Bob Lang wrote
<snip>
This is why I do 99.44 percent of the work on my TR6. I don't trust
others do do it right.
dead right; some time ago the government here wanted to pass legislation
preventing home mechanics doing any work on 'critical' automotive systems such
as brakes or steering. such things could only be trusted to the pros.
just a year or two before this, when i had little mechanical knowledge, i had
my father help me replace the seals in the heralds' master cylinder. this was
easy enough but we couldn't get the air out so monday morning i drove the car
using the hand brake to the local repco brake and clutch repair shop about
three streets away. the mechanic called at work and said that the front slave
cylinders were no good and would have to be replaced and i gave them the go
ahead. i picked the car up from their car park after hours, only to find the
brakes very spongy. next day i complained and the mechanic said they probably
needed adjusting! i took it back and yes this time the brakes were quite good.
a few weeks later the car began making a strange noise (later discovered to be
a failing uni joint) and after returning home i popped the bonnet and looked
carefully at all the rotating parts. to my horror i found the front brake
hoses had been rubbing on the wheels and were well and truely on their last
legs. in about 100kms death would have set in (car and driver). the useless
mechanics had replaced the old hoses with the 'kink' facing the wrong way. i
returned the car and they generously offered to repair it free. i picked the
car up again after hours and yes, the brakes were soft and spongy. i rang and
the mechanic and he said they probably needed adjusting.
since then i got my brother ( a real mechanic) to show me how to do anything
tricky and we all lived happily ever after.
nothing ever came of the proposed legisltion but had it come to pass i would
have told them where to stick it!
derek (some of his nine lives gone) evans
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