"Signs caution: 4x4 vehicles only"
And he's right - la Poderosa has a simple beauty about her. She's made for what she does: getting us in and out of hard to reach places. Comfort and first world amenities take a back seat on these trips.
However, after a week of tooling around this unforgiving land, we run into mechanical trouble. out in the desert, one of la Poderosa’s universal joints starts to fail. There is absolutely no chance of pushing through – the wobble has already damaged the front prop shaft and it’s getting worse.
we roll up at a very simple garage and are greeted by a father and son. The plan is to see if the damaged prop shaft will receive a new UJ without too much wobble. we also check if the Rover will drive in high range with only the rear prop shaft in place, but this does not work: the transfer case sends all energy to the absent front prop shaft. Engaging the differential does work, but we are still almost 500 road kilometres from home.
with any luck, a new UJ will do the trick. A Defender-specific part would be harder to find out here. for our '95, we usually order parts through Rovers North in Vermont and ship them to Texas. Mexican courier services then bring the items across the border. Given what a lengthy process this can be, we often rely on aftermarket parts available in Mexico as well as a healthy dose of Mexican ingenuity – especially if we have problems on the road far from home. Mexico has a relatively young land Rover tradition and while land Rover Mexico does stock some parts for the more modern Defender Puma 2.2-litre diesel, we've had better luck getting Rover-specific parts from the US or UK.
Riding with the mechanic in a dilapidated Dodge, we find a UJ in a neighbouring town and manage to get it in place using the basic tools at hand – not ideal but a pretty tight fit considering the condition of the prop shaft. Though we’re back on the road, la Poderosa will need a thorough check-up before heading back out; she needs to be in tip-top shape because we have big plans for her.
As we cruise out of the stark, high-mountain desert of Real de Catorce and back toward our colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, feeling the hot wind on our faces, we’re thankful to have her running again. we ride south, going home.