in a language I’m learning as I go. My Spanish vocabulary has had to incorporate a bunch of words like bujias (spark plugs), bobinas (coils) and empaques (gaskets) and the like as I go. And to add to the challenge, mechanical terms change more frequently than other Spanish words as I constantly move between countries.
Learning to deal with regular oil top ups - a little less comfortable in temperatures of -25C. This was one of my colder stops outside of Yellowstone National Park.
My OBD2 diagnostic device is one of my best friends on the road. I get engine warning lights constantly (admittedly most are O2 / emissions related from the ongoing exhaust problems which I ignore and reset). I’ve gotten very used to seeing a warning light, grabbing the device while driving, plugging in to see what the issue is and quickly diagnosing whether it needs attention and usually without my passengers even realising what I’m doing. This misfire issue was one of only two mechanical problems I’ve had to date that required immediate attention
Brad from Goodway Auto in Silverthorne Colorado. He and his crew sorted out my misfire issue while I went back to Loveland to watch NFL games and relaxed on the lake with my uncle and aunt. His crew have also been useful a few times to help with me with mechanical Spanish translations while trying to deal with issues on the road
It feels a lifetime ago that I was in Mazatlan visiting a Toyota dealership and dreaming about the reliability of a Hilux and seriously considering porting all of my equipment onto a new vehicle. There’s an important lesson in here for me. The first months of my travels were characterized by constant worry about issues with my car and I couldn’t do a day’s drive without constant concern that I’ll encounter a new problem. Every warning light, uncharacteristic shudder, sound or smell was a new disaster waiting to happen. I had to get to a crisis point with the car from my ongoing series of problems (mostly with transmission and exhaust problems) before I came to a realization that the car was consumable, expendable, replaceable and finite. In this realization, I overcame the fear of mechanical issues and resolved to carry on without concern in the knowledge that any major issues could be solved or, if they were bad enough, the car abandoned and replaced. As if the universe was teaching me a lesson, in overcoming the fear of mechanical issues, I ceased to encounter any new major problems (touch wood).
While ever-evolving, my relationship with Jolene (my Land Rover) is that I’m more in love with her than ever. As I continue to drive south, I think about other adventures we’ll have together and I day dream plans of sending her to the southern tip of South Africa to cross the African continent, up to the UK and overlanding East through Europe and Asia to Japan.
For the first time, I’m starting to take a longer-term view with the car and my mindset has moved away from just keeping her on the road to further improvements that will make my future overlanding adventures better and more comfortable.
Coolant top ups in Arizona
Sorting out my leaking coolant hoses that were giving me grief through the Grand Canyon National Park and causing some pretty horrific looking white smoke as the coolant steadily dripped onto the hot engine block. New hoses on and pressure tests ok
My front driveshaft hanging limply in San Carlos after the universal joint gave up. I’m pretty particular about getting these greased reasonably often now. I would really rather not have a repeat of this issue. After this drama, I carry a spare driveshaft with one spare u-joint
Plans for future improvements that are currently developing:
I learned in my recent issues changing the tire that the hi-lift jack isn’t the easiest tool to work with and that I had thought my rock sliders were strong enough as jacking points. Turns out they are not and bent under load. The short-term solution to this is to also carry a conventional floor jack but longer term I’d like to install a heavy-duty rear bar with shackle points so I can lift a rear corner with the hi-lift jack
Storage is an ongoing issue. I’m constantly packing and re-packing and thinking of ways to better store stuff, reduce the amount of stuff I’m carrying or additional storage solutions. This is an ongoing and iterative process and I can’t see a way to add significantly more storage space than I already have but I will try
My model Discovery phased out diff locks for traction control. The hardware to lock the diffs still exists in the transfer case but requires a custom switch to be installed to control it, alongside some electrical work which is presently beyond my capability and I think that of the mechanics I have at my disposal in South America. Down the track (with time and money) I’m going to either buy some air lockers or figure out a way to use the lockers I have
At the smaller end of the improvements scale, more USB power outlets for my various devices and a mounted iPad Mini for navigation would be a big improvement for regular driving
I’ve ordered a ladder to be mounted to the rear of the car for easy roof access (for packing and unpacking the rooftop tent which is a fiddlier exercise than I’d like). This will be installed before I leave Bogota
Most significantly, I would like to swap the petrol V8 for a turbo diesel. This is a long-term plan and not a small undertaking. The question also remains if it’s a smart move with regard to availability of diesel in future travels. For example, it would have been harder (but still entirely possible) to take the journey I’ve been on with diesel because it’s not quite as common and gasoline. I’m not sure if they same can be said for Africa or the stretches of eastern Europe into Asia and Russia should I venture there.
