Los Andes

Yesterday we ran into more car problems on our way to the Andes and Argentina. Similar to our previous issues, all of a sudden we lost power and stalled out. Fortunately, since we were rolling solo this time, we were on a local road and able to easily coast to the shoulder.

Losing power is unfortunately a familiar experience with this rig, and my immediate fear was that replacing the fuel regulator didn't work, and we were back to square one chasing down an unknown problem.

I jumped out of the van to see what I might be able to figure out. I immediately noticed a strong diesel smell. Squatting down to look at the ground under the engine revealed a fluid leak of some sort. I reached down to touch some but it wasn't clear what it was--it looked like oil but smelled and felt like a mix of oil and diesel.

I opened the hood next, but nothing jumped out at me beyond the strong smell of diesel. I investigated a bit more by the light of my phone, to no avail. Then I asked Khalilah to turn the key, which would start the fuel pump. If the leak was diesel related, I might see it continue to leak to the ground.

A couple of seconds after the key was turned, the pump turned on and the problem was clear. Fuel was streaming from a hose on top of the engine.

As crazy as it might sound considering the circumstances, what I felt next was relief and gratitude more than anything else. This was a clear problem with an easy fix. What's more, it could have happened in a much worse place, like that mile-long tunnel on a steep grade we'd just passed through.

Khalilah, along with Mike and Geneva who had been about 30 minutes behind us, set about trying to find some fuel hose, while I worked to loosen the Mercedes click clamps without the Mercedes tool typically required. I was eventually successful with this task.

Finding a replacement hose proved more difficult. A passerby directed them down the street to what amounted to a very basic truck stop where they met Zuko, the facility's friendly and helpful caretaker/security guard who happened to speak good English. He looked at the fuel hose and cut a piece of the air hose that they use to fill truck tires, and gave it to them, suggesting that we use it to get going and drive the rig over there to get off the main road.

Mike and Geneva then took a trip into town to see if the local auto parts store had the hose, while Khalilah and I got the air hose installed and drove over to the lot.

The auto parts store was a bust, and pretty much our only shot at not spending the rest of the weekend at the truck stop, since all of this unfolded late in the afternoon on Saturday.

To be continued...

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