SleepDriving???

I guess you heard of the word sleepwalking.  Well, how about sleepdriving? I have been driving for almost a decade and I remember when I was the personal driver of my Mom and Pop.  My Pop used to travel a lot and he always asked me to drive him to the airport and sometimes to the seaport. His flight is always as early as 4am that is why I somehow doze my way through the highway and somehow I always get to my destination safe and sound.  Even when I feel that after waking up too early and thinking that I just went to sleep for just two to three hours, since I sleep late, I still manage to deliver the package.  This lead me to think of my driving history.  Have I ever had an accident due to sleepiness?  I guess not.  As far as I can remember throughout the years, I never felt sleepy while driving whatever vehicle I am handling.  I said to myself, do I really love driving this much that Mr. Sandman vanishes by the time I held my hands on a steering wheel?  I also thought of the fact that while on the road, even when not driving, I always fail to placed myself to sleep whatever strategy I tried.  Duh!

One day I shared this info to a friend and I said to him: "You know what, I guess I'm probably the perfect driver to be.  Because I never get sleep while on the road, never, ever!"  Then longest drive I took was the time we went home from Baguio.  If you have read my previous posts, I spent an entire 12 hours driving our silly asses home out of the 2x flat tires that we had while on the road.  I always get into this situation where everybody else is sleeping and I am fully awake watching all the posts, headlights, and stop sign pass us by.

But there are some drivers that I know who have slept on the road while driving.  Fortunately the accidents they took were not that severe and didn't became disasters.  So my tip for all the avid drivers out there is to assess yourself if you are a snoozing driver or a real driver.  If you can't deny never-never land while on the road, better give the wheel to somebody else.

Battery Overloading

One day my R2 jeep won't seem to start.  The engine would crank but it cannot start.  It seems that the battery was not giving enough current to the starter motor.  Before I went to the mechanic I googled on when should the battery be replaced and these should be the criteria. 

• Battery Life.  The Motolite website says their batteries lasts 2 to 3 years while in low climate countries batteries lasts up to 5 years.  My battery is 3 plus years already and fits this criteria. 
• Off-Engine Voltage Level.  When you measure the voltage across it's terminals when the engine is off it should read at least 12.6 Volts. 
• On-Engine Voltage Level.  When the engine is running it should read at least 13 Volts to 14.5 Volts.  My battery still has 12.6 Volts and since it wouldn't start I cannot read the voltage while the engine is running. 
• Starting Voltage Drop.  Another criteria is that if you monitor the voltage before and after the engine is starting the voltage drop should not be less than 3 volts.  I was not able to do this since I was in a hurry since it's getting late in the afternoon and wanted to really know if it is the battery that's failing. 

After consulting a mechanic it finally turns out that my battery was old and does not have the current carrying capacity to crank the engine into a start.  Good thing that Motolite has a free delivery service plus a free check-up.  I also traded-in my old battery and the trade-in price was deducted from the SRP value of the new one.  Now my R2 is up and running again.  By the way for Motolite Express Delivery just dial 370-6686.

R2 Fully Restored... ...Thank God!!!

