any mechanics offer opinion on this?

no-oneknowsme

pendulum wrote: »

I bet he just tightened the handbrake cable adjustment and thought job done

Hi , yes , on speaking to the mechanic further this morning (to arrange to get it booked in for the repairs) this ^^^^ is exactly what the mechanic says he did.

He said that he tightened the cable up to its capacity and replaced a caliper on one side . Now , I am no expert but I hold the opinion that if you replace something at one side then it makes perfect sense to do the other side too? But...as I say im no expert so maybe this isnt how it works with cars.

Anyhow , it is booked in for the repair on Wednesday and the psv retest is on Friday so fingers crossed:D.

no-oneknowsme

Well , as an up-date and to hopefully gather a few opinions again....

As you know , my Husbands car failed psv because of a handbrake problem (please see post 1 for full details) anyhow , after speaking to the mechanic who checked it over and carried out some repairs in prep for the test , the mechanic told us that he has replaced the caliper on the side which the car DIDNT fail on.

When we told him the car had failed the psv he told us that we were to bring the car up to him on Wednesday (tomorrow) and he would take another look at it and fix it , charging us for only the parts , the labour being free .

Yesterday morning my Hubby was driving the car when suddenly the brake pedal went right to the floor and the braking was greatly reduced . This meant that (as he is self employed) Hubby was unable to use the casr for work yesterday after 10am. It was also a bit scary for my Hubby :eek:

On parking the car up outside our home , after a few mins we noticed a huge puddle on the ground where the brake fluid was pumping out of the car at the rear drivers side wheel which is the same side which failed the psv test on Friday.

Now , again we have a difference of opinions on this....

Should the mechanic have noticed there was a problem when he looked at the car a week or so ago?

Is it a sheer coincidence that this has happened now or did the fact that the mechanic only replaced one caliper cause the other one to somehow fail yesterday?

Is the mechanic in any way responsible or is this just bad luck and bad timing for us?

Any thoughts or opinions ?

Thanks

Wig

I'm assuming it has calipers on the rear then?

So he missed a fault on the other side which, by the way, the vehicle tester ALSO missed.

He was asked to adjust the handbrake which AFAIK has nothing to do with calipers, even if was to do with calipers he just happened to miss this fault on the other side.

Mechanic did nothing wrong, has offered reasonable soltn re handbrake. Any downtime for servicing has to borne by your OH. Just bad luck.

There is a possible scenario that depending on why he changed the one caliper.... he should have looked at the other to see if it had the same fault. Maybe he did.

Also if the fluid is leaking from inside the drum, the mechanic would not have taken off the drums for an internal inspection, and nor would he be expected to have taken off the drums.

chunder

surely if a customer goes into a garage and tells them the handbrake is crap, then all parts should be checked, that includes cables,calipers not seized/leaking,pads not seized in carriers (ones that has ratchet h/brake system), and if internal in disc/drum, linings and pivots checked regardless!!!!!! at least they would be in my garage wether its a car,bike,truck or tractor:D

see it all the time where 'so called mechanics' just cram the cable up to improve poor handbrake performance....its gone slack normally means a problem!!!

have also seen brake pipes fail when being brake tested on rolling road but pass on visual but that is extreme

think the mechanic thought easy job, saw the caliper not returning, possibly! fit new and give back!!! think charging you for his incompetence is not a good way to run a workshop.

Wig

chunder wrote: »

surely if a customer goes into a garage and tells them the handbrake is crap, then all parts should be checked, that includes cables,calipers not seized/leaking,pads not seized in carriers (ones that has ratchet h/brake system), and if internal in disc/drum, linings and pivots checked regardless!!!!!! at least they would be in my garage wether its a car,bike,truck or tractor:D

You own or work in said garage?
or you are a customer of the garage?
or your garage at the top of your driveway outside your house?

I don't agree, if a customer asks for a handbrake adjustment or more generally to be looked at, the mechanic will adjust the cable until it is working well again, it's normal for a handbrake cable to stretch a bit and need tightening up. There comes apoint where there will be no more tightening and a new cable will be needed or new shoes.

The calipers are nothing to do with the handbrake so asking for a general check and adjust handbrake would mean a visual check on the caliper and adjust handbrake.

I realised afterwards, if there are calipers on the rear the brake fluid would not be coming from inside the drums anyway. So we can forget that whole scenario.

chunder

Wig wrote: »

You own or work in said garage?
or you are a customer of the garage?
or your garage at the top of your driveway outside your house?

