Working my way through the braking muddle

Being stumped about the size of connectors on the braking system, I ordered a thread gauge from eBay. That arrived and seems pretty good. It seems to be of Russian origin with text on it in Russian. On one side it says M (metric) and on the other, Д (дюймы) which means "inches". The one connector (which I bought a brake line to fit), I measured at 13.8mm and the thread gauge said 18 threads per inch. That pretty well identified the big connector as being 9/16 at 18 threads per inch. That surprised me as I'd thought it would be metric.

Moving down the line to the broken bit, I didn't know what that would be since the two connectors were very well seized. After trying and failing to break them apart with brute force and two wrenches then one wrench and a pair of pliers when the corners came off the smaller nut, I turned to the old trick - heat. A few minutes of heat applied from my pocket butane torch did the trick. Suddenly there was a crack as the two threads separated. Then it all undid easily.

Measuring the threads came out with a puzzle. 10.8mm across the exposed thread and a thread of 22 threads per inch. Now that was a complete surprise since the brake line came in at 6mm rather than 1/4 inch. It makes me suspect that somebody used whatever brake line they had in stock. 

22 threads is a real puzzle as what I can see is 20 being used for coarse thread on a 7/16 flare nut or 24 being used as fine thread. Of course the real test will be whatever is on the other end of the cable I bought from International. I'll buy a couple of 7/16 and 9/16 connectors just to try them out. Once I know what connectors I'm using I'll probably switch the 6mm brake line for real 1/4 inch brake line.  I have to say I'm learning a lot about hydraulic brake lines at the moment.

I might replace all the brake lines with brand new lines. They're not expensive aside from the flexible lines supplied by International. Once that's done I'll have to overhaul the brakes themselves. The pistons are likely seized. I wonder whether I can replace the existing pistons with stainless. That would make it harder for them to seize from inactivity. 

I did look at replacing the hydraulic brakes with air brakes. That would seem to cost a lot more money than it's worth however. Turning the disk brakes would be nice but as that would involve removing the wheels, I'll leave that. Those Dayton wheels look like being a real challenge to get right. It should be possible to switch the hubs out for Budd wheels but again, that's extra cost and probably not worth it.

Having had to heat the brake line to separate the connector, there's no way in tarnation that it would have been possible to separate them any other way. Given that brake fluid is flammible, heating the lines with fluid inside would not have been advisable. That brake line was bound to be replaced.

Now, a cautionary tale...

As many might know, I'm a commercial bus driver driving school busses. Those are fun to drive and the pay is reasonable. What with uncertainty due to Covid, I applied for another job. This was the result of a search on a government jobs website. A few days later I had a call to book anappointment for a phone interview. That, of course, was where I should just have walked away.

So, I did the phone interview and they caught me off guard as I was expecting a call from the company supplying my brake parts. The phone line was particularly awful. Three people carried out a rather boring interview that really didn't see to ask too much to be honest. So, a few days later I was offered the job which I accepted. That's when the fun started.

I was sent a batch of emails with requests for this, that and the other. That included bank account information "for payroll". Now I don't know about you but I don't send bank account information across the internet. That, I just ignored. Then a security clearance document kept being returned to me for insignficant changes such as "fill it out by computer" then "fill it out by computer except these fields". At the same time I was asked "where is the bank account information".

By this time they know my social security number, address, phone numbers, referees and a couple of government IDs. At that time, alarm bells went off in my head... I've never seen anybody from this company. The office is on a military base with no public access (convenient for a scam). All communications have been online or over the phone. Basically - everything had been electronic.

I was asked if I'd been to the drug screening. Well, I looked that company up and their website did not list the office location nor phone number given by the "employer". Looking at the address on Google Maps with Street View, there was an office that looked like one of the fly-by-night weekly rental offices with no permanent signage visible. Needless to say, it was in a rougher area where rent would be lower.  I'm betting that if I went in, I'd be asked to pay for my drug test. As it is a lot further than my normal drive, I didn't visit.

So, on the basis of "if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck and looks like a duck, it must be a duck" I can only conclude this job does not actually exist and that scammers are using the identity of a real company. Fortunately I have a fraud watch on all my accounts and my identity because of previous payroll lapses by employers. I'll have to wait and see.

My last message to the company was 

From my point of view...

I have applied to a company I'd never heard of via the internet. Then I've had a job interview over the phone. At no point have I ever seen any company premises (which seem to be located inside a secure military base, hence no public access).

 

I then receive a security clearance form which is then returned to me multiple times despite being correctly completed each time.  Additionally, I receive forms requiring bank account information.

 

Meanwhile, not one of my referees has reported back that they have been contacted. 

 

It's not just me but my friends and relatives too that consider this whole situation to be distinctly fishy.

Yes - believe it or not - I was offered this "position" without anybody contacting referees. That tells me an awful lot right there. Needless to say, about an hour after sending that email, somebody phoned and left voicemail asking me to contact them. It should be as clear as day from the message that I sent that I'm unlikely to trust a company whose office I have never visited. More so when the numbers used seem to trace back solely to mobile service providers.

Let's just say that I'm still very happy with my existing employer - just a little worried about the future BUT the future can be resolved when it happens. The idea of resigning to take this job never crossed my mind as the warning bells were getting louder since the initial application. I have never taken a job where I have not visited the company beforehand.

So... keep your eyes open. There are scammers even on government jobs websites. This is why I normally never ever apply for jobs via websites.