My Asia Rocsta R2 Jeep was renewed and gained back it's true power that Ondoy had taken away.  It was a long Sunday when I had the timing belt replaced and the radiator cleaned.  I thought that it would only take two to three hours of mechanical work but it seems that the experience and expertise of the mechanic is the key to a successful timely execution.  The process took the whole afternoon.  I let the mechanic take over since I am relying on his expertise to handle the situation.  After cleaning the radiator inside and out and the old timing belt removed, I asked the mechanic to clean the engine first before installing the new timing belt and the overhauled radiator.  I didn't had enough cash to pay the parts and the labor so I went off to the nearest ATM machine and trusted him to put back all the disassembled parts so that by the time I get back we will just have to start the engine.  After an hour I returned and saw that everything was back in place.  But by the time I turned on the engine it won't start after cranking a few revolutions.  I kindly asked the mechanic what went wrong and asked if the proper timing indicators were followed properly and the timing belt was properly set-up.  He said yes and after that he again disassembled the radiator and the front of the engine where the timing belt lies underneath.  We checked and the timing was correct and did a quick check on all the gears if they were all working.  It seems that everything is in place so he suggested to make a quick check by starting the engine then immediately cutting it off just to see if it will start.  Unfortunately it did not.  He told me that before he removed the old timing belt he noticed that it was not timed properly just a bit since the indicator on the injector gear was offset by 1 teeth.  I suggested to follow the settings of the old timing belt and we'll see what happens.  The guy immediately did just that and without hesitation I tried to start the engine again and still the engine won't start.  It was the time that I prompted the owner of the shop that his man couldn't restore my jeep's engine.  It was the time that we found out that the injector did not have any fuel to make the engine jump for a start.  The reason is a punctured fuel hose from the fuel filter to the injector.  What the mechanic did was just pump the fuel filter for a supply of fuel from the tank then assembled it again he placed back the disassembled parts without checking first if it will really start.  He insisted that it will now start since this was the original settings and that there is now fuel in the injectors.  After the assembly the engine did start but it emitted smoke that it normally didn't emit.  That was the time that I instructed him to put it to it's intended timing and replace the punctured hose thinking that it was a contribution to the smoke and jittery engine since as what I know diesel fuel injectors will spray fuel to the cylinders with high pressure and speed and a punctured fuel hose will not help the injector in doing their job.  It was already past six in the evening when he finally pulled it back together and after starting the engine a sense of victory was felt in the air like winning a war or something.  After checking if there were water leaks out of the radiator and that smoke was not visible at the back I decided that the job was finally done.  I paid the mechanic and did not gave him any tips since he wasted my whole Sunday afternoon for a job that should have been finished if he stopped, talked to the parts, and listened to the process.  So I went off to the road, eager to get home, and looked a the rear view mirror for some traces of smoke.  To my surprise the engine had more power than before and no more smoky trail left behind.  This made me wonder if the flood water somehow affected the tension of the timing belt which give rise to an offset to the proper timing of the engine which leads to the lack of power and lots of smoke on sight.  To regain the original performance of my engine is a very good feeling for me.  It really feels that it is new once more.  Thank God!

The Great Flood

It's been tough for all the victims of Ondoy and Pepeng. And it is a nightmare for motorists whose vehicle was submerged in flood water. I was also a victim and my Rocsta Jeep was flooded. I just recovered it last week and had it washed this week. My R2's engine was fully submerged except for the battery, good thing that I parked it with the right wheels placed on the sidewalk of the highway so that it was tilted slightly just enough that the water did not reached the intake manifold.  I let the mechanic tow my vehicle and they brought it to their shop.  They drained the engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid and the power steering fluid. The two oil filters located underneath the engine was also changed. The air filter was also removed and it's chamber was also cleaned.  After all the replacement the engine was alive once again.  But to the thought that it would get back on it's own self, it seems that it was not running efficiently now.  My R2 it no longer had the power it once had. Sad to say that the engine is hotter, the exhaust is smokier. Looks like the restoration will take a longer time than expected. 3 days after the restoration the fanbelt broke but the event was not really troublesome since it broke near a carwash with a mechanic on duty.  Now it is running but not quite in it's good self yet.  My advice to fellow victim is to be patient in the restoration process to get your old beloved automobile alive and well once again.

