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The trailer has excellent brakes - I wouldn't consider pulling a 3 ton
trailer without them (its actually a Vermeer chipper mounted on a trailer).
I use an electronic brake controller so I can adjust the brake response.
John
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message news:d70ll11bjbcc2onjnpd9mfofb9qu5qdmbq@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 22 Oct 2005 08:29:07 -0600, "Doctor John"
> <nospamplease@stabarnd.net> wrote:
>
>>The calipers on the rear had worn out rubber dust boots and the technician
>>said he had to apply a lot of pressure to move the pistons when removing
>>the
>>pads during inspection. They did look bad, but I really don't know if he
>>was giving me a line or not. They were not leaking. I figure for a
>>couple
>>hundred extra bucks I can get a quality rebuilt caliper loaded with pads
>>from NAPA and do the install myself.
>
> Or at least a rebuild kit.. No sense paying some shop $65+/hr when
> you can turn your own wrenches for free..
>
>>The brakes are "weak" - even though
>>the pedal travel is OK, I have to mash them with tremendous effort to get
>>decent braking when pulling a 3 ton trailer.
>
> I hope that trailer has brakes on it.. "Weak" could mean inadequate
> pads or even a bad hose.
>
>>
>>John
>
On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 10:03:27 -0600, "Doctor John"
<nospamplease@stabarnd.net> wrote:
>The trailer has excellent brakes - I wouldn't consider pulling a 3 ton
>trailer without them (its actually a Vermeer chipper mounted on a trailer).
>I use an electronic brake controller so I can adjust the brake response.
Have you checked the hoses? A bulging hose will make brakes feel
weak. I just don't trust the "chain" stores to properly diagnose
problems.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am tearing it apart now and I will check
hoses and replace if necessary.
John
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net> wrote in
message news:s5fnl1hfhg51t0gdn4495ums6p4bkimmtf@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 10:03:27 -0600, "Doctor John"
> <nospamplease@stabarnd.net> wrote:
>
>>The trailer has excellent brakes - I wouldn't consider pulling a 3 ton
>>trailer without them (its actually a Vermeer chipper mounted on a
>>trailer).
>>I use an electronic brake controller so I can adjust the brake response.
>
> Have you checked the hoses? A bulging hose will make brakes feel
> weak. I just don't trust the "chain" stores to properly diagnose
> problems.
I have a lifetime muffler from Midas. It has been changed out three times.
The first couple of times, Midas said I also needed the pipe from the
manifold, about $20. I didn't argue and had them go ahead and replace the
pipe.
The last time, however, Midas said I also needed a catalytic converter or I
would never pass pollution inspection (Texas), about $300-400+ if I recall.
I refused this.
Truck passed inspection, no problem.
I think next time I will just get a new muffler somewhere else.
82 F100
302 V8
138000 miles
"Doctor John" <nospamplease@stabarnd.net> wrote in message
news:9fabc$43596f9d$943fa6f4$7389@STARBAND.NET...
This may be of interest - I went to Midas for brake pads on my F350 because
they were going to charge me $180 for installed semi-metallics on all 4
wheels and for the extra 60-80 bucks beyond what it would have cost me to do
it, it was worth it (the truck has dual rear tires and a dump bed - it won't
fit in my garage and I wasn't looking forward to crawling around in my dirt
driveway). The Midas mechanic took the whole thing apart and told me I need
calipers all the way around - I looked it over and probably it does need
rear calipers. The bill went to $1100 not including turning the rotors.
After I was resuscitated they put it back together (no charge), I drove out
of there and ordered the parts from NAPA for about $450 for premium pads and
rebuilt calipers for all wheels. Soon I'll be crawling around in the dirt
doing a brake job, but I'm saving over $600. Midas may be worth it for a
simple pad swap, but they do charge a bit for replacement hardware.
I don't recall the replacement muffler requiring everything be fixed for the
deal. I can see replacing the pipes, and hangers if needed. I'd tell them to
just do the muffler so shop around for a cat.
