MOBY GOES TO TURKEY. A tam and pups adventure.

[Barclaybasher]

3 garages - all same day service - wow!

 

[Northernraider]

So I had 3 choices with bearing , original €323 , €207 or €164

I'm going with the €164 I just can't afford to keep throwing my budget on repairs just now it's crazy

The bearing in UK was £180 but they had some deal on at the time so I got it for £90 .

This van is killing me slowly ...

 

[Northernraider]

3 garages - all same day service - wow!

Yep in the UK it's almost impossible

 

[Barclaybasher]

Did you have the brake shoes on the other side done in Scotland?

 

[Littlewheels]

Not forgetting they have mechanics instead of panel jockies that we get.

Lenny,l presume you are referring to the OBD readers that they now have to use on modern vehicles.
l had reason call out the Mercedes 24/7 support service recently and as normal the OBD came out to find out what the problem was, and this is where it became interesting as he was having a problem finding the correction for the fault and because of him having difficulty he was a bit frustrated and said to me, do you know if when l choose to be a Mechanic l had known all l would be doing was sitting in front of a screen all day trying to fix
problems l would have chosen another career.

Nuts and bolt mechanics are still needed of course as is proven by Tams ongoing difficulties but l thought this chaps perspective on it was interesting.
Brian.

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[alex n]

Poor wee lamb View attachment 840663View attachment 840664


But to be honest none of them look overly enthusiastic this morning lol. I think they all wanted a long lie. View attachment 840665


But I have to go see the garage and get this brake looked at . Hopefully they can squeeze me in today.

I'll update later.

Tam you been smoking that funny stuff thats a dug no a lamb

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny,l presume you are referring to the OBD readers that they now have to use on modern vehicles.
l had reason call out the Mercedes 24/7 support service recently and as normal the OBD came out to find out what the problem was, and this is where it became interesting as he was having a problem finding the correction for the fault and because of him having difficulty he was a bit frustrated and said to me, do you know if when l choose to be a Mechanic l had known all l would be doing was sitting in front of a screen all day trying to fix
problems l would have chosen another career.

Nuts and bolt mechanics are still needed of course as is proven by Tams ongoing difficulties but l thought this chaps perspective on it was interesting.
Brian.

Panel jockeys is a term used in the electronic industry where they just change a PCB rather than diagnosing the fault down to component level. In motorhomes a fridge or heater PCB gets changed costing hundreds of pounds where an engineer would have diagnosed the fault and replaced a 50p component.
Same with vehicles these days they just keep changing bits until it works, no in depth training to component level.

 

[Northernraider]

Did you have the brake shoes on the other side done in Scotland?

Only the side they replaced bearing on , I have the other side with me so the garage will fit those

 

[Northernraider]

The thing that's going to be a nightmare here is the garage owners wife has 2 stray dogs here and about 25 stray cats. So my dogs are wanting to chase them .

And I forgot about the bloody flies

 

[gus-lopez]

Well unfortunately it will be tomorrow as the new bearing has to be ordered . But hopefully fixed tomorrow, I'll have to stay here tonight.

You'll need an axle stand under it if in it overnight

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[pjay]

Tam, we had a problem with our exhaust back in 2017 just after coming off the boat at Igoumenitsa, the front end had blown and was on the verge of falling off, we were recommended a garage by a local and managed to limp up there. The guy spoke no English but we were straight on the ramp, he took the exhaust off and fabricated a new piece and welded it back in place, 1 hr or so later and we were on our way, €30 lighter (+ a few beers we gave him as a tip). That exhaust kept us going for the next 2 years when we had a new one fitted.
The reason I mention this is that the garage I went to was just up the road about a km from where you are at N39.52137 E20.26227
Small world

Hope you get sorted with minimal fuss, and if your exhaust goes, you've not got far to go.

Pete

 

[Jo662]

At least they have found the problem first time Easier than finding an electrical fault.

So hopefully after tomorrow you will be away and can start relaxing and enjoy your travelling

 

[StephandJohn]

At least you're in the country you wanted to be in so even a couple more days won't be too much of a hardship hopefully.

 

[Bramidan]

I know Tam has reservations about the first garage he had to visit but he seems to have had excellent service.
I wonder if it would be possible for our leader to ask funsters to provide recommendations for garages that have helped them whilst on their travels abroad.
I appreciate peoples experiences differ but it could give people a steer.
As an example see the post from for pjay above.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Have you binned the idea of going to the vet if Jade now seems to be okay - and just keeping an eye on Milo for now?

Have you told the dogs you can't afford the vet as you have to pay for van repairs... next food rationing

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[Bramidan]

This is where he may have a problem . It's a huge nut that holds the bearing in and the drum disc on this ... I think it's 63mm he's been out measuring it with a set of calipers so I'm getting the feeling it might be new to him. .....and the reason I couldn't repair this myself.

View attachment 840713


I'm hoping if he doesn't have one that he can borrow one from somewhere local.

Didn’t take him long to get that off!

 

[Northernraider]

Didn’t take him long to get that off!

Yeah fortunately he had the socket I needn't have worried.

 

[Northernraider]

You'll need an axle stand under it if in it overnight

He has 2 Jack's and some big clumps of wood under there .

