Manager Forum

just a quick heads up here. i'm having a hey day with these vehicles. i'm doing at least one a week. customer comes in with a pedal fade below 5mph along with a buzzing noise. cha ching. at least where i'm located i can say without question it needs front and rear brakes, backing plates, front hub and bearings. $2.500 . the drop off is being caused by a front abs sensor. replace both. the backing plates are rotted from the salt and the e/brake shoes are loose. i would strongly suggest buying the oem set ups and charge a bit more labor because you'll probably have to change the e/brake eccentric. i used after market plates on my suburban, couldn't get the squeal at low speeds out of it. snap on makes a chisel for the air chisel gun that fits over the bolt head's that hold the hubs on. it peels them right off. keep these coming, i still have one in college......

And ya'll still think you won the war! We call that the Yankee tax down here when we have to work on a rust bucket.

One mans Rust is another mans cash cow!!! I'm with Steve on this one. These are an everyday occurance here in Maine as well. My shop is about 3 miles from the coast so we see a lot of rust just by being so close to salt water, but then in the winter when the DOT & Town Public Works goes by dumping 7 yards of salt & 1,000 gallons of Calcium Chloride per mile the rust does wonders to some of Detroit's finest. Brake lines, rotors, backing plates frames......nothing stands a chance of survival around these parts if you know what I mean.


Jeremy

Did a training meeting in Halifax and it was explained to me that "labor for vehicles in the Maritime provinces require an extra 1 hr per bolt".

Rust vehicle only labor guides?

i guess i just don't know what a rust free vehicle is (other that when they drive off the dealers lot) like i've mentioned before we will not waste any time at all trying to unbolt anything we can burn off with a torch. on older gm's that need a transmission or transfer case i'll order the spacer from the dealer before i even start the job. i usually have two or three of the two common ones on the shelf. i also have the shift assemblies for the ford manual four wheel drive controls. if i was ever in an area where the bolts looked like they did on the day they were installed i wouldn't know what to do. brake lines? we call them rusty straws. if we have to go any where near them we'll replace them. if bleeder opens we cut the line and pound on a junk yard socket and away we go. i've watched techs at other shops soak or heat the lines working the back and forth for a bit of time. i say cut and replace. i use a zinc/copper/nickle line on all the plow trucks that the owners allow me to. i've seen the results of salt damage first hand. new lines in november, scaly strips in april.

brianp87 wrote:Rust vehicle only labor guides?

That's their local humor.

I've been using the same cooper nickle alloy brake line that Steve's talking about. If you use regular steel lines it should only be done on a vehicle that will be going directly from here to the "press" at the scrap yard because that's about how long they'll last!!!! My brother used to work at a Ford dealer in Florida & said they use the torch maybe 3 times a year. I'm lucky if it's 3 times a day

Jeremy

we use the "blue wrenches so much i'm considering putting in over heads in each bay. i can't have more than two carts legally in my shop. i have a plazma cutter and i purchased an otc magnetic heater. that thing is great. before i use any torches i bang away on the frame with a 2.5lb hammer and have to sweep the rust off the floor because it's pretty slippery. it's kind of sad that we know on ford trucks that the rear spring perches rot out and on the gm's we'll have at least 10 every plow season with the plow hanging off. i have standard orders with a few salvage yards that on specific chevrolet trucks if the frame is good cut the nose pieces of the frame and ship them to me. i'll clean them and weld sleeves on them.

Wow, ya'll sure do make me happy to be in the south!!!!!

well i wouldn't go that far lil joe................................. isn't it all ya'll. now remember i'm a misplaced red neck.

steven kiser wrote:we use the "blue wrenches so much i'm considering putting in over heads in each bay. i can't have more than two carts legally in my shop. i have a plazma cutter and i purchased an otc magnetic heater. that thing is great. before i use any torches i bang away on the frame with a 2.5lb hammer and have to sweep the rust off the floor because it's pretty slippery. it's kind of sad that we know on ford trucks that the rear spring perches rot out and on the gm's we'll have at least 10 every plow season with the plow hanging off. i have standard orders with a few salvage yards that on specific chevrolet trucks if the frame is good cut the nose pieces of the frame and ship them to me. i'll clean them and weld sleeves on them.

Steve,

We have gas piped to each bay. While it is convenient, it consumes a lot of gas and there are lots of opportunities for leaks. I'd go back if I could.