One of my biggest construction company customers has been in a nightmare the last 2 years with trying to find heavy equipment techs to take care of their equipment. There is 2 divisions in the company. 1 side is the paving (which I have continued to do their repair and maintenance work for years) and then there is the dirt construction side which I haven't done anything the last 2 years. They have hired 2 in the last 2 years that I know of, one of them was fired last week after being on the job since August of this year. The other has no clue how to repair anything ( he has been with the company for 1.5 yrs ) but what he DOES know how to do is call the dealer for most all repairs. This last February the owner turned the business over to his 2 sons (one of which worked for the company already, the other has never been in this business at all.....he is a pilot) and his SIL which is now the CEO and has never been in the construction business. The original owner (dad) still has final say in most anything that costs ALOT......but lets the kids to the daily operations. I had to go by this last Friday to pick up a check and for the first time got to meet the new CEO. In 5 minutes of conversation (which consisted of him telling me that repair costs and equipment rental was eating them up) I ..kinda/sorta clued him in on what I had been seeing for 2 years. I said "Well, here is the problem point blank. You have one guy that your company hired almost 2 years ago that has no idea how to fix anything. You just got rid of a 24 year old tech that barely knew anything, and from what I have heard from many of your construction superintendents, screwed up more than he repaired. So to make a long story short....your equipment is never getting fixed unless the guy you have left calls the dealer.....which I know is costing a fortune by itself. In the meantime equipment is sitting for months half ass torn down or not even started on while you pay for renting equipment to take its place." He gave me this look like I had been snooping in their financials. I then offered to help them get caught up to some degree and that I would work with his general superintendent and the "other mechanic"...haha . He jumped all over it. So..........as I move along, Im going to post a pic of each broken down piece of equipment, why it is supposedly broken down, how long it has been sitting, if anything at all has been done to it, and what it took to get it going. By the looks of things around there, its 6 months worth of work at a minimum. I'll start posting tonight so be ready to be entertained!!!
Should be interesting
Be careful... You're going to mess around and have a job offered to you.
I just hope you are getting paid on a regular basis.
It's stories like this that make me feel like my company isn't as half assed as I feel it is. How does a company like this not have the resources to hire competent people. I know it's a tight labor market, but I feel they could over pay a good mechanic and still be ahead.
I am Really looking forward to this story.
Well, I got to briefly look at a few things stacked up this morning. Here is what I have found so far. This is 2 of the pieces in their shop. That Bomag trench roller has a hydraulic oil leak on the front left drum. They removed the outer cap and couldnt figure out how to pull the rest of it apart......so here it sits. Its been in the shop here for 1.5 months. The Sullair compressor in the back doesn't rum. The older mechanic that is still with them called me to look at this back in early September. When I got their he told me the new guy had put on a new wiring harness and SSAM. I checked the fuel pressure and there was less than 2 lbs and it wouldn't hold pressure at all. I removed the supply pump which was junk and the fuel check valve in the head (JD 4024 engine). I told him we needed to put in a new supply pump and check valve and go from there. He replied that they could do that themselves and thanked me for troubleshooting the issue. It is STILL sitting right where I left it with nothing done since I was there.
This Bomag BW211 has the fan, water pump, and other items removed. The new water pump is sitting on the operators floor, I didn't find the gasket. Some of the removed parts are on the operators floor, some are laying different places all over the engine compartment. The new guy started on this 3 weeks ago and never finished. He now has been fired by the company (happened last Wednesday.) Looks like I get to go behind him which I hate doing.
I can see why some companies decide to just rent most equipment.
This 750J has been sitting since August I'm told. It has an engine overheating problem. They have replaced the thermostat, the coolant, and something else I don't remember at the moment. Whatever they have done hasn't repaired the problem. I was there 2 weeks ago repairing a Cat profiler when the new guy was changing the thermostat. I asked him if he checked the radiator core and the fan speed. He said he knew it wasnt the fan because it was turning .His next move was to pull the cylinder head . I tried to explain how the fan works and that other things needed to be checked before you condemn the head........it was an effort in futility. I opened the side enclosures to check for filter hours and dates and found...... ....the turbocharger wide ass open. The upper hood is gone........I looked for it and the bolts, nowhere to be found. I have no idea how long this has been left open.
This 350D excavator has been sitting here for 2 months. Notice the old batteries lying on the ground. I was told the engine starter will not engage. New batteries and starter motor.......along with 2 new relays. It still doesn't engage the starter. They have thrown a lot of parts at it though Looks like yet another machine they just gave up on.
I haven't found anyone that can tell me why both of these are in the yard............all I've got so far is "They are broke." I will have to start fresh from scratch on both of these until I find what they WONT do.
I'm still getting a list of things broken together. There is more in the field and the superintendent is supposed to let me know where those are. He did tell me about the Bomag 1300 miller that is 60 miles south of me. The new guy had pulled the entire front left track assembly ......and I mean the whole dam thing (track frame with the motor, rails and all the hoses that connect it to the machine). He said not a one of the hoses was marked and that the hose ends are wide open. Its been sitting there for a month. I asked what was wrong with that track frame...............he said the new guy couldn't figure out how to removed the rail (it had missing pads and some broken pad bolts) so he pulled the entire thing. I don't know what he did with it yet because I cant find it anywhere at their shop or the equipment yard. Dam guys, I'm not sure where to start yet! Gotta get more on the list then I can prioritize. More to come.................
So where did you find an extra 80 hours a week to work on all this stuff? Looks like you struck gold!
Dang am I glad you are in Oklahoma or I'd be afraid you would try to take me hostage and force me to work on some of those projects despite me not having any experience on 90% of them. Then again I doubt I could screw them up any more than the brain dead who have already dismantled them! All I can say is good luck and keep us informed as you work through this mess.
I'm sitting here waiting for you to tap me in.
Sounds and looks to me like too many chiefs and not enough indians.
And that's why I will not work for a construction company again. The mechanics that are working there I wouldn't let them change a flat. So the good mechanics get every job that isn't a flat tire or blown hose. Whichever superintendent throws the best tantrum gets the good mechanic that day. That's how you end up having machines torn down all over the state. Because the equipment manager doesn't have the balls to tell the superintendent to rent a machine while other repairs are getting finished. And in the meantime the equipment manager is all over the good mechanics ass because nothing is getting fixed. But won't admit that things would be fixed if he would actually let the mechanic do his job and quit hopscotching all over the state to appease the whining superintendent of the day. And lastly the politics of working in construction. While the good mechanic is busy making the bad mechanics look good. The bad mechanics are busy stabbing the good mechanic in the back. Nevermind that he just completely rebuilt the machine that has been at the other mechanics job site for months on end without complaining. But let one machine leave your job site with so much as a light burned out. And he will cry like you don't do anything and every machine that you have on your job is neglected. If you can't tell but I am a little jaded when it comes to construction companies. It's the reason I quit doing this for 3 years.
The scene of chaos in that shop is overload of the day.
You told it like it is Paul. Been down that road a few times myself. My problem is over weight/biscuits and gravy mechanics. Always grunting and groaning like there really putting the meat to what ever their working on. Can't fit under a truck without a post lift, can't reach their fat hands and arms into tight places. The skinny guy ends up with those jobs while they adjust the mirrors, But one thing is obvious their good at chasing beans and weenies around a plate using the bill on their greasy hat as a backstop for the red hot fork. lol
I know what the problem is with the 300 dump truck. The hood ratchet strap is out of spec.
Dude. I’m kinda at a loss lol. Lots of that seems to be going around.
Passing the buck.
VeTech ... I hope you've already thought of it... The pictures and captions you're posting here are a good start to communications with the CEO. With the complete list and a little of your guidance make up the priority list with him. Do a "Dave Ramsey" and start the "snowball" with quick & easy jobs to clear space.
This is hard to read.What makes it worse is that it’s not a shock to me or many others,it’s just a sad state of affairs in the industry. We seem to have taken so many backward steps in achieving progression.
Seen a few messes like that, especially at places that are high on expectations from their mechanics and low on pay. Too many places see the mechanics and maintenance as evil non profiting money pits.
Incompetence is everywhere, and it seems to be encouraged and cultivated.
Could it also be that operators treat the equipment like crap, abuse the **** out of it, and the mechanics get disenchanted?
Last year I had a recruiter contact me for a specialty construction company to work on geotechnical construction equipment such as concrete pumps and excavator mounted Augers. This company was looking for a mechanic to work both shop and field. They said that the equipment was majority German produced and they wanted a talented mechanic who could not only do the normal repairs and maintenance but also creatively come up with fixes to get something working until parts arrived from overseas. They asked me what pay range it would take me to come over. I told them that with German engineering and being able to rig something without tearing it up that was going to be a very high scale job and I asked for $35 an hour. Keep in mind Dealer called out rates are 120 and up And probably much higher for specialty stuff. I was only asking for A little higher then I make now and It would have save them a ton of money. Furthermore they were desperate for somebody to come and work for them. I figured surely we can come to an agreement on my desired hourly rate. Unfortunately for them they just wanted me to lateral over from a well equipped dealer shop where I had full access the service information and did not have to go out into the field. They refused to meet the hourly rate I asked for. So I told the recruiter good luck But because they do not value me as an employee enough to pay a rate worth the headache they were going to catch hell finding someone especially somebody with experience.
This is the exact thing that went on where I worked. We had a shop that had several mechanics and did work for quarries of the company all over the state. Then new upper management came along and decided they could get the repair work done cheaper by letting every guy with a set of Harbor Fright screwdrivers bid on projects. They let go all the people who had done the work for a few decades, well I was the only one who managed to survive and hang on to basically to the daily maintenance at the local quarry.
And how much are these pieces of equipment? Hundreds of thousands? Unreal.
They fussed about $35 an hour??? You guys should be getting at least $50 or more. My house cleaner demands $30 an hour to vacuum floors.
Fire sale, maybe someone can pickup some equipment cheap
Sorry I don't have time to respond to each of you, but reading all the responses ALL of you are correct. I believe the lead mechanic is paid around $28 an hour. He is not a mechanic, he is at best a parts changer and he isn't any good at that. Troubleshooting.....forget it, you have to know how any system is supposed to work to troubleshoot it and this guy has no clue. These people are like most others, they want the highest quality work for the cheapest price. I told them 2 years ago what they needed was someone with a minimum of 15 years experience and willing to responsible for all of the equipment pm and repair. Then they wanted to hire me as an employee..........we never discussed money because when the conversation got to where I made more than the CEO was drawing as a paycheck the conversation was over immediately. What most management people understand is money.........but they rarely see the bigger picture. Equipment repair and maintenance is mostly viewed as a liability, just another cost that comes out of their profit margins. When you have that mindset you will NEVER understand why you need to pay the right people the right price. They just cant understand how a liability can be turned into a great asset. For example.....They continue to let the so called mechanic job out almost everything to the dealers. I would bet my next months pay that's costing over $100K a month. I could not only hire myself, but 2 others and cut that expense in half, and do 3 to 4 times the work at a better pace and quality from what I have seen. Not only that, but if you keep the equipment up, you keep the rentals down! That's another $50K or so a month! The right person could manage the equipment that would be trades for better money, and make better deals for new replacements. I'de bet that if I had 6 months I could turn this around for the better and save them over $100K a month. I figure it would take $20K a month to hire me fulltime and that's a lateral move for me, not sure Ide even do that. What they cant see is the savings would more than pay that rate and they would turn this nightmare into an asset that actually can make money. In the meantime, I will repair this stuff at my normal rate and they will pay ALOT more and not blink an eye. Its insanity in its finest form. Believe it or not, I know of a another big construction company here local that is in even WORSE shape with the same issues. Any of you willing to travel..........come on down!!!
For the knowledge that you guys have put together, the skills and the dedication, those wages are an insult. There's nothing more to see, just idiots in charge of something far above their abilities. I've had a few owners that never pulled a lever and were pretty decent. The vast majority of good ones though have been in the seat at one time or another.
What that business needs is one good experienced guy and 2 that want to be trained and learn. Therein lies the problem. A lot of people don't want to learn and expect the same wage as an experienced guy without paying their dues and working their way up like us old guys did
What we are all experiencing is college business major graduates who have been taught by other graduates who have never been in business before. I worked for an engineer at a coal mine who advocated all new equipment and full dealer support who put the maintenance plan together from the Cat performance handbook. When I asked a few basic questions such as where used oil was going to be stored, what kind of capabilities should I have and what type of tooling would be provided to support this fleet of equipment, all I got was a blank stare. When I asked what we were going to have for lifting equipment, I was told it wouldn't be needed because of the new equipment. What an eye opener when it was finally realized that up time on new stuff is little better than used stuff. I have been through this same scenario now several times in my career. I'm very interested in the post and enjoy seeing the broken and parked stuff. About the only observation I would give is don't do them any favors. They put themselves in this position through their own stupidity. Don't buy them out of it cheap with your knowledge and labor. Education is expensive, make sure their's is a very steep learning curve.
I recall some of the best paid workers on the remote jobs were the mechanics. They made it all possible.
The problem I see is that a decent mechanic is making more money than your average college graduate. It is my belief that these so called educated types look down from their noses at those who chose to make a living with their hands. And it burns their ass that a grease monkey is making as much or more without going into debt for a student loan. Those are the gatekeepers that block decent wages from truly skilled workers. We as a nation have progressed really far without college degrees. And now we are regressing as a nation with short sited views of how the world works. Because I wasn’t taught common sense values while I was in college. And what do you really know you turn wrenches and I have a degree. That is the problem in the work place that I see. And as long as we push our kids to get a degree rather then learning a skilled trade. It will never get better. We will just keep creating a better class of idiot to rule over us.
Don’t forget we are expected to provide tens of thousands to a hundred thousand dollars worth of personal tooling to work with while we get paid the same or less than the guy that brings just a lunch box and sits on his ass all day pulling levers.
I can agree more!!!!
Yeah that's a story old as time, as long as there have been monkeys pulling levers they've been breaking the ****, it's just a universal constant.
I'm one of those "educated types". I personally don't worry about how a good mechanic's salary compares to mine. What I worry about is how that mechanic is going to make my company money. To me, having well maintained equipment means that the highly skilled / highly paid operators won't be hanging around, getting bored, or wasting time while broken down equipment keeps them from doing their job. Well maintained equipment means stuff lasts so that I don't have to buy new as often. It means that my customers stay happy because their jobs are completed on budget and on time. It means that I minimize the headaches, while maximizing gross revenues. Good, experienced mechanics know how to fix things the first time without wasting money on unnecessary parts replacement. They know where problems tend to show on various pieces of equipment, and will know where to start looking before they even touch the hardware. They're good at communication, and are good at teaching others to do things so they can move onto more challenging tasks. And most important, they take pride in their work, their position, and their employer. That's worth whatever amount of money they ask for.
Having a Preventative Maintenance schedule is without a doubt the most important. It isn't just changing oil and greasing, It's staying on top of all areas when a piece of equipment or truck is due plus not over running the intervals. Which is a very common practice with most companies. Simple things like tire rotations can cut tire bills in half plus while tires are off brakes and suspension components can be better inspected. just one area.
Another-Mechanics talking about overhauls or rigs in need of major repair. Either the piece has been run to death or lack of service. If a mechanic has the idea that he should be doing nothing but engine work then he is out of touch and the company is too. Something is wrong with that picture.
