Well, the SM fired the FNG on the 3rd (finally), and we had one guy take this week to go on a motorcycle ride.

I had a good week, avg about 12hrs a day, and have a job sitting on the rack to finish tues that's about 75% done and pays 10 hrs. Tues is the last day of the pay period.

I went to work pissed off and left in a pretty damn good mood.  We weren't "slammed" but we were busy enough to use the computerized dispatch for the first time in two months.  Ran out around 2, but I had some upsells that actually made it and ended with about 15 or 16 hours.  

The car seemed to run a little better on the way home, the grass looked a little greener, and the a/c in my house blew a little colder.  For once I am happy again.

I went to day one of advanced climate control diagnosis today.  Lectured, did some hands on stuff, and now I'm back in the hotel.  I ordered a pizza and I'm watching the All-Star Game, while making more hours than I'd probably make back at the shop.

That's a damn shame.

Advanced?  Stepper motors, LIN bus, IR sensors and the like?  Variable displacement compressors, and not an orifice tube in sight?  Details man details!!!!

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: Advanced?  Stepper motors, LIN bus, IR sensors and the like?  Variable displacement compressors, and not an orifice tube in sight?  Details man details!!!!

Well, it's called an advanced class, but really it's the only climate control class Uncle Henry offers.  It covers everything from the basics of heat transfer to electronic temp control theory and diagnosis.  This morning was more of the basic operation and mechanical bits and pieces of the system.  Tomorrow, we're delving into the electronics and PCM controls.

This is a compressor.  C-o-m-p-r-e-s-s-o-r.  It is bolted to the engine.  You know the big thing under the hood that gets really hot.  

Today started off jobless.... looked to be another "monday".  My first job was a 1999 ML430.  Client does not speak english.  Has those little flags from another country on the vehicle.  

The vehicle had 164K miles on it.  It had not been to the dealer in years.  The window switches detached from the wood on the console, and some genious put screws THROUGH the wood to reattach the switches.  The switches would have cost a negligible amount to have replaced.  

A power steering hose was also repaired in that backyard manner, and it would have been covered under an extended warranty.  I'm sure that would have saved the individual who did this repair a shitload of trouble.  

This vehicle has a "lamella roof", which is a gigantic sunroof, that has a lot of individual panels that fold up and stack at the rear of the vehicle.  It was a rare option, and is an unbelievable pain in the fucking ass.  The feature is cool, but it never worked very well in the real world.  Leaks, rattles, chewing itself to bits, and jamming were just a few things to expect, along with an enormous repair bill.  It didn't stay in production long.    Well they claim its leaking.  I refused to even look at it, unless they are prepared to replace the entire assembly and spend thousands to do it.  It already had a few things obviously wrong, and replacing the entire roof would be the only cure.... if there is even one available.  

The check engine light was on.  It apparently had been on for a long time.  I've got no less than five separate issues there.  

All in all, it would cost a lot less to just replace the vehicle.  We will see how far that goes.  I don't even want to work on this gigantic pile of festering shit.  

Afterwards, a very old upsell came in.  Stuff I upsold in november.  I got a service, a brake flush, spark plugs out of it, then upsold some brakes, trans service, a battery, and some other junk.  

I did some other odds and ends, replaced a steering lock and ignition switch on an SLK, among other things.  

Then I got tricked.  "Hey can you mount two tires real quick?"  
I don't normally do tire work.  So I figured they were desperate to ask me.  Then it ended up being  used car.  A lexus SC430 (huge pile of shit, no comparison to MB).  Then to add insult to injury, RUNFLAT tires.  I damn near gave myself a hernia.  I'd never dealt with them before.  Turns out all you need is WD40 and a 300 pound guy on the tire iron.  Stand back and watch him tear the beads.....  It took almost two hours to mount two tires.  I did manage to finagle two hours out of this job, which should have paid only one hour.  

I closed out the day with 20 hours flagged.  Then I started on my SLK project.  Wiring haness has engine oil wicking through it.  The engine control unit has been on backorder for two weeks, and it came in this afternoon.  So I have a few hours to spend on it in the morning.  

Great day, and I am absolutely thrilled to have some work in the shop finally.  Monday hurt me bad.... but I'm already sitting on 40 hours and I have two days left to go!  This is how it should be this time of year, busy!

Quintin......just what exactly does water cooling do for a PCV valve?...2001 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L [R] engine.

I'm busy, but can't hire any good help.  Been trying to hire a good diagnostician for 2 weeks. $35.00 per hour MINIMIUM.

Originally Posted By gwitness: Quintin......just what exactly does water cooling do for a PCV valve?...2001 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L [R] engine.

PCV I've never seen or heard of being water cooled.  I have heard of water cooled EGR, but that is on a diesel.  

Originally Posted By gwitness: Quintin......just what exactly does water cooling do for a PCV valve?...2001 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L [R] engine.

It's not there for cooling, it's there for heating.  It keeps the PCV system from freezing in extreme cold.

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By gwitness: Quintin......just what exactly does water cooling do for a PCV valve?...2001 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L [R] engine. It's not there for cooling, it's there for heating.  It keeps the PCV system from freezing in extreme cold.

ahhh...now it makes sense...the vehicle is a transplant from an eastern state...never gets that cold here.

