Rover Mechanic installs brake pad backwards

[AlecW]

I just had a mechanic replace all my pads with the Bendex Hybrid 4x4 (excellent pads) on my 110 Defender.

I noticed metal flecks in my right front wheel so perplexed I pulled the wheel off. The brake rotor is destroyed on the outer side and they installed the pad BACKWARDS:twisted:. The metal backing plate has been giving me brakes.

Unbelievable.

This will now need to be replaced (hopefully they do the right thing).
I am inclined to ask them to replace both front rotors now as generally anything to do with replace braking components should be done in pairs. Just replacing the destroyed disk will result in uneven braking.

I was in shock.

[weeds]

I'm not sure you would get uneven braking if you replace just one rotor......

Other than that the mechanic has had a bad day.....we all make mistakes

Hopefully they will sort it out without fuss......or

Just flip the brake pad around and continue on.

I would have thought you would have notice this driving out of the workshop.

[rangieman]

Brakes should be replaced in pairs as in the whole axle.
Im guessing you just forked out x amount of dollars for a pimple faced apprentice to do the job of a tradie:cool:

[AlecW]

Yes the braking coefficient would be different as the rotors would be of differing thicknesses.

Flipping the pad around and continuing on when the rotor is pitted and scoured out seems a bit silly after paying to have a trained, registered mechanic replace brake pads.

They roadtested it and didnt notice, I thought I heard something and did it at home. Regardless the damage wouldnt take long. Admittedly the 300tdi drowns most other things out including thoughts.

Mistakes are mistakes but not cool with brakes.

[LR V8]

I'd get them to flatbed it back to the workshop. New rotors and pads at their cost.

Pete

[Homestar]

Can I please ask we leave the companies name out of the discussion please as it is a breach of the forums 'name and shame' rules.

Thank you.

[PAT303]

I'd just flip the pad and have a beer,why would you **** around flat bedding it back to the mechanic when it's a two minute job to fix yourself?,I'd certainly send him a photo. Pat

[LR V8]

Because it's their responsibility to fix and it's not safe to drive. ****ing simple isn't it. But that's AlecW's decision to make.

You pay good money to do the job right, not to fix poor workmanship on their behalf.

[AlecW]

Yeah when I defer to a professional to do a job like brakes they really need to be done properly. This mechanics hourly rate is a premium because they specialize in rovers etc.

Very disappointing and dangerous in a emergency braking situation tbh.

I will be aiming to get them to replace the unit at the very least.

The condition of the disk would destroy any pad put on it in a short amount of time. Any mechanic would recommend to change both discs or pads in any event for maintenance and wear reasons - That concept should cut both ways.

[mudder110]

maybe he is a cairns landrover mechanic on holidays

[AlecW]

maybe he is a cairns landrover mechanic on holidays

Ha this is ACT. It is coming up on silly season and people start getting vacant I spose

[p38arover]

Yes the braking coefficient would be different as the rotors would be of differing thicknesses.

I'm not convinced that is true.

[AlecW]

I'm not convinced that is true.

yes I should have mentioned the condition of the rotors to begin with. They are half worn needing replacement in the next 2 yrs or so.

Having 1 rotor that is brand new and of potentially differing grade metal and thickness will make braking uneven and make the vehicle pull to one side in heavy braking situation.

BEFORE & DURING DISASSEMBLY

2. Establish the reason for replacing rotors. If it's not due to normal wear and tear find the cause and correct it so it
will not re occur
3. Check all mating & wearing parts for evidence of abnormal wear, the friction area, caliper slides rotor and pads.
4. Uneven pad wear can indicate, a seized caliper or slide, or constant line pressure when brakes are not in use
5. Replacement should be in axle sets. Do not replace one side only as this can cause unbalanced braking.
6. If abnormal wear is suspected we recommend you contact your qualified mechanic.

[BigJon]

If I had done that (never have yet, hopefully never will!) I would be fitting new pads and discs at my cost. I would also be recommending a wheel bearing service at the customer's cost, because it would ultimately save them money (given that the hubs have to come off to change the discs) and also soften the financial blow to me.

[AlecW]

If I had done that (never have yet, hopefully never will!) I would be fitting new pads and discs at my cost. I would also be recommending a wheel bearing service at the customer's cost, because it would ultimately save them money (given that the hubs have to come off to change the discs) and also soften the financial blow to me.

