A roller coaster day for the car and wallet

[Stivino]

So, it's ok for me to overhaul a set of brakes but I can't be trusted to torque up wheel nuts?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So, it's ok for me to overhaul a set of brakes but I can't be trusted to torque up wheel nuts?

No offence, but you just would not be overhauling my brakes, so you wouldn't be torquing my wheel nuts. Tyres I have no choice, I have to let a garage with a tyre machine change the tyres, but trust them to torque my wheel nuts - never. Too many bad experiences of them making them far too tight, or even not tight at all.

 

[Notch7]

My wife’s car a 55 plate Civic, 3 years back she took it to Honda for MOT and service…..it failed MOT and they said the repairs costs might be ”not viable, possibly over £2,000”. So I got a local mobile mechanic to look at it, he had it MOT’ed and it passed with an advisory which cost £35.00

 

[Stivino]

No offence, but you just would not be overhauling my brakes, so you wouldn't be torquing my wheel nuts. Tyres I have no choice, I have to let a garage with a tyre machine change the tyres, but trust them to torque my wheel nuts - never. Too many bad experiences of them making them far too tight, or even not tight at all.

Maybe I'm interpreting your post wrongly but, if the wheel nuts are torqued after a tyre change, why would they not be torqued after a brake job?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Maybe I'm interpreting your post wrongly but, if the wheel nuts are torqued after a tyre change, why would they not be torqued after a brake job?

Because I would be servicing my own brakes. I would not be able though, to fit my own tyres, I lack the equipment or I would tackle that as well.

 

[Avocet]

They got their excuses in claiming it must have got hot to cause the snap. I don't think so, I think I noticed as soon as the mpg's dropped.
Probably the worse thing is they told me to collect it asap as they needed space. So I was driving it with only one bolt holding the brake in unknowingly.

It's not a very good excuse. Brakes are supposed to get hot!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It's not a very good excuse. Brakes are supposed to get hot!

Correct, the way brakes work, is to turn the energy of the vehicles motion, into heat at the brakes. In heavy braking, discs can become red hot.

 

[Burnerman]

Returning to the original post.....
The 'mechanics had snapped off a bolt' speaks volumes - no such thing as hand sockets these days, just reach for the windy spanner.
Bye bye bolt
John

 

[norseman]

I'm with Astra99 (post #7) on this. Armed with personal experience of hairy-arsed so-called fitters at these motoring centres I order my exhausts on-line & get my local garage to fit them. As for tyres, I do use fast fit outlets but I check that the wheel nuts can be undone with a wheel-brace afterwards, as all too often they are just spun up with a rattle gun. If the A/C needs recharging I take the car to a trusted centre, never to the likes of FI/KF etc.

These fast fit places are a boon for those unfortunates who are always in a rush to get somewhere/do something & know nothing about cars, which is why female owners are the most likely to be ripped off.

 

[robinbanks]

Because I would be servicing my own brakes. I would not be able though, to fit my own tyres, I lack the equipment or I would tackle that as well.

I occasionally get asked why I have a tyre machine; it was a hundred quid off eBay and has done about 15 tyres so far. Quite like changing my own tyres despite it totally not being worth it from a time/value perspective. Handy to be able to order some seconds and fit em when I finally get a bit of time at 10pm though

I did used to use a tyre changing post that was about 30 quid, but not on alloys..

 

[Munroast]

Not a mechanic, but I am likely more mechanically skilled than most mechanics - I always insist they leave the nuts just snug and I will finish them properly with my own torque wrench before I drive off. I would not class any of the quick fit employees as mechanics, they are just semi skilled parts shifters.

I don't do that - but when I get home I always make sure they I can undo them, then retighten them myself, don't want the situation one dark wet night at he side of the road with nuts that I can't undo.


I despair at modern day so called technicians, some of them just seem clueless. I'm surprised the OP wasn't offered a "software update"

watched a clown at a tyre services some time ago putting a wheel back on a waggon, went round with the windy gun and knocked all the nuts up stupidly tight, then went round with the torque wrench, didn't get a degree of turn on any of them, then told the driver they were all toqued up proper. Just utterly clueless in what he was trying to achieve.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Rude Harry, just rude.

I just gun the nuts up until they will go no more.

Seriously though, if anyone didn’t trust me to tighten their wheel nuts correctly, I’d tell them to **** off and do the whole job themselves.

Me too.

I've told a few people I don't want their work for various reasons, including 1 wanting to watch me so that I do the job correctly !

 

[Mottie]

Me too.

I've told a few people I don't want their work for various reasons, including 1 wanting to watch me so that I do the job correctly !

I don’t mind them watching but it will cost extra. A bit more still if they talk to me and yet more if they ask questions.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I don't do that - but when I get home I always make sure they I can undo them, then retighten them myself, don't want the situation one dark wet night at he side of the road with nuts that I can't undo.

By when, it's too late. The torque spec. is not simply so you can undo them, but so the nut or bolt and its socket is not not over stretched, or the thread damaged.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

I don’t mind them watching but it will cost extra. A bit more still if they talk to me and yet more if they ask questions.

I don't mind if they want to help, or do the job with oversight on them so they can learn.

but making sure I do the job right, no chance. Go somewhere else if you don't trust me