I went to look at a fuel leak on a BIG JLG fork lift {after hrs} the other nite.. Leaking throttle shaft.. no biggie, seen it thousand x before.. You have to pull the engine half apart to get to it tho.. I'm up for it.. get it apart, take the cover home, ream the housing, put a new bushing in it & let the epoxy sit over nite.. Head to the jobsite after work.. put new orings on the shaft & install the shaft.. NOPE.. They bent the shaft so bad that it wouldn't go back in the cover..!!! I tried for 30 minutes.. & gave up.. I showed the on-call mechanic & he said.. "yeah, I found that if I tightened up on the throttle cable, it would cock the throttle & slow down the leak"... ***??? I mean, REALLY?? I just shook my head & said, "I'll be back tomorrow w/ a new shaft".. In 30+ YEARS of doing this.. I've NEVER SEEN THAT.. & I've worked on some crappy machines!!! WHY wont people tell you the FULL STORY?? Your there to HELP THEM.. I guess they think, if you leave out certain details, it'll save'um money?? I don't get it.. NOW, its another service call charge.. another wasted evening & the rain is moving in for a solid week..
Can't recall off the top of my head any stories , but do know there were many times when trying to fix or troubleshoot a problem having that little bit of information of what "they" had done would have saved lots of time and effort. And it's not like they would have been charged for a phone call as our "customers" were all in-company. Sure if I had to make a road trip to the plant and actually do the work they would be charged but not for a phone call or two to discuss a problem!
I think the whole story is held back so the owner( boss) doesnt find out what idiots they have working for them, as you may put the story in your billing and the owner finds out...and that this problem went on for so long and other parts were abused and damaged..
OH, IT GETS BETTER.. Lol I said to myself, why not just check the "boost diaphragm" while your here.. that's what gives the machine the extra shot of fuel it needs under a load, from the turbo.. It takes a special 5 sided bit w/ a tity in the middle of it, that nobody has but me.. lol {5sided tamperproof torx bit..} The friggin diaphragm was blown apart in 3 PIECES..!!! WTH?? I showed the "on call" guy.. he said, yeah, it seemed to loose power.. OMG!!! The RUBBER diaphragm bout the size of a 25 cent piece cost 96.00.. I DID SAY RUBBER.. & I did say 96.00.. GET THIS> the STEEL throttle shaft, precision ground.. is only 42.00.. Steel vs rubber?? I don't get it.. OH WELL.. the jobs done, the customer is happy & I got paid.. which is {almost} the most important part.. On to the next one.. stay tuned..
YOU ARE A MASTER IP REBUILDER!
We used to call that putting out fires. How many times have you heard what actually caused a house or barn or what ever burn up? Nice job!
In defense of the idiots of the world, they don't mean to leave out pertinent information, the way they view it, they did temporarily fix the problem and what they did they feel didn't hinder or make your life harder in any way, how could it, they cured the problem for a while, how could that ever make the problem worse for anyone else. And above all else, remember who hired these people in the first place..............................
A mechanics first step.....verify customers complaint. If they don't complain about something that's wrong, you can only verify the one thing he did say. To solve any problem, one must first diagnose it. Whenever I forget this and do it the other way around, it turns out badly....unless I just got lucky. Lot's of people operate on the principle that if you keep your mouth shut as much as possible, other people won't figure out how stupid you are.
I smell what your cookin CHECK.. I DID verify the leaking shaft on my first trip.. just to see if I wanted to take on the job.. THATS when the "mechanic" should have told me about the loss of power & the throttle shaft "trick".. Its all fine & dandy now.. he got charged for an extra service call & 120.00 in parts, ON TOP of the original quote. I'm happy, he's happy & I'm really sure, the fork lift drivers are happy.. oodles more power..
Uhh, pumpguy, I have one of those tamper proof screw tools also. Mine resembles a 3/8" chisel and a 12 ounce hammer though....
As a coworker once advised, ask the customer questions until he's really pissed, then ask two more, you might get enough information to get the job right then....
I 've seen your equipment then RG.. lol.. Folks get VERY inventive when faced w/ those tamper screws.. That particular pump manuf. got slick & put them in a recessed hole.. completely ridiculous, even by my standards.. theres ABSOLUTLY NOTHING under that cover that could be "tampered" with..
I know what you mean LAN.. nuthin worse than working for 10 hrs & THEN find out the REAL problem & have to start over.. I guess its not tooo bad if your working for yourself & pocketing the money BUT if your doing it hourly for your "boss".. HE'S the one making the money, your just the poor SOB that has to deal w/ the aggravation, for pennies on the dollar..
Try wrenching in the rental business. Customers will say and do anything to cover up something that might cost them big $$$$.
I REALLY "thought" about going to the rental companies.. Just to get out of the grind I'm in.. I actually get about 3 pieces of equipment in from them a week..BUT the thing about those places is> when your not wrenching or even if you are.. your TOLD YOU HAVE TO deliver this equipment here & there & end up being the delivery boy AND the mechanic.. and when a piece of equipment is down longer than it shoulda been.. your ass get knawed.. & everyone forgets about the 200 mile trip, one way, you just got back from.. drivin a semi, in downtown traffic.!!! FORGET THAT CRAP.. About 75-90% of the fuel related problems that come in from the various rental co's. in town are SIMPLE fixes.. So I KNOW they ALL need mechanics.. Either that or the mechanics are busy drivin trucks & delivering equipment?? lol
Most rental companies only do one thing good, product testing for equipment manufacturers., mainly in terms of life expectancy of the equipment, measured in hours, days or months.
The only times I've ever been told to deliver equipment when working in rentals was if I was driving past that customer on my way to a service call. And only if the equipment was small enough to fit in the back of my service truck. We have 2 full time drivers and a tow company on contract for deliveries.
I once got a work order that said "No Start" I walked out to an old truck, Tipped the hood and found a freshly painted longblock with only a few thing loosely connected to it, maybe 4-5 bolts in the bell housing, and no hoses or harness connected. I get it, maybe the mechanic quit or something, But really? "No Start" is what you told my service writer?
That sounds about right MB.. I get pumps in ALL THE TIME, like, EVERY DAY.. ask the foreman, whats the complaint?? I don't know.. he wouldn't tell me.. ***?? he wouldn't tell you?? MORE LIKE> you didn't ask, you DA.. all I get is> just tear it down.. GOD I HATE MY DAY JOB..
I wish I had a dollar for every time I got sent to a machine for something that turned out to be something else completely lol, flat tire =blown hydraulic line or dead battery = coolant leak. Or just getting sent to a machine to flip a switch or move a shovel off of an e-stop. My favorite was a roadtec sb2500 that would only move with the hood open........shovel on brake pedal with hood closed on top pushing it down. The funny thing was the operator moved the shovel to show me the problem and then put it right back and closed the hood again
Yeah guess were all just a buncha parts changers. I was sent to work on a Gradall lift a few months ago, (needs new injection pump I was told), I started digging into and pulling the pump. Something told me there was no problem with the pump I just had that feeling you know, I saw new wires everywhere so I knew somebody has been tinkering with it, so I pull the pump and and get it rebuilt. CAV pump, real nice rebuild from BECS Pacific, looked brand new, with new fuel shutoff, about $700+. I install it, SAME PROBLEM WOULDN'T START. The fuel pump was wired backwards, fuel was pumping the wrong direction. YAY!
LOL>> good one.!!! Did I ever tell you guys the story about a "co-worker" that got a call in the middle of a Friday nite 10"pmish in the middle of a weekend "bender"?? The BIG BOSS/OWNER wanted to know if "he" could ride 2 hrs 1 way, SATURDAY MORNING to start this jackass' boat under warranty?? Well, being more than half in the bag, SURE, WHY NOT.. 6AM comes mighty early when you go to bed at 3am.. & HAVE TO meet Mr JA at 8am.. "This guy" who shale remain nameless.. arrives 2hrs late on account of an accident on the hiway, hung over like nobodys business.. Gets chewed out for another 20 minutes by Mr. JA.. because HE wants to go joy riding in his NEW BOAT & it wont start.. A few checks were made.. no problems.. "The mechanic" walks to the controls, pulls the shifter back into NEUTRAL & turns the key & it roars to life... Mr. JA is jumping up & down.. get off my boat, I GOTTA GO.. The guy says, not until I get paid.. your not.. The guy says, whatda mean, this is warranty.. The "mechanic" says>> NOT UNLESS YOU HAVE STUPID INSURANCE.. LOL He left w/o getting any payment & let the boss' sort it out.. OMG> you should have heard THAT conversation on Monday morning!! it was on speaker phone.. about how "he" showed up late & how rude "he" was.. bla bla bla.. After all was said & done> the guy paid the HUGE bill.. cuz he DID NOT have Stupid Insurance & the tech. was never called on a late Friday nite, EVER AGAIN.. Lol
I like that story.......
I gotta MILLION of'um.. A guy drops of an air compressor & says it wont start.. the shop foreman tell a couple of newbies to go snatch the pump & injectors outta it.. {cuz he's smarter than everyone else} WITH OUT even going out to look at the machine!! Pumps done, injectors are done..1000.00.. still wont start... 5 techs standing around looking at it.. I walk over & within 5 seconds find a broken wire at the shut down solenoid.. a .30 fix..!! Have I told you how much I hate my day job?? lol
I got one that's very similar... sort of. Guy calls me up and has to have his John Deere tractor going NOW. So I go 30 miles out of my way, when I get there, there are 12 non English speaking guys with no less than 4 sets of jumper cables hooked to the batteries. THE SHIFTER HAS TO BE IN NUETRAL TO START. I see this stuff once a week.
Eleven years or so back I had a farmer bring in Pete ten wheeler with a BCII Cummins. He was complaining of low power and a lot of smoke. So while he was there I took a look at it. I noticed something odd where the ether hose was hooked to the intake, someone plugged the hole with a Zerk fitting. The after cooler was getting greased regularly Truck Shop
We farmers sure like our grease
Way back when I was a first year apprentice one of the crew pickups was having issues (low power, lots of black smoke). Truck was a 3rd gen Ram with a Cummins. Shop foreman and only other mechanic there (who was an idiot BTW) spent hours and a ton of dollars trying to figure it out. He wouldn't let me near the thing because apparently I'm just a dumb apprentice. One day when he wasn't around I popped open the hood and investigated. Truck ran like a top once I replaced the air filter (which was jammed halfway down the intake pipe). I may be dumb but I'm still a smarter than him lol.
So who paid the $1,000.00 + $0.30 ? ? ?
when working for cat dealer used to get called out every three weeks to the docks for machines not starting after being off loaded from ships. the fix was always the same, flick ground level shut down switch to on and away we go. it was always the same dock worker and always every three weeks and 1 o'clock in the morning .told the boss at the time but was told not to worry about as it was easy money. minimum call out fee of 4 hours, plus travel, plus allowances, plus penalty's . all this at cat rates
Hoss> I;ll give you a hint.. it wasn't us.. The paperwork read, "system was "contaminated" w/ rust & mud".... {yeah, right}.. more like, system was surrounded by dumb ass's..lol
Mark, that happens to us EVERY YEAR.. the Coast Guard puts their life boats in storage for the winter & pulls them out at the beginning of EVERY season.. We've been doing their life boat work for ever & have seen it all.. Got a call afew seasons ago.. boat wont start.. they cranked it so much it drained ALL the batteries.. LOTS OF 'UM.. I get there, put fresh batteries in, do some checks, TRY to bleed the fuel system & theres no fuel anywhere..WTH?? I go to the fuel tank & its BONE DRY.. I yell to the mate, hey theres no fuel in this tank.. He yells back>> I know, we drained it last season.. LOL.!!!!!!
Not tryin to top anybody, but my buddy, who had a starter/generator/battery shop had one come in, while I was there. Sold a guy a battery, after testing the old one. Car comes in on a rollback, won't start, wants it fixed, or replace the defective battery you sold me. There it was, brand new interstate battery, still in the shrink wrap, with the top post terminals still covered in the HD shrink wrap, with the car's cables, clamped over the plastic. And the guy thought it would work, thattaway...
Okay so heres a full story. I call this one "KARMAS PAYMENT PLAN", So I get a call recently from an old friend of mine at around midnight, I'm like what the hell it 's midnight and I'm in bed, I don't answer...he calls again...and again..so I answer. Basically the conversation went like this. Hello? Hey Brodie it's Little John I know, hows it goin? Not good, were stuck in Florida and our diesel Dodge Sprinter Van is broke down, I think we bought some "bad gas." Bad gas? What do you mean? Well everything was going good until we got some diesel from this gas station then our van made a couple miles down the road and died, won't restart. Hmm, that sounds weird, are you positive you bought diesel and not gas? Yep positive. Hmm I need more details, somethings not right here, really, what gas station did you go too? THEN THE TRUTH COMES OUT. Okay so we ran out of money and we siphoned diesel out of a bulldozer at a construction site. What?! Hahaha, you probably siphoned out of the wrong tank... No were sure we siphoned the diesel tank. Oh like you were sure you bought bad gas from a gas station? Theres several tanks on some machines and some times the caps look the same, diesel, coolant, hydraulic fluid. We're sure we siphoned diesel. Oh yeah? Ok well I can't really help, I have to go back to bed, I will call you tomorrow to confirm you siphoned the wrong fluid. No, were sure its diesel. Ok goodnight. I found out the next day they filled their entire fuel tank up with coolant, hahah, I guess karmas a biotch!
