Car Maintenance Dodge

SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH · May 20, 2015

I did the brakes on my F-I-Laws car last weekend & smeared copper ease on the hub face as it took a good few whacks with the persuader to get the alloys off

Andy™ said:
if your at the side of the road and need to replace a belt to avoid towing it, chances are its being replaced at the side of the road because the existing isnt there any more. or if it is, its in shreds

The old Jag had 5 belts

Andy™ said:
if your at the side of the road and need to replace a belt to avoid towing it, chances are its being replaced at the side of the road because the existing isnt there any more. or if it is, its in shreds

The old Jag had 5 belts

Apache · May 21, 2015

My Landrover doesn't keep it's wheels on long enough for them to get stuck. I had them off twice last week doing brake pads and then the calliper slider that was seized and had a knackered rubber gaiter.

pewter · May 21, 2015

steptoe said:
Ive never met anyone yet that will give a warranty for a cam belt breaking, other than the price of the belt, which is nothing compared with needing an engine,

I spoke with my friend today and asked him about the incident.

A Ford transit had its cam belt changed, with a kit supplied by Motex (motor factors). The engine was destroyed a bit later. The manufacturers usually request nothing is touched on the engine so they can send a technician out to examine the damage. BGA who supplied the kit in this case was happy for the garage who fitted the kit to send requested parts to them. When items like this fail the manufacturer can usually determine why by examining the damage.

Motex paid £1500 to have the engine rebuilt and all labour costs from the garage so the customer could get there vehicle back on the road as quick as possible. When BGA had confirmed the fault was due to a tensioner that was supplied in the cam belt kit they paid Motex the £1500 that it cost to rebuild the engine and refitted.

Cases like this are rare but when it does happen the manufacturer, motor factors and garage try to get the customers vehicle back on the road with minimum inconvenience and no cost to the customer.

You can change the part yourself and still claim for damage if a fault in the manufacturers part happens, but you can not claim for your own labour. If you are an amateur you will have to hope you have fitted it correctly.

This is why with things like a cambelt i think it is best to let a reputable garage supply and fit the part, so if there is a fault they can just take care of everything.

kerching · May 21, 2015

Back in the day when money was shorter than it is now I used to do all my car repairs. That was the main reason 35 years ago we bought the house we are in now ...it has a 3 car garage, and a workshop.

However now that I Have fractionally more money now I get the garage to do all the repairs and servicing. As long as my hourly rate is greater than the garages i am happy.if i have to fix it myself then that is lost time that I could be earning

Just saving