What parts have fallen off or falled on a pkg car or tractor

filthpig

Well-Known Member
I have to consider myself lucky. Knock wood, I have not had a failure that endangered me. I have had breakdowns, but they have been of the variety that did not endanger anyone. I've broken a driveshaft, lost a few clutches, and stuff like that. Oh wait!! Once a mechanic left a rag in the engine compartment and it caught on fire at my first stop. I guess the air got a chance to get to it. That was interesting! I put the fire out though.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
A lot of these problems had been previously written up in the DVIR.
Did anything happen to the mechanics who put "OK to run"?
Were they fired, suspended? Or does that only happen to drivers.

Did they at least apologize?
 

mattwtrs

Retired Senior Member
A lot of these problems had been previously written up in the DVIR.
Did anything happen to the mechanics who put "OK to run"?
Were they fired, suspended? Or does that only happen to drivers.

I can't remember any mechanic being fired for DVIR problems but some incidents started them down that slippery slope to suspensions. There were also a lot of red tags put on cars!
 
UPS needs to buy more duct tape, velcro and tie wraps to hold these package cars together. They just don't make dust and dirt as strong as they used to.
 

edd_tv

Cardboard picker upper
i lost a muffler one time. it was hanging down and as i made a delivery i was backing and it caught the pavement and snapped off. called the center they said go on so i finished the del and pulled up, grabbed the still warm 6 foot long pipe, threw it in the back and went on my merry way. made a great attention getter as i didnt have to honk my horn all day. sounded like an old fighter plane. lots of funny looks and pissed off people.i couldnt help but laugh. i have pic i took with my phone somewhere ill try to put that up
 
Once on an extended area (40 miles to the first stop)driving a p600, the oil pressure would drop to zero with a slight knocking in the engine. I called in and the mechanic said " Drive it till it quits". On the way back in that evening, it quit alright, scattering engine parts all over the highway. Surprisingly enough the mechanic got mad because I did as he told me.
I really like it when we get a new mechanic, they actually lube stuff and look for potential problems when doing a PMI. Although they sooner or later figure out that the P in PMI means partial and not preventative.
 

mattwtrs

Retired Senior Member
Once on an extended area (40 miles to the first stop)driving a p600, the oil pressure would drop to zero with a slight knocking in the engine. I called in and the mechanic said " Drive it till it quits".
Almost the same thing for me when I transferred from feeders to package. P600 with a knock that was getting worse. When I called in I got the baby it back from a supervisor, I took it right to the shop(no air recovery, haz mat or international audit in those days). The mechanic asks whats the problem? Got a little knock.. He took it outside and reveved the engine till it blew up. I could have done that in the lot too!
 

Big Babooba

Well-Known Member
I just had the front upper shock mounts snap off a brand new p57 with only 9500 miles on it. Talk abouy floating down the road with it blown out with air packages from the airport shuttle run. I had written it up a dozen times and the mechanic couldn't figure it out unitil it finally broke. When it did I called it in and was told to tape the shocks so they wouldn't rip the brake lines. Then center manager came on the phone and asked if I was going to have late EAMs because of this. Because obviously it was my fault. Not because these new cars are junk.
A mechanic told me about this problem. He said that the shock mounts and engine mounts are one unit and to change them you have to pull the engine. Great engineering.
 

Big Babooba

Well-Known Member
A lot of these problems had been previously written up in the DVIR.
Did anything happen to the mechanics who put "OK to run"?
Were they fired, suspended? Or does that only happen to drivers.

Did they at least apologize?

I had a Ford P1000 with the pull knob parking brake. My mechanic had changed the brake hydro boost. When he put the brake pedal linkage back together, he installed a cotter pin from the bottom rather then from the top which in itself was no big deal but he neglected to bend the ends of the cotter pin over. Everything was fine until I was exiting the highway. The cotter pin had fallen out and the brake linkage came apart. When I stepped on the brake, the pedal went to the floor! I pulled the parking brake and the rear wheels locked up. The truck stopped in about 100 feet. There usually is a line of cars at the bottom of the ramp but the traffic light had turned green and my path was clear, it could have been ugly. Surprisingly no action was taken against the mechanic. Our safety manager said that most people would have panicked and rewarded me with a bag of potato chips!:angry: Another driver had a cotter pin fail on his clutch linkage. he used the truck's key ring in place of it. The shop supervisor gave him a $25 gift card for a restaurant because he avoided a road call.:biting: Go figure.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
" Surprisingly no action was taken against the mechanic."

Unfortunately, it's not surprising. The only people who seem to receive any kind of discipline are drivers.

Misdeliver a package, get a warning letter.

Misdiagnose a package car problem that could result in death, no problem.
 

rushfan

Well-Known Member
I lost my brakes, and could not shift. I looked in my driver's side mirror, and saw one of the wheels out of the wheel well. The mechanic said "good thing you weren't on the freeway".
 
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