Yeah hopefully they sort it out with little fuss. Monday morning should be interesting when I roll in there

[AlecW]

They are replacing the front rotors at no cost to me now. Was a little bit of negotiation but doing the right thing

[weeds]

They are replacing the front rotors at no cost to me now. Was a little bit of negotiation but doing the right thing


That's a good outcome.....apart from the hassle of dropping back in.

[LR V8]

Good stuff. I'm glad it turned out well.

Well done to the workshop for making things right.

Pete

[defmec]

maybe he is a cairns landrover mechanic on holidays

I haven't had any bad experiences in 12 years of using LandRover mechanic's in Cairns .both Hypertune and Cairns landy centre offer a reputable service and both never mind offering knowledge to me as I do most work myself .

[justinc]

If I had done that (never have yet, hopefully never will!) I would be fitting new pads and discs at my cost. I would also be recommending a wheel bearing service at the customer's cost, because it would ultimately save them money (given that the hubs have to come off to change the discs) and also soften the financial blow to me.


I did it once... got 200mtrs down the road and knew what the noise/ feeling through the brake pedal was...��. Can't see how they didn't know if they had actually gone and done a proper bedding in drive. Anyway glad it is sorted.
It is how a problem is dealt with that is important too. People make mistakes they are obly human (albeit that is a serious mistake!!) But rectifying the issue quickly and with little stress to the customer is paramount

It was a long time ago now and even now i find myself thinking about it wjen fitting pads to d2's ��

Jc

[Gerokent]

I did it once... got 200mtrs down the road and knew what the noise/ feeling through the brake pedal was...��. Can't see how they didn't know if they had actually gone and done a proper bedding in drive. Anyway glad it is sorted.
It is how a problem is dealt with that is important too. People make mistakes they are obly human (albeit that is a serious mistake!!) But rectifying the issue quickly and with little stress to the customer is paramount

It was a long time ago now and even now i find myself thinking about it wjen fitting pads to d2's ��

Jc



It still baffles me how some one could do that though. Even for an untrained monkey!

[vnx205]

I did it once...

I can imagine that is the sort of mistake that anyone would only ever do once.

Maybe that is because until it actually happens to you, it doesn't occur to you that it would be possible to make such a mistake.

Once you realise it is possible, you make sure it never happens again.

[DazzaTD5]

As Justinc and another has pointed out, its not the sort of thing you think about that you might do wrong until you actually do it, after that then its on your brain every time you do that job for your lifetime.

And as Justinc points out, surely it would have got noticed during the initial bed in process, which if done correctly is numerous driving to a set speed, braking down to a set speed, increasing with 20kmph intervals, allow for cooling, do again etc. The nasty grating sound would have been noticed!

As another has mentioned, its how a repair workshop deals with resolving it as well people do make mistakes. I know anything I've stuffed up and picked up on during a road test got "fixed again" at my cost/time and the customer got their vehicle back just as the original repair was ment to be done.

Actually you are not "paying" for a qualified mechanic to work on your vehicle. A "professional" is merely someone doing a job and getting paid to do it.

At least in Western Australia a motor vehicle repair workshop does need to be a licensed workshop and they must have at least one licensed repairer that works or supervisors others in the workshop.

Regards
Daz

[weeds]

It still baffles me how some one could do that though. Even for an untrained monkey!


I'm guessing you never make mistakes......??

I'm commissioning a piece of kit this week........it a stopped today before we it started, once I found the issues I'm scratching my head how i didn't notice during assembly....we are now behind schedule waiting for parts to be air freighted to us.....but I put my hand up and accepted responsibility...

.it appears the repairer has done the same.

It amazes me on forums the amount of member that are 100% perfect.

[AlecW]

Yeah they initially wanted to sting me for a couple hours labor to replace and refit but I was pretty adamant (respectfully) that I wouldn't be in that predicament if the job had been done correctly the first time.

Only thing now is they reused the pad that had the backplate worn down on the disk - just the right way round. Now my right front howls like an alley cat.

Cant have everything..........

[AlecW]

''Actually you are not "paying" for a qualified mechanic to work on your vehicle. A "professional" is merely someone doing a job and getting paid to do it.''

Wot? Is that some Ol' Mechanic proverb?

[Homestar]

''Actually you are not "paying" for a qualified mechanic to work on your vehicle. A "professional" is merely someone doing a job and getting paid to do it.''

Wot? Is that some Ol' Mechanic proverb?

