New tyres = stuffed wheel winch

[af3556]

Took my D3 into Bob Jane to get four new tyres. However I was driving on the spare, having got a flat a few days earlier, so they had to put the spare back under the car.

As the job's near finished, they tell me they can't get the wheel winch up - it's basically stuffed and isn't holding the spare in place (slips).

I did notice they used a rattle gun on the winch - indeed I stuck my head into the workshop when I saw that and asked "I don't think you're supposed to use an impact wrench on the winch" and got a "nah, it's fine" in reply.

Is there official advice or similar re. not using an impact wrench? If so, I have a pretty clear cut case for Bob Jane to fix/replace the winch.

(rant: the wheel winch would have to be about the most hopeless engineering effort I've ever seen in any manufactured thing. LR should be ashamed.)

Ta,
Ben

[Tombie]

Follow the directions and the wheel winch is fine..

Either Bob Jane has broken it - let's face it, a rattle gun is not appropriate on said device.

Or did you wind it up, not under load when you changed tyres?

[scarry]

(rant: the wheel winch would have to be about the most hopeless engineering effort I've ever seen in any manufactured thing. LR should be ashamed.)

Ta,
Ben

And the jack is the second most hopeless thing they ever made

Luckily i haven't had to use mine yet.

As for Bob Jane,good luck.

[AnD3rew]

The winch is crap and the sooner you throw it out and put a RWC the better. Having said that you are definitely not supposed to use a rattle gun on it so unless you wrecked it previously by winding it up without a load Bob Jane wrecked it for you.

[101RRS]

In my view the winch MUST be pulled up by hand - the cable often goes over itself and the winch comes hard to turn - you then need to back off until it is free and then continue. You can raise the winch without load using this method as well.

Using a rattle gun you would not know the winch was loading up. Only the handle must be used. You might be lucky if you wind/pull the cable out under load and manually rewind under load but from what you have said it sounds like it is stuffed.

I would be hitting Bob Jane for the cost of a new winch - I suspect they will say no so off to the office of fair trading/consumer affairs with a copy of the relevant section of the handbook.

Garry

[jimc]

I don't think I will be needing my spare winch any more. P.M me if you want

[sniegy]

DO NOT USE A RATTLE GUN TO DO UP SPARE WHEEL WINCH !!

I would be at heading back to Bob Jane saying who is paying for the "New" wheel winch.
That is pretty atrocious!

[justinc]

I have opened them up and repaired them in an emergency before, BUT only if they have been wound up by hand and not too badly twisted, and not forced using a rattle gun, you may find it is now irrepairable. I would certainly ask them to foot the bill

JC

[af3556]

I was very careful in replacing the flat (kept tension in the cable at all times, hand wound, etc) - and they had no trouble removing it again, just when replacing the spare at the end of the job.

AnD3rew: what's this RWC unit?

[justinc]

I was very careful in replacing the flat (kept tension in the cable at all times, hand wound, etc) - and they had no trouble removing it again, just when replacing the spare at the end of the job.

AnD3rew: what's this RWC unit?

RWC = rear wheel carrier.


JC