How much is my T2 worth?

[pdtaylor18]

oh thats 20 mins to have a tea break as well !!!

And whatever you do DO NOT SELL !!!!   Go get your car back.

[L18M]

that is ridiculous!!
i guess no1 from here will be going to rotechnics any time soon.
i kno theres a credit crunch goin on but that jus takes the micky!!
if u take out the PS then no pipes to cause probs lol

like pete said.. dont sell you rx!!

[S3TH]

Hmm... this is probably one of the few bad stories I\'ve heard about Rotechniks... I\'ve heard & been witness to the quality of some of their builds... but I suppose at the end of the day tuners will always be tuners... they have teh pikey infused in their blood... .

[pdtaylor18]

What really gets me though is that the rotary is the main reason why they are in business, without our support as a customer then the business suffers, thats goes for all businesses.  It only takes a few complaints and that escalates massively until untold reputation damage is inflicted.  Dont these people realise that??  We are not just going to go and bleat to our wives or girlfriends, we are going to bleat to the whole community.
You can still take Rotechniks to trading standards for charging a ridiculous amount of time to remove a 10 minutes pipe.  Another Question though......Why didn\'t you replace the pipe yourself?

[logicalChimp]

Hmmm

I have to say, they\'ve been pretty good all the times i\'ve used them (up to this week, but that wass something non-mechanical).  And they did test (and reject some of) all of the second-hand parts they needed to get my car back on the road...

but it\'s true that they are not cheap...  once my car is in a sound mechanical state, i\'m planning on doing a lot more work myself to cut down on the bills...

[m1tch]

I have an S4 FC3s workshop manual that shows the powersteering arrangement, its LHD in the pic, but all there is is 2 connections and 2 bolts. It shows have to take the whole rack and pinion apart, not even mentioning the pipe again as there are only 2 connections. I mean can you not just take the bumper off then unscrew it? I will be asking what is involved with it cause its not like the cars were hand built buy craftmen taking days to fit together, its mass produced so all the parts go together quickly. I will be posting up the bill they give me on tuesday.

[DemonRx4]

With all due respect but if you have a problem with a company surely it would be logical to take up the problem with that party instead of complaining about it here...Just a thought...

I have had a lot of dealings with Rotechniks myself and never had a problem ( yes i do have a friend who works there and no im not biased because he\'s a muppet :rollin), You\'ll never please everyone in business thats just the way it works. They are a "marque specialist" as you say so they\'ll always be pricey same goes for any specialist (trust me both my motors have to go to specialists ).

I prefer to do what i can myself, I have had a lot of parts that i\'ve fitted to a car only to find that they were faulty afterwards...I am interested how you pressure test a pipe though (genuinely for future reference).

Also the car is yours no one has the right to hold the car (unless they haven\'t been paid) you just need to ask.
Don\'t let this dishearten you though, just fix it yourself and enjoy her :cool

[pdtaylor18]

This is a forum where we can air our grievences to a certain extent against any individual but the issue in this case is the labour time taken to do a relatively simple job.  I will admit that sometimes things can get out of hand on forums but in this case its nice to know the full story and the quality of the completed work/cost etc and is mega important to all of us as there are only a handful of specialist that will touch these cars.  When we want a rebuild or just a tune up we need to know that our hard earned money is being put to use in the most cost effective way with the utmost quality of workmanship.  
The undertray is perhaps the only thing that needs to come off, maybe the battery to give more room.  The bolts at the front for the cooler pipe usually come out easy or they snap off and if they do then there are lots of quick fixes.
Pressure checking any pipe or indeed radiator is simple done using a fluid or compressed gas.  A gauge of some sort either mechanical analogue gauge or even something like a sight tube will let you view if pressure is being lost.  We even pressure check our aircraft using compressed gas with a dial gauge, very simple and works.  You just need to make sure whatever you are checking can be sealed. If the system/ pipe is losing pressure then you might hear it, if not pouring water over the suspect area will reveal bubbles.  No different to checking a bike tyre, however some items are pressure checked to many times that of its operating pressure so you have to be very careful what you are doing it on and to what pressure.
I hope you keep the car and get a good deal for the work being carried out.

