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  1. #1

    My little story of the day.

    It's not often I have any stories to tell, but this is something happened this arvo to me.

    Lately the weather here in Australia has been very weird. Around the town where I live, there has been massive amounts of snow. It's stopped now but honestly this was the sort of stuff that got important roads closed. You know there's something wrong when I'm getting snow. Anyway, myself and a group of my mates all decided to check it out again and see what was left at the best spots, which were roughly 20 minutes away from town. Some people car pool but a few of us just drove ourselves, one of those people being me. The good old Ford escape, which had recently had a coolant tank replaced due to the original being dodgey, was obviously a good choice for the ice right? 4WD, decent on fuel, good times to be had. Plus with the ice roads and snowy paddocks I could actually do decent doughnuts and skids.

    We all set off, and I got stuck behind the old grandma of the group, who stuck to a solid 70-80km/hr in a 100km/hr zone, where it was safe to go at that speed. It was a fairly uneventful trip, and once we got to one of the spots and found there was very little accessible snow, we all pulled over and decided where to go from there. That was decided fairly quickly, and we all got back in our cars and went to get back on the road... Until there was a large bang and a mushroom cloud of steam came out of the bonnet of my car. No one could of missed it, and they didn't. Everyone turned around and come back and were losing it. There was that much coolant on the ground that you could of swam in it, and opening the bonnet of the car revealed that the coolant tank cap had shot off, and left a dirty great big mark in the engine bay's firewall. Basically, my car was stuck up on top of a snowy mountain, next to a busy road. If I had left it, which I would of had too, the Escape would of been missing all of its windows and a few wheels by the time I came back to it.

    Luckily, one of my just so happened to have a spare cap for the tank AND water to refill it for me to drive it home. That's not even lucky, just plain arsey. Anyway, I just hitched a ride with him to the snow so at least that happened. I managed to get my car home (while also nearly destroying the gearbox), which was nice as well. Would of been a long walk home if I decided to go by myself or something. :P

    It's a bit of a boring story I know, but if there is a lesson to be learnt, its to not take the Ford.

  2. #2
    Don't take a Ford to do a Chevy's job. (Holden to you Aussies)

    I have a Ford Escape as well and I've been having many many issues withe the coolant system. In the hot climates the radiator tends to crack. I have had to patch very large holes in the walls of it in the past few months. I too have had the radiator cap blow off, but I was in a thunderstorm. I was about 1 hour away from home as well, good thing I was in a drive-thru...

  3. #3
    Good to see it's not just my bad luck! When I just start to like it, it does this again. Haven't had the radiator crack but everything else and more has happened to the coolant system.

    I can't say I'm not a ford man any more though. Ford Falcons still have my heart. Much better than most of the equivalent Holden models.

  4. #4
    That sounds like end of the earth stuff right there. It should not snow in Australia, that's just weird. Glad you made it back alive

    If you're considering another car then keep this in mind. Without exception all American made cars have mediocre build quality, at best. If you want something reliable then get a Japanese car. Any Japanese brand will do, but if you have a choice go with Toyota, Mazda, Subaru or Mitsubishi. (Sorry DOM, not meant to bash your love for the Chevy.)

    Here's some inspiration. The famous Top Gear Toyota Hilux episode:






    Hammers, spanners and a bit of WD40 will pretty much keep it running

  5. #5
    I know right. If the desert country is getting snow, climate change is definitely a real thing Lucky I had mates with me. Otherwise it would of been a long walk home.

    HiLux's are way too overpriced down here. Australia's most popular ute/truck. The older ones may be unbreakable, but they couldn't pull the skin off custard. Same with the newer ones as well, except they aren't unbreakable. Don't get me wrong, they'll go almost anywhere, but still. :P Anyway, the plan is to get a Japanese car. Bugger breaking down after a 20 minute trip.

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