Jim Warman Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 More and more of our local independant shops are venturing into the land of diesel repair.... without adequate tooling, without ANY documentation and all of them expecting two things.... That these systems can be understood without any preparation (be it reading or instruction).... And that the local Ford store will be more than happy to drop what they're doing so they can spend 45 minutes on the phone trying to explain the high pressure oil system FOR FREE. Now, don't get me wrong... I get the "warm and fuzzies" from helping my fellow man and I always feel good when someone looks at me and says "AHHHH, I see how it works, now...".... and having other shops in town should help take some of the pressure off of us.... "should" being the key word... I've gotten to the point where I have to have the receptionist screen my calls for me. Is anyone else seeing the aftermarket attempting to get into diesel repair without adequate preparation on their part - hoping that our bosses will condone us spending their time dispensing free advice or (worse yet) having them expect us to loan tools? I'm trying very hard to be diplomatic with these shops... in spite of the fact that diplomacy and political correctitude aren't in my dictionary.... Maybe if I learned how to say "FOAD" in Latin..... or maybe one of the romance languages.... Swahili???? Esperanto???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Sorry sir, you're gonna have to call back on the 1-900 number if you want advice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Jim, Most of the cries for help I hear emanate from our retail parts counter. We sell a lot of parts to local shops, body shops and other dealers keeping a full time driver on the road all day. This is a great source of income for the company which I do try to keep in mind when one particular parts counterman comes to visit my bay... whom for a few years would avoid me because of the viciousness of my responses to his constant questions that would seem to never end. I have matured over the years. I can judge by the questions being asked that there are many guys in the independent shops having trouble with these "modern" diesel engines. A few should not be in the business to begin with and I do not care to waste my valuable time trying to educate them or diagnose their customers truck for them. I have had the pleasure of speaking with a few very knowledgeable independent techs whom I could have an intelligent, to the point conversation with. Since we sell large numbers of trucks to local business fleets that have their own shops I have no problem lending an ear. I too like that warm and fuzzy feeling but there is a line between free advice and being leeched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted March 31, 2007 Author Share Posted March 31, 2007 We have a Bingo... do not disturb your cards.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Bedford Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Man, there is just so much available at this point for the indies. The information online like iATN, technical trainers like Bruce and Mike, and printed publications make their life much easier than the Ford techs had it when the first 6.0l equipped vehicles came off the transport. Frankly, if they used the "tools" readily available to them they would rarely need the advice of a Ford dealer tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Yeah, but you know what? I think Jim hit the nail on the head about the training being a starting point with "all it can do is lay down the groundwork..." We at the dealer level specialize in these engines and for most of us, these are all we see on a day to day basis. Having said that, look at the difficulty many have had in learning these Power Strokes and then getting to know them. I feel for any guy attempting to learn and service PSD's, CAT's, Cummins, Duramax all out of one shop. Thats a lot of tools, service manuals, training to take in AND THEN get sufficient experience in all of them to worth anything. You had better be one sharp Dude to try that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I too have to have my calls sreaned. I get the hutterites all the time, and all kinds of backyarders. Allthough if a tech from a Chrysler shop or GM shop calls me, I am usually glad to help them. There are times I get Dodges or Gm's in here and I need to call my buddies at the GM or Dodge dealers for advise. And their products can be intimidating to us. But some of these small shops have no intentions of training their techs either. And if they do, Great! You just have to sort out who's who I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselD Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I get these on a daily basis too and it does get old. After spending 30minutes to try and explain how they should go about a diag or repair, finding out they don't have any of the right tools or knowledge they ask If I want side work. I politely tell them no and give them a quote so they can bring it into the shop for repair. Most of the time its fleet accounts with trucks that are out of warranty. I do however get the occasional truck that broke down on the side of the road and the driver decided to pull all the fuses out and set them on the seat. I have yet to figure this out? how does that help make it run? My personal favrote and will irritate me in a heartbeat is the guy that takes his truck apart, decided he is in over his head and brings it to the shop in pieces. Then gets mad cause I charge him a little more labor to figure out his mess, his response is "I took it apart already" some people you just want to smack upside the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 ...some people you just want to smack upside the head. Like the guys that replace their fuel filters because the truck just stopped running or all of a sudden wont start. These are also in many cases the same stooges that can't seem to get the HFCM filter cap screwed on all the way to open the valve. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/boink3.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 That's the one that really burns me ars. It's usually out of guilt that they changed the damn fuel filter anyway, because their over their interval limit by about four friggin times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Kaylor Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I feel for any guy attempting to learn and service PSD's, CAT's, Cummins, Duramax all out of one shop. Thats a lot of tools, service manuals, training to take in AND THEN get sufficient experience in all of them to worth anything. You had better be one sharp Dude to try that! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif we rock out to all makes of diesels, from some old John Deere inlines that are in equipment to Duramaxes, ISB's, N14's, 50 and 60 series, P$D's of all sizes, and more. i prefer to use the term "insane" to describe our shop, since we do anything from scooters to haul trucks and equipment. back on topic, when i decided to start doing powerstroke work three years ago, i drove over a thousand miles in one weekend just to attend a class that Bruce Amacker was teaching. i then spent another 5 grand on tooling and diag equipment, but i learned how it worked and how to fix it. and guess what? i get calls from other shops too! they finally just wind up bringing me the trucks and have us fix them, cause i get to be an a hole on the phone when i have to deal with idiots that dont know how anything works on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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