The mechanic who worked on a truck later involved in a freak accident in which a man was killed defended his work when he appeared in the Coroner's Court yesterday.
Eddie Tavinor, aged 32, of Pukekohe, died instantly when a part of the oncoming truck's driveshaft smashed through the windscreen
of his ute in November 2000.
The father of three was driving north on Auckland's Southern Motorway when the driveshaft broke off the container truck and hurtled across the median barrier.
Aaron White, who works at Mitsubishi Motors-owned Roadlife Trucks in Penrose, was the main mechanic for a gearbox job on the truck 11 days before the accident.
On the third day of the hearing, before coroner Dr Murray Jamieson, Mr White said he had not been trained in the maintenance of the Dana/Spicer driveshaft and had not seen any manual relating to the product.
He was unaware of a requirement to replace existing retaining straps or to use a torque wrench.
The court heard this week that modifications or poor maintenance might have contributed to the accident.
Among possible factors in the driveshaft failure were inadequate lubrication of the bearing, leaving debris which could cause excessive wear, and the re-use of bearing retaining straps.
Mr White told the court he had checked that the bearings were purged and filled with new grease.
Had there had been any wear and tear, he would have expected to find it.
Asked by Mitsubishi Motors' lawyer Les Taylor about a suggestion that he had been rushed and did not have enough time to complete the work properly, Mr White said: "I don't rush my jobs".
Lawyer Catherine Garvey, appearing for Mr Tavinor's family, asked Mr White how he could be sure of the details, given that he had worked on hundreds of trucks since the accident.
Ms Garvey: "There was nothing out of the ordinary with this job was there?"
Mr White: "Not that I can recall."
Mr White said he had written down what he did, not simply what his usual practice was.
Asked about his experience, Mr White said he had gained a lot of experience in his 10 to 12 years as a mechanic.
Robin Elisak, an engineer commissioned by police to investigate the driveshaft failure, will testify at the hearing today.