Hi kevin thanks for the reply i have also done this from school and it is hard to get out of it,i have sent my cv to a couple of people this week so we will see how it goes,i think you know who i work for and unfortunatly we don't have a ladder to climb but a greasy pole and the higher you get the closer to the door you become.The next step from engineer is team leader this role comes with no support and as much earache as you can take for £1.80 per day more than i am on now,i know this as i got offered this and my gaffer seemed surprised when i turned it down,as for the emigration route i have a young family and don't feel it would be right at the minute,but its nice to dream.
God just re read my reply it sounds very cynical,but on a daily basis i do enjoy my job but feel the thought of doing this for another 30yrs does not appeal,maybe i need a change.
Thanks for your thoughts Herald.

its the **** weather. getting everybody down.yes,times are hard but i,ve been doing this since i left school. i,m looking to move up a step ,away from daily dirty hands but not as far as office work. i hate being cooped up inside.i want to give up the big van for an estate car with a laptop and a little box of tools. specialise in something.only thing is where i live you have to do everything ,vna ,ic,electric ,flameproof and big stuff. but i do avoid bendis ha ha. hate them hate them hate them.stick with it ,tell your boss your cheesed off with it.if he,s any kind of boss he should help ,ours do.the sun will shine again.don,t go to the states though ,they have hurricanes and politics a lot worse than ours.

Hi kevin,
slightly off subject how are you finding it work in the flt game?i am getting a bit sick of poor pay and harder conditions compared to other similar types of service engineer industries.After 20yrs of fixing trucks i am rapidly losing interest and maybe looking elsewhere for the next 27yrs of my working life,thats if the goverment let me retire at 65.Am i just hitting a poor patch or ready for a change,
cheers mate herald.

i know but can,t help getting stuck in sometimes. learn something new everyday. today i learned that if you don,t put on your coat you,ll get wet

Hi kevin,
I have done this job but a while ago from what i remember the gear on the pump just slides on how does the old one that came off compare to the new one?as i sad its ages since i saw one in bits,maybe you should not poke your nose in :-)

it,s something i poked my nose into today. cause the old gear had to be heated to come off they reckon the new one should be just as tight. it can,t be left loose as there is a gap between it and the flywheel and it would move about.anyway not to worry maybe someone else can cast some light on the situation.ta

never have seen this unit with the hydrastatic pump out but have seen others with the same system... and they just slide on... they need a little bit of give ;; suppose with the crank shaft having a certain amount of side trust it wouldnt be wise to use locktite.....