Centre-Lign Automotive in Toowoomba, Queensland | Automotive, aircraft & boat

Centre-Lign Automotive

Locality: Toowoomba, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 4639 1744

Address: 7 Fitzgibbon St 4350 Toowoomba, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.centre-lignautomotive.com.au

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• Local service
• Automotive, aircraft & boat
• Automotive repair centre
• Motor vehicle company

25.01.2022 I haven’t done a Centre-Lign post for a couple of weeks now. I usually do them on a Sunday as it gives me time to edit the photos so it looks more professional but due to a very hectic social life I have not had the time (lol I don’t know if helping out at the Zimbabwean Pensioners Aid cricket fund raiser last Sunday was socialising as it was hard work but I was there ). Here is something that I quite often get customers asking me (especially those customers who have bought... a second hand vehicle with one of these rust stoppers on them). They normally say do they work? I don’t know because judging by this vehicle I would say no because the dent was only put in the vehicle a short time ago and it is already rusting. I covered over the makers name to save myself from being sued

24.01.2022 On Wednesday afternoon a tilt tray vehicle driver had a mishap when his vehicle became a runaway vehicle causing it to smash through our workshop door causing extensive damage to the building and two of my cars, one being my Gold Nissan Pulsar courtesy car which is now a write off. Luckily no one was hurt and no customer vehicles were damaged or involved. We are out of business at the moment until the building is repaired as we cannot get cars in or out of the workshop.

24.01.2022 I am afraid l don’t have time for a detailed Centre- Lign Classic this week as for me it’s Hi Ho Hi Ho and off to work we go today to fit the reconditioned cylinder head l posted last week. I hate coming in on Sundays to play catch because come Monday l don’t feel like I had a break, but as I had a full on week last week I have to keep the customer happy. So I just thought I would share this 1954 Morris Minor that a friend has just purchased.... Because the standard issue number plate ends with WES naturally the car is called Wesley. My first car was a 1956 Morris Minor that my brother Roy initially bought as a first car before selling it to my father who then lent it to me until I bought a Austin Cooper, so you could say that the Minor was a real family car. My mates and I had great fun in the old Morris Minor and it was definitely put through it’s paces when l tried to teach Shirley Ungerer Orner and her niece Jenny how to drive on the dirt roads in Fern Valley where we lived. Both Shirley and Jenny managed to broadside around corners to the degree where we ended up off the road and in the bush amongst the trees with no damage to the car (LUCKILY the ignition switch is in the middle of the dashboard so it is easy to get to in a hurry from the passenger seat)

22.01.2022 My second and only courtesy car was damaged by a fool this afternoon trying to reverse his trailer into our shared driveway to collect a quad from the bike shop next door. Guys from QB4 when I am paranoid about your customers collecting and delivering in our driveway with trailers and Utes l am justified in my concerns about damages to our vehicles (Shore Prestige included). Three companies sharing the same driveway need to respect each other

20.01.2022 My Centre-Lign Classic this week is this vehicle that was leaking coolant between the head gasket on # 4 cylinder and the water jacket (NOT REALLY A CLASSIC) but it’s what I found when I was removing the cylinder head that is a Classic. While removing the cylinder head I found loads of cuts and nicks on the surface of the timing belt which you wouldn’t normally find on a timing belt that had been replaced by a previous workshop only 6,000Ks and 2 years prior. The cause for th...e cuts and nicks was a timing belt guide plate which had become detached from its spot welding on the water pump gear and had been flung around by the rotating timing belt,camshaft, crankshaft and water pump gears until it was crushed enough to become harmlessly trapped behind the timing belt tensioner mechanism. 9 times out of 10 a piece of metal this size would get trapped between a timing belt gear and the inside of a timing belt which would cause the timing belt to slip resulting in bent valves and a expensive repair which to me makes this a CLASSIC

18.01.2022 Thank you to all our very special customers, it has been wonderful serving your vehicles and catching up for chats. Tish and I would like to thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you all next year. Have a Merry and Peaceful Christmas.

16.01.2022 On the 23rd of December I posted about a timing belt that had failed a few months after I fitted it. I have since repaired and tested the vehicle for a couple of weeks and given it back to the customer. I was concerned about the fact that the new timing belt was running on the edge of the idler pulley but after viewing a video and photos the customer took of his friends exact same type of vehicle l am now convinced that this is how the timing belt on this vehicle runs and in ...fact the timing belt on his friends vehicle was walking back and forwards on the cam gear where in my video it runs fairly true. I am now waiting for the outcome of the investigations into why the timing belt failed in the first place and I have told my supplier that I want it to be treated as urgent because I have a few thousand dollars tied up in this vehicle. I was very touched the other day when the customer sent me a text message requesting my bank details and after telling Tish to tell them that there is no customer charge they said (actual text message below) Thank you, happy new year to you too! Hugh and I just feel terrible for bringing you this problem. We were wanting to make a contribution that would at least go part way to covering your expenses. You guys have always looked after us and we appreciate it. Now these are the customers who make going to work every day so much more worth it. Thank you Colleen & Hugh

15.01.2022 Ian Sloan hi mate Lyn asked me to share the results so far regarding her daughters car. See attached message and invoice.

14.01.2022 Bald tyres and Wet roads don’t work well.

13.01.2022 This is definitely one of those Bugger posts where the manufacturer gets it all wrong. I am 90% sure that one of the pistons have failed as this is generally a common fault with this model of engine.

