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.

Baguio Trip Part 2

We took the alternate route to climb Baguio. Instead of passing the Lion's head we took Marcos Highway which was a more relaxed climb compared to the old Kennon road. I only use the "D" or drive in the automatic transmission of the Pajero since it was the only option that I knew. When we were halfway of the climb my Son signalled us that he really needs to wiwi immediately that is when I came to a stop. The weather is quite sour with a moderate rainshower when my son had his time on the corner of the road. I came to help him since I was afraid for him to the thought that he was pissing near the road. Then I came to notice smoke coming from our vehicle. The tires were hot and when the rain touched it the water evaporated causing it to emit smoke. That was the time that I decided to use the "2" gear. After that we climbed slowly but surely making sure that we won't have any problems with our tires. At last we finally saw a "Welcome to Baguio" sign and I was relieved knowing that it won't take long for us to arrive at our destination. My father made a reservation for us in one of their staff house which is located near Baguio's Export Processing Zone so we have no problems looking for a place to stay. Finally after getting lost a number of times in Baguio City we fnally arrived in the staff house. We were welcomed by the caretaker and escorted us in our rooms. We were supposed to occupy 2 rooms but the room that we had was huge eough to accomodate two families so we decided to take that one big room. After settling down and fixing ourselves up due to the long trip, we went out for lunch. It was already around 3 in the afternoon amd boy we were starving. The first restaurant that we went to was located along the road. My friend saw this in the internet and according to him was famous. We decided to check it out. The price was not very expensive but is a little off our budget. My friend told me that its on him that's why I agreed. Inside the restaurant was very elegant and the utensils were shiny like it's a fine dine Restaurant. But my friend's wife did not liked it in there not because its expensive but it's too elegant for us. It's not the "Barkada Type" (Filipino style friendship or something like that) of restaurant. So we looked somewhere else. Good thing that we found a restaurant which serves Sisig and other Filipino local foods.

Baguio is just a small city compared to Manila that a tour can only last within a day. It's just that it was crowded at that time when we got there. We were already warned that there were so many people going to Baguio during the holy week. But we were prepared. What we were looking for was adventure and not moments of silence.

Fuel Drain

Some websites gives tips on how to save fuel while driving. Well I have my own set of ideas that might help you save some bucks out of your weekly refueling budget. These ideas are just plain out of my thoughts and I hope that they will be useful to some of you reading this most especially those driving in the Philippines.

Tip#1: Listen to Traffic Updates
Aside from listening to your favorite music from your favorite radio station you can also listen to traffic updates every hour or so. One good thing that happened to radio is the traffic updates. Although most reports are situations from major roads you can somehow make an intelligent guess on which roads might be congested. Like if you happen to be traveling near Ortigas Extension you can guess that a part of Manggahan, Rosario or Cainta will be congested if the report says that Ortigas Extension is heavily occupied. Then you can decide which roads to choose prior to entering these areas. So make it a habit of turn on the radio before leaving home.

Tip#2: Observe Proper Momentum
I used to live in Cebu and I enjoy riding in jeepneys to go to school. Most of the time the driver accelerates instantly upon picking up a passenger and then suddenly stops immediately when another passenger signals him to stop so that he/she can get off the jeepney. This high acceleration and deceleration rate loses a large amount of work exerted by your vehicle which in turn loses more fuel. So keep your foot light on the accelerator and friendly with the brakes.

Tip#3: Diesel is Power
Diesel engines has gained momentum in the market these days not only because that diesel is cheaper than gasoline but because engines are getting more efficient these days. Since the dawn of CRDI (Common-Rail Direct Injection) engines the emission rate of diesel decreased. You see lesser smoke and more fuel being utilized resulting to a happy driver.

Tip#4: Hang on to your brakes
During traffic, most especially during a bumper-to-bumper, most drivers are impatient by hitting the accelerator just to get about an inch of movement. Maybe the reason is the fear of being cut by another vehicle in the other lane. But to me it's another waste of energy and a price in the tank.

