Wednesday, February 14, 2007

The end of the road?

Well folks...the mechanique came by this morning and took our oil pan off. There was an immediate reaction in Arabic and the three guys came out from under Thomas shaking their heads. It sort of felt like when someone opens a conversation with "I have some unfortunate news...".

We have a broken crankshaft and possibly blown pistons. Very bad news indeed.

We are exploring all options and if anyone has any resources in the U.S. to acquire and ship parts please post in the comment or call us at 00 212 072 08 94 25.

We have been calling the embassy, the consulate and even US AID to see if thy might have parts. In some late breaking semi-hopeful news another master mechanic came by an hour ago and said he is going to drive all over Dahkla today and see what he can scare up. He is returning to the hotel at 9PM tonight with any news. He seemed hopeful.

On the good side, all the folks at the Sahara Regency have been ace in helping us. They have reduced our hotel rates to semi-permanent resident status and there is a Valentine's Day BBQ on the roof top tonight. Freia and her husband, Colin, are ex-pats living here and have been a great source of information, mechanics, and pretty much everything else. Without them, and the fact that we got the bus to Dahkla, we would absolutely be sunk.

More later. Keep your fingers crossed.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Detroit Diesel is now a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler, maybe they can help you to track down the parts you need?
I don't know the specifications of your engine, is this the 8,2L two stroke type(found this via google)? There exists an marine version, maybe some boat dealer has parts to offer. Unfortunately, Detroit Diesel has no service partner in morocco- the next one is in spain: http://tinyurl.com/2g3sl2

Anonymous said...

E-h-m Maroc
Equipements Hydrauliques et Mécaniques (Maroc) s.a.
20100 Casablanca
9, rue BenJilali Taj Eddine - ex Rouen
Tél : 022 98 96 46, 022 98 97 46
Fax : 022 98 05 53

Marques ou représentations: Detroit diesel (pièces+moteur diesel)

Anonymous said...

A broken crankshaft sure doesn't sound good. But you've overcome before, don't give up hope! Meanwhile, your supporters back home will all be saying prayers to St. Valentine (or their source of help of choice) for Thomas's speedy recovery.

Jeff Simmermon said...

Hey guys -- I just posted this to Metafilter.

Maybe that'll get your message out a bit more, possibly resulting in help. At the very least, the discussion will be interesting to you.

Give Ed Fox a "hi" for me ...

Anonymous said...

Wow... yanks trying to "save the world" (ie. alleviate your very dark conscience) by using even more gas! Thanks guys!

Keep voting for the Democrats and donating to charity. Real change is just round the corner. Any minute now.

Fuck you.

xoussef said...

good luck... and happy valentine !

Anonymous said...

Jenna's sister says

Broken camshaft is bad indeed-but keeping my fingers crossed -Jenna did you bring St Christopher along ?

Hey Yanqui - right back at ya jerkwad!! Keep praying dubya is going to help you

Lynnie

Anonymous said...

Noooo! I remember seeing some cool tricks in 'Back to the Future'... I'll watch it again and forward my findings. Best of luck and I hope you're up 'n going again soon.

Anonymous said...

Hello there, Team Camel Tow (T7322) may be able to source some parts in the US and have them shipped. If you can let me know what parts you need soon, I'll see what I can scare up.

rtsDOTctsATgamilDOTcom