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What was going on gmule that forced you to use a scope? Not doubting you just wondering? Cause I have yet to run into a time I have needed it but, i did buy it so i would like to have an excuse 😛 Been a tech for 5 yrs and i get a lot of the really screwy stuff which is why i bought it and the fact that me and a friend/co-worker are thinking of trying to do a scanner danner type of channel with big rigs. Still in this would be a cool idea stage.
In all honesty I haven’t used an o-scope since I left school. Honestly you really do not need one if you know what you are doing and have access to dealer level information. Update all modules. Hook up the scan tool monitor the voltage and PID of what is malfunctioning go for a drive. Go to your test drive roads. IE pot holes the size of texas, speed bumps, s curves, inside and outside banked curves, etc. Then do voltage drops on wires, inspect pins/connectors for fit, corrosion, etc. If it passes voltage drop and inspection great it is sensor, actuator, etc and replace and test drive. If it doesn’t fix it replace module.
In all honesty you should be able to listen to injectors and know they are going bad verify with noid light not wiring and done. Low amp probe and dmm for alternators. Unplug fuses/connectors for modules puking on the can network.
Explain to me in what circumstance an o-scope is actually required?
Using a Modis with corresponding keys to get manufacturer and obd codes. Been very busy unfortnately and just go to looking at the forum page.
It is not the battery…… Just to be on the safe side i also ordered new wires and obd adapter from SO because i bought the Modis used. I only used it once or twice.
I still believe it is a can wiring issue my guess is probably next to trans but, could be anywhere really.
TY for the tsb and recall info.
I hope to get it up on blocks tomm and get under it and see what i can see but, depends on weather.
Fluke 28 II Rugged Digital Multi meter. It is on my list of stuff i need to buy later on. atm i have been doing ok with an extech.
As for the 233 i doubt u will be able to use it with tons of interference in the area.
I am assuming you mean a Flex Head but, there are many types of ratchets.
If you are going for a flex head and you want cheap get Expert . They are cheap relatively speaking, industrial, and very hard to break. You can buy them on Amazon. Only down side is they are pinned so the head will get loose and floppy but, it will work and are very hard to break.
There is also this style:
I own this one and I like but, the wide head gets in the way a fair amount.
There are also a lot more other styles but, they are normally specialty.
Get old metal spring type. Cut it to length and use the drive sizes you want. Use a bolt at the ends to prevent from sliding all the way off. Harbor Freight has them
That is the cheapest way.
Hey can you give me a link to a good website to look up the TSBs and/or that particular TSB. I am looking for myself but, I can not remember what the good site i had for that is.
Also tyvm college man and gmule.
Yeah the 650/750 are a great truck but, there are some issues with the new ones. Mainly with wires run near the fuse box up by the fender they are not loomed fully and like to rub through. There is also recalls on seats for them from like 20011 up. That and I wouldn’t get any engine in the newer ones other then a cummins and I would highly suggest an allison but…..
In the US:
For 20 techs
Most places have 1-2 Laptops with manufacturer software. If independent it will likely be a Snap-On Verus or the like.
You will have 1-2 smoke machines.
1-2 A/C Machines
DMM
Battery Charger / Tester (Normally not load pile)Most places do not have o-scopes if they are a dealer. Independents only have them if they have expensive Snap-On tools. Compression/Leak down testers would be owned by techs not a shop so hit or miss. No place has had a proper straight edge (people use rulers, yard sticks, or levels which is hilariously bad. Here you normally just send it to a machine shop to have them look at anything like that. Most places will have a lead set for pins but, rarely a backprobing kit unless required by the manufacturer.
Btw, i have worked at 2 dealerships and pepboys both dealerships were large. I personally own an O-scope have a pair of cheap back probes I made that work in 99% of applications cost me a wopping $10 USD. Compression/Leak detectors are mechanics owned I own an auto one but, not diesel and most big rig dealerships do not own one. A good diesel one is $5k for all the proper attachments and is really easy to break the parts on. Hell coolant pressure testers are hit and miss.
If it is a major dealership I would tell them to suck it up butter cup and buy proper diagnostic tools. My guess though is they have these things just the techs are lying to you because they know what the issue is because they caused it or they think they know exactly what it is (likely wrong in this case) so they are trying to get you to tell them what they want to hear. Also in the US techs are made to supply a large amount of the diagnostic equipment (Should be illegal if you ask me) but, they could be modeling the buisness’ off of that. I would make sure you get the actual tech on the phone and level with him about it. If you can shut off recordings if you even have them you can tell him that to make him feel more at ease.