 

[Northernraider]

At least you're in the country you wanted to be in so even a couple more days won't be too much of a hardship hopefully.

Yes that's why I thought I'd just limp on to Greece, I love the Greeks, most are very friendly and helpful if the problem is fixed I'll be happy . Hopefully nothing else needs done for a while .

 

[Just smiffy]

Your incredibly fortunate in getting the van seen to so quickly, I know it’s costing money but probably cheeper if you had to wait at these places until they fitted you in…

Hope it’s just a bearing and hope the hub hasn’t warped from over heating.. always easier to fix mechanical as easier to find the problem whereas electrics are nightmares…

Sort of good news about the dags..

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[Northernraider]

Have you binned the idea of going to the vet if Jade now seems to be okay - and just keeping an eye on Milo for now?

Have you told the dogs you can't afford the vet as you have to pay for van repairs... next food rationing

Well jade is back to her usual bossy self and seems to have made a full recovery. Milo is also not as bad as jade was ,they've all just had a walk where we encountered a pack of stray dogs and they've all had a good bark ...my dad's bigger than your dad type stuff. He's a little quiet but I'll keep an eye on him and see how they are . If need be I will take them to be checked out , but none are keen on visiting the vet , jade is the worst so if they don't need to go that's better for them and me. I don't like seeing them out of character but I think sometimes they just feel a bit off like we do .

 

[TUCANO]

The thing that's going to be a nightmare here is the garage owners wife has 2 stray dogs here and about 25 stray cats. So my dogs are wanting to chase them .

And I forgot about the bloody flies

It will save you having to exercise your dogs.

 

[nicholsong]

Panel jockeys is a term used in the electronic industry where they just change a PCB rather than diagnosing the fault down to component level. In motorhomes a fridge or heater PCB gets changed costing hundreds of pounds where an engineer would have diagnosed the fault and replaced a 50p component.
Same with vehicles these days they just keep changing bits until it works, no in depth training to component level.

Fortunately my commercial garage here in Poland is not like that, e.g. he will feel and smell the oil and decide whether it needs changing this year. Also not automatically change the water pump with the timing belt if it looks good and he has been right so far.

Of course I am talking about a 2003 2.8Jtd engine, so it is quite basic thankfully, and is easily looked after by mechanics with good basic skills. It makes me reluctant to even look at newer models run on electronics, emission supression and AdBlue.

 

[Northernraider]

Your incredibly fortunate in getting the van seen to so quickly, I know it’s costing money but probably cheeper if you had to wait at these places until they fitted you in…

Hope it’s just a bearing and hope the hub hasn’t warped from over heating.. always easier to fix mechanical as easier to find the problem whereas electrics are nightmares…

Sort of good news about the dags..

Yes I don't know if garages in the UK are more accommodating for foreigners turning up with problems than they have been when I've needed something done at home . But certainly for garages that have all been busy here and Italy I'm grateful that they've slotted me in . The first one in Italy I guess I'll never know if my alternator was knackered or not it may have been the loose connection all along that they didn't check but for the service and fitting me in I can't fault that part. The auto electrics guy too was first class. And this one has been great so far too. Its a family run business a father and 2 sons I think , the sons don't speak any English but the owner his wife and daughter all speak english. His wife and daughter been asking me about Scotland they want to visit Edinburgh and were asking when it's the best weather ...I said between 26th and 30th of June lol ....I said summer maybe 22-25° and they laughed and said " you call that summer" it's absolutely melting here today I'm so hot..the van is like an oven lol . I've broke out the shorts and been to buy 5kg of oranges for €4 and she gave me 4 free satsumas something else you don't get in the UK...

 

[Northernraider]

Fortunately my commercial garage here in Poland is not like that, e.g. he will feel and smell the oil and decide whether it needs changing this year. Also not automatically change the water pump with the timing belt if it looks good and he has been right so far.

Of course I am talking about a 2003 2.8Jtd engine, so it is quite basic thankfully, and is easily looked after by mechanics with good basic skills. It makes me reluctant to even look at newer models run on electronics, emission supression and AdBlue.

And my 1998 2.8 is even simpler , apart from the few issues I've had it's been OK.

I'm surprised at the price of parts for this van though they're proving to be a lot more expensive than the fiat was .. even merc parts seem cheaper.

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[Lenny HB]

I'm surprised at the price of parts for this van though they're proving to be a lot more expensive than the fiat was .. even merc parts seem cheaper.

Maybe due to age and availability, normally with a modern Fiat Ducato a lot of the parts are the same as the Iveco equivalent engine and the Iveco part is a lot cheaper than the same Fiat part.

 

[WESTY66]

What about a picture let’s see her.

Apart from the avatar pic here she is sat waiting to go out in the rain

 

[Northernraider]

Apart from the avatar pic here she is sat waiting to go out in the rain
View attachment 840776

I'm laughing at the jacket the dog face

 

[Lenny HB]

Apart from the avatar pic here she is sat waiting to go out in the rain
View attachment 840776

She must be weird like you "waiting to go out in the rain" a normal dog would be curled up on the sofa.

 

[Minxy]

I'm laughing at the jacket the dog face

Like father like daughter!!!

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