Loosing my "major and belts service"

[A348W]

I like your definition of ‘working from home’ ie involving trips to go and see your car being worked on :laugh: :thumbsup:

Well the "working from home" trip was mostly enjoyable! :grin:

The cars in the workshop were amazing; 2*Laferrari, 246, Daytona, 512, 360 Challenge, 456, 308, 3 maybe 4 pistas being prepped for delivery, one in an amazing colour (I didn't even bother asking to take pics, but you will definitely see this appear on social media when it gets handed over) and gaggles of 458/488/FF/F12/812s etc!

Only down side was one of my Hill Eng tensioner bearings is on the way out with a fair amount of play.:thumbsdow These were only replaced 6-7K miles ago so disappointed and a bit worried why its failing so soon. I would have expected these to last easy 30k plus minimum. (Good job I didn't push the belt change out to 4plus years as the bearing would have definitely failed this year!:shocked

New tensioners ordered; so the coffee whilst nice, turned out rather expensive!:cry3:

 

[Nosevi]

Only down side was one of my Hill Eng tensioner bearings is on the way out with a fair amount of play.:thumbsdow These were only replaced 6-7K miles ago so disappointed and a bit worried why its failing so soon. I would have expected these to last easy 30k plus minimum. (Good job I didn't push the belt change out to 4plus years as the bearing would have definitely failed this year!:shocked

Are you absolutely sure these were replaced only 6-7k miles ago rather than you just being told that previously? I've never heard of Hills tensioners going so quickly. As I said before, they have a code stamped on them so you can check with Hills when they were bought. I think a good few owners would be interested to find out ……..

 

[Terry]

Hi Adrian, for sure give Paul Hill a call with the details as suggested by Pete.

IIRC there were a few inferior copies going around a few years ago pretending to be Hill bearings which was why they started being stamped with the information. If yours are not identified in this way perhaps they are copies (and perhaps why one has failed)

 

[Nosevi]

IIRC there were a few inferior copies going around a few years ago pretending to be Hill bearings which was why they started being stamped with the information. If yours are not identified in this way perhaps they are copies (and perhaps why one has failed)

I remember hearing about those copies, Terry. I believe you can now buy Hill bearings through several re-selling places (correct me if I'm wrong) but personally I bought directly from Hill Engineering.

 

[Terry]

I remember hearing about those copies, Terry. I believe you can now buy Hills bearings through several re-selling places (correct me if I'm wrong) but personally I bought directly from Hill Engineering.

I think you're right Pete, I have seen them advertised elsewhere but would always buy direct from Hills.

 

[A348W]

Terry & Pete

Thanks for that I will give Hills a call. (One has sweated grease and has a good deal of movement along the shaft axis!)

View attachment 155378

They are clearly stamped and the receipt from an indie, who I'd actually trust, has them on the invoice. So on the face of it, it should all be kosher!:hmmm:

 

[Nosevi]

Terry & Pete

Thanks for that I will give Hills a call. (One has sweated grease and has a good deal of movement along the shaft axis!)

They are clearly stamped and the receipt from an indie, who I'd actually trust, has them on the invoice. So on the face of it, it should all be kosher!:hmmm:

That certainly looks legit, is certainly the right kind of marking. So difficult to tell from a photo but it just looks like a lot more than 6-7K miles of use to my eye. Is there a hairline crack on the inner ring (sorry, not sure of its real name) on the left hand side? But as I say, photos can be deceiving.

Also, again photos can lie, but is there scoring on the side of some of the teeth of the belt? It's been a while since I saw one up close but thought the edge was smooth? If it is scoring, is that linked to the play in the tensioner or another issue?

 

[Nosevi]

View attachment 155379

 

[Pangea]

Ive two brand new bearings from Hill Eng. in front of me. They look exactly like that. Batch number 64003 on both.

 

[A348W]

I gave Hill a shout today and they confirmed this isn't something they have come across before so very keen to get more details.

The old bearings will be sent up to them so they can have a look in more detail. They reckon given the serial number they will know who they sold it to etc to cross check against my receipts etc. (You never know given the clown I bought it from!)

So hopefully we can figure out what has been going on; part issue/ mechanic issue/ something else?

I'm asked DL to fit new Hills as there has been nothing but positive comments about their products so have full confidence there.

(Thanks Pete and Terry for the prompt. :thumbsup

 

[Nosevi]

No probs. Be interesting to see what Hill Engineering says.

 

[A348W]

Well we finally got the car back Friday morning...perfect timing to put it in the garage and await a return to “normality”!:hmmm:



So in addition to the major and belts, I also had the following done:
- tensioners replaced. Old ones sent to hill for inspection;
- cam belt covers replaced (sourced separately) and Pete, old covers had been mauled by somebody and that caused the rubbing on the side of the belt you saw;
- left hand radiator re-cored (I’d done the right hand and oil cooler earlier but didn’t get to the left!)
- three brake lines replaced as they were showing signs of corrosion;
- valve shims checked and adjusted (all exhaust adjusted and two inlet);
- cam seals replaced;
-valve covers re powder coated;
- balance of coolant hoses I couldn’t get to swapped for new silicone;
- handbrake shoes replaced;
- rear brake pads re. seated, shims where holding them prowd by a couple of mm;
- a/c regassed.

I must say; DL have impressed big time in customer service and detail in mechanical inspection. They have provided regular voice and video updates and always sought permission to do work. Allowed me into the garage to do some of my own work and really looked after me all day. And took the time to do a little detailing to my old paint before I picked it up.

Hourly rate was also competitive; but you do have to watch some parts prices (they understandably have to use most parts (they did fit hill bearings) in yellow boxes with black horses, so £90 fuel filters whereas I can get them on fleebay etc for £20.

I’d certainly have no hesitating in using them again (and will be) or recommending them.

Now to justify to the boss a “bill” for a car that won’t be used until...Thursday actually to deliver groceries to the in-laws who are broadly self isolating. Got to take the opportunity :grin:

Let’s hope we get on top of this horrid virus and get to enjoy our toys this summer!

Stay safe everybody.:thumbsup:

 

[achaddy]

Glad it all went well for you.

I have always found them great to deal with and they seem happy to accomodate.

Nice to see they got their priorities right and kept yours tucked up indoors.

Shame they sold the Cali T this weekend i was intersted in.

 

[Nosevi]

Well we finally got the car back Friday morning...perfect timing to put it in the garage and await a return to “normality”!:hmmm:

- cam belt covers replaced (sourced separately) and Pete, old covers had been mauled by somebody and that caused the rubbing on the side of the belt you saw;

Good to hear it all went well for you. I also had a good experience with my local main dealer this spring. Only an annual but it was a seamless experience and not a bad price. I do think the main dealers are putting in more effort these days to get owners of older tipos back into their workshops.

Re the belt covers, thought something must have been amiss somewhere. Good to have traced it :thumbsup: