Road Trip
Excited about my brother getting into the ever so great Philippine High School for the Arts in Mt. Makiling, Laguna, the entire family decided to attend his presentation a couple of days ago. With just the car I call mini-mini-van, we challenged it to a road trip. It was a means too to test out just how far it can go, and boy it went well. I even brought my best friend along besides the fact that we didn't have enough space to stretch or rest. LOL!
On the way there, somewhere near Calauag proper, we heard something that's not right within the vehicle's engine. The radiator had been dreading overheating that we made a couple of stops before adding water on it, so the noise really bothered us. Luckily we found an auto shop that we can ask for help with the repair. Our car's fan belt's slightly torn. Slight or not, it has been known that belts like that should always be in good condition if you want a safe travel. And with the fact that Legazpi to Manila is 8-14 hours travel, we do need to make sure everything in the car's engine is working.
The mechanic told us the belt was for the alternator, that if not replaced, it would be dangerous to push through with the travel. Uh-oh... The owner of the auto shop went to look for a spare part that would match the fan belt that we need, while we waited and waited... When he came back, the belt he got was different and wouldn't fit so he went again to the city proper with my dad... again we waited. When they came back, the one they got was close enough to the original size but still wouldn't fit. We were becoming hopeless. Not being able to fix the car we were already convincing ourselves that we might spend the night in the middle of nowhere (okay, that's an exaggeration). Still, it is too far from Legazpi nor Manila so, yes, it's nowhere. hehe...
When the owner of the auto shop checked the car parts again, he exclaimed that the belt was actually for the airconditioning of the car (which we weren't using in the first place!) and that everything will go well. That meant, the three hours stay there was all simply for the worry. Still, we were grateful with the auto shop crew's hospitality. After the rest of the car's parts were checked, we continued the journey to Manila with no hassles.
The day after we arrived in Manila, we used the mini-mini-van going up Mt. Makiling to my brother's school. Just like a heavy exercise, the car's engine improved into a more promising travels. After that hike the vehicle had, going back to Legazpi went real smooth and the engine sounded as if it was new.
Geez! I just realized this post would have been great had it been published in an automotive related blog. That's an idea... hmmmm....
On the way there, somewhere near Calauag proper, we heard something that's not right within the vehicle's engine. The radiator had been dreading overheating that we made a couple of stops before adding water on it, so the noise really bothered us. Luckily we found an auto shop that we can ask for help with the repair. Our car's fan belt's slightly torn. Slight or not, it has been known that belts like that should always be in good condition if you want a safe travel. And with the fact that Legazpi to Manila is 8-14 hours travel, we do need to make sure everything in the car's engine is working.
The mechanic told us the belt was for the alternator, that if not replaced, it would be dangerous to push through with the travel. Uh-oh... The owner of the auto shop went to look for a spare part that would match the fan belt that we need, while we waited and waited... When he came back, the belt he got was different and wouldn't fit so he went again to the city proper with my dad... again we waited. When they came back, the one they got was close enough to the original size but still wouldn't fit. We were becoming hopeless. Not being able to fix the car we were already convincing ourselves that we might spend the night in the middle of nowhere (okay, that's an exaggeration). Still, it is too far from Legazpi nor Manila so, yes, it's nowhere. hehe...
When the owner of the auto shop checked the car parts again, he exclaimed that the belt was actually for the airconditioning of the car (which we weren't using in the first place!) and that everything will go well. That meant, the three hours stay there was all simply for the worry. Still, we were grateful with the auto shop crew's hospitality. After the rest of the car's parts were checked, we continued the journey to Manila with no hassles.
The day after we arrived in Manila, we used the mini-mini-van going up Mt. Makiling to my brother's school. Just like a heavy exercise, the car's engine improved into a more promising travels. After that hike the vehicle had, going back to Legazpi went real smooth and the engine sounded as if it was new.
Geez! I just realized this post would have been great had it been published in an automotive related blog. That's an idea... hmmmm....
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