Day 14: Details of our breakdown and what it will take to fix our ambulance

All the way back on Day 1, we did notice some weird noises whenever we made a hard right or left turn.  Since for the most part we have been driving along straight highways and fairly level terrain, we had not heard those sounds too much.

But the highway from Puebla to Oaxaca involves a lot of uphill climbs and curves as we go through the beautiful mountains of the Oaxaca state.  During this period of travel, we noticed that our ambulance was making a lot of noises in the axle on the curves, and it also started to vibrate quite a bit above 55 MPH.

So once we got to Oaxaca, we found a good mechanic and took it to his "taller."  Our mechanic took our ambulance out for a test drive himself and confirmed the same noises and sensations that we had been experiencing.  In order to evaluate it, he had to prop up our ambulance and dismount the rear axle.  The evaluation itself was about MX$1000.00 -- not too bad.  But after removing the rear axle, evaluating the differential, and also the rear brakes, we got the final evaluation:  MX$13,000 to fix everything.

By the way, our mechanic lived and worked in New York for five years.  While he can make a lot more money there, he is back in Oaxaca for the quality of life.  While there is no denying that there are many people here who are struggling to make a living, there are many aspects of life that are really enjoyable here.

Our mechanic gave us a tour of the parts that need replacement.

Rear Brakes

This brake pad has some large cracks.  He recommends replacing this.

In addition, when you compare the right and left brake pads, you can see the big difference in the amount of wear and tear on the right.  It is now very thin.

Here is another comparison of two brake pads; the one on the left is really thin.

And one of our pieces that holds the brakes together had broken and was doing circles in the wheel:

Differential

We need a new clutch kit to replace these discs.  By the way, the guy in the first picture is cleaning out the entire axle and all of the parts.

The good news is that the main gear of the differential is OK.  It shows some signs of wear and tear, but compared to other gears that our mechanic has seen, this one does not need to be replaced:

"There is no problem that a little more time and a little more money cannot fix." - Nick

So here is what we are facing.  The numbers look pretty big in Mexican Pesos!

After evaluating our situation and discussing it with the Charity Rallies staff, we have decided to authorize these repairs and press on!  We asked our mechanic,

"If we make these repairs, will the ambulance be safe?  Will we make it to Honduras?"

"When I test drove the ambulance, I did notice the constant vibration at highway speeds and the constant pull to the right.  You also need an alignment and balancing."

"How much does an alignment and wheel balancing cost?"

"Well, the alignment is probably around 300 pesos.  And the wheel balancing is around $100 pesos per tire.  So maybe 700 pesos total.  You can probably get it done for less than that."

OK, so let's just round the whole thing up to MX$14,000.  That's about US$1,100.  So how much time will it take?  We have to wait for our clutch kit to arrive.  The mechanic's supplier estimates about three days for the clutch kit delivery:  Friday, Monday, Tuesday.  And according to the mechanic that means that it could arrive early Tuesday, mid-day Tuesday, or maybe Tuesday afternoon.  Or maybe Wednesday.  From that point, it will take another day or two to finish the job.  So we will be "stranded in Oaxaca" until next Thursday or Friday.

This will be our fourth visit to a mechanic, if you also count our oil change in Cuernavaca.  The first mechanic visit was in Los Angeles:

And the second was our breakdown in Tucson:

So maybe you are wondering, "...is this really a good idea?  What use will an old ambulance be to a hospital if it is always breaking down?  Aren't we just giving a hospital a new source of expenses and an administrative nightmare of constant repairs?"

We wondered all of these same things.  We asked ourselves whether our our effort was really going to achieve the goal of delivering a well-functioning ambulance to a hospital that will be put to good use.  That's why we mentioned in our previous post the possibility that we might have to abandon the cause.

We discussed all of these questions with our rally sponsors, and they assured us that our mission is still a good and very important one.  They share our surprise at the amount of repairs that we have had to make.  They also shared with us that they stick with Ford E350 ambulances so that they will all be the same make and model.  If one of the vehicles is decommisioned, it can be a source of parts for the others.  And they also described their longer-term goal of establishing a maintenance shop and school to train mechanics in Honduras.

Will this be the last repair before we complete the journey?  No one can say for sure.  Everyone who has seen our ambulance feels good about the main components of the engine.  Other charity rallies have had vehicles that could not go to the distance.  We are still hopeful that we can complete the journey on time and celebrate a mission accomplished by August 1.

If  you have already helped us out with a donation, we sure appreciate it!  If you would like to help us out, you can donate toward our latest repair via the Growers First donation web page.  When you donate, please be sure to indicate that your donation is for The Roasting Cooks!