Baguio To Go (Part 1)

During the holy week of 2009 Me and my family went to Baguio together with my colleague and his family. We used my Father's 1992 Mitsubishi Pajero Exceed which was bought as a second hand imported from Japan. It was bought in Cebu and was already converted from right hand drive into a left hand drive vehicle. Because of fthis there are some things that's getting used to like the position of the hand break, the automatic transmission shift button, the signal light lever, the wiper lever, and the power windows. One bad thing about imported vehicles from Japan aside from being right hand drive is that the Users Manual is in Japanese that is why you have to press the unknown buttons and levers just to know what they are for. But eventually I was able to manage. We were supposed to leave around 4 in the morning but due to some difficulties waking up so early we left the rendezvous point around 5:00 already. That is why we have to endure the heavy traffic along North Avenue up to the North Express entry point. But the moment that we entered the Expressway the ride went smooth. A good thing when you're with your family and friends while traveling is that traffic time is shortened by a good conversation and a lot of laughs. It's not my first time in NLEX so I have no worries missing an exit. Besides, my friend is a very good navigator. He navigated our trips before when we went to unfamiliar places in Metro Manila and also when we went to Laguna and Tagaytay one time.

The road was wide in NLEX and was more wider in SCTEX. I never thought that I was already going 100km/hr in the expressway if it was not asked by my friend. This was the farthest trip that I drove and it was really a pain in the spine since you have to endure the long hours of paying attention to the road. I had the lives of two families at stake including mine so I said to myself that it would be better look at the road first than anything else. NLEX was not quite wide by that time since there were several vehicles that were traveling with us. Before, there was not much vehicles so you wouldn't notice that you are already doing more than a hundred so I would suggest you take a look at your speedometer most of the time especially when you are getting near the tollgate. The last time that we went here I had a hard time braking since I haven't noticed that I was so fast by the time I approached the Dau tollgate. Good thing that the brakes were doing fine and the tires were still new by that time. But this time this was not the situation due to that experience. My friend took care of the tollgate so I cannot remember how much we paid. We entered SCTEX via the Mabalacat exit. It was my first time to enter SCTEX so I was expecting a different situation since it was known to me that Subic/Clark were strict about speed limits. If NLEX is free flowing then you should consider SCTEX as a wormhole. When you get into SCTEX it's like its a different universe. The road is so calm and the vehicles are far apart from each other. I was cautioned by one of my friends that the place is swarmed by hidden speed cameras since he was caught red handed by the SCTEX authorities as overspeeding and believe me they actually take pictures as evidence so there is no alibi that you can think of when you get caught. Like the interstate highways in the US there is also a minimum speed limit aside from the maximum speed limit. It was really a bad thing that I can't find the cruise control of the Pajero since it was a very hard to keep pressing the accelerator with the proper pressure to maintain a constant speed. At many times I was tempted to go higher than a hundred but was afraid enough to get caught and spend more time processing to get my license back.

My Driving Experience

Hello everyone.
I am a concerned driver that is willing to share my driving experience here in the Philippines.
I've been driving since I was 18 years old and I enjoy driving.
My dream is to drive as many types of vehicles most especially the luxury types and the big ones.
If you ask me to grade my driving level from 1 to 10, I would say I belong to 6 or 7 since I only have a non-professional driver's license and am not able to drive those heavy utility vehicles like trucks and buses. But I am planning to upgrade it eventually at my next renewal of my driver's license.
The vehicles that I already driven were:
1. A stainless steel body jeep
2. Toyota Corona 1979
3. Mazda Familia 97 Edition
4. Ssangyong Korando (Forgot the year)
5. Kia Sportage (The old one)
6. Mitsubishi Pajero Exceed (1992)
7. Asia Rocsta R2
8. Nissan Frontier Pick-up truck
9. Chevrolet Venture

I'm gonna give you tips, tricks, and news all about driving in the Philippines.
Hope you stick around.