Modified Compensators £7.20

HarryM1BYT · 30th September 2013, 13:59

Sorry, but postage costs have gone up yet again as have other costs, so time for a rethink on costs - I am now charging £8.00 per modified compensator plus the deposit if necessary. The £8 includes 2nd class (usually 2 days), with it put in the post within around 3 days. If you need it more urgently, see below.

No need to email me and ask if these are still available - they certainly are and at a cost of just £8.00 plus the cost your return postage - Just what it costs me in material and postage to modify them - a not for profit service, to help you keep your 75 on the road.

Please note if your need is especially urgent

I am becoming increasingly concerned at the number of requests for modified compensators, where the need is urgent due to an imminent MOT, or an MOT failure due to the handbrake issue. Which then involves me in special trips to the post office to try to help them, rather than just pop several in the post in passing, plus maybe having to drop everything and mod one specially. For those who's need is especially urgent and who must have it in the post quickly, I am offering a fast track service. A special trip out to the post, with 1st class (usually next day delivery). For this service there is a surcharge of an extra £3 making it £11 in total instead of £8. Please always ask if it can be done, before committing - I don't always have stock to be able to do that.

The problem with the original compensator was simply that the hook formed in the rod would be caused to move under the repeated tension of driver applying the handbrake. That results in a gap appearing between the two compensator brackets and the handbrake becomes increasingly difficult to use/ needs to be pulled up many more clicks. Properly adjusted and with a modified compensator, your handbrake should begin operate on the first click and be fully applied with not much effort at three clicks. Once beyond 5 clicks, your car is liable to failure come MOT time.

If you are not certain yours has been done, best to make sure, rather than suddenly find out as your car rolls away down hill. The unmodified ones all do stretch, even brand new ones.

What I do is to simply restore the curve of the hook in the rod back to where it belongs, then weld reinforce it to prevent it ever stretching again. If you would rather do the work yourself and have the equipment here is how to do it - Click HERE

Note the original item was almost up to the job, only after many years of use did problems begin to be surface due to the open end of the rod being left without any support. So the fix is simple - to reshape it and to give the open end some support, which I do by welding - job done, permanent fix. The actual task of replacing the compensator and setting up your handbrake properly is not a difficult one, I have documented it in the above link and there are numerous other documents available on the form too, some with photos. It takes a leisurely 1 to 2 hours.

Over the years I have sent out hundreds of these using my method of modification and without one single report of a failure.

For those who would rather I provided a ready to fit compensator in exchange, read on...

Please understand this is an exchange scheme, a modified compensator sent out in exchange for your old one returned back to me promptly - to enable me to modify it for the next person. I don't send them out for you to put on a shelf for a day you might decide to fit it, only order one to fit within a week or two.

I am now requesting a Paypal payment of £8.00 + a second payment of £25 to act as a deposit on the safe return of your old compensator, but please note that both payments need to be sent as a Paypal gifts (friends and family). If the payments are not sent as gifts I would end up out of pocket, so none gifts I will simply bounce - it involves us both in a lot of extra unnecessary expense. For those outside the UK, but in the EU - due to the extra postal cost, the £8.00 needs to be £9.00.

Login to your Paypal account,
click on Send Money along the top,
fill in my email address and the amount,
then click the Family and Friends button - this is the gift part.
Then repeat the process for the second payment of the deposit.

So your initial outlay will be £8.00 (EU £9.00) + £25 = £33.00 (EU £34.00), you then get the £25 refunded in full, upon safe return of the old item. Return of the deposit, is subject to your old compensator being fit to be modified - if any previous attempt to weld them has taken place, then they are unlikely to be of much use to me.

The £8.00 covers P&P, plus the 20p cost to me of refunding the £15, with a small contribution to help with my material costs. To email me to arrange for an exchange please CLICK HERE putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject - PLEASE ALSO INCLUDE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS, FOR ME TO REPLY TO, WITHIN YOUR EMAIL TO ME.

My apologies for the need for a deposit, but I very occasionally get some who simply keep the old compensator and then ignore my emailed reminders for its return. That then leaves me out of pocket in trying to source a replacement, which has to be reflected in what I charge for the exchange - please remember I am doing this for almost nothing, simply as a favour to forum members.