And one point that seems to get overlooked by those in power is the need for training. I don't care how good a mechanic you were in 1980 you would be lost trying to work on a 2000 machine and then again in 2020. Where I worked when the shop was first set up back in the 1970's the boss of the shop understood that and every year about half the mechanics would attend a one week course at one of the manufactures. Then once or twice a year he would bring in someone from a local dealer we dealt with for a one or two day seminar on some machine or component. It stayed that way for several years through a couple bosses. Then we got a few bosses who had the idea that training was and expense and not an investment and it stayed that way till I retired. Even when we started getting new Cat equipment with all the computer stuff they put off getting Cat ET for a few years and when they did they expected one laptop to shared with around half a dozen plants across the state! Like that would work. Might as well have one set of sockets to share around the state, need a 9/16 call around and find where it is and then drive an hour each way to get it and hope it's not broken when you get it.
Seen the socket thing is several similar iterations before. Tools, training, good service trucks, again all evil non profit makers
This is pretty much the exact same at every company in my state. The willfully ignorant leading the blind. Promotions based on kissing up over talent, not willing to actually fix stuff, and when you show up and everything is gone to he** it's all supposed to be magically fixed now that they hired someone.
I like when you present them with a cost estimate to repair, they immediately start trying to whittle it down. On the dealer level, they approve the repair, then try negotiating the price down after the repairs are completed. Try that **** at the grocery, put 150 worth of groceries on the belt and tell them you wanna pay only 100 or so. They'll laugh you outta the store. This is common practice in both dirt and highway around me.
Or after the job is done, they say they will pay in 60 or 90 days. Go into a grocery store and say you want 60 or 90 day credit terms. Unless it's been negotiated upfront, it's payment on completion, I don't get how people don't understand that. If you want to be extended credit, you need to request it upfront.
I have a ton of respect for mechanics who really know what they are doing, but man are they ever hard to find. My brother has expanded a fair bit and tried a mobile mechanic, case dealer, and 2 auto mechanics who work at dealerships, all are absolutely incompetent. Screw up basic things like doing brakes, can't figure out what hose is leaking on a skidsteer, etc. Doesn't have enough time to fix everything, but it's cheaper and easier to do it yourself. I'm not a mechanic far from it but it baffles me how bad they are when they've been doing it full time for years. A good mechanic who can diagnose things and fix it properly the first time is worth pretty much whatever they want. $35/hr is a steal. I would pay a lot more then that for a good mechanic to do my repairs instead of doing it myself. I think for a company who only needs 1 mechanic it's tough though as you have no support if you run into something you don't know, you need someone extremely experienced and very good at troubleshooting.
Maybe this forum needs a resume section. Or maybe a soldier of fortune type section. Have wrench will travel.
One more thing that some don't seem to understand might be more of a problem these days with all the computer and electronic stuff. You could be one of the best at trouble shooting say a Cat machine but then the company will decide to start buying Brand X equipment because they beat Cat's bid by $5.00. Now it would not be too bad if those deciding on this change had the sense to realize there would be a learning curve for the mechanics and made it a point to get them some good training and help out with the new tooling that will be required. Instead you will get hit with the attitude "I thought you called yourself a mechanic how come you don't understand what is wrong with that machine. Plus do you have any idea how much that manual costs, do you really need it?"
Well, today brought more fun. For future reference, the mechanic still employed I will refer to as HNC (has no clue), and the fired mechanic as NFG (new fired guy). I'm also going to do some pics in thumbnails to save some space. I decided to change my schedule and start on the Bomag this morning. When I got there, it had already been assembled by the Bomag/Deere dealer after I left yesterday. Nice of someone to inform me of that, but whatever. The primary super comes over and says the engine is still leaking coolant, that the problem never was the water pump as NFG had previously determined. He informed me that the Deere tech believed the leak to be the head gasket. I told him I would check it out myself. Now I take the alternator off to gain some sight access and low and behold HNC walks up.......tells me the machine is being picked up and transported to a job this morning. Yeah, not happening with a coolant leak. To make a long story short, it was a small leak at the front cover that took all of 5 minutes to repair. Its amazing what tightening a few front cover bolts will do. So I decide to look at the filters, some marked, some not........take a look at the dates on the ones marked. So HNC wants to send this machine out with a coolant leak, unserviced, and not checked out. I get it running with the water leak repaired, hit the high throttle............45 seconds later the engine stalls out. I get off the machine and crack open the secondary fuel filter bleed screw and nothing but air. Checked the fuel in the tank.........full. I service the machine filters and oil, tighten all the suction clamps, then run the machine on high for 30 minutes with the vibrator on and it runs like a champ. Here is some pics for your viewing pleasures. The black filter is the engine oil dated 2018. The grey hydraulic filter housing is dated 2017. Notice the hours marked on the primary fuel filter @ 0065. I took care of a couple of other small issues I noticed but didn't take pics of that.
Here is the absolute crazyness. HNC couldn't figure out why the starter wouldn't engage on this machine.........so he runs separate starter wiring outside of machine specs. This has bypassed all of the safety features and now the machine will start in forward or reverse without the operator sitting in the seat. Just complete stupidity . This is a HUGE no no! If this guy did this to anything of mine I would fire him on the spot! I made a note of it and notified the primary super that this should be corrected before this machine sees another jobsite. I am awaiting a reply. On another note, I also got a good look at the 700K engine heating issue. You guys aren't going to believe that one! I will post it in the morning cause I'm mentally drained.
More then one filter a decade is excessive didn't you get the memo?
The 750J most likely has a failed plastic water pump impeller. SMH
And that my friends is what it's like to work in construction. I'm looking for the emoji of the hand slapping the face but I don't see it.
Or how about when management bows down to a crappy “mechanic” and willfully ignores the thousands of dollars of damage he causes through malicious carelessness because he slaps together crap quickly and therefore speed = good.
You guys are giving us all reasons why companies don't pay anything for wrenches. How about putting together some numbers of the amount an owner isn't spending by paying top wages to the wrenches working for them. I've heard plenty of management types complain about incompetent mechanics, operators, office staff, parts people. Then I had reached a higher level in the companies I've worked for and heard the yes but, for what we are paying they are good enough.
There's only so far management will go, then it starts cutting into green fees, a new set of clubs and lets not forget that $120,000 Range Rover to get them there to meet up with the rest of the dog kennel buddies.
who on here knows what the top rate for a line mechanic should be based on the billed shop rate for that area?
my area $35, should be $40 to $45.
And they refer to that guy as a top notch mechanic
Speed comes with experience. But like I tell anyone in the interview process. I rather take twice as long to get it right than be fast and not fix a damn thing. There were days that I felt like I got more accomplished and not being there. Than the sorry mechanic that worked all week. I've said it elsewhere in this forum. Companies don't really want a good Wrench. They just need to fill the position. Good wrenches are a pain in the ass. They know how good they are. They don't need the job that you provide them. Because if you **** them off they will have another job before the tools are unloaded from the truck.( done that more times than I can count)And because they know that they are good they don't take much crap from anyone. They tend to do what they feel is best rather than what the boss thinks is best. I speak from experience and I doubt that I am the only pain in the ass mechanic on this forum. In my 25 years of turning wrenches I have only recently become more humble in my attitude. But I still have one foot out the door. I don't so much raise hell like I used to. But as soon as I feel like I'm not being appreciated. And as soon as you start treating me like you can find another Wrench as good as me for less. Then I am updating the resume and I will be gone. I'm getting that old familiar itch right now as I am typing this out. I honestly don't think that I am cut out for working for being a company man. I don't really need anything any company has to offer. Hell I mainly take employment because I am to lazy to do all the rest. I really don't want to chase work or payment. I just want to turn wrenches and be left to my own devices. But I am ever increasingly becoming jaded for working for a company that treats you like a liability rather then a asset.
I let every employer know walking in. "My box has wheels, it rolled in, it can roll out just as easily " Then I became a field monkey. Last job p!$$ed me off, i emptied the truck overnight, dropped off all their **** the next morning and was working a new shop by the afternoon. We put up with a lot in regards to the job, the elements, wear and tear on our bodies. We shouldn't have to put up with some pencil neck poindexter telling us we don't know what we're doing or not the way they would like it. Too bad, it's the right way!
I thought I was going to be able to get to sleep early tonight but my back hurts so bad my legs feel numb. IDE go ahead and post the 700k stuff but those pics are on my desktop computer in my bedroom and the wife is snoring so those will have to wait until morning. Again, all of your thoughts and opinions are correct. It’s been so long since I actually was employed by a company that I have almost forgot what it was like. I remember right before I made the decision to go self employed I was working for a Fiat-Allis/JCB/American/Manitowoc dealer here in Tulsa. The owner of the company was 80 yrs old + and was in my service managers office chewing his ass over expenses he deemed excessive. Me and another field tech were outside the office and we overheard the old man say “ If I could operate this business without a service dept IDE do it right now”. It’s something I never forgot and this was in 1989. I’ve never understood why service has always seen as a liability to managements. Equipment doesn’t repair itself and it’s not feasible to think everyone can just buy a new machine everytime their old one gives up. The liability mindset has been around as long as I can remember and the attitudes about it hasn’t changed much over the years. Let’s not even get into pay for the work. It really has never been real good working for someone else. I don’t know what the top rate here is but I would think it’s somewhere around $38 an hour. $38 paid out of a $150 billable hour…….seems really low to me.
I only had one company I didn't want to move on from but had to. Gave me a $2.50/hr raise in 6 months and let me drive a company truck home, not a service truck wasn't allowed where I lived. Other than that everyone just sees mechanics as an expense, but strangely not the self employed guy charging 3 times what the company is offering to pay their employees. Never understood that.
My buddy is a foreman at Freightliner dealership and makes $50/hr. Which I think is really good. Their shop rate is $190/hr. There's other HD shops as low as $120 though.
I don't blame you guys for having a hard time working while you're unappreciated. I never lasted more then a few months at a job other then working for my family, just couldn't do it. The useless pricks make the same, or more money and you aren't valued. I make way way more working for myself and I don't have to put up with **** from anyone which is worth a lot to me.
As I like to say, "I would rather be yelled at for taking too long than be yelled at for doing it twice!"
Yep. our “top notch mechanic” recently barely hit sprocket segment bolts with his impact gun, sent machine out all “look at me I did sprockets in an hour!” And machine came back too weeks later with every bolt loose and a couple segments missing so a couple hundred bucks worth of hardware ruined and needing to replace the missing segments plus all the time to do the job right by somebody else but the little jack wagon didn’t get a word said to him about it. But he’s a great mechanic.
Had to do it. We needed to lighten the mood.
All very good replies to this thread. I've had 28 jobs, one lasted less than thirty minutes, the current job 18 years. Funny story about a biscuit and gravy boy. We had a rig that lost the 13spd so Gayle loaded up the 18spd I rebuilt and headed to the dealer shop where it was being changed out. He also threw in a new clutch and related parts for the repair. At the time I was already out on a tow retrieving a rig that had de-rated three times in two weeks, under warranty. I got back late to the yard with it {11 pm} so decided to take it to same dealer next morning. I arrive at dealer drop the rig inside their shop. The B&G boy was just getting the trans out of the other truck a 2003 Pete. I found out he spent seven hours removing it. I made the comment maybe I should hook up to it and take it back to our shop. He got pretty pi$$ed off called the service mgr over. I know the mgr well-his reply. {You are how old 26? Mike is over 60-if had three 60 year old's like him I could send the rest of you home. And by the way you asked how to hook the air lines to the shifter-ask Mike he can tell you off the top of his head.}
Well, its that time! So, I made a comment somewhere about talking to NFG about the overheating on the 700K. I had asked if he had checked the radiator core for blockage and whether he checked the fan speed. His answer was HNC is calling the JD dealer and they are telling him what to change out. They had already changed (they meaning the dealer) out the EGR cooler and the coolant, and now he was going to change the thermostat. OK whatever, he isn't going to listen to me.......by the way, NFG is a 24 year old that has the attitude that he knows it all which I could tell immediately. Flash forward to yesterday, I'm working on the Bomag when HNC walks up and tells me he is going to send the 700 to the dealer for a head gasket job. I tell him I am going to look at it when I am done with the Bomag and he says be my guest. I finish the Bomag up then pull my truck over where the dozer is. It takes me about 45 seconds to open my tool bed door, grab my flashlight, and find the problem. Here it is....in full pic mode. This is a PERFECT example of why you absolutely HAVE to do your own dam troubleshooting regardless of what's been said. At least 2 employees of the company told me this had been checked, and a dealer tech installs an EGR cooler and doesn't have the sense or thought to even check other options My GOD, the incompetency is just mind-boggling. So how does this happen!?
You can only hope that NFG went to work for another customer of yours.
So I call HNC and tell him I have found a big problem. I ask him about checking the radiator core.........he replies that NFG did that ...so he evidently thinks I am stupid and doesn't recall telling me he had checked it also. I asked where they got the idea that changing the EGR cooler may be the problem. He replied that the dealer (whoever he is talking to there trying to troubleshoot this over the phone) had told him these exact words........."Whenever we get an overheating problem on a machine, we always start with the CHEAPEST things first". OMG.....are you kidding me? YOUR A DEALER AND YOU ARE PARTS CHANGING!!!! This is why this industry of ours has suffered. You have bodies/drones that just do what they are told.......with no troubleshooting skills at all. There are so many things that cause overheating problems, yet a dealer field tech (supposedly one of their best) doesn't have the thought process to try and figure out what the actual problem might be? Does he really give a **** about the customer that feeds his family? People, this is just going to get worse...........so hang on to your wallets! .
In closing this morning's episode of "***!!!" LOL.............I decided to capture my thoughts in a pic. I used 2 of my grand daughters toys here to simulate what is happening with this customer and many others in this industry. .......this seems to be what happens most of the time. That FWF guy always gets me in trouble when he starts gif'n Are you Ken? or are you the Giraffe?
Some days ken, others the giraffe. Either way I'm screwed. Ken got no pee-pee
Jesus Christ. The “cheapest thing” is checking coolant level and quality, belt tension, and checking and cleaning the radiator cores. anybody that can hold a wrench SHOULD know that. It’s the most basic things possible and truly should be the responsibility of the operator.
To reiterate what TS said my dad always told me to never hire a fat mechanic. That has served me well over the years.
I used to be a fat boy but that didn't stop me from doing my job. It did bolster my laziness and I always attributed my laziness to the reason I became a good troubleshooter.
I resemble that. I ain't huge, but I'm portly for such a sawed off runt. As Paul stated, fat boys make good troubleshooters. The less wrench bending I gotta do, the better. A good visual inspection will tell so much. How was it cared for, is the radiator cap rusted in place, can it breath etc etc. ? I mean Vetech showed the best visual aid ever. Check the radiator? The fan? Duh, the other guy did
Huh?
My insta won't get likes if it's all dirty stuff. And besides, dirty triggers really really uncomfortable, like you know, everything. But . . . throwing down boasts with the homies, a "Turbo Job" stokes cred. (Edit for clarity: replace "very" with "really really")
Remember the lady that could translate "Jive."
That's Mrs Cleever from leave it to beaver Chump don't want no help, chump don't get no help
Vetech... along with the photos of what you're finding... place before the CEO a tally of parts changed with prices and machine hours down. Estimate or actual dollars for a rental machine to take its place. THEN... put your hours to repair said machine.... Ask him to do the math... shouldn't be too hard for him. Tell him your new and increased hourly rate. Bet he accepts ...
One would think that it would be that easy. But people tend to double down on stupidity rather than use logic or reasoning. As once I was told by a very smart woman. Common sense isn’t that common.
I guess I'm wondering about the experience and qualifications of the incompetents? I expect the person who hired them to be too stupid to actually have checked out their credentials and they surely wouldn't have a clue about what questions to ask that would indicate intelligence.
Resumé ? You mean creative writing? Same class, right? How's that saying go, "fake it till ya make it" And yes, I don't believe for a second todays managers and HR representatives ever call previous employers. If they did, none of us would get hired.
I don’t know about other states, but here in Texas the previous employer can only verify that you worked there and if they would hire you back. But he’ll yes indeed you fake it until you made it. That served me well.
How could someone be so stupid to not check if a rad/fan is blocked if an engine starts overheating? I would expect an operator to be smart enough to check that before making a call that a machine has an issue. A few weeks ago my 5500 starting running really cool, common sense right off the start is check the thermostat, and yep it's shot. Sure engines have got tons of BS on them between emissions and electronics now, but many things are just as basic as they were 20+ years ago.
OMG this thread has taken on a life of its own.......!! When are you going to show it to the boss @ the customer.?
In defense of NFG, and HNC. it’s hard to see if the radiator is blocked with all that dirt covering it.
That is true. And look at the brightside, if something were to hit the rad the dirt would be a layer of protection.
This thread reminds me of the one time I took equipment to the dealership for repair, back when I was just started out my mini hoe wouldn't start. After weeks of "troubleshooting" they said they were pretty sure it was the $2500 main wiring harness that was the issue because they tried the cheaper options first (machine also had some weird electrical gremlins that this fixed). They were surprised when I said, order it but only if you are 100% sure it's the problem. They did fix it mostly, but honestly no idea if I paid for that part for nothing but they would never have admitted if it wasn't the problem, because I wouldn't have paid for the part. They had no idea what they were doing and I know that $5000 bill would have been way less if a competent mechanic fixed it.
I spent the first half of the day steam cleaning this mess on the 700. I took the entire fan/grill assembly apart and wash each piece one by one. Then I moved to the nasty ass radiator and spent another 1.5 hours there. Every bit of filth you saw on those parts was on me by the time I was done, but it all looks much better. I will start reassembling the fan/grill assembly with a new motor and hoses in the morning and hopefully have it back in the dozer with everything hooked up and ready to run by the afternoon. I attempted to figure out another electrical problem and needed to ask Cat tech support a couple of questions about their schematic. I call them at 8:30 this morning and never got a call back. ..........so that will be posted in the roller section shortly for you Cat experts! I knew the first week this customer was in trouble with HNC when they hired him. He is the one that did that bypass starter wiring on that Bomag in this thread. I told him not to fix that like he did but I was ignored. At the time, he was supposed to be the savior and I was getting pushed out a bit because "I'm too expensive." LOL Looks like I'm the one that's laughing now huh. HNC supposedly had 7 years of experience with the biggest construction contractor in this state, but I know for fact no references were checked. What was on his application was considered GOLD and the rest is history. NFG I bet wasn't checked out either. The 2nd week HNC was employed he went to a jobsite 2 hours away to replace a starter motor on a 416D. He left with it still not starting because he didn't know where the starter wiring hooked up........and he took the dam thing off. There are numerous stories about HNC.......too many to type out. I don't know why this guy is bulletproof but he is dodging them better than Superman.
Well if your trying to question A OTR driver you better understand Welfare Radio Jive talk. Other wise not a damn thing makes any sense.
Because they would have to admit there stupid if they fire him for incompetence because they hired him and gave him free rein
This thread has it's positives, it's making me feel a lot better about my mechanical ability. One thing i've tried to improve on in the last few years is spend the time to fix it right instead of fixing it over and over. Unless it's in the middle of the job and just fixing it to finish up, it's worth the time to do it properly. It's a hard habit to break, my dad is the type to never fix or repair anything unless it won't work at all and no such thing as maintenance, it's patch it up so it kinda sorta works and repeat when it completely breaks again.
Wouldn't 'the cheapest thing first' be finding the actual problem? I know YOU know that...
Glad you dad isn't an airplane mechanic.
I'm not to much the smartest but I'm 24 and would have probably check the radiation to be clogged as step 2.. But I can say I've never been fired or layed off.
For sure. I moved his skidsteer a bit ago back to his place, temp alarm is on all the time, the one brake doesn't always want to disengage, and there is so much slop in the bucket pins I am amazed there is any pin left. But really it's not far off from how most people look after their stuff.
Sorry vetech seeing as you fell into a snake pit!! WOW, just fricking WOW, And ***!!!. But been there and WILL NOT GO BACK. Sad to say at the company I am driving for 'I' troubleshoot my Own truck, give a list of what to dos to the Wrench benders, My Boss(The Owner) told them I f 'I' tell them something is Broken, then fix it. They are still PO'd, I could care less. Told them of issues with the old 963 at the Pit Pile, got ignored, boss overheard my conversation and a week later asked what they had done about it, GOT FREAKING LOUD!!! Old Cat got fixed. IF the machine is broken and does not have a hard code they have NO FRIGGIN Clue, I just ignore them much of the time. Needless to say as soon as the current Needs Help condition levels off I am giving two weeks and the mess can go back to Septic Tank value.
It takes a team. We have a couple real good fabricators\welders. Had a great mechanic. Had been with the company since the 60s. Crusher, asphalt plant, equipment, trucks, you name it. If he laid a bolt 40 years ago he knew where it was. On top of that, he was a hell of a nice guy. Retired........ Parts guy, lots of contacts, great at sourcing out stuff. Shop foreman. Everyone liked him, guys in the shop would do anything for him. Always made sure everything was ready to go.. He went out west to the oil field money. The parts guy ended up on meds because he was forced into the foreman job.. The 2 wrench pullers they have now just throw pars at stuff till it's fixed. The parts guy/foreman just lines up the dealers techs to fix stuff because it's cheaper in the long run. There is a mobile guy around, but he is super busy, and mainly does our air conditioning repairs. I hate asking for repairs. I went in the other day to tell them that the cutting edge on the D3 needed to be flipped, and it was everything the guy could do not to roll his eyes at me.. Things really fell apart once the team was gone.
Vetech63. Thank you so much for this thread. I am enjoying it immensely. It also helps me to know that I maid the right choice when I left the construction side 5 years ago. This is good therapy. Keep it coming and don't pull any punches on these jackwaggons. I know that this is a customer after all, but this should be a painful and expensive lesson for them. But if history has taught me anything. You will be back in a years time bailing out the latest versions of NFG,and HNC.
I only have a little less than two years before I retire. It's not the work-it's the people. I'm sick of being around lazy *** good for nothing people. Tired of the petty crap, I need it now, today isn't soon enough, I've only got 2 hrs left on me E Log, My dog chewed up my phone charger cord and the mic cord on the CB.-----------How about you hang yourself with what's left of the cord-and save us all. None of this thread is a shock or surprise to me, it's the world we live in. **** Ants, nothing but **** Ants.
I hate to bring it up but I sure hope you have some kind of regular pay schedule with these guys. I only work with a couple of customers now so am pretty easy as they are really good at making sure I'm being paid shortly after I give them an invoice. When I was full time on my own my hard rule was that I do a job and get paid, I'll be back for the next one. I'd give a little lee way on how long it took before the situation changed to have a nice life. Some customers I charged by the job on the machine. Others wanted bi-weekly invoices called repair labor with line items on the invoice.
Sorry about the frustration Vtech but at least you're knocking some big problems out quickly for them. That always looks good. I've never been able to out where the know nothing mechanics get their attitude from, maybe it's a defense thing since they now they're full of it?
I am a dropout too, it really took an upturn when they started bushing the biz adm degrees and the main point of those was to learn to get that stare and try to make what they were saying make sense with a look like everyone else was stupid. How they were going to "save all this money" and going to train a new maint guy next week was going to fix it all.
I went to look at a sandblast on a ship,,,, a real fuggin ship, hundreds of ft long, hauled rail cars and 100 autos at the same time. The guy thy got tyo run this says,,, we got this uinder control, I asked how,,, well they going to hire the maintenance guy from his apt building to do it. He thought it should be 150$ and take a couple days. 150 large didnt even pay for the paint,, ha
I dont know a thing about Cat codes but bet could have figured out the dirty rad had a bit to do with it.
I am not very fond of the business peckerheads either especially when they get that glazed look in the eye where they gonna tell you how it is.
300 people working in a plant, no maint people. I asked about electrician to see if the plant mgr knew, he fumbled about with some papers while mumbling and trying to figure out what to say that would get me off the question about qualifications to run a plant like this? (he is bil and has a biz degree). He spends his day chasing the janitor and explaining to him how if he would hustle the plant could make money, line shut down, gant find parts while he does this. Then the news people who I have little respect for interview why this plant is closing and of course they interview peckerhead instead of the janitor,,, he mumbles something about world economics etc, dumb azzes interview the guy fugged it all up. I have great respect for real engineers but seems that has really gone in to the toilet since now we can spend the day figuring out who to blame thru emails vs taking a look at a problem on the floor. I fix a problem while they are peeking out their windows to see if it will work, it does and time for a big lunch dinner for a succesful project, I was there a month, only guy I ever see was the one hired me, the rest all patting themselves and giving hi 5 and they didnt have a single thing to do with it,,, despite I never met them its like we are old buds. World now belongs to the biggest bullsh9itters.
I've got to say that I've really enjoyed the stories on this thread. Mechanics are like doctors but without the lengthy school time, excessive tuition, endless paperwork, liability or respect that comes with a "white collar title". Yet we, the "dirty doctors", are what keep civilization in action. Without us, things come to a standstill and not just anybody can get it done. I've been around good mechanics and bad mechanics. I have a low tolerance for stupidity but respect for anyone who is willing to learn from their mistakes and make a valid effort to rectify a situation. I have no respect for parts changers that experiment until it's fixed, although I have done that at times when at a severe loss, usually with electronics. Logical reasoning is what makes a good mechanic, not the ability to change a part or make wild guesses. One of my best college professors explained to us that, "You are not being taught how to solve all of the world's problems - that would be impossible. But, a good education with logical reasoning and knowledge in how to apply basic engineering principles can be applied to any problem, no matter how large, to logically work it out the correct solution to the problem." More students need words of wisdom like these and less about color/race/gender/fairness BS. The "Can Do" attitude goes further than, "You hurt my feelings", in this lifetime if you have any desire for success. I never went to school for diesel, hydraulics or much of anything else in my current business but I'm always willing to tackle anything. I do have a willingness to learn and to fix almost anything that comes my way by way of research and logic. I could never survive my business if I could not repair stuff myself - I would go broke paying for repairs & maintenance. I never worry about work because my resume is so long and so diverse. I can always fall back on mechanic work because, as has been shown on this thread, decent mechanics are a rare commodity. We are always in need. I'm glad I never pursued a medical degree. I think it would be frowned upon if I took a BFH to an uncooperative patient and cursed it out with extreme profanity.
But, but, some folks need a BFH adjustment right in the noggin.
Well, I didnt get to keep the schedule I had planned for today but that happens all the time for me. I did get the 700K fan/grill assembly back together but I had 2 emergency breakdowns on paving rollers so I had to pull of this job. Looks better eh!? I did have to check with our very own resident Deere God about this fan motor boss not fitting the mounting hole bore. 1st time I had seen this............I just did the same thing on a 200 JD excavator last month and the bore fit was nice and snug. DG informed me that yes this was correct...........and that the engineers aren't paying attention to detail like they did in the old days. LOL.......I thought at first they gave me the wrong dam motor so I was planning on bitching in the parts guy thread this evening. I centered the motor boss in the bore and locked it down. I may not get to put this back in the dozer until next week because with this company.........ASPHALT equipment takes priority over dirt equipment and they had 3 different things go down today.
I'll call this "follow the evidence" What you dont see is the other 150' of trail that was behind me in this pic. They unloaded this paver on the street out front of the building and drove it to the back of the yard. I traced it to a blown out screed lift cylinder. I ordered the seal kit today.
Weiler paver.........lower roller came loose. Hasn't Weiler paver lower roller........needs serviced badly. and............now I have 2 Cat rollers with electrical problems and they want to send them to Arkansas Saturday LMAO
Like Ray Charles said-Gun'na tell your maw tell your paw-gun'na send you back to Arkansas.
I wonder if Deere did the oversized bore to allow adjustment of the fan in the shroud. A little miss-alignment of the shroud or mounting would make for a long day if the motor/shaft were fixed in location.
At first glance I was thinking you got a new fan assembly because it looks so much different. I am almost certain some people try to break ****. Moving to a new shop/yard and let one of my brothers guys use my CTL, i'm not gone an hour before I get a phone call that they broke the door being lazy idiots trying to load stuff that should be loaded by hand. OEM door is over $700, that's just glass not even weather stripping or anything, aftermarket is still $400. Oh well i'm not the one paying for it. But I am going to be the one spending a bunch of time assembling it.
I heard a rumor on a possible new hire late yesterday. If its true, this hire will be even worse. I'll give more details if this happens. HNC called me late last night wanting help installing new rubber tracks on a skid loader somewhere. I don't mind helping him out, but I like to work alone.......I'm afraid he would get me hurt to be honest. I have to call him at 7:30 this morning and I'm going to tell him to just let me do it myself. Hopefully I wont get myself in trouble putting this dirt machine ahead of 4 broken down pieces of paving equipment. It wont take me long to track that skid loader so I'm going to roll the dice here.
Fully understand the need to work alone! A ratchet strap or a couple blocks of wood can much more help than some jerk who will be texting on his cell phone when you need him to be holding something! Or like the so called help I had one day while trying to trouble shoot a starting problem on a Mack truck. I was in cab checking wiring and relays with test light when this guy rolls out from under the truck. I ask in not so nice words "What the@$@#%are you doing?" he says "Just checking the throw-out bearing." He has his hands up in the flywheel housing while I'm trying to start the motor!
That would have been hard to explain{He lost his hands in the flywheel housing because he is a idiot } on the L&I report.
Ratchet straps are the best and only hires I've had in nearly 25 years. Without those and my forklift, I would be lost as a heavy equipment mechanic. Muletape comes in at a close second. Extremely strong, tough, durable and always easy to remove knots. I keep several different sizes on the truck. If you don't know what it is, ask an underground boring crew to get you some. It's the stuff they pull the wires through the conduit with and many times, it only gets used once. A buddy that works for Bellsouth occasionally pulls some out of the dumpster for me.
Well not long after I let him know I was not happy with that stunt he must have went crying to the boss. He took a job working in another part of the plant away from me! Before he got the job at the quarry he worked for a company that hauls milk from farms to the processing plant. One thing he complained about working there is they were in his opinion too fussy about expecting the mechanics who were working on the tankers to wash their hands regularly!
