Resident Mechanics - Would me doing this offend you?

Associate
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Basically, my Nissan Leaf has a problem with the parking brake (drum brake) rubbing and causing massive heat build up in the combined drum / disc assembly.

I have taken it into 3 garages and all 3 have failed to fix the problem. I reckon they have taken a look at the caliper and found no issue and not looked at the drum brake at all. All three have not charged me for them taking a look at it which also suggests they didn't look too deeply at the problem. The third mechanic actually told me that the Leaf doesn't have drum brakes!

Anyway, I am kind of forced to take my car back to the third garage as after picking the car up from them the last time, the parking brake is completely seized up and I can't drive a mile without the disc becoming too hot to touch. So basically I have come up with a list of things I want done to try to fix the issue. Here is what I am going to hand into the mechanic tomorrow:

Can you please go through this list on both rear wheels to rule out the drum brakes causing the problem. Thanks.

  1. Remove the disc brake caliper and then the combined disc / drum.

  2. Inspect the drum for corrosion and for contamination of the shoes.

  3. Check the shoe retracting springs and retainers.

  4. Take the shoe off and clean up the backplate contact points on both the shoe and the backplate. Grease appropriately.

  5. Chamfer the leading and trailing edges of the friction material.

  6. Disconnect the handbrake cable and check it for free movement.

  7. Check the handbrake mechanism operates the shoes freely.

  8. Refit the drum and check the wheel bearing play.

  9. Check and set the drum brake shoe adjustment.

  10. Check and set the adjustment of the parking brake cable by the rear axle beam.

  11. Check the disc brake pads are free and caliper sliders are not seized.
Would you be offended if a customer handed you this? I am tempted to DIY this problem as there are video tutorials available but I would need to go out and buy all the tools to do it.

Would adding a link to one of the video tutorials be a step too far?!
 
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:cry::cry::cry:

Yes i can see the mechanic having a right laugh. - The phrase "teaching ones grandmother to suck eggs" springs to mind here.

You could go in with a few pointers sure, but a list...

Would it be better if it was formatted as if I had emailed a friend asking for advice and they replied with the list with a bit of a preamble? I am so peed off with mechanics being basically useless. If a customer brought a problem to me to fix, and it was my job to know how to fix said problems, I would be ashamed to give the problem back unfixed and also with no potential alternative solutions offered.

I have been going around in circles for close to a month with basically a bit of rusty metal that just needs a good clean.

The main reason I don't just DIY it is that I don't have the time and I also want to find a reliable mechanic to do future servicing on the car I wouldn't feel comfortable or able to do myself. It sure won't be any of the garages I have went to so far.
 
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Soldato
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Would it be better if it was formatted as if I had emailed a friend asking for advice and they replied with the list with a bit of a preamble.

Do you give a recipe to the chef of a restaurant you eat at?

The point is you're asking a professional to investigate an issue and they *should* already know to look at everything on that list.

The tricky part you'll find is that a garage will end up charging you a diag fee to investigate those issues - most customers hate having to pay several hours of diag when there's no guarantee of finding anything. So in a lot of cases mechanics will have a quick look at the obvious and send you on your way if it's not broken there and then.
 
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Do you give a recipe to the chef of a restaurant you eat at?

The point is you're asking a professional to investigate an issue and they *should* already know to look at everything on that list.

The tricky part you'll find is that a garage will end up charging you a diag fee to investigate those issues - most customers hate having to pay several hours of diag when there's no guarantee of finding anything. So in a lot of cases mechanics will have a quick look at the obvious and send you on your way if it's not broken there and then.

I get what you are saying but in this case it is a bit like the chef stating Steak doesn't exist!
 
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Googled it - interesting. Like it.

Op - can't you just pay someone to replace the rear shoes and be done with it? Looks like they're about 20 quid.

That is a good idea. So I could just go in and tell them I would like both rear shoes in the drum brakes replaced. I would assume that any mechanic worth their salt would also clean the drum up at the same time. Would they be offended if I asked for the old shoes back? That way I can be sure the job was actually done.
 
