@neilly An apprentice training establishment, and the instructors, should be able to remove any failed mechanical component, strip it down to identify exactly why it has failed, replace the component part, reassemble and refit it in place.
The instructors should be highly skilled, qualkified and experienced, and as part of their instruction, should keep a constant check on the condition of the cmponent parts throughout, and monitor the abilities of the students.
It would apppear thgat, although they are able to 'sign off' students to C&G levels 1, 2 and 3 in 'motor mechanics', they are not capable of the basic mechanical skills, and it certainly appears that all they do is take a bit off, and fit a new one, and if that doesn't work change something else until it does, whilst charging over 'commercial rates' throughout, with no limits on the time taken, as 'it takes longer to train young people up'.
I went there as the Landy would give them experience of workking on a real vehicle for a change.
So far it has cost over £2250 for the gearbox, which they said was beyond repair, but wouldn't allow me to be there when it was removed and stripped down, all new parts purchased, and not used (which should belong to me, as I have paid for and never seen any trace of them), before sending the geatbox to Ashcrofts, who rightly charged a premium as it had already been stripped!
After putting it alll back together, along with a siezed propshaft ( however that happened!!) the front diff failed, and I paid for an independent examiner to provide me with a full report, which backs up my initial findings.
They then towed my Landy from their premises, where it had been SORN'd as they had had her for 7 weeks and done nothing, and towed her back and dumped her outside my house, reporting an untaxed vehicle and it's locatiion to the DVLA at 09;00 the same day!
Why should I ask my son for assistance when he lives half way down the country, and even though it would be easier with two people, I will have to do it on my own, which is why I wondered if there was an easy way of locating the halfshafts wihout strpping the balls down.
Unfortunately, it's rain stops play at the moment, so it might have to wait until tomorrow, if that's OK?