Horace's Hip Replacement

The previous post told of the mercy dash to Chengdu to try to find a replacement wheel bearing for the Dodge. Ian takes up the story.

At Chengdu we found a neighbourhood specialising in car parts; people working in shops and the spaces between them, with motor bikes delivering anything that could be carried on a bike. The first question we were asked was what car it was off, and a truthful reply just got a shake of the head, so we had to try another tack and try to find a bearing shop. After a few attempts a young girl took the sample and went off in the rain. She reappeared 10 minutes later with a sample that was the closest she could find. It would do for $10. We were informed that if the shop in the next row did not have a suitable bearing no-one in Chengdu would. We returned in the rain the next day and found the shop open and after much discussion and a few phone calls she decided that nothing of similar size was around. Next suited one would require shims. Off to try to find something suitable in the nearby tool shop. Bought some thin copper sheeting and two large feeler gauges that could be used, all cheap.

Back up the hill to Maoxian and put in the shims and then the new bearings on top of wrapped copper sheeting with copious amounts of grease. Five days later it’s still working. Spares are due in tomorrow, here in Xining.