Originally Posted By gwitness: Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By gwitness: Quintin......just what exactly does water cooling do for a PCV valve?...2001 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L [R] engine. It's not there for cooling, it's there for heating.  It keeps the PCV system from freezing in extreme cold. ahhh...now it makes sense...the vehicle is a transplant from an eastern state...never gets that cold here.

A lot of Fords have heated PCV systems regardless of where they're from.  Back then, they used coolant to heat them, today they have electronic heating elements and are controlled by the PCM.

I got slammed today with a double whammy.  

The SLK I started yesterday went perfectly.  Which means that the rest of the day had to suck.  

I pulled a raggedy ass shitbox S430 badged as an S55amg.  Service, and some other stuff.  Somebody was tinkering and stuck a 40 amp fuse in a 15 amp slot.  Diagnosis declined.  

Someone swapped some bulbs around and lost a few.  Diagnosis declined.  

He wanted a single piece of seat trim replaced, never mind the four broken parts around it.  And the seat didn't work properly.  Diagnosis declined.  

Check engine light.  I pulled codes for catalyst efficiency.  He said he had them checked somewhere else and it was a "temperature sensor".  Repairs declined.  

The car was junk.  The wipers were rotting off the arms.  The rest the car wasn't much better.  Every repair declined.  I wasted a good 3 hours on it.  

Next was the "foriegn country" ML430 from yesterday.  They bought every repair for the check engine light.  $1800 worth.  So I put on all the parts.  Then the engine started stalling.  I tracked the problem to the airmass sensor, which was just replaced.  I installed another one, same deal.  I checked voltages and resistances and the harness, and couldn't find anything wrong.  The engine computer would get a value in it, and then that value wouldn't change.  The sensor read 16 kg/hr even with the engine shut off.  Eventually I opened the control module box, and discovered the cooling fan had died.  So the engine computer had overheated and fried.  Now its going to double the cost of the original estimate.  

I spent the rest of the afternoon on that turd trying to get it ironed out.  I finally sent in the new estimate and left for the day.  

Next was the "foriegn country" ML430 from yesterday. They bought every repair for the check engine light. $1800 worth. So I put on all the parts. Then the engine started stalling. I tracked the problem to the airmass sensor, which was just replaced. I installed another one, same deal. I checked voltages and resistances and the harness, and couldn't find anything wrong. The engine computer would get a value in it, and then that value wouldn't change. The sensor read 16 kg/hr even with the engine shut off. Eventually I opened the control module box, and discovered the cooling fan had died. So the engine computer had overheated and fried. Now its going to double the cost of the original estimate.

So perhaps those $1800 of repairs weren't necessary since the computer was bad after all?

Originally Posted By asknight: So perhaps those $1800 of repairs weren't necessary since the computer was bad after all?

No, the computer was bad on top of those $1800 repairs.  That problem couldn't be uncovered until the known faulty parts were replaced.  The computer will operate in limp home mode and act strangely when the check engine light is on.  This particular example had five seperate causes for the check engine light.  

You must first eliminate the obvious to find the not so obvious.  Which is why I used an "open ended estimate" to cover my ass.  I didn't say "fix these five things and I guarantee the car is repaired", I said "We need to start with these five things because the vehicle is in such poor shape I can't tell if there might be another problem".  

A faulty crank sensor will make the engine shut off.  A faulty oxygen sensor will make it run rich, A faulty stop lamp switch and transfer case motor will make it shift improperly.  All of which are also symptoms of a failing mass air flow sensor.  

Some problems you just can't find until you get in there and start repairing the others.  Much like finding rotted siding on your house.  You have to pull that off first and then you might find some rotted structural wood.  

The point I'd like to make is that the customer waited too long.  They let the problems get so far out of control before they brought it in, that it is going to be a major expense to repair it.  They also had some shadetree working on it, which only made the situation worse.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: Originally Posted By asknight: So perhaps those $1800 of repairs weren't necessary since the computer was bad after all? No, the computer was bad on top of those $1800 repairs.  That problem couldn't be uncovered until the known faulty parts were replaced.  The computer will operate in limp home mode and act strangely when the check engine light is on.  This particular example had five seperate causes for the check engine light.   You must first eliminate the obvious to find the not so obvious.  Which is why I used an "open ended estimate" to cover my ass.  I didn't say "fix these five things and I guarantee the car is repaired", I said "We need to start with these five things because the vehicle is in such poor shape I can't tell if there might be another problem".   Some problems you just can't find until you get in there and start repairing the others.  Much like finding rotted siding on your house.  You have to pull that off first and then you might find some rotted structural wood.   The point I'd like to make is that the customer waited too long.  They let the problems get so far out of control before they brought it in, that it is going to be a major expense to repair it.  They also had some shadetree working on it, which only made the situation worse.

You rock.  Good job.  Your Service Manager is fortunate to have you.  I wish I could have found more technicians like you when I was a Service Manager.  

Today was another total bust.  I turned five hours on Mercedes.  

I got one service, a light bulb, another light bulb wiring repair that the car needed $5K of repairs and of course declined all of them (suspension was literally ready to collapse in front), and perhaps some more not so memorable shit jobs that paid nothing.  

I spent a couple hours on a side job.  A Mercury mountaineer that one of the sales guys bought.  They stole it on a trade in, $9K for a 50K mile loaded model that is clean as a pin and damn near perfect.  