No, unfortunately a fact of life in many places now. In some bigger shops, the apprentices outnumber the Mechanics so it's much more likely that an apprentice will work on your vehicle and a Mechanic may check their work if your lucky (they are supposed to, but I've seen plenty of instances where the Mechanic has just said 'yep, that's fine' and let it go out the door with hardly a glance.

In other places, 'fitters' will work on your vehicle - they have no formal qualifications, but know (sometimes) how to spin spanners. Again, their work should be checked, but in some cases it won't be.

That's why for those that rely on outside repairers to look after their car should get to know their Mechanic, and the work they do and find a place that can get the job done right and stand behind their work.

Looks like in this case a mistake was made, which has happened to us all, I don't care who you are and what you say otherwise - we are all human, which, thankfully the shop was happy to rectify.

[Killer]

Yeah they initially wanted to sting me for a couple hours labor to replace and refit but I was pretty adamant (respectfully) that I wouldn't be in that predicament if the job had been done correctly the first time.

Only thing now is they reused the pad that had the backplate worn down on the disk - just the right way round. Now my right front howls like an alley cat.

Cant have everything..........

I think they need to fit a complete new set of pads, the Bendix pads have a soft layer on the backing plate that will have worn through. This is probably why you have the howl. Get it fixed properly.

Cheers, Mick.

[Gerokent]

I'm guessing you never make mistakes......??

I'm commissioning a piece of kit this week........it a stopped today before we it started, once I found the issues I'm scratching my head how i didn't notice during assembly....we are now behind schedule waiting for parts to be air freighted to us.....but I put my hand up and accepted responsibility...

.it appears the repairer has done the same.

It amazes me on forums the amount of member that are 100% perfect.



I would like to see some one that doesn't make mistakes!
But, a brake pad in backwards? It's akin to driving from the back seat.
Replacing both front disks and pads is the only safe way to repair this, stick to your guns AlecW.

[LoveB]

last mechanic that did the brakes on my vogue didnt install the locking tabs and the brake pads fell out haha. they re did it but then i noticed when they did they didnt use genuine pads and rotors.

yes i could do it myself but i would have done it i fi wanted and not paid someone to haha. traded the car in for a newer one so im not too worried abuot it now

[DazzaTD5]

''Actually you are not "paying" for a qualified mechanic to work on your vehicle. A "professional" is merely someone doing a job and getting paid to do it.''

Wot? Is that some Ol' Mechanic proverb?

No, its the definition of "professional" and I'm not old...

People sometimes get indignant when they find out that an apprentice, lube person or a trades assistant has worked on their vehicle. Having a non qualified person work on your vehicle should not actually matter if their work has been supervised by a knowledgeable trade qualified person, as any trade or professional person will know you spend many years learning your given trade or profession.

Personally I believe it takes about 10 - 15 years for a tradie to know what they are talking about provided they have been taught correctly in the first place. I've worked with some really bad trades persons over the years and have worked with some exceptional non trade qualified people.

So back to the OP topic....
As a few have already pointed out, mistakes happen, its a workshops willingness to resolve the issue. I'm sure they are some what embarrassed by the whole affair, especially if they happen to frequent this forum.

but prolly not as embarrassed as the repairer that recently had to replace an engine on a customers Discovery 4 that came in for a service..... right?

Regards
Daz

[AlecW]

No, its the definition of "professional" and I'm not old...

People sometimes get indignant when they find out that an apprentice, lube person or a trades assistant has worked on their vehicle. Having a non qualified person work on your vehicle should not actually matter if their work has been supervised by a knowledgeable trade qualified person, as any trade or professional person will know you spend many years learning your given trade or profession.

Personally I believe it takes about 10 - 15 years for a tradie to know what they are talking about provided they have been taught correctly in the first place. I've worked with some really bad trades persons over the years and have worked with some exceptional non trade qualified people.

So back to the OP topic....
As a few have already pointed out, mistakes happen, its a workshops willingness to resolve the issue. I'm sure they are some what embarrassed by the whole affair, especially if they happen to frequent this forum.

but prolly not as embarrassed as the repairer that recently had to replace an engine on a customers Discovery 4 that came in for a service..... right?

Regards
Daz

Im not saying you're old but there is an element of semantics there.

