Young Guys Don't Know Everything

[wctriumph]

But they think they do!

I was drinking beer with a couple of younger "Technicians" over at one's house and they were trying to get an old BMW air head R100 running. It has been sitting for about 5 years, so they go through most of the standard stuff, drain and replace all the fluids, rebuild the brakes, put on new tyres, pull the carbs apart and clean them, check the settings, new plugs, you get the idea. I give a little advice here and there if asked but mostly stand by and observe while drinking cold beer. They get it all back together and now comes the magic moment, "Press the Button Max" and... she starts up and the idle races. Check the carbs over, good to go. Runs on the choke when partly applied, at idle it runs on one cylinder. Give her some throttle and runs like crap. I seriously suggest that they have crossed one of the throttle cables with the choke cable. They look and say nope, impossible.

I go take a leak and grab another beer, come back out to the garage and they are trying to... guess what? Exactly. "Technicians", pah! Whatever happened to "Mechanics"? Young guys don't know crap.

[Great-Kazoo]

That's because most if not all "techs" today Remove & replace. TROUBLESHOOTING Well the code says to replace. OK have you checked the leads to see if there is an corrosion or loose wires? Well no i'm doing what the code says.
There are a lot of skilled techs, however the majority of those worked there way up the ladder. Apprentice here, trade school there. I'd be surprised if most 'techs' know which to do first, timing or dwell.

[tmleadr03]

That's because most if not all "techs" today Remove & replace. TROUBLESHOOTING Well the code says to replace. OK have you checked the leads to see if there is an corrosion or loose wires? Well no i'm doing what the code says.
There are a lot of skilled techs, however the majority of those worked there way up the ladder. Apprentice here, trade school there. I'd be surprised if most 'techs' know which to do first, timing or dwell.

I will tell you truthfully that I do not know which comes first. Because they stopped making those cars before I was born. And I work on Euro trash which went to multiport fuel injection when the big three were still doing carburetors.

Now you take one of those guys who knows which is first and ask him if he knows how to diagnosis the dwell I am intimate familiar with (i.e. reading a scope for the electrical signal from an injector) or how to diagnosis a bad high pressure fuel pump just reading the cavitation signal through the sensor using actual voltage not what the computer tells you.

Just because I don't know how to use a matchbook to "tune" a vehicle does not make me less of a professional at my job. Just means I have NEVER had to do it. Ever. Seriously.

[Great-Kazoo]

I will tell you truthfully that I do not know which comes first. Because they stopped making those cars before I was born. And I work on Euro trash which went to multiport fuel injection when the big three were still doing carburetors.

Now you take one of those guys who knows which is first and ask him if he knows how to diagnosis the dwell I am intimate familiar with (i.e. reading a scope for the electrical signal from an injector) or how to diagnosis a bad high pressure fuel pump just reading the cavitation signal through the sensor using actual voltage not what the computer tells you.

Just because I don't know how to use a matchbook to "tune" a vehicle does not make me less of a professional at my job. Just means I have NEVER had to do it. Ever. Seriously.

That's what makes a true mechanic / tech great, versatility. It use to be called NIASE Certification, when i wrenched, didn't have it, didn't get the good jobs.
What separates one from the other? The ability to Troubleshoot, not just remove & replace, hoping that solves the issue.

[buckshotbarlow]

I will tell you truthfully that I do not know which comes first. Because they stopped making those cars before I was born. And I work on Euro trash which went to multiport fuel injection when the big three were still doing carburetors.

Now you take one of those guys who knows which is first and ask him if he knows how to diagnosis the dwell I am intimate familiar with (i.e. reading a scope for the electrical signal from an injector) or how to diagnosis a bad high pressure fuel pump just reading the cavitation signal through the sensor using actual voltage not what the computer tells you.

Just because I don't know how to use a matchbook to "tune" a vehicle does not make me less of a professional at my job. Just means I have NEVER had to do it. Ever. Seriously.

that's why my truck is in his shop right now getting some of the European love ^^^^^

[sellersm]

Tech 1: "What's that thing with the flashing/strobe light used for?"
Tech 2: "I dunno, point it to the ceiling and let's put on some 70's music!"

[clublights]

Tech 1: "What's that thing with the flashing/strobe light used for?"
Tech 2: "I dunno, point it to the ceiling and let's put on some 70's music!"

I miss shooting timing....

one of my fav things to do as a kid with my dad ...


I've never owned a car that needed a timing light tho ... :-(

[trlcavscout]

Most shops encourage low paid parts replacers now. I got canned from my last mechanic job at a Chevy dealer because I was told to give all the driveability work to a young guy that wasn't ready to be the only driveability tech in the shop. I was told to help him but I wasn't supposed to take any work from him, and I didn't get compensated for it. But if he couldn't figure it out I was expected to tell him what was wrong.

I got laid off from another shop before that so the boss could bring in an oil changer from grease monkey to save $10 an hour.

[DFBrews]

damn old guard thinking they are better than us... I got the troubleshooting part covered. parts changers are just that and always will

[BPTactical]

Dwell is the amount of time the points are open, timing is when they open relative to TDC.