I put a serpentine belt on that it didn't need at the owners insistence.  (quintin, I feel for ya brother.  I went up and down with the lift 10 times putting the belt on a little bit at a time), oil change, rotate and balance, air filter and cleaned air mass sensor.  It needs brake pads.  He wanted to do a transmission service but I declined after seeing it was a "fill from the bottom" unit.  He had the dealer do it after I got done.  I made sixty bucks cash off that deal.  Which means I can buy groceries this weekend.  

I drove the blazer to work and tinkered some more.  Fucker leaked all the refrigerant out again, appears to be the same schrader valve I already replaced.  Its the first time I've had it at work in probably 2 months.  I never drive it anymore.  

So I think I closed the week at 55 hours or so.  A damn sight better than last week.  Still nowhere near where I need to be.  

The matco man finally relented to all my arm twisting.  I bludgeoned him down to $800 for an $1100 smoke pro machine and got it for $20 weekly payments.  All the boss will do is say we already have a smoke machine even though it is a worthless piece of shit.  I hated to spend the money, but I hate even worse getting stuck with evap leaks and praying that the part I threw at it will work.  Finding an actual tank leak or a hose leak is like finding a fart in a hurricane at my shop.  

Today was my first day back from school, and I decided that I should have stayed in school.  4.7 hours flagged, ran out of work at around 3:00.  

Started off the morning well enough, Grand Marquis with an "A/C does not work" complaint.  Griped at the service writer (note, I said writer, not adviser...there is a difference) that "blower motor inop" (which was the real complaint - the refrigerant system worked just fine) and "A/C does not work" are not the same concern, and to please clarify with the customer in the future in regards to this.  A blower motor speed controller got them squared away and cruising down the road.

Got an LS that some other shop diagnosed, told the customer that a tune up and a coil would fix their concern.  The car was a heap, airbag light on, check engine light on, trans shifted harshly.  I offered to recheck their work, but noooo, just put some plugs and a coil in it.  I checked the codes anyways just to satisfy my own curiosity, had a 1-1 HO2S heater fault which I'm sure will come back.  Slammed some plugs and a coil in it and sent them on their way, with an express note on the ticket stating that we didn't diagnose or verify anything, all repairs were done per the customer's request.

Did a snake oil induction service, and the service manager came to me, wanting me to look at a Monterey that's been giving another drivability guy fits.  Had lean codes in it, surged and stumbled at idle.  He put intake gaskets, plugs, wires, and a processor in it to no avail.  He's been working on it for about three weeks off and on now, and obviously the customer wants their van back.  I spent about ten minutes doing a visual once-over and found a dead bug stuck on the heated wire of the mass air sensor.  Scraped the dead critter off, hit the MAF with some contact cleaner, reset KAM and the problem went away - sometimes I'm so fuckin' good I scare myself.  Of course, I didn't make a dime off it, but thus is life I guess.  The customer got their van back, they're happy, so it ain't a total loss.

Tomorrow's my Saturday to work, so I'll be the goober-loober bitch for a few hours.  Saturdays ain't nothing but oil changes and tire rotations, but I only have to work one every 5-6 weeks or so, so it ain't too bad and it's a little extra time.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I put a serpentine belt on that it didn't need at the owners insistence.  (quintin, I feel for ya brother.  I went up and down with the lift 10 times putting the belt on a little bit at a time),

Wait 'till you have to put an evaporator or a temperature control door in one of those fuckers.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: The matco man finally relented to all my arm twisting.  I bludgeoned him down to $800 for an $1100 smoke pro machine and got it for $20 weekly payments.  All the boss will do is say we already have a smoke machine even though it is a worthless piece of shit.  I hated to spend the money, but I hate even worse getting stuck with evap leaks and praying that the part I threw at it will work.  Finding an actual tank leak or a hose leak is like finding a fart in a hurricane at my shop.

I don't mind buying tools to do my job, but if it's an essential tool the dealership is supposed to have, and I have to buy one myself to do the job, the labor times have just gone up to pay for said tool.

Our smoke machine sucks too.  Fortunately, Fords are predictable enough with evap leaks that I can make a reasonable stab at them and fix it, or rig our cobbled together duct-tape-and-zip-ties smoke machine work well enough to help me find a leak.

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I put a serpentine belt on that it didn't need at the owners insistence.  (quintin, I feel for ya brother.  I went up and down with the lift 10 times putting the belt on a little bit at a time), Wait 'till you have to put an evaporator or a temperature control door in one of those fuckers. Originally Posted By saturnstyl: The matco man finally relented to all my arm twisting.  I bludgeoned him down to $800 for an $1100 smoke pro machine and got it for $20 weekly payments.  All the boss will do is say we already have a smoke machine even though it is a worthless piece of shit.  I hated to spend the money, but I hate even worse getting stuck with evap leaks and praying that the part I threw at it will work.  Finding an actual tank leak or a hose leak is like finding a fart in a hurricane at my shop.   I don't mind buying tools to do my job, but if it's an essential tool the dealership is supposed to have, and I have to buy one myself to do the job, the labor times have just gone up to pay for said tool. Our smoke machine sucks too.  Fortunately, Fords are predictable enough with evap leaks that I can make a reasonable stab at them and fix it, or rig our cobbled together duct-tape-and-zip-ties smoke machine work well enough to help me find a leak.