28 days after posting a modified one out, where the old one has not been returned, I will consider the £20 deposit to have been forfeit - unless I have been suitably advised. I do though generally expect their return within 10 to 14 days, though many do manage it within 7 days from my date of posting them out. I don't have a store cupboard filled with compensators, so I really do need these returned quickly, to enable them to be modified for the next member.

If you have sent it and it has not turned up here, hopefully you will have kept your receipt from posting and therefore will be able to reclaim your £20 loss from the Post Office. I will happily send you an email to support your claim, should that happen. When posting, please include a note in the package, so I know who has returned it and ensure it is well packed. A ready written address label will be included as I post the modified ones out, for its return.

Once ordered and paid for, I will advise via email when it will be put in the post - Due to personal circumstances, I can no longer be certain to get these in next days post - but will usually post them on a Tuesday or Friday.

To enable me to keep track of them - Please then email me, putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject...

1. When you receive it.
2. When you have put the old one in the post.
Or if you are having any issues with the fitting adjustment or etc..

For those who wish to send me a spare compensator(s) for modification and return to you, obviously there is no need for a deposit and you will only need to make a payment of £8.00 per compensator. Alternatively and by prior arrangement, you are welcome to call in and swap old for modified on the spot. To arrange that, CLICK HERE putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject.

Free help with fitting on my drive

If you live within range of travelling over to me, then I will happily give you a hand to remove your compensator, modify it and refit. I will also assist you to adjust the hubs and front, to get your handbrake working the way it should. It takes around a couple of hours all in. There is no charge at all, other than £8.00 for the compensator and I have all that is needed here.

I don't do the work, you do it with my assistance. It is subject to the weather being suitable and my having the time available. I am certainly not a mechanic, nor do I fit these 'on the side' and I do not expect to be paid for giving you a hand - though you are quite welcome to make a small contribution to my 'tool fund'. To arrange that, CLICK HERE putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject.

There is a link below in my sig, which explains a bit more about the handbrake system, how to set it up and why in fact you will need a modified compensator, if you have not already fitted one.

rich17865 · 30th September 2013, 14:25

I do hope there is enough money left for you to have a drink after modifying all of the compensators, or if not a drink maybe a mince pie for Christmas

HarryM1BYT · 30th September 2013, 15:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by rich17865

I do hope there is enough money left for you to have a drink after modifying all of the compensators, or if not a drink maybe a mince pie for Christmas

A drink maybe, but I don't like mince pies

bartandrose · 14th October 2013, 07:59

Just sorted my ailing handbrake thanks to the superb service offered by Harry.

THANK YOU from another satisfied ............ compadre (not really a customer).

wezzywitch · 30th October 2013, 18:39

And my thanks also Harry. Brilliant service all round.

HarryM1BYT · 1st November 2013, 20:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by wezzywitch

And my thanks also Harry. Brilliant service all round.

Glad to be of service

Now then guys, I am getting numerous inquiries about compensators, which are sent direct to my personal email address and as always, I answer them. I then hear nothing more. I suspect my replies are going to addresses which are not monitored, this is the email address you have registered when joining the forum.

So in the future, when emailing me to enquiring about ordering, can you all please include a valid reply address when seeking more information?

HarryM1BYT · 14th November 2013, 10:54

These compensators, so far as I have been able to tell, are no longer available - so the return of the old ones is now absolutely crucial to my being able to keep this going as an exchange service.

Despite my charging a £15 deposit one has not been returned - I have decided to increase the £15 to £20 to provide more of an incentive to return them. I shall continue to charge the £7.20 as before and shall continue to refund the £20 in full once I receive the old one back. So the cost to you will remain a very reasonable £7.20, once you have been refunded. .

To avoid the need for a deposit, I will happily accept your sending me a compensator (maybe sourced from a scapped car), in advance of me sending a modified one off.

HarryM1BYT · 26th January 2014, 14:07

As explained in my edited first post of this thread....

