Re: Ford Focus Clutch Noise - Result

Well, sure, if it wasn't true, but it seems that in this case there may be some truth to it?

Ok. I could hear it also but can you hear it over the radio as well. ;-)

So not a constant noise then.

True ... but, you then have a car where the clutch has been replaced and who knows what other issues are then created by that process?

Any work I can't do myself is done by a mate that has run his own garage, on his own for over 40 years. Because the Meriva clutch replacement requires the subframe to be dropped it's more than one person (without the right kit) can easily do on their own so he farmed it out to a bigger / local garage he uses for tyres, MOT's and such things.

When I got it back there were some marks on the top of one wing that I'm pretty sure weren't there before, a cable tie about to fall into the alternator and a small ring spanner actually hanging out of the electric fan housing. Later on I discovered a 'klonk from underneath that my mate found to be an engine steady bar that hadn't been fully tightened.

The thing is the price was good, they did it fairly quickly and I didn't want to make it more difficult for my mate by making a big issue out of any of it (especially as he earnt nothing out of it himself).

So I guess what I am saying is that you could go out of the frying pan and into the fire and whilst you may be willing and able to persevere getting it all sorted, do you want to risk all of that (for that noise), especially *if* there aren't very good odds that it *will* make a difference?

LOL ... ;-)

Quite ... well, if you are willing to deal with any unwanted consequences, 'as much of it as you can'. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

When asked to look at secondhand cars for other people (something I try to avoid) I reject those that show any signs of 'amateur' or poor quality repairs, ie if I can easily see that things have been apart it is a no-no.

(Me too)

And missing / wrong bolts or washers.

I'd much prefer to take on an un-tampered vehicle (car or bike) that just needs some TLC than have to find all the bodges someone else has done.

I was helping a bit with his old Kawasaki the other day and the rear brake drum arm was sticking on. We dropped the rear wheel out and cleaned and lubed stuff but I noticed the sprocket side spacer didn't seem to be the right diameter, not big enough to fit the seal? The inner bearing was a sealed type so no real panic but my feeling were that if the spacer was the wrong diameter, was it the right thickness?

If it was the correct spacer for that bike, had the wheels been changed from stock?

If he buys a new seal and spacer, would it be the same as there now or the right one?

Mind you, we have just been there with the number plate lights for daughters 2004 Connect. I bought a pair of genuine lights (to fit the new hd lamps), without looking at the van and was sent the wrong thing (two individual lamps). On her van there is a black cowl that runs over the both number plate lights and the lights have little windows that slide and then pivot open to access the lamps. Googling about I find we are not alone with the confusion and it seems that they were only fitted for some of 2004 or to some models or somesuch? I've been looking at lots of Connects of late and the only one I can remember looking like hers is another 2004 model down our road. ;-)

But then aren't Ford know for fitting whatever is in the parts bin at the time. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Not in my experience; perhaps you were thinking of Peugeot...

Chris

No, it was deffo Ford in my mind but it may be any / all of them over the years?

I know my mate running the garage often has to reject parts delivered, even though all the databases and parts look-ups say it must be part X bit it turns out it's not (and not because it's been modified etc).

He used to routinely fax scans of front brake pads as the wrong ones were often sent and a straight picture match up fixed most instances prior delivery.

I'll have to ask him if any make stands out as being 'difficult' to pin down now or has been in the past (as he would be the one removing, ordering and fitting the replacements for the last 40 years). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

A while ago I had a Vauxhall - when replacing brake parts the dealer always said: "Bring the old parts in so we can see whether they are Lockheed or Girling so we can order the correct replacements." So such work was always a 2-day job since the replacements would not arrive until the next day.

The independent I use for some work always orders both sets in such circumstances and sends back the wrong ones. I guess the admin aggro means that they can complete the job for the customer the same day - also they probably have a credit account with their supplier so they refuse to pay if the supplier makes any sort of mistake - which from what I've heard is fairly common.

having two different makes of brakes is not uncommon, but French cars will have a choice of 4 sizes PLUS several makes and several variations.

That's a good point ... the times were they could have used one or more brands of the same thing but where they require different parts or brackets etc.

My garage mate is lucky to have multiple deliveries a day and if they got something wrong will often make a special trip to sort it out.

