Is my mechanic ripping me off? Enfield Thunderbird

adrian · 16th August 2011, 12:47

Hi P1tbull, Most of the local mechanics have no idea of the UCE mechanisms. I have personally seen a local mechanic acknowledging the fact that he doesnot know how to fix it and advised the owner to take it to RE service. Not all guys need to be the same. The smart alec you call your mechanic might have seen it as a chance to rip an UCE machine apart and study the internals. You should have sticked on with the RE service. With the fact that what has been done cannot be reverted back, we will hope that everything goes well for a long time. Wish you luck

Regards Adrian

jeeva · 16th August 2011, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by P1tBull

Sorry for the late reply. Its pretty much done. Just want to know how much I got ripped off by.

Don't regret for the damage done. Much water has flown down the bridge now.
From now onwards, I suggest you do the basic checks (oil level, leaks etc..) before taking off everyday.

Randhawa · 16th August 2011, 15:28

@Pitbull

You got ripped off big time.

1. Crank of TBTS or AVL can not be repaired no matter how expert the Lathe guy is. It wont last long and I think there was nothing wrong with your crank to start with as there is a little bit of play in the crank from new which is under tolerance level. It has a NRB which can not work with no clearance/tight clearance hence the con rod moves a bit.

Did you got robbed ?

Engine Packing - 850/- No

Engine Oil Seal - 350/- Yes

Engine Bearings - 1800/- Royally robbed. Crank NRB is around 500 and rest around 200 each genuine SKF bearings

Connecting Rod Offset - 3800/- Royally robbed as the bearing is not more then Rs 200 and if they have skimmed the rod or the pin then you now have a non standard crank pin.

Rings - 1200/- Dont know- earlier the whole kit was for 3k then increased to 8k and rings were for Rs250 so could have increased to Rs 1200

Head Valves - 820/- It's cheap

Engine Buffing - 2800/- Royally robbed

Fork Cone set - 380/- No

Fork Oil Seal - 220/- No

Gearbox Bearings - 1100/- Royally robbed

Lathe charges - 1200/- Royally robbed

Carbon deposit you saw on the piston head was totally normal and you should have done the compression test before even touching the valves. If piston rings were not seated properly then you would have seized your bike by now. UCE engine can run with just a litre of oil without any damage and gearbox+engine has just one oil to share everywhere.

P1tBull · 16th August 2011, 20:53

Thanks for the advice, guys. This is my first bike in 11 years and I haven't got too much of an idea about Enfields. I have been driving Japanese cars for the last 11 years and the worst I saw was a leaking coolant hose.
Never even had to see the inside of an engine or worry about low oil levels for that matter.
I'll take this as a lesson learned and avoid this guy in the future. Probably stick to an A.S.S.

Randhawa · 16th August 2011, 23:54

You are on such a wonderful forum, do care to ask if not sure for future troubles if you encounter any.

lazyrider · 12th December 2011, 23:38

I have a similar question, there was some noise coming from the engine (Machismio AVL 500), so my mechanic said it should be opened, found that there was a lot of play in the connecting rod, he said it was because of the rod bearing which has to be replaced using a lathe, I also asked him to replace the pistion rings. My question is after the replacement of the rod bearing, will my bike perform as it used to, and will this effect the life of the engine in the long run?

16th August 2011, 12:47	#16
adrian BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 931 Thanked: 1,214 Times	Re: Is my mechanic ripping me off? Enfield Thunderbird Hi P1tbull, Most of the local mechanics have no idea of the UCE mechanisms. I have personally seen a local mechanic acknowledging the fact that he doesnot know how to fix it and advised the owner to take it to RE service. Not all guys need to be the same. The smart alec you call your mechanic might have seen it as a chance to rip an UCE machine apart and study the internals. You should have sticked on with the RE service. With the fact that what has been done cannot be reverted back, we will hope that everything goes well for a long time. Wish you luck Regards Adrian
	() Thanks

16th August 2011, 15:28	#18
Randhawa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Brighton Posts: 1,192 Thanked: 355 Times	Re: Is my mechanic ripping me off? Enfield Thunderbird @Pitbull You got ripped off big time. 1. Crank of TBTS or AVL can not be repaired no matter how expert the Lathe guy is. It wont last long and I think there was nothing wrong with your crank to start with as there is a little bit of play in the crank from new which is under tolerance level. It has a NRB which can not work with no clearance/tight clearance hence the con rod moves a bit. Did you got robbed ? Engine Packing - 850/- No Engine Oil Seal - 350/- Yes Engine Bearings - 1800/- Royally robbed. Crank NRB is around 500 and rest around 200 each genuine SKF bearings Connecting Rod Offset - 3800/- Royally robbed as the bearing is not more then Rs 200 and if they have skimmed the rod or the pin then you now have a non standard crank pin. Rings - 1200/- Dont know- earlier the whole kit was for 3k then increased to 8k and rings were for Rs250 so could have increased to Rs 1200 Head Valves - 820/- It's cheap Engine Buffing - 2800/- Royally robbed Fork Cone set - 380/- No Fork Oil Seal - 220/- No Gearbox Bearings - 1100/- Royally robbed Lathe charges - 1200/- Royally robbed Carbon deposit you saw on the piston head was totally normal and you should have done the compression test before even touching the valves. If piston rings were not seated properly then you would have seized your bike by now. UCE engine can run with just a litre of oil without any damage and gearbox+engine has just one oil to share everywhere.
	(2) Thanks

16th August 2011, 20:53	#19
P1tBull BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 91 Thanked: 2 Times	Re: Is my mechanic ripping me off? Enfield Thunderbird Thanks for the advice, guys. This is my first bike in 11 years and I haven't got too much of an idea about Enfields. I have been driving Japanese cars for the last 11 years and the worst I saw was a leaking coolant hose. Never even had to see the inside of an engine or worry about low oil levels for that matter. I'll take this as a lesson learned and avoid this guy in the future. Probably stick to an A.S.S.
	() Thanks

16th August 2011, 23:54	#20
Randhawa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Brighton Posts: 1,192 Thanked: 355 Times	Re: Is my mechanic ripping me off? Enfield Thunderbird You are on such a wonderful forum, do care to ask if not sure for future troubles if you encounter any.
	() Thanks

12th December 2011, 23:38	#21
lazyrider BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 67 Thanked: 21 Times	Re: Is my mechanic ripping me off? Enfield Thunderbird I have a similar question, there was some noise coming from the engine (Machismio AVL 500), so my mechanic said it should be opened, found that there was a lot of play in the connecting rod, he said it was because of the rod bearing which has to be replaced using a lathe, I also asked him to replace the pistion rings. My question is after the replacement of the rod bearing, will my bike perform as it used to, and will this effect the life of the engine in the long run?
	() Thanks