So called specialists....

Reminds me of Techenders with @1973daisey fixing a bus ..
.. Joe's bus rolls up and dies in the field.... this time its the fuel pump. Si goes under, pokes around and finally finds the stopped fuel pump. @davidoft suggests hitting it... which works... but too late ... the braided fuel hose splits on the outlet of the pump and we start rushing around to blag some more pipe..
Just as well its Techenders and others are equipped with spares.

My bus came back from its first ever encounter with a garage with a crack in the fuel pipe just by the carb. At first I thought the darkened braid was new pipe then realised
A) I hadnt paid for it
And
B) It stank of petrol and was wet.

 

This far after the event there doesn't seem any point in challenging him. Ditto re local garage - if I haven't time to do it myself then it goes to the local lads

 

I`m was far too trusting when it came to people working on the van .
For various reasons ( involving moving to `That London` ...) i suddenly had nowhere to sort out the van .
I`m quite prepared to name and shame this place as one to avoid , their failings have been documented in previous postings by myself on here and others elsewhere

https://www.broadlanegarage.co.uk/

- utter shiiite but they were close by ..

As far as possible my advice to anyone would be to learn as you go along . Not only will you save a fortune but pick up valuable skills and know it`s done properly - Techenders being a good place to start ...

http://techenders.co.uk/

 

Cheeky barstewards !!



That`s @CollyP `s Green devon on the left as well !!

Never looked at the gallery but it shows why i chose the garage , they always had something interesting parked
outside . Just shows how wrong you can be ....

 

I started with a chinese cube type electric pump and removed it to replace with a facet for no other reason than implied reliability.. The FACET cube packed in after 500 miles, I replaced it with the cheep ( £18) chinese one I had removed earlier and after 2000 odd miles its still running strong .. So the moral of the story is, dont rely on any parts these days regardless of the manufacturer. The supplier of the FACET pump was not for giving a refund or replacement ... I wont use FACET stuff in the future..

 

As the number of air cooled vans declines, there will be fewer and fewer 'specialists' around to be able to work on them. There are a few good and knowledgeable mechanics out there but you have to seek them out and check them out, either on here or personal recommendation or join a club and ask who they use.

As with any garage or tradesman, you have to know exactly what you want or what the problem is before asking them to do it. Being vague or open ended is asking for trouble.

Your own knowledge of the vehicle is most important. If you know nothing and ask any old garage to 'fix it' you are in danger of being ripped off.

The forum is the first place to come and ask for advice. Then spend time with your van and understand how it works. The fuel system like most of the van is simple and easily a diy job.

As suggested, try to do things yourself, its fun, its part of the hobby, its cheap and you can source quality parts if you look around. You have learned from the JK experience that you can get palmed off with cheap repro parts, other suppliers sell the same stuff.

 

I have spent the last four years since the resto, tweaking the mechanicals and rectifying the mistakes made during the resto.
Its now running just like a train, and passed its MOT this morning, in what I would describe as a social occasion, rather than a nervous experience.
The inspector told me that he rather fancied a trip to France in this bus!
Tony

 

Not everyone has the time or the skills to do the work. I've been openly lied to having specified exactly what I wanted done, even recommended mechanics have let me down with not doing work they were instructed and paid to do. Somethings aren't easy to check and are only discovered some considerable time later.

 

Absolutely
Finding quality parts
Will be the demise of these vehicles
They could make quality parts if they wanted to
I bought a fuel pump once from them up the M3
I looked at it and threw it straight in the bin
Couldn't even be rrst to get the money back

 

Good time to sell and buy the transit then!

 

Might do Wilf
But I won't be buying anything with a scene tax
That's for sure one beach hut is pretty much like another these days

 

I think the days of quality parts are over. If you don't really really need the new part, don't buy it, make do, or seek out original parts which are out there and turn up on ebay a lot.

Poor repro parts is not just our vans, same with my mgb, anything rubber is always bad, used original parts are the best, my car was restored using its own original parts or new used from the Welsh MG Centre and repainted.

chrome was rechromed and still like new, repro stuff is poor quality and expensive.

a lot of us have had repro pumps gone bad early on, mine went and put fuel in the oil, which I spotted too late and the engine has suffered permanent damage. Went electric pump but too late.

 

Been ripped off and B.S.'d by so-called 'specialists', either deliberately or through sheer incompetence and unscrupulousness.
Sure there are a few quirks to these vehicles but most of it is far simpler than anything modern and a decent reputable garage with experienced mechanics - if you can find one - is a better bet than a bandwagon sheister.
I only trust one or two specialists and my local classic car garage now having been shafted and messed about by two 'specialist VW outfits'.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

An old style garage which has classic cars in there for work should be a good bet if you can't track down a genuine air cooled specialist. Near me there is a garage which looks in a time warp, they always have classic vehicles in there which they own or doing work on for customers, they do modern cars as well, and one of the mechanics has two bays of his own.

 

Here's pictures of my favourite two.

Push rod tubes paid for these to be replaced, charged for seals and the specialist used the good old short cut of not dropping the tubes out and putting the new seals in but filling any gap he could find with some sealant, no wonder they still leaked, albeit a less.

Second breathers and filler pipe, again paid for the parts, but they weren't used on my bus and didn't come to light until two years later, when the engine was dropped again. That though as they say is another story.

So not only did they lie but the *****ers also stole my money.

 

is he still trading?
That's pretty bad

 

I believe so. I expect he is now preying on all those T5 owners fitting new roofs, night heaters, interiors and the like.

 

I think the dodgy garages rely on us brits not being natural complainers so they do the minimum, charge what they can get away with and meanwhile they get rich at our expense.

Lots of bad stories on here about places like Kwikfit trying to rip people off, they are all at it, so its buyer beware.

My old polo now has the usual front suspension knocking they seem prone to. MOT soon, so I will get the tester to say exactly what the problem is, then I can go to my local garage and spell out what I want doing.

Garages, don't trust them, ever.