Due to personal circumstances, I shall no longer usually be able to get the modified compensators in the next days post, so please allow for this fact when ordering. Cleared payments made before Tuesday morning will usually be in the post Tuesday, those made before Friday morning will usually be in the post Friday. Though neither day is guaranteed.

bl52krz · 26th January 2014, 15:27

Hello Harry. We always seem to get the odd one or two who do not appreciate what you do for them.Perhaps the weather has stopped them doing the job at the moment.

HarryM1BYT · 26th January 2014, 16:35

The present outstanding ones, go way beyond weather delays.

I just don't understand these people ordering them and failing to swap them, it is such a straight forward job. Please, if you have no immediate plan to get the job done - there really is no need to panic to order one, they are not going out of fashion.

If you really are worried about failing to get one, just get another from a scrap yard, send it to me and you can then keep the modified one permanently.

So long as I don't end up with no stock, I'm happy to continue modifying these.

30th September 2013, 13:59	#1
HarryM1BYT This is my second home 75 Contemporary SE Mk II 2004 Man. Sal. CDTi 135ps, FBH on red diesel, WinCE6 DD Join Date: May 2010 Location: Leeds Posts: 17,273 Thanks: 2,160 Thanked 2,061 Times in 1,586 Posts	Modified Compensators £7.20 Sorry, but postage costs have gone up yet again as have other costs, so time for a rethink on costs - I am now charging £8.00 per modified compensator plus the deposit if necessary. The £8 includes 2nd class (usually 2 days), with it put in the post within around 3 days. If you need it more urgently, see below. No need to email me and ask if these are still available - they certainly are and at a cost of just £8.00 plus the cost your return postage - Just what it costs me in material and postage to modify them - a not for profit service, to help you keep your 75 on the road. Please note if your need is especially urgent I am becoming increasingly concerned at the number of requests for modified compensators, where the need is urgent due to an imminent MOT, or an MOT failure due to the handbrake issue. Which then involves me in special trips to the post office to try to help them, rather than just pop several in the post in passing, plus maybe having to drop everything and mod one specially. For those who's need is especially urgent and who must have it in the post quickly, I am offering a fast track service. A special trip out to the post, with 1st class (usually next day delivery). For this service there is a surcharge of an extra £3 making it £11 in total instead of £8. Please always ask if it can be done, before committing - I don't always have stock to be able to do that. The problem with the original compensator was simply that the hook formed in the rod would be caused to move under the repeated tension of driver applying the handbrake. That results in a gap appearing between the two compensator brackets and the handbrake becomes increasingly difficult to use/ needs to be pulled up many more clicks. Properly adjusted and with a modified compensator, your handbrake should begin operate on the first click and be fully applied with not much effort at three clicks. Once beyond 5 clicks, your car is liable to failure come MOT time. If you are not certain yours has been done, best to make sure, rather than suddenly find out as your car rolls away down hill. The unmodified ones all do stretch, even brand new ones. What I do is to simply restore the curve of the hook in the rod back to where it belongs, then weld reinforce it to prevent it ever stretching again. If you would rather do the work yourself and have the equipment here is how to do it - Click HERE Note the original item was almost up to the job, only after many years of use did problems begin to be surface due to the open end of the rod being left without any support. So the fix is simple - to reshape it and to give the open end some support, which I do by welding - job done, permanent fix. The actual task of replacing the compensator and setting up your handbrake properly is not a difficult one, I have documented it in the above link and there are numerous other documents available on the form too, some with photos. It takes a leisurely 1 to 2 hours. Over the years I have sent out hundreds of these using my method of modification and without one single report of a failure. For those who would rather I provided a ready to fit compensator in exchange, read on... Please understand this is an exchange scheme, a modified compensator sent out in exchange for your old one returned back to me promptly - to enable me to modify it for the next person. I don't send them out for you to put on a shelf for a day you might decide to fit it, only order one to fit within a week or two. I am now requesting a Paypal payment of £8.00 + a second payment of £25 to act as a deposit on the safe return of your old compensator, but please note that both payments need to be sent as a Paypal gifts (friends and family). If the payments are not sent as gifts I would end up out of pocket, so none gifts I will simply