Jim Warman

Sounds like the new shop should be a good deal.... unless you wind up looking like Wile E Coyote in an "after" pic. FWIW, even fairly recently installed hoists are a disaster looking for a victim if they aren't maintained properly - and I see precious little of that ANYWHERE. On the flip side - none of us goes to work thinking "I hope I get hurt real bad or even dead today". But if we continue to do things that aren't as safe as they could be, we might soon find out about "rolling the dice". After all, accidents are made from tempting fate, playing the odds and taking chances. We may feel manly about our deeds of derring-do - sadly, our widows and orphans would wish that we had realized that "unsafe" applies just as much to us as to the guy beside us. This is the last I'll remark on this manner of stupidity other than to say that I am sincerely worried that people that should be bound by logic would just forge ahead. Lifting that F250 must have been preceded by stating "Hey guys, watch this" because that is what generates many visits to the emergency room. Take care, Matt - you sound like a nice guy even if you are trying to make sure your days are numbered. And Kieth busts my chops because a guy that smoked for almost 50 years is risking death by sanding without a mask.... I don't recall the last time anyone was crushed by a piece of 220 grit.

Check the crank end play... make sure you remove the serpentine belt first.

Different guy, Aaron... Denn swears up and down he'd never buy a Mustang (even though that is just for my benefit). You should see the shop now the hoist is in it.

Now you done gone and done it.... I hope yer fuckin' happy asshole. I'm going to get banned from ANOTHER place... I hope yer dog eats yer sandwich....

S'funny you should post that..... I been on a real short "go 'round" with a iATN rocket scientist. His initial question was about the shielding wire in a CKP harness on a '99 Sable. I told him what the wire was all about, what he could expect to find if he followed it to the other end and that it was up to him to remain abreast of all the "recent" changes ("recent" as in 1999). His last message to me? It includes this gem - <NOT TRYIN TO GET EDUCATED HERE JUST NEEDED TO NO> This after I have explained twice about RF shields. And we wonder why the general public holds us in poor regard.... While iATN has proved to be that "shit, I didn't think of that" sounding board so many times, too many wannabes use it as a replacement for actual skills and knowledge. No wonder we've had people like Rex (and now, at first glance, Derek@visiondiesel). There are two schools of auto repair... One is diagnose the concern and fix it... The other is get someone else to diagnose the problem (sometimes lots of someones) and start bolting on new parts working from most popular to least popular - all the while bitching long and loud every time someone (must be a dealer tech) suggests the wrong part. I think we need an accreditation body similar to the Bar Association or the Medical Association appropriate to our jurisdiction. If someone is going to drum the hacks out of our midst, it is going to have to be us....

That's a 5.8 there, Mr. Brad... And him sounds wicked with the go faster dammit pedal close to the floor.

Are you off slumming again? In Smokey And The Bandit, Buford T Justice told his son "get outta there - you gonna get a herpe on you"... Squeal like a piggy, boy.....

Just got back from a drive... my best friend just came home with his new car. I'd had a couple of drinks so there was no way I was going to get too frisky with this thing though I will admit to touching mumbletymumblety kilometers per hour. There's not enough clicks on this thing to allow full boost yet... but I'm sure my friend will take care of that quite shortly. It is more fun to drive than either the Vette or the Viper... but that might be more because it sports a blue oval than any other reason.

Now there's a fucking mental picture I didn't need. What time does the liquor store open?

I dunno, Mat... some days I think the only reason I go to work is because I want to see what happens next

Around our store, you can often hear someone mumble "and why the fuck are you acting surprised?". This is usually about the time someone else is asking "and what did you think was going to happen?".