Maybe he will appreciate that he has 2 hands to wash at some point in the future, and thank you.
my 1/4 ton mini Jet come along is my best friend and best helping hand. add slings, a few larger come alongs, cribbing, bottle jacks, and similar I can do damn near anything alone. I have one person at work I do grab for lining up buckets and other attachments because I have implicit trust in him but otherwise I prefer to work alone. I’m not a people person anyway. Also a forklift is a self propelled hammer, among many other uses.
I used to hang onto a 3 inch stock about 4 feet long. Pretty heavy, so I put it on my shoulder with my back to the hammer, so I could see the bucket pin, while a large pale red headed man with a big smile would wail on it with a sledge hammer. First time he just asked, how's your nerves?
If he's that lazy one hand is less work to wash then two......
I find it easy for the CTL/mini hoe tracks solo, but the one time I had the track off my 210 I needed help getting it back on, not for anything physical just to help for placement it's way harder then the small stuff. Other then that I always figure out a way to do things myself that are pretty much two man jobs, it's just easier not dealing with others. I put up 30x40 quonset at my yard before totally by myself. If you got equipment and can think outside the box, any job is a 1 man job.
His name wouldn't be Paul Mouer would it-otherwise known as the large German?
Looks like the rumor is true. The new hire (TNH) is supposed to start Monday. This guy I know a small amount about........2 run in's with him before and neither was good. He was fired from the Deere dealer 2 months ago (He was manager for field service the last several years) and hasn't been employed since the firing. I was told by others that the Deere job is the only job he has ever had. He is a young guy, if I were to guess early 30's, and supposedly has at least a few years experience in the shop and field. I'll be where he is working most of next week so we will see how this may work. I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now. The reason I'm doubtful is according to others I know at the Deere dealer, he was fired due to doing alot of nothing. The customer complaints were very high and management got tired of it. His first job is installing the new rubber trax on the Cat 299 Monday morning. ........with HNC's help. I deliberately declined to do the job until next week so I could stay on the paving equipment, which I did get 3 of 4 going yesterday. . When I asked HNC about TNH, he replied they are VERY good friends. That alone scares the crap out of me. Stay tuned, I have a feeling this is just gong to keep getting better and better! A small cheer for TNH..............COME ON FELLA! Don't let me down!!!!!!
I thought that was DMiller?!
I would say he's of Irish blood. He is a Waye from Wayerton New Brunswick.
Oh you better grab the popcorn because those two idiots are gonna really screw stuff up
I found out the other day that our “golden child” at work is the #1 cause of field service rework out of the shop (no surprise really). But nothing ever gets said to him?!?
Now add to that a wireless knuckleboom crane and you’re all set. I sometimes run the crane while driving the forklift to get 2 lift points. I am so glad there is no one around to say you can’t do that!
That means that they look at each other's photos on fakebook. Caption: "Turbo Job. Crushed it."
Those 1/4 ton mini lever hoists are the ****. I use them as big clamps welding too.
One use I found the one I have good for was holding tension on the fan belt idler on a Komatsu WA600 while replacing the belt. Not really sure I would trust many humans to do that while I had my hands in there working the poly-v belt around the pullies!
Oh yeah, any time I can use a lever hoist or come-a-long to do big belts or drives I take it. Makes it much easier then a bunch of bars.
Not much to report today. I did get the fan assembly back in the dozer today just to fire it up and find there is no blade hydraulics. I needed to get the blade up to hook-up the gas assist cylinder rods at the bottom of the fan frame. Looks like I'll have to correct another problem I didn't know about before I can finish this up. TNH did start but was gone when I got to the equipment yard this morning and I never saw him today. I'm sure I will run into him over the next 2 days..........the Cat rubber track changeout didn't get done. No surprise there But HEY! I want all of you to have a Great Thanksgiving, eat turkey and take a few naps for me..........I have a feeling I will be having a long week like usual
Keep it up, it's entertaining as hell so far. Surely they can screw stuff up faster than one man can fix? Joe H
I got some well needed info so I can do some proper troubleshooting on this 700 blade issue this morning. If I can get this corrected early enough today I could possibly be finished with it today outside of checking the fan speeds. HNC told me late yesterday he will be gone for the rest of the week and asked if I would be on call while he is gone. .......of course I am! I have no idea if he lined out TNH with things to do or if he just left him blind on his 2nd day. I thought if I ran into TNH today and he looked bored or wasn't doing anything.........I would point at the Cat 299 and the new rubber tracks lying next to it. I would be willing to assist (or lead) getting that done but only after I have the 700 done. I'm wondering if he will take the initiative to start on it by himself. HNC informed me also that the company will be closed up Thursday thru Sunday. I do not have access to the equipment yard so getting anything done past Wednesday won't happen with them. Could I get access if I asked?....yeah, I'm sure I could. Am I going to ask? ......NOPE! Am I going to go try and figure out the S125 Genielift electrical problems for another customer that has been waiting for me for over a month? Nah, they already told me to do it at my convenience so no hurry. Am I going to travel an hour away to check out the JD 200 excavator that won't go into fast track travel that has been waiting on me for over a month? Nope.....they aren't in a hurry either. Am I going to possibly eat turkey, take a crap load of naps, rest all my aches and pains, watch football, play with the wife , and just generally be a lazy ass? OMG I hope so!!!!
This thread really hits home with me. You see a company that has arse hat mechanics messing up the simplest of repairs and you just can’t help yourself. You want to get in there and show them how it’s done! Then reality sets in and you think why did I open my big mouth?
I'm old enough now that i try to keep my mouth shut unless somebody asks me for advice or its a safety issue plus, i knew more about stuff when i was younger
I am not very technical and hate all that fussy stuff. I see some opinions about mechanics I dont totally agree with in the sense that,,,, a guy asks about a small garage and doing some side repair and there is always "that " guy tells yus how many flag hours he gets fixing fussy problems others cant and on and on. (That is not the case in this thread, its good) but a guy should could learn, I estimate to make up for lack of math,,, but I tell young sprouts its not always the technical crap but being willing to do a good job even when you dont feel like it. There is some human error, I can be fussy and still miss and find some of my own but its not cause I dont care or hide shate, you name it. Shop down the road can weld but they cant fix much.
YES...this is a very entertaining thread!! I can NOT believe how a seemingly "profitable" construction company can be sooooooo stupid when it comes to repairing their stuff!!! Hang in there Vtech....bill'em high & bill'em often....they deserve it.
At least today was productive. I jump on the 700 first thing this morning and get the monitor in service mode so I can figure out why I didn't have any blade hydraulics. As I'm scrolling through the menu which took a minute to get my bearings, the blade comes to life and the right angle immediately goes hard right and stays loaded once it bottoms out. Surprised the hell out of me, I'm dam glad I didn't have something or someone right there in the way. I was able to use the thumb control to override it to the left but as soon as I let the button neutral it took off and buried itself to the right again. Through the service menu in the monitor, I was able to determine that the angle CW was stuck at 100%.....meaning the input was constant and never zero'd out when the switch was in neutral. I replaced the handle assembly ($700 for a plastic handle with 2 covered switches) and that corrected the problem. Now it works as it should, nice and smoothe. I got her all serviced up (not done since July 2018) and now I am waiting for the weatherstripping that goes behind the fan guard that seals off the side airflow so everything the fan draws comes through the radiator. I did have their truck mechanic stop by and in the conversation he mentioned that when the dozer came to the yard the blade would move on its own.......nice of HNC to inform me of that beforehand . I should have this dozer wrapped up tomorrow if it passes the fan speed test. If not.........oh well, more work for me! I didnt see TNH this morning but I did see him come back this afternoon as I was getting ready to leave. I have no idea what he was doing today but he didn't have a speck of dirt on him. He looked as clean as I do when I go to church.........and I look like I have rolled in grease, dirt, and fuel all day.....which I actually did! How do you guys repair this stuff and not get dirty? Tell me the secret and my wife would greatly appreciate it Oh, I went looking for that missing hood. I did find it........can you? This is my version of a "Where's Waldo" It was at the back fence, and some of the construction crew had thrown crap all over the top of it............and then threw out a bunch of crap in front of it. Don't ask me how it got back there.......we will never know. The fact that it hadn't been run over or damaged is a miracle.
Hang in there Vetech63, It only gets worse. At least your time will be well compensated for and appreciated. The silver lining is. As long as those guys are turning wrenches you will never go broke.
Unless the customer goes broke.
That can be remedied easy enough. Just follow those incompetent mechanics to their next place of employment and hand out business cards.
I don't know if it applies to everyone, but you have to enjoy what you do, and be interested in what you are doing to be good at it You might hate where you do your thing, or who you do it for. I was always told that back in the day, that there was no one around like my father when it came to gas engines, and later on diesels and trucks. He really enjoyed his work, and he was a problem solver, not a parts thrower. When the time came that he was not happy anymore, he took a different route. I know guys that can't get enough highway miles as a truck driver. Love what they do. I can't get any better than I am now on an excavator, and I'm not very good. I hate it, and don't want to learn. I love grading, strange as it sounds, I don't always like the situation, or who I'm with, but I look forward to it. Any chance I can get to pick some old timers brains on something new, or read something interesting on here....bang
"appreciated" That is yet to be determined. As I read this thread (have bin following along) I've bin thinking if this customer was mine and didn't "appreciate" what I (or vetech63 in this case) was doing we would be parting ways. Money alone would not motivate me to help right this ship.
Was considering similar but more to the HNC or TNG that I would be requiring be sent DOWN The Road!! More in the way than useful. I tried to aid the wrench benders at the shop I am currently working out of, they are not very receptive so stopped. Tell them what is happening and walk away, Their Circus Their Monkeys. Still think back to the Quarry Days working 16+ hours a day routinely until burnt out, would not wish to try that again either.
As a former work colleague of mine used to comment - "marching or fighting, I get paid the same."
Vetech, it sounds like you have some time, after all, to work on my backhoe! I'll even feed you a second Thanksgiving meal when you arrive on Friday! Didn't you mention wanting to park your camper in my yard for a few days, once? Now's your chance! Your adventures here are fun to read and can be informative to a know-nothing like me. Thanks for sharing!
You guys crack me up. This thread reminds me of some I have enjoyed in the past.........its like watching and waiting for the trains to collide. LOL I hope I can still move fast enough to get the hell out of the way. You guys haven't clued me in yet on how to repair heavy equipment without getting dirty.........Am I going to have to ask TNH??
I need a new belt installed in my snow blower so when you get done with aighead in Ohio you could swing by here in central NY. I have a pretty good used belt sitting here!
OMGosh Vetech !!! That is hilarious ! This is absolutely the most entertaining thread about a working mans life I have ever read. You should consider writing a book !
I had a foreman who would allegedly fix stuff without getting dirty. I saw him standing in front of his $20,000 toolbox far more often than ever in the belly of a machine though
The mechanic at one of my first jobs always claimed he couldn't find the equipment using the customers directions so he'd bill them travel and mileage.
I can't even look at my grease gun without getting dirty much less do any work...
Was an interesting day. Since we have a big chance of rain here tonight, I decided right off the bat this morning to get the upper hood back on the 700 so my new air filters weren't exposed. I HE-man lift it to the track (my back right now says that wasn't a good idea) when I notice............ This is what happens when your lazy or a complete dumbass. The precleaner BOLTS to the hood so you can remove the hood without damaging the filter housing inlet. The hood front slides under the hardnose sheet metal on top and then bolts down to the hardnose. Instead of doing it the proper way, they took the bolts out then pried the hood backwards, cocking the filter housing and causing this damage. I got this corrected and back like it's supposed to be.
While doing the install of the hood, I start to notice a few of my pet peeves............ In pic 1, you can see a tab clamp that wasn't reattached to the EGR cooler. In pic 2 is another view (that silver headed bolt I had already installed before I remembered to take a pic for your viewing pleasure) ......believe it or not the Deere field mechanic that changed out the EGR cooler left these 2 bolts out. NOT TO FEAR.......I took care of it. In pic 3, you can see another tab clamp............and a missing nut on a manifold inlet stud. Again.......took care of it. Pic 4 is yet another (yeah, the silver bolt I had already installed) bracket left hanging. The hose clamp in the foreground was off the rubber and lying there around the tube..........yet freaking again..........took care of it. Now...I KNOW I am OCD, always have been when it comes to this stuff, and this stuff is very common with unskilled mechanics.........but am I wrong to expect more from a dealer's field service tech!? Maybe I just expect too much.
No pics of the 700K today but I did get the fan speed test run. The specs were engine high idle, hydraulic oil between 140F - 160F and fan speed of 2000 rpm minimum. I stalled the ripper off and on for 20 minutes to get the hydraulic oil warmed to 163F then high idled the engine, jumped out with the rpm counter...crap 1549 rpm. I have a new pump that will be here Monday. I personally always replace the motor and the pump at the same time.........I just thought I might get lucky enough that the pump would be good. I should have known it would turn out like when I go to the local casino and drop $100 in a slot machine........the thrill of pulling the lever is great, only to find out in a short time you lost your $100 and your drink is empty . Dont worry, I'm on top of it!
SO, since I didnt have a pump for the 700K. I'm standing there by it looking around....then I lock in on the Cat 299D that needs the rubber tracks replaced. It 12:30 pm and I feel like it's too early to call it a day yet. So I pull the truck over by it just to take a glance. TNH is gone yet again........and HNC told me Monday he will be gone until next Monday. So here it sits........with yet again nothing happening. You can see the steel cords sticking out of the top of the track....its ripped halfway through. Of course, the dam covers for the track adjust are missing on both sides....color me shocked by this Lets leave them off and fill them with gravel.......that should be good for it right? This was supposed to be done Monday.........yet here it sits all lonely and depressed.
ALL good mechanics are OCD with mechanical items. YOU notice the small stuff that lesser men don't care about. Quality work means doing it right, even if you have to modify factory stuff to fix what they did not think about when they designed it. A man in the trenches will always know more ways to kill that a king in the castle.
I start to feel angry LOL yeah like this ) so I, all of a sudden, have this overwhelming sensation of needing a personal challenge. Who else is going to do this? Wait ..I have an answer! NO ONE EXCEPT ME!!!!! (YEEAHHH!!!) 1 hour and 10 minutes later........... I was telling the wife about my day when I got home. She said that I am severely OCD or psycho..... LMAO! I believe she is leaning towards the latter. TNH shows up while I am using my HAND lever grease gun to get the tracks adjusted and guess what???? He parks across the parking lot for 15 minutes and watches. Whatever he has been doing for 3 days is obviously in the cleanest environment on the planet. Even the General Superintendent doesn't know where he has been . This is why, if your self-employed especially, you HAVE to have a minimum charge. If I did this by the hour I'de have done this back breaking job for $100.00 Yeah.......NOT HAPPENING! I stopped on the way home and picked up some Captain Morgans 100 (the biggest they had in the place) for my egg nogs this evening. It may not cure my back pains but I'll be dam happy in a bit!!! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! And special thanks to those of you on the forum that can assist with tech info and experience. You are a very valuable asset that allows me to do what I do! (I'd add a kissy face emote here but I don't want you guys to get the wrong impression!) LOL!
Did you find the covers?
