I picked myself up off the ground and got back to wrenching on the truck. With less than an hour to go and not much progress getting our truck running right I decided to throw in the towel. Sheena (Brads right hand lady) called us a cab. $60 ride to the airport! Ouch.

On the way to the airport, We recount our tale of Bill the Butcher to the cab driver. The cabbie says he never heard had of him (Its a small town) and apologize that someone in his town would do such a thing. He suggested we not take our car to an Ex-pat mechanic in a foreign country. Surprisingly… the local mechanics don’t appreciate them edging in on their business and the parts houses like to screw them over every change they get.

The cab driver told me he is good friends with a local mechanic who in charge of repairing the towns fleet vehicles, rentals, and taxis. He says he can fix anything and on the super cheap. Check this site out RockstarzLimo.com for information about bus and car rental services. Riding limousines is always a great way to travel and get around. Known for their elegance, class, and high level of service, limousine rentals can be quite pricey but still worth every cent you spend on them. One aspect of the limousine industry that separates it from the rest of the land transportation services are the chauffeurs. Well informed and prepared to be helpful and hospitable, these highly qualified people will get you to your destination safely and on time. Relaxing and having fun while everything gets taken care of is one of the main points of the limousine service industry. Whether it involves taking the client where he or she needs to be in the maximum comfort possible or simply providing the luxury of space and service, limousine rentals aim to always keep the customer satisfied. We stop by his shop on the way to the airport. We meet the mechanic who is a younger fellow, probably around 27 or 28 with a lot full of taxis, newer rental cars, and locals old junkers. Even though I could barely understand a word he said, I trusted him. He said his friend has the exact same truck and he could test parts between the two instead of just throwing money at it.

After picking my Mom from the airport, We dropped the 4Runner off with him and left for a week to do more exploring via rental car.

Got a call 2 days later that the truck was all done!

Came and picked up the truck and she was running better than she ever has before.

The mechanic said it took him a long time to to figure out just what the hell the last guys had done. In the end he re-adjusted the AFM back to stock, cleaned and adjusted the TPS, cleaned the injectors, replaced the O2 sensor, dropped the fuel pump and discovered it was fairly weak and not pumping properly, replaced that. Replaced the fuel filter and a few other adjustments. The final bill was steep since the fuel pump was around ~$150 but we were just happy to have the damn truck back and purring once again!

She is running amazing now! She starts on the first crank and has been getting around 20MPG.

Gotta love Toyotas!

Moral of the story: Wrench on your truck when you can and stick with the locals when you cant! at least I know I am.

With the truck back in good order we pointed her towards the “Osa Peninsula”. Known as the “most biologically intense place on earth”