I am in agreeance with a lot of what you say. The particular individual that installed these brake pads was not an apprentice. I'm not fussed if a trade qualified or someone in training works on my vehicle. (they need to learn some way and im not above that) However there needs to be an element of quality control before it leaves the shop especially when it comes to something as vital as brakes

Something concerning is the fact a few mates of mine have needed to take their car in again after getting work done because of workmanship issues at this place, (1 needs to for the 4th time)

I wouldnt use the word 'willingness' when taking into account the way I had to negotiate it getting corrected. Maybe a 'strong reluctance' haha. Kind of like convincing a teenager to get off the couch and mow the lawn/take out the rubbish.

That engine replacement would have stung.........

Regards,

Alec

[AlecW]

On the brake squeal - I bought a can of bendix brake cleaner for $11 and went to town on the brake assembly on all four.

Magic stuff and removed the squeal entirely. I got in there and pressure washed the bejesus out of them 1st. I parked against the curb so the handbrake was not engaged so I could get the solution between the disk and pad aswell.

Highly recommend as a first port of call if pads/discs still have meat on them. Worth a try

[rovernutter]

A "professional" is merely someone doing a job and getting paid to do it.
That is only one possible definition. This definition applies when the activity is usually done by amateurs. Like professional surfer, or golfer. Would not apply to mechanics.
professional
C1 a person who has the type of job that needs a high level of education and training:
*informal someone who has worked hard in the same type of job for a long time and has become skilled at dealing with any problem that might happen:
B2 a person who does a job that people usually do as a hobby: a person who plays a sport, especially a golf or tennis player, who is employed by a club to train its members in a particular sport

[vnx205]

.... ...
But, a brake pad in backwards? It's akin to driving from the back seat.
.. ... ...


No it's not!

It is akin to a smoker lighting the filter tip end of the cigarette.

I suppose you can't imagine anyone ever making that mistake either. :)

While I can't claim to have done it myself since I have never smoked, I have seen more than one smoker put the cigarette in their mouth backwards. :)

I know it isn't a perfect analogy because brake pads are only dangerous if you put them in backwards whereas cigarettes are dangerous if you put them in the right way around. :p

[Gerokent]

No it's not!

It is akin to a smoker lighting the filter tip end of the cigarette.

I suppose you can't imagine anyone ever making that mistake either. :)

While I can't claim to have done it myself since I have never smoked, I have seen more than one smoker put the cigarette in their mouth backwards. :)

I know it isn't a perfect analogy because brake pads are only dangerous if you put them in backwards whereas cigarettes are dangerous if you put them in the right way around. :p


I have to admit to doing this on a number of occasions, being a smoker, but only in the dark when ****ed.

[DazzaTD5]

That is only one possible definition. This definition applies when the activity is usually done by amateurs. Like professional surfer, or golfer. Would not apply to mechanics.
professional
C1 a person who has the type of job that needs a high level of education and training:
*informal someone who has worked hard in the same type of job for a long time and has become skilled at dealing with any problem that might happen:
B2 a person who does a job that people usually do as a hobby: a person who plays a sport, especially a golf or tennis player, who is employed by a club to train its members in a particular sport

or....
"1. following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain:
a professional builder."

Regards
Daz

[Slunnie]

I object to paying a professional to do a half assed job, when I could do that myself. :(

:lol2:

[ozrob]

I will admit that I have made a mistake with fitting brake pads when I was young in the trade, I left one of the caliper retaining bolts loose....the vehicle made a knocking noise under brakes...back to the workshop to suss it out...
Now days I methodically check and re-check....especially when I was working on Police bikes....
I am perhaps a bit pedantic where the tools are laid out in order of use, brake pads matched for RHS/LHS, and finish the job before starting another or going for lunch, at home the wife has learned to accept that I will come in for dinner after the job is finished...many cold late night dinners were had.

I worked with a old mechanic who would never have a conversation with you till he finished the job, as he did not want to be distracted.
Now if you anaylise your situation you could see why the brake pad was put in backwards....as the mechanic or apprentice may have been distracted, did not check and re-check the work before putting the wheel back on.

[DazzaTD5]

I object to paying a professional to do a half assed job, when I could do that myself. :(

:lol2:

That's what my Pa always says....

Although its been a very long time since he has had to put a spanner of his Defender, this is mostly because his half assed jobs clutter up my workshop! :p

Regards
Daz

[dromader driver]

anything that's mission or safety critical. two approaches.

1. one person does the job. second checks.

2. if second not avbl leave overnight and recheck the next day. will be amazing what you pickup. l :cool: