The god of the clutch.....really???

[marinabrian]

Here we have a classic example of how things should never be done, and I do mean never.

In October 2015 at 86000 miles, the clutch was replaced on a friends car, to my shame on personal recommendation by Andy Williamson, at a cost of over £500.

In early 2017 the car suffered an engine failure, at a mileage just over 97500 miles and as a result a replacement engine was readied with new belts, water pump, tensioners and idlers.

Now we get to the point of the matter, today was the day the old engine was dropped out in preparation to fit the new one.

Every and every single bolt head connecting the gearbox to the engine was equipped with the mark of the devil, and tightened so tight as to have deformed the thread on the bolts, the gearbox selector cable clips were bent out of shape, and the engine hydramount damaged, the witness marks indicating the weight of the engine had been allowed to hang on it.

The gearbox was almost impossible to separate from the engine, and this is why.........


Note the condition of the splines on the "none branded" clutch driven plate



And the state of the input shaft



Difficult to see in this picture, but a there is a considerable lip on the clamping surface of the pressure plate, again no makers markings

So there we have it, how the job should not be carried out

To sum up, a Tazu metal slave, where the release bearing is very noisy when spun by hand, no attention paid to cleaning the input shaft, nor application of any lubricant to the splines of either the friction plate or input shaft causing the friction plate to seize in position on the input shaft, and the input shaft tube seal damaged by incorrect fitting of the slave cylinder, and a friction plate worn almost to the vents after less than 12,000 95% motorway miles and 18 months.

Not really a good advert for someone who is allegedly a specialist in Rover clutches.

Would I ever recommend Andy Willi to do a job for anyone?

Put it this way, I wouldn't trust him to blow up the tyre on my wheelbarrow, never mind let him loose with his gorilla sized truck tools to wreck anyone's pride and joy with his cowboy workmanship

I hope you are enjoying your holiday in France, Andy, and hope you made a better job of your own car, or you may be coming home on a recovery truck

Brian

[Rooney]

That's okay, Andy offers a warranty, I'm sure he'll be happy to refund your friend in the circumstances

[Leyland Worldmaster]

Oh my... the best thing I can say is that it is sorted now...

[barney bear]

I'm glad my car is an automatic����

[Kennyeth]

Is a Trader allowed to attack another Trader like this?? even putting names in??
This poster seems to relish in having a dig at someone.
Disgusting if you ask me.
Ken.

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Kennyeth

Is a Trader allowed to attack another Trader like this?? even putting names in??
This poster seems to reish in having a dig at someone.
Disgusting if you ask me.
Ken.

And why not ken?, Andy Willi is no different to anybody else in respect of poor workmanship.

Put simply, there is no excuse for it whatsoever, he is treating genuine enthusiasts as cash cows, fitting sub standard parts to people's pride and joy, using short cuts and poor technique.

It is not as if he is charging any less than having the job done properly, but it's high time members are made aware of his sharp practices.

I was led to believe by the man himself he only used LUK parts, and he can certainly talk the talk, but it many members have confided in me that they were unhappy with the way their cars were worked upon by this man, and seeing the results first hand yesterday of his shoddy practice.......I can ask you one question, would you have been happy to have paid over £500 to have your car cobbled together using junk parts, damaging things in the process, and without even the tiniest smear of lubricant applied to a vital part?

I bet you wouldn't

Brian

[EastPete]

As Brian knows, I have had issues with the clutch work done by Andy, and have recently replaced the clutch myself on my car. This was to fix all the issues I had after three attempts by Andy ( as well as my local garage) to change the clutch. I now have a perfect clutch (am I tempting fate by saying this ?). I am several hundreds of pounds out of pocket with the work I paid Andy to do, but I have not pursued it. He seemed a good guy, and came highly recommended, but I now know his work leaves a lot to be desired. I put it down to experience, and I will not use him again or recommend him to other club members.

I guess this post will be deleted, or I will get banned before too long for speaking out, but the club hierarchy ought to take seriously complaints about work performed by any trader that is paying money to the club to promote their 'services' on the forum.

Happy Easter everyone

Pete

[Kennyeth]

You just love it don`t ya?
Ken.

[RPWC]

I hate to say it, but some just like to have a go at Brian for anything.

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Kennyeth

You just love it don`t ya?
Ken.

Not particularly Ken

Brian