My main issue with people asking questions when I am working is I am trying to keep my train of thought. I get easily side tracked and having someone talk to me very easily has my mind wonder. I did IT when I was doing IT i could do that as it is mostly a mental thing and you are not trying to manipulate things with your body, balance on tires etc, and think about any of the other possibilities all at the same time as talking to someone. My other issue is if I explain something most people do not understand and then i have to explain it as simply as possible and then they still don’t get it so i have to move to analogies and all of that takes time to think about instead of me diagnosing.
As for literally being able to see me work my problems are:
If I use short cuts some of them are not safe, it saves time that the customer then argues they do not want to pay, I may be bending things and they will think I am breaking them, I may do stuff they would think is damaging their vehicle which is not, they may see me using a micro torch, torch, etc and think I am going to burn their vehicle down, I may do stuff that is against what they told the service writer to actually fix their problem, etc All of those I have had customers yell at me for none of which did damage to them, the vehicle, or me.
I have had customers try to do what I have done and hurt themselves and claim it is my fault or the companies fault. I have done things in an order as required for warranty that wastes countless hours because I have to have recorded snapshots of tests in order for parts to get covered and get chewed out for wasting their time and money. I have gotten yelled at for eating a snack or grabbing a drink while the vehicle is going through diagnostic tests that do not require me to be at the vehicle. If I have to go and help another tech they get mad because they are getting charged the time that I am helping the other tech. When doing a/c work I am not at the vehicle when I set it for automatic vacuum, dye/oil injection and charging yet we charge for that time.
In my experience fish bowls and allowing customers in the shop just creates more issues. Not to mention it is very unsafe because in most cases that glass is not safety glass. A socket off a 3/4 gun can go right through that and hit a customer. You can have hydraulics blow and cut through the glass and the customer. You have pressurized tanks which can explode. You can have a lift fail and put a vehicle right through the window.
So ya that is why I don’t like windows or customers in the shop.
I have had a lot of experience with this. When i worked for pep-boys I was at a bay with 2 windows into the waiting room. Needless to say I felt like i was in a literal fish bowl. Not only would I have the customer watching me but, other customers as well. They would follow me out to the service writer desk when it was their car and I was asked many times what i was doing by customers. I would normally talk over their head after about 2 weeks i just started saying my job and walk back into the shop.
Then when I started to do work on big rigs i was moved to a fleet location to do warranty work on all their fleet vehicles all the time. Needless to say it was a big fleet. I would often have drivers lingering watching me and asking me questions. This gets very frustrating very fast for me. The main reason I am not here to teach and they are slowing me down. The other thing is it increases the chance of mistakes due to the constant interruptions. I don’t mind going over what i did generally but, as I am doing it or when the person does not understand mechanics at all I often do not like to do it. This did work both ways though because generally i could get a lot more information from the driver and narrow down the diag very very quickly and also some you could tell knew what they were talking about and then i listened and checked what they said first. This also greatly cut down on diagnostic time.
Then there is my best friend he has been learning mechanics through me. As I fix his Acura NSX i explain everything and he asks questions and I explain. This can be annoying when I have limited time and I am trying to just get the car back on the road. I do not mind doing this with him because he is actually mechanically inclined, has common sense, and the ability to troubleshoot.
With me working on Big Rigs you tend to have a lot more people coming to their vehicle to get stuff because this is literally their home for at least 5 days out of the week if not 7 days a week 45+ weeks a year. This makes for very interesting things when it comes to what is in the truck and also how connected they are with their vehicle and how they will become greatly concerned when things are being worked on and where you need to go in the vehicle. I have had one driver come back to a truck 20 times in 4 hrs. This I would say is the worst version of this. They try to tell you that you cannot go into things you need to go into to fix the vehicle ie cabinets, shelves, under the bunk, etc. They also will just get into the vehicle regardless of where you are. I had one start it up while i was under the truck. I had one start it up when my hand was literally 2 inches from the fan blades. Had another start it up with coolant lines disconnected and another with oil filter out and another with oil lines disconnect. Had them do it with the air cleaner off and nearly sucked some of my tools into the intake cause the filter was off. Had them climb up into the vehicle while i was running diagnostic tests and bump the computer and interrupt the test some of which take hours cause you now have to have the vehicle cool down again. I have had them do the same while i was programming and yelled at them to get out. Had them slip on tools i had on steps and try to yell at me. I also have had plenty of piss bombs/jugs and other nasty things all over the truck and somtimes those jugs/things leak all over.
