Silvia Club of NSW

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:51 pm 
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Quad T78

Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 6:21 pm
Posts: 3102
Location: Making some sweet moolah with Uncle Rico
Car: Silvia
Bloody hell, Im sick of having to deal with idiots at local part stores so Im having a bitch, hoping that one of these guys will read this and wake up. Seems like every time I want something simple for my Silvia they treat you like you are speaking a foriegn language.

Today I needed rear brake pads and a piston winding tool. I didnt care what pads I got which is why I thought Id just go to a more common place instead of a performance store. So I ask for S13 Silvia pads at Repco, the guy there had no part listings because, "The car is too rare". I then ask for 180sx pads, which they had. :roll: He then brings me a set of front pads...

So I ended up buying 200sx pads from Repco and they didnt have a winding tool, so I went up the road to Auto 1. This is where it gets interesting. I ask for, and explain, the tool I need. The old guy doesnt know if they had any, so he asks a younger guy there to give me a hand. Now, this guy drives an S13 silvia. I explained what I need and he then asked, "SR or CA?" :roll:

"Its an SR, but all rear calipers are the same"

"Well you just need this one, I just did mine and this is what I used". He showed me a front brake push-clamp style tool.

"You have to wind the rear brakes in though on a Silvia"

"No you dont, well not on mine I didnt, you must have the smaller rear brakes..."

Now, apparently his mate is in the store who has his 180sx there and he asks him, "Do rear pistons push in on yours?"

"Yep"

Me: "You have to wind them to go back in"

"Why, are they threaded? How do they come out then?"

I really dont know what Im more pissed off about, the fact that local stores are clueless about simple parts for increasingly common import cars, or that these 2 guys that own S13's have no idea what they are talking about and go on to reel off such complete bullshit. With people like this driving the same car as mine, it makes me want to drive mine of a cliff and buy a Holden.

For the record guys at Auto 1 Shellharbour: Silvias from 1988 all the way up to 2003 200sx's use the same rear brake setup and the pistons wind in. Perhaps you could try press them in and smash the piston.

Feel free you peruse the Service manuals provided on this site, located here: http://www.silviansw.com/manuals.php

I did have success at both Albion Park Rail, and Dapto Auto Pro stores later in the day.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 4:47 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2003 11:21 pm
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Location: Sydney
Car: WGNC34,S14,AE86
parts interpreters who know about something other than Z9 ryco oil filters,and 30w/60 oil aren't very common at most chain parts places.

the young guys there usually haven't been in the job long enough to have picked things up,and just as likely don't do much for themselves outside of work,so they're not a lot of help.

one thing you do need to remember,is that the car you own is NOT common,and was NOT sold here new. you should NOT EXPECT people to know what parts it takes,as it really shouldn't even be in the country.

granted there are plenty on the roads now,but remember that they've been here for less than 10yrs,and even 7 yrs ago,very few people even in the enthusiast's category even knew what an S13 was,much less owned one. myself included!

the fact that some people do know about them,and CAN help you is a good thing,that you should encourage. instead of just getting the shits with the guys that don't know,how about you take in part number for stuff next time,and tell them what they're for,so that the next guy that walks in has half a chance of getting good service,as you will each following time you go back to the shop.

if you want to talk painful ,try getting parts for a stagea at auto one... at least a silvia shares some parts with the locally delivered coupe...


Justin...

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 5:07 pm 
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fergo308 wrote:
.... ,try getting parts for a stagea at auto one......


ahhh damn, i hope i wont have trouble finding parts when i get mine

dont they share a lot of R32 and R33 parts?

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 5:33 pm 
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Twin T66
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Car: CA18DET 180sx
Supercheap list them in their Feredo Catalogue, and yes, the rears are the same as the fronts....

As for the winding tool, I have always meant to buy a tool, but never gotten around to it, I have gotten away with using large pliers twice now, as the piston winds in quite easily....

As for Shellharbour, that's nothing some of the people in Chatswood dont know either, and there are more S13 Silvia's/180sx's here than in Shellharbour....

B.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 5:52 pm 
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Quad T78

Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 6:21 pm
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Location: Making some sweet moolah with Uncle Rico
Car: Silvia
Justin. While I agree what you are saying to a certain extent, I feel my comments here are justifiable. Saying the car is "Rare" is not an excuse for ignorance- I'll bet bendix, ferodo, pagid, DBA and all the common suppliers provide adequate reference. And as for defending "the guys who dont know", perhaps I wouldnt be as pissed off if they simply said they didnt know, rather than give me a line.

