Mark: Hi, it’s Mark from Top Local, we’re here with Bernie Pawlik and we’re talking car repairs. How’re you doing this morning Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So we’re going to talk about a 1995 Jeep Wrangler that had some brake repairs. What was happening with this Jeep?
Bernie: Well the Jeep came to our shop for a comprehensive inspection and a look over, it had been a while since the owner serviced the vehicle and also there was, he had a few concerns. So through the inspection we found it needed some brake work so we’re going to talk about what we did on the front brakes this morning.
Mark: Was this a routine brake job or was there something unique about it?
Bernie: Well pretty much routine but there is one thing that is unique about it, that’s why I want to do a hangout about it. I’ll just start with sharing some photos here because it’ll be a good explanation as we go through. So this is a, it’s a little dark but this is a bracket, the brake caliper bracket and this is where the brake pads ride and when we took everything apart, you can see in this area here, there’s a big gouge. This is kind of normal after years of use and this vehicle is 22 years old, so it’s been around for a while but we see even on vehicles that are 5 or 10 years old. The brake pad wears in this area, it slides, it moves back and forth and creates a gouge. When this is worn it can cause clicking sounds in the brakes, it can also cause squeaks and squeals and just generally not a great feel in the brake pedal because things could get hung up. So what I wanted to talk about in this hangout is how we repair this particular thing. We basically, we have, so I’ll go to the next photo, this is the same bracket after it’s been repaired, it’s on the other side of the vehicle, it’s the top one, but this is the area where we repaired. This again had a big gouge in it. We welded it, filled in the missing metal and then ground it down, so it’s basically like a nice flat piece of metal now for the brake pads to slide on. And the final item here, this is the brakes put together, the red arrow points to that area of the picture there, so you can see, here are the brake pads, there’s a ear on the brake pads that slide in this bracket and that’s all been fixed so everything slides clean, there’s no excessive movement. We also apply our special orange, this is the sort of modern best brake lubricant available these days to any moving services, so it prevents any squeaks or squeals and everything works and lasts for a long time.
Mark: Wow, being a ’95 this Jeep is getting on in age, how is it overall?
Bernie: Really good. The thing about Jeeps is they’re one of those type of vehicles that seems to last for a long time. There’s certain vehicles where once they get to a certain age, I can’t remember the last time I worked on a 1995 Subaru, I mean they’re just gone you know, once they get to a certain age they just have no use. But Jeeps, I was actually surprised when I looked and oh it’s a ’95, it’s in really good shape, this one is unique too, it’s a four cylinder with an automatic which is kind of unusual and maybe not the most desirable but economical and easy to drive. Most of them are standards with straight 6 engines which are awesome. I mean overall it’s a great vehicle, still in really good shape, the owner’s doing a bit of work on it but works good and we work on Jeeps that are decades older than that. They can last a long time.
Mark: So there you go, if you’re looking for service for your Jeep in Vancouver, the guys to see are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them at 604-327-7112 to book your appointment or check out their website pawlikautomotive.com. Remember they are 17 time winners of Best Auto Repair in Vancouver as voted by their customers. If you want done right, these are they guys. Thanks Bernie
Bernie: Thanks Mark
