SaintPanzer
Well-known member
OK, so this is a little bit of a long story, but I've been traveling. In fact, it was the traveling that made things so interesting, as in addition to hotel reservations, etc. and a final "you need to leave on this date" deadline, things got a little complicated.
By way of background: I've been living in Germany for the last few years, the Defender was purchased in the UK (UK spec), and it hit it's 25 year point on Aug 1st. Actually, the build date was several weeks before that, but date of first registration was 1 Aug 98, and that is a date US Customs could not argue. Further relevant but boring info: My last day of work was 18 Aug, I had a reservation for the Dunkirk/Dover ferry on 19 Aug, and a drop off date for the car in Southampton on 4 Sep. I also was scheduled to depart Southampton for the US on 4 Sep, and that was a hard date. So here we are.
As part of moving house, and packing everything up, on the Saturday before departure we left my house to run a couple of errands. No big deal. I braked for a roundabout, and heard a clunking noise. "What was that?" Pulled over, but could not see anything dangling, or other reason for the clunk. I thought I'd finish my errand, go home, and pull a tire to see what was up. This would not be an easy task, as all my major tools, to include jack, jack stands, etc. were in a container on its way to Hamburg for onward movement to the US. But I had the bumper jack, and did not plan on crawling underneath.
The clunk continued. Then the wheel locked. Then I lost brakes entirely. Pulled into a parking lot, and saw brake fluid pouring from the front right. Bad for the home team.
Called ADAC. Tow (for the first time) to a garage. This was Saturday evening. No hope for anyone to look at it until Monday. Nothing I could do to it, as most (but not all) tools were already shipped. I had a few wrenches, a socket set, jumper cables, and some screwdrivers.
Monday, off to the mechanic. Met him at opening, he said give him 45 minutes, and he'd pull it in and have a look. Went back to see him, and learned what happened: A bolt holding the caliper backed out. the second bolt was stripping. The "clunk" was the caliper banging against the rotor, pivoting on the one bolt. The leak was due to the caliper (not a line, mind you, but the caliper itself) breaking. This was going to be a bad, expensive day, especially since I was scheduled to leave on Friday. The only good news was the mechanic said if I found a new caliper and a set of bolts, he could have it on the road ASAP. The search begins.
First thought was the local dealer. I knew I would pay a lot for the part, but did not have a lot of time to play with. Scheduled departure was four and a half days away. The dealer in Stuttgart said that he could get the part... in three weeks.
Spent all afternoon making calls. Limora, in Germany did not have a right hand drive caliper. Craddock and a few other places in the UK had the part, but due to Brexit, could not get me the part in less than a week. Even if they shipped that day, it would take a day for DHL to get it to Germany, and then it would be at the whim of the Zollamt (customs), and they have not been responsive to anything coming from the UK. Who said the EU has no hard feelings over Brexit.
In desperation, I called Rovers North and talked to Zack. Zack was happy to help, and had the part in stock. Zack also said that the Zollamt would be a problem, and it would probably sit there for a week, if not two.
This is really not looking good. We added up the cost to change the ferry reservation, hotel reservations, non-refundable cancellations, and extended stay in a hotel in Germany. Let's call that number $X.
Then we got creative: If the mountain would not come to me, I must go to the mountain. Added up the cost of a one-day round trip plane ticket from Stuttgart to Birmingham. Added the cost of a rental car. Let's call that number $Y. Turns out, $Y was less than $X. So Wednesday morning, I was on my way. This is going on a bit long, so I'll spare you the rant on the absolute incompetence of both Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn. By 2PM I was collecting my "click and collect" at John Craddock, where I picked up a rotor and four bolts, as well as the right-sized fan belt I'd been missing, and was headed back to Stuttgart. The one thing I did learn: The entire cost was not only less than $X (which is what helped make the decision) it was also less than the cost had the dealer had the part in stock.
Off to the mech first thing Thursday morning. He had it installed, bolts on the other side (just in case), bled, and ready by 3PM on Thursday. Friday it was off to the races. One minor issue along the way: All the "shaking" and "clunking" also loosened the bolts on the lower hub where the steering rod attaches. Noticed that half way through France. Fortunately, the dust shield slipped and held on to one of the bolts, and the other was only half loose. I have no idea how much grease I lost, and I do hope the CV joint is not spent, but with the tools I did have we pulled off a pit stop in a rest area not far from the Ardennes Forest and got things back together. Because I have no idea how much I lost, I will try and pull the grease left with a syringe and do a one shot pack again when it makes it back here to the US.
Happy days. We made our original ferry time, did an awesome drive about the UK all the way up to the Shetland Islands (photos later), and dropped the car in Southampton on time. Only other fly in the ointment/monkey in the wrench was my scheduled ship from Southampton has been delayed. Add two weeks storage costs. Hope the ship arrives in Baltimore mid-October. Then just a short drive from Baltimore to Idaho. Can't wait.
