Breakdowns

As you might expect, we’ve broken down a number of times in our journey to Mongolia. Here’s what’s gone wrong:

1. Crack in windscreen – Turkey. Fixed with sticky tape.
2. Front passenger power window – Turkmenistan. Fixed by removing window motor, window is now permanently up.
3. Two flat tyres – Turkmenistan. Fixed by buying new tyres.
4. Lost all hub caps – Kazakhstan. Fixed by not caring.
5. Driver’s door latch came loose – Kazakhstan. Fixed by reattaching with screwdriver.
6. Glove box latch broke – Russia. Fixed by opening and closing glove box using brute force instead of handle.
7. Spring snapped on rear right-hand suspension – Russia. Fixed by removing broken piece of spring and using remaining 4/5ths.
8. Brake line ruptured on rear left-hand side – Mongolia day one. Fixed by plugging leak with a screw and some putty. Car now has only has three brakes.
9. Exhaust broke between between engine and muffler – Mongolia day two. Sounded like a sports car! Fixed-ish a few days later.
10. Rear roof bar came unseated – Mongolia day two. Reattached using fencing wire.
11. Flat tyre and destroyed wheel rim – Mongolia day two. Discarded damaged rim.
12. Dented front wheel rim – Mongolia day two. Repaired with a hammer.
13. Lost rear bumper – Mongolia day three. Completely optional part of the car.
14. Rock fell in throttle servo motor – Mongolia day four. After painful troubleshooting process, fixed by removing rock.
15. Radiator smashed up – Mongolia day four. Attempted repair, seems okay though very slowly leaking coolant.
16. Driveshaft broken – Mongolia day six. Not fixable, car abandoned at Bayankhongor.