Haha! The fundamentals never change.
However the invention/innovation is relentless and fast paced. If you fail to stay abreast of the changes, you get left in the dust…
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I have no intention of directly engaging with that person.
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Just saying, that kind of bickering doesn’t belong out in the common space.
My (2 year) Associate degree in Automotive Technology was 30% classroom learning the the remaining 70% was in a shop set up like a pro shop, we would get a work order and get the vehicle and push/drive it in, then start working on it, the teacher basically was like a service manager but would aid if when you needed help, some students worked in groups of 4 +, I only worked with 1 other guy or by myself most of the time, sometimes I would be asked to show the other students how to do something easy that I had already been signed off on, like axles, steering and or suspension type stuff… Anyway, it was mostly hands on…
Once out in the real world I made the decision to watch and hang with the much older guys to learn from their mistakes and tips and tricks, meaning I furthered my knowledge from the hard working older guys and not guys my age, they had nothing to teach me so they were not worth hanging around, I advanced very quickly and was building engines, transmissions and drivelines and doing diagnostics and electrical work, over the simple C level stuff…
I have hired and worked with many students from those 11 month schools like NADC etc and rarely impressed with them… they are almost entirely classroom work, and was lost in the real world sometimes…
Now the once in the advanced learning programs do seem to be pretty knowledgeable, but they also seem to have grown up around mechanics or mechanical types…
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The fundamentals in Computer Science didn’t change. But there have been MAJOR changes in computers and the tools we use since when I went to school. There’s a lot that’s obsolete.
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Dealers were required to have a service department with qualified technicians and service equipment. And it takes a certain amount of money to support that operation. The manufacturers have inventory of spare parts, some of which may never be sold. Inventory is usually taxed.
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It generally takes more than an ASE certificate; new car dealers want people with automotive training or work experience. Chris seems to want to skip those two credentials.
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For marketing class we actually had to run a business, on paper at least. It was very hard to actually turn a profit. In management, the professor did a lot of summer consulting so we spent time going over these case studies. Wage and labor policies etc.
My nephew got hired right after his ASE certificate program. His previous job was working as an assistant manager at a Pharmacy (I think Rite-Aid).
…Your nephew had training before applying for the position. Training and testing are two different things, ASE does not offer training, only testing.
ASE has a list of accredited training programs; Toyota and Lexus offer one. I have worked with several techs that attended the Toyota T-TEN program, they didn’t necessarily pass the ASE tests.
You know what ASE stands for, right? Ask Someone Else.
I’ve been ASE certified for as long as I can remember, and an ASE Master for at least 25 years now, and have all of the advanced automotive certs as well. Whether being ASE certified means you are a top-notch mechanic can always be debated, but what it does say is that at least you care enough about investing in yourself and improving the image of your industry by participating in the process. And that you are willing to prove and improve yourself.
When I ran my own shop I reimbursed techs for every passed ASE exam and offered a small monthly spiff ($25 at that time) for each certification level they attained.
When I was a state authorized emissions specialist, one of the requirements was to maintain L1 Advanced Engine Performance or lose my state certification.
My current position requires me to maintain ASE Master, and they pay for all registration and testing fees.
Just last week I was talking to a GM World Class Technician and I asked him where he would look to find the proper tire inflation spec for a car. He replied he just looks at the sidewall of the tire.
Tools are the easy part. Do you have any idea what it’s like to work as a B-level tech in a production shop? Tick, tick, tick,…the clock is relentless.
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Do you think that has to do the fact that most human beings would instinctively look at the tire for that information, and not be looking for a placard somewhere on the vehicle frame itself?
I think he was bluffing. You were testing him, and he did not know the “correct” answer.
The print on the sidewall is too small to use for reference and if he was inflating tires to 44 or 51 psi, someone would have corrected him. Customers will complain when their tire pressures differ by more the 2 or 3 psi.
Some techs inflate all passenger car tires to 35 psi and don’t bother to check if the placard shows 32, 33 or 35 psi.
I think that’s the policy of many tire outlets, especially as the majority of customers drove from somewhere, during the warmer third of the day, to have their tire needs met.
And I’d prefer moderately overinflated when leaving the store so I can just bleed them south, to specs, the following morning.
Plus 3psi(20kPa) over door frame spec is my policy, when checking and setting tire pressures at 1 or 2 in the afternoon, any time of year.
What I don’t prefer is people using full impact capacity when reinstalling the lug nuts! At least use a torque stick/limiter down to 100 ft lb for sedans, 150 for SUVs and x-overs.
One time I was checking how tight my lug nuts, and I swear I had my full 195lbs at the time standing on thatire iron, and I had to bounce up and down to loosen that nut! This isn’t outer space.
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Try 50 ft lbs, the 2016-2023 (I’m sure older ones also since they have the same brakes) wheel nut torque for a Tacoma truck is only 83 ft·lb, some Toyota cars are only 76 ft lbs of torque…
You should turn your gun (1/2" pneumatic impact gun) down and use a torque stick to run lug nuts down, then use a torque wrench for final torque, hint, if the nut does not turn before the torque wrench clicks (example) then it is already over torqued…
An experienced pro that knows his gun (1/2" pneumatic impact gun) can simple run lug nuts down with the gun turned up and no torque stick, but again, that takes experience…
BTW using full impact capacity on most guns worth anything with snap a lug nut/stud off pretty fast… but I know what you meant…
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Thanks for that.
I have a serious question to ask, and anyone can step up and answer if they see fit:
Why, when I stated, in words similar to davesmopar’s, on CityData > Automotive, I caught fire & brimstone for saying so??
It happened with other automotive topics there also. Please be honest, I can take criticism where it is due:
Was it the way I phrased it? Or something else. Please. This matters as far as my re-establishing myself in the work force after a year or so apart from it. Thanks, seriously.
The torque specs for the lug nuts on my 2019 Toyota are 76 ft-lbs, and the Toyota service manager swears that all their tire folks use a Torque Limiter on their impact guns… but the Tacoma’s specs call for about 80 ft-lbs and Tundra calls for the high 90’s…
If they are actually using a Torque Limiter at the Toyota dealership, I cannot image they swap out for the correct one each every time a different vehicle hits their lifts… So, after any service that calls for the removal of the wheel, I loosen and re-torque the lug nuts.
BTW, my 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 lug nut specs call for 145 ft-lbs.
100 ft-lb limiter would be fine in those cases. Going 10-20 over is not as bad as blanket-torquing everything to shop pressure. 150 lb limiter would be perfect for that Ram.
Valid point. Through-put = money, bonuses, and promotions at end of fiscal year.
OK…lets just argue semantics. He took a mechanics that allowed him to pass the ASE certification. That better?
I’d rather the surgeon not be talking to AI.
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