I buy lots o' shop tools, including a great smoke machine with an extra big ass bottle of nitrogen. Some of the best money I've ever spent, but I use it to find intake leaks (mostly WRX/Evo/928/930) more than anything.


I hate working Saturdays. Part of the reason I started my own shop.


Where I then proceeded to work more Saturdays than I ever have.

The Smoke Pro uses shop air from my understanding.... but since we also have shop nitrogen, then it stands to reason that if I chose to use it then it would be fine.  

The old argument is that nitrogen won't oxygenate the fuel system which may lead to a fire/explosion doesn't work with me.  I see two advantages.  1) I no longer need to find the leak I was after, and 2) we will get a brand new shop out of the deal.  

I briefly looked at the leak tamer, but I really like the smoke pro.  Its also sold by several of our tool guys so getting parts should be a snap.  Plus I wrangled the price down significantly, where as the leak tamer retailer was "doing me a favor" by letting me have it for $1100 with the "optional" regulator/guage kit that is now included in the price for $1200.  I also didn't like the special smoke fluid.  Smoke pro uses baby oil.  I guess If I wanted to get really technical, I could drop some UV dye in the tank and see if it did anything.  Smoke is smoke.  It really shouldn't need dye.  

I also noticed that over the course of the week, I loaned out several high dollar tools.  That shit might have to stop.  I hate to do it, but it might be time to starve some of those cheap bastards out of work or force them to spend some money.  

Originally Posted By Quintin: Started off the morning well enough, Grand Marquis with an "A/C does not work" complaint.  Griped at the service writer (note, I said writer, not adviser...there is a difference) that "blower motor inop" (which was the real complaint - the refrigerant system worked just fine) and "A/C does not work" are not the same concern, and to please clarify with the customer in the future in regards to this.

LOL, Man I can relate to that. It's one of my biggest gripes to the SM. My first job today says, "Cust states drivers seat is broken". It was an 8 way power seat and everything seemed to work just fine. Wasn't loose, didn't wobble. had the "advisor" go back and ask the cust exactly what's broken (i.e. what doesn't work now that worked before). The manual lumbar adjustment lever wouldn't move.

Next job is in an Infiniti G20 with manual trans (glorified Sentra). 2nd line on RO says, "Cust states clutch pedal goes to floor". Well duh, it's supposed to when you step on it. didn't say it stayed down, or the clutch wouldn't disengage or anything like you would expect. I noticed the floor mat wasn't on the hook and was half rolled up under the clutch pedal. Fixed it and then asked the "advisor" for clarification of the problem. You guessed it. Cust real problem was sometimes the clutch pedal would NOT go down far enough to release the clutch and they would grind the gears trying to shift.

Service "advisors". Yeah, right.

Tomorrow's my Saturday to work, so I'll be the goober-loober bitch for a few hours.  Saturdays ain't nothing but oil changes and tire rotations, but I only have to work one every 5-6 weeks or so, so it ain't too bad and it's a little extra time.

Me too. Except I had to work every Saturday this month. Had to miss 2 matches because of it.

At least my first 80 hour pay period this month was worth 121 hours to me

While we're griping about stuff....

Today I had to replace some intake gaskets and a knock sensor (under the intake manifold) on a Xterra V6. Veh had 131,000 miles on it.

I start taking things apart and every single plastic, harness retaining clip/tie has been broken or cut. Including all the ones for the injector harness under the plenum. Obviously someone had been in there before.

After I finished the job I went and checked the customers file. She bought the veh at our place and the file was an inch thick. She'd had every single service / repair done at our place. Turns out back when the thing was only a year or so old, with 18K on it, a guy who used to work for us replaced the knock sensor. The only time the plenum and intake have been off the engine.

I don't know about you guys, but that kind of work just infuriates me. It's hack work. It's "flat rater" work. It's sloppy, needless, careless and looks like crap. Not to mention all those harness tie points are there for a reason. I really pride myself on taking the time to carefully unclip those ties so everything can go right back where it was and leave a nice clean look when I'm done. I take pride in the fact that when people look at a job I've finished, they have to really look to see that the engine or part of it has been disassembled.

And yes, I do make time on my jobs. Even most of the warranty ones.

The guys that do sloppy work are the same ones who screw things up that I have to fix the next day, next week or next month.

I am the lucky hybrid tech at our shop so I get the tahoe that comes in. There is a campaign out for reprogramming 5 modules and replacing the high voltage impact sensor. It paid a whopping 1.3

Originally Posted By Pthfndr: Originally Posted By Quintin: Started off the morning well enough, Grand Marquis with an "A/C does not work" complaint.  Griped at the service writer (note, I said writer, not adviser...there is a difference) that "blower motor inop" (which was the real complaint - the refrigerant system worked just fine) and "A/C does not work" are not the same concern, and to please clarify with the customer in the future in regards to this. LOL, Man I can relate to that. It's one of my biggest gripes to the SM. My first job today says, "Cust states drivers seat is broken". It was an 8 way power seat and everything seemed to work just fine. Wasn't loose, didn't wobble. had the "advisor" go back and ask the cust exactly what's broken (i.e. what doesn't work now that worked before). The manual lumbar adjustment lever wouldn't move. Next job is in an Infiniti G20 with manual trans (glorified Sentra). 2nd line on RO says, "Cust states clutch pedal goes to floor". Well duh, it's supposed to when you step on it. didn't say it stayed down, or the clutch wouldn't disengage or anything like you would expect. I noticed the floor mat wasn't on the hook and was half rolled up under the clutch pedal. Fixed it and then asked the "advisor" for clarification of the problem. You guessed it. Cust real problem was sometimes the clutch pedal would NOT go down far enough to release the clutch and they would grind the gears trying to shift. Service "advisors". Yeah, right. Tomorrow's my Saturday to work, so I'll be the goober-loober bitch for a few hours.  Saturdays ain't nothing but oil changes and tire rotations, but I only have to work one every 5-6 weeks or so, so it ain't too bad and it's a little extra time. Me too. Except I had to work every Saturday this month. Had to miss 2 matches because of it. At least my first 80 hour pay period this month was worth 121 hours to me