bounce - it involves us both in a lot of extra unnecessary expense. For those outside the UK, but in the EU - due to the extra postal cost, the £8.00 needs to be £9.00. Login to your Paypal account, click on Send Money along the top, fill in my email address and the amount, then click the Family and Friends button - this is the gift part. Then repeat the process for the second payment of the deposit. So your initial outlay will be £8.00 (EU £9.00) + £25 = £33.00 (EU £34.00), you then get the £25 refunded in full, upon safe return of the old item. Return of the deposit, is subject to your old compensator being fit to be modified - if any previous attempt to weld them has taken place, then they are unlikely to be of much use to me. The £8.00 covers P&P, plus the 20p cost to me of refunding the £15, with a small contribution to help with my material costs. To email me to arrange for an exchange please CLICK HERE putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject - PLEASE ALSO INCLUDE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS, FOR ME TO REPLY TO, WITHIN YOUR EMAIL TO ME. My apologies for the need for a deposit, but I very occasionally get some who simply keep the old compensator and then ignore my emailed reminders for its return. That then leaves me out of pocket in trying to source a replacement, which has to be reflected in what I charge for the exchange - please remember I am doing this for almost nothing, simply as a favour to forum members. 28 days after posting a modified one out, where the old one has not been returned, I will consider the £20 deposit to have been forfeit - unless I have been suitably advised. I do though generally expect their return within 10 to 14 days, though many do manage it within 7 days from my date of posting them out. I don't have a store cupboard filled with compensators, so I really do need these returned quickly, to enable them to be modified for the next member. If you have sent it and it has not turned up here, hopefully you will have kept your receipt from posting and therefore will be able to reclaim your £20 loss from the Post Office. I will happily send you an email to support your claim, should that happen. When posting, please include a note in the package, so I know who has returned it and ensure it is well packed. A ready written address label will be included as I post the modified ones out, for its return. Once ordered and paid for, I will advise via email when it will be put in the post - Due to personal circumstances, I can no longer be certain to get these in next days post - but will usually post them on a Tuesday or Friday. To enable me to keep track of them - Please then email me, putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject... 1. When you receive it. 2. When you have put the old one in the post. Or if you are having any issues with the fitting adjustment or etc.. For those who wish to send me a spare compensator(s) for modification and return to you, obviously there is no need for a deposit and you will only need to make a payment of £8.00 per compensator. Alternatively and by prior arrangement, you are welcome to call in and swap old for modified on the spot. To arrange that, CLICK HERE putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject. Free help with fitting on my drive If you live within range of travelling over to me, then I will happily give you a hand to remove your compensator, modify it and refit. I will also assist you to adjust the hubs and front, to get your handbrake working the way it should. It takes around a couple of hours all in. There is no charge at all, other than £8.00 for the compensator and I have all that is needed here. I don't do the work, you do it with my assistance. It is subject to the weather being suitable and my having the time available. I am certainly not a mechanic, nor do I fit these 'on the side' and I do not expect to be paid for giving you a hand - though you are quite welcome to make a small contribution to my 'tool fund'. To arrange that, CLICK HERE putting the word COMPENSATOR in the subject. There is a link below in my sig, which explains a bit more about the handbrake system, how to set it up and why in fact you will need a modified compensator, if you have not already fitted one. __________________ Harry How To's and items I offer for free, or just to cover the cost of my expenses... http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...40#post1764540 Fix a poor handbrake; DIY ABS diagnostic unit; Loan of the spanner needed to change the CDT belts; free OBD diagnostics +MAF; Correct Bosch MAF cheap; DVB-T install in an ex-hi-line system; DD install with a HK amp; FBH servicing. I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money. Last edited by HarryM1BYT; 21st May 2014 at 10:51..

14th October 2013, 07:59	#4
bartandrose Loves to post Rover 75 CDTi Contemporary SE Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Southampton Posts: 333 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	another big THANK YOU for Harry Just sorted my ailing handbrake thanks to the superb service offered by Harry. THANK YOU from another satisfied ............ compadre (not really a customer).

14th November 2013, 10:54	#7
HarryM1BYT This is my second home 75 Contemporary SE Mk II 2004 Man. Sal. CDTi 135ps, FBH on red diesel, WinCE6 DD Join Date: May 2010 Location: Leeds Posts: 17,273 Thanks: 2,160 Thanked 2,061 Times in 1,586 Posts	Announcement These compensators, so far as I have been able to tell, are no longer available - so the return of the old ones is now absolutely crucial to my being able to keep this going as an exchange service. Despite my charging a £15 deposit one has not been returned - I have decided to increase the £15 to £20 to provide more of an incentive to return them. I shall continue to charge the £7.20 as before and shall continue to refund the £20 in full once I receive the old one back. So the cost to you will remain a very reasonable £7.20, once you have been refunded. . To avoid the need for a deposit, I will happily accept your sending me a compensator (maybe sourced from a scapped car), in advance of me sending a modified one off. __________________ Harry How To's and items I offer for free, or just to cover the cost of my expenses... http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...40#post1764540 Fix a poor handbrake; DIY ABS diagnostic unit; Loan of the spanner needed to change the CDT belts; free OBD diagnostics +MAF; Correct Bosch MAF cheap; DVB-T install in an ex-hi-line system; DD install with a HK amp; FBH servicing. I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

26th January 2014, 14:07	#8
HarryM1BYT This is my second home 75 Contemporary SE Mk II 2004 Man. Sal. CDTi 135ps, FBH on red diesel, WinCE6 DD Join Date: May 2010 Location: Leeds Posts: 17,273 Thanks: 2,160 Thanked 2,061 Times in 1,586 Posts	As explained in my edited first post of this thread.... Due to personal circumstances, I shall no longer usually be able to get the modified compensators in the next days post, so please allow for this fact when ordering. Cleared payments made before Tuesday morning will usually be in the post Tuesday, those made before Friday morning will usually be in the post Friday. Though neither day is guaranteed. __________________ Harry How To's and items I offer for free, or just to cover the cost of my expenses... http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...40#post1764540 Fix a poor handbrake; DIY ABS diagnostic unit; Loan of the spanner needed to change the CDT belts; free OBD diagnostics +MAF; Correct Bosch MAF cheap; DVB-T install in an ex-hi-line system; DD install with a HK amp; FBH servicing. I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

26th January 2014, 15:27	#9
bl52krz This is my second home Rover 75 cdt club + Rover 2.5 KV6 Conni SE Join Date: May 2008 Location: Birmingham Posts: 11,396 Thanks: 6,587 Thanked 2,262 Times in 1,729 Posts	Hello Harry. We always seem to get the odd one or two who do not appreciate what you do for them.Perhaps the weather has stopped them doing the job at the moment. __________________ Great Barr, Birmingham.

30th September 2013, 14:25	#2
rich17865 This is my second home Transit Connect Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Crewe Posts: 9,532 Thanks: 868 Thanked 1,619 Times in 1,095 Posts	I do hope there is enough money left for you to have a drink after modifying all of the compensators, or if not a drink maybe a mince pie for Christmas

30th October 2013, 18:39	#5
wezzywitch Newbie Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Hereford Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	And my thanks also Harry. Brilliant service all round.

26th January 2014, 16:35	#10
HarryM1BYT This is my second home 75 Contemporary SE Mk II 2004 Man. Sal. CDTi 135ps, FBH on red diesel, WinCE6 DD Join Date: May 2010 Location: Leeds Posts: 17,273 Thanks: 2,160 Thanked 2,061 Times in 1,586 Posts	The present outstanding ones, go way beyond weather delays. I just don't understand these people ordering them and failing to swap them, it is such a straight forward job. Please, if you have no immediate plan to get the job done - there really is no need to panic to order one, they are not going out of fashion. If you really are worried about failing to get one, just get another from a scrap yard, send it to me and you can then keep the modified one permanently. So long as I don't end up with no stock, I'm happy to continue modifying these. __________________ Harry How To's and items I offer for free, or just to cover the cost of my expenses... http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...40#post1764540 Fix a poor handbrake; DIY ABS diagnostic unit; Loan of the spanner needed to change the CDT belts; free OBD diagnostics +MAF; Correct Bosch MAF cheap; DVB-T install in an ex-hi-line system; DD install with a HK amp; FBH servicing. I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.