The End's In Sight...

We arrived with no mishaps.
The tow truck driver was amazing. He used to be a butcher, gave it up because of injury and for the last nine months has worked part time at this job while also studying at North Tec for a degree in Social work and Counselling.

 

Welcomed by Mark...
Backed in with amazing skill and precision, ramps down...
And off she comes.

Into the space reserved for me...

This is Terry... He has totally trained at Fleet Care... Been here five years since 2007.
He grew up in Putaruru, did various jobs but has always had a passion for cars...
So that's what he is doing... Says his job is more of a hobby...
To me he is a genius...

The motor seems like a jigsaw puzzle...

So many bits to be numbered and kept track of...
Layers of all sort of things exposed...
I've actually learnt quite a lot.

The next layer...

The the head was off and the gasket exposed...
It is nothing like I imagined a gasket would be that blows up and cracks. 
But the head has gone to an engine reconditioner...
A new gasket is needed... because the old one cannot be re-used...
When you torque them down they don't seal...
So now it's a waiting game till all that is done...
The head locally and the gasket is coming from Palmerston North...

This whole major problem was initially caused by the ratio of anti freeze in the radiator not being high enough. Anti freeze stops freezing but also keeps the moving parts of the motor lubricated.
That caused the frost plugs to rust...
That caused a leak...
That emptied the radiator...
That caused overheating...
So if you are reading this...
Go immediately and check your anti freeze.
For people in New Zealand the ratio should be high enough for a South Island winter!