I drive past this layby everyday and about 2 weeks ago noticed a Euro Merc 4 x 2 unit parked up with trailer dropped about 8 ft behind him and satellite dish rigged up. Thought nothing more of it.
Saw it hadn`t moved a couple of days later so assumed he was having a 45 hour break.
A couple more days, still there , no movement.
This went on for about 8 days, could see the driver sometimes in front of his cab so assumed there was no dire medical emergency.
Thought I had better go and get him a few bits of shopping incase he was stranded with no food or money so bought him some drinking water, wet wipes, crisps, cake etc and dropped it into him today.
He has now been joined by another lorry from Bulgaria who had brought him out a spare used gearbox and both drivers are attempting to do a full gearbox swap including all the wiring on the layby floor. They didn`t speak a word of English and were up to their elbows in grease and Mercedes bits.
Many years ago , around 88/89 I think I was weekended in Lyon the only other lorry in the park on Friday evening was a Turk in a fiat , he proceeded to assemble a pulley block onto the front of his tilt trailer and started to remove the gearbox later on a Mercedes van arrived and kindly dropped a gearbox beside his diesel tank, this man was I’d say mid 50,s and between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning he exchanged gearboxes, all on his own never asked for anything from any of the many drivers that had arrived over the weekend, the look on that mans face said it all when he took her for a test drive quiet satisfied all was well ,he packed up his tools and the van arrived for the exchange unit .
Then and only then did he start to socialise with other drivers and to my amazement he spoke quite good English, he was an owner driver and done all his own work and didn’t think anything of what he had achieved.
Now we can’t change a bulb without a health and safety course .
A lot better than how i was a few weeks back mate. Ive had laser treatment on my eye to disperse the blood behind the retina and have around 30% sight back
I too have been passing the Merc every early evening & This explains why their was what I thought was a car engine on a engine hoist in front of the unit
I’m no expert.but guessing if its automatic gearbox. Just a case unbolting old one fit in new one. Where’s as a manual have gearstick cogs linkages etc to deal with
Some years ago, one of Eric Vicks drivers told me that he had been down in Spain with an ERF B series fitted with an 8LXB Gardner. The engine picked up on a piston, and the instruction from home was, head off, sump off, draw the piston, re fix the shell bearings to the crank with jubilee clips, reassemble, shut off the fuel to the bad cylinder and crack on driver!!
Hope they had a trolley jack.
