Jim Warman Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I can't count how many times I've been trapped.... A tech you "know" you can trust to be thorough and truthful.... He get's something that turns into a stinker and somewhere along the line, he get's pulled off it and you are the benefactor of this "gift". 2003 Expedition, 5.4..... We can't reproduce the intermittent no start in cold weather.... We are replacing the fuel pump on a hunch.... My trustworthy tech looked inside the tank when he replaced the pump and didn't see anything bad..... So... after stress testing the coils replacing the plugs and sundry other time wasters.. I am the "benefactor".... I drove the car - about 10 seconds after coming to a stop, it would run rough for about 15 seconds.... (there is a sidebar here... wait for it). It would then clear up. It was explained to me that it would miss badly on driveaway when we were having an event.... DUH!... ignition is breaking down, yeah? "BZZZZT!!!!".. Nope.... if we wait for the event to end... driveaway is normal. Here I am... trusting my tech to be thorough.... I sepnd too much time watching PIDs on road tests (well... too much time reviewing recordings is what it was). I see some goofy shit... but nothing I can hang my hat on.... He's already checked fuel pressure and it is "good" during the event. For want of anything more constructive to do, I hook up the pressure gauge and purge the air.... into a container.... several times..... OH. my!!!! What is that brown shit at the bottom? Naw... it can't be muddy water... "He" looked..... and he said it was "good". I guess I need an optical rectumdectomy... I have this nerve that connects my eyeball to my asshole... and it gives me a shitty outlook on life.... Who can you trust? YOU.... and nobody else.... Deal with it, Princess... it ain't gonna get any better.... If you want to be good... be good.... think "basics, basics, basics".... If something gets complicated... you have missed something basic... Basics.... "He" checked the basics.. it says so on the RO.... "Performed diagnostics".... Unfortunately, the descriptions should have read "Did the easy shit that I didnt need to think about - Gawd... isn't that what a scan tool is for?".... I wont get canned for it, but my efficiency is something like minus 14000%.... and I am always called to task for it.... DP wants these guys to make their own mistakes so we can weed the good from the bad.... How do I let that kind of crap happen to MY customers.... Too often we overlook the simplest of things... we assume things based on etherial ideas..... Basics, basics, basics.... Did I mention that we need to check the basics... and we need to check them honestly? Gawd... I was born a hundred years too late.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 One of my favorite quotes is, "An expert is one who does the basics better than anybody else." This is the reason I quit taking tech support calls from my students. They would refuse to do things that took time, like checking fuel pressure under load. They would assume that by listening to the symptoms, I could give them the Silver Bullet fix. PS- I am ANAL about taking fuel samples into a glass jar from the fuel filter on both gas and diesel engines. We have several pickle jars around the shop used just for that. Even on an LOF service, or anything more than a light bulb, I want a fuel sample examined in a glass jar. I too have been bit hard by this and will not EVER forget it. Gas engine, intermittent stall, from a quart of water in the tank, probably 20 years ago and I remember it like yesterday. Good Job. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I am the only one that check's fuel pressure in the truck shop. I am the only one that goes out of his way to figure the ROOT cause of the failure, I am the only one that care's about the customer, and now I am the one that is going to have a talk with the service manager after being told "you are low man on the todem pole, your only 23yr's old." Then being pushed around. I think i've delt with carelessness for too long at this place. I think the ol toolbox is gonna have to be moved be day's end. Sorry to hi-jack, needed to vent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Same here, I cant get my guys to check fuel pressure as much as the should. The gauge comes out only AFTER we have spent a couple hours chasing problems. One of my techs also thinks that tapping in at the HFCM outlet is "good enough" for fuel pressure testing. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm just trying to remember the last time I was called "Princess"; makes me feel kinda special. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/king.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Every diesel that gets a new injector unless maybe if that little nut fell off, needs to go down the road at full throttle while monitoring fuel pressure. That is something I have been doing for a while now. A gas engine with lean codes that cannot be reproduced..... A fuel filter that is clogged can cause this or a bad fuel pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 James... the idea is that we don't shortchange ourselves.... I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box... but I get all those jobs that haunt our shop.... The secret for success? Don't overlook the basics.... Every now and again, some sad twist of human nature makes me a sucker... and I start to believe everything I am told... Testing fuel pressure PROPERLY isn't something we should do only after an injector repair... It should be an early step for most running concerns.... Making a truck run properly is a lot like building a house... If the foundations aren't right, the house ain't gonna be right... When it comes to PSDs, most of the stinkers I see are because a tech figured that the guy that wrote the diag sheets was a pansy. If the truck will start, we can just jump to step 7 or whatever, right? We can skip over these steps because that isn't EVER the problem.... NOT... In a similar vein.... ever watch someone spend three hours plus on a diag.... only to find out that there is a TSB that pays .7? The phrase I utter the most.... "Where's your OASIS printout?".... I hope I'm preaching to the choir.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I'm just trying to remember the last time I was called "Princess"; makes me feel kinda special. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/king.gif Ever since one guy saw scrub's, i've been called Beverly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Jim, I understand. BTW, I like your little soap box rants. Your like a pastor in the church of auto/ truck repair. AMEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 ANd now rise as we proffess our faith.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 ANd now rise as we proffess our faith.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 As Jim might say I hope..."Fuel(check it),Fire(check it),Fart(check it)..." any difference there is a problem. 3 F's...JIM???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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