I think with all this this talk we should start a thread with all the best MISTAKES we have made, hahaha. Yeah?
Had customer bring in their 89 Volvo for drive shoes. He comes back six days later complaining of a air leak that wasn't there before I worked on it. I noticed the air leak was at the back of the cab and it had a newly installed fire extinguisher hanging on the back of the cab. he had drilled a hole dead center of the supply hose going to the pressure protection valve mounted inside of rear cab. It had a 1/4" bolt going through it with a nut on the inside of cab interior. Truck Shop
Had a complaint of a boom lift that had no drive function. Walked around the machine, checked a few things. Couldn't really find anything. Looked a little harder in a mess of hoses around the hydraulic tank. Noticed the ball valve supplying the drive pump was closed. Opened valve and now we have drive functions. Lucky they didn't burn the pump out of it lol.
Got called on my way home from work to go to plant loader an hour and a half away that wouldn't start.....fuel gauge was on E and the worst part is it was within reach of the fuel pumps. Drug the hose over and filled the tank, hit the primer switch and called the operator an idiot......at least it was overtime lol
Also been called out more times than I can remember to a machine with dead batteries that turned out to be a master switch that was never turned on, or a machine that wasn't in neutral.
Was changing a rad on a machine at a site with multiple companies working on the project. Had to move out of the way so another company could swap out a big welder that wouldn't start. Because of the location they needed to use a knuckle boom. Not 5 minutes later I get a call from the boss: "There's a welder down out near you that won't start. Can you take a look at it?" Oh you mean the one they just made me pack up and move out of the way so they could lift it out? Walked across the jobsite, flipped the lockout switch on and started the welder. Best part was not 30 seconds later some guy walks over and tries to start the already running welder. Twice. Facepalm
So did you put a rubber washer on each side of the hose to fix the leak?
Isn't that what rtv is for???? Maybe even that flex seal from the commercials
One of the best I recall was a customer with a twin engine Wabco scraper. Two weeks earlier I replaced A shift solenoid on that machine, he was all growly and said everything quit working. I asked if the trans was full of oil... I could hear the eyes roll over the phone and he snaps "my guys are smarter than that". So I drive across 2 counties and start the front engine... no main pressure, shut it down and check the oil level, bone dry dipstick. So I wait while dipstick puts 16 gallons of oil in the hole. Started the engine and followed the oil stream from the belly pan to the top fitting on the main pressure line. A new o-ring and shes good to go. I'm putting stuff away while Mr. "operator" charges off to try his new toy. as I get on the main road I get another pissy call saying things are still not right and the machine wont load... I drive back up the rabbit path to the machine... And started the rear engine. "does it work better now?". This "it's all somebody else's fault attitude" Got Mr. "super operator" fired a few weeks later when I came unhinged on his know nothing boss over another similar scenario. Rear trans harness had shorted and was applying an extra clutch in 3rd gear and he just powered through it and said it was connected to the solenoid I had replaced. I did the autopsy for free with the stipulation they paid me if I was in the right. Guess who won?
No actually I didn't do anything to it. He was the master mechanic so he could fix his own mess. Truck Shop
Just this week, complaint of a low voltage warning coming up on the display. Arrive on site; "yeah, if I sit in the cab with the ignition on and engine off, after a while it says Low Voltage"
Maybe you can help diagnose the problem with my Rav4? After I drive a around 4 hundred miles on a full tank of gas the low fuel indicator comes on! Any idea of what might be causing that?
