Faultybrakewarning
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A SERVICE bulletin issued recently by Clayton Dewandre, the brake component manufacturer, warns again of the extreme danger of tampering with spring brake actuators.
"Despite warnings displayed on the units and procedures outlined in service literature many unsafe methods seem to be widely practised," reads the bulletin.
Clayton Dewandre has been prompted to raise the subject, publicised many times before, by the return of a recent consignment of old units in a dangerous condition.
One photograph in the bulletin shows an "R" type unit on which all the retaining bolts have been removed and the end cover twisted round in an attempt to disassemble the unit. The cylin der and end cover bolt holes are subsequently out of line, thus preventing replacement of retaining bolts. To prevent the unit flying apart, the cylinder has been hammered over the alu minium alloy end cover which was cracked and could have led to fragmenting and explosion of the unit. Clayton Dewandre warns those responsible for returning such dangerous material which is liable to cause grievous injury to its agents and staff that they are liable to prosecution for negligence.
Units which have bolts missing from around the cylinder casing or circlips missing from spring housings, or obviously fractured casings, should not be accepted or handled.