Jim Warman

Bud Light? We'll have none of that diet beer here.... It's gonna be Molsons Canadian (eh?)... it's gonna be in a frosted mug.... and there's a eal good chance it's going to have some Clamato juice in it ( the venerable "clam-eye" ). Yes... I treat myself well... and, yes... alcohol is a food group...

Larry.. we have one partsmonger... used to be the partsmongermanager.... He asked to be reduce back to "just a partsmonger" and got his wish (the year end financial why do we have this much stock? stuff). His coat is usually dirty from crawling around in the parking lot.... Sometimes, a tech has to kick him out of the way as he is trying to consolidate those crappy microcat illustrations to what we see in the real world. THAT is a GOOD partsman (oops, partsmonger)... and HE is making HIS choices.... He is CHOOSING to be as good as he possibly can. If crawling under a vehicle isn't a choice... can you describe what kind of shotgun they are pointing at you?? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/poke.gif I thought I was wrong, once..... but I was mistaken /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

Larry, you NAILED it!!! Choices... it's all about choices.... We can choose to be the best we can... or we can choose to be something less.... Life is what we make of it.... Training and experience and knowledge are very powerful forces when we combine them customer care... Your position behind a parts counter doesn't expose you to some of the stuff a more labour oriented job would.... be thankful for that...

Larry... not to be contrary... but one would hope that you gained knowledge... Knowledge, on it's own, is no assurance of higher rewards... Once we have the knowledge, we need to use it to our best interests... What I find with the WBTs that techs take.... most of them aren't worth the powder to blow them to hell at first glance... But they are chock full of stuff that isn't in our manuals... These things help to provide "assumed knowledge"... basics about the systems or techniques they encompass... After that, it is up to us to add the "seasonings". Ain't nobody gonna hand us anything on a platter... we need to reach out and take what is given... and use it to build on... (F@ck... I'm the resident motivational speaker /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif ). I didn't get to where I am by biding my time... I fought tooth and nail to learn what little I know now.... I spend my own time at work "playing with the IDS"... I read the "Description And Operations" sections in WSMs when I could be reading Tom Clancy or John Grisham.... I spent a lot of time just learning how to use my DMM... All of this is on my "dime". It wont improve my lot tomorrow... or even next week... but I am more valuable for having learned it... and the rewards will come. Anyones career is a complex equation... we need to see what variables we can change and change them as necessary. It wont come overnight and it may take that one "golden decision". Five years ago (slightly over), I had the desire I have now.... the same basic skill-set I have now.... I was making a little over $50K a year.... Moving to the dealer gave me knowledge I couldn't get anywhere else.... this allowed my to develop some of my skills and techniques... and these changes were the impetus for even more changes.... In that five short years, I have doubled my earning power... without sacrificing honesty and integrity. Yeah... the labour shortage has helped a great deal... And there has to be a certain amount of luck that landed me in a position that filled many gaps in my CAREER. The only difference between Elton John (aside from some of that homo stuff) and the guy playing auld lang syne on your aunties piano at Xmas is practice and learning.... "I have seen the enemy... and he is us..." - Pogo Possum

What's really sad is that you went to Fort Mac when we were looking for techs (and we still are)... You can buy two houses here for what one costs in the Fort... (well, almost). I've got two flat rate guys right now... both diesel cert...; both good guys... both will be six digits come income tax time... and we ARE a lot closer to the City of Champignons (oops, Champions).... I was at several classes with Steve... we just seemed to hit it off....mostly because I don't think either one of us enjoyed those gut bombs at Harveys....

Dwayne... a lot of the shops in the US seem to be busy screwing their techs over.... but maybe not without reason because there is no burden of "proof of proficiency" like our licencing system. Of course, the bad ones make it hard on the good ones... Some guys want to unionize and bully management into higher wages.. I think that is going to bring a lot of baggage with it... Another group is trying to resurrect a class action suit against Ford regarding the shrinking SLTs (I urge everyone to look into that). A lot of states are "right to work" states.... basically, no labour laws.... Maybe some of the 'Muricans here can flesh out the specifics better than I can... what I do know... when I tell some of these guys what they can earn in Alberta, they call "Bullshit" and blow me off....

Yep... Andy is still with us... Sounds like his dad wants him to take over the backhoe business pretty bad, though... Andy is one of the conscientious, thinks about what he's doing guys... proud of his work... a few more like him would make life easier.... I hate to say it, but that young pup has made me learn a thing or two. I was a little worried coming back to a dealer... all that new technology stuff and all that.... This past 5 years has been a very rich experience for me. I went from the "new knob" to senior in about two years and made Master in just over the third year... What a ride!!!

Chris... even when you get older (old enough to be a curmudgeon, even), the learning curve can come around and smack you upside the ear... hard... We take these little setbacks in stride... sh!t happens. Take a little extra time with your oil leak.... one of two things has happened... either you made a misdiagnosis.... or something went wrong with the part(s) you installed. These things can happen to any of us.... how we handle the adversity is what makes the difference between "us" and "them". Whichever way the cookie crumbles... it as an opportunity to learn... to become better... to become a little more than you were... Opportunities are something we should sieze. Good judgement comes from experience.... unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement. Strength and perserverance help... I was young once (honest) - I had more than my share of troubles.... I learned and I grew and I honed my skills... But I'm not a great tech... somedays I even wonder if I'm a decent tech.... But, that next RO is a new RO and I can move on.. taking what I learn with me... licking my wounds when I get the chance. None of the guys here are great.... they keep an open mind when they are diagnosing... they understand what a particular test is looking for.... they think about what they are doing rather than just going through motions.... and they care about their final product and how they got there.... That is what separates these guys from "ordinary" techs... All you need to do is choose where you're going... and then go there... You'll be fine.... honest...

He fell to the lure of the oil sands.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Aaron.. I know there are good young'uns out there.... Mercifully, I have one... By necessity, this young fellow is working at a level far above his apprenticeship standing.... He learns.. he retains and builds on his experience.. But it's not just crappy youngsters... there are a LOT of older techs that don't give a damn about their careers, too.... Lord knows we've had a few of them, too...

Hey, Chris... Don't get me wrong... I dedicate myself to making these guys the best techs they can ever be.... make that "the very best techs they will apply themselves to be"... You have seen how very difficult it can be in this business.... Yet too many (a lot of them appear to work at my store) figure that all we do is open the hood, unbolt some parts and bolt some new ones in... No diag necessary.... We have coveralls and tools and that's all that's needed... A long time ago, it was explained to me... "I you plan on fixing it, you have to know how it works". That's one part of the "secret". Time will bring experience.... manuals and training will bring you knowledge.... and some obnoxious old curmudgeon in Canada will be there with the rest of the DTS denizens to help where we can... I think you're gonna do just fine....

Depending on the wire(s) affected, it can give just about anything... One was an intermittent blown fuse (F2.22) and a couple with (IIRC) MAF codes and such...running concerns.... After we pull the harness out to repair it, we've been rerouting it over top of all the stuff down in that corner...

Our guys get a $0.50 raise for each Ford specialty earned.... We have two pay periods per month... If the flat raters book 100 hours or more per period, they get an extra two bucks for each and every hour... The straight time guys are all apprentices.... they need to get good before they get fast... My faith in human nature is on shakey ground... production incentives scare me.... Every now and then, I'll come across a new part in a box stuck under a bench somewhere /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif If we charged a customer or Ford for a part they didn't get... I can't describe how that makes me feel /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/fouet3.gif Other incentives I've heard of include a bonus for upselling certain jobs... another system that is open to abuse. Any incentive program is going to need a certain amount of policing... just to keep honest guys honest...

oops... I forgot one

I am told that on Jan 12ish, my Mexican should be here... Yep... boss hired a tech from the land of maniana... Right now, I'll be happy if he can chew gum and walk at the same time... I mentioned my Mexican on TDS and brought up that giant sucking sound as jobs disappeared across the border.... no takers... not one. Anyway, maybe he'll understand some of these shoddy wiring harnesses we see.... Larry... I'm the "good looking one" /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Don't forget to bring the /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/popcorn.gif Slapstick you want? Here

Just so you guys know... we are starting to see a rash of wire harness chaffes at the left coil spring tower on the 05 and ups... This affects the harness take out to the MAF sensor...

