25 replies to this topic

[roofless]

he is ( unfortunately ) a box-shifter......in the sense that 90% of what he does is sub contracted, the boxes come in.....the boxes go out.....

he wont have the patience to deal with issues like yours as he struggles to keep up with the simpler ' box shifting ' duties.

He'll almost definately have had someone else sort these out for you, an employee or colleague perhaps, and that person will have just simply, and very quickly, wailed the calipers together as a 'do it quick and get it out of the way' task.

its very poor standards, but although he is a caliper 'specialist' i really dont think he does much of the nitty gritty stuff himself - its all passed elsewhere, or to another person to do - and that person is clearly a retard from what we can see in the pics.

beyond the issues though - its an easy fix with some gentle sand papering and smooth-rite

[WiredbyWilson]

he is ( unfortunately ) a box-shifter......in the sense that 90% of what he does is sub contracted, the boxes come in.....the boxes go out.....

he wont have the patience to deal with issues like yours as he struggles to keep up with the simpler ' box shifting ' duties.

He'll almost definately have had someone else sort these out for you, an employee or colleague perhaps, and that person will have just simply, and very quickly, wailed the calipers together as a 'do it quick and get it out of the way' task.

its very poor standards, but although he is a caliper 'specialist' i really dont think he does much of the nitty gritty stuff himself - its all passed elsewhere, or to another person to do - and that person is clearly a retard from what we can see in the pics.

beyond the issues though - its an easy fix with some gentle sand papering and smooth-rite

Thanks for the info Martin - always level headed and helpful so thankyou

And yes I did plan on repairing them prior to giving them back to my uncle - as i CBA with him moaning at me but I thin kI will call Tony and have the final say and explain what I think of his practices and the workman ship of his employees.

Needless to say i will not be recommending him for his work or after sales type care. The bloke seems to be the type that shouts a good business but runs it out of his shed! (obviosuly this isn't the case, just trying to make a point)

[Ethel]

I think you would have a case, but I'm not so sure it'd be worth pursuing.

He would owe you a duty of care in the same way we all owe a duty of care to one another not to bump into other cars when parking etc.

Interesting that he's denying all knowledge. I reckon if you presented the invoice for getting them coated and proof that they were subsequently posted back by him that would suffice

How much did the coating cost, I imagine not enough to justify the cost of a small claims application.

[union jack]

Even if he has done it foc I reckon he still has a doc. Set out a chair & table in front of his place & show everyone what's happened!

[WiredbyWilson]

I think you would have a case, but I'm not so sure it'd be worth pursuing.

He would owe you a duty of care in the same way we all owe a duty of care to one another not to bump into other cars when parking etc.

Interesting that he's denying all knowledge. I reckon if you presented the invoice for getting them coated and proof that they were subsequently posted back by him that would suffice

How much did the coating cost, I imagine not enough to justify the cost of a small claims application.

I am not sure on the cost as we have had batches of things done and paid the total.

But as an example of good customer service - the powder coaters did the fuel tank, and due to the temps they use it melted the soldering work on a repair patch. Therefore they did not charge as they knew the tank would have to be stripped in part and re-soldered.

Just seems this guy hopes problems will go away. I emailed him at 6.45pm last night in reply to his "arm flapping" type reply and yet to receive a reply.
Should i press him for his comments??

[Ethel]

Get a quote to fix the damage then decide if it's worth the effort. You can send him the bill anyway, but don't hold your breath.

I reckon it was just an ego thing: you said his pistons didn't fit, so he proved you wrong.

[WiredbyWilson]

Just got this reply from him, can any engineers confirm that the metal seal retainer can be inserted under finger pressure only???

David,

We have never used clamps to assemble this type of caliper be it Princess, LandRover or the Metro.

This does not mean that other companies do not use clamps, merely our method is different.

In normal circumstances we assemble the pistons and seals into the split halves of the caliper, this ensures the internal fluid channels are also checked and free. When cleaned correctly the metal dust cover retainer can almost be pushed in by hand pressure. It then needs only our hand held tool to be placed over the retainer to push it home fully.

In the case of your calipers we could not split because of the coating but still used the same procedure.

We cleaned the recesses using a hand held probe and pressed in intially by hand. We then use our hand held tool to push fully home. It never ever requires any form of clamp.

My builder has been assembling calipers for almost 16 years and was formally trained by one of the UK`s largest caliper remanufacturers. It does not mean our methods are better than elsewhere, but it does mean they are tried and tested in a volume commercial market.

Edited by Wilson1330, 10 November 2010 - 12:28 PM.

[mike.]

I'm not an engineer but the seal retaining rings could be pushed in by hand, especially if they're old ones being refitted like yours. New seal retainers are usually abit stiff though.

[Ethel]

I don't see how you'd seat the metal ring by hand with the caliper assembled. You'd need some sort of clamp to press on it evenly. I'd say a clamp, or some sort of lever press, would be preferable even with better access. The metal retainer is an interference fit, if it was easy to press in it would also be easy for the piston to press out.

[WiredbyWilson]

I don't see how you'd seat the metal ring by hand with the caliper assembled. You'd need some sort of clamp to press on it evenly. I'd say a clamp, or some sort of lever press, would be preferable even with better access. The metal retainer is an interference fit, if it was easy to press in it would also be easy for the piston to press out.

That is the point I was trying to make to the owner - but alas that i snot important, but boasting about his employees abilities makes up for incompetance!

[oli8925]

Hi David. Sorry to hear you've had some trouble

While I can't give any advice it does look like awful care and attention to the customer. Disappointing as only a couple of weeks ago I got the Viva callipers rebuilt at Bigg Red LTD and found the service to be excellent. The finish, work, communication and turn around time were all excellent. However it does look like the damage to your callipers is a lot worse than could have happened in transit, unless the calliper fell out of the box. Is the damage only to one of them?

Hope you get it sorted mate and look forward to seeing the Escort