lol.. could be oil pressure?? better tear down the engine & change the piston rings & crank brgs.. & don't forget to post back often, asking for torque specs & valve clearances.. lol
Latest in a pile of f'ups.. Truck comes into the shop 4 WEEKS AGO!! Its a PILE of junk & I MEAN J U N K.. {6.5l} Last time it was in, after 3 injection pumps, YES 3.. were put on it cuz it wouldn't time w/ the computer..the key way for the crank was wallowed out & the guy "was gonna" sell it.. just wanted it to run to the auction.. The key way hole was filled w/ Devcon & a new key installed.. put back together & out the door it went.. Fast forward 2 years & its back.. SAME OWNER.. he filled the tank w/ ??? & the filters in the tank were stopped up.. Drained the tank, changed the filter & still ran like crap.. CUT the steel lines & fabbed in a gauge to check the fuel pressure.. Don't ask me WHY they didn't use the pressure tap on the engine?? So this DA grabs a 1/2" hose & smooshs it onto a 5/16' line w/ hose clamps.. STILL no fuel pressure.. 3.. YES 3.. electric lift pumps later.. "someone" walks out & see's the "test hose" he's using.. changes the hose to the proper diameter & MIRACULASLY theres fuel pressure & the problem is fixed.. THIS TOOK 4 WEEKS..!!!!! GOD, I gotta get outta there..
One for the pump guy. Fellow stops in with his BCIII no power and getting worse. He had Cummins work on it twice plus two other shops. One rebuilt pump plus removed and checked twice, One set of injectors plus removed and checked twice, over heads run four times, one turbo, four fuel filters and a few other items. I disconnected the return line and ran it in a bucket- swollen damn near shut. Replaced it-power out the ***. Truck Shop
Back when I was working at the local turf farm, about 20+years ago, I was the mechanic that kept several balky old machines running, including an old international forklift, and a ford 3000 sod harvester(Brower), the boss lady had a "mechanic" on call, second guessing all of my conclusions. I would say bad hyd pump, and he gets a call. No flow meter, he tells by "feel"... I told the boss, call the ford dealer, and get them to come out and check with their flow and pressure tester. Guess who was proven right... Another time, this guy decides to do an in frame overhaul on the crappy diesel motor (english ford). I decided to have some fun with him, as he was underneath, "feeling the crank", for wear, every once in a while, I would surreptitiously drop a piece of ball bearing, piston ring, or other misc iron part, down through the piston holes, right into his face... Had him scratching his great wooly head, for about 4 hours, that day. when working on a loss of power steering problem, on the IH forklift, I stopped by the IH dealer, and found in their files, a recall letter, that mentioned a burr that developed in the valve bank, and I suggested taking a break cyl hone, to it, to de-burr that particular valve hole, and viola, as the french say, he "comes up" with the same advice. OK, he steals my ideas, and overcharges her for his work, its war now, I says to meself... So one day she calls him to put a new starter rope, on an ancient arctic cat snowmobile, that she knew I wouldn't work on, cause I knew it had a bad carb, and wouldn't start, anyway(that particular carb, and kits were NLA, from the dealer...). Anyway, I saw him take off the 16 or 18 bolts, that were in the housing, watched him thread the rope around the starter spring assembly, and re assemble the 16 or 18 bolts back to tight, on the shroud in question. As he is tightening up the last bolt (I could have told him my next observation, at bolt # 1, but chose to withhold my advice, per HIS instructions), I ask him, "Shouldn't the rope, go through the grommet and not under the shroud?" He stopped coming around, and the old junkers were much better for it...
I thought this was a good addition to the thread, hard to read the work order I'm holding up, but it says, " Engine Oil Leak"!
I watched 4 of our guys stand around a small Cat gen that wouldn't turn over a few days ago. Apparently the other field tech told them some time prior to pop out the injectors and check if the cylinders were hydro locked. When they finally got it turned over and cranking it sprayed sooty water all over the machine in the next bay. Lucky they didn't bend a rod continually bumping the starter.
What?? Are you trying to tell me a lack of oil caused the oil leak??
YUP.. oil leak.. we "might" be able to slow it down but we're not gonna be able to stop it from leaking entirely".. lol
JB weld. Lol.
AT LEAST you got a "write-up".. My IDIOT guy takes a pump in, talks to the customer for 20 minutes & I get paperwork that says, "calibration check" "test & advise".. NOW what the hell am I checking for?? Low power, leaks, hard start, run away?? WHAT?? YOU TALKED to THE CUSTOMER FOR 20 MINUTES!!!! OH & to top it off.. the #'s are wrong on the paperwork!!!! HE has 3 jobs that are imperative to MY JOB.. TALK to the customer & find out WHAT the problem is.. WRITE DOWN the #'s ON THE PUMP.. Make a JOB TICKET & give it to the mechanic.. IN A TIMELY manner.. I'll see a pump come in at 9AM.. I wont get a ticket on it until 4PM.!!!! All the while he's playin w/ his phone all day & taking 2 hr lunches.. Dammit, I just ruined my Saturday morning..