--
Roy
rem NADA to reply
"stevie" <sf@dum.org> wrote in message news:ivR6f.11693$xk2.3103@fe06.lga...
|I have a lifetime muffler from Midas. It has been changed out three times.
| The first couple of times, Midas said I also needed the pipe from the
| manifold, about $20. I didn't argue and had them go ahead and replace the
| pipe.
|
| The last time, however, Midas said I also needed a catalytic converter or I
| would never pass pollution inspection (Texas), about $300-400+ if I recall.
| I refused this.
|
| Truck passed inspection, no problem.
|
| I think next time I will just get a new muffler somewhere else.
|
| 82 F100
| 302 V8
| 138000 miles
|
|
| "Doctor John" <nospamplease@stabarnd.net> wrote in message
| news:9fabc$43596f9d$943fa6f4$7389@STARBAND.NET...
| This may be of interest - I went to Midas for brake pads on my F350 because
| they were going to charge me $180 for installed semi-metallics on all 4
| wheels and for the extra 60-80 bucks beyond what it would have cost me to do
| it, it was worth it (the truck has dual rear tires and a dump bed - it won't
| fit in my garage and I wasn't looking forward to crawling around in my dirt
| driveway). The Midas mechanic took the whole thing apart and told me I need
| calipers all the way around - I looked it over and probably it does need
| rear calipers. The bill went to $1100 not including turning the rotors.
| After I was resuscitated they put it back together (no charge), I drove out
| of there and ordered the parts from NAPA for about $450 for premium pads and
| rebuilt calipers for all wheels. Soon I'll be crawling around in the dirt
| doing a brake job, but I'm saving over $600. Midas may be worth it for a
| simple pad swap, but they do charge a bit for replacement hardware.
|
| John
|
|
|
i was just pointing out that Midas was attempting to sell me something i
didn't need.
however, i'm sure everyone has seen that movie.
"Roy Brown" <roybrown@sympatico.caNADA> wrote in message
news:2ZT6f.2751$Nj3.133697@news20.bellglobal.com...
I don't recall the replacement muffler requiring everything be fixed for the
deal. I can see replacing the pipes, and hangers if needed. I'd tell them to
just do the muffler so shop around for a cat.
--
Roy
rem NADA to reply
"stevie" <sf@dum.org> wrote in message news:ivR6f.11693$xk2.3103@fe06.lga...
|I have a lifetime muffler from Midas. It has been changed out three times.
| The first couple of times, Midas said I also needed the pipe from the
| manifold, about $20. I didn't argue and had them go ahead and replace the
| pipe.
|
| The last time, however, Midas said I also needed a catalytic converter or
I
| would never pass pollution inspection (Texas), about $300-400+ if I
recall.
| I refused this.
|
| Truck passed inspection, no problem.
|
| I think next time I will just get a new muffler somewhere else.
|
| 82 F100
| 302 V8
| 138000 miles
|
|
| "Doctor John" <nospamplease@stabarnd.net> wrote in message
| news:9fabc$43596f9d$943fa6f4$7389@STARBAND.NET...
| This may be of interest - I went to Midas for brake pads on my F350
because
| they were going to charge me $180 for installed semi-metallics on all 4
| wheels and for the extra 60-80 bucks beyond what it would have cost me to
do
| it, it was worth it (the truck has dual rear tires and a dump bed - it
won't
| fit in my garage and I wasn't looking forward to crawling around in my
dirt
| driveway). The Midas mechanic took the whole thing apart and told me I
need
| calipers all the way around - I looked it over and probably it does need
| rear calipers. The bill went to $1100 not including turning the rotors.
| After I was resuscitated they put it back together (no charge), I drove
out
| of there and ordered the parts from NAPA for about $450 for premium pads
and
| rebuilt calipers for all wheels. Soon I'll be crawling around in the dirt
| doing a brake job, but I'm saving over $600. Midas may be worth it for a
| simple pad swap, but they do charge a bit for replacement hardware.
|
| John
|
|
|
I didn't mean to write a novel, but I just wanted to share my experience
with one of these mechanics who lives near me and actually worked (mostly
out of shop) on a vehicle given to me.