Pasig U-Turn Pain

One night while driving along Amang Rodriguez Road in Manggahan, Pasig to go home from work, I made a U-turn to access Magsaysay road.  You can no longer make a left since the Pasig traffic enforcers placed steel fences in the middle of the road.  After making a U-Turn I saw this person in a white T-shirt signaling me to stop.  I later found out that he was a traffic enforcer and he is asking for my drivers license since according to him is that I violated a No U-turn sign.  I was surprised and couldn't believe what he just said.  I did not saw a U-turn sign along those fences before I made my move.  Then he pointed in a very dark area near where I took the turn and said "Ayan po oh, di mo ba nakita?"  The U-turn sign is placed at the side of the road and was not even illuminated for drivers to notice.  There were about four cars that were caught after me and they were also surprised.  I argued and argued but eventually my drivers license was already confiscated and he issued me a ticket.  What an unfair thing for drivers who are not aware of an upcoming misfortune.  I don't know what the Pasig traffic division is thinking but to me it's a very big failure on their side.  In order to comply with the law I guess you have to exert more effort and If you don't see it coming then you're screwed.  Putting up a sign which nobody sees is an indirect way of fooling someone.  I hope the ones who put up the sign will also experience the same kind of situation so that they can wake up and think it over on where to put those hiding U-turn signs.

U-Turn, Your turn

U-turn slots are sometimes a pain in the butt most especially during rush hours. Although I do not recommend this to you but if you are in a hurry then you might find this useful. Every time I make a U-turn at one of MMDA's U-turn slot I position myself at the outer lane since the this is the speediest lane because it has the longest turning radius coverage. But you have to consider that this is dangerous most especially if the vehicle in your left will not make a u-turn but will go straight instead. If it will slow down then there is a greater chance that he will make a turn. If he does'nt slow down observe if his left turn signal light is turned on then slow down your vehicle and wait for him/her to make the turn then you can follow by making your move. You have to be very careful and be cautious before you make your turn. I also recommend this if you are using an SUV or any long vehicles which needs much space to make a u-turn. Remember to keep your eyes on all three mirrors to make sure that there is no speeding vehicle on the right and no one from the left is going straight.

R2 Dito

My car is not really a car but rather a jeep with airconditioning. It was imported from south Korea and it's real name is Asia Rocsta R2. Older models of the Rocsta is much more like the American Wrangler Jeep. Mine's a much younger model and is more curvier. It has a 2.5 Liter Mazda R2 engine (not a direct injection type). It gives enough power to move its thick metal body. It's a 4x4 type of vehicle with manual differential shift found at the front wheels. The transmission is manual so it's less fuel consuming compared to the automatic type. It's a 3-door just like other jeep type vehicles with the third door at the back for baggage compartment. It has a small form factor so I don’t get much difficulty with horizontal parking. Its much like if an SUV to me than a car. It has 15" wheels and the maximum tire size that can fit into it is P235/75 R15. Before, I bought second hand tires which only takes a year before problems occur. That is why I prefer to buy new tires since the life of a tire is a maximum of 4 years. If it lasts more than that then consider yourself lucky. I like Bridgestone more than any other brands. If you take a look at their website they have more tire technology than other brands. I think they are more durable and does not wear off easily. My Father's Pajero uses Dunlop AT3 tires and compared to my Bridgestone the wear quite significant after a year. Also during our last Baguio trip, the Dunlop just went drained on us. We went flat for 2 times while we’re on the road. Good thing we had some spare tire as replacement. I never experienced this on my Bridgestone tires although the R2 had lesser mileage compared to the Pajero. It seems that old tires really do degrade but Bridgestone for me degrades the least.

My R2 is the most reliable second hand vehicle that I drove. It has thick metal body and stable chasis makes it more stronger than the C-RV. It's quite shaky on very bumpy roads. It's suspension is the basic leaf spring on both front and rear that is why I don't want it to be on the expressway and EDSA. They offer a quite rough ride but they are the toghest. The good thing about this is that the front wheels are the only ones that needs alignment and it doesn't cost much. It already has power steering so you only need one hand when backing up. Aside from that is that the turning radius is shorter which makes U turn slots a breeze. It's Mazda engine already had travelled 160,269 kilometers on the dashboard. I use Castrol GTX Diesel to lubricate it and has two oil filters under it to replace on every oil change. It does have minor oil leaks but the engine is quite robust. It had undergone a lot of pressure and it never let me down. This vehicle is tough and very reliable just perfect for us 3: my wife, my son, and me.