Complaint:  "Customer states engine missing."

Cause:  "After brief search, located engine under hood of car."

Correction:  "Drew a map to assist customer in locating engine in the future.  See attached."

I'm a shadetree mechanic and working on cars in the summer is always a PITA even in the garage:

1). No A/C
2). Sweating bullets, sweat gets on everything
3). Did I mention the sweat?
4). Bugs/spiders/critters crawling around (I even saw a field mouse scuttle by).

However, it's a LOT better than working on my cars in the MI winters:

1). 0F-20F
2). Fingers get numb
3). After 4 hours of burning a kerosene lamp, the air temp might get to 30F
4). Bitter cold

Most of the new cars just require standard maintenance: engine oil change every 5k-7500 miles and nothing else so I basically plan for an oil change in the spring or fall.

I had to do the tie-rods and tires on my 2000 Crown Vic just a few weeks ago. The sweat isn't a big deal, it's just uncomfortable.

Originally Posted By Pthfndr: While we're griping about stuff.... Today I had to replace some intake gaskets and a knock sensor (under the intake manifold) on a Xterra V6. Veh had 131,000 miles on it. I start taking things apart and every single plastic, harness retaining clip/tie has been broken or cut. Including all the ones for the injector harness under the plenum. Obviously someone had been in there before. After I finished the job I went and checked the customers file. She bought the veh at our place and the file was an inch thick. She'd had every single service / repair done at our place. Turns out back when the thing was only a year or so old, with 18K on it, a guy who used to work for us replaced the knock sensor. The only time the plenum and intake have been off the engine. I don't know about you guys, but that kind of work just infuriates me. It's hack work. It's "flat rater" work. It's sloppy, needless, careless and looks like crap. Not to mention all those harness tie points are there for a reason. I really pride myself on taking the time to carefully unclip those ties so everything can go right back where it was and leave a nice clean look when I'm done. I take pride in the fact that when people look at a job I've finished, they have to really look to see that the engine or part of it has been disassembled. And yes, I do make time on my jobs. Even most of the warranty ones. The guys that do sloppy work are the same ones who screw things up that I have to fix the next day, next week or next month.

Totally agreed. One of the reasons I don't pay flat rate.

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Originally Posted By Pthfndr: While we're griping about stuff.... Today I had to replace some intake gaskets and a knock sensor (under the intake manifold) on a Xterra V6. Veh had 131,000 miles on it. I start taking things apart and every single plastic, harness retaining clip/tie has been broken or cut. Including all the ones for the injector harness under the plenum. Obviously someone had been in there before. After I finished the job I went and checked the customers file. She bought the veh at our place and the file was an inch thick. She'd had every single service / repair done at our place. Turns out back when the thing was only a year or so old, with 18K on it, a guy who used to work for us replaced the knock sensor. The only time the plenum and intake have been off the engine. I don't know about you guys, but that kind of work just infuriates me. It's hack work. It's "flat rater" work. It's sloppy, needless, careless and looks like crap. Not to mention all those harness tie points are there for a reason. I really pride myself on taking the time to carefully unclip those ties so everything can go right back where it was and leave a nice clean look when I'm done. I take pride in the fact that when people look at a job I've finished, they have to really look to see that the engine or part of it has been disassembled. And yes, I do make time on my jobs. Even most of the warranty ones. The guys that do sloppy work are the same ones who screw things up that I have to fix the next day, next week or next month. Totally agreed. One of the reasons I don't pay flat rate.

And the reason I refuse to work flat rate.....I may make a bit less per hour....but it is steady and I'm paid the same whether I'm doing some deep diagnosis...or an oil change.   We are two weeks out on appointments...and shorthanded.

Originally Posted By jeep450: I am the lucky hybrid tech at our shop so I get the tahoe that comes in. There is a campaign out for reprogramming 5 modules and replacing the high voltage impact sensor. It paid a whopping 1.3

When I went to hybrid Escape/Mariner school, they told us that we'd never have to open the high voltage battery.  Ever.

Well, a couple years later, Ford launches a campaign to install a jumper harness inside the battery and reprogram the battery control module.  Pays 2.4, which sucked the first time 'cause I'd never done one, the couple I did after that were gravy, nothing to it.  The biggest pain in the ass is the dog and pony show, all the other techs, service writers, salesmen, etc. coming out to look at the big battery and making stupid jokes about me electrocuting myself.

Remember too, us hybrid guys are guaranteed warranty work for 8 years/100,000 miles or 10 years/150,000 miles.  Ain't it great?