FWIW, before my grandfather passed away a year ago and his 1983 Ford F-150
was passed on to me, his neighbour used to do most of the repairs to the
truck. At the time, this neighbour worked at Speedy Muffler as a "mechanic"
(I'll use that term very lightly as I refer to him). He was renting the
trailer that was located on my grandfathers land, and I should also mention
he was and still is, a complete alcoholic. Calling him a hillbilly would be
nice in his case, but he was generally a user who took complete advantage of
my grandfather and nobody in my family can stand him to this day.
Seeing as how this truck was bought only when it was a year old, it was not
used alot. Mainly for my grandfathers travel to work, which was only around
10 km a day. It has very low mileage, right now the odometer only reads
105,000 km. It also has one of the toughest engines built by Ford, the 4.9L
inline six. But, when it was not used, it normally ended up parked in the
grass. It was painted last year before he passed away, and the floor was in
great shape. However, because he used to use it for hauling junk, bails of
hay and general farm usage, quite a few of the body panels needed replacing
in the painting process. It also needed the rear leaf springs replaced, the
carburetor (apparently) needed replacing, and it had the common fuel gauge
failure (it still does, actually).
Needless to say, this neighbour "mechanic" ( I refer to him as Ace) was
asked to fix/replace the leaf springs, so Ace did this in exchange for rent
payment about three years ago. When you look at the truck in my yard, it
leans to one side by probably two inches, and on a hoist you can tell that
the spring pack was taken apart and some of the old leaf springs were
reused, while some were replaced with new ones. Unfortunately, Ace
obviously cannot count, because there is one additional leaf spring in the
passenger side.
The second repair he was asked to make was the carburetor. Now, when the
truck was given to me, I knew that it usually started quite well,
considering its age, but that it never really idled all that great. So you
can imagine how suprised I was when I lifted the hood to find a brand new
carburetor with parts missing and a wire tie tied around the choke linkage
holding it wide open all the time. There was a screw missing from the idle
plate and I think the reason the choke never operated correctly was because
the spring element that activates the automatic choke was missing
altogether.
But I really had to laugh when I attempted to figure out what was wrong with
the fuel gauge. The gauge stopped working about 2 years ago and Ace decided
he was going to take the dash apart and find that "broken wire" that he
claimed he knew was causing all the problems. When I got underneath the
truck to drop the tank, I noticed the gas tank was brand new (I don't ever
recall anything being wrong with the old tank, I know it never leaked) and
when I dropped it down, I also noticed the sending unit was new. There was
so much hi-temp silicone between the sending unit base plate and the gas
tank, that the metal between the two parts wern't even touching each other.
The funny thing is, he used the brand new rubber gasket between the sending
unit and tank, so I really have no idea what the hi-temp silicone was there
for. Now keep in mind that the fuel gauge still doesn't work despite all my
efforts, but after I cleaned the silicone off the two parts, the gauge
actually did work for about a day or two. My guess was that the sending
unit was not properly grounding through the tank, but seeing as how it
stopped working again, I'm still not sure what is wrong with it. I suspect
that the sending unit he used was quite a cheap part because there was a
fair amount of residue on the intake pipe when I cleaned it and put it back
together, and it really just looked like it was manufactured cheaply. I can
also tell from taking the dash apart that he's had his hands in there before
because of his sloppy wire splices that he used on his aftermarket fuel
gauge (that one never worked either, AFAIK). Needless to say, there was
nothing wrong with the wiring to the old gauge inside the dash (except that
he cut both wires at the firewall to run the old wires to his aftermarket
gauge).