By way of background: I've been living in Germany for the last few years, the Defender was purchased in the UK (UK spec), and it hit it's 25 year point on Aug 1st. Actually, the build date was several weeks before that, but date of first registration was 1 Aug 98, and that is a date US Customs could not argue. Further relevant but boring info: My last day of work was 18 Aug, I had a reservation for the Dunkirk/Dover ferry on 19 Aug, and a drop off date for the car in Southampton on 4 Sep. I also was scheduled to depart Southampton for the US on 4 Sep, and that was a hard date. So here we are.
As part of moving house, and packing everything up, on the Saturday before departure we left my house to run a couple of errands. No big deal. I braked for a roundabout, and heard a clunking noise. "What was that?" Pulled over, but could not see anything dangling, or other reason for the clunk. I thought I'd finish my errand, go home, and pull a tire to see what was up. This would not be an easy task, as all my major tools, to include jack, jack stands, etc. were in a container on its way to Hamburg for onward movement to the US. But I had the bumper jack, and did not plan on crawling underneath.
The clunk continued. Then the wheel locked. Then I lost brakes entirely. Pulled into a parking lot, and saw brake fluid pouring from the front right. Bad for the home team.
Called ADAC. Tow (for the first time) to a garage. This was Saturday evening. No hope for anyone to look at it until Monday. Nothing I could do to it, as most (but not all) tools were already shipped. I had a few wrenches, a socket set, jumper cables, and some screwdrivers.
Monday, off to the mechanic. Met him at opening, he said give him 45 minutes, and he'd pull it in and have a look. Went back to see him, and learned what happened: A bolt holding the caliper backed out. the second bolt was stripping. The "clunk" was the caliper banging against the rotor, pivoting on the one bolt. The leak was due to the caliper (not a line, mind you, but the caliper itself) breaking. This was going to be a bad, expensive day, especially since I was scheduled to leave on Friday. The only good news was the mechanic said if I found a new caliper and a set of bolts, he could have it on the road ASAP. The search begins.
First thought was the local dealer. I knew I would pay a lot for the part, but did not have a lot of time to play with. Scheduled departure was four and a half days away. The dealer in Stuttgart said that he could get the part... in three weeks.
Spent all afternoon making calls. Limora, in Germany did not have a right hand drive caliper. Craddock and a few other places in the UK had the part, but due to Brexit, could not get me the part in less than a week. Even if they shipped that day, it would take a day for DHL to get it to Germany, and then it would be at the whim of the Zollamt (customs), and they have not been responsive to anything coming from the UK. Who said the EU has no hard feelings over Brexit.
In desperation, I called Rovers North and talked to Zack. Zack was happy to help, and had the part in stock. Zack also said that the Zollamt would be a problem, and it would probably sit there for a week, if not two.
This is really not looking good. We added up the cost to change the ferry reservation, hotel reservations, non-refundable cancellations, and extended stay in a hotel in Germany. Let's call that number $X.
Then we got creative: If the mountain would not come to me, I must go to the mountain. Added up the cost of a one-day round trip plane ticket from Stuttgart to Birmingham. Added the cost of a rental car. Let's call that number $Y. Turns out, $Y was less than $X. So Wednesday morning, I was on my way. This is going on a bit long, so I'll spare you the rant on the absolute incompetence of both Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn. By 2PM I was collecting my "click and collect" at John Craddock, where I picked up a rotor and four bolts, as well as the right-sized fan belt I'd been missing, and was headed back to Stuttgart. The one thing I did learn: The entire cost was not only less than $X (which is what helped make the decision) it was also less than the cost had the dealer had the part in stock.
Off to the mech first thing Thursday morning. He had it installed, bolts on the other side (just in case), bled, and ready by 3PM on Thursday. Friday it was off to the races. One minor issue along the way: All the "shaking" and "clunking" also loosened the bolts on the lower hub where the steering rod attaches. Noticed that half way through France. Fortunately, the dust shield slipped and held on to one of the bolts, and the other was only half loose. I have no idea how much grease I lost, and I do hope the CV joint is not spent, but with the tools I did have we pulled off a pit stop in a rest area not far from the Ardennes Forest and got things back together. Because I have no idea how much I lost, I will try and pull the grease left with a syringe and do a one shot pack again when it makes it back here to the US.
Happy days. We made our original ferry time, did an awesome drive about the UK all the way up to the Shetland Islands (photos later), and dropped the car in Southampton on time. Only other fly in the ointment/monkey in the wrench was my scheduled ship from Southampton has been delayed. Add two weeks storage costs. Hope the ship arrives in Baltimore mid-October. Then just a short drive from Baltimore to Idaho. Can't wait.
