Breakdowns
We found the best way to survive the stress of breakdowns was to:
Preparing for breakdowns has four elements:
We have had our share of issues with multiple break downs and failings, though to be fair, many on parts that we would expect to be at the end of their life on any '96 vintage vehicle.
More frustrating are the parts that we paid the overland outfitters for, that have been badly fitted, proved unreliable, or needed further modifications to make robust enough for overland travel.
On the plus side, we have been fortunate enough to also deal with some fantastic and very knowledgable individuals and mechanics - see the useful links page above.
Back in April 2010, after an initial glorious four day honeymoon period of trouble free Land Rover vehicle ownership, we had our first recovery truck experience when the clutch master cylinder went. This was followed in the coming months by:
We took the precaution of returning all our Britpart spares on our return from Morocco last year, and now refuse to carry or have fitted anything bearing their name on our vehicle.
Oh, apart from the Britpart mud flaps - which we'll tolerate.
- Expect them
- Prepare for them
Preparing for breakdowns has four elements:
- Carry sensible tools (including the workshop manual)
- Carry sensible spares
- Have a contingency budget
- Try to build in some timing contingencies - breakdowns can (and did) take up days of our trip (about 8, we think!)
We have had our share of issues with multiple break downs and failings, though to be fair, many on parts that we would expect to be at the end of their life on any '96 vintage vehicle.
More frustrating are the parts that we paid the overland outfitters for, that have been badly fitted, proved unreliable, or needed further modifications to make robust enough for overland travel.
On the plus side, we have been fortunate enough to also deal with some fantastic and very knowledgable individuals and mechanics - see the useful links page above.
Back in April 2010, after an initial glorious four day honeymoon period of trouble free Land Rover vehicle ownership, we had our first recovery truck experience when the clutch master cylinder went. This was followed in the coming months by:
- Clutch slave cylinder
- Power steering pump
- Fuel tank leak
- Transmission brake "clonk" (a perennial problem, that requires adjustment every year or so)
- Complete oil loss after a servicing "issue"
- Universal joint
- Gear box failure (en route to Scotland for a test trip - only made it as far as Durham)
- Wiper motor, wiper arm and washer nozzle (all in the same week in Morocco, although to be fair Mark did tread on and snap the washer nozzle whilst climbing onto the roof)
- Holes appearing in both cross members - now replaced
- Exhaust snapping into three parts in Morocco
- Occasional electrical gremlins - but these can be avoided (1. Keep them away from bright light, 2. Don't get any water on them, and 3. Never, never ever feed them after midnight.)
- Our new clutch plate failing (after only 4000 miles) - thanks for costing us another £300 Britpart
- Our new alternator failing in the Atlas mountains (after only 4000 miles) - thanks Britpart
- Our new fan belt (after only 2000 miles) - thanks again Britpart!
We took the precaution of returning all our Britpart spares on our return from Morocco last year, and now refuse to carry or have fitted anything bearing their name on our vehicle.
Oh, apart from the Britpart mud flaps - which we'll tolerate.
One of our two Britpart Mudguards split and fell off in Kazakhstan, the other is showing signs of wear.
The two original 18 year old front Land Rover ones still soldier on though...
I later found a Freightliner lorry mudguard lying in the road in Siberia and, with a bit of spannering and hacksawing "crafted" a, quite frankly, stunning replacement that remains in place to this day...
The two original 18 year old front Land Rover ones still soldier on though...
I later found a Freightliner lorry mudguard lying in the road in Siberia and, with a bit of spannering and hacksawing "crafted" a, quite frankly, stunning replacement that remains in place to this day...
Post trip update
- Clutch master cylinder failed twice during the Mongolia trip, once in Germany and again in Mongolia (are we ever glad we took a spare - and had another spare flown out at the first opportunity)
- We also had the clutch slave and plate changed in Ulaan Baatar as the dealership couldn't find the source of the problem (again, we carried the spares)
- Various suspension bushes failed (all had been replaced in the UK before departure). We would take more spares next time, although it was possible to get some rough spares made up locally.
- Both steering bushes were replaced en-route. Land Rover delearships carried the spares.
- Leaking power steering pipe - fixed with a random Kazakh local market spare - that is still performing well.
What we have realised with each breakdown is that things can be fixed, what seems like a disaster initially, can soon become a learning point, or sometimes; like the impromptu night out in Durham, or the visit to the Moroccan welders, or the impromptu day at the Munich food market whilst the clutch was repaired, or the three day wait at the Land Rover dealership in Almaty, or multiple visits to Mongolian back street garages, or the three day wait at the Land Rover dealership in Ulaan Baatar - can be good fun. Honest!
Worth noting that our first port of call in the UK when we got back from Mongolia - before we even went home, before we even visited family - was a trip to Nick Paxton in Somerset to get a mini service and a few "clonks" looked at!