In no way do I believe that I am a perfect mechanic myself, but I do know my
way around a vehicle. Enough to fix some of his stupid mistakes and to make
that truck run at least twice as good as it did. The more I work on that
truck, the more of his mechanical work I find. At one point, I almost
wanted to set the truck at the end of the road and sell it because of
something he did to it, and my attempts to repair it correctly. Don't get
me wrong, I have nothing against this truck, in fact, I always told my
grandfather after he was gone, I would be happy to take care of his truck
for him. And I also know that these trucks are far beyond the quality that
Ace turned it into, any old Ford truck like that I've seen has always been
tough and I know alot of guys still driving their old trucks, favoring them
over the new vehicles you see today.
AFAIK, Ace still works at Speedy Muffler, but he may have tried to advance
his career by being hired by Midas Muffler. I know he works for one of the
two, just not sure which one. Either way, you'll never see my vehicles
parked near any of the two, or any other place like that.
Doctor John wrote:
> This may be of interest - I went to Midas for brake pads on my F350 because
> they were going to charge me $180 for installed semi-metallics on all 4
> wheels and for the extra 60-80 bucks beyond what it would have cost me to do
> it, it was worth it (the truck has dual rear tires and a dump bed - it won't
> fit in my garage and I wasn't looking forward to crawling around in my dirt
> driveway). The Midas mechanic took the whole thing apart and told me I need
> calipers all the way around - I looked it over and probably it does need
> rear calipers. The bill went to $1100 not including turning the rotors.
> After I was resuscitated they put it back together (no charge), I drove out
> of there and ordered the parts from NAPA for about $450 for premium pads and
> rebuilt calipers for all wheels. Soon I'll be crawling around in the dirt
> doing a brake job, but I'm saving over $600. Midas may be worth it for a
> simple pad swap, but they do charge a bit for replacement hardware.
>
> John
>
>
Funny you mention that. Some years ago my mother took her Pontiac to the
local Midas for a muffler swap. She got it for a reasonable price and a
lifetime warranty. About a year later the muffler puked and she took it
back. They replaced the muffler and than proceeded to tell her she
needed new rear suspension springs at about $300.00 Knowing I do all the
maintenance for her she dismissed him and went home with her warranty
muffler. I have replaced rear springs once in the 25 years I have been
in car repair. Amazing what some people will do.
"Fredzo" <fredzo@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:KzSgf.352152$084.265826@attbi_s22...
> Doctor John wrote:
>> This may be of interest - I went to Midas for brake pads on my F350
>> because they were going to charge me $180 for installed semi-metallics on
>> all 4 wheels and for the extra 60-80 bucks beyond what it would have cost
>> me to do it, it was worth it (the truck has dual rear tires and a dump
>> bed - it won't fit in my garage and I wasn't looking forward to crawling
>> around in my dirt driveway). The Midas mechanic took the whole thing
>> apart and told me I need calipers all the way around - I looked it over
>> and probably it does need rear calipers. The bill went to $1100 not
>> including turning the rotors. After I was resuscitated they put it back
>> together (no charge), I drove out of there and ordered the parts from
>> NAPA for about $450 for premium pads and rebuilt calipers for all wheels.
>> Soon I'll be crawling around in the dirt doing a brake job, but I'm
>> saving over $600. Midas may be worth it for a simple pad swap, but they
>> do charge a bit for replacement hardware.
>>
>> John
> Funny you mention that. Some years ago my mother took her Pontiac to the
> local Midas for a muffler swap. She got it for a reasonable price and a
> lifetime warranty. About a year later the muffler puked and she took it
> back. They replaced the muffler and than proceeded to tell her she needed
> new rear suspension springs at about $300.00 Knowing I do all the
> maintenance for her she dismissed him and went home with her warranty
> muffler. I have replaced rear springs once in the 25 years I have been in
> car repair. Amazing what some people will do.
You have to remember that they have stockholders to feed. The home office, a
CEO, all that overhead. Who pays those huge salaries? Hmm?
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