Jim Warman

I have to chuckle.... I found this link in a UseNet group. Someone in a reply to that thread wondered why DetNews would air such a story???? What in Gods name could a successful automobile manufacturing plant have to do with Detroit?.

Add me to the list... the eccentric bolts have limited utility (usually something like 1/2 to maybe as much as 1 degree of adjustment range). Most of the time it isn't so much about what a customer wants as what a customer needs.

Now this is an interesting thing to watch.

Jeff, I got a real chuckle out of the vid..... too bad it blames "big box mart" for all of the worlds ills.... I still shop "Mom and Pops" when I can... I do it in an effort to keep cash in my town... I do it in an effort to propogate personal and caring service... My whole life has been about being on a first name basis with my customers and having them trust my advice and judgement. However, too many consider price above quality or whatever else.... Do you gaurranty your work? "We're cheap!!!". Do you use good quality parts" "We're cheap!!". You see where this is going, don't you? The big three (with the aid of the American public and the unions) built this house of cards... And we are all finding out that there is no "chicken in every pot" - for those too young to remember, this was part of the American dream.... In your next life - stay awake in history class. The third world.... all of us speak of "sweat shops". Consider this. Take a man or woman... They have never had an identifiable income.... Given the a job in a "sweat shop".... It will seem like mannah from heaven... In broken English you might hear... "I earn two hunnad dollah las' yeah... I never make that much before...". Certainly they aren't going to be millionaires.... but their status of life has improved immensely.... But let's get serious about sweat shops.... Let's give all the sweat shop people a big raise.... (I'm not sure about any society whose only reward is to give everyone a raise - only to find out that there are many jobs that cannot support "pie in the sky" wages). In the case of China... someone is going to have to worry about the millions of people that DON'T work in sweat shops.... They will need a raise.... And now, a bag of rice that cost one whatever, will cost 100 whatevers.... Wow... have we made some headway here, right? What is it that has a tech bitch about how a truck is assmbled on one hand... and then has him try to justify some underachiever assembly line workers overblown wage on the other.... We need to forget "feelings" and to look at this shit in the cold hard light of reality.... The auto industry can't support multi-million dollar wage packets for management.... The auto industry can't afford to pay some wanker $70/hour for a $15/hour job.... And the clincher.... Will some of you guys compare your wahe/benefit package to that of the assembly people.... After you see that travesty - ask yourself if the assembly line guys is a much better diagnostician that you are..... Muck fe... I came from a world where I was responsible for my own actions.... Apparently, I still am.... However, it appears that upper management and union members are free of these human bonds... In the book "On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors" (all of you guys can read, right?) John DeLorean quoted a high level GM manager as saying "General Motors is NOT in the business of making cars...." - if you want to experience the rest of the statement, I found the book quite entertaining. Wake up and smell the coffee... the USA is a trendsetter and pretty much controls most of the marketplace we call planet earth... but for all her good intentions, the US is merely paving the road to hell.

Back when I was self employed... when I was a small company... when I made my payroll every payday - back than, I made a few mistakes... The government, bless their friggin' heart saw my deliquent tax payments as a way to drive a stake through my heart. Not one shred of help or understanding did I find. And now... multi-national corporations with bean counters extrodinaire and over paid management and equally overpaid union labour couldn't see thge writing on the wall... couldn't get their Goddamned business ducks in a row... They already overcharged us for a truck... they squeeze the tech as hard as they can on labour times... and they are asking us to bleed a little more for them - on both sides of the border. I'm not saying stand back and watch the economy of north America crumble... I am saying make these assholes personally responsible for the house of cards that THEY built... FWIW.... neither Toyota nor Honda was around during WW2 so the tank production thought is getting made at nothing. As for your CitiBank bailout... when do two wrongs ever make a right? You guys are living in the henhouse and you are trusting the fox with the keys.... Elmer Fudd said it best.... "Be afwaid.... be vewy, vewy afwaid....".

We had an apprentice do a right side up pipe with a trans removal only... seemed to go OK but there wasn't any problkems with fasteners... I would have thought that once the uptube to manifold studs were out of the way, it would be a walk in the park. Part of the equation... we haven't been really active at pulling cabs... well, up until our latest hire... That means it still takes us a bit longer than most. That appears like it may change - especially as the workload shifts from the 6.0 to the 6.4. Additionally, 1/3rd of our hoists are 4 post and scheduling may affect the decision to lift the cab or not... Might be a none issue since I am the only diesel tech with a 4 post in his office and I rarely get large ticket jobs.

Whoa... sorry, Bruce, I didn't see this post at all on the 20th... not that I could have helped much... For the most part, I think you will find Canadians a bit more laid back and less suspicious that Yanks... Nice to see you booking dates in Canada.... But Saskahoovia????

The year would be 1974.... The car would be a near new Cougar... The motor was a very warm 351M/400... I know this because I took out all 8 spark plugs - this was long before anyone thought of "pit gloves"... hell, it was before teflon and kevlar... and it hurt - flat rate hasn't changed... I aimed for 5 "woofs" on my compression test... and got over a dozen... this motor was "trying" to run. If you don't understand Bernoullis principal and the venturi effect - stop here... I'm, not sure how many of you know what a carburettor is - let alone know that I prefer the British spelling and only the Japs ever used an idle fuel shut off.... I have never had the opportunity to test Alex's suggestion... but I can certainly see it's validity.... Be very careful using the word "never". Ever done a running compression test? Let us remember that a relative compression test is a relative compression test.... If all of the cylinders are in the toilet - they will all look good... Chris's 176 rpm cranking is getting towards "fast"... Fast cranking speed and a no start with everything else good????? This IS a compression ignition motor.... Where I live, we are getting P40 diesel as we speak. Chris... it would have been a bit nice if you could have just told us where you are... Having just your P&A code could mean a lot of things.... none of them are convenient and it can just make life more difficult... DTS has a few mambers that need anonymity... a very few members. (This is what I was thinking, Keith). These guys contribute when they can and, occasionally, offer us an "inside scoop". These guys are assets we need to protect. For the rest of us.... knowing where you live... knowing your climate.... knowing your demographic... knowing all manner of little subtleties can help us help each other better... There is no need to make that part difficult.... After all, this isn't the "monkeyhouse"... is it? If I felt the need to remain anonymous, it could mean that I didn't have any conviction to my statements... it could mean I have false bravado and would never say what I said if you were directly in front of me.... I could go on and on about "anonymity" and how I feel about it... Sorry, Keith...

Working off someone elses diagnosis should make you grit your teeth.... But working off another shops diagnosis? One can only wonder what the powers that be in your store were thinking. "Missing fuse syndrome" is a lot more common than some expect and it's something that has caught a lot of people off guard... it can even catch people multiple times over their careers... Mistakes? We all make them. But we should always endeavour to make our own mistakes rather than let a stranger make them for us. As a fire department instructor, we practiced a method called "fail forward"... The human condition has us programmed to make mistakes.... Building on and learning from those mistakes will make us stronger and wiser.

Not many replies to the battery cover.... Looking at the cover, is there anything that makes it required? Is there anything that makes it expendable?

Ahhhh, the Windstar - fresh from indy shops that refused to part with good coin for something as mundane as decent WSMs, I shot myself square in the foot (as I am wont to do on far too many occasions). This is, without a doubt, the event that has driven me deeper and deeper into the workshop manual. Anyone familiar with the lighting system on a Windstar can agree that this will humble the unwary. Today, I find myself consulting the WSM for things as technically challenging as demounting a tire.... I find myself asking "have you checked OASIS?" even if the concern is obvious.... Bruno, the supply of good techs is almost non-existant... In Alberta, the supply of lousy techs is scarce - yes, even fuck ups are worth money. If you are still breathing and you show up in the morning, we can use you... We can join Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the WABAC machine... the year is 1975... A dashing young redhead, married little more than a year, earned his journeymans.... That leap in pay brought my hourly wage to almost $4.00. I could put 5 bucks worth of gas in my car and make it all the way from one payday to the next... Cars were simpler back then.... (well, pre-1973 cars were). One fuse panel.... maybe 12 fuses. For many years the attitude was that if your son wasn't smart enough to be an electrician (110/240 volt kind of electricain) or smart enough to be a plumber, he could always be a mechanic. For the most part, that worked.... If the car didn't run right.... points and condenser... Still no good? Spark plugs.... Still no good? Cap, rotor and wires.... And if that didn't do it, we'd sell a "major" tune up (which included all of the above and a carb overhaul). Except for the carb overhaul, this is all no brainer shit... Using nothing more than dumb-assed luck, you could fix nearly any running problem without running your customer into bankruptcy. Today... two fuse panels are expected.... 3 and 4 fuse panels are "ho-hum". Since the dawn of creation, the electrical system has proven to be the hardest vehicle system to grasp.... But now vehicles have miles and miles and miles of wiring, nearly pounds of fuses and relays.... and society in general still views us in the same terms that they viewed us in 1975. If you can't do anything else... you can always unbolt parts and bolt new ones on.... For society in general, deciding which parts to replace and which ones to leave seems to be another subject - apparently, somewhere between the cute girl on the service desk and the smelly brute on the shop floor, the diagnosis fairy waves her wand and all a mechanic has to know is "lefty loosey.....". Any issues involving the automotive trades are far too complex to deal with one topic at a time... everything is woven together in a vast tapestry. A seeming simple change in one place can have resounding effects in unexpected areas. Welcome aboard, Kenny.... Looks like the Canajuns are taking over /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grampy-jim.gif

OK... we are talking "big oil". High ICP and long pulse widths demanded by chips and programmers can leave stock HPOPs lacking... "Big oil" has no business on a daily driver.

Just a thought.... how many of you guys are seeing left side batteries without the plastic cover? Enquiring minds want to know....

I think it important here for us to concentrate on the issue Mike has presented in his first post.... Techs.... Folks that make their living doing this stuff.... And to, for the time being, forget about those DIY champions.... When it comes to techs.... there are three kinds.... Those that are very, very good at what they do - those that made a catastrophic career choice - and the rest of us living in that big gap in the middle.... I really don't care what sign you have floating above your driveway... because the problems are the same for all of us.... We are all distrusted and maligned.... And we seem to be bound and determined to fight a battle that isn't being waged. So.... before we open Pandoras box.... let me begin with "50% of all doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class". OMG.... the deck is stacked.... Let me also state that I am likely one of the haughtiest bastuhds out there.... and it has squat to do with where I am and everything to do with who I am. As a dealer tech, I have access to (amongst other luxuries) a complete set of current workshop manuals... The subscription to these manuals is assured by being a dealer. These books aren't free - they are a part of doing business... Too many independents overlook these books - even considering them an "unnecessary cost" (wait for it.... it is the store at fault for not providing this stuff - not the tech - yet). Mitchell and AllData offer "economical" alternatives to expensive factory manuals... I am unfamiliar with their content. But I do know that factory manuals are chock full of sections describing the principles of operation of all of the systems on a car.... It is these sections, right there in the WSM that are so important <DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION>.... If you don't know what the friggin thing does - how it does it - or even what it is designed to do.,.. how are you going to fix it? Not long ago, we wasted hours trying to figure out why a memory seat in an F150 didn't perform a function IT WAS NEVER DESIGNED TO PERFORM!!!!! I asked the tech if he had read the manual.... no... "but he was going to...". WTF is that? "Let me fuck around for a few hours and then I'll check to see if it does <that>". It isn't about looking down ones nose indiscriminately... You have to look down your nose with a purpose.... The guy that tries to save a few bucks (this is a guy that makes us all look like buffoons) by not buying proper documentation.... Shit... we can get some pretty good guesses of of iATN... We don't have to know squat... somebody else does that for us. As if to punctuate my point, the InFord message board (the Canadian side of things) has been top heavy with idiot posts this week.... Questions that are answered painlessly in the WSM and the PC/ED - ESPECIALLY if you have the where-with-all to read the introductions to the PPTs and the description and operation sections. I get paid quite handsomely.... Why? Because I read what other people wont.... Nothing more - nothing less.... If indies would stop saving money on manuals at their customers expense... if dealer techs would simply use that which they are given (caution - over-simplification on many points happening), I could stop being "haughty".... I have proven myself to be an asshole on nearly every forum I have visited... Why? Because I don't whimper about my substandard pay.... I don't treat my managers as "the enemy" - and I have come to grips with the idea that this is my "career". It behooves me to be better than the next guy (I want to be in the top half of the class, thank you)... to be "haughtier" than the next guy. How do I do that? I friggin' earn it.... I bust my chops to learn stuff that other guys think comes through osmosis.... At the risk of jinxing myself.... yeah... I ain't great but I still think I'm pretty fuckin' good.... and it takes more work than some guys are willing to invest.... in their fucking CAREERS!!!!

Welcome aboard, Ernest... I can't help with your problem child... but this would be an ideal time to push for a VDR. Ya gotta take the opportunities when they preent themselves.

Mike, I really don't believe that anyone actually brings a job in with the idea that they are going to screw it up... All of it, it is simply "shit happens" on parade. Lack of conciousness, lack of care, lack of judgement, lack of pride.... It goes on and on.... Place an object close to the edge of a bench or desk - place it 'TOO' close to the edge and wait.... Watch peoples reactions when they accidentally brush it off... Some wont even look behind them to see what the crash was as the object hit the floor.... Others will look and decide that while they are a factor in the mishap, it isn't up to them to correct their mistake.... Few will actaully stop and pick the object up and replace it on the bench.... That's people.... When faced with installing something as simple as mudflaps - one will agonize over placement and level and even-ness... another will make you feel that you should be happy they kind of made it on to the truck - some with more than two sheet metal screws.... Look around your shop.... does anyone check the dipstick level after an oil change? (Hint... the 6.4 takes 15 US quarts with the filter). We take so much for granted... including whether we counted oil properly. One Master tech swore up and down the the 5.4 2V and the 5.4 3V take the same amount of oil... Seat covers and floor mats... Well, it isn't often we need floor mats - this IS the oil patch and the floor of the truck is the floor of the truck... But seat covers.... How many times in a day do you think I say "where's your seatcover?"? And I get a look in return - one that makes me wonder if I've ever said that before.... Grease smudges? Why would I care? It ain't my car..... It's not just our industry... you can find crappy service and crappy attendants where-ever you go... in our business, it's just a bit more visual and it happens to a customers very expensive automobile.

Posted to InFord in the past 24 hours - a recognition program for Canadian techs...... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information SVB - SERVICE BULLETIN ProTech Technician Recognition Program Bonus Award SVB 2008-54N Published: 11/11/2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: All Ford of Canada Dealers Attention: Dealer Principal Service Manager Subject: ProTech Technician Recognition Program Bonus Award Purpose The purpose of this communication is to inform dealers of a ProTech technician recognition program bonus award to further recognize the contributions made by certified technicians. Background Improving customer satisfaction through improved 'Fix-It-Right-The-First-Time capability requires that dealer technicians are adequately trained and competent on all Ford vehicle components. Trained technicians continue to play a vital role in customer satisfaction. Details Technicians that achieve or maintain certification in any of the specialties will be entered into a draw for Vehicle Communication Modules (VCM) Program runs through December 31, 2008 Results are based on training credit recorded in STARS2 at year end Please communicate this technician recognition bonus with your staff. If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact Don St-Amour at dstamour@ford.com. Don St-Amour Technical Training & Rotunda Programs Manager

Oh... Larry.... this is going to be very hard not to look real bad.... for me.... First off is the "onionistic" term "brother".... We don't need to go there because it isn't going to be pretty.... Honest. Second... the assembly workers unions and the manufacturers management have BOTH spent many years fleecing the buying public.... Neither of these entities have fuck all to do with after sales repairs and/or parts supply. The manufacturers have spent many years enjoying their excesses - both in usurious management rewards and in unreasonable employee rewards for simply putting "tab A in slot B and tightening the bolt"... For the most part, assembly line workers have been enjoying wages and benefits far in excess of those that downstream workers experience... EVEN THOUGH DOWNSTREAM WORKERS NEED HIGHER SKILLSETS AND ABILITIES THAN ASSEMBLY WORKERS. Financial institutions have spent their time fleecing over "safe" investors. They use us to hedge their high risk, high return ventures. Now they expect us to bail them out of their high risk, oops we fucked up ventures. The Big 3 are no different... After years of enjoying their excesses and us catching what is left, we are expected to pick up the slack..... Fuck that. I don't care if they build good shit or if they build shit that can't make it off the assembly line... I fix that shit.... and I will continue to fix that shit. I will get paid to do it.... It doesn't matter to me and it wont affect me half as bad as it will affect those that screwed themselves out of a job. My allegiance is to my customer.... This is the relationship that matters most to me. I have to take what Ford will allow me to do... and I have to amke that pallatable to my customer... That Ford and the UAW have both placed themselves in tender circumstances has nothing to do with me... If they want to act like pricks, the world can treat them like pricks. Manufacturer management has fleeced their shareholders and unions have fleeced the manufacturers... the victim is the consumer... and now the victims are to come to the rescue of the villian? Fuck me....

And it suddenly ocured to me that we did have a reflash go bad... but this was quite some time ago - well before the recall in question and a couple of calibration levels ago (IIRC). We wound up replacing the TCM for that one. Once the erase procedure had completed, the module would not inhale the new programming... That one was past the B to B warranty and was a CP...

The tech didn't have things back together Saturday so there was no opportunity to rerun the VVT test.... As I recall, the highest reading I saw was 0.25 PSI boost. But I really do need to rerun the test to consider some possible oversights on my part... if only I had thought to take a couple of screenshots. Tapping the cat with a small hammer "sounds" like it is intact... But we have had trucks through with cat deletes and don't display this concern.

Actually, I'm smart enough to know that I don't know squat about US politics.... The fighter pilot rates high because I saw him on military channel - blowin' up Charlie.... Sarah Palin rates high because the alternative could have been Hillary.... and who the fuck is Obama? Is that even a real name? FWIW.... "King Ralph" used to run Alberta... hated by some, loved by some.... this man took our province out of defeceit spending. Some of his shit was hard line shit but he took us out of debt.... Social programs weren't outstanding but neither were they negligent... we help those less fortunate but we aren't going to give the farm away to do it.... Isn't it funny that "less" fortunate people sleep in in the morning... they don't have the worry and stress associate with going to work... they don't have to consider that perhaps they should offer thanks to "great googly moogly" and give food bank donations and charitable donations and warm clothing in the winter time donations.... Nope.... but, sometimes, they approach me and ask "Hey, misser.... you got a buck forty nine?". (the price of a bottle of "big bear" beer..... I vote conservative.... period.... I don't agree with my conservative prime minister... that little !@#!?$! bastard is trying to give away everybodies farm... but that is something I have to deal with.... While you guys might not have wanted Obama, you got him.... can you imagine how both our countries would improve if we had the choice "none of the above"? FWIW.... I was never sure if Obama was a black guy or something else... it's not like his name helped a bunch... John Smith or Abraham Cohen I can get a handle on... but that part doesn't matter.... I can't see where "first black president" should be such a milestone.... especially when it should have never been a barrier to begin with. What I would love to have..... a government that runs my country like a business..... and treats me like a stockholder......

I would have thought that, at this point in time, you would be busy determining your own bush status.... You are supposed to be getting damp, you dumb fuck!!!! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

Well, gents, I've got one here where I can't see the forest because too many trees are blocking the view.... this is one of my three amigos.... About an 06 with a recent "trifecta" (head gaskets, EGR cooler, oil cooler)... and a recurring P0299, P1408 and P2263 in the KOER test. They key to the thing is that it appears that it can't build any backpressure (but it makes 25~26 PSI boost on a road test). Smoke test shows that no exhaust or intake leaks are left... air management test shows EBP is too low but sensor coherency passes... I had him remove the EBP tube and make sure it was clear - gave it a new EBP at the same time. Did the VVT test (I'm going to repeat it tomorrow to look for some considerations I may have overlooked) and it looked good at the time... you could hear things cycling up and down.... IAT2 didn't change when the EGR was commanded open at first - cleaned the sensor and now that works. Had him pull the turbo.... unison ring, etc. all looks and moves good.... Tried a known good EGR valve - no change... Warm idle, I have barely 15 PSI EBP with the VGT pinned at 85%. And the question bears asking - how many of these have we seen with exhaust leaks and no codes? And all I'm looking for is one or two more PSI....

I'm always afraid that one of them guys might do something he can't turn the clock back on.... One thing that has been made painfully evident in my life (in more ways that one) is that the devil I do know can be much nicer than the devil I don't... Besides, I always react a little more kindly when I'm feeling a little pain /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

For us it IS rebuilt near us..... by guys that don't speak English... brought to this country as near slave labour.... screwed over by guys from their own country... who can conveniently blame it on white male, heterosexual, middle aged, wage earning, tax paying, married men with 2.3 children, a mortgage that is paid on time and a retirement savings plan decimated by lousy government crawling into bed with greedy business.... that give government grants to guys that promise to bring more near slave labour to this country and have them rebuild things that are way beyond their abilities.... Gad....ain't I a sour old bastuhd....