12.01.2022 Toyota Hilux cylinder head for sale $500.00 only. It’s off a 1997/8 22R and has been fully reconditioned. Genuine Jap not soft crappy China.

11.01.2022 At 1:13pm today Toowoomba was hit by a major storm cell and although it wasn’t as severe as the devastating floods of 2011 it was severe enough to once again flood my workshop. I have had enough and if my insurance doesn’t cover it this time I am going to take on the council as there is not enough drainage and they must pay for my losses. I was at work this morning trying to stay ahead of the tax man and only headed home as the storm started as Tish was worried about me, but once the storm ended Stephanie said that there were photos on the internet showing flash flooding in the City so back to work I went to work to find another mess that we have to clean up.

08.01.2022 My Centre Lign Classic this week is a Classic but also a BUGGER and a What a Rip-off post all in one. In short my customers Mechatronic unit on her DSG (direct-shift gearbox) started leaking fluid and the fluid was leaking from one of the dry clutch actuator rods. The seal which is mounted on the actuator rod and seems to be made of Neoprene was leaking and I bet it wouldn’t cost more than a cent to make.... The only way to repair this problem is to replace the whole Mechatronic unit at a cost of AU$2500.00 plus fitting costs because the manufacturer doesn’t make serviceable parts. Total cost of repair $3000.00 for a part worth a cent. What a BUGGER and a Rip-off

07.01.2022 My final post for 2018 is a disastrous one for me which has upset me to the extent where I made myself quite ill for a few days. I take great pride in my work and always strive to provide my customers with a high quality job for a reasonable cost but what happened with this timing belt and the blasé attitude of some people has made me re-evaluate my future in the motor industry. I have been in the motor industry for exactly 44 years this month and I have fitted hundreds of ti...ming belt kits, some of them have been quite complicated where the slightest error spells disaster but I have never had a instance like this one. This timing belt kit is basically simply with a counter balance shaft belt and tensioner plus a camshaft belt and idlers which is tensioned by a hydraulic tensioner, but simplicity has ended up costing me a lot of money right on Christmas when I was hoping to have a couple of days off. I am still at a loss as to why the Camshaft belt failed as I only fitted it 4 months and 5000Ks ago, but it seems to have shredded itself and maybe it is because it wants to run on the edge of the idler pulleys. Even the new Camshaft belt l have fitted is running on the edge of the idlers which makes me wonder if the aluminium housing that the idlers bolt onto may have been machined incorrectly. One bit of luck in my favour is that Mitsubishi have designed the valve lifters to snap in half should there be contact between the pistons and valves thus not damaging the intake and exhaust valves. I have done hours of research and calculating so I am reasonably happy that this engine will still see a good life. Merry Christmas everyone and if you know of anyone who is looking to buy a successful business in the next year or so please ask them to contact me and we will work out some numbers

05.01.2022 No post again this week, but just for fun I thought I would share this radio advert I had a few years ago.

03.01.2022 Thanks to my wife Tish and her persistence in a forceful but respectful way we are back in business. Thank you to all our customers affected by our week long closure for your patience and support. We look forward to your continued support

03.01.2022 New Electric Car charging, parking bays outside NAB at Clifford Gardens maybe?

01.01.2022 My Centre-Lign Classic this week has turned out to be a nightmare from the word go and it all started when I had to do a simple Twin Cam Timing Belt Kit replacement. The engine l was working on does not have keyways or locating pins on the camshaft and crankshaft gears plus the gears and the shafts are not tapered and simply rely on the securing bolts to stop them from turning independently of each other. All the other vehicles l have worked on either have locating pins or k...eyways and I must admit that in the 9 years that I have had the business this is the first Duratec engine timing belt replacement l have had to do and because I was not aware that there were no location pins or keyways I was caught with my pants down and had to order a special engine timing tool set. To add to my frustrations the customer omitted to telling me that the engine in the vehicle had been replaced with a more modern engine so when we ordered the timing belt kit using the vehicle identification number, the kit was incorrect for the engine that is now in the vehicle (two days lost waiting for the correct kit to arrive). I went to work this morning and fitted the new timing belt and tensioner and to do this I locked the crankshaft and camshafts with the locking tools and tightened the crankshaft bolt securing the crankshaft timing gear and after two revolutions of the crankshaft l checked to make sure everything lined up and had to repeat the process three times in a attempt at getting everything to line up. In the end l had to settle for the cam timing being about one degree out (l found that it is impossible to get it spot on and even engines with keyways are not spot on). I shudder to think about the poor old home mechanic who decides to replace a damaged harmonic balancer and when he gets the crankshaft bolt off the timing can move enough to bend some of the valves when he goes to start it as the engine is a interference type engine (which means that the valves can come into contact with the pistons should the timing move).

01.01.2022 In addition to the timing belt post here is a video of the belt running on the edge of the idler pulley

01.01.2022 I have been really bad lately and I have not done any posts so I am just going to post a few now starting with this Classic. This vehicle was booked in for a service a day before Christmas and spent two weeks during the Christmas period while I tried to get a good second hand aircon compressor as the bearings had destroyed themselves. The moral to the story is if it started making a noise a few weeks ago you should have brought it in when it started making the noise because leaving it a few weeks in the hopes that it will cure itself doesn’t work