greg334
Veteran Expediter
Today I was taken out of service by my company. I had received a full thorough inspection (company) on the 12th of June, on the 14th, I was pulled into an Ohio scale for another inspection which pt me out of service for mis-adjusted brakes.
Well I adjusted the brakes and went on my way being really ****ed off at the waste of time over the company inspection because the mechanic didn’t look at the front brakes close enough. I emailed the DOT paper work in with an explanation of the company inspection and so on.
Today, I was knapping and awoke to a call from the compliance department informingme that they never received a copy of the DOT paper work. So I sent it again and then I get another call from another person who informs me that I have to go get the truck repaired due to the fact that there is something seriously wrong with it – Assumptions are dangerous.
What they wanted me to do first was to have the thing checked out, even to the point of pulling the wheels. So I explained to the service manager where I am sitting right now for the night, and he said we will first do a visual and check everything out. They did and here is what they found;
The self adjusters were fine; the problem was with on of the clevis pins that attached to the brake rod. These two clevis pins hold the self adjuster to brake rod with one holding the adjuster plunger and the other holding the self adjuster unit, there is a small one and a large one. The small one does not really move much but enough to allow the adjuster to pull up the adjustment rod for the wheel inside (I think I got that right). Mine were frozen, which is a common problem, and something I never thought of or checked before.
The mechanic wrote up exactly what he found, he also pointed out that the s-cam shaft has play in it but then said that many of the new trucks have more play in their shafts but he has to add that to the WO. I asked him how much time would it take to do the work and he said not much at all but he is booked full until the morning. So I asked the service manager if I can do the work and they inspect the work and write it all up as an inspected job – sure not a problem.
So I took the small clevis pins out of each brake, wire brushed them and replaced them with anti-seize compound. It took me about an hour and a half to do the work, trashed another shirt but it is finished. Oh and I greased the truck again to make sure it was done. The right pin was the hardest, I had to beat it out and then it took some cleaning to get it to move easily.
They rechecked the work I did, amended the WO and I am sitting in their parking lot, eating gourmet pizza and enjoying the breeze.
The thing is –
1 - the mechanic who did the first inspection should have caught this, he is the one who is experienced enough to know these things. The DOT inspector mentioned there was a problem with the adjuster but I wasn’t sure about what he was talking about and as the compliance lady pointed out, they are not mechanics so they don’t always put it in mechanical terms.
2 – I did the work for two reasons, one is to learn about what I may need to do as regular PM and inspections and the other is to make sure it is done to my satisfaction.
3 - After this last inspection, I am going to get out of the truck and tell them I want to see the inspection being done and if they give me any grief, I will call the company and complain. I think there is no excuse for this mess and I depend on my truck to be safe at all times, which means I can only trust the mechanic so far. The mechanic who did the work today was more than happy to let me watch and ask questions.
4 – brakes are not really complicated, some make it out to be so complicated but they are not. There are two books out there for free that are really good (go figure they are Canadian), caution they are PDF files. These two books go into detail on how the system works and even goes into how to adjust the brakes.
Air Brake Manual
And
Air Brake Manual 2
Well I adjusted the brakes and went on my way being really ****ed off at the waste of time over the company inspection because the mechanic didn’t look at the front brakes close enough. I emailed the DOT paper work in with an explanation of the company inspection and so on.
Today, I was knapping and awoke to a call from the compliance department informingme that they never received a copy of the DOT paper work. So I sent it again and then I get another call from another person who informs me that I have to go get the truck repaired due to the fact that there is something seriously wrong with it – Assumptions are dangerous.
What they wanted me to do first was to have the thing checked out, even to the point of pulling the wheels. So I explained to the service manager where I am sitting right now for the night, and he said we will first do a visual and check everything out. They did and here is what they found;
The self adjusters were fine; the problem was with on of the clevis pins that attached to the brake rod. These two clevis pins hold the self adjuster to brake rod with one holding the adjuster plunger and the other holding the self adjuster unit, there is a small one and a large one. The small one does not really move much but enough to allow the adjuster to pull up the adjustment rod for the wheel inside (I think I got that right). Mine were frozen, which is a common problem, and something I never thought of or checked before.
The mechanic wrote up exactly what he found, he also pointed out that the s-cam shaft has play in it but then said that many of the new trucks have more play in their shafts but he has to add that to the WO. I asked him how much time would it take to do the work and he said not much at all but he is booked full until the morning. So I asked the service manager if I can do the work and they inspect the work and write it all up as an inspected job – sure not a problem.
So I took the small clevis pins out of each brake, wire brushed them and replaced them with anti-seize compound. It took me about an hour and a half to do the work, trashed another shirt but it is finished. Oh and I greased the truck again to make sure it was done. The right pin was the hardest, I had to beat it out and then it took some cleaning to get it to move easily.
They rechecked the work I did, amended the WO and I am sitting in their parking lot, eating gourmet pizza and enjoying the breeze.
The thing is –
1 - the mechanic who did the first inspection should have caught this, he is the one who is experienced enough to know these things. The DOT inspector mentioned there was a problem with the adjuster but I wasn’t sure about what he was talking about and as the compliance lady pointed out, they are not mechanics so they don’t always put it in mechanical terms.
2 – I did the work for two reasons, one is to learn about what I may need to do as regular PM and inspections and the other is to make sure it is done to my satisfaction.
3 - After this last inspection, I am going to get out of the truck and tell them I want to see the inspection being done and if they give me any grief, I will call the company and complain. I think there is no excuse for this mess and I depend on my truck to be safe at all times, which means I can only trust the mechanic so far. The mechanic who did the work today was more than happy to let me watch and ask questions.
4 – brakes are not really complicated, some make it out to be so complicated but they are not. There are two books out there for free that are really good (go figure they are Canadian), caution they are PDF files. These two books go into detail on how the system works and even goes into how to adjust the brakes.
Air Brake Manual
And
Air Brake Manual 2