Hey my CTL is about ready for some new tracks, got an hour to spare? I know I can't do it that fast, especially with a hand grease gun, my hand can't do that much pumping I would blow a gasket if a dealer mechanic left out bolts like that. Now if i'm doing the repair, sometimes i'm in a hurry or lose a bolt and will do that even though I try to always do it the proper way the first time. My mini ex may or may not have the track adjuster covers removed for the past while
I had to drive about 45 minutes round trip to flip a switch tonight seems to fit the trend here.
Wow, took me and a helper about 4 hours to do tracks on a CAT287B (ASV undercarriage) and it sucked! Captain Morgan Black is 100 proof. It is smoooooooth like the other one isn't. It is Black, like as in oak barrel charred, but darn it is so much better. I drink it regularly in crushed ice, but thought of it because I made some hot buttered rum with it for Thanksgiving today [(dry) run]. Happy Thanksgiving!
We have two fitters here, one just gets the job done and works till they're right, the other has a book of excuses an inch thick, spends more time on the phone than the machine, every job is a two man job, that way he then has someone else to blame for the problems, he says and I quote " we never get repeat work from customers because the parts guys are charging to much for the parts" ..... not that the office has to try to loose hrs and hrs on the job that should be a relative simple bread and butter job. All this and the boss knows what he's like but won't do anything about it. Worse still is the good fitter has had enough of doing all the work and getting the same pay and taking blame for the others mistake, so in his words " if he's on the phone i'm not working" and I really don't blame him.
LOL You know I didn't! From the amount of gravel that was stuck in both holes I'd say they have been off for quite some time. I ordered replacements.
Don't feel bad. This machine was on concrete, I had an air operated jack and a forklift. I've done enough of these that just having those things makes this job a lot quicker than normal. I did a replacement of tracks in the field a few years ago on a skid steer that was working a muddy ditch line. The right track broke in the ditch line and they just left it there for me. That one took me all day long.
Like fighting a greased pig, only the pig is having fun though
If you didn't, did you at least order them.? Sorry, missed the post above...
This morning I will give you a bit of my history with this company. I have known the owner for over 30 years. When I first started working for them doing repairs the company was just a small asphalt contractor. They got into the dirt side of their business about 10 years ago. I only did technical and difficult work for them off and on as they have always had someone to do the rest.....it was perfect for me since I have around 40 different contractors I do work for. It was one of the situations where I may not do anything for them for months, or I'd be there for a few days or weeks at a time. About 2 years ago all of that stopped abruptly. The general Super told me I was too expensive.....fine, no problem. But here is what really happened. A week before he told me that, I had a relatively heated discussion with him on equipment repairs over the phone. Management had been bitching about the bills from the equipment dealers, and had evidently made comments about my own bills to them. In the discussion I had made several comments that he was one of the big problems because he would call up the dealers for repair work if I couldn't get right on something. One example was a leaking duo cone seal on a Bomag mixer/recycler drum. I told him I could do the work at a fraction of the cost the dealer could (I had just done the exact same job for a county here) and because he couldn't wait 3 days for me to get to it he sent it out. The machine was there for 2 months and the cost was over $30K. I had even showed HNC how to do the job before this and he didn't want to tackle it. So......I made the comment to him that "He had NO business making ANY calls on equipment repairs at all." He had zero experience with any of it. He fires back at me "I am responsible for all of it!"......in which I replied....."and there in lies the problem!" After that......the work dried up. He was fired back in August and the new Super is a former job super that I have always got along with. He is also a operator so he has some clue of what a lot of things take to get done. So fast forward to 10 days ago. Even though some things have definitely changed I'm not sure how long this will last. I can help get them caught up on the major stuff over the next 2-3 weeks, but after that I have no idea. Their goal is still to get the most for the least. On the Bomag, HNC was getting ready to send it to the dealer for a head gasket job it didn't need (missed diagnosis from the dealer tech) I spent $1500.00 and its fixed and running on a job. I figure I saved them $4000.00 on un needed repair work at a minimum. I don't know what they had spent on it before I started. The 700K I figure they had already spent $3K+ before I even looked at it. They were getting ready to send it to the dealer for another head gasket job it didn't need, probably saved them $5K there. Due to the fact that I'm having to go behind 2 different techs to figure out what all this machine needs I already have a $4500.00 labor bill that will climb a bit more once due to troubleshooting the fan system and having to replace a fan pump. For the amount of troubleshooting and repair work already done , and the savings of not wasting money on un need repairs......its a dam bargain to me. It will be in better shape and dependable once I am finished. So will management go back to "I'm too expensive" again? Who knows? I will be pushing HNC a bit harder to let me help with the more technical and difficult repairs, but he could feel threatened by this and start giving me the ole "We can take care of that ourselves" routine. It's difficult for me to sit on the sidelines and watch this crap. My instinct is to jump in and flood myself, get stuff done, and move on to the next one. One big hurdle for me is this......If it goes back to the way it was and I am out of the picture again, should I just let it happen and say nothing? Or should I tell them how stupid this whole thing is, and by doing so, throwing HNC and possibly TNH under the bus? I've known the owner for so long that part of me feels like I should clue him in. On the other hand the other part of me says LET IT BE because you "Reep what you Sow." This isn't going to be easy.
This is now become my favorite thing to read every day. You’re doing an amazing job by the way. It’s always hard to tell in theses situations what the right thing to do is. If you think the owner is reasonable enough, it maybe time to sit down with him and let them know exactly what’s going on with his “Service Department”and maybe try to set up some kind of agreement that you show up when there are difficult diagnostic/repairs to do, so you can avoid them sending everything to the dealer for a “head gasket” Maybe You try to convince them to use the “mechanics” that they hired for simple things like service and minor repairs? If he doesn’t want to hear your honesty and gets upset about it, you basically have done the same thing as not saying anything and them eventually getting angry at you for your “expensive repairs”. Happy Thanksgiving, get some rest, seems like you’re gonna need it!!
This is not a new situation, I dealt with the same issues in the 1980s with my customers here, they would whine I was too slow and ship machines to dealers or other shops to watch in horror as bills escalated then blame ME for being so slow. Sorry but a One Man show can only be in so many places at once and so many hands to get the work done. Had at one point in time 2 old 110 Detroits on the ground in various states of overhaul awaiting parts, transmissions and Euc brake jobs I failed to count ALSO awaiting pieces where I would finish as could gain parts for these. Final day I was finishing up on a antique 110 injector swap(Using their old parts) when the 'NEW HNC Foreskin' of the quarry shop walked in stated flatly once I was 'Done' collect the last paycheck as they no longer needed me, dropped the pieces in my hands at the time, In the Dirt Floor, said Thanks, needed a break and walked out, collected final check included hours on that machine and drove off.
My take on part of it is you enjoy trouble shooting and doing repairs properly while HNC just passes the buck so he doesn’t have to get dirty. As to the outcome someone has to realize they have the wrong guy in his place.
Thanks for taking the time to document this job, Vetech. Its pretty interesting to follow. When it comes to having a talk with the owner about what is happening to the equipment. If he is a friend I would definitally sit down and explain the facts to him. You have all the documents and knowledge to help him, if he is the type that has an open mind, If not than its his loss. Whats next? i have the popcorn ready.
Man I never thought of skid steer tracks like that. I have not operated one much. With an excavator you can at least paw your way out of the mud puddle to a high spot before commencing. I have pawed a rental right onto the Hertz driver's trailer before, reaching back and dragging the track with me.
I agree with talking to dude about it. It's a shame when you have to bring the others into the equation but he'll likely be amazed at all the equipment he can send out when it's working again. The crappy part is having to document what work the "mechanics" were sending out unnecessarily, but I think that's the right move.
I would wonder why the owner hasn't approached you about what is going on? I generally just keep quiet and hope the money keeps flowing my way. I've had plenty of clients over the years where I provided the technical expertise and on the job training for their crew members. My initial conversations with the owner was that I can do two things for them. Figure out the problem and train members of their crew in problem solving. I always used the line that if successful, they wouldn't need me anymore. I can see your contempt for the employees in your post so I don't think that will work in this situation. I can perceive that they see you as a threat and are avoiding you because of your access to management. There is no mutual respect, so at this point there is no solution other than someone has to modify behavior or face a career event. That won't be you because you have plenty of other options. Those employees likely don't have those options. Put something together in your head, that isn't negative about the situation, and be ready if the management decides to ask you about it. If they don't ask, then they are poor managers. I would never volunteer for what is basically a consultant's position. Poor managers will resent unsolicited input that may reflect poorly on their management skills. Stay calm, monitor and adjust.
When your bills start crossing the managements desk--employees don't realize in most cases said employees fired themselves. They did it all by themselves without anyone moving a finger to help them. This is a case where playing the outfield is way better than pitching.
The writing as it seems is in the bills!!
I vote stay quiet unless asked directly and even then hedge that they'll be mad about. Clearly management at some level isn't admitting what's really going on and who knows how far up it goes. Seen it most of my career as well unfortunately. Even if the company had a good mechanic management wouldn't be happy but for some reason the outside contractor daves the day, which is a good place to be and what I'm working towards.
As I like to tell my customers, "I will spend your money as if it was my own: logically, carefully and get the biggest bang for your buck and your needs. I won't waste it on unnecessary work." Sounds to me like Vetech63 is doing just that. You are doing the right thing whether the customer realizes it or not. Many times I've pulled other business owners aside to let them know what is going on that they may not be aware of, be it positive or negative feedback regarding their business practices or personnel. As a business owner myself, it's the best help that I can provide for them, and it's free. There was a time when I had employees and the customers that I respected the most were the ones that gave me feedback when things were not quite right. Employees that are not performing well are a detriment to any business. Personal reviews are the greatest feedback a business owner can get, if they are smart and know how to use that information. Sometimes it takes a distant body to hear which wheel is squeaking or see where the sparks are flying. The engineer can't always see every bit of the train.
There's few sides to every story or what a person sees-That's good old boy stuff, not a good place to go.
Let your work do the talking!
You do you, Boo-boo. Just keep banking those fat checks. Get them caught up and move to the next contractor. That way you'll always have a steady flow. It's not your circus, not your monkeys, therefore not your problem. There will always be a bunch of hacks with a harbor freight tool set willing to make more work for you while you're away. On the other hand, you've got a history with the guy, so you kinda gotta follow yer gut.
LOL........shots fired!!!!!!
Did I hit a nerve? I have some too. It's every guys guilty secret.
Nah, I'm just screwing with you on this fabulous Friday morning. I was just remembering some thread about Harbor freight tools and how some thought they were the bomb. I have some select stuff from them myself.
It's like the quintessential mechanic sneaking out of auto zone with a bag over his head carrying at set of flag belts.
Around here, we call it Vato zone.
I see all your points. I have had a similar discussion with the owner prior to HNC's arrival. I told him what I thought he needed for his operation (That was when he tried to put me on fulltime........I declined) and that I would fill in with the heavier stuff for him as needed. I've decided that I need to ignore what I see going on (even though it drives me insane) and just do what I do. If I am approached for my opinion then I will give it, but I won't volunteer or get in the way. I will attempt to direct my own work with the company as long as I can be helpful and productive. Outside of that, it's business as usual with my other customers. I won't be back there til Monday but more pics of crap coming, I'm sure!
HEY Now, I do resemble those remarks!!! Nephew is a HF Manager, get some GOOD Deals!!!
We lack a Horror Freight in this town and nearest one is 4 hr drive one way to get to it. More cheaper to buy the top end stuff after you factor in fuel and time. Though when near one I do love their moving blankets, make such great uses like working in the dirt or insulated blackout curtains in my camper.
Hey I see you putting more of his iron back in the field and that is as good as it gets. Full stop
I'd venture to guess if I called this outfit and got a bid for work [edit: they do] and when I received it said "you are too expensive" they would feel.....differently.
Had days as those on bids, I did not cut pricing or call back, they would later call ME back try to talk me down as the Cheap Shop had screwed them over or failed to deliver. Would not feel sorry for them became T&M jobs after someone else dug around on a job. They had tough times with that but generally accepted as needed done.
I worked for an operation like you've described many years ago. 80-90 hour weeks trying to get all the broken stuff usable. I gave up after 3 months. After several years thought, the problems originated with the ownership not managing the situation correctly. It wouldn't have mattered how well I kept everything repaired, the hired HNCs who ki$$ed *** with the owners were maintaining their stability even though they couldn't perform. Make your money while you can. Be ready to bail at a moments notice. It takes years of slow education of the owners to correct management mistakes they make. If you push too hard, too fast, they'll bite back. I work under four owners of an excavating company right now who have a coveted club among themselves who no one is let in unless they are of golden blood. None of the four have any maintenance back round. Two of the four had no dirt moving or heavy equipment experience when they were invited to the club. I often have to show in elementary detail why a repair was made a certain way when the cost was higher than expected. I've taken many a hydraulic hose or O ring and snapped it in two before their eyes when they questioned work.
Have to laugh a bit, Golden Blood, Golden Children or Choices!! Saw that at the Nuke, many NAVY members were decent enough but a number would hire on ONLY Due to being Ex NAV Nuke, seems they were "OWED" the Jobs as they served in US NAVY and the Power Industry built 'Just For Them'. Ex NAV Officers would hire them in a heartbeat and be upset when they Would or Could not get Qualifications Cards signed by Senior Members of Operator Staff(Like ME). Guys just would not produce but HAD to be signed off as were 'Golden Boys'!!! The nukes as well most power stations across the US are having issues with that very point with the HNC types, Want NC or No Responsibilities Types, just there for their Due Money.
Just another day in paradise!  Got the pump in the 700K today and all the tests passed. It's supposed to go out midweek so I can mark this off my to-do list. HNC approached me this morning while I was removing the old pump and asked me if I installed the rubber tracks on the Cat 299. I told him I did of course and he replied........." Well, I appreciate the fact that you did that, but you are going to get me into trouble." I asked How So? It needed done and had been sitting there for days and no one was here......so I did it myself. His response was " We just hired a guy that is supposed to do that and that is what I was going to have him do today. Management will question why they are getting a bill from you when TNH was hired to do this." Yeah. I get it.......maybe I should have just let it sit there for another 2 weeks. Not an hour later the job super called me and thanked me for getting it done as they needed the machine. Go Figure! HNC then said he was ok with me doing some of the bigger repairs but to check with him first. Well, we have been down that road before, I always get "We can handle that" and nothing ever happens. I am predicting here and now............They will be going back to their old ways shortly. TNH is evidently their golden child..........at least on paper This thread may end sooner than I thought. I'll be tackling an electrical problem on a Cat roller tomorrow and I won't have to worry about hurting someone's feelings there. Stayed tuned!
Sounds like HNC is scared for his own butt being thrown to the wind!!
. . . so that he can be prepared to take the credit. ____________ This situation reminds me of a story that a crusty, but likeable, blacksmith from New Hampshire told me: "Once upon a time there were two guys shoveling coal. Then, one guy figures out that he can make the same money if he stands around and counts how many shovels of coal that the other guy shovels. Now, there's nobody shoveling coal." (Thanks Ron.)
Isn't that cute. Someone is worried that they are about to be found out. If he's not the one that called you in then I don't see the need to tell him sh¡t.
I am glad the holiday is over. I needed more of your entertaining stories!
