Been meaning to write this up on my site for a while. This morning, working on a car that had rear brakes that would not bleed out. Look at the article to see what I found. It is amazing how many car owners pay good money to get this kind of work. I have put pictures with a brief description for your viewing pleasure. More to come as I find the rest of my pictures. I just hope no one here is named Bubba… http://www.georgiajag.com/Documents/Bubba.html
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Wow.
That 6th picture, the one of the crank sludge traps, looks disturbingly familiar. 
Dick, ugly! Although folks hear the rumors the photos drive it home, this stuff actually happens.
pauls
I written of this before, but this seems like a good spot for another shot at it.
When trying to bleed my brother’s rear '64 OTS XKE brakes I found it was impossible. That was the first time I ever encountered this problem. The insidious this is there was a very small amount of fluid that would seep out. After some noodling and a fair amount of non-PC verbiage, I disassembled the bleeders and found that the original Jaguar mild steel ball stop on them had rusted into a small, jagged mess rather than the nice round ball it used to be and wedged itself into the bleed hole in the caliper half. After more than a few minutes with a dental pick I was able to dislodge them and restore fluid flow. I then replaced the bleeders with the ‘murican’ type which has the bottom conical stop built in. That whole thing took several frustrating hours, but finally worked.
Ok, I can laugh and gasp at these pics, just as long as none of these are pics of MY engine…lol!
Over the years I have become convinced that it can’t just be Bubba doing all this stuff. He must have a brother or a cousin helping him.
Then there was this one up here. Guy “fixed” his suspension using logs and chicken wire.
It could very well have been yours but is pretty much how they all are. The old VW bugs and the Fiat 850 used the centrifugal separation instead of oil filters. Worked rather well. Most any XK engine with any miles has some accumulation of crud. Has nothing to do with type of oil or oil changes. The crank should always be cleaned out with any engine rebuild.
Thanks for sharing this Dick.
Amazing…
I wouldn’t complain, Dick. With all of those Bubbas out there, you’ll never want for work.
I am up to 24 “Bubba” things that I have found on my car that was definitely maintained by “professionals.” Fortunately, none of them became expensive before I found and fixed them.
I give pro mechanics a hard time. Many of them are terrible at their job, but all of them are under the gun to do it faster so they can get it out the door and on to the next one. That’s why I don’t like any pro mechanics. If they do the job right, they will be very poor. The big money is made by cutting the corners that the owner could never pin on you, and overcharging for simple fixes.
After all I have seen following behind the trained pros, when I am too old to work on my own cars, I will just lease Camry’s and look at photos of all the wonderful cars I have owned and maintained.
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An honest mechanic will not cut corners. He will, if he is smart, obtain the tools and the skills to do the job in far less time than the flat rate and still do it right. If the mechanic is rushed to get it out the door and cut corners by doing so, the work will suffer as will reputation of the mechanic and the shop. Reputation is something that is hard to earn and easy to lose. I pride myself on doing the job right and standing behind it. Those that know me know that I am anything but poor. Blanket statements do not always fit.
Rare exceptions don’t count!
Like I said before, the smart mechanics figure out what they can not do, but still have the customer consider them to be a great mechanic. Example, just drain and refill the brake reservoir instead of taking 50X the amount of time to actually bleed the brakes. Brakes won’t fail any time soon because the maintenance wasn’t followed, even though the customer was charged, so the customer won’t be the wiser. How many people are going to rebleed the brakes right after paying to have it done? Almost none, except for me. I did one time, and what came out was black as crude oil. And that was from a mechanic of great internet forum fame that was even recommended by the manufacturer!
You say you’re a great mechanic that never cuts corners, but unless we followed everything you did, we’d just have to take your word for it. Have you ever met a mechanic that publicly says they do a crappy job? Me neither.
If you knew Dick, as I do, you would not dare say that. Dick, and Coventry West, always do excellent work, and at very fair prices. They do it right, or not at all, and stand behind everything they do 1000%. If Dick says he did it, you can take it to the bank.
Regards,
Ray L.
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Thanks Ray. BTW: I never said I was a great mechanic.
What’s this?
Edit: Jack of all trades, etc. it takes less time to do a job right when you know what you’re doing than to do a crappy job because you don’t. First you get good then you get fast.
On an entirely different topic. Is your house still dry or has it succumbed to high water?
Could not have said it better…there are a few people I trust when it comes to advice, service and parts for my EType… Dick is one of them. So is Dan Mooney
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Incredible. That’s my fear when I have my daily driver serviced. Either they charge me for work not needed, or screw up majestically, causing all sorts of problems.
Thanks for sharing Dick … Ole
Plus one. I could write a book describing all the extra effort Dan and his crew went through on my 2+2. My engine and transmission are currently undergoing a rebuild at Coventry West because I’m assured I’ll get a first class job. Both are #1in my book.