I don't have an impact wrench and needed to take the pulley off. I take it to a mechanic in Brisbane. He gets the pulley off then drops the rotor, landing right on the shaft and destroying the bearing.

I know I will have to get a new bearing, but what the are the chances this has also flapped up my shaft? It isn't bent, but I hear the shaft's are very sensitive. Could it be damaged and it just isn't noticeable.

Photos: http://imgur.com/a/8gT86

 

As a former rebuilder I can tell you that the rotor is a pretty hardy piece and it would take a lot to damage the shaft. I am not saying it wont happen, it all depends on the height it was dropped from, what it was dropped on etc. Normally, nothjng will happen to the shaft or the body.
I would however be concerned with the slip rings and the threads on the shaft. If they are okay, you should be good to go.
Not sure why he had it apart though. An impact usually will take off a pulley?

 

As a former rebuilder I can tell you that the rotor is a pretty hardy piece and it would take a lot to damage the shaft. I am not saying it wont happen, it all depends on the height it was dropped from, what it was dropped on etc. Normally, nothjng will happen to the shaft or the body.
I would however be concerned with the slip rings and the threads on the shaft. If they are okay, you should be good to go.
Not sure why he had it apart though. An impact usually will take off a pulley?

bwilliams! Hello!! I hope you are well.

I don't know if you remember me, but a few weeks ago, you helped me find the part number for a regulator that I needed to swap.
I did end up buying an SL regulator, that is identical to the original one. I installed it today, soldered in the new one and then this happens

So I have not tested it. You helped me so much though, thank you.

What the dude was doing, made no sense. So I don't even know. It does explain how he managed to drop an alternator though :/
I swear I know more about what I am doing compared to some of these auto electrics.

He didn't drop it at all on the threads of the shaft. It just fell straight down and onto that bearing, opposite side of the threaded shaft. The way the bearing cracked, I think the bearing took most of the force. The slip rings are perfect, not a scratch on them.

Are these types of bearings quite universal though? I had a look for the part number that was on the broken bearing: C&U SAEC608X3 RS 654
I found some on aliexpress, but the number is slightly different.

 

Why are you the one fixing it? Basic tort law would mean that the mechanic should be the one fixing your alternater.

 

Why are you the one fixing it? Basic tort law would mean that the mechanic should be the one fixing your alternater.

I dunno man. [DELETED PROFANITY] Im only 20, I didn't really know what to do. I guess I just don't want him going near it again.
Should I go back there?

 

I dunno man. . Im only 20, I didn't really know what to do. I guess I just don't want him going near it again.
Should I go back there?

In my experience, trying to force an imbecile (especially an ill tempered one) to do something properly is always more trouble than it's worth.

You'll be back to see him several times as every time you leave he will have half-assed something new, cut a new corner, broken something else. Each visit less pleasant than the last, until you finally walk away in frustration, having wasted valuable time and money on someone who didn't deserve it. Better to walk away in the beginning and get help from someone who is actually competent and has character. It can be difficult to find such a person in that industry, but they do exist.

 

In my experience, trying to force an imbecile (especially an ill tempered one) to do something properly is always more trouble than it's worth.

You'll be back to see him several times as every time you leave he will have half-assed something new, cut a new corner, broken something else. Each visit less pleasant than the last, until you finally walk away in frustration, having wasted valuable time and money on someone who didn't deserve it. Better to walk away in the beginning and get help from someone who is actually competent and has character. It can be difficult to find such a person in that industry, but they do exist.

Thank you for this. I have definitely learned in other experiences sometimes it is better to just go somewhere else.
Maybe I will just leave a bad google review and move on.

 

Maybe I will just leave a bad google review and move on.

If that is how you found him, "google review", that should have been your first warning. Anyone with a computer can give 'good' reviews, his friends, family or himself.

 

If that is how you found him, "google review", that should have been your first warning. Anyone with a computer can give 'good' reviews, his friends, family or himself.

I understand the potential for corruption in online reviews but IMO they're still worth looking into.
Not many people go out of their way, spend their time writing positive reviews unless they are just completely blown away.
On the other hand, unhappy customers are much more likely to call out a bad merchant online.
If I research a company and find them online and their reviews are "crickets chirping..." I take that as a "good sign" - no news is good news. They haven't pissed off even one person enough to bash them on the internet, they must be doing something right.

