Romania: Balance and rotate the other tires to get two of the same type on the front and rear.
Romania: Brake line leak (probably due to improper jacking up by Romanian tire guy and corrosion). This was repaired with a new brake line.
Moldova: Oil Leak – fixed in Unghen for about $40. Still not really sure what happening here, but it hasn’t occurred again!
Russia: Coolant leak (Found in Ukraine but solved in Taganrog, Russia). Poured the radiator leak gel into the radiator and then the mechanic topped it up with coolant.
Russia: In Astrakhan we discovered that the front driver’s tire was bulging badly and some of the steel belts were starting to show through. At the mechanic’s this lead to us finding the source of the problem which was the tie-rod that had sheared on the driver’s front side. Also in Astrakhan- new brake line leak and loosened all of the bolts that the Romanian Vulcanizare had tightened far too much - so much so that we could NOT get them off. Even the mechanics ended up stripping one of the nuts and even the pneumatic gun couldn’t get them off and he had to use a 10 foot long wrench to loosen them
Kazakhstan: Russia/Kazak border – bus died and needed a jump after accidently leaving headlights on for too long with engine off.
Kazakhstan: At border with Uzbekistan we got a puncture from the awful roads out of Beynau and glass in the vicinity. Changed no problems (although very hot and dusty!)
Uzbekistan: Nukus - Removed exhaust pipe because it sheared right through and was hanging on by one hook. We had the punctured tire from the border repaired.
Uzbekistan: Between Nukus and Bukhara – Bus died after parking in shade behind a truck. Probably issues with the fuel pump.
Uzbekistan: Between Bukhara and Samarkand – next blow out tire front passenger side (this one really burst), pulled into shade to fix tire (successfully), then the car wouldn’t start. Had locals help push us into the sun, and then the car started after half an hour or so. Team Wong Way Round had arrived for moral support at this point. Then we noticed that the Brake warning light was lit up on the dashboard. The parking brake was stuck in the engaged position. We finally managed to disengage it by tugging on the cables beneath the bus and applying WD-40 to the connection points…however the springs are toast….so no more parking brake.
Tajikistan: Oybek border crossing. After lengthy discussions with customs officials (during which we left the bus running, fearing not being able to start it), we set off to leave the border post. I move the gearshift from Park to Drive and the bus dies…..it won’t start again. The sun is setting at this point so we can’t warm up the bus. We try a couple more times to start it with no luck. The next morning the rising sun warms it up nicely and the bus starts up….
Kazakhstan: Just before Semey. Noticed that the temperature gauge was starting to climb. Pulled over and noticed a coolant leak. Topped up coolant and made it the remaining 25 miles into Semey. We think this was caused by the brutal road conditions for the last 100km into Semey, which may have dislodged the prior repair down in Russia. We got more Radiator stop leak fluid and applied it and it seems to be holding. We bought a spare can for use in Mongolia.
Russia: Just as we were pulling into Barnaul, we went to get gas and noticed a huge oil leak from the BBB. Luckily there was a Citroen dealership next to the gas station and they looked underneath and set that we had blown a hole in the oil filter!! (how I don’t know!!). Anyway they replaced the oil filter and also put some zipties underneath and we seem to have stopped leaking. However the BBB sounds like a Harley Davidson now….any pretence of a muffler is gone!