I probably should have had part numbers, but you have to understand that these places are public retail outlets, mechanics with access to said part numbers like yourself probably make up 20% of their clientele, so I think they should be used to dealing with nothing more than make and models to help them. For your information, I have used part numbers from here and NSCC for parts like ferodo brake pads, and even with this information, local places are 9 times out of ten absolutely clueless. We are talking a BIG difference with knowledge down this area compared to Sydney.

Just for everyone's info, I didnt (and never do) go off the deep end at the guys there or made a fuss as I know what retail people have to deal with. I tried telling the two guys about winding the piston in, but they made it out like I had no idea what I was talking about, at which point I thanked them for their service and walked away.

It annoys me because I know for a fact that there are heaps of people out there with superior knowledge and enthusiasm that would be more than happy to have these jobs, but they almost always seem to go to people that quite frankly dont give a shit.

Harry.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:25 pm 
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zei20l wrote:
fergo308 wrote:
.... ,try getting parts for a stagea at auto one......


ahhh damn, i hope i wont have trouble finding parts when i get mine

dont they share a lot of R32 and R33 parts?


they don't have anything related to an R32 in them other than handbrake shoes afaik. the early models are similar to the R33 in some areas,where the later models like mine are mostly R34,although the car is a real bitsa...
email me directly if you want specifics or to meet up and have a look at one first hand Iain.


Harry: I can see where you're coming from as well mate,but do try to keep in mind both your locality and what you're asking for. for most guys in shops,if it's not written clearly in the book they have on hand they don't know what else to do. if you can give them a bendix (for brakes) or ryco (for filters) number,or something along those lines,it makes it a lot easier both for them and yourself.
honestly,I wouldn't expect to even be able to get holden parts in dapto. I have mates in Albion park,and they've never had anything good to say about the area other than it's proximity to macquarie pass...


Justin...

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:25 am 
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Twin T66
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Car: CA18DET 180sx
Correct me if I am wrong here, but your more pissed off that the guys that "owned the rare style car themselves" where dribbling a,oad of shit to you that you dead-set knew was wrong.

It's simple, these guys spin a line, the managers (that also have no idea) think they sound like they knew what they wehre on about, their job is safe for another 2 weeks until they make a blunder.....

I made myself a nice $200 from the same moron-style people at Supercheap Warringah, they told me there was no such "wind-in" tool for the rears, and all you do is push the piston back into the calliper.

I told this guy, I would give him $200 cash when my brake pads came in, just to push the piston back into the calliper for me during his lunch hour, but if he couldn't do it, and I proved it was wind-in, he would have to pay me $200.

When my pads came in, I went down, jacked the car up, removed 1 rear calliper, took the pads out, inserted the new pads, and then got this guy to come out and "push the piston in" for me, after 5 mins he tells me how the calliper is seized, as the piston wont move.

I then said ok, both of you (him and his buddy holding the money as a non-bias 3rd person) watch this closely, and I pulled out a set of multi-grips, set the distance on them, and proceeded to wind the piston all the way back into the calliper. I then stood up, collected the money from this guy's buddy, and thanked him for a nice day.

This guy was so pushy in telling me the piston was pushable, I layed the bet down, he was so cocky infront of his manager, he accepted the bet and even signed the deal for the bet on my order card, so I had the evidence of the agreement signed by both parties and witnessed.

Basically, these guys spin some nice sounding shit to look good, nothing more, nothing less.

B.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:50 am 
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hahah you pwned him bad dude! thats awesome :)

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:06 am 
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Quad T04

Joined: Mon May 06, 2002 11:21 pm
Posts: 1820
Car: GTI
hah @ auto 1

I remember the day I had an argument that a C spanner even existed with the staff member of the month 'joe'

glad I have access to decent workshops/part shops now.. but no car to take adv of :cry:


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:04 pm 
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Unfortunately there is more than a fine line between paying minimum wage to the newb to car parts industry and paying to get someone who has the industry experience.

Problem: Boss wants maximum return for minimum outlay, anyone with any real experience wants to be paid for that experience, and when push comes to shove on the bottom line they go with the newb to save the dollar at the expense of the customer service.

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