So here I am, in a hotel room in the city still trying to change my rear brake pads. Let me explain what’s going on…
Normally changing brake pads on my truck takes me about 30-40 minutes per axle and in my past experience it’s done every 50-80K miles depending on driving style etc. etc. But the brake pads that are available locally last about 6K miles so they get changed with every tire rotation. It was getting expensive so this time I decided to try some pads from the US and see if they last longer. I ordered them last April and just got them. When I went to install them I ran into trouble that I knew would require spare parts – something I can’t get quickly (it can take months) and due to the extreme rate of brake pad consumption I can’t wait that long. This means taking it to a shop.
There is a good shop here that I have enjoyed using, but things aren’t done the same here due to a lack of resources. Basically what has happened is that the brake calipers needed to be overhauled-a very easy job in the States. In fact all you do is hand your worn out parts to the guy at the parts counter and for about $60 he hands you an overhauled one. It’s a fair trade. No such resource here.
Once I knew an overhaul was in order, I hurried to a hotel to book a room as quickly as I could because hotels in the city run at about 80% occupancy and the 20% that are vacant aren’t places you’d want to go near. I’ve learned that once things start to get complicated on a repair I need to start arranging to stay for a night or two.
Once booked in a room I rode public transportation back to the shop, approved some other repairs and hung out to make sure the work was done how I wanted. In the end the parts that arrived were the wrong ones, so it will be late tomorrow before I get to drive home on a new set of brake pads.
Our vehicle is a 1990 model Landcruiser 70 series and is as suited to this environment as any vehicle in the world is. However, I have to be realistic-it is almost 22 years old and has lived a hard life. I am tremendously thankful for it and am reminded how incredibly blessed we are in the States to have the infrastructure that we do. After all, a job that could easily be done by the end of my second cup of coffee back home has taken me since April to plan and execute!