Originally Posted By Pthfndr: I don't know about you guys, but that kind of work just infuriates me. It's hack work. It's "flat rater" work. It's sloppy, needless, careless and looks like crap. Not to mention all those harness tie points are there for a reason. I really pride myself on taking the time to carefully unclip those ties so everything can go right back where it was and leave a nice clean look when I'm done. I take pride in the fact that when people look at a job I've finished, they have to really look to see that the engine or part of it has been disassembled.

I totally agree.  I like that customers can't without looking really hard tell that I've been working on a specific area of their vehicle.  All the little clips, bolts, screws, pins, springs, all back in their original place, dress-right-dress.  I don't like leaving any evidence that I was there, other than the customer's original complaint is no longer present.

I had a Mark LT another tech worked on before "having a nervous breakdown."  It was whipping his ass for about two weeks before he suddenly developed a severe migraine and was confined to the house to rest and recover.  Naturally, the customer ain't gonna wait for that guy to get back on his feet, so they want me to look at it.  Hesitates, backfires, lacks power under acceleration.  He put intake gaskets and knock sensors on it, kinda like your Xterra.  I got an intake manifold runner control fault code stored in history.  Peeked behind the intake with a flash light and a mirror and discovered that the wiring harness running along the rear of the intake was not secured or reinstalled correctly, causing the harness to get stuck in the IMRC linkages.  Bank 1 IMRC opened and functioned just fine, bank 2 was stuck closed.  I raided some old wiring harnesses to get some retaining clips, pulled the intake back off, re-routed the wiring and got all back together, fixed it right up, and got paid warranty time for it.

Same guy a few years later was working on a Rodeo for a hesitation/misfire/runs rough concern.  Threw like $3500 worth of parts and labor at this thing and still hadn't fixed it.  Had another one of those migraines and took a couple weeks off.  I found where he had the downstream and upstream O2 sensor connectors crossed because (again) the retaining clips for the wiring harness were all broken/missing, pretty much allowing the harness to flop around and go wherever it wanted to.  He called himself fixing a few wires in the harness (note - twisting bare wires together then wrapping them with electrical tape is not an approved repair), I had to pull all his wiring repairs down and go back through them all, soldering as needed.  Got that one all back together and got the shop to pay me the time I had in it for fixing his fuck up - I cemented that stipulation before I laid a finger on this one.

I guess fixing other people's shit is job security, but it's a hell of a way to go about it.  

Originally Posted By Pthfndr: Tomorrow's my Saturday to work, so I'll be the goober-loober bitch for a few hours.  Saturdays ain't nothing but oil changes and tire rotations, but I only have to work one every 5-6 weeks or so, so it ain't too bad and it's a little extra time. Me too. Except I had to work every Saturday this month. Had to miss 2 matches because of it. At least my first 80 hour pay period this month was worth 121 hours to me

It was hotter than hell today.  Oil changed my ass off, finished up with about five hours (we only go from 7:30 to 1PM on Saturdays).  I got a couple I'm waiting on approval on, a Rodeo with a broken driveshaft loop that tore up the front slip yoke as well, and a Lancer that needs an oil pan.  If they approve the work, I may be able to finish the week up in alright shape.

I made just over eight today.  Lot of people were out, along with the two best advisors.  

I did a lot of piddly bullshit jobs and then got a ticket that was upsold by another tech who wasn't there today.  It allowed me to see just how dishonest he is for myself.  

The "winner" job for the day was a car brought in by a used car lot.  Sunroof inoperative.  Its 100+ outside and I jump in the car, first thing I notice is that none of the windows work.  Then the sagging headliner.  There are parts missing too.  I pushed the sunroof button and heard a bunch of crunching.  The car was a clapped out pile of shit.  I didn't even bother looking it over.  I quoted something like $4000 to intall an entire sunroof assembly and headliner and didn't bother with the rest.  

0.0

That's what I started the day with.  That's what I finished the day with.  I worked on two cars, ordered parts for both, went to lunch, came back and we were out of work.  

I drove 40+ miles round trip to eat lunch and do nothing.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: I made just over eight today.  Lot of people were out, along with the two best advisors.   I did a lot of piddly bullshit jobs and then got a ticket that was upsold by another tech who wasn't there today.  It allowed me to see just how dishonest he is for myself.   The "winner" job for the day was a car brought in by a used car lot.  Sunroof inoperative.  Its 100+ outside and I jump in the car, first thing I notice is that none of the windows work.  Then the sagging headliner.  There are parts missing too.  I pushed the sunroof button and heard a bunch of crunching.  The car was a clapped out pile of shit.  I didn't even bother looking it over.  I quoted something like $4000 to intall an entire sunroof assembly and headliner and didn't bother with the rest.

I learned real quick at the Porsche/BMW dealership I worked out who was honest and who wasn't. It only took two or three tickets to figure that out.

At least now my state has the powerball lottery, so I do have a glimmer of hope in there somewhere.

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: I learned real quick at the Porsche/BMW dealership I worked out who was honest and who wasn't. It only took two or three tickets to figure that out.

I have a flex disc on my car that I found on the floor one day.  It was replaced because it was "bad".  

This is an incredibly sore subject with me.  Its been brought to the attention of the people in charge more than once.  So long as they turn hours its okay.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: So long as they turn hours its okay.

