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Eric, love your videos, you really have a clean logical apprach to diagnosing and figuring out what’s worth doing.
Just a couple things:
(1) Just your body language, the way you pull off parts looks “cavalier” and hurried and rough and unrespectful. Now you probably know exactly how hard you can pull off intake ducts without breaking them, but it may not be the best style to impart to noobies.
(2) I notice the cars you work on are always really dirty and greasy. Good in a way, as it shows real-life, not like the antiseptic pictures in the factory manuals. Bu I’ve found that if I take the extra 10 minutes and $2.99 to clean off the gunk with a detergent or kerosene spray and rinse, I feel less squeamish and I respect the fine parts more that way. And I get less dirty, and i later on can see any oil drips that I’ve created.
What do you think?
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Hello grg88,
Eric is a busy guy but I have a few comments about this post.
I do not mean, in any way to sound rude but the things that you are saying say a couple of things to me.
1. It sounds as though you are a “rookie” or inexperienced when it comes to car repair. (Meaning you do not do it on a regular basis) For the most part, car parts are very durable and you do not need to be super delicate with them. (The only exception, which also shows someone is a rookie, would be over-tightening bolts.)
2. Engines do not need to be clean, this is also another thing I hear a lot from rookies. Many people actually cause more harm than good by trying to clean things in their engine compartments. People who do not work on cars on a regular basis always want to clean things for some reason. Plus, what is the point of cleaning a part that you are going to replace anyway? Not to mention Eric spends enough time as it is shooting the videos, I am sure he doesn’t want to use up any more time cleaning things.
3. Getting dirty is the fun part! :]
I agree with most of what Xyius commented on. Eric shows us the real world of Automotive repairs. When a Tech is on flat rate pay we don’t have time to be Mr.clean unless everything is oil soaked.
As far as being reckless with components, after many years of dealing with car repairs you get to know when to work quickly and when to be gentle with things.
I appreciate and understand your position. I would wager however, that you’re not a professional technician. If you were, I don’t think you would make those comments. I say that because like anything you do for a long time, you get familiar with it. You know your limits and what you can ‘get away with’. That said, I understand where you’re coming from, but in response I would say that I repair way more than I break, and if I do break something I’m more than willing to fix it. As for dirt, I’m much more concerned with keeping things clean on the inside than the outside. Mechanical repairs are not dependent on external appearance. Trust me, I’m much better than many of the people I’ve worked with in the past. If you think I’m being cavalier, you should see some of the stuff that I’ve seen in my career. Makes me look like mother Teresa.
Ahh, I see, but there is a little angle you may be missing.
You’re showing your professional, $ per job techniques to us noooobies that don’t know how hard we can pull on that air intake and are not driven by working as fast as possible.
So there’s the risk of us getting the impression that it’s best for US to work in that manner, with every part.
Now I know that you pros are doing exactly what is best for you in that situation. If I was getting paid by the job, and every second wasted was a little less food on the table, I’d do exactly as you do.
But those of us with less knowledge, and more time on the weekend, and who don’t have such easy access to parts, just perhaps for us it’s a bit better, and doesn’t cost for us to work a bit more delicately?
For instance the last time I replaced a head gasket on a VW Rabbit, I took a little extra time, laid out all the bolts on the bench, cleaned them up with a brush and kerosene, and put little dabs of anti-seize on the threads. I even painted the heat shield with hi-temp paint. None of that was officially “necessary”, but it sure made the job more pleasant and helped keep me with the right attitude.
Now you, being a pro, know exactly what can be left dirty and what internal parts have to be scrupulously clean, but for us simpletons, working with clean parts can have its advantages.
Regards,
George
I bristle a little at the insinuation that I’m not ‘careful’. To be honest, I broke less than anyone in the shop where I worked. In fact, when something WAS going to break, they would call me over and I could usually get it done without incident. That said, my point was that as a professional you get a feel for things. This comes for years of experience working on different vehicles. You use that experience in your daily work. What you mention about me showing others how to do things I think is irrelevant. I’ve been doing these videos for 5 years now and I can say without a doubt that everyone that watches takes away something different. You focused on how I work. Based on what you stated about your own repairs, it sounds like you have plenty of time for ‘detail’. Others don’t have that luxury and therefore take away something different. In those 5 years I’ve been doing ETCG, you’ve been the first to bring up this topic in this way. That’s not to say you’re wrong in your opinion, but I think it says more about you than it does about me.
Once again I appreciate your point of view but it is based on your own experience and opinions which differ from others.
grg88 – most of us would love to have the time to do all the extra things to make our work clean and nice looking, but in a shop it doesn’t work that way. Eric is doing in his videos what he should be doing. What you see is what its really like and many who aspire to be in this field need to know that.
just ask yourself this question. How many times have you paid a mechanic an extra $100 for him to spend an extra hour of your time to clean things up more than they were before he started?
in this world people want their cars 5 minutes ago, and it takes us working like this to adapt and meet those demands.
Easy fellas, I didn’t mean to rile anybody up. I even went the extra mile and explicitly stated that I think you’re doing EXACTLY the right thing by doing things as quickly as possible and not doing more than absolutely neccessary, if you’re being paid by the job.
That said, there are those of us who have a whole Saturday with nothing else pressing to do, so no money is lost if we take an extra minute to wipe the grunge off an intake duct, or take two minutes to wire-brush the rusty bolt heads and dab on a bit of anti-seize.
Pls try to understand, we have the luxury of being able to take an extra minute and do things that are economically perhaps unneccessary but sure improve our mood. And I dare say a happy mechanic is a better mechanic.
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