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You might not get away from the hand tendonitis. I was a tech for 20 years and have carpel tunnel in both hands from wrenching and had tendonitis come and go over the years. Becoming an automotive tech can also cause back problems from bending over hoods for hours a day. I have 2 herniated discs from that. A lot of techs I know have bad knees but that hasn’t bothered me.
If you can get a job in a shop as a category specialist, become an Automotive Electronics Specialist. You’ll keep clean, avoid a lot of the health problems and enjoy what you do.[quote=”college man” post=182627]Check your battery and connections are clean and tight.[/quote]
Agree.
I had a 2003 Taurus that did the same thing. It was caused by a bad/dirty battery connection.First car I owned was a ’68 Mercury Montclair I bought in 1975.
Then I owned a black ’72 Gremlin
Then I owned a purple ’72 Gremlin X
Then an orange Gremlin X
Then a bunch of forgettable pieces of junk.
The next mentionable car was a ’79 Camaro Z
More forgettable cars….
1987 Lincoln Town Car
I now own a 2009 Chevy HHR and a 2013 Ford C Max HybridBefore I went to work at a tool manufacturer I spent 20 years in a Lincoln/Mercury dealership. The only tools the shop provided were the ones required by Ford, or as they were called “E” tools (essential). Anything else we had to buy ourselves. We had no scopes and no one had their own. As far as scopes go, they’re great for advanced diagnostics, but most diagnostics can be successfully completed using the pinpoint tests in the shop manual. Most OEM pinpoint tests call for multi-meter use, as they only look at resistance and voltage. I’ve only run across a couple OEMs whose pinpoint tests use scope waveforms and they are Kia and Toyota. They’re included as additional data for known good waveform comparison, but they also use voltage and resistance for testing. Once in awhile I would run pinpoint tests that after checking voltage and resistances would say to replace the PCM and that would not fix the problem. It didn’t happen very often but a scope would have probably found the problem. Scopes are the new fad now because the cost of them have come down to the point they’re affordable by most techs. If you still had to pay thousands of dollars for one and it was a hassle to set up and run, no one would be using them.
The next, newest fad now is thermal image cameras. I see more use for one of these than a scope.It should make a difference. Just be sure the hole that the exhaust comes out of isn’t pointing towards anything that can catch fire or melt, and make sure it doesn’t blow the fumes into the car.
You mention replacing the CAT. Was it bad? A bad CAT can break off pieces over time and work their way back to the exhaust. While driving the pieces will slowly plug up the exhaust flow and cause a drop in power. The exhaust you smell when this happens could be leakage at joints when the back pressure builds up. When the car is stopped and sits, the pieces fall down and no more blockage until they build back up in the exhaust. Check the exhaust back pressure while it runs well and then when it runs poorly.