Frustration

When we arrived in Puebla, I noticed the transmission was not acting properly. When I stopped at a toll booth or light and started up again the motorhome started in third gear instead of first. I did not really notice it until I stopped at a light on a hill and the engine really struggled to get me up the hill. I manually downshifted and that worked.

I had the RV Park owner call the local Ford dealer and ask for someone who spoke English. She passed me the phone and a gentleman came on. I told him the problem and he told me to bring it in and they would take care of it. I took one of the workers from the park who did not speak English but knew my problem and went to the dealership in the car. There we found out that the man I spoke to was at the head office and nobody at the dealership spoke English.

I called my Mexican friend Hector, who we had met in Curnavaca and who was silly enough to give me his number and tell me to call anytime I needed help. He spoke to the Service Manager for a while who then handed me the phone. Hector told me that they were not interested in helping me. They had no room for the motorhome and had no parts for the transmission.

The worker from the RV Park then told Hector and I that he had a friend who was a transmission mechanic. He said he would bring his friend over to the RV Park to look at the problem. 

The Spanish (only) speaking mechanico arrived and the first thing he did was to check the transmission fluid for level, look, smell, feel and I think he even tasted it. It was fine. He connected his scanner to check the electronics and everything checked out fine there as well. He shook his head, started the engine, put it in gear, moved a couple of inches and scanned it again. Still no problem! He asked to go for a test drive so we drove up and down the main street and it shifted perfectly.

I called my friend Hector and he and the mechanic talked for some time before he handed me the phone back. Hector told me the mechanic thought that after the hard, uphill drive from Cuernavaca to Puebla the transmission might have overheated and temporarily acted up. He told Hector that when he plugged the scanner in it might have re-set something but that made no sense to either of us. He said there was no point in looking any further because it was shifting properly, the fluid was clean and fresh so looking any further would only start costing a lot of money. Hector asked him how much he wanted and was told $200 Pesos or about $17 USA.We gave him $250 Pesos, tipped the RV Park worker well for his valuable help and here we are. We will modify our route a little, heading further South into Mexico so we stay near larger cities and keep our fingers crossed. As one of my old bosses used to say, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it!”

We are leaving Puebla tomorrow and heading for the Yucatan. We may be boondocking tomorrow night so I will post when I can. Adventure awaits!

Frustration: “When something is wrong with your vehicle and you think it is broken but when you take it to the mechanic it performs flawlessly”.

Hector: Gracias mi amigo! I owe you a meal when we meet again.