Soldato
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That is a good idea. So I could just go in and tell them I would like both rear shoes in the drum brakes replaced. I would assume that any mechanic worth their salt would also clean the drum up at the same time. Would they be offended if I asked for the old shoes back? That way I can be sure the job was actually done.
"Do you mind leaving the old shoes in the boot of the car"
 
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"Do you mind leaving the old shoes in the boot of the car"

Perfect. This seems like a good plan. Hopefully nobody gets upset about it!

The thing is all the guys who work in the garage are really nice. This will actually be my third time taking it there with this issue. The first time they couldn't replicate the issue and told me to bring it straight back if it happened again. No charge. The second time I took it in like they asked and I reckon they took apart and cleaned the caliper which didn't solve the problem. They actually knew it hadn't solved the problem because the guy giving me back the keys said the mechanic could still feel / hear the problem after taking it out on a test drive. They told me to bring it back if it got worse. Again, no charge. Thing is the parking brake was fully seized on when I drove it away from the garage. So I booked it right back in for round 3. It is nice that they haven't charged me, but I would much rather be charged for a proper fix. I have also booked it into another garage that was recommended to me but the earliest date was the 30th so I am hedging my bets with that one.
 
Soldato
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Perfect. This seems like a good plan. Hopefully nobody gets upset about it!

The thing is all the guys who work in the garage are really nice. This will actually be my third time taking it there with this issue. The first time they couldn't replicate the issue and told me to bring it straight back if it happened again. No charge. The second time I took it in like they asked and I reckon they took apart and cleaned the caliper which didn't solve the problem. They actually knew it hadn't solved the problem because the guy giving me back the keys said the mechanic could still feel / hear the problem after taking it out on a test drive. They told me to bring it back if it got worse. Again, no charge. Thing is the parking brake was fully seized on when I drove it away from the garage. So I booked it right back in for round 3. I have also booked it into another garage that was recommended to me but the earliest date was the 30th so I am hedging my bets with that one.
Find a better garage. Your current one sounds like a KwikFit "mechanic" (i.e. a fitter).
 
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Find a better garage. Your current one sounds like a KwikFit "mechanic" (i.e. a fitter).

Yep. It is a local independent garage which is at the bottom of my street. The convenience factor is high and as I said they are really nice, but convenience and nicety alone don't get broken cars fixed! This will be the last time I ever go there though.
 
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Have you ever heard the saying... "fool me once...." etc?

They've let you down, twice. Give up.

I agree. This will be the last time as I really need it sorted sooner rather than later and no one else is able to see it for about 2 weeks. If they can't fix it this time I will just have to suck it up and wait a couple of weeks to get it into the other garage on the 30th.
 
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Have you ever heard the saying... "fool me once...." etc?

They've let you down, twice. Give up.

It's actually quite hard finding a decent garage, they tend to be either cheap and rough, or skilled and pricey. (That's ignoring the borderline criminal conmen that exist).
Skilled and pricey would seem the obvious choice here but I was quoted £500 for a crank case breather for my Z4, the only option is to reach for the spanners yourself.
 
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It's actually quite hard finding a decent garage, they tend to be either cheap and rough, or skilled and pricey. (That's ignoring the borderline criminal conmen that exist).
Skilled and pricey would seem the obvious choice here but I was quoted £500 for a crank case breather for my Z4, the only option is to reach for the spanners yourself.

I specifically bought the Leaf due to it having less moving parts which I thought would result in less chance of things breaking. I hate taking the car into a garage. I blame me feeling like that on the majority of mechanics (or more accurately fitters) I have dealt with who are completely clueless. I can't believe the trouble I have had getting a simple seized brake fixed. Many garages I have phoned wouldn't even look at the car because "electric".
 
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Fairly sure there is an EV mobile servicing company that covers pretty much anywhere on mainland GB that will be very familiar with the Leaf. A lot of older EVs have issues with brakes as they just don’t get used that much.

No idea on the cost and lead time but they should cover Manchester.

Edit: Cleevely EV

Edit2: there shouldn’t be anything fundamentally different with the brakes compared to an ICE, particularly on an older leaf!
 
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Fairly sure there is an EV mobile servicing company that covers pretty much anywhere on mainland GB that will be very familiar with the Leaf. No idea on the cost though.

Yes Cleavely's. I really need to find a good local garage though. Cleavely's are the go to people though for electrical side of things.
 
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