I've spent the last hour getting this info on their Bomag 1300 profiler. I ran into the profiler 2 months ago about an hour south of here when I was repairing a paver. The right front track assembly had been removed from the machine and was gone. I enquired about it from the paving super and he stated that the dirt side of the company had borrowed it, broke it, and had to fix it. Thats why I didn't get a call about it. NFG had pulled the assembly because he couldn't figure out how to remove the master pin in the rail. I had seen the assembly sitting in their shop several times over a month ago lying there with open hose ends on the floor. Not long after it disappeared and when I again enquired about it........HNC sent it to the dealer for them to install a new rail and prep it for reinstallation on the machine. FLASH FORWARD to an hour ago...........I call the paving super to enquire whether the Bomag had been put together or not or did he know the status. He then told me to check on it for him and that HNC had just been screwing around and not doing anything. He also told me that they hadn't approved any work to be done because it was too expensive. I called the dealer to find out that the track rail has been installed and the assembly is ready there sitting on a pallet. I call the paving super back and inform him that it is sitting there ready to be picked up.........evidently HNC told the dealer to do whatever was needed without getting it approved by the paving super. I told him I had zero confidence that HNC could do the install and that I would do it if needed. He then calls the general super and HNC and they said that the dealer is going down tomorrow to install it. The paving super isn't happy, but said they better get it right or its their baby til they do. Here is the fun part I get to call the owner tomorrow and tell him I had NOTHING to do with this. His son (the pilot) is responsible for having the dirt mechanics working on the paving equipment that they are NOT supposed to be touching. The machine was down for 2 months because they ordered a new rail from Bomag @ $1900.00. The parts manager emailed me the parts list costing $3100.00 by itself. I just checked my cost on the same rail is $600.00 plus freight and I can have it in 3 days. I figure by the time the dealer has this finished its a $6K bill and was totally unnecessary. The absolute stupidity here is insane. I don't know how much more I can witness and say sane myself. I may be reaching my limit real quick!
Just remember that this isn't your circus and those aren't your monkeys. Just cash those checks as fast as you can before HNC and TNH spend it first..
Wonder how the foreman will cover it up
Its probably more along the lines of the supers bitch to the office that nothing is getting fixed the office turns around and puts the screws on the mechanics or whatever they actually might be in this case so some action happens witch in turn goes back to a song and dance back to the office that they are overwhelmed by all the stuff the operators keep breaking and that they are actually the hero because it could be worse Since production is trackable on paper much easier than breakdowns especially to those that dont know there buissness nothing changes cause the supers pull rabbits out of there hat and make things happen I am currently working around a company that has simalar issues and the 3rd generation that's taken over cant get out of the office to see how much broke stuff is sitting on the job parked This scenario has been a big driving factor in why the rental game has become a principal way for buissness to manage a fleet
Interesting post Vtech,and thanks for taking the time to post it. My gut feeling is that you’re going to come out of all this wishing you hadn’t bothered.
Fueler and general labor guy(64) that has been around machines most his life was out to the 963B I operate, he pushed up the remnant of the original pile to a condensed mass as I was not being given time to do so. More of my time is to get loaded and get it gone. He was amazed at how loose the old loader was, said first try at the edges of the pile thought it was gonna Submarine on him as bucket rolls down so fast so hard and so far. Did back out before got into dirt under the pile so not a issue there, then he scraped the platform area another treat trying to use the loose loader but got it mashed together into the mainpile. He made that comment to the boss, boss said tractor was too old to worry of a little slack noting I had made a similar remark when it replaced the newer B, then HE went out to the pile and tried it. Said 'his boys' back at the shop were a lot less admirable today as had told him was not so bad and could be lived with. Cutting edge rolled nearly four to six inches by the bosses account where the order was placed for pins, bushings and shims, the 'Boys' will be busy when I finish the haul off in refitting the loader if not already too far beaten. He also said the rest of the tractor would be getting a little more Lovin.
Reminds me of a mechanic we used to have at our county shop. He was known as ' Maytag Mike'. He was only part-time but he had to have a helper. For a routine re-man transmission replacement on a pick-up truck, he would haul it to a dealer an hour away, leave it, and then go back and pick it up when it was done. It took him and his helper both to come over to our hamlet to change the fuel hose on the storage tank for the grader . The graders were always bought with the full maintenance package so he never touched them. Then, on the old spare grader, he didn't do the service on it and the transfer drive piled up. So, he sent it to the dealer and the bill was i think 30k. Finally, a new county council started questioning this kind of crap and the CAO couldn't protect him anymore. When questioned about his high wages, her response was ' Well he's more like a supervisor'. A lot of work wasn't getting done so she gave him the option of working full-time and he declined. So, he was finally replaced. End of problem . Ya they eventually replaced the CAO too.
Not much to report today. I got to work by myself without any distractions even though I was at the same equipment yard. What I did today is in the roller and paver sections. TNH and HNC were gone all day.....no one knows where or what they are doing.
You got to work by yourself without any distractions or people wanting you to drop what you’re doing and put out their fires? Sounds glorious!
No one knew where or what they were doing, hmm Maybe each other??
better put HNC’s desk on some jack stands so TNH doesn’t bump his head!
Man you guys are a bad influence. (Cough, cough, clears throat roflmfbo)
IDK I think that sometimes with a few customers, but they are good for repeat business every few years as the cycle of **** up repeats.
Let's see what today brings. I'm back there to finish up the roller and the Cat paver should be there sometime this morning. Unlikely I will see HNC or TNH......that's been the trend. Not that I really have the authority to do so, but I told both paving super's yesterday that HNC, TNH, or any other company mechanic is NOT to touch any of the paving equipment again. I explained HNC spent $6K+ on a $2500 job. They both agreed so it shouldn't be a problem again. I also explained that when I have to follow behind him it's just driving the costs up. I highly doubt the owner will have an issue with it but they would relay the message so I didn't have to.
The Buddy Club is an amazing thing. Lunches for its members can last anywhere from 2 hours to all day
Got the roller finished up today, but 2 paving machines down this afternoon. It seems like for every machine thats fixed there is 2 more going down. I'm so dang tired that on the way home I stopped at my PO box at the post office. I go inside and find myself trying to put my wallet in the key slot........even took me a few seconds to realize what I was doing.  TNH was gone again all day. HNC decided to do something today.......he swept the shop a little. He lasted 10 minutes and disappeared. Its paving machine work tomorrow.
Isn't there anyone around higher up the company food chain to see what's going on? It would drive me crazy being in your shoes at the moment, we'll paid or not, I struggle to cop that ****.
Is there no daily work schedule? Or do they just float around waiting for new stuff to come up and to hell with the already broken. This company sounds large enough to have a system for tracking maintenance and repair costs per unit including repair hours, etc. A system like that would weed out those two guys fairly quick.
They do have a system. It’s the scorched earth system. They run these machines into the ground and use them for things not intended. And when they break to the point where they can’t use them anymore. Then they move to the pacify the baby plan. Meaning that whichever superintendent or Forman throws the biggest fit gets his machine looked at first. This is why I left the construction side of turning wrenches. It’s all about production bonuses. Repairs and damage are not factored in with production. So basically they will destroy a million dollars worth of equipment to finish a half million dollar segment of the job. And if the equipment is broken and threatening their production. They will throw a tantrum until it is fixed. Or they will destroy another machine using it in a manner not intended. Or rent something. I don’t completely fault HNC and TNH. They probably get their minds changed 10,000 times a day. It doesn’t matter if you have a engine hanging from your crane and you can finish the job by late afternoon. It’s set that engine down and drive across the state 2-3 hours to do something that could’ve waited a day or two.
I understand completely but i would think they would go back to 'said' engine and work with it whenever time allows
That day never comes. In construction there are millions of non emergencies every day. It takes a equipment manager with balls to put an end to it. Or in my case when I was in construction. I lived by the philosophy of its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. A lot of times it’s the equipment manager making terrible decisions. And I have had success with personally reaching out to the superintendent or forman and working out a plan that works for the both of us. When I was in construction. I was the mechanic, parts runner, and diplomat all at the same time. It’s a thankless job and I will work at McDonald’s before I would go back.
And for what some of these McDonald’s type companies are paying. It’s not much less than some of these construction outfits pay to repair equipment. I am seriously reevaluating my career. I think that when my truck is paid off. That I will quit turning wrenches for any company and work for the new minimum wage. I have to by expensive tooling. I diagnose million dollar machines with complicated electronics and software. I diagnose hydraulic issues and powertrain issues. I can weld and fabricate. I have a lot of skills in my arsenal. And to make just a few hundred dollars more then a guy flipping burgers. What’s the point?
Any kind of industry is always the same story and its name is business. The game of business is taught by those in it and doing it. It's not learned in some class room out of a book or listening to someone who has never done it. The measurement of success is money. Not how a job is done, nor how many people are employed, nor the amount of equipment owned or how it is used or how long it lasts. It took me twenty years of working at dealerships, mining and construction companies in many different facets of each type of work to learn that. If you are wrenching on iron, you shouldn't care anything about how your customer or client decides to spend it other than what they spend on you. I got to where I wanted them to spend as much on me as possible but also realized there were limits to what they would spend based on my performance. To keep them putting money in my pockets I became pretty pliable in what I would do and retained my limits as to how far I would go. If it helps any, what I was usually able to do was find the person with the ultimate power to decide and form a relationship. When those other distractions happened, I had developed an open communication to the powers that be and made them make the decision on where to go next. I didn't tell them how to run their business. I just made them make a hands on decision on what to do next based on the inputs and requirements that were at hand. It seems everyone in a company believes the mechanic is their mechanic and their job is most important. When that happened I just started to climb the ladder of power. Sometimes all it took was to state who is your boss, what is his phone number and I'm going to contact him now.
Years back when i worked for a small city's public works department, i chewed out an operator for not checking the engine oil in a piece of equipment before he started it. He told me thats what they had mechanics for and it deteriorated quickly after that. From then on, he and i never got along. They eventually got the operators trained to do the basic daily maintenance and it made our life a lot easier
Hell even the boss won't do a pre-trip-so there's not much recourse with drivers.
I was in my teens when I got a butt chewing like never before from my grandpa for starting a tractor without pulling the dipstick. I never forgot to pull another dipstick after that.
I have both the Cat 1055F and the Weiler p385B pavers torn down and parts coming in. Should have the Weiler done tomorrow. I'll get pics tomorrow. I did see TNH today for the first time. The Weiler paver was parked in front of the 350D excavator that's been sitting there for over 2 months. He got in the cab and tried to start it, no go..........then went and got the battery charger, hooked it up and left. Odd that HNC was with him.... I assume they had been together all day because I didn't see him until TNH showed up. I heard an air compressor in the shop fire up, then die about 15 seconds later. Not sure what's happening there. I can agree to an extent. TNH is new so I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now. HNC on the other hand has no excuse. There have been too many times I've seen him go driving around in his truck, drinking coffee, bullshitting with crew and supers, and generally screwing off. There is more than enough to keep 3 good techs busy. He just doesn't want to work if it takes much effort or thought. You can't fix anything if you don't understand how it works. Even the simplest of small jobs is a major challenge for him. He has 14 months until he can draw full SS (something he told me over a month ago).......he is just trying to ride his time out as easy as he can until he draws his benefits and leaves the company. I try to be friendly to him, hell....I could have a beer with him and shoot the %$^T for hours. It's the fact that he is NO tech by any sense of the word and when you try to explain how something works or how to go about fixing something "he already knows" or has done it 100 times. I have tried to help the guy out but it goes nowhere. A few months ago I watched him put the tracks on a 650J backwards. I told him which way they went on......"he knew" of course and proceeded to put them on backwards the next day. Screw it, I let him do it.
About the most I could get operators to do in the coal mines was get the operators to walk around the machines and look for puddles on the ground. I finally put a man on to check fluids and start the machines in the morning before first shift.
Checking the oil??? I nearly got fired for this one. I serviced a 330C on a jobsite and only got 4 gallon of oil out (6 gallon crankcase). So...I taped a $20 to the engine oil dipstick. Fast forward 3 weeks. As I pulled onto that jobsite near end of shift, I saw that machine in operation. I told the operator that I needed to check something under the hood. He shut it off. Then he watched me pull the dipstick, unravel a $20 bill, put the stick back, close the hood and leave. Neither of us said a word. Fast forward 4 minutes. It's the owner calling me. Had to drive two hours back to the office and endure a 20 minute "you can't be doing that" speech. Then, I get a lecture from a super the next day, back on site, that my "stunt" caused the new guy to quit. I'm slowly becoming a legend around here
I would have given you a raise for that stunt on the spot. Then again, I was one of those who got yelled at for not pulling a dipstick when 8 years old.
I hope the guy that quit never found a job ever again. What a child.
Is the owner a dumb ass I think I would have quit cause obviously its easier to blame the mechanic then set a standard for operators On my spread operators do there own daily service and fuel so if something is not right no ones to blame but the guy in the seat that new guy probably would have been fired on the spot for mot doing his job
Speaking of lazy so called operators…I don’t even know why machines come with climate controlled cabs because the “operator” is going to run it with every door and window open and fill the cab with a yard of dirt and 30 drink bottles and dip cups ( if they aren’t spitting inside the cab of course) plus sunflower seed hulls. and getting one to grease their machine? Perish the thought the zerks are there for decoration apparently.
Try asking them to read the operators manual.......it's like you just slapped their mother...... Read a manual on how to properly/safely operate the machine their working on and basic maintenance, why on gods green earth would they do something like that, just jump on mash buttons and twist knobs till something either works or breaks.
To be fair, the owner's lecture to me changed tone after I explained why and gave my version. It simply became a talk about how fragile and delicate morale is (and operators) and, while my impetus to encourage proper walk arounds was right and actually encouraged, but by doing it in the middle of the day resulted in poor production the rest of the day. About every 6 months or so, I still tape a twenty on somewhere. I just don't retrieve it the middle of a work shift. I believe I've done it 15 times, and I've only ever lost one.
Speaking of cab garbage reminds me of another story about the same city public works. Us mechanics had our own designated shop truck. We kept the inside clean and washed it as needed. It was as clean or cleaner than the superintendent's truck. One day we sent an operator to pick up parts in another city 25 miles away. When he came back, he left his garbage in the cab. He always did that with any equipment he ran also. So, i cleaned all his trash out of the cab and saved it. The next staff meeting as i walked by, i dumped it in his lap. When he exploded and asked 'what the hell did you do that for? ' , i replied 'that's your garbage you left in the shop truck last time you used it.' Then he really got mad. The superintendent, supervisors, and the other operators were all bug-eyed . It got kind of loud in the coffee room for a couple minutes until the superintendent got things under control. His agenda for the meeting took a slight detour. After the meeting he came to talk to us mechanics and he asked me why i had taken such a drastic action in front of the whole crew. We told him we had been trying to get them to clean up after themselves for a very long time and they weren't getting the message. The garbage in our shop truck was the last straw. He agreed with us but not necessarily the way i made my point. The operators and supervisors got a memo about equipment and cab cleanliness and that was the end of the problem. Funny thing was, that a few years later, the same operator was promoted to a supervisor and he had to be on the operators about some of the crap he used to do. . That was the best job i ever had- it was never boring and my whole day's work plan usually went out the window about an hour after i started every morning
We leave the keys on all the machines and trucks here. Some of the truck drivers leave their keys on the dipstick. The local milk producer will leave a random tag on trucks, forklifts or other machines that require daily inspections.... someplace where it would only be seen if you were doing your walk around. If you bring it back, you get a coffee card or something like that. I am guilty as anyone for breezing through my daily inspection sheet, but I do visually see things when I grease. That's why I hate automatic greasers. We have a general book for equipment, and one for trucks. If your machine doesn't have something you leave it blank. I don't check the tracks, rollers, and drum, on my grader inspection, but the guy that does the sheets, says he still can't figure out where the tires are on the 470 Hitachi, even though the operator keeps checking them off.
