Operation Suzzette

Yesterday Suzzette, my pickup,went into the mechanic to get her front hubs replaced plus any other things to renew her life. This pickup is about to turn 20, and this major operation will extend her usefulness even further. Besides her wheel hubs that were replaced, her wheel bearings, brake discs, lower control arm ball joints, disc pads and flexible hydraulic hoses were also replaced.

So now today it is the finishing touches, the wheel alignment. Now she drives like a dream. Here's to another decade. 

Marvellous 3 Inch Nails

Yes 3 nails caused Lynda to be stranded on the side of the road yesterday evening on the way back from work. Let me start from the beginning, Lynda left work but did not get very far as she discovered that she had a flat tyre. Firstly it was getting dark which is not funny, plus the jack of her car had become stuck and difficult to remove from its storage place to be used so after phoning me, I called the Discovery Insure’s Roadside assistance to come to her aid, isn’t that what we pay insurance for.

About an hour later a person called Marvellous from TMA Towing & Recovery arrived representing Discovery Insure in a clapped out Volkswagen Golf. He had to pop the bonnet to switch the car off, and later to start the car with a whine of a loose fan belt in a way the only VWs can do.

Anyway Marvellous was very courteous and helped Lynda change her tyre, thank you Marvellous.

So now today, I had to take Lynda’s car in to get her tyre fixed. I didn’t want to go nowhere near Tiger Wheel and Tyre Woodmead which was just down the road, since the petrol incident and are now known by their acronym TWAT. Instead I decided to take it to the Rivonia branch of Tiger Wheel and Tyre. The guys fixing the tyre discover 2 large nails about a inch long in the tyre and they informed me that another tyre also looked suspicious as it was half flat. Behold a third nail was found. Uhmmm.

Marvellous 2 new tyres later and a rather lighter pocket, Lynda’s car is back in action.

Use some Petrol

What the hell, this was my response when an employee of Tiger Wheel & Tyre went off to get some petrol to clean the battery terminals.

Let me start from the beginning... Lynda’s car started getting a battery problem, so I picked her car up and took it to Tiger Wheel & Tyre in Woodmead for a new battery. The first part of buying the battery was good but when it came to installing it, the employee didn’t have the right tools for the job and was away for some time before arriving with another employee from the wheel alignment section with some spanners.

Both of them started to take off the old battery and put in the new one. I then commented to them if it is possible to clean the accumulated acid on the positive battery clamp. It was then when one of them said he was going to get some petrol (gas for my American readers) to clean the acid off. What the hell, I had to stop them, did they want the car to go the way of a Ford Kuga (Escape), up in flames at the first spark. Not very impressed Tiger Wheel & Tyre!

Tyre Replacement

Before going on any long trip with your vehicle, you would need to do a thorough safety check. Frome Brakes to windscreen wipers all need to be checked. Here is Lynda’s car spending the morning at Tiger Wheel and Tyre, getting a new set of front tyres on and wheel alignment adjusted.

Tiger Wheel & Tyre

Well it is about time I replaced the pot hole damaged tyre on Sassette, my Ford Bantam pickup. At first I went to Supa Quick in Krugersdorp and HiQ in Roodepoort but sadly they didn't have the Michelin tyres I wanted and both wanted to flog me a South Korean brand called Kumho.

I eventually found the Michelin Energy XM2 at Tiger Wheel & Tyre in Roodepoort. Although this tyre is more expensive, the reason I rather have this tyre over others is because I've already used this tyre for over 3 years and am very happy with the tread usage. On the down side, the sales blurb on Michelin websites they state that this tyre have proven themselves in pothole tests nevertheless I have already written off 2 of these tyres in the last 3 years due to potholes. Goes to show, never believe the sales pitch.

Potholes beware! This time I have registered on Michelin.co.za for their 12 month Pothole Guarantee. And that’s not all! Michelin is also giving me a 70,000km Mileage Warranty valid for 5 years. Plus a 24hr Roadside Assistance. Well let’s see if Michelin would hold up to their side of this agreement as I have already in the pass burnt my fingers with warranties and guarantees when I first bought these tyres from Tiger Wheel & Tyre. They pushed their X-Sure, Tyre Insurance 3 years ago and I purchased. Humph, it expired last month.