Over The Road Repair Shop Guide

Lionman,

Since you touched on the subject of turning your own wrencehs, what would be needed to do the brakes by myself. I have rebuilt engines in boats, reatored cars etc. so doing the brakes on my rig shouldn't be that difficult with the proper tools. Sine I am moving to my families farm I will be building a big enough barn to be able to pull the rig into and work on it. What kind of lift, impacts etc....

Sorry not trying to hijack the thread a little but I have been kicking the idea around and am looking for some good info.

 

local shop #1 overcharges, replaces wrong parts and just didnt do a very good job in general

local shop#2, did what i asked, but failed my dot for leaking air bags that werent leaking...wierd how the ta tech couldnt find a leak and didnt want to have me buy 4 new $200 air bags plus labor

its becomeing very hard to find a decent shop

 

Well EngleWood !!!

Doing the brakes on a big truck is less complicated than a 4 Wheeler believe it or not ??? The biggest problem is getting everything out of the way to get to the shoes !! You will need a big impact n a decent size air comp with a 1/2 in feed line to run that 1 inch impact to remove the wheel nuts unless yours are the old style inboard drums where as you have a dolly (n no I ain't talkin about a woman ??) to lift both wheels n tires n drums off of the axle after you take the center main hub cover n nut off ?? Once you get to the shoes a couple of small pry bars or long heavy screwdrivers should get them off n on !!! Pay attention to how it's set up before you tear it down !!! Back the brake off all the way n then pop the rollers out n you will be on your way to saveing a bunch of money !!! Brake kits (shoes-hardware-ect) will be about 40-50$ a wheel . Whats a brake job now in a shop ??? 200--250$ a axle !!! Also it gives you a chance to see for yourself what else is wrong without some-one trying to shaft you for something you don't need !!!

 

Brickman I had that to happen in the truck owners shop once.I tried the brakes and no brakes they were backed all the way off and my fist stop would have been at a dead end main highway with big ditch on other side.

 

Well as a result of a poor deal I would have to say if you are in London, KY stay away from Martins Peterbilt. I have never dealt with such a company who will try every way possible to do a job poorley. Even though I got a good deal on my tractor from them, there business ethics and service after the fact are sorry. Most dealerships make their money on service not sales. With this company they are more interested in telling you of what they can do or are capable of rather than actually proving it.

 

I have a 3/4 inch impact that is stronger then most the 1 inch I see and it will use a standard 3/8 inch air line. I take wheels off with it all the time and one time used it to get a lug off that the 1 inch gun at the shop couldn't get loose. And believe it or not it was a cheapo harbor freight gun if I remember right.

 

Hello everyone,

Tonight I will have been in the shop for almost 72 hours waiting on CAT to send a water pump, it being a weekend and not getting in the shop until mid day Friday didn't help matters. The phone book lists these guys as a Freightliner shop, which they most assuredly are not. The labor rates are reasonable, $78/hr. and the owner and mechanic both fairly friendly. They have no problem whatsoever with a driver watching the repair and hanging out in the shop. Freightliner is about 2.5 miles up the street and they run about $94/hr. Sure they may have a warranty, but the work should be done right to begin with and the whole warranty issue is mute. As for Travel Centers of America, there is one other truck in the shop with me tonight. It is here as a direct result of T/A not performing the PM service on the rear ends. The drive shaft snapped in two inside the gearbox. The driver paid TA to perform the service on his truck to include topping off the 90 weight in his rears, they never touched the plug, on more than one service. The drin pugs on both gearbox's had to be worked loose. Please beware TA and watch them perform the service, start to finish or make them PROVE the did what they say they did. You really can't afford not too.

 

Yes I agree but it all depends on the torque of the gun ?? I am supprized your getting by on that 3/8 line ?? Harbor Freight sells good tools and I have a bunch of them as well !!!

 

well harbor freight sells junk but if you'r not using them every day all day as a mechanic would they do have some good deals. And nobody was more skeptical of that gun then I was. I saw the torque rating on the box and was like "ya right" but I bought it anyways. now granted I'm comparing it to a 1" gun from harbor freight as well not a 1" snap on or something but still.

 

What kind of a rateing does it have ?? It would be a lot easier to carry a 3/4 in the truck than a 1 in ???? With a decent air-line and a bottle jack you could do a lot of your own tire changes n brake work on the truck no matter where you were ???? Could save a person a ""LOT"" of money n time ????