Technical Tyre wear question

[bugsymike]

I agree with @Pugglt Auld Jock .
I am grateful that I never had to work in those environments, bonuses or even having to "clock on" to jobs etc.
I took as long as necessary to do the job right and when running my own business my labour rate was roughly half what the big guys charged, consequently I will probably die in poverty!!!
Mind you the ex wives may have something to do with that.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Further to previous comments, I would like to emphasise that the same as in all walks of life, a job is a good as the person doing it.
The problem is small businesses like I had with regular customers for well in excess of 25 years and some I had known since the 1970s, are getting few and far between. I was recently talking to one of my old customers who in an effort to continue the reliability he enjoyed when I worked on his vehicles he bought new Toyotas for his family with extended warranty and servicing contracts. However as they are starting to get towards their contract ends he is finding the Dealer suggesting items that need urgent attention, but when pointed out about the extended warranty they suddenly become advisory!!!
A small one recently following an MOT at the Dealers was a quote of many hundreds of pounds for replacement suspension parts which when he agreed for the work to be booked in, it was found that the genuine parts required were back ordered and not even in the Country, although good quality pattern parts were, but would invalidate the Warranty.
The parts on the advisory list were dust covers deteriorating on suspension parts! Not split, not leaking, no loss of grease or wear in those parts. The Dealer was going to replace complete units at great cost!
If he had still been my customer there are readily available dust cover kits which could have been replaced along with new grease for a very small percentage of the Dealer quoted price.

I think there's a factor that main dealers see a lot of pretty new/nearly new vehicles in their workshops - no surprise there when you see the prices they charge. However what this translates into is that their staff get used to seeing cars which look as good as new so when they come across something like a slightly perished dust boot or part with rust on it they tend to judge that against all the "perfect" ones they are seeing daily and write it up on the job sheet. A "service advisor" who has little experience of repairing vehicles, picks up on this and advises the customer, perhaps too "enthusiastically", it needs doing. I won't mention that profit motive and target figures may also be a factor.

 

[bugsymike]

I think there's a factor that main dealers see a lot of pretty new/nearly new vehicles in their workshops - no surprise there when you see the prices they charge. However what this translates into is that their staff get used to seeing cars which look as good as new so when they come across something like a slightly perished dust boot or part with rust on it they tend to judge that against all the "perfect" ones they are seeing daily and write it up on the job sheet. A "service advisor" who has little experience of repairing vehicles, picks up on this and advises the customer, perhaps too "enthusiastically", it needs doing. I won't mention that profit motive and target figures may also be a factor.

I came across a similar thought process with MOT testers under my control as a foreman, they would be failing a customers vintage classic vehicle for wear in the steering that it probably left the factory with from new, as they were judging by modern rack and pinion steering standards.

 

[AnthonyH]

Further to previous comments, I would like to emphasise that the same as in all walks of life, a job is a good as the person doing it.
The problem is small businesses like I had with regular customers for well in excess of 25 years and some I had known since the 1970s, are getting few and far between. I was recently talking to one of my old customers who in an effort to continue the reliability he enjoyed when I worked on his vehicles he bought new Toyotas for his family with extended warranty and servicing contracts. However as they are starting to get towards their contract ends he is finding the Dealer suggesting items that need urgent attention, but when pointed out about the extended warranty they suddenly become advisory!!!
A small one recently following an MOT at the Dealers was a quote of many hundreds of pounds for replacement suspension parts which when he agreed for the work to be booked in, it was found that the genuine parts required were back ordered and not even in the Country, although good quality pattern parts were, but would invalidate the Warranty.
The parts on the advisory list were dust covers deteriorating on suspension parts! Not split, not leaking, no loss of grease or wear in those parts. The Dealer was going to replace complete units at great cost!
If he had still been my customer there are readily available dust cover kits which could have been replaced along with new grease for a very small percentage of the Dealer quoted price.

It's these issues that brought me here. The garage that I trust and still do my mots decided only to do expensive work and turned down run of the mill replacements.

