We had a very frustrating & stressful time for awhile after the Paj broke down while we waited for the diagnosis knowing in our own minds it was something major. Mitsubishi Gladstone had our vehicle for five days before they were able to tell us that the piston was cracked and had damaged the head! Indication was that the injector was not distributing the diesel evenly onto the piston which then created a hot spot causing the piston to crack! We were then given options, hopefully we have made the right one for us. The vehicle has now had another motor fitted that they were able to source from the Gold Coast, it had been removed from a written off vehicle. If we had gone with a reconditioned motor plus having to purchase another injector pump and injectors etc it would have cost more than the Paj was worth. Going with the second hand motor got us back on the road quicker and some what cheaper but still a very costly option all up a little over $8,300 !! The motor has a six month warranty so hopefully we get back to Tassie without any further problems then we will need to purchase a new tow vehicle. The annoying thing about this is that we had the injectors serviced before coming away!
We were lucky to have a hire car provided by RACT for 7 days and then we had a courtesy car from Mitsy for the remainder of the time otherwise we would have gone bonkers. Carlene & Rex called into Tannum for a couple of nights on their way to Hervey Bay so it was lovely to catch up with them and to hear about their travels since leaving home. While we had the hire car we did a trip to Burrum Heads to catch up with our friends, a three hour trip down and then back in the same day but very worth it to enjoy a few laughs and great company. It was sad to see another caravan on the site where we should have been, as we had to cancel our time there this year. We also had a lovely surprise to see our friends Alison & David walking along the foreshore at Tannum as we were leaving the beach last week, we spent a great couple of days with them showing them all over the Gladstone area as we have become quiet knowledgeable getting around the place.
Last Friday we were reunited with the Paj with it's new heart beating to a much better rhythm after two weeks apart. During that time we spent it out at Tannum Sands with Jason and Anita, so that meant we were with them for a bit over a month, by the time we left on Tuesday it was feeling a lot like home. Since Friday we have driven the Paj around as much as possible getting our confidence back and making sure all was ok before towing the van again, the weather conditions didn't help much as all down the coast has been very wet not ideal for being on the road, so nice to see blue skies again. We are now at Burrum Heads the Paj behaved very well on the 297 klm trip and we managed to get an unpowered site for 5 nights, feeling much happier now. Sunday we will head back up the coast a bit to Bargara Beach for four weeks.