Kieth... I liken it to putting together a sympho\ny orchestra.... with a plumber, a baseball player and a guy that saw a picture of a violin once... Some of these people are the greenest of the green... and we have such a labour pool shortage in western Canada right now that these are the only people we can get!!! I can piss and moan about it... but there is no way on Gods green earth that we can make things any better.... Not until more talented people move in to our region. I spend a great deal of my time teaching... too much of it, in fact. I love helping my guys hone their skills... because it also allows me to improve mine. But it's a lot like being a university professor teaching grade one sandbox as I show my young gaggle how to torque wheel nuts and perform the simplest of tasks. I can't say if it's the luck of the draw or if the educational system has let these youngsters down... The ability to think for ones self and apply problem solving skills appears to be dead and buried... lost in a sea of "I can't do this"s and "I can't figure this out"s. And this is where we start to see some real problems with retention... Yes, these poor young shmucks are faced with information overload... not one of them was a "gearhead" in his teen years... but even repetitive tasks are lost on some of these youngsters... Over the last year or so, we lost some really talented people to the oil patch... we've had some that had talent that we could build on come... but they proved undependable (you never knew from one day to the next if they would show up for work). As the labour pool shrank... so did the quality of new hires. Recently, our newest SA has started coming to me when she's booking appointments to ask who would be the best choice for a particular job... This is a good thing.... if it worked as planned. (FWIW, the SA with "some" experience is one of those "don't know what I don't know" types). When push comes to shove - <this> job is here - <that> tech is waiting for work... and the system falls apart. With our workload and the scarcity of good staff... it is all we can do to hold on to the tigers tail, some days. As far as me dispatching work... the way it is is the lesser of two evils. The last thing I need is one of my flat rate guys pissed at me for getting two or three stinkers in a row. These guys are on my side I would prefer to keep them there... Don't get me wrong... like I said, I like teaching..... no - let's make that I LOVE teaching. Being able to pass on what knowledge I possess has allowed me to learn more and improve on my skills and techniques... making me that little bit better again... As it stands... having the opportunity to use your band width for my own private rant has lifted a great burden from my shoulders... Where else could I go to say these things without repercussion? I'm a sick enough individual that, even though some of the anitcs these guys can get up to are in the "Hi... I'm a idiot" category - I can still see humour in them. It's like slapstick comedy, at times.... until that ugly word pops up... "profitability".. and we all have to remember that. This past while has really driven home the realization that we really do need to attract more and better people to this trade. But the modern work ethic (or lack of it) has our youth doing "just enough to get by".... I'm just an obnoxious old curmudgeon that would love to have the rose garden I was never promised.. Thanks for the opportunity to get this crap off my chest, Kieth... now I have to go to work (yes... on Sunday) and look at a recent FQR that died on the highway. We have a big pipeline outfit camped just out of town.... they'll be here for three months and I'm looking to increase our already stupendous work load.... Like an old friend once told me.... "Cheer up, Jimmy.... things are never so bad that they can't get worse....". /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

