That Was Close!

Last Friday, I lost nearly all the oil in my truck engine (about 6 of 8 litres) in about 10 seconds. I’d had my oil and filter changed at the beginning of the week and the filter must have come loose. It could have had something to do with the rough trip I took to the village a few days later. That road is something else! I’m amazed that the oil filter is the only thing it shook loose!

Fortunately, it happened only a hundred yards or so from our home on a quiet back street. And I happened to see the black trail of oil behind our truck in time to stop and shut off the motor before any real damage was done. I’m especially thankful it didn’t happen while I was on my trip earlier in the week! In that case, I would have had to make my way to a town or village where I could catch a crowded minibus back to Ouaga, probably the next day.

As it was, I was able to call someone at our Centre, get them to come out by moto with an oil filter wrench, and have them drive me around on the moto to buy another filter and some engine oil. It took a while, of course, but within a few hours, I was back on the road. From now on, I’m going to carry a spare oil filter!