I inspected some machines for trade at one company that used a program I think was called Zonar. Basically there were these round green nodes attached at various points on the machines where the operator had to do something and then check it off in a phone attachment of something. I thought it was a decent idea if a company had problems but also thought operators would see it as big brother putting the eye on them.
Cutting edge .. We had a name for the practice... "Pencil Whipping" the check sheets.
Yea at the quarry some of those check lists would have one long line down all the check boxes!
That is the best story I have read in a very long time. Maybe ever. I can't believe they hauled you up on the mat for that. Even heavy equipment operators are becoming way too delicate these days.
It was often referred to as "Tick & Flick".
Well, I did omit the part where I didn't verify the oil level first (at service time) before draining, but, instead, I relied on the "fluid check" on the monitor, and the fact that I serviced directly after shift end. It was sufficient enough to not trigger the low oil warning. But, you have to be smart, and patient, enough to wait between key on and crank. Most of my late model Cats have that feature.
This is the end of the screed with the plate removed. I have the plate/arm at a company that is attempting to straighten it. I figured its worth a try...................if not its a $2200.00 replacement. I should know early next week what the verdict is on this.
The Wieler needed a cable replacement as the auger sensor wouldn't cut the auger out automatically. Here it is after I removed the chain and the bad cable The cable from Weiler ended up on a 25 day backorder.........so I had to build my own to get the machine going. More pics coming when my internet quits acting up.
Catch something solid did they. One of our stretch 20s caught a man hole. Only seemed to damage the outside plate and shoe, but it had bent the extension as well.
My hand made wiring harness going together and the finished job.
I will have everything I was supposed to do for this company completed by the end of next week. HNC wants TNH to start taking over.......so I am backing away unless someone above him says otherwise. There is still a lot more to do so we will see how it goes. I will update this thread as needed................Thanks for playing!
We've got to get you a deutsch crimper tool and terminals
I thought that term was reserved for time sheets only.......
HUH? You talking French? OH..........you mean like this one!? Yeah, I considered using my kit. But on this non-critical auger sensor set-up and being the connectors were in great shape, I decided to use up some of my shrink tube kit instead. Double shrink wrapped was a perfect fit for this particular job. ..........I feel like it's even better than the factory replacement I couldn't get. 
This is the best thing going since Nige was On the road again , don't quit now. Joe H
oh man, there needs to be a “best of” category for all us newcomers that missed out on these great threads....
HeavyEquipmentForums That's my favorite from the archives, post #114 sums it up. This thread has INFINITE potential, and Vetech is just the man to bring it to us. Nige has probably witnessed some trainwrecks in his day, but he's to proper to get involved with that sort of thing anymore, and the daguerreotypes didn't survive. Scrubpuller's story of pulling out a D10 with a hand block and tackle is legendary also.
@Delmer , that is one of the first threads I ever read on HEF. Epic. One that is quite entertaining and epically long: HeavyEquipmentForums
Oh no---not that again. That thread was the direct result of someone using a pillow case as a contraceptive. The agony, despair, deep dark depression excessive misery-gloom despair and agony on us. Even if you didn't follow it, it crept everywhere in every thread.
I could post a link to the guy who bought a burned up Cat skid steer but I too nice a guy to do that!
The skid steer thread was short lived not sure what the guy was posting for cause it sure wasn't to take advice
There's a 333 John Deere burned up rebuild saga right here in town at this very moment. Was running a mulcher. So far he has $45,000 in it.
I somehow missed out on the 80 ton thread and only discovered it long after it had stopped, a few years ago. There were enough clues in the thread I am sure somebody could figure out where the guy live(d) and see what is up nowadays. I never saw the one about pulling out a D10, what was that about?
Sorry, it was a nine, of course. And a bit more than a block and tackle that I remembered it as. HeavyEquipmentForums
Oh I'm not quitting this thread. I'm just busy with paving equipment at the moment.
When I got to this I figgered a guy who can't post pictures is probably not going to have much luck with an engine. It was funny though. Joe H
Nothing new? You shot them and left? Joe H
Problem solved, problem staying solved.
I'll be talking to HNC on Monday. I have been doing paving equipment the last 2 weeks or so. There was quite a bit down but I'm getting on the backside of that stuff over this weekend. I did walk into the shop today while I was there picking up a part needed. It looks like somebody has cleaned up a bit in there but swept around the Bomag ditch compactor and the air compressor that's been there for months. I haven't seen TNH but I have been away from there quite a bit lately. Should I just take pics of whatever I'm working on to keep you guys entertained? LOL I don't want any of you to get depressed and such
Sure we love pictures!
I'm starting to go through withdrawals Start to shake, or maybe that's just to much coffee
Until something better turns up, you're it. Maybe Nige will head off to somewhere interesting, he has to be bored sitting at home on that rock. Joe H
Can't get off the Rock today - fogbound......!!
Everytime someone says "epic" thread, I go here... https://mustangforums.com/forum/5-0l-general-discussion/368307-i-m-done-with-this-car-6.html
OK then! While the rest of you are watching football, drinking a few beers, and playing grab ass with your wives..........I'm still out doing my part of keeping this industry alive working for the man. You would think this was going to be a simple R&R pad job......... But NOT when everything you have run over ends up squished into the bolt hole bores. If you add up the time just cleaning these out over 38 pads, it took longer to clean them so I could get a socket on them than it did to unbolt them and installed the new ones. But dont fear......I persevered 2 tracks done, 2 to go (when they show up at the end of the month.
Foot ball, only time I watch that is when I have to
Why change the pads? Rubber for steel ? Traction ?
The machine comes from the factory with polyurethane bonded to the steel pad. Many of the original are missing/broken off so as the machine travels it jumps up and down. I assume this design is to keep the grousers from tearing up the road surface.
If it's not a full depth mill, they like the grooves left to help the new pave adhere to the milled surface, or at least they do here. The steel grouser does mark it up. Never seen a Bomag. Here is mostly Cat and Wirtgen.
Vetech, I'm not sure how I missed the start of this thread, but I can relate, like most everyone here. I should take some drone footage of the 50 acres of equipment that's waiting....on something. Granted, it's not all just broken and off a job, it's mostly cheap, barrel bottom auction equipment with no pressing need-to-repair-now situations, but it's evidence of a lot of what you are saying. Companies just run the equipment to the ground, for lack of talent I expect, then just pass it along. Overall, we come out ok on most of it, so we fix what is needed for operations, then work on the other stuff which is added to a rental fleet or put up for sale. It's always something interesting at least. Frustrating most certainly at times, but never boring. The team that's assembled works together pretty well, so I can't complain too much about that. My complaint is mid management interference and a lack of communication between the CEO and that level. Fortunately for me, as a non-employee, I report directly to the owner so don't get in between the players. I do my job, as asked (not told) to do, and have considerable freedom to do as I please. Keep it coming, it's good to know everyone struggles with this kind of stuff now and then.
Vetech63, I don't know what you use to clean out the bolt holes but I have found that a needle gun works well (fast) for me. Seems like you stepped back from the politics, good for you!
Maybe good for him, but far less entertaining for us
5000 other things came up today, so I didn't get to meet with HNC. What did I do was run into this........I will title this "Is it worth it or not?" This has nothing to do with the company I started this thread about. A local cattle rancher called me over the weekend to look at this purchase he made......paid scrap price for it.
Depends what's wrong with it
No idea why a pic posted twice. The rancher has explained to me that this is an oil lease machine, and the company went bankrupt. This dozer has been sitting here for the last 3+ years and he wants to know what it will take to get it running .....LOL. All I could think of when talking to him was "Its fixable if you own a bank!" I took a few pics, noticed the c-frame on the right side under the angle cylinder is completely broke in half, and the left side is broken halfway through. Multiple attempts at a fishplate all over it, its junk. The exhaust of course is a straight up pipe with no rain cap.......no telling how much water has got into the engine. Its beat up from one end to the other. He put a new battery in it thinking it would start right up and work.... when he turned the key on the monitor lights came on for a second, then everything went dead. I noticed the ground strap for the starter was missing and saw a few areas where the mice have been snacking. This is the typical condition I find oil lease equipment in. In my opinion, this is going to cost wayyyy more than it's worth, but I didn't have the heart to tell the guy I thought he wasted his money yet.  This is a trap machine as I like to call them. You get to thinking it won't take much to get it going, then 5-10K later you are STILL fixing crap. I say RUN!!!! What say you!!??
With the added info, I say run
Run Forest, Run
So he has roughly 3-4k into this machine already? I would for the hell of it,try and hot wire the starter just for ***** and giggles. After that it looks like a money pit as you said.
Any parts that could be sold ? If it was truly bought at scrap price, some usable parts may make it worth the effort to pull and scrap the rest. BUT not at Vetech's labor rate.
Pure, unadulterated JUNK right there that isn’t worth fooling with by anybody. The extreme abuse as evidenced by the broken c frame (!) doesn’t speak well to the longevity of the rest of the machine.
A good dozer is a money pit ....
You snipe that pic out of my yard? That looks like 75% of the stuff out there!
I've found, with lots of field science of course, those older 6,7,8 deere dozers can either go really well or really bad, there's all most never a middle ground.
Ask him how much he wants to gamble. Say 1 or 2 k, that would get the chance to see if some of the components (finals, trans, motor....) are worth selling. Or maybe it is a good part time farm rig.
He has stated that this would be a farm rig. He is seeing gold and I'm sure isn't going to let go of it until I prove it's not worth the money. I don't have the time to even mess with it until after next week anyways so I have some time to figure out my approach. I'm thinking about a couple of things that have been said.....tell him to pay for a day or 2, then hotwire the machine to see if it will crank, after I bar it over by hand first to make sure it isn't already locked. If I can get it to start and go in gear, then it may be worth throwing some more at it. He is going to spend a bit to even find out. This is a new potential customer, so I better get money up front to be on the safe side. If he is serious it shouldn't be a problem.
I would tell him if the engine is seized, it is only good for parts unless he is mechanically inclined and can do a lot of the repairs himself. Most real farmers ( not the hobby kind with a couple acres) are usually pretty handy at basic repairs. If he's a doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc. that calls his acreage a 'farm' , then he could be a pain in the ass. A lot of the cow guys i know aren't very good with equipment
I'ts got the key and it works
Let's not forget that it abruptly lost all electrical after that....
Texas has a class of farm equipment called "cowboy rough". Generally not as beat up as "oilfield", but with more mud, straw, and chew spit in the cab.
I callum Weekend Warriors ..They got two days to play and tear up then want you to fix it or get it unstuck or the tracks back on it "stumps" before the next weekend . But hey they got money and they pay.
Operative word is "PAY". Equipment, dirt, and grease is the same the world over. Although some working conditions are better than others.
So is it safe to assume nothing exciting has been going on for a while now?
I text him the other day, he’s been sick for a spell plus our weather has been crap.
I'm sure there's lots of crazy **** going on there, nothing stands still for long. They're just saving it all up for when Vetech gets back
Always lol
Can say Even I would walk away from that Deere.
Ah makes sense. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery if he’s still under the weather...
Interesting thread, One thing that occurs to me is we lump mechanics into one group. Industry wide we refer to A techs, B Techs, C Techs and Lube techs respectively. And having every mechanic be an A tech or every tech be a C tech is not a good match. A shop needs a mix, and in this case probably a B tech, a C tech and hire in an A tech such as your self to diagnose and repair. It is also unrealistic for a 25year old kid to think he is an A Tech and should earn $50hr, you don't even know yet what you don't know. Also Unrealistic is to expect a C-tech to become an A tech without some guidance and years of understudy. The term Apprentice was used years ago for individuals in the trades to train under Journeymen, and it took time to become skilled at your craft.
Very well said. It really doesn't matter the trade, a proper apprenticeship program will produce a better journeyman. A continuing education program will help guide the journeyman to become a master in their field. This also relies on employers to recognize and reward the journeyman and master, but that's where the system is broken. Bean counters want to pay apprenticeship wages for journeyman and mastership level work. Today's apprentices want journeyman wages without learning and developing the proper skillset. I've seen it in my short career too. Everyone wanted my wages as a senior Directional Driller without putting in the time or actually taking on the responsibility. My former employer was trying to figure out how cut wages /benefits to increase profits, but lost talented employees everytime they did. They had a great training program that produced very talented and skilled employees, but accountants deemed it too expensive as well. Now their training program is a shell of what it had been, and they struggle with service quality issues brought on by minimally trained employees.
Well said Colson!!!
Pretty much what I was thinking glad someone could put it in words. Good depiction Colson, thanks.
A friend of mine was the President of the Union Carpenters school in Boston. This is the process they go through to provide trained professionals for the field. You start as an apprentice carpenter, and go to training at night and learn some of the technical skill that goes along with the job.
In my 30+ years as an operator I've really only had one apprentice I actively trained. He was a nice fellow and I still send him a text now and then to check on him. Most of them go to the bigger outfits in Seattle proper and I stayed out of that.
I have the dubious distinction to have trained over a dozen at the 'nuke' and several when wrenched for a living.
One of the major issues is instead of cultivating a shop environment in which inexperienced and moderately experienced mechanics grow to be higher level master mechanics is shop management undercuts it by pushing back mechanics that want to do well and have good morale and pulls up the idiot grade s***birds because the they “can do the job fast” (even if it means they completely screw it up and cause rework down the road). There is no point in a system of progression when the guys that want to do it right and want to be there get passed over like that and beaten down mentally because they see the shop idiot get rewarded. Create a good shop culture where good people get to advance in an orderly manner and they want to work there and you will get 20,30,40 year employees.
Knew my job well at the garages and the Nuke, so well the Foreskins/Supers and Managers were often those I had started training but had advanced ejumacashuns that could write prettier than myself so Moved up that stringy Ladder. They often would fall back to the "You Know what to do to get it done" tactic, best response I ever heard was our Steward, told one that HE had gotten same training as we had, HE needed to Lay Out the Job, HE IS the BOSS and we are just their to follow his lead. Guy rotated to another department a month later.
There is a few new developments but this weather here has kept me sick since Christmas. 4 days ago the wind chill here was below zero and today it's supposed to almost hit 70. This hot/cold crap has been screwing with my sinuses bad enough that it is keeping me with constant headaches. I won't even get into the aches and pains its causing. Trying to get on this computer and read for more than 5 minutes has been painful to say the least. Trying to work with said symptoms has been challenging at best. I'll get a few pics today. Some of the info is things I've heard; the other is things I'm seeing.......or not seeing.