[m1tch]

I honestly didn\'t mean this to be a rant thread, I was genuinly asking about how much my car was worth, but seeing that everyone seems to feel I am being ripped off I guess it kinda is now, I will report back 2morrow when I get the bill.

I saw an FC when I went there on wednesday with the bumper off, the cooler pipe was easy to remove in that state it seemed, so taking the bumper off might be quicker than whatever they were doing, I will ask exactly whats involved as I have the workshop manual and all I can see is 2 connections and a few bolts holding it on. When the manual goes into removing the power steering it basically skips removing the cooler pipe as its such an insignificant part.

I kinda figured they might run some compressed air though the pipe and block the other end, it would definatly leak if there was a hole, it just seems common sense to check the part before commensing an apparently long job. I am still thinking if I trust them to do my engine, I might have to go to WGT instead.

[DemonRx4]

My fault i didn\'t mean to cause offence it just seemed a bit one sided is all. I shall button it.
Good to know about the pressure testing i\'ll keep that in mind.

[Prof]

I kinda figured they might run some compressed air though the pipe and block the other end, it would definatly leak if there was a hole, it just seems common sense to check the part before commensing an apparently long job. I am still thinking if I trust them to do my engine, I might have to go to WGT instead.

That\'s how I tested my plumbing - there is a down side to testing with air - the molecules in air are smaller than in water or oil and consequently will escape smaller holes than water or oil could.  Areas where you might get seapage for instance, would be blown apart by an air test as it will rip through the corroded and weakened area.
 
Generally 4 BAR of air is equivalent to 10PSI water and I would think even more of oil (as it thicker and more viscous).  You could rig a pressure tester with a foot pump or electric pump and one of those 15mm plumbers pressure test units (about 15-20 quid from B&Q) and some adaptive piping.  The hardest thing will be finding a bung for the end that won\'t blow off !:rollin

[m1tch]

Ok im back home from Rotechniks....

Compression test shows that my engine is at:

Front: 6.6, 6.8, 7.0
Rear: 6.8, 7.0, 6.8

The bill was actually lower than quoted so a big thanks to Rotechniks for not billing me twice for the work carried out again, I know other garages would charge again!

The reason why the PS pipe is a long job is because:

1. The undertray with rusty bolts has to be taken off
2. The battery has to be taken out
3. The battery tray with rusty bolts has to be taken off
4. Some of the wiring that goes to the front has to be disconnected
5. The pipe is removed with the 2 connectors and the 2 rusty bolts on the front
....The fun doesn\'t stop there
6. When replacing the pipe, fluid needs to be poured into the system right up to the moment that the pipe is connect so that there are no air bubbles in the system

This job isn\'t a short job, the time for this job is about 2 1/2 hours (as per labour charge on bill)

Quoted price for compression test and fitting of pipe supplied by myself (that leaked) = £450ish

Actual price including new pipe from Mazda @ £120, plus only 1 fitting of the pipe, plus compression test and labour = £359.46

I will DEFINATLY be using Rotechniks again Although the labour rate might be slightly higher than other places I would rather now pay for quality work and an honest service

Plus the fact that many garages charge to take a hire car, mine was free for the 6 days I had it.

Big thanks again Rotechniks

[pdtaylor18]

Wow now thats a good service.  Glad you are happy about it all. Those compression values are not too bad either, fairly even so should last a few more years yet.
Take it the car is a \'keeper\' then ??!!  Hope so.

[m1tch]

Yeah im keeping it the steering feels much stronger and robust now Im probably gonna rebuild next year with a streetport.....and a T4 size turbo But we shall see

[S3TH]

Told you rotechniks were good :p:).