Bavarian Brazil

We enjoyed our time in Gramado, made some new friends, caught up with some folks we met in Punte del Este, got some bus projects done*, played soccer with Yuri the wonder dog, marveled at bunny island, did not dine at a fancy restaurant, soaked up some Alpine village Christmas ambiance, ate a huge sushi feast with Beti and Marcel, and even learned some more Portuguese.

The money situation is stabilized, but still a work in progress to get our mystery charges refunded. For now, we’ve decided to only use international banks… which there are a few in Gramado. This plan may not work in small towns, but should keep us moving along for now. So far, so good.

*filling a leaky steering box with high-viscosity oil is not the same as fixing it. But, it was the best we could do. Many calls were made for us (some in German), shops were visited, and it was determined the part simply does not exist in Brazil. Oddly, people were asking us where we had been getting parts for a German kombi.  After further review, it appears the part may not exist anywhere. If you can locate the circular steering gearbox seal (on the side that connects to the drag link arm) for a 71 VW bus, then that’s what we want for Christmas.

6 thoughts on “Bavarian Brazil

  • December 19, 2012 at 8:21 AM
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    is the same one that we fix in the lathe? in that case, i can do something

  • December 19, 2012 at 10:11 AM
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    Ignacio – no, though it does look similar and a similar fix may be possible. It’s the steering gearbox under the steering wheel.

  • December 19, 2012 at 1:18 PM
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    if you have the sample, send me a picture of it, with the measures and with my father-in-law tray to do something to help

  • December 19, 2012 at 5:37 PM
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    Use semi Fluid grease instead of oil in the steering box. It does the job very well and minimize the leaking issue.

  • December 21, 2012 at 9:25 PM
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    What happened to the photo gallery?

    On this page all images open another wordpress page with a single photo, which then opens the photo in large (but no navigation to the next one)…
    You fix the van and break the page? 😉

    Happy Christmas to y’all (we spent 2008 it in Gramado)

  • December 22, 2012 at 3:54 AM
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    Juergen – that’s what a WordPress update does… now fixed, just for you 😉 Happy holidays !

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