Repairs
We spent 48 days waiting for our camper to be repaired.
15.04.2025
We cross the border without difficulty to reach "Bariloche" where we found a mechanic specialized in hydraulic systems.
When arriving on the spot, he confirms to us that he has got the right steering rack but that he can not make the repair in his workshop because his garage does not have enough height for the motorhome.
After several calls he gives usthe name of a mechanic who can take us but not before next Monday because of the holy week.
We go to his garage and he confirms the appointment.
So we have to wait 6 days before the repair.
We decide to spend these days in a large petrol station that we know and where the camper is safe.
To cheer us up we dine in a small family restaurant where the cuisine is excellent.
16/04/2025
We do not move except for shopping. We find a chocolate factory in which we do not resist ... just a small box of 250 g.
17/04/2025
Today begins the festivities of the "Fiesta del Chocolate" in Bariloche
Every day, the city organizes activities around chocolate. Downtown is filled with tourists from all over the country and even from Chile.
After an ice cream tasting, we return to the camper.
18.04.2025
We return to Bariloche to witness the manufacture of a 220 m chocolate bar. (world record)
The trestles are installed in the main street where all the chocolatiers of the city prepare the chocolate ganache.
Throughout the 220 m course, tourists have settled and unfortunately it is impossible to see anything.
We return to our companion.
19.04.2025 / 20.04.2025
Two days off. It’s nice but very cold 3° in the morning!!!
21.04.2025
At 9 o'clock very precise we park in front of the garage. We quickly find that the camper can not fit into the workshop ... Another disappointment.
We go back to the first garage that does not find other colleagues.
We spend a good part of the morning looking for a garage and finally on the advice of a small garage. We decide to go to " El Bolzon " where a very well side garage on several sites can receive us.
After 120 km we arrive at this garage to whom we explain our concern to know: Change the steering rack that according to the specialist of Bariloche was a Chinese manufacture of poor quality.
His garage seems big enough for the camper.
22.04.2025 / 23.04.2025 / 24.04.2025
We have an appointment with the mechanic to check the defective part in order to order the good one.
Small anxiety, the camper is a little bigger than the door! The solution is immediately found, they deflate the front tires to facilitate the passage.
Kindly the garage offers us to park at his home waiting for the repair, which allows us to have electricity.
It is 3.5 kmaway from the city center, but in the countryside.
Waiting for the spare part, we spend these three days going to town shopping and working on our Spanish.
It is cold and snow has fallen on the top of the surrounding mountains
25.04.2025
Back to the garage ... It has been raining for two days and the repair is done outside since the camper does not fit in the workshop!
We spend the day in the motorhome during the repair.
At the end of the day, we learn that there is a small leak of oil in the crankshaft.
What to do? we join Fanny and Pascal for advice ... After several exchanges, we decide to stay.
We ask him for an estimate of the intervention ... The price he is asking for is disproportionate ... This is followed by a discussion of his hourly labour rate ... We take back the rate applied on the repair already carried out as well as the rate announced on his quote ... It is inconsistent ... We do not accept his farfelu calculation ... In the end, he reduces his quote by one third!!!
It is the weekend, repair can only occur next week.
Given the bad weather, we decide to go back to the cabana.
26.04.2025 / 27.04.2025 / 28.04.2024 / 29.04.2024
We spend these four days as the previous ones.
Shopping, short walks, Spanish lessons
The weather is still bad.
30.04.2025
We return to the garage for the repair of the oil leak
It takes the whole day ... At the moment of leaving the gears do not pass anymore ... A certain anxiety invades us ... Since the repair in Uruguay, the gears passed smoothly and it had been a long time since we had such comfort.
The mechanics check the vehicle again and tell us that it is the clutch cable that is worn out ... We’re starting to lose patience ... We can’t drive like this ...
Well, see you next week for the new repair ... Tomorrow is the first of May and it’s a 4 day bank holiday that is announced!
We return to the cabanas for a night.
