A good mechanic may have saved me

[decodancer]

Took my van and 1988 Terry TT to my mechanic to get a brake controller installed and inspect the trailer before I head out this weekend. When I called to make sure that my rig was ready for pick-up the mechanic said I could take the van but he had to show me something on the trailer. He put a jack under the front axle and moved the wheel back and forth with his hands. He said the rear axel was even worse. I'm no mechanic but even I know that this was an accident waiting to happen. I'm going solo this trip so thank God I decided to get the work done beforehand. Haven't gotten the bill yet but considering the alternative...

[n9iui]

Is this mechanic someone you trust?
It would be really easy for a dishonest person to pull the dust caps and loosen the castle nuts, thereby loosening the bearings.

[Chuck 1935]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n9iui Is this mechanic someone you trust? It would be really easy for a dishonest person to pull the dust caps and loosen the castle nuts, thereby loosening the bearings.

Just ask him to show you that the wheel bearings are adjusted properly. Make sure he pulls off the dust covers, those are the things that cover the large nut that adjusts the wheel bearings. Another thing to ask him is if it just needs an adjustment and to re-pack the wheel bearings. It's hard to bealive that ALL the bearings were loose.
If you sound like you know what you are talking about it's much less likely that he would try and run a game on you !

[decodancer]

I still haven't gotten the bill for the work done (finished late on Friday night as I was heading out on a trip) but yes, I totally trust the owner of this garage. The previous owner of the trailer used it only for a two week trip every summer, the breakaway switch was hidden underneath and they told me it didn't have brakes so no doubt they never serviced it. I had my previous mechanic put new tires on my minivan a week before a long trip and had the brakes go out halfway there. The brake place could not figure out how he had not noticed that the pads were scraping metal when he did the tires. Needless to say, he never touched another vehicle. I asked everyone I knew and "Reliable Truck repair" got mentioned several times. They've done work on my Class C, my van and my trailer at a fair price. The one time I had an issue after repair (check engine light came on), the owners wife actually drove me home and the owner delivered the fixed van to my home at 7:30 that night. I've put alternators, starters etc. on previous vehicles (before everything went computerized) now I just have to trust the experts.