Worst vehicle breakdown(s)?
 

Maybe we should have a thread listing as many 'vehicle breakdowns / things that broke along the way / after the trip thoughts' on overland trips so that others that follow can easily get an idea of what kind of mechanical things happen and how easy/difficult they are to remediate?

Not individual stories - but a full run down after your long overland trip of what went wrong and thoughts on your preparations etc…..

Add your own postings below and I'll update this first post with a master list as we go along?

ihana.com:
IHANA.COM big trip� -� the landy

sandlover.org - I travelled with this landy, it was terrible! ;-p Click on 'what went wrong' on this page:
http://www.sandlover.org/Preparations.html

africaoverland.org - quite a bit spread over different pages, shocks and springs below:
http://www.africaoverland.org/defender_iteration2.htm

The worst kind of breakdown - a crash:
http://www.daphneoverland.co.uk/setbackpage.html

southing.com
Their landy rebuild pages here: http://www.southing.com/Templates/vehicle/vehicle1.htm

Nessies Adventures - a few mechanic tips here:
http://www.worldtravel-overland.com/...entupdarw.html
Asian Land Rover tips here: http://www.worldtravel-overland.com/toptips.html


Add in some pictures of those who helped you as a collective thanks!
(from ihana.com)
http://www.ihana.com/big_trip/diary/...d_shallowA.jpg

I drive a Toyota so don't really have breakdowns (tempting fate there!!)

losing my rear wheel on the autobahn at 70mph was 'emotional'
saw me stuck at the Toyota dealers in Hanover for 3 days, but got of lightly really.

Not really a breakdown, but being 'detained' by the police in Kazan after some nerk wrote of his lada against my Landcruiser was an education in international affairs!

I've not done any overlanding (yet...), had a timing belt pulley break on my 300Tdi 90 years back, in the middle of Salisbury plain at 0100hrs ...

hardly life threatening though :laugh:, RAC got me home :thumbup1:

Breakdown isn't perhaps the best word. What maintenance did you have to do during the trip, what parts wore out quicker than expected, or just normally, what spares were needed etc etc.

What did you take, what did you replace, what would you take if you had to do it again etc etc. Best if you can detail it on a webpage so we can link to it

*** Please, detailed summaries appreciated, not a few lines off the top of your head, the idea is to help others spend their money wisely and learn from common mistakes etc ***

bodging kit. insulating tape, duck tape, threaded rods in 3 different sizes with nuts, assorted nuts and bolts, radweld, block sealant, wire of various types, good glue, clamps, all that kind of stuff. Was glad of having spare hoses when mine split in Mauri, jubilee clips in various sizes are always handy. At least one complete service kit (filters etc) Oh, and not forgeting, the BFH (big fxxxxxx hammer!)

Best bodge. My dad has to take the credit for that one, split hose on a shogun. cut out the split section and spliced in a section of exhaust pipe from our Suzuki! It even had the correct curve to go over the rad!!

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d8dddef.jpg


A couple of other guys on the trip had the switch on their fan fail, so they made one out of a domestic light switch, just had to remember to switch it on!!

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0a040a04.jpg


when I was taking a pair of landcruisers to The Gambia with a rather heavy load of school books, one of them lost the top bolt on a shock, followed by the rubber. Made a new rubber out of an inner tube which lasted a week of piste driving before I managed to buy a replacement in the next big town.

I follow the maxim of replacing parts and taking the old bits with me, so at least you know they'll fit so I fitted a replacement clutch and took the old one. I took a spare leaf spring and a pair of shocks as I knew we were running heavy, but I think that was unnecessary on that age of Landcruiser (and mine had new suspension anyway) as they are very heavy and the suspension is extremely robust. Likewise I carried spare driveshafts (being an ex landie owner!) but again, I think that is unnecessary on a Landcruiser and with them an the suspension spares, that's a lot of weight, enough that you'll probably need them!!! Full set of oils, brake fluid and hydraulic fluid. Yes, oils are available overseas, but can be counterfeit or of poor quality, and if you need to drain something down in the boonies because of breakage, driving to the next town with no oil isn't really an option. Full set of bulbs saved us getting fined lots!
Couldn't believe the number of punctures my vehicle had (around 12 in 6000-7000miles) which was almost certainly due to using old Toyota split rims with tubes. the other vehicle, running normal wheels with tubeless tyres had only one puncture.


Always carry a workshop manual, if only to point at the picture of what part you need!! (as we did in Spain when the viscous coupling failed on my mates Landrover, the Spanish is Visco Couplingo of course, what else would it be!!)

I think a lot depends on the type of vehicle and where you will be driving. Using an old Toyota or landie and you should be able to buy/scrounge new or used parts almost anywhere, except maybe eastern Europe.