My old transmission pulled out at Jonathan’s car wash in San Carlos, Mexico. If you look closely, you can see a 1.5 x 1.5 inch hole in it midway along and internals trying to squeeze their way out through the hole
Driving back from Tucson AZ with my new (reconditioned) transmission. That smile was short lived when 30 minutes later I got held up at the Mexican border for 4.5 hours dealing with the import tax
Jonathan and his dad putting the new transmission in
The welders in San Carlos trying to figure out how to torch out the rusty bolts on the downstream end of my exhaust manifold
The low point of my entire trip. Only days after sorting out the transmission, I pulled into Mazatlan and the car was throwing up a ton of faults - 13 of them to be exact. At this stage, without fully understanding what was going on with the exhaust, I was pretty down and dejected that the car was a piece of shit and that I’d be forever and constantly solving mechanical issues in countries without access to parts or experienced Land Rover mechanics. I was not a big fan of Land Rovers at this stage
Looking back at this time, it seems naive that I had this mechanic switch out the O2 sensors when that wasn’t the issue at all. In retrospect, it was pointless until sorting out the leaks and getting decent gaskets
At the low point, I literally went to a Toyota dealership in Mexico to see if they had a decent second hand Land Cruiser, Hilux, Forerunner or Tundra and was contemplating selling the Discovery and buying a more reliable Japanese-built truck. It was a shitty time but I think needed to mentally hit rock bottom to realise that it was just a car and ultimately a replacement was always an option. But thankfully I was over-reacting and in fact, I was very far from that point
One of the many Mexican mechanics I stopped to see for minor assistance
Lube shop in Guadalajara
Workshop of my exhaust guy in Guadalajara. I thought it was a really nice pit but apparently he preferred working on the street on little ramps
Getting the exhaust sorted. Or at least getting as far as I could without the proper parts which would come five countries later when I got to Costa Rica
This guy did an awesome job with few tools and had me back on the road in an hour. I can’t believe it but he was working on my exhaust hot (literally five minutes after I drove it to the front of his workshop) without gloves. He pointed out that the main leaks were at the exhaust manifold rather than under the car which is what Jonathan (transmission guy) and the welders were suggesting. His fix held up for quite a while but eventually I had to learn how to keep all the exhaust bolts tight myself or else the car sounded atrociously loud and would give me a ton of engine fault codes
Just a little love and attention over San Jose del Pacifico in Mexico
When it’s not raining, I get as much as I can up on the roof. From left to right: Rooftop tent, spare backpack for hiking, water carriers, fuel carriers, engine oil and coolant, a box full of other fluids (transmission, brake, etc), duffle bag with winter clothes and MaxTrax.
Love the creativeness of mechanics in Latin America. This guy was using a simple bit of hose to listen to and locate my exhaust leaks. He couldn’t help me but I had fun hanging out in his pit for a little while with him
It’s not the cleanest engine bay being a 16-year old truck. Photo taken to diagnose an issue with my troublesome 5th cylinder in Honduras
Heaven in Costa Rica: this was the first Land Rover parts store I’d been to and by the time I got here, there were so many things I wanted to buy. It was better than being a kid at Christmas! As time goes on, I still can’t think of many things I enjoy more than finding a good Land Rover parts store and stocking up
Some fellow Land Rover enthusiasts put me onto Taller Bernal Cruz in Costa Rica. With timing constraints, I did virtually nothing in Costa Rica other than have my car spend a week with these guys and stock up on parts. The did a ton of fixes including solve the major issues like exhaust problems that had been following me around for the six countries. It was a full clean bill of health for Jolene
Some damage done in the shipping container between Panama and Colombia. I repaired the part with multiple layers of super glue and then bolted it back
Not only did the guys at Bernal Cruz fix everything, they gave her a thorough wash inside and out. I hadn’t been more happy with the car since the first day I picked her up in Vancouver
I always get great pleasure in having the grime washed off. I’ve been through so many kilometres of mud, dust, desert, tarmac, snow and every other surface there is so it always feels great to wash it off and start over getting her dirty again. As a general rule, I try to get the washes done in the smallest and most obscure towns I can - they are cheaper but also much more culturally interesting places to stop.
The latch from my water carrier embedded in my tire in Colombia
Tire shop in Armenia with Jolene temporarily sitting on three wheels and a jack
I carry a compressor which is pretty handy for airing up after off-roading but in this case, getting enough air in the tire to limp to the repair shop
Bogota’s candy store. There were three Land Rover specialists within 50m of each other which is such a rare thing to find in Central and South America. Bought a few necessary mechanical spares and some things to improve the car - most notably a rear ladder which I can’t wait to install. I spend more time on the roof the car than I thought I would so a ladder will make life much easier
A new floor jack, spark plug leads, oil, oil filters, wiper blades, gloves and some hats. Funny how priorities change; at home these would be completely boring purchases (or ideally things that I don’t even deal with and just let the boys in the service centre take care of). But for me now living on the road, with my car as my best friend, this stuff is so important and makes me happy