That reasoning more than anything makes me want to sell all my shit and find another line of work.  Ripping the customer off ain't cool, but management doesn't care.  Cars are going in and out, money's coming in, so everything's fine and dandy.

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: I learned real quick at the Porsche/BMW dealership I worked out who was honest and who wasn't. It only took two or three tickets to figure that out. I have a flex disc on my car that I found on the floor one day.  It was replaced because it was "bad".   This is an incredibly sore subject with me.  Its been brought to the attention of the people in charge more than once.  So long as they turn hours its okay.

When I was a certified Porsche tech, the other tech next to me was the most crooked person I've ever met.
Eddie was the BMW tech at that dealership, and he agrees.
This guy consistently billed 120 hours a week, while both Eddie and I turned in the 50-70 range.
Shop tools disappeared, fluids disappeared, a complete BMW Modis disappeared ($20k). He had the lowest CSI in the country for two of the four quarters I worked there (I had the highest in the region for three of those, and the highest in the country for one - I got a nice Porsche letterman's jacket from that).
One day he walked out front and left his toolbox unlocked, which he never did, and Eddie and I found that the bottom drawer was filled with spark plugs, filters, and belts from Inspection IIs that he didn't do.
He cleaned out his box weekly, and used the parts in side work at home.
I still see cars come through my shop that he worked on, and he did NOTHING except an oil change to them.
I watched him put a Tiptronic unit in a 996TT because of a shift complaint, and then ignore it when it came back. I fixed it - it had never had the drive-by-wire throttle synced on the PDI. Just so we're clear - that cost Porsche over $25k in parts alone. And Porsche looks at warranty items, and if they're not bad, they bill the dealership.
I watched him tell a customer that his SC engine was locked up, and he needed a new one. When he went on vacation they made me do it. It was overfilled with oil. Drained the oil and it ran fine.
I saw cars that he owned get new parts that were mysteriously similar to parts stolen off of cars parked outside overnight.

And the clincher is: They lost the Porsche dealership over some of this (and lying about the building - BMW and Porsche were furious about sharing a building). He's still there as a "Master" BMW tech.


But I'm not still pissed about it.

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By saturnstyl: So long as they turn hours its okay. That reasoning more than anything makes me want to sell all my shit and find another line of work.  Ripping the customer off ain't cool, but management doesn't care.  Cars are going in and out, money's coming in, so everything's fine and dandy.

When I make it big and you two want to move, you're both hired.

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By saturnstyl: So long as they turn hours its okay. That reasoning more than anything makes me want to sell all my shit and find another line of work.  Ripping the customer off ain't cool, but management doesn't care.  Cars are going in and out, money's coming in, so everything's fine and dandy. When I make it big and you two want to move, you're both hired.

Dude, you run your own shop, working on some really cool cars, with some good customers, you've already made it big IMO.

Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Originally Posted By Quintin: Originally Posted By saturnstyl: So long as they turn hours its okay. That reasoning more than anything makes me want to sell all my shit and find another line of work.  Ripping the customer off ain't cool, but management doesn't care.  Cars are going in and out, money's coming in, so everything's fine and dandy. When I make it big and you two want to move, you're both hired. Dude, you run your own shop, working on some really cool cars, with some good customers, you've already made it big IMO.

It's just the beginning. I have some interesting ideas coming to fruition.

AMG race shop and I'm there.    I wanna hang some hairdryers on the new 6.3 engines.  

Originally Posted By saturnstyl: AMG race shop and I'm there.    I wanna hang some hairdryers on the new 6.3 engines.

If only the Renntech stuff wasn't stupid expensive (and under-performing).

While we're touching the subject of crooks and thieves...

I got a Navigator once upon a time to do the snake oil induction cleaning, part of a 30K service that another technician had done.  I did the service, took it out and roadtested it and it wouldn't get out of its own way.  Bucking, skipping, foot to the floor and it would not move.  

Got it back to the shop, thought to myself "Well, it ran just fine before the 30K, so it's gotta be something pretty obvious."  Hmmm...the fuel filter was replaced, maybe there's a slight chance it's on backwards.  The service manager comes down to find out what's going on (this vehicle belonged to a friend of his - don't you love those?), I tell him what I think, and the dude that did the 30K overheard me and came scurrying over, hollering "I *promise* you that fuel filter isn't on backwards."  

Well, I say I wanna check it anyways, just eliminating the obvious.  Set the rack up, throw the thing in the air, pull the shield off the fuel filter and confirmed that yep, the filter is installed facing the correct direction...because it still has the old filter on it.

I stuck the shield back on real quick, not wanting to fling my fellow coworker under the bus (which in retrospect I should have done), telling him to go to parts and get another filter, maybe this one is defective.  The service manager walks off and I asked him, "Where the fuck is the new fuel filter?!"  It was in his stash...his excuse was "it only has 30K miles on it, and I couldn't get to the fuel filter on my lift."  Dude, they paid for the fuckin' filter, replace it!

Years later, this same guy has no training, no kind of certifications (OEM or ASE), easily churning out 50, 60, 70 hours a week doing brake jobs, building front ends and doing 30/60/90K services all week.  Fucks off half the day, comes and goes pretty much as he pleases...this here is one of many reasons people call dealerships "stealerships."  This same dude sold a front end overhaul on an '01 Town Car with 28K miles on it...now, I ain't a front end guy by trade, but I know a bit about them and I find a hard time believing the front end is shot on a seven year old car with 28,000 miles on it.  