and pour a stiff one... this is going to be fun.... Front desk.... one SA has been with us about 4 or 5 months... She is "unique".... The other SA, a month or so.... steady, but unspectacular. SM has management skills..... Nobody has any real experience in automotive trades.... The shop.... My two experienced journeymen... One very good apprentice... and four ummmmmmmmm - people. Some background... we lost some people... both good and mediocre, over the last while.... Good or bad... one very important thing we lost was "experience".... The reasons they left are varied... We are very busy and the pace can place stress on people not willing to accept it... Other industries became attractive... don't matter anyway... Anyway... the people up front are somewhat cowed.... They see someone with a pair of coveralls on.... That must mean he is a "tech"... And we can ask for his advise.... Let's digress for a moment... While it is important for us to know those things we know.... it is more important for us to realize the limits of our knowledge... and act accordingly. Anyway... I've eavesdropped on a couple of these exchanges - ones that I saw unfolding.... and I see these youngsters being very bold... stating things that they are unsure of as fact. I will say "Let me look into it..." if I have any doubt at all.... So... we have a green SA and a green tech.... and trouble brewing. But, the shop foredink can put out the fire... Some excerpts from the life of that shop foredink.... I was called in to work today.... installing the IC in an 06 Explorer turned into a PMI gone bad... Nobody checked the WSM. After the IC is configured... it still needs to be "mated" to the PCM... A simple process as long as we take nothing for granted... Recently... one of these guys is doing nothing (something they love to do... a part of the "trend", Kieth) at the service desk. He wants to know if a block heater cord is covered under warranty. "Is that the cause of the concern?", sez I.... "I don't know... I want to see if it's covered, first". WTF is that? We all know this wont change the diag process nor the outcome.... A glance at the RO and the truck is 4 years old... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif If we do a LOF and find a tire valve cap missing when checking pressures... why would we install one? Small potatoes? Not for my customer if another shop brings it to his attention.... While we're doing a LOF (that seems to take well over an hour... even though we "forgot" to check the diff level... we can leave the key on the entire time. That way, when the customer comes to pick his truck up, we have to boost it if enough time was spent with the key on. "I don't see anything wrong, here....". "Where's your trouble light?". (are you ready?) "I don't need one".... "The nut was almost all the way tight and then it cross threaded itself"... I'll see two or three of these youngsters huddled in deep thought... this is a sure sign of impending doom.... We can safely assume that nobody has looked at the WSM.... we can safely assume that <something> went bad.... we can safely assume that someone tried "unbadding" it in a bid to hide it.... We can safely assume that I will be making more OT... Low on experienced people, we went through a period where jobs were handed out without due consideration for experience and skill sets. It's still happening as green SAs hand out jobs that they have little understanding of.... Green techs look at a pinion seal replacement as a no brainer.... Four bolts... one nut... wham, bam, thank you Ma'am.... "Bearing preload?" /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif Our guys get paid for WBTs. I've shown them all numerous times how to get to them. I've told them time and again to at least get the electrical ones under their belt.... For some reason, it is difficult to tell the difference between "no ohms" (<OL> on my DMM) and "no ohms" (0.1 or so). I had one guy (no longer here, thank Gawd) that was measuring the gap in ventilated rotors rather than measuring brake pad thickness. I wear reading glasses... matter of fact, years ago I broke my last pair of glasses that I wore all the time and never got around to replacing them. Why is it that I can see that leaking seal from halfway across the shop... and somebody can't see it from six inches away? Fuel filter clips... My fave.... "I can't get this" or "I can't figure it out".... "Did you do it the way I showed you?"... "Yes...". "No you didn't... it's still full of dirt" "Did you check the <whatever> fluid level?" "No, I didn't think it was part of a LOF". "I can't find the noise in the front end".... "Did you drive it?".... "No".... Don't let not knowing what kind of noise you're looking for slow you down.... We have a very real tech shortage in western Canada.... and we are trying to fill the gap with inappropriate people. There are times that I feel like I am living in TDS... "How can I tell if <this> is bad?".... "Ummmmmm, by looking?" The overwhelming trend I am currently seeing.... I have to digress to a shop staff meeting from not too long ago... After the meeting, the DP took us all out for dinner. For some reason, conversation turned to high school.... I'm a grade 8 dropout so I didn't have much to say. Almost all of the youngsters at the table admitted that they only did enough to "get by". And they carry that over in to "real life"... expecting to learn all they need "on the job"..... Now. more than ever, we need to spend some of our personal time making ourselves better... We need to be analytical.... we need to apply logic... When I set out writing this, I had all manner of "amusing" anecdotes in my mind.... most of these evaporated in the process. Some are mundane... like balancing a wheel with mud caked on the inside, not using a scan tool, searching for a TSB without running OASIS with concern codes, trying to make our symptoms match a TSB so we can avoid "real" diagnosis.... Fuses... another of my faves.... Yes... he checked all the fuses. The ones that were there, at least... But we don't know if any are missing because the wiring diagrams are too hard to read... We can install a brake rotor on the front of an Escape with a big gob of mud in the way.... Let's not let a wobble that will about jerk the wheel out of our hands stop us from releasing this car to the customer... A diff noise on a Crown Vic.... The lock bolt for the spider pin fell out and the pin was hitting the pinion... Nothing obvious for damage... let's put a new pin and lock bolt and re-assess the concern.... Unfortunately, the re-assessment consisted of backing the car out of the stall and parking it. After the customer brought it back and the diff was disassembled, a small but telling chip was found in the pinion. A simple road test would have told us that our repair was inadequate and, instead of a couple of hundred... the customer was going to spend much more... But it was the customer that had to bring it to our attention... I could understand it if it was the real stinkers that tripped us up.... but it is the simple things that hang us out to dry.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif isn't an answer.... FWIW... I have to go back to the shop in the morning.... even though I was called in today for a "no brainer".... whoops.... it must have been a toughie because I had to look in the manual.... I often comment on "inadequate" techs.... now I'm living it.... But there is an "upside".... I have a reason for drinking /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif The jury is still out on my new SM....

Aaron... we've lost some good people to other industries over the last couple of years.... the reasons are both simple and complex and probably have as much to do with the state of society as with the state of our industry.... I'm working on a tale of woe as I write this...

