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[quote=”vbtoytech” post=63487]Agree with many of the above and could add many more. The biggest one not mentioned so far is state safety inspections (VA in my case). Rant follows…
-Inspection stations are only allowed to charge $16 for a passenger car, but most dealers do them for free if the vehicle was purchased there. We see many cars only 1x a year for their free inspection & these ‘customers’ never buy anything.
-We are paid .3 per inspection. To actually check everything you are supposed to + enter the information in the system + write the sticker, in addition to the courtesy inspection, service pricing, etc. takes an absolute minimum of half-an-hour. One must risk getting in trouble with the state police or lose one’s shirt doing things properly.
-There is almost no enforcement/penalty for expired inspections, even though they are all in the database – the state police know if your safety approval expired. Either make it required and enforce it or get rid of it.
-My #1 source of negative surveys is customers whose cars fail state inspection. Customers often go to another, less-scrupulous inspection station and pass, after I have told them $xxx.xx in work is needed. I never fail a car for a bogus reason to make a sale, and everyone has 15 days to make repairs at any shop they choose. When another shop passes a car I have failed, w/o requiring any repair, it reflects poorly on both me and the inspection system.
-The state inspection code has many arbitrary and illogical provisions. There are things that I do not perceive as an actual safety threat that are supposed to fail and several things I believe are dangerous that are allowed.
-Inspection stations are allowed to inspect by appointment, but must always have a ‘first-come, first-serve’ inspection lane open. Read: waiters all day, every day. Oh, and we have to inspect whatever comes in (any make/model, motorcycles, trailers) even if we don’t generally work on it.
-Vehicles should be serviced a minimum of 2x a year. Safety inspection is required at least 1x a year, but can be done at any requested interval. Customers come in one day for an oil change, then 4-1/2 weeks later for a state inspection (just long enough we have to fill out the MPI again).
-I hate telling people they have to do something. There are dangerous cars on the road with or without the inspection program. I am in the business to fix and maintain cars, not to enforce the law. With inspections on a solid third of service orders, one is forced to walk the line.[/quote]
I agree that state safety inspections are a joke. Where I live, the shops are using them to milk more work out of their customers because there is no money in checking all the crap that is required. There are also customers who will not fix anything unless their sticker is expired or their car gets tagged with a rejection.
I moved to Virginia last year and the safety inspections run by the state police seems to be quite anal when it comes to certain things. I have also known the State Police to demand repairs are made when there is nothing wrong, its just abuse of their authority.
[quote=”vbtoytech” post=63487]Agree with many of the above and could add many more. The biggest one not mentioned so far is state safety inspections (VA in my case). Rant follows…
-Inspection stations are only allowed to charge $16 for a passenger car, but most dealers do them for free if the vehicle was purchased there. We see many cars only 1x a year for their free inspection & these ‘customers’ never buy anything.
-We are paid .3 per inspection. To actually check everything you are supposed to + enter the information in the system + write the sticker, in addition to the courtesy inspection, service pricing, etc. takes an absolute minimum of half-an-hour. One must risk getting in trouble with the state police or lose one’s shirt doing things properly.
-There is almost no enforcement/penalty for expired inspections, even though they are all in the database – the state police know if your safety approval expired. Either make it required and enforce it or get rid of it.
-My #1 source of negative surveys is customers whose cars fail state inspection. Customers often go to another, less-scrupulous inspection station and pass, after I have told them $xxx.xx in work is needed. I never fail a car for a bogus reason to make a sale, and everyone has 15 days to make repairs at any shop they choose. When another shop passes a car I have failed, w/o requiring any repair, it reflects poorly on both me and the inspection system.
-The state inspection code has many arbitrary and illogical provisions. There are things that I do not perceive as an actual safety threat that are supposed to fail and several things I believe are dangerous that are allowed.
-Inspection stations are allowed to inspect by appointment, but must always have a ‘first-come, first-serve’ inspection lane open. Read: waiters all day, every day. Oh, and we have to inspect whatever comes in (any make/model, motorcycles, trailers) even if we don’t generally work on it.
-Vehicles should be serviced a minimum of 2x a year. Safety inspection is required at least 1x a year, but can be done at any requested interval. Customers come in one day for an oil change, then 4-1/2 weeks later for a state inspection (just long enough we have to fill out the MPI again).
-I hate telling people they have to do something. There are dangerous cars on the road with or without the inspection program. I am in the business to fix and maintain cars, not to enforce the law. With inspections on a solid third of service orders, one is forced to walk the line.[/quote]
I agree that state safety inspections are a joke. Where I live, the shops are using them to milk more work out of their customers because there is no money in checking all the crap that is required. There are also customers who will not fix anything unless their sticker is expired or their car gets tagged with a rejection.
I moved to Virginia last year and the safety inspections run by the state police seems to be quite anal when it comes to certain things. I have also known the State Police to demand repairs are made when there is nothing wrong, its just abuse of their authority.
[quote=”brokemechanic3000″ post=64350]
The one bit of technology that I am anxious to see is electronic solenoids to open and close the valves, then we could eliminate all of the valve-train that would lose a lot of weight and moving parts.[/quote]Caterpillar messed around with this idea and came up with their HEUI system which fires the injectors on Ford & IHC diesels. The system uses a high pressure pump that drives the plunger to assist the electric solenoid. It seems to be a reliable system but the pilot injection does not work on the Ford ECM.