 

Why are you the one fixing it? Basic tort law would mean that the mechanic should be the one fixing your alternater.

Unless you see them mess up, they'll make it sound like the damage was your fault, the part wore out, or it broke for some reason; but it's never their fault...

The only time I ever had a service person not try to make me pay for their mistake was a gas station attendant. I asked for $5 worth of gas (back when that got you around 10 gallons) and he pumped in too much. I would have paid for what he pumped, but he didn't even ask for the difference. That was a different time...

 

Why are you the one fixing it? Basic tort law would mean that the mechanic should be the one fixing your alternater.

My thoughts exactly - he broke it; he fix it.

If he's that much of a PITA - I'd just go down the breakers yard and get a cheap SH one.

He probably gets most of his trade (or not) by recommendation.

 

My thoughts exactly - he broke it; he fix it.

The first thing that I would have done was get the owner/manager and ask him what he was going to do about this damage. After all, I saw the mechanic drop the thing. A simple open-and-shut case. They brokey, they fixey, or I tell them that I was going to my lawyer/barrister and sue their asses off and also ask for all costs and attorney's fees.

 

I once took my car in to get four new tires (tyres). Each tire had four mounting bolts. When I left, the wheels had 2,3,3 and 4 bolts left. I didn't notice until I got home. Once I did, I went right back to the garage and grabbed the manager to show him the crap work (not exactly my wording to him) that his mechanic did. He goes to talk to the mechanic and gets a "it were like that when I started". I immediately pulled the "BS" flag and threw it down, asking for the mention of the prior damage on the work order - which a mention didn't exist. I told the manager that I knew what happened - the mechanic tried to spin the nuts on the bolts using only his air impact wrench. Since he missed getting the threads properly started on a full quarter of the nuts, he, like the idiot that he was, just tried to overpower the threads with his driver and ended up torquing off all of the miss-aligned nuts. The manager agreed with my assessment and said that he would replace the studs and nuts.

Just remember that the shop's first inclination is to deny the damage. Just keep plugging at them with the facts (I saw him do it), and if I don't get the satisfaction that I deserve, then I will be talking to my lawyer (who, by-the-way, charges me $250 an hour). Since the winner of the case will most likely be awarded attorney's fees, the shop may just decide that it will be cheaper for them to just fix the alternator than to resist your claim.

 

If you do decide to mend the bearing yourself, google 'bearing codes' - there's a standard system with some variation specific to some manufacturers. The letters at the end mean things like ribber seal one side, open one side, metal seal etc. The first number is the type of bearing, the other numbers are the size. Its likely to be a standard size, your only problem will be getting the old one on the shaft & the new one on

 

I understand the potential for corruption in online reviews but IMO they're still worth looking into.
Not many people go out of their way, spend their time writing positive reviews unless they are just completely blown away.

Think you missed the "friends ,family or himself" part of my post. Over the years, when working a lot of overtime, it was cheaper to hire work done that I would normally do myself. Having people do work just by word of mouth recommendations never worked out good for me. Most times I just re-did the job myself when overtime dropped off. It is easier on the internet for someone to post good comments that aren't real, to get a business off to a good start. Anyone can hang a sign saying "best mechanic in town", or on the net.

 

Wow, harsh crowd here. So everyone lives in glass house I take it? Sorry it's just that we have all made mistakes and I am sure we all learned fromthem. That is why we are wiser, correct? Okay sorry, not to be defensive but I am a tradesman and have made my share of mistakes. The real question is, did he offer to make amends? If not, talk to the manager. If he doesn' t want to do anything, going to a lawyer is not worth the time and trouble. Write it off as a bad shop and move on. Lesson learned.
As for the bearing, not sure what country you are in but if you post a picture of the bearing, I can tell you what you need. Go to a known bearing supplier and don't cheap out. There are some very cheap bearings on the market and you will be angry when one dries out quickly and takes out your alternator.
Sorry if anyone got their nose out of joint.

 

If I research a company and find them online and their reviews are "crickets chirping..." I take that as a "good sign" - no news is good news. They haven't pissed off even one person enough to bash them on the internet, they must be doing something right.

Not always. I have written a few cold hard fact reviews on online suppliers sites about their crappy products only to have my reviews disappear within a week or less and find myself blocked from being able to write another one.