I, too, recall the mention of this being a stepper motor.... Not compelling evidence on it's own but let's consider the circuit. If it was duty cycled, we'd have V_BATT to one terminal and the PCM would duty cycle the ground.... But you have measured V_BATT at both EGRVCH and EGRVCL.... odd names for the circuits... and it is obvious "something" is different with the way they are controlled.... PNP transistors are expensive to make and (AFAIK) don't switch real quick or real clean.... We rarely see power side switching transistors in automotive applications for this reason. And here, I'm going to stick my scrawny neck waaaayyyyyy out and opine that the EGR is a stepper motor and is controlled by some variation of an electronic "relay". V_BATT is supplied to each "leg" of the motor through a PNP device.... If the PCM wants to "step" the motor in one direction, it can turn off the power once..... the faster, cheaper NPN device can then step the ground circuit however many times needed and then the slower PNP device can turn on again. Looking at the differences in the design of the basic circuit... I feel safe in saying that assuming this is a stepper motor arrangement isn't a bad thing. If you hook up your scope, I would envision a pattern that traces both above and below your base line volts as the valve cycles in or out.... I might also expect some goofy sh!t to happen when the V_BATT to one leg is turned off and the ground circuit is not complete.... Of course, I could be some drunk old fool that's ticked off because he got called in to work to put out more "fires" on his day off /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

YMMV = your mileage may vary..... We somehow wound up with a tester FICM.... This takes a LOT of guesswork out of some concerns where your pretty sure it's the FICM but not positive.

We probably see 1.5 per year... The very first one I had was one that allowed the erase portion of the reflash and then decided to remain stupid..... If we have an identifiable injector concern, we just borrow an injector from parts and plug it in the offending connector and rerun the test.... If it stays bad... load test the injector wires back to the FICM.... YMMV

Attempt number 4.... Congrats on the new hires.... Just say a little prayer for me and my cluster of entry level people.... I have a story about a store in a state of flux.... a positive show of hands and I can make you guys feel great with my tale of woe...

Well...... now that you mention it..... Some customers are going to stray.... the grass looks greener..... they wanted a change.... they got talked into it... for whatever reason.... Let's stir in a healthy dose of "you can't please all of the people all of the time".... No matter what you do.... how hard you try.... how far you bend over... or how much @ss you kiss, for that matter.... someone is going to diapprove if for no other reason than it feels good at the time. These are things we will never overcome... and it is important for our sanity to remember this.... But we can still do lots to stem the tide - maybe even steal some customers of our own. First we do all of the things we've been discussing... be the best we can be - stay abreast of our product knowledge - perfect our skills and apply these to our daily work... Treat the customer as if he was "us".... The vast majority of customers doesn't want to be treated any differently than we ourselves would want to be treated in the same or a similar circumstance.... Be honest... brutally honest.... if a guys screws up, let the people that need to know know..... If the truck wont be ready on time (and we should have allowed enough time for setbacks), let the necessary people know in case other arrangements have to be made for the customer.... All of these are things we should know and consider.... But we can take it a step further... we should use our good example to influence those around us... difficult - yes.... impossible - no... If the guy in the next bay is shortchanging the customer, speak up.... the bad image he projects is going to rub off on you. We can never be perfect.... but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be...

Thinking back to Mikes original question..... "Is toyota trying to steal some of our customers?".... No.... they are trying to steal all of them.......

No reports of white smoke.... matter of fact, all our 6.4s are running well enough to disgust the diehard "I wanna fix stuff" tech... Worthy of note.... Two trucks with near identical concerns. Electrical codes for injector 7 - the latest one was an identifiable miss in the shop.... until the VC came off and circuit testing done = NPF. Then it started behaving. The first one I did a month or so ago... A big rush on this one and the only (after repair) high pressure fuel leak diagnosis I was allowed was to tell the customer to watch his oil level for the first while.... (Leaves me feeling like I just said "hey, sailor... wanna get lucky?"). Even though mine was running great, hotline figured we should change the UVC AND the injector... This latest one, they have asked only for an injector (I hesitate to use "authorized" since the warranty nazis don't care what engineers think). Bottom line... Two similar instances... neither truck affected by the injector recall.... both trucks "fixed themselves"... both trucks had #7 as the concern... When the tech working on the truck told me of his problem... I quipped that "at least it was the 'easy side'".... He looked at me funny.... until he remembered what an even numbered cylinder would have looked like.... You have to take life's little moments where-ever you can find them /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif