- This topic has 12 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
-
Replies
-
I mentioned in your other thread that fixing Dodges is like becoming a doctor so you can work in a prison keeping death row inmates healthy enough to be killed by the state. If you love Dodge, more power to you. For me, the lack of quality combined with the engineering/design blunders that have to be figured out/worked with makes me a hater. Every time I have to learn how some malfunctioning system on any domestic vehicle works, its as depressing as finding out how the Federal Reserve System works. I think “how could anyone ever think to do it this way?” or “how could this design ever have made it from a drawing board to production?”. That applies to all domestics though, and frequently to foreign cars infected by partnering up with a domestic manufacturer (think GM/Daewoo, Chrysler/Mitsubishi, Ford/Mazda ventures).
Obviously the preceding is entirely a matter of opinion and there are plenty of people who are the opposite of me, to whom how Dodge makes cars makes sense to them. Compare a PT Cruiser to a Element, a Dakota to a Ridgeline, a Sebring to an Accord. When I work on a Dodge economy car that needs a $800 TIPM replaced because the drivers side low beam doesn’t work, that doesn’t make sense to me. When I turn the cruise control on in a Jeep and it accelerates at full throttle, that doesn’t make sense to me. When a Honda needs a new starter or the AC compressor clutch wears out, that makes sense to me. Going back to what I first said, doing things like Dodge does them makes me feel like the doctor who is sterilizing the site of a lethal injection.
The real answer is work with what makes sense to you. I find the most depressing moments of my career are when I’m spending my time fixing something that I think should never have been produced or sold in the first place. Do what you can to put yourself somewhere that you are not having that thought on a regular basis. Some people like or hate all cars equally somehow. I don’t know how they do it, but I’m jealous of them in a way.
Fopeano if I ever meet you I’m giving you a hug, and we are going to hang out shooting the shit as long as we can.
[quote=”Pitt” post=128872]Fopeano if I ever meet you I’m giving you a hug, and we are going to hang out shooting the shit as long as we can.[/quote]
I completely agree.
My friend went back to VW after working on Hondas for a year, “Hondas don’t break, all I did was oil change, tires, belts and brake services, BORING”
My other friend who works for Chrysler/Dodge is struggling to take lugs off with just one socket. He has a set of 19mm, 19.5mm, 20mm sockets just for wheels (told me he thought about buying 20 sockets of each size so he wouldn’t have to deal with jammed lugs in sockets). This happens on every vehicle that rolls in the bay door.
[quote=”abvw” post=129411]My friend went back to VW after working on Hondas for a year, “Hondas don’t break, all I did was oil change, tires, belts and brake services, BORING”
My other friend who works for Chrysler/Dodge is struggling to take lugs off with just one socket. He has a set of 19mm, 19.5mm, 20mm sockets just for wheels (told me he thought about buying 20 sockets of each size so he wouldn’t have to deal with jammed lugs in sockets). This happens on every vehicle that rolls in the bay door.[/quote]
So I’m screwed either way lol
Sounds like your friend needs to invest in flank drive sockets or 6s sockets basically the kind that grabs the flats not the points. Also a round flat punch, hammer, and a vise works wonders for that.
Also get blue point deep turbo sockets for the main sizes for Chrysler. Hammer it on the lug nut. Brake it loose with a 1/2″ long handle ratchet it is a lifesaver. Not that I ever had one of my Plymouth lug nuts round. :whistle:
I am not saying buy thew whole set but…
[quote=”MDK22″ post=129728]Sounds like your friend needs to invest in flank drive sockets or 6s sockets basically the kind that grabs the flats not the points. Also a round flat punch, hammer, and a vise works wonders for that.[/quote]
I don’t think you understand what those lug nuts are doing wrong. They’ll rust out internally and swell the chrome to the point that it’s a guessing game as to what socket will actually fit the lug nut. The flats become the problem & I don’t know if the flank drives can do much without having to reach for the larger size that you would have had to get in your regular sockets anyway. Some are practically round before you ever get a chance to hammer any particular socket onto them. Unbelievably enough, I’ve seen a lot of lug nuts go to hell on very young Ford Fusions these days. I had a 2013 show up a couple weeks ago that we made the owner replace all 20 nuts on it for the same swelling problem. What’s so strange about those lug nuts was that there was no rust between the cap and the nut to cause the swelling.
@ Pitt; What I do like about Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep products is their lame ass steering and suspension parts. Their quality is very poor which has historically been great for me and my paychecks. I’ve been able to sell quite a few tie rods and control arms on Mopars with less than 50K on their tickers. They’re never just a little loose either. I steal oil changes from the lube techs when I see certain Mopars because I know there’s a good chance I can find the gravy work in that suspension. I don’t know how well that would translate for you in a dealer garage, but I think I’d sooner risk working at the Dodge dealer. In my experience, imports are a better vehicle so you don’t get the same selling opportunities that you can with domestics.
I went with Acura. They had way more work, and seemed to have more structure. I spent one day at the Chrysler dealership as an apprentice under the shop foreman. He told me they have plenty of Dodge training they can send me to, but they don’t see much business. Very little actually. Even when other shops are ramping up for the busy season of tax returns and summer time.
I’ll keep everyone updated. Everyone keeps talking about making me a line tech as quick as possible. Makes me nervous honestly.
Congratulations on the new job Pitt! Glad to hear you chose a higher end brand. Don’t be scared of advancing to a line tech, I think its good that they want you to grow and not keep you as just a lube tech.
[quote=”Pitt” post=129780]I went with Acura. They had way more work, and seemed to have more structure. I spent one day at the Chrysler dealership as an apprentice under the shop foreman. He told me they have plenty of Dodge training they can send me to, but they don’t see much business. Very little actually. Even when other shops are ramping up for the busy season of tax returns and summer time.
I’ll keep everyone updated. Everyone keeps talking about making me a line tech as quick as possible. Makes me nervous honestly.[/quote]
Congratulations Pitt, I’ve heard Acura is a good car brand to work for. I understand what you mean about being nervous about being made into a line tech early on. My dealership is trying to push me there as well. If I were you I would try to negotiate into being a line tech at an hourly rate first if you can. The new line techs at my work really depress me… One guy just finished tech school and turns 3 hour jobs into 9 hour jobs. He just does not have the correct tools, or the experience to beat the system. Every time the guy leaves work, he leaves with his head sagging. He’s not lazy or anything, he just is not very efficient — that kind of scares me.I understand what you guys are saying, but dont be afraid of progressing just because of warranty times. That will all come down to experience. When I first went flat rate there were plenty of warranty jobs that I lost time on but now three years later that’s not an issue. Plus were your going to make your money is recommending work like inspecting brakes, tires, services. Take your time to learn the vehicles and there pattern failures. It’s hard at first but if you stick with it you can make good money.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.