01.05.2025 / 02.05.2025 / 03.05.2025 / 04.05.2025
Everything is closed ... dead city.
We take refuge in a campsite to have a little more comfort ... The weather is always bad with very low temperatures ... It snows on the surrounding mountains.
We are welcomed by a charming couple to whom we explain our disappointments ... They are shocked by our story and ask one of their mechanic friends to help us.
His prognosis is clear: The clutch disc is deformed, it’s not the cable. It also confirms that the repair are overcharged.
We send the garage a history of our relationship, emphasizing that he damaged the clutch disc and that we consider it his responsibility to repair at his expense.
Needless to say, he is furious and refuses to accept his responsibility ... In addition, he gives us an appointment for Wednesday afternoon....
In short, our relations are suspended.
05.05.2025 / 06.05.2025 / 07.05.205 / 08.05.2025
We ask Hugo, the new mechanic, if he would like to repair this disc.
In order for him to properly control the right part, he must disassemble the clutch ... His garage is large enough to fit the camper.
The clutch disc is veiled ... He orders it on Tuesday and it arrives late Thursday afternoon .... Unfortunately Hugo leaves 3 days in Chile which postpones the repair to Monday 12!
This is life ... We are becoming extremely fatalistic!!!
Meanwhile we rent, above the garage, a very well heated apartment.
The days go by at the same pace as the others.
09.05.2025 / 10.05.2025 / 11.05.2025
We spend these three days as the previous ones.
Shopping, short walks, Spanish lessons
The weather is still bad.
12.05.2025
Hugo repairs the clutch disc at his own pace ... the day begins at 10:30, interrupted by visits from friends or customers ... Time passes and our companion is ready at 6:30 pm!
After two or three tests and adjustments we can go. But we are not convinced. We always have problems and among others the pedal that shakes!!!! We decide to stay in town
13.05.2025 / 14.05.2025
This morning, the problem is the same, we go back to see Hugo ... For him, there is no problem, just that we must consider that our motorhome is old with more than 300,000 km on the meter.
The vibration of the clutch pedal is produced by the motor that moves a little ... Nothing abnormal to this, we must get used and accept that our road companion is not brand new!
We are tired of all these explanations and conclusions that do not adjust our clutch.
We are very angry at the first garage that damaged our clutch which worked perfectly.
What can we do? We are trapped in a situation that we cannot control.
So we take the road towards Bariloche where we have adjusted the alignment of the front wheels, then we continue in the direction of Mendoza.
We walk in the area of the "Cerro Chapelco" all along the magnificent gorges. The weather is always as gloomy.
Then the next day, we take the "Ruta 40" which we follow more or less from the south of Patagonia.
The landscape is different: Volcanic mountains and desert plains, a near-lunar panorama inhabited only by guanacos.
15.05.2025
After spending the night at "Chos Malal" we are about to take a section of the "Ruta 40" of 350 km without village, little used and with 80 km of very bad "ripio"
Our clutch is not at its best but we have no choice, we are in a desert region and we must move forward.
At the end of 33 km, speeds no longer pass ... What we feared happened!
We are 1,500 metres above sea level in the middle of nowhere with no telephone network.
Christophe stops the first car that passes to pick up a tow truck while leaving Jean-Pierre on the spot.
The third garage will be the right one, and it sends a tow truck ... Once loaded on the platform the return at 20 km/h takes about 1 hour.
The young mechanics at the garage are inspecting the motorhome and announcing that the owner is not there and they will not be able to repair it immediately.
Meet the local manager on Monday morning.
We take refuge at the municipal campsite in downtown ... at least in the center of the village!
A new expectation begins.
16.05.2025 / 17.05.2025 / 18.05.205
One more waiting ... We are becoming experts in waiting ...
During this stop, we visit the village ... Apart from a walk along the river, there is nothing to do.
The weather is rainy, with strong winds in the evening.
On Sunday, this small town plays: Dead Village ... No one in the streets, no traffic and no restaurants open even on a sunday.
