DIYbanter - View Single Post - Bad U-joint?

Larry Jaques[_4_]

On Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:09:48 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:13:03 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 20:52:48 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 17:38:03 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 12:31:25 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 09 Oct 2013 20:53:44 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 09 Oct 2013 23:03:36 -0400, wrote:
Had the rear U-Joint let go on the AeroScare on the way from Kitchener
to Winnipeg, via Michigan. I had the u-joint replaced by a shop while
I was out of the country in Burkina Faso for a month, knowing I had
the winnipeg trip coming up as soon as I got home, taking my daughter
to University. The mechanic who installed it didn't get the retainer
clip in right and it threw a cup just east of Flint, friday of the
Labour Day weekend. No tools in the truck - no shop able to do the
job - changed it laying on my back under the truck with a combination
of borrowed tools and a vice and hammer I bought at the parts store
where I bought the U-Joint.

I hope you asked for and got a full refund from the jerk who did that
to you. "Refund or lawsuit, what'll it be, sir?" big grin

The "jerk" was my kid brother - and yes, I got a full refund!!!

Good, but here's some advice:

Never [I repeat: -NEVER-] hire family or friends to do work for you.
You'll lose your ass or lose your friend, and neither is worth it.
I hope he understands the possible ramifications of screwing up
something so important. Someone could have been killed, including
you.

P.S: What's "burkina faso"? Is it contagious?
Like myself, my brother is a professional mechanic. He just sold
his shop last year. He knows. It was his mechanic that actually
installed it I think.

Passing the buck, eh? Still, working with family and friends is
dangerous. Just Say NO!

I would have done it myself, but I had about 36 hours between hitting
the ground in Toronto and leaving Waterloo for Winnipeg. Would have
been 54 or so, but the flight from Ouagadougou tp Paris was late so we
missed our connection and had to spend the night in Paris.

My dad worked for his older brother for quite a number of years. THAT
doesn't usually work out very well (and didn't in this case). A lot of
my customers became friends, and a lot of friends became customers,
and I never lost a friend due to work. Did a lot of work for family
too - and still do. They all realize I need to make a living too.

I've know far too many people who did work for their family and got
screwed. My family and I are close and I was a damned good mechanic,
so that never happened with us. Friends who become clients give you
trouble, but clients who become friends usually don't. Luckily, most
of my advice here is gained from observation rather than personal
experience. I try to limit my exposure to things like that when I
can.

--
In the depth of winter, I finally learned
that within me there lay an invincible summer.
-- Albert Camus