Also when reading reviews I look at who wrote what and whether or not what they wrote gives the impression they are knowledgeable and experienced in the area the item relates to or not. Picking out a review written by an experienced technical trades person from that some suburban weekend tinkerer is pretty easy if you know what to look for.

 

Wow, harsh crowd here. So everyone lives in glass house I take it? Sorry it's just that we have all made mistakes and I am sure we all learned fromthem. That is why we are wiser, correct? Okay sorry, not to be defensive but I am a tradesman and have made my share of mistakes.

...
Sorry if anyone got their nose out of joint.

I understand your point. I feel the same way when people talk down about millennials, since I am in that group. But millenials got that reputation for a reason. There is a stigma about certain trades and it wasn't spontaneously generated. Auto Mechanic is one, along with towing companies, funeral homes, etc.

There's only one mechanic I take my car to when I don't feel like fixing it myself. It's a friend of mine. He went to UTI and got a degree as an auto mechanic. He went to work in a dealership for a couple years and then got out of the industry because he didn't like the way they treat customers. He told me several stories about it; basically they got paid however many hours a computer told them a certain job should take, no matter if it actually took twice as long. Customer got billed for actual time, but he only got paid per the computer. And the only way to make up the lost time was by selling the customer superfluous maintenance that isn't needed (which the dealership actually encouraged the techs to do).

He now works as a compressor mechanic in a chemical plant and does odd mechanical jobs for friends and family. He is trying to grow his fledgling side business by referrals, of which I give him many.

There are good honest mechanics out there, but hard to find. Sorry for the rap they get, but that's just how it goes.

 

Not always. I have written a few cold hard fact reviews on online suppliers sites about their crappy products only to have my reviews disappear within a week or less and find myself blocked from being able to write another one.

Also when reading reviews I look at who wrote what and whether or not what they wrote gives the impression they are knowledgeable and experienced in the area the item relates to or not. Picking out a review written by an experienced technical trades person from that some suburban weekend tinkerer is pretty easy if you know what to look for.

That's why I prefer to read reviews on 3rd party sites. I never had a review disappear from Amazon or google.

On that note, I am very surprised by the reviews on harborfreight.com. There are a lot of bad reviews on there, which I would have expected to disappear, but never did.

 

Wow, harsh crowd here. So everyone lives in glass house I take it? Sorry it's just that we have all made mistakes and I am sure we all learned fromthem. That is why we are wiser, correct? Okay sorry, not to be defensive but I am a tradesman and have made my share of mistakes. The real question is, did he offer to make amends? If not, talk to the manager. If he doesn' t want to do anything, going to a lawyer is not worth the time and trouble. Write it off as a bad shop and move on. Lesson learned.
As for the bearing, not sure what country you are in but if you post a picture of the bearing, I can tell you what you need. Go to a known bearing supplier and don't cheap out. There are some very cheap bearings on the market and you will be angry when one dries out quickly and takes out your alternator.
Sorry if anyone got their nose out of joint.

A lot of online people are big talkers about what they would do someone else's shoes but in reality they would not do anything just like everyone else. Believe me as a life long service technician dealing with people in real life is way less confrontational drama than what they claim they would do on line. Or else for me it's never been a problem, but then I am 6' 3" 260#'s of solid muscle with a brain and people skills behind it that looks like I could mop the floor with 95% of the population and not break a sweat.

And yes I have made mistakes and broke customers items a few times because bad days and butter fingered slips do happen to the best of us, however I always let them know exactly what happened and how and gave them options on what could be done within the reasonable value of whatever it was I damaged, which to be fair dropping and damaging an already non functional or well used item really doesn't gain them much leverage other than maybe some free labor or an at cost sale towards the install, setup or new item sale of whatever replacement they need.

As far as the 'I'll lawyer up' threat it's as emptier as a monday morning garbage can being most anyone who can afford to actualy 'lawyer up' also doesn't have to have old used items rebuilt but just buys a new one.

That and any anyone with half a brain knows they will be out thousands to $10's of thousands in fees just in starting the process to which at that point whomever they are getting ready to sue just has to give them a new, as in your case alternator worth maybe a hundred or two dollars at dealers cost at worst, which means that basically they just spent a fortune to look like an ass in the public's eyes over a simple accident to get a few hundred dollar alternator 'for free' plus likely permanently barred from the business on the right to refuse service legality clause!