BMS would be Battery Monitoring System. Started in about 2010(?) on some models. The early ones had an inductive pick up on the ground cable and another on the generator cable. I haven't had the chance to become familiar with the generation 2 (my term) systems yet. Why a battery monitor reset becomes important is because of "load shedding". If the charging system requirements exceed the ability of the charging system to maintain battery voltage, the BCM will start to "shed loads" - that is to say it will start shutting down "non-critical" systems. An owner may perceive that a particular accessory or feature has become non-functional when the concern might be a problem with the charging system or that the BCM is mistaken about the battery state of charge. A word for others... I first learned of this technology when I noticed the inductive pick ups on an F150. Other things that may have snuck by some of you include over-running clutches on alternators as well as other changes to help with NVH, etc. As well, it becomes important for even the simplest of tasks to at least access the WSM and, if nothing else, check for any warnings (usually in bold print and usually there are many of them). Last thought for the post... I'm sure many of you have run into some of the effects of MOS FET circuits. These circuits can sense over-current situations and will shut down a circuit. One customer actually fixed the tailights on his 550 but they still would not illuminate. He spent something like 3 weeks of his spare time fighting a losing battle when all it needed was to have the SJB codes cleared. Others of you may have noticed that you can replace a faulty turn signal bulb, but they will still flash fast until you clear codes. Moral of the story - RTFM - even for the most basic of jobs.

Way back when, there were many aspects that we were very cavalier about compared to modern times (modern times - listen to that woodja). We'd open a couple of bay doors and blow the dust out of drum brake assemblies.... nitrile gloves? never had 'em - we'd immerse various body parts in petroleum products with little or no thought... resperators? nope.... Lifting or hoisting, we'd exercise quite a bit of care (perhaps not as much as we do today)... An open door was often the only ventilation system we had. The stone ages were like that. But those days were very different from today... we'd go to work sick and hope that boss would take pity on us and send us home... we'd take responsibility for all our actions - including the ones that caused us injury (we had workers compensation but law suits were unheard of. "I was stupid and it fucking hurt...". No shame and no blame - other than the ribbing you took. And I will admit to being somewhat "do as I say and not as I do". But the current crop of pansies.... errrrr, I meant workers, moans and cries about exhaust fumes, dirt, grease and all the other things we would take for business as usual. I have two youngsters in our shop that take off their nitrile gloves and then rinse their hands with brake clean that just about go apeshit when I spill AddBlue on my hands. Cat piss is more corrosive (and smellier) but I don't see it as a health risk (caution - not for internal use). I refuse to risk life and limb with unsafe equipment in the shop, but I reserve the right (and understand the risks) of not using PPE in some chosen situations. It is till up to me to mitigate those risks in some manner. When motorcycling, I am not one of the "all the gear, all the time" crowd and would enjoy the freedoms we once had in regards to helmet laws (again, understanding the risks and exercising vigilance in order to mitigate those risks is important). The bottom line.. if you are going to work in this shop and get hurt misusing or failing to use safety equipment, I will kill you

I'm actually kind of lucky that way (other than still having smokers cough 4 years after I quit the habit). Bork up a shitload, blow my nose and I'm good to go. Even handling fibreglass insulation without gloves (and short sleeves) doesn't set me to itching and scratching - but it's usually a while before I'm allowed near my loving bride.

You obviously do not understand how bad my inside corners look.... I smear on 5 pounds of mud and sand off six pounds

So... I finally have mommas new kitchen sink roughed in and I'm drywalling... and if there is one thing in this world that I passionately hate (and fail miserably at doing), it's taping inside corners... at the same time, I think that inside corner mouldings look about cheesy as hell... What would you do? FWIW, construction is still booming from last years fire and there is no way in hell you are going to hire a drywall taper for a long time to come. Do you guys think inside corner mouldings look acceptable or what? Ohhh, man - I wish all my problems were this trivial.

Before I forget... Yes I've read the manuals for all of our racks... Yes, I inspect "my" rack regularly - above and beyond stuff I notice day to day - lift chains, cylinder packing for drooling, anchor bolt torque (I check this every second payday). If you lift a truck with a jack, you use a jackstand.... why would a hoist be "magic"? ALI has a brochure with recommended lifting points. Workshop manuals have sections dealing with lifting a vehicle... Some of the techs around you will have you believe that reading this info makes you a !?@#%!. If being a !?@#%! keeps my wife from being a widow.... My fucking oath... I still cannot believe that this could ever become a topic. Look here.