When I've been working on something of mine in there you can say take off the road wheels, note that you do need some new disks and pads and have them arrive before you have the old ones off and the remaining stuff cleaned up. ;-)

That makes a massive difference compared to doing stuff yourself in the street as you have to clear everything up (tools etc) and use another vehicle to go and get what you want (wasting time) and it's doubly bad when the parts are then wrong or you forgot something (like you assumed a 'kit' would come with everything required.

I think it was on the Meriva brakes I did recently you only got 1 new bolt per side, presumably on the assumption that at least one of them would come out undamaged?

I'll often do that with stuff like oil or air filters or lamps (different bayonet layouts) but don't always get round to taking the unwanted one back ... and then do the exact same thing the next time round. ;-(

My mate doesn't have an 'Accounts department' so only works with cash. That way it's all sorted instantly whatever happens. ;-)

A while back his main supplier said they would be going to account only so he said he would have to go elsewhere (and did). A couple of months later they came back cap-in-hand and said they would accept cash again. I wonder what bean counter their end thought doing that wouldn't lose them any business?

Cheers, T i m

...and often no record of what was fitted to a given vehicle.

Chris

Strange. When I ran a small computer support business suppliers would ring me to try to get me to buy from them. If they gave me a credit account I would do so, otherwise no.

Ove time I estimate a good 5% of all orders were either dead on arrrival or failed within a few days of delivery, so having the credit account gave me good leverage to get a faulty item replaced.

I learnt very quickly that you don't go to a customer site with a new item still in the manufacturer's packaging, unopened. You always bench test it for a few days before taking it ...

That's all very well if you don't mind the extra effort of keeping track of such things?

For my mate it's a similar thing where he phones them up and the come and take it away and fix it or give him a new one / whatever. They don't sort it out to his satisfaction he doesn't do any further business with them. ;-)

Well, as long as you weren't supplying sex aids possibly ... ?

But no, those aside , I try to do the same with anything I get on behalf of someone else, subject to me doing so to help them, rather than just to save them a shopping trip etc.

I couldn't yesterday. Helping an older couple go from VM to TT (don't), the TT TV box didn't seem to come with Wireless and the TV was a fair way from the modem/router ... so I drove her up to Argos and got her to buy a pair of TP-Link Powerline adaptors they did just plug in and work (as they generally do I'd say). Had I got them for her myself and not taken them straight there I'd generally run them at home first.

Even then I tested the connectivity of the STB over the PL adaptors away from the TV, rather than disturbing all that only to find the replacement didn't work for some reason.

The number of times I hear that a garage had replaced several (and often expensive) bits before replacing the right one yet the customer still has to pay for (and the fitting of) everything.

If I buy a new hard drive because I believe that is the fault and re-install say Windows on it and it turns out it isn't the fault ... I put their drive back in and stomach the cost of the new drive myself (unless it's better in some way, I find the real fault and offer it to them as an upgrade).

Cheers, T i m

With computers I reckon to diagnose virtually any fault without having to replace hardware; so I am pretty certain when I fit the new hardware that the problem will be solved.

It surprises me that garages don't have the same skill. Mostly they say "We will replace X and see if that cures the problem." Of course the work involved in fitting the replacement is generally more costly than the part itself, so getting them to re-fit the original part and not charge for the work just doesn't happen.

Cars are several orders of magnitude more complex than the average computer, and there is a much wider skills base needed to fix them. Customers don't want to pay the price they would need to if all mechanics were fully trained.

Chris

Me too, but just sometimes, when it gets to straw clutching (or time saving) time, substitution can be a good thing (like weird RAM faults).

Of course, but 'pretty certain' isn't 'certain' is it. ;-)

I think it can be the same sort of thing, time. If they spend 3 hours doing diagnostics at £50 / hour then it could be cheaper for the customer to fit a new thing for £100?

And that.

That's partly why when I got the diesel fuel pump ECU repaired I paid to have it tested on the bench before paying to have it fitted and

Cheers, T i m

For repair replacement parts on my 54 plate Mondeo the main dealer offered a choice of genuine Ford parts or "acceptable" generic parts. As it aged I chose generic parts.

My 3.7 y/old Focus hasn't required any parts thus far, and it doesn't even have a clutch whoop. ;)