Someday everything will drive by wire
[quote=”brokemechanic3000″ post=64350]
The one bit of technology that I am anxious to see is electronic solenoids to open and close the valves, then we could eliminate all of the valve-train that would lose a lot of weight and moving parts.[/quote]Caterpillar messed around with this idea and came up with their HEUI system which fires the injectors on Ford & IHC diesels. The system uses a high pressure pump that drives the plunger to assist the electric solenoid. It seems to be a reliable system but the pilot injection does not work on the Ford ECM.
Someday everything will drive by wire
Some of the guys I work with like them to use on top of long haul trucks because the air hose can limit its use. The electric models are great to change lights on top of a FedEx truck or do light repairs on just about anything. I am old school and still use air for everything. I have one battery drill and it seems like the battery is always an issue unless it gets used every day.
I prefer the pneumatic tools because the batteries and charger can get expensive to replace. All shops have a dedicated air source so a compressor is not an issue.
I can run a 1/2 inch gun off a pancake compressor to change tires at my house LOL I do have two other compressors with a 20 gal tank if you are wondering but not very practical to drag out for something simple, that is where an electric model could be handy.
Some of the guys I work with like them to use on top of long haul trucks because the air hose can limit its use. The electric models are great to change lights on top of a FedEx truck or do light repairs on just about anything. I am old school and still use air for everything. I have one battery drill and it seems like the battery is always an issue unless it gets used every day.
I prefer the pneumatic tools because the batteries and charger can get expensive to replace. All shops have a dedicated air source so a compressor is not an issue.
I can run a 1/2 inch gun off a pancake compressor to change tires at my house LOL I do have two other compressors with a 20 gal tank if you are wondering but not very practical to drag out for something simple, that is where an electric model could be handy.
My thoughts on this:
Perhaps the clutch disc is worn enough that the clutch spring diaphragm has moved away from the release bearing limiting the stroke of the slave piston. The clutch fork could also be worn on the rocker ball and the pads under the bearing. Before hydraulic clutches were around, it was common to adjust a low pedal due to wear.I think that valve is some type of accumulator to dampen the release of the clutch and don’t think that is your problem. If you think the valve is the problem, you can build a temporary line to go around that valve to see if it will shift properly. Just a suggestion.
My thoughts on this:
Perhaps the clutch disc is worn enough that the clutch spring diaphragm has moved away from the release bearing limiting the stroke of the slave piston. The clutch fork could also be worn on the rocker ball and the pads under the bearing. Before hydraulic clutches were around, it was common to adjust a low pedal due to wear.I think that valve is some type of accumulator to dampen the release of the clutch and don’t think that is your problem. If you think the valve is the problem, you can build a temporary line to go around that valve to see if it will shift properly. Just a suggestion.
Its kinda funny how things are outsourced and re-branded in nearly every industry. Here in the United States, Danaher Tool manufactures Matco, Sears, Fluke, Ingersol Rand, and others including the consumer grade (Evolve) sold at KMart. You can be sure that there are other brands of tools that are ‘Private Label’ coming out of just about any tool company and Snap-On is no exception.
Glad you found some decent tools to use in your profession. Most of my really large sockets are made in China because of the cost factor, and I have never broke any.
You may look at some inexpensive impact sockets, those are durable you won’t trash your chrome sockets from hammering on them, I have had good luck using them.
Its kinda funny how things are outsourced and re-branded in nearly every industry. Here in the United States, Danaher Tool manufactures Matco, Sears, Fluke, Ingersol Rand, and others including the consumer grade (Evolve) sold at KMart. You can be sure that there are other brands of tools that are ‘Private Label’ coming out of just about any tool company and Snap-On is no exception.
Glad you found some decent tools to use in your profession. Most of my really large sockets are made in China because of the cost factor, and I have never broke any.
You may look at some inexpensive impact sockets, those are durable you won’t trash your chrome sockets from hammering on them, I have had good luck using them.
If your air line goes through the regulator, it can be restricted giving you a drop in pressure. I put a line direct to the tank and my gun hits harder on the same 120 psi. keep in mind that you will drop 10-20 psi through a 3/8 air hose when you are pulling 15-20 CFM hammering on stubborn bolts.
I use the older style 231 gun its just heavy and cold in the winter.
If your air line goes through the regulator, it can be restricted giving you a drop in pressure. I put a line direct to the tank and my gun hits harder on the same 120 psi. keep in mind that you will drop 10-20 psi through a 3/8 air hose when you are pulling 15-20 CFM hammering on stubborn bolts.
I use the older style 231 gun its just heavy and cold in the winter.
I had an old chev impala that the body would flex and popped out the glass every six months. It was most irritating to be rattling around and I glued it down a few times. I agree that the glass specialist can come out and do the job right and what they charge is reasonable.
I had an old chev impala that the body would flex and popped out the glass every six months. It was most irritating to be rattling around and I glued it down a few times. I agree that the glass specialist can come out and do the job right and what they charge is reasonable.
I hear people talk about the Harbor Freight air tools and how they buy 2 or 3 at a time because they don’t last. I would think if you are doing automotive work you would want a decent air gun.
I got a 3/8 from NAPA out of their Real Deals flyer, it was blue and has amazing torque. It was no bargain but I got pissed off at having a cheap POS that did not work half the time.
I use the IR231C for general work, it is fairly strong and durable as long as you keep it oiled. I see these advertised for $125 in magazines and granted it is not $30 but I am happy with the price as a similar gun on the tool truck will set you back $300.
I am just saying that I never had much luck with those bargain air tools and I hate to throw money away on crap that don’t last at least a year.