GoBigEmma Pan-American Roadtrip log

[Abscate]

In perspective, each one of these storms kills 10-50 people in Central America from flooding And mudslides. You really can lose your life in these things in a lot of countries.

Great plan for Emma...did you guys have a go bag plan to evacuate or were your scrambling? Might be something to document there for future travelers

Glad you guys are safe and Emma will clean up,just fine. Fresh water, promptly treated , isn't too bad on an older generation engine with limited electronics
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.ssS!

[williamM]

WELL thats RUDE-- 20 pages of fun and now this-- Glad you guys got out alive- statistics on evacuating a water crash are very poor-

Let me know if you need any help- if you cross at Algodones- your just 80 miles away (thats nothing by Az. standards)--

Make sure you soak that motor in some form of marine engine storage oil- or you will have nothing left when you get her back. same with the trans- If you can get her started before you ship- that's even better. getting the water out is important- run it! even if you have to squirt gas down the intake- toss the AC as that will carry lots of water right to where you don't need it.
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[andrewtf]

It was certainly an early morning call I'll never forget. If you are a parent, you especially know what I mean. The kids were ok and that was all that really mattered. At the time Emma said they had to leave Big Emma behind and it was almost completely under water when they last saw her. Emma just hoped the bus would be in the vicinity of where they left her and not swept miles down the river. Again....... they were ok and that is the only thing I cared about in the moment.

I will be traveling down to Florida to pick up both regular and Big Emma in the coming weeks. In a separate thread I'll be asking for advice on that process.

I will let Emma and Sven give out the bulk of the information, but with the help and long distance guidance from Robbie, and the assistance of some wonderful local Belize mechanics, they got the engine running so a major hurdle has been overcome.

The water and mud have pretty much destroyed all of the interior and warped the wooden cabinets beyond repair. Luckily the body seems to have come thru with a surprisingly minimal amount of damage. In the coming weeks and months, we will rebuild her.... better than before (insert sound effects from the Six Million Dollar Man here).

You're not thru with these guys and this bus by any stretch of the imagination.

Andrew
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'75 Riviera - 'BIG EMMA' (Pan American highway trip paused for a make over)
'77 Riviera - Murphy' (being reborn.... slowly)
'63 Austin Healey

[Abscate]

You did well, and the Gods smiled upon you, to recover Big Emma. Flash floods usually just carry stuff away and a 2 ton car is nothing to the force of water. Big Emma could easily have ended up in the Caribbean Sea

Wood might not be original but the cabinets and stuff are easily fixed, and this time you can improve on the design. Put a serial number 001 on your interior, and its matching numbers...
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.ssS!

[richparker]

Sorry to hear and see what happened. Safe travels back to the States.
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’63 Deluxe Build

[busdaddy]

This was the last thing I expected to see whan I clicked here, Wow!, what a bummer, but super glad you guys are OK. It's not the end of the adventure, just a detour.
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[wcfvw69]

The important thing is both of you are safe. The bus can be repaired. It's a shame this particular adventure ended like this for sure.
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[notchboy]

Guys sorry it ended that way. I very glad you are both ok and not hurt. You could've easily been swept away and stuffed under a log.

Scary shit that flash flooding.
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[GoBigEmma]

Thanks for all your comments guys, it's good to hear warm words these days.

We're definitely grateful to have noticed the rising water in time and to have gotten out and to shore before it got too high. I also do think we are incredibly lucky (as some of you have pointed out) that Big Emma didn't get swept away.

I always didn't like that the driver's side is so much heavier than the passenger side (it has the bulk of cabinets, fridge, etc.), but this time I'm really grateful because I think that's the reason why the bus tipped to the side it did and onto shore and not towards the middle of the river.

All in all, we got out of this one pretty lucky. So far at least.

Thanks to the mechanics here in Belize and to a detailed step-by-step guide from Robbie (helps when thinking isn't your strong suit due to shit going down) we managed to avoid catastrophic failure in the engine.

More water than oil came out when we drained the engine, and turning it over by hand the next day made water squirting out of the spark plug holes.. But magically.. everything seems fine. I fear for long-term effects on un-serviceable parts like the fuel pump, but that's something to worry about later.

I do have one question. I want to drain and change the transmission oil (tranny has been leaking oil both on the nose cone and the clutch end for months, so I figure water might have gotten in). But specific transmission oil seems to be generally un-available in Belize. The mechanic here told me they just put normal engine oil in their transmissions. What do you guys think about that? Can I do that for a limited amount of time? Is there even a significant difference between engine oil and tranny oil? I suppose engine oil can't be worth than water and rust.... please let me know your thoughts.

All the best from Belize,
Sven
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1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com

[GoBigEmma]

[busdaddy]

Engine oil or better yet ATF is better than nothing in the transmission, how far do you have to drive it to where it ships from?, or is it getting towed?

Ask that farmer where he gets his gear oil for his tractor.
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Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

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[cmonSTART]

Wow, I'm so sorry guys but I'm glad everyone is OK. My .02 is silt gets everywhere.. probaby a good idea to break down the engine and tranny and flush things really well..
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'78 Bus 2.0FI
de K1IGS

[Amskeptic]

[aeromech]

Do all the fluid changes twice. The first time is a flush out. Probably best to use something like motor oil or ATF for flush followed up by the correct lube. Just put a few miles on it and drain and fill.
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[chachi]

saw this on instagram and haven't read through everybody's comments, but so glad you guys are ok and the van seems...ok...?? what an adventure. safe travels and best wishes!
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'74 transporter panel
'91 vanagon carat NAHT

[wanderglobe]

Wow guys. Soooo glad you're both OK but still, that really sucks. Rebuild her! She'll be better than before and we'll hit the road again.
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[MorkC68]

What a superb thread, loved reading it from start to now, your adventures epitomize bus ownership, hats off to you for heading out on to the open road!

Excellent pics of your adventures but sorry to see how Big Emma has ended up in the flood. I am pleased to hear your all okay!

Good luck, I'll keep an eye on how events pan out.
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[GoBigEmma]

Hey guys!

We did change out the transmission oil and it was a good call to do it. Pulling the plug, there was a bunch of water coming out before it started turning oily-black.

Now Big Emma's transmission is running some good old 10W40. We only have to go around 60 miles to Belize City, so I hope that will be fine.

I did drive her up and down the road a few times yesterday and everything seemed fine. The clutch feels a little different than it did before, but it still worked well.

We are still working for the paperwork to get processed for shipping. They told us it would work out to ship this Sunday, but as the days go by and things don't happen, it seems more and more difficult. Maybe I don't have enough confidence in the Belizean efficiency.. we'll see.

Keep your fingers crossed that it'll still work out!

Sveen
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1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com

[TDCTDI]

You should find someone wanting one of those Brazilian busses to share the container with to offset some of the costs.
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[TomWesty]

Glad you are alive and well. It's amazing that Big Emma survived! Best of luck to you both.
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