Well, it wasn’t just the front diff that needed
replacing. Having decided that we needed
to get to the cause of an entirely unrelated engine oil leak, Nanjgel drained
the gearbox before splitting the gearbox from the engine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only oil that came
out of the gearbox – there were a slack handful of links previously belonging
to the transfer box chain. Since the
transfer box had already been overhauled once, we decided to replace it as
well. So – long story short – we now have no oil leaks, better oil
pressure and lots of shiny new parts.
R2 was held at my favourite EDC track at Lihbab, and I
started alongside Ali Al Ketbi’s green Patrol. I made the decision to let him lead the first
lap so I could learn from any
mistakes he made. After rounding PC2 we headed across the wide plain, and I
was able to use the extra grunt of the Beast to get past him quite easily.
A couple of laps later I was still comfortably ahead, but
made a stupid mistake rounding PC3, pulling a front tyre off the rim. Worse still, I’d left the rattle gun in the
garage! Fortunately help was at hand and
I was able to replace the wheel – and then the damn thing wouldn’t start. A bump start behind a marshal’s LR4 got me
going again and I continued to the finish, a lap behind Al Ketbi.
Despite the drama, I ended up with 2nd in T1 and
3rd overall, so I now have points in championship. Al Ketbi’s points don’t count at the moment,
as his roll cage lacks certification, so I currently lead T1 and lie 3rd
overall. Huzzah!
Back at Nanjgel they quickly diagnosed the starter issue –
loose wire to the solenoid (again) – and replaced the handbrake pads as
well. Jason solved three electrical issues
in one evening of fettling, so we’re ready for Round 3 tomorrow.
Photos courtesy of Tim Ansell (a.k.a The Phantom
Blogger).
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