The diagnosis method he uses for electrical problems is to skim through the book, look at the sections where the pinpoint tests tell you to replace a part, pick one at random and go with it.  Ford calls for parts replaced under warranty from time to time, to test them to see if they really failed; our electrical repairs went through the roof for a period of time, where stuff was being replaced that didn't need to be replaced, now we're on a probational period where if we have to replace certain modules under warranty, we have to call Ford and get prior approval instead of just ordering the part.  We lost our tier 1 status because of this as well, we have to call to get prior approvals for engine and transmission replacements, further inconveniencing our customers.

But again, management doesn't care, 'cause when he's rocking and rolling, he's making them a lot of money.

Originally Posted By Quintin: While we're touching the subject of crooks and thieves... I got a Navigator once upon a time to do the snake oil induction cleaning, part of a 30K service that another technician had done.  I did the service, took it out and roadtested it and it wouldn't get out of its own way.  Bucking, skipping, foot to the floor and it would not move.   Got it back to the shop, thought to myself "Well, it ran just fine before the 30K, so it's gotta be something pretty obvious."  Hmmm...the fuel filter was replaced, maybe there's a slight chance it's on backwards.  The service manager comes down to find out what's going on (this vehicle belonged to a friend of his - don't you love those?), I tell him what I think, and the dude that did the 30K overheard me and came scurrying over, hollering "I *promise* you that fuel filter isn't on backwards."   Well, I say I wanna check it anyways, just eliminating the obvious.  Set the rack up, throw the thing in the air, pull the shield off the fuel filter and confirmed that yep, the filter is installed facing the correct direction...because it still has the old filter on it. I stuck the shield back on real quick, not wanting to fling my fellow coworker under the bus (which in retrospect I should have done), telling him to go to parts and get another filter, maybe this one is defective.  The service manager walks off and I asked him, "Where the fuck is the new fuel filter?!"  It was in his stash...his excuse was "it only has 30K miles on it, and I couldn't get to the fuel filter on my lift."  Dude, they paid for the fuckin' filter, replace it! Years later, this same guy has no training, no kind of certifications (OEM or ASE), easily churning out 50, 60, 70 hours a week doing brake jobs, building front ends and doing 30/60/90K services all week.  Fucks off half the day, comes and goes pretty much as he pleases...this here is one of many reasons people call dealerships "stealerships."  This same dude sold a front end overhaul on an '01 Town Car with 28K miles on it...now, I ain't a front end guy by trade, but I know a bit about them and I find a hard time believing the front end is shot on a seven year old car with 28,000 miles on it.   The diagnosis method he uses for electrical problems is to skim through the book, look at the sections where the pinpoint tests tell you to replace a part, pick one at random and go with it.  Ford calls for parts replaced under warranty from time to time, to test them to see if they really failed; our electrical repairs went through the roof for a period of time, where stuff was being replaced that didn't need to be replaced, now we're on a probational period where if we have to replace certain modules under warranty, we have to call Ford and get prior approval instead of just ordering the part.  We lost our tier 1 status because of this as well, we have to call to get prior approvals for engine and transmission replacements, further inconveniencing our customers. But again, management doesn't care, 'cause when he's rocking and rolling, he's making them a lot of money.

And that folks, is why I'm an independent.

Do you work on any Ford diesel stuff?
I'm having a small issue with my 7.3L, and I want a second opinion.

I'm not a diesel guy by trade, but I know enough to be dangerous.

I know a bit about 7.3s, whatcha got?

OK, this is going to be fun...

When the truck is started cold (below about 60 degrees ambient) it leaks diesel fuel out of the V down the bellhousing. It also will leak, if left to idle, down the outside of the water drain for the fuel filter.

It will continue to do this until run hard enough to actually get really warm. If I drive sedately, it won't go away, but if I keep the EGTs up above 850-900 it will clear up within 10 minutes. It's a fairly significant leak, I'd estimate at last a qt/hour.

Now, as you may have noticed, it's warm around here, so I am unable to duplicate this. It first did it on a very gold night in Georgia on my way to a funeral (November of last year) and then again on the trip to Labrador.

Since I was nowhere with any facilities, I was unable to pinpoint a location, but I assumed it was the injectors, as these have been known to be a problem.

However, the thing would start totally fine, and then I read in a magazine (4Wheel?) that the drain valve itself would leak from the o-rings. Apparently when it was cold, everything would shrink enough....
So I ordered the o-rings, and got a new drain assembly (for $40). Haven't done it yet, but does this seem feasible? It only does it when running...

Working in the V is a big pain in the ass, I hate lying on top of an engine.

I've had to replace a few drain valves and the O-rings for this.  The valve itself over time wears and leaks.  Also, there's a couple of O-rings on the water-in-fuel sensor on the front of the fuel filter housing that leak sometimes, but they usually drip on the front side of the engine.

Originally Posted By Toiyabe66: Originally Posted By saturnstyl: AMG race shop and I'm there.    I wanna hang some hairdryers on the new 6.3 engines.   If only the Renntech stuff wasn't stupid expensive (and under-performing).

If its for a Mercedes, it will be exhorbitantly expensive.  However Renntech is not the only game in town.

You oughtta see the port sizes on the heads of tha M156 engine.  They are twice as large as the M273!