A Little Romp Through Baja (Pic Heavy)

[deminimis]

First off, whoever had the FJ60 we saw waving at us in Bay of LA around 12/29/08, hi! Wish we would have pulled over to chat, but the light was starting to dim, and we still had to find some place to boondock that evening. So, whoever you were, with your big smile and large Overland Journal sticker on you door, my deepest regrets for not stopping.

Ok, in a nutshell: Left the big snow in Oregon on Dec 23rd not long before lunch (between storms). Made it to El Centro on the 24th. Decided we needed a day to re-organize (kids are 9 and 6, so that adds an additional element to any long traveling). Crossed over on the 26th. Hung out at Punta Bufeo with our buddies and their Sportsmobile for a couple of days (after I had to patch a leaking heater hose in San Felipe). Went to Gonzaga Bay. Met up with our buddies a day later and on to Bay of LA and then San Fransiquito. Parted company again and we hit San Ignacio. After that, Mulege was the plan, but started having some vehicle problems(some new, some getting worse), so decided perhaps it would make more sense to meander our way north, so did a 180 and went to Guerro Negro for a night and to pick up some good grease. Repacked a hub at Coco's Corner on our way back to Gonzaga (a two-beer job). Spent a few more night at Beluga on Gonzaga bay. After that, up to San Felipe for a night at Kiki's. Lazily made our way to and across the border the following day. Went to Fresno to get the van fixed at a Ford dealer (well, fixed enough to get us home so I could re-do it all, correctly, once we got home). Got to spend a couple of hours at Sportsmobile in Fresno too, drooling. Anyway, here are some shots (in pretty much chrono order). We're the silver SMB:

 

[deminimis]

 

[deminimis]

Body Count: Upper Heater hose (slipped and rubbed against an idler pulley -patched up Baja-style in San Felipe); Norcold lost refrigerant/died; u-joint (new U-joint and fresh grease (red Line CV-2), but grease failed and dripped, yes, dripped out. Totally liquified. Caught it in time); Edge Programmer (computer went nuts, kept shutting us down, finally pulled it, problem solved and unit off to Edge for a replacement), High pressure oil lines (blowing oil like a wild cat rig. Van wasn't leaking oil so much as it was marking its territory -sorry Scatter for what it did to your perfect driveway) -fixed with new seals and one new line, right hub (grease turned into dried toothpaste -again, caught early enough to repair roadside and no damage).

 

[articulate]

Fantastic trip! Sorry about your troubles.

I think that cruiser you saw could have been this one. It's Jonathan's:

 

[deminimis]

I must have an exhaust leak too. I meant to say FJ60. Edited it above.

Problems were no biggie and added to the adventure. Carried lots of tools, etc. Stupidly took out my grease gun before leaving. Ended up needing the grease gun a lot. Lesson: Don't travel without a grease gun and plenty of good grease. Scatter helped me out (grease-wise) with the u-joint issue. Later, after the holidays when we finally found an open parts store, we got a new gun and their only tube of good disc brake wheel bearing and chassis grease to take care of the hot hub. The leaking high-pressure oil lines was the only real bummer and did not know when they would fail to the point that we'd be walking (the oil system powers the diesel's fuel injectors). Also, was worried it might be a blown rear seal until I pulled the doghouse and saw the engine valley was soaked with oil. Fixed now though.

 

[ujoint]

Nice adventure!! I just went & hit my van with the grease gun, just for you!!

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Great trip, thanks for the pics.

Mind if I ask where in Baja was the yurt pictured in the second photo on post #2?

Thanks again,

 

[deminimis]

Yea, since I can't remember where all I used the Red Line CV-2 (Red Moly) on my van, I've got to pull both fronts and repack bearings and hubs to be sure. Hopefully this weekend. I was hoping the CV-2 was the single all-purpose grease I was looking for, but it wasn't. If it gets hot, it turns to liquid. That's fine in a sealed CV I suppose, but not so great when it comes to U-joints, bearings, locking hubs, etc. Was supposed to work in bearings, but... Anyway, the search continues for the best of the best grease. Been told the blue Valvoline stuff is the cat's meow, but haven't found any locally. Probably will just use good ol' Mystik as I have several tubes of that laying around (not as many tubes as of the CV-2, that I'll never use again except in my buggy's cv joints).

Hey all and sorta related, a group of us are doing Baja in Mid-Oct. Similar route, but we're heading all the way down to Cabo Pulmo. Some unavoidable pavement time, but most all on the dirt. I may have posted something here, but perhaps not. Will do so later in the proper catagory if I haven't done so already. Vehicles run the gambit. Mostly (most likely) baja bugs and buggies and bikes, but hopefully some Sporties and whatever else anyone wants to use. This is an open invitation to anyone that wants to join us for all or any portion of it. All beach camping with the exception of a night in San Ignacio (at the yurts or next door in the RV parks). Completely unorganized and everyone is resposible for themselves. If interested, lemme know. Will post the route later, but guessing if you've been to Baja, you can pretty much guess the route. We will be avoiding the 1,000 pre-runners with the route we're taking.

 

[deminimis]

San Ignacio Springs B&B. http://www.ignaciosprings.com/

It was our one comfort night (slept in a real bed, huge breakfast...with robes! Freak'n robes!). With exchange, it was only $65-ish for a fam of four. Pricey by Baja standards, but far from pricey for what you got. Nice Canadian couple run it. They take credit cards and it has Wi-Fi, if you need your computer fix. Its a nice mid-way break.

 

[deminimis]

ok, one last one. Just like this shot. Having left San Fransiquito heading to El Arco

 

[T.Low]

More, please

Well done, Senior.

Of course, luv the pics of the water crossings. Is there a place/link that you will have a more extenisive slideshow/trip report for those of us still left behind to enjoy the different shades of gray and precipitation up here in the PNW?

 

[HMR]

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

Looks like it didn't take more than a month or so for that King Air to get stripped:

:costumed-smiley-007

 

[deminimis]

Hi T. Low. Nothing more extensive out there. More vehicle-specific stuff on sportsmobileforum.com more Oct trip -specific on Shoptalkforums.com (off road section of course). Went through the shots tonight and whittled them down quite a bit. Noticed we didn't take a single shot when at Punta Bufeo. Guess I was too busy nursing beers, watching kids, eating well, etc. I can post a few more pics later for my fellow PNW sun-starved amigos.

 

[RedDog]

San Ignacio Springs B&B. http://www.ignaciosprings.com/

It was our one comfort night (slept in a real bed, huge breakfast...with robes! Freak'n robes!). With exchange, it was only $65-ish for a fam of four. Pricey by Baja standards, but far from pricey for what you got. Nice Canadian couple run it. They take credit cards and it has Wi-Fi, if you need your computer fix. Its a nice mid-way break.

Geez I hate you guys!!! More and more places I absolutely HAVE to go. I've bookmarket the B&B to add to my Baja route planning. I had thoughts of last summer but the fuel prices killed it. I wish it wasn't so far away.

Thanks for the photos and report.

 

[deminimis]

Fuel is cheap in Baja and its already in litres, so you won't have any conversion issues Red Dog, or excuses (my van only runs on gallons, so I had to buy the metric adpater;-) ). See you Baja in Oct!!