19.05.2025
The manager comes to the campsite to get an idea of the problem. After a few minutes, a new appointment is made for the next day at 10:30
20.05.2025
At the appointed time we arrive at the garage and the manager leaves with Christophe to test on the road.
When they return, he adjusts the clutch pedal . Unfortunately he can’t intervene this week, but at best next week!! Another delay.
However it certifies us that we can reach Mendoza without problem by going through the " Ruta 40 " despite the 80 km of very difficult ripio.
What to do: Wait until next week and hope that the repair will be done quickly, or start now and try to drive slowly.
We decide to go now, through a supermarket to buy supplies in case of breaking down.
The atmosphere in the motorhome is silent and listening to the slightest noise .... What a pleasure!
After 100 km we arrive at the level of the unpaved road ... We continue watching out for any hole or corrugated sheet portion.
After 50 km, we stop for the night on this very volcanic portion where by chance we have an internet relay! We are alone in the middle of nowhere.
The weather is not pleasant and it rains a part of the night
21.05.2025
We leave early to travel the 30 last km of ripio. It must be admitted that we have experienced much worse on unpaved roads.
We still have 450 km to reach Mendoza, still on the Ruta 40. It is a splendid weather and the landscape is beautiful. We walk along the Cordillera de Andes covered with its white mantle.
What a spectacle ... We almost forget the clutch!!! Since the start we do not meet many people on this straight road.
In the late afternoon, we land 40 km from Mendoza to avoid traffic
22.05.2025
We arrive early in Palmira at Valentin’s place. It is here that we will abandon our camper while returning to France.
We are relieved to have waited for our final destination ... It was not a foregone conclusion ... Whatever happens we have no road to go.
Valentin welcomes campers in his garden either for camping or to store vehicles.
We explain our adventures of the last few days and immediately he contacts some acquaintances to get an opinion on the clutch ... We have an appointment with Carlos, a mechanic who specializes in clutches.
His diagnosis is mixed and to better understand the problem he must disassemble the clutch. But he cannot do it before next monday.
It becomes a habit ..... We will wait 3 days!!! We go back to Valentin for the weekend.
23.05.2025 / 24.05.2025 / 25.05.2025
We visit " Mendoza " at about thirty kilometers. An express bus takes us there in 45 minutes to the gates of the city. The weather is quite nice.
This city is best known for its vineyards and its high quality Malbec.
We set off to explore the city. We start at San Martín square, with a statue of the liberator on his horse in the middle. José San Martín is in fact the symbol of independence in Argentina
For lunch and on the advice of Valentin, we choose a typical Argentinian grill restaurant, Estancia La Florencia, renowned for its meat.
Before returning to the campsite we walk the streets and squares of this very green city.
The next two days are like the other waiting days (Spanish classes, reading...)
26.05.2025 / 27.05.2025 / 28.05.2025
We thought we had an early afternoon appointment with Carlos, but he has been waiting for us since 9 am ... a half-day wasted!
He calmly disassembles the clutch and we quickly understand that we are not going to sleep in our camper .... We find an apartment in the city.
The waiting continues.
The clutch is defective and another part.... The next day, Christophe goes with Carlos to retrieve the new parts.
29.05.2025
We pick up the motorhome at 11pm after one or two tests. The clutch works very well but a small noise is heard in the engine.
Christophe goes with Carlos to check... It doesn’t matter according to him ... just a friction of a belt ... In addition, the steering wheel is upside down .... It gets late, meet the next day at 4:30.
We go back to Valentin’s for the night.
30.05.2025
At the appointed time we bring back our companion.
Carlos immediately repairs the steering wheel and then adjusts one or two parts in the engine.
The noise is lower, but remains present.
We decide to go back to storage and see the problem when we return in mid-October
31.05.2025 / 01.06.2025
We decided to leave early for Brazil, where our friends are waiting for us.
We spend the last few days cleaning and preparing our camper for storage.
CARNET N° 214
MAVROS ODYSSEE