I don't agree, if a customer asks for a handbrake adjustment or more generally to be looked at, the mechanic will adjust the cable until it is working well again, it's normal for a handbrake cable to stretch a bit and need tightening up. There comes apoint where there will be no more tightening and a new cable will be needed or new shoes.

The calipers are nothing to do with the handbrake so asking for a general check and adjust handbrake would mean a visual check on the caliper and adjust handbrake.

I realised afterwards, if there are calipers on the rear the brake fluid would not be coming from inside the drums anyway. So we can forget that whole scenario.

jointly own, run, and work in MY garage, with in excess of 1000 customers who keep coming back.....!

been a mechanic since left school 20 years ago so ive done my time unlike some so called mechanics on this forum!!!

the op took it to the garage coz handbrake was no good and asked them to look at it, not just to adjust it (that wouldnt cost £140+)

as for calipers not having anything to do with the handbrake, when did you last work on a car! nearly all manufacturers have the handbrake built into the caliper using a ratchet system internally within the caliper, with the exception of BMW and a couple of others.

the op asked for my opinion and i gave it. there are too many anally retentive members on here who think that they know the ins and outs of a cats a###hole.

TO THE OP... HOPE MY POST HELP YOU IN SOLVING YOUR ISSUE MANY THANKS.

Wig

chunder wrote: »

the op took it to the garage coz handbrake was no good and asked them to look at it, not just to adjust it (that wouldnt cost £140+)

The £141 included other work done the OP later said a caliper was replaced, sounds about right to me. My expectation for "a look at the handbrake" would be an initial adjustment, and if that doesn't work then look to see what is wrong with it.

as for calipers not having anything to do with the handbrake, when did you last work on a car! nearly all manufacturers have the handbrake built into the caliper using a ratchet system internally within the caliper, with the exception of BMW and a couple of others.

In my previous post I said AFAIK. I stand corrected, but never seen what you say is the case. All I've seen with calipers on the rear is a handbrake cable going to the drum shoes.

the op asked for my opinion and i gave it. there are too many anally retentive members on here who think that they know the ins and outs of a cats a###hole.

TO THE OP... HOPE MY POST HELP YOU IN SOLVING YOUR ISSUE MANY THANKS.

No harm in giving your opinion, the more the merrier, IMO you are doing too much. Unless the car had a problem of handbrake slacking too soon after adjustment. My opinion on the cat's a##hole is just as valid as yours
.^^
(_x_)

no-oneknowsme

So he missed a fault on the other side which, by the way, the vehicle tester ALSO missed.

The psv tester DIDNT miss the fault though because dont forget , he FAILED the car because of it.

He was asked to adjust the handbrake which AFAIK has nothing to do with calipers, even if was to do with calipers he just happened to miss this fault on the other side

.

We didnt ask him to adjust the handbrake. We told him that it wasnt holding on even the slightest of hills anda asked him to take a look at it to find out why.

I (although being a female and so not proclaiming to know overly much about cars) still think that the mechanic should have noticed the problem whilst he was checking the car over for the psv....

no-oneknowsme

surely if a customer goes into a garage and tells them the handbrake is crap, then all parts should be checked, that includes cables,calipers not seized/leaking,pads not seized in carriers (ones that has ratchet h/brake system), and if internal in disc/drum, linings and pivots checked regardless!!!!!! at least they would be in my garage wether its a car,bike,truck or tractor:D

Seems like You an I have the same opinion then...

I cant be convinced that he checked thoroughly enough when we asked him to check the car over for the test....

see it all the time where 'so called mechanics' just cram the cable up to improve poor handbrake performance....its gone slack normally means a problem!!!

Again , I agree , more time and effect should have (in my opinion) been spent carefully finding out WHY the car wasnt holding , even on the tiniest hill....

think the mechanic thought easy job, saw the caliper not returning, possibly! fit new and give back!!! think charging you for his incompetence is not a good way to run a workshop

.

Again , I fully agree.

no-oneknowsme

Wig wrote: »

.

No harm in giving your opinion, the more the merrier, IMO you are doing too much. Unless the car had a problem of handbrake slacking too soon after adjustment. My opinion on the cat's a##hole is just as valid as yours
.^^
(_x_)

Exactly ! I am greatful for ALL opinions offered .