I then had a garage wanting to do unnecessary work, the next doing a bad job, the next deliberately breaking parts, the next over charging, others being too busy. I came to the conclusion there are no decent mid priced garages left that aren't wildly overbooked. One expensive, private garage I was recommended had a 3 month waiting list. So my options were buy a better car, a very unattractive option to someone who does 30,000-40,000 miles a year. Or fix them myself. It's worked out really well, both my GP and Evo are in good order these days, so I'm on the lookout for another already, to get it prepped for when mileage gets the better of one of my existing cars. It isn't just the car industry that got worse, it's most service industries.

 

[vexorg]

Actually, I think folk like Anthony are what forums like this are all about. I dof my cap to his determination and perseverance

Some things yes, many things no. You can't just read things on a forum and become an expert.

Many things need proper tuition and i'd say welding is one of them, otherwise Ant here won't have any idea of the difference between a good weld and bad weld.

If you want to wells go get proper classes and not listen to people of the internet. (I mean, you wouldn't learn to drive from a forum, certainly not this one!!)

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Some things yes, many things no. You can't just read things on a forum and become an expert.

Many things need proper tuition and i'd say welding is one of them, otherwise Ant here won't have any idea of the difference between a good weld and bad weld.

If you want to wells go get proper classes and not listen to people of the internet. (I mean, you wouldn't learn to drive from a forum, certainly not this one!!)

I don't disagree with you in many respects and I think you probably missed my, quite big, post on the last page (page 5) of this thread where I described some of the problems when, having been taught to weld with Oxy- acetylene, I bought a small "stick" welder to use at home. Luckily I was able to take lessons from the chap who ran the welding section at work and he was able to show and coach me in what I needed to know. I went on to recommend attending evening classes.

 

[AnthonyH]

The car is handling well. I'd go so far as to say its handling is "sweet"! I didn't realise that the worn out control arms could affect a car so much.

I'm changing the oil in it today, its had around 10,000 miles since the last change.

I've not followed up on the welding gear. I'd like to buy some, but I would need a reason to buy one and sadly I don't have a reason at this time

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

The car is handling well. I'd go so far as to say its handling is "sweet"! I didn't realise that the worn out control arms could affect a car so much.

I'm changing the oil in it today, its had around 10,000 miles since the last change.

I've not followed up on the welding gear. I'd like to buy some, but I would need a reason to buy one and sadly I don't have a reason at this time

Hi Anthony, I've been away on holiday so only just woken up my laptop a few minutes ago. (don't have a smart phone or other modern devices)

Lower arms on Macpherson strut type suspension? Wear in the ball he ball joint is usually not too difficult to spot but "wear" in the inner rubber bushes is much more difficult to judge if you're not used to what it should feel like when in good condition. I think many tyre wear problems are caused by wear and "softness" in these bushes.

Regarding welding. I think a practical person could teach themselves to do it but, as Vexorg has pointed out, judging whether a weld is strong from how it looks can be very difficult and learning to strike an arc with a "stick" welder electrode is an acquired skill made much easier if someone is beside you to get you started. Wee Hobby Welding machines also tend to have lower open circuit voltages which make establishing an arc more difficult anyway, so i'd definitely advise anyone wanting to learn to take a course of instruction. After that the more you practice the better you get and the easier you'll find it.

 

[AnthonyH]

I hope you enjoyed your holiday! Where did you go? I was posting here when i went on a short break to Nottingham, i just couldn't resist lol. I think there is a fiat forum app that I could get for my phone, but instead i'm pinching and zooming on the phone, which isn't ideal.

I think the Grande Punto has a Macpherson type strut, but i'm not sure of the terminology. I could see the bushes were shot through when they were off the car, they barely resisted movement and were causing the car to sag inwards. They could have been like that for years, causing previous owners to replace tyres every 12 months. I ended up getting one new tyre for £55. After i got the new tyre for a while I couldn't help but look at other peoples tyres whenever i was at a supermarket! I need to keep an eye on my tyres for any more trouble.

I originally came to the idea of welding because i'd like to convert a van so we could go away in it. But thats a long term thing, my wife is looking for the right van...