My fucking oath..... Leon, this isn't aimed at you but you were the catalyst...... A techs life depends on the hoist he is using... if the best we can muster is "I believe" when it comes to maintaining or inspecting something we depend on for our safety, something is truly fucking wrong and all anyone is doing is biding his or her time until they become just another fucking statistic. Yes, you can adjust cables... but the bigger question is is WHY DO WE HAVE TO???? Yes, a cable can stretch or settle in over time... but a cable can also start pulling out of a thimble.... a cable can fray in an area not easily observed... Your hoist can do something to make a lady a widow and children orphans... When is the last time anyone checked torque on their hoist anchor bolts... FWIW, torque is important and, if you get carried away, you can pull the anchors out of the slab - so use some fucking common sense. If you don't get carried away and the anchors pull out of the slab - use some fucking common sense. When is the last time anyone read the operating instructions on their hoist. Has anyone ever heard of the Automotive Lift Institute? Do you know what it is? Have you read their manual? When you set your hoist pads, do you have the foggiest fucking idea of what you are actually doing? "My hoist scares me"..... Why the fuck are you trying to commit suicide? Do I need to repost the eye ad?

The last new truck our local FD purchased before I left had the genset mounted under the passenger side cab steps. It could be started from the drivers chair and powered 110 volt work lights at each corner of the deck as well as powering several strategically placed 110 volt outlets. Nothing needed to be done before firing up the genset. NOV Tuboscope has many inspection trucks (non-destructive radioactive pipe and tubing inspection, to oversimplify) that require powerful gensets to run their test equipment and computers. These diesel generators also require no special preparations prior to running the generators.

This morning, I heard the tow truck out in the front lot. This almost 30 year old 460 has a familiar sound that is hard to mistake after this long. It's sitting out front for what seems to be a long time. Parked against a wall is a fleet truck that is obviously a no start. Two of our "not so sharp pencils" are struggling to push this truck away from the wall by hand in order to get behind it and push it with the tow truck. By the time they got it out far enough to get in behind it, there was a fairly large group of us watching and shaking our heads.... It doesn't seem to occur to either of them to pull it ahead with the tow truck. The future seems bleak.

Well, last week was my first week back from my summer vacation - I get three weeks but only ever take two at this time and fritter the rest away as I see fit. Last week was "interesting" but I'll allow that as me trying to fit back into a shop with some new people since I last......... Well..... today was a day to remember. Another "god I'm dying from the heat" day, all the shop doors are open. Out bacck, somebody is attempting to hook up a 5th wheel trailer.... rather badly, from the sound of it but I put it out of my mind as I attend to other business. A little while later, I see someone is helping "someone" hook up the trailer... rather badly but I am called away to assist elsewhere. A little while later, I see someone else is helping someone hook up the trailer and this someone else is someone that I know for a fact doesn't know about hooking up trailers. Being nosey, I wander out back - ignoring a couple of requests for assistance - to see what is taking so much effort. Word to the wise... if you want to hook up to a trailer with a 5th wheel hitch - at least make sure that the hitch isn't closed and locked. So... with the trailer securely attached to the truck, I waddle my fat, old ass back to the shop just in time to watch an alignment head part company with a wheel and tumble to the ground. I didn't think that three thousand dollars or so of metal, plastic and electronics could bounce that high. Three times I told somebody to put bungees on the other heads before he tried to do anything else. That part wasn't bad.... To straighten the steering wheel (a quarter turn out), he wanted to adjust the position of the pitman arm on the sector shaft.... I have already dispatched my weekly budget for adult beverages... and it is still only Monday... Yahweh help us in our time of need.... There is a bright part to my day... my boy showed up at days end... he needs an axle u-joint, an AC belt, a top rad hose and rear shocks.... At least he didn't act like stupidity was a virtue... Stress is the confusion caused when ones mind overrides the body’s natural desire to choke the living shit out of some asshole that desperately needs it.

What I fail to understand.... first, an interesting factoid - 115 volt work lights are sooooooo much better than 12 volt work lights... ask any serious fire department guy.... Any serious emergency response vehicle would/should be equipped with a decent 115 volt genset/inverter. If your ambulance/first responder is on station away from a hall - run the genset to power a battery charger/inverter/block heater (even an air compressor if required)much like a shore line in the hall. The genset would take nearly pennies an hour to operate - especially compared to what idling a diesel can do to your budget. Some might insist that they cannot dedicate a compartment to a genset due to space constraints... I reply that, given the possible consequences, you can't afford NOT to. It is much easier to be stupid than it is to be wise. And if it is your EMTs that act stupid, I pray I never visit you.

The only thing you get from making something "idiot-proof" is better idiots... Accessory delay relays - battery isolator switches - chassis batteries - module (coach) batteries... where does it end and sanity begin? Yes, I've had a bad day... a day that promises that this week will not be any better than last week. If I have one more drink, I promise to relate some of my "interesting life".

Nobody has a push truck? Ours is a 1985 F350 with a Holmes wrecker on it. I'm pretty sure I drove this truck when it was new.

I think there is no secret that you and I seldom see eye to eye on many things... It's been a while since I saw this video - sadly, I can't bring myself to subject myself to this travesty another time. At one point, our poor slob is looking for keys... keys that other techs gleefully reveal that they have been concealing. The SAs are shown as "the enemy"... in fact. most of the video is dedicated to fomenting an "us against them" attitude. Nothing is to be gained by reinforcing this attitude and, I believe, everything is to be lost. More on that later. There are two major problems at work in the life of todays tech. First and foremost is the lack of teamwork we see all too often in the workplace. Instead of each of us dedicating our efforts to making customers satisfied, too many of us are busy trying to "long cock" everyone else. Service has to look better than parts... you have to look better than me... Often, management will encourage this shit without thinking about it. If parts is going to "look better", it is easier for them to do it at service depts expense... If someone wants to look better than me, it is often easier to cut me down than than it is to actually be better. There are a lot of problems with this industry.. one of them is people looking for the first chance to bail out rather than actually make a difference. The other is to misdirect our focus from things that actually matter. Jacques Nasser (affectionately known as "Jack the Knife" in some circles) began a movement that saw the slashing of SLTS. This movement continues to this day as times get less and less realistic. Ford has learned, from Jacques, that millions can be saved by simply ignoring the plight of the tech. Techs have replied by being something less than mediocre in the smarts department. So... we are going to continue this finger pointing and blaming the folks we work with rather than trying to reach a solution to the whole deal. One of the things that truly amazes me (well, maybe not since I have a little more "seen that" experience than some) is that we cannot see the writing on the wall. Once we reach tech competency only, it will only be a matter of time before HVAC pays this, driveability pays that and brakes pays the other. The next step will be a diagnostician directing a cloud of "worker bees". And that diagnostician may not be in your shop. OASIS quick start should have been your first warning... Interactive diagnosis is but the next chapter. The marvel of modern electronics is insidiously stealing your every opportunity. Don't believe me? Look at MOS FET circuits as they apply to the modern automobile. They can detect an "over amp" situation and turn a circuit off before the fuse blows. You can replace a bulb but the module remembers a problem and somebody/somewhere is going to waste a great deal of time looking for a concern that doesn't exist because they didn't clear a code. As I speak, datalogger and SGM are underused... and the second boot is about to hit the floor (holy shit... there's an old reference). "more on that later". A football team wins because they work as a team. A baseball team wins because they work as a team. That common goal means ever so much - without it, we might as well stay home. I am paid straight time.. I don't make a secret of that... Why do I get paid straight time? Because I do what I do and not what other people do. I don't play with the bullshit - I deal with my customers... people that have known me since the early 80s... People that trust me... people I do not intend to disappoint. I don't fix cars for a living... I make people happy (not in the massage with a happy ending way). And I do that whether I have to swim against the current or not. The video sucks - end of story.