See when you are in a big rig shop the shop is very very big and it is normally hard to keep track of people because of its size and the fact that the foremans/service writers are normally so busy they do not have time to police the customers. Sometimes you can refuse work because of piss and other bodily fluids. Other times because it is a big fleet or a major customer you just have to “suck it up buttercup”.
Got a severe bone bruise from taiwan vise grips and that job was a parking brake cable connector recall. The release handle bent too far and I had to pull it apart and the whole tool is now twisted 1/8 “to 1/4” and had to buy replacements and replacements for my other taiwan ones as i have had other metallurgical issues with them. Ended up taking a cut-off wheel to the connector to get it off normally 15min job 1.5 hrs.
Day before had an A/C job that was replacing one line and the drier. Everything was rusted to hell and back had to park the Fuso in between a two post lift for cars and ended up helping 3 other techs during that job along with having it be over 100F in the shop at 90% humidity. 4 hours longer then it should have taken. Also nicked my knuckle with the cut-off wheel because if we actually stocked metric bolts we would see flying pigs over a frozen lake in hell.
Pulled my car in to do some minor work on it as it decided to try and rival smoke gernades every time I shift and pull away from a stop (VW TDI BRM Engine). So put it up on the lift and find my turbo oil drain banjo bolt loose, my air filter was blacker then a stealth bomber, my maf sensor was dirty as hell, needed and oil change. Do all that and runs smooth as silk as it spew the same amount but, slightly cleaner smoke out the tail end. I am thinking injector issues only $890+ a piece.
My home Air conditioner quit and since everyone swares the unit is too old and that is the problem (either don’t know how or won’t diag it) I spent my whole weekend trying to trouble shoot an unlabeled every wire is the same color old ass hvac and had to restore 2 older window units and buy a third so i can have air for my sickly parents while I try to fix the gd thing. (Medical bills came in and no money in bank for new units)
Miss diagnosed brakes on a truck. Mainly because of the heat/humidity and lack of a viable bay and not being able to move the truck due to another being towed in placed in front of it..
Had my entire box rained on 3x which is great when your top is water absorbent and warps and rusts the handy man type tool box you got from your grand father so bad that the paint starts to flake off.
My knee pad decided to absorb pag oil a co worker spilled and “didn’t notice”.
Broke up with my girlfriend this week.
So ya one of those weeks, definitely.
Just bought lightly used Vise Grips made in the Peterson plant 10R, 10WR, 7WR, 5WR, 6LN. Had the taiwan made ones and they gave me a severe bone bruise on my left thumb joint because the release handle bent and had to pry the handles apart to release it. I tried snap ring pliers to no avail trying to prevent hurting myself.
Basically every tool is getting cheaper and I am really starting to get concerned about the safety of them any more.
I would look for a big dealership. Like one with multiple buildings and brands or one brand with 20+ bays.
I am going to tell you right now that standard repair times, ie flag hours, and/or warranty time are all bull. They have been for at least the past 10-15yrs. There is no possible way to meet them unless you have done 30-40 vehicles and they are all brand new and untouched by other idiot mechanics.
I rarely if ever make the times they want. Why because I fix it right. I get yelled at time to time for it but, at the end of the day I get the shit work no one and i mean no one will do. I also get the shit that has been through 2-3 other techs and they can not fix it. My Service Manager hates me because I am an inevitable result of a broken system. I get the fucked up shit and fix it right to have the company save face. It happens time and time again. Your boss doesn’t understand this or has another tech to fill that spot.
As for oil changes are you upselling? That is the whole reason oil changes are so cheap and you are given so little time. Because you are supposed to upsell and make more money. Depending on the area this can be impossible in impoverished areas. Find shit wrong, do not make shit up but, find shit wrong. I normally go over on every oil change, pm, dot, safety inspection. Though I also have a laundry list for us to pick and choose from to repair things. So in the end we normally wind up with at least 3-4hrs of other work per customer that accepts it which is about 60-70% so it greatly offsets that time. I am guessing you are either not finding enough to upsell or you are not in an area that will allow it.
Once again though those times are absolute crap and barely meetable by people that do it on the regular.