Hope you feel better soon. I'm looking forward to the next installment of "The Adventures of Vetech63." Over my career what I have seen in shops or at companies and moving up or down in status is basically a false goal. The ultimate and highest status job in any repair facility as an employee is a field mechanic. The management on you is minimal and the pay is only limited by your willingness to work long hours. You are basically the face of the company. A shop foreman is nothing more that a dish rag the management uses to clean up the messes with. The service manager is the ultimate pivot point that everyone hates. All problems are his fault. He basically makes a little less than the field wrench. Shops always suck to work in as everyone has their favorites who get the good or easy stuff while those out of favor end up on the steam rack or doing the dirty and dangerous stuff. Then you have a no nothing wanting to stand over your shoulder and try to tell you how to do something. All that made it a pretty easy decision to do something else all those years ago.
So many things, so little time. As you can see from this first pic........there is still a yard full of crap.........shocker! That water truck you see in the pic has been sitting in that same spot for almost a year. I was told it has air brake issues and HNC knows nothing about air brakes. The cure was to let this sit and rent a water truck (which I am sure they have paid enough to own it buy now).
The JD 672GP has a leak, and evidently the leak has been there quite a while now. I guess it's not leaking bad enough to be a concern. My money is going on the fact that this machine will go back out without being touched. I'm not sure what qualifies as a bad leak to HNC........5 gallons a day maybe? It's been in the yard for 3 weeks or more.
This was my weekend project that I just completed today...........or so I thought. A Cat PM622 These lower rollers were a B*&%$! Awkward **, and I had to remove others and lay in between the conveyor belt like it was a hammock. My back is still hurting by the way. After I got these replaced, it was a full filter service and torque hub checks.
Again, I thought I was done with this 622. I started really giving it a look over and found...... The 2 lower coolers are 75% plugged and the middle is at least 50% plugged. The machine has 2054 hours. Now I wonder who gets to do the pressure washing? Last time the owner saw me washing stuff he had a fit. He told me he had cheaper guys to do that stuff. I can't let the machine go out like this so if someone isn't cleaning this up by Wednesday........looks like I'm doing it anyway.
And some say " I wonder why my machine caught on fire!?" Debris lying on the turbo and exhaust pipes usually always starts one at some point. A flip of a switch gets the entire upper cover up with plenty of access to keep debris from building up............but you have to flip the dam switch to see it.
This looks interesting! It took them 8 days to get the pads off. I have no idea why since they torched every bolt. Plenty of new parts behind the dozer on pallets. I could tell the rails are wrong when I walked up to them. Is it wrong that I didn't say **** about it? I'm just curious if they are going to stretch these out and attempt to install them before they realize it won't work. I'll let you know if that happens.
Let them fight it, then PUSH them to explain to their boss are WRONG. HNC would have been requested FIRED my second day after witness of all this nonsense, TNH would have not EVER Been.
Someone has changed a turbo! Odds are it didn't correct whatever issue the engine was having. I picked it up and took a quick look........no oil leaks, good bearings, impeller looked like new. I have no idea what this came off of, but its just lying outside in the weather. There is another just like it lying in the shop floor LOL..........so 2 have been changed!
So, last week the company truck mechanic stopped by where I was working on a paving machine in their yard. He told me that he had another employment opportunity and wondered what I would think. After telling me what he was looking at, the pay, the time, the travel........I told him if he didn't take it he was stupid. Well, he took it and quit last Friday. During this conversation he asked me what I thought of TNH. I told him that since he had been hired I had only seen him twice at the yard, and that was at quitting time. He said that didn't surprise him. He said that several times he had gone to a job and saw TNH sitting in his truck at the job..........not doing anything but waiting on something to break down. Hell, no wonder I never see him. He then told me that one of the job supers had helped him get those pads off that dozer rail, and that from what he saw, the super did most of the work. HNC has been gone for over a week with Covid, or so he says. In the meantime, nothing at the yard is getting done.............same ol same ol!!!! Its rather disgusting but I'm doing my best to ignore it for now. Yes, its driving me insane
Hopefully you feel better again soon, glad to see you back here though!
That sitting water truck and the way they do work, I would bet something has been frozen too. The changed turbos SMH. They are so simple to check out in place. Pull the hose check for end and axial play, look for oil. Parts changers are a scourge and boat anchor.
That's distributed spare parts storage, what if you're out there and need a turbo, bam, there's a turbo. Ignore the fact a pigeon has been shitting in it for 6 months lol.
I forgot this pic yesterday. A JD 764 with a track drive problem...........yeah no kidding. They use this high speed dozer like it's a regular dozer. The undercarriage as you can see is wore smoothe out. It's all Camoplast JD proprietary and last time I checked the parts alone were near $100K
New turbo time
Let's gripe some more! LOL I see HNC making somewhere in the neighborhood of $75K a year....and doesn't do much of anything except drink coffee and shoot the **** with the supers. TNH making the same $75K and barely doing anything but is great at sitting on his ass. All this equipment needing repairs just sitting..........and a crapload of rental equipment being used. ..and the wasted parts being bought that I can't even imagine what that cost is a month. So where to go from here? If I just start fixing this stuff without HNC's approval he gets upset. Not that I really give a F^%& about that at this point, but since he seems to have management in his corner (makes no sense at all) I don't feel like I can push the envelope. I could go to management with all the evidence I have but what would it really accomplish? 2 guys losing their job probably with NO ONE to replace them. I just don't see myself stepping up to save them by going on their payroll......to me that would be a death sentence. I don't want to be in a position of being told what I can and can't fix by management that doesn't have a clue. Would they let me run the equipment operations?......maybe, but would it be worth it to me.? Doubtful. I'm expecting the economy to get even worse this year, so I don't want to be in a position that if it does.......I'm expendable. Besides, even if they were to make an attractive offer to me, I couldn't let go of my own business that I run now. It's the only guarantied security I have ..........so I would have to do it as a sub-contractor anyway. So, this is kind of a no-win situation at this point in time.
I think you have to step back and take a look at what is important in your life. Yes it is nice to come in and save the company from itself but at the end of the day no one really cares. I know as an independent I always feel like I need to take every job to stay in business. The truth is you will always have work if you are good at what you do. When the economy does take a downturn who is the last man working? As always it is the independent mechanic because he keeps things rolling when there is no money to buy new stuff. At this stage of life how much more money do you really need anyway?
Just soak up some gravy while it is there. Being the devils advocate here: the turbo looks to be electronically controlled Variable displacement, Electronics could have failed. I usually just replace the actuator, but the dealer only sells the whole turbo. ( Cummins experience not Caterpiller.)
This is why Bars do better when the economy is down.
Vetech63, What the compony employees do, make, or don't do should not matter to you. I can see and understand how frustrating it could be to watch this bull but just put it out of your head. But it should help you decide to reject or except an offer if that comes up. Although something tells me that going on payroll for this outfit would not change the situation much just chain you to it! Send bills and stay cool brother!
Just keep your head down and cash them checks. Only give your opinion of the situation if asked. Construction companies are the same everywhere. They won't see the forest through the trees. Even if they got rid of the two mechanics they have now and hired an ace. They would only burn him out and replace him with more of the same. I've been there and I understand your frustration. But the fact is. There isn't a expensive enough lesson that will open their eyes.
take solace in knowing the things you choose to fix are fixed, properly. Everything else is out of your control.
It would be different if you were an employee. Just fix what they tell you, and take the money. Sometimes it takes a while for management to catch on, but they do. Our shop is going through some changes. New accountant questioning spending. New supervisor installing software to track spending per unit. Questions being asked like why was that in 4 times this year for the same thing, operator abuse, or not being fixed right. It comes eventually, and if they don't notice, they must have enough money that they don't care.
A couple things. 1st. Easy to underestimate the amount of skill good washing takes. I learn a lot about a machine or even a car washing it. 2nd. So much is ran by people can count but they dont know what they are counting and no experience, dont have a concept of collateral damage being done by the knobs to the point that they are worse than none
So do you think the wear is from improper use and abuse? I don't know jack about high speed dozer operation compared to regular dozer operation.
Never been around one, but I assume they are a fine grade machine, and not meant to do heavy work. Guessing the damage is from spinning the sprocket. Our rubber track bobcat will do this, but it takes a lot. Wonder if the track is self adjusting.
They're meant for cuffing off loose material stuff just out of a truck or dumped from a loader bucket. Presumably abuse would be trying to use it to cut grade in hard ground.
Look at the wear and tear your saving on the machines.
Keep the money close on them they ate already broke and dont know it there making more money than ever before but cant hardly show a profit and what's worse is management has no clue As a buissness man I would tell you keep them below 30 percent of your annual revenue and I might keep them at net 15 My bet is there are a lot of companies going to grow broke this year from similar circumstances
There is actually an up side to all of this. It means that a competently run competitor can beat these guys, and build a solid business. There is opportunity here.
Vtech63 is the main issue because you know the owner of the business well, and you feel obliged to try to stop him getting the rug pulled from beneath him? In which case I would go have a drink one night and explain it all starting with and making sure he understands you can't come to his rescue full time, and that firing the HNC and TNH won't get the company any better result unfortunately. It looks to me that a little pressure in the right area with HNC and TNH is needed, a little carrot dangling maybe, if equipment is fixed By HNC and TNH in a timely fashion without overspending then a bonus is applied and payed out after a "warranty" period for the fix. But also the opposite applies, running over budget/time or machines failing on the fix, then previous bonus's can be removed. It should help ensure things are done and done correctly and if its outside of their knowledge to get someone who can fix it first time properly.
Bonuses? Just do the job you were hired to do. Shouldn't have to bribe a man to do his job well. I have done my job well for many years and no one gave me a bonus.
Thanks for the suggestion's fellas. All good advice! My woman says I need to think of good positive things to decompress. Her suggestion......... Puppies and Kitties.......... .........Uhhhh NO. My daughter's suggestion ............... .....Unicorns and rainbows. ***...............NOOOOO!!! My own thought......... Ahhhhh.................Much better.
She would cause you more for a headache than the two clowns you are dealing with but some headaches are worth it
I had a good friend and respected independant truck technician who went to work for a large outfit very similar situation, owner complained of repairs not happening efficiently, combacks, expensive parts changing, and he went to work for them to "Fix" the problem. Turns out it was more of a management problem than anything, no one wanted to deal with problems. My buddy said " I went down there to raise their standards, instead they just lowered Mine"
The reason my father traded his wrenches in for pulling a wrecker cable, is that he couldn't stand all the young parts changers. No one wants to diagnose anything. Try this, try that. And then there is the fact that you spend more time with co workers than you do with your family. So if tensions get high, it gets hard to work together. Probably worse in a shop environment. We had a shop foreman, anything you asked him to do, he got it looked after as soon as someone was free. He put a wipe board in every bay. Machine, truck, or vehicle number. What had to be done, parts on order, or parts in the stock room. He and the parts guy worked well together, and things got done. He even called me at home once because he forgot to get something fixed on my grader and he felt bad. He left for bigger money and everything wet down the crapper.
Really did not enjoy the first Automotive code readers, every swinging Richard Knew was a Mekanik would replace sensors by the boatload for vacuum leaks, incorrect PCV valves, using three tubes of NOT sensor safe Blue Glue to stop up bent up valve cover leaks or Bad Gas. Has moved into the Diesel world BIG Time while wrench benders with any talent are pretty well disappearing.
There is a bridge in front of my brother in laws house that is being replaced. He tells me that it's a 1.8 million dollar job. He made the comment of why such a little bridge costs so much. My reply was that the bridge probably only costs 800,000. With equipment damage and parts changing is where the other million comes in.
Sure wish I could figure out how to place bids on these highway jobs. They just finished a 7 mile extension on a toll road here in nice flat sandy FL. It cost $135 MILLION dollars. I think I could 'get er dun' @ $20 million per mile.
Ahhh 7 x 20 = 140 Or did it miss something
I was rounding it off... $19.286M per mile I just meant that I would like the contract at that price.
Must be a small bridge. There is one being replaced not far from my place. They have the piers done on one side of the river, and they are doing the beams. Then they will pull the work platforms, move to the other side of the river, install the work platforms and start the process again. The deck and tearing down the old bridge which is down to one lane is next contract. The engineers estimate is 88 million, and they are never right.
The actual road construction cost pales in comparison to the many millions per mile for graft. ALL the politicians involved (many of whom you’ve never even heard of) and crooked administrators have to get their cut. It’s legalized organized crime and that’s why when you don’t want to increase taxes for the roads (that they PINKY PROMISE they will really fix this time but won’t!) they pitch such a fit.
At 16 I remember having to go to the library of all places to get a Chiltons manual to work on the POS I bought, and reading codes on a swinging needle anolog meter.
I'm a page late for the tale of too turbos, but.. I watched a dealer tech change one turbo...then come back to parts counter for another...Later he's at the parts counter again, yelling, " You've given me two defective turbo's today! I need another turbo that works, and a boost sensor!" That third turbo fixed it!
Speaking of turbos, dealership "master tech" who does side work just replaced turbos on my mom's ram, first problem was he didn't bleed the system of air when putting back in coolant causing issues, now yesterday I get a call it's pissing coolant out like crazy under passenger side. Heater core hose popped off because hose clamp not on properly. Baffles me how someone can work full-time at a dealership working on this stuff all day and still screw up such simple things.
Pretty much everything after like 07 you should be vac filling. Even some older stuff it's easier to just.use the vac then deal with air.
Biggest issue I had with it was he gave her the truck back didn't mention anything about it, it wasn't until heater wasn't working for crap that I took a look at it and realized system had a bunch of air. If you forgot to do it at least say so, instead he brushed it off as nothing, i'm sure when he finds out about the hose clamp it will be the same "oh it's 30 seconds to put it back on no biggie" when it's actually a huge problem and never should happen.
I had to replace a perfectly good turbo because the VGT was bad and that's a while can of worms to replace on its own, it's cheaper to to replace the whole thing. Talked with a former employee of my current employer, he told me the GM stopped and said it was the first time in 10 years all the equipment was up and working, even the owners passed word down how much they liked his work, he was let go shortly after for attendance issues. Vtech do you report to the mechanic or a manager?
Because he’s the new breed where “getting it done fast” is the only thing that matters.
Fella worked here. Really good mechanic, and a heck of a nice fella. He was a Native so he has dual citizenship between Canada and the US. He joined the United States Marines after high school. Did did desert storm and the likes. He got his trade through them, and after however many years, he came back home. His mom had passed, and he came back to work the next Monday after the funeral. Put a clutch in one of the trucks. The truck headed out to work. After an hour or so, a vibration came, and the clutch was not working right. He was handy to the shop where my father worked, so he went in, and my father checked it out. He had only put all the bellhousing bolts in finger tight, and a lot of them had fallen out. He took the week off, and then came back without issue. Ended up going to Alberta for oil money.
"We may be rough but by ***k we're quick" springs to mind.
Dealership or Independant its the same monkeys out there just different circus, dealership in my opinion doesn't have the monopoly on talent. Tried to order a turbo actuator today for my 6.7 Cummins, on back order till 2/28/22 Turbo actuator $700 Turbo $3000
Superintendents are the ones that call me. Once I am finished with a job, I will let them know I'm done, and the machine is ready to use. I rarely have communication with the owner anymore since he travels between Arizona and here. The owner made it clear years ago that I was the only one to do anything to paving equipment outside of the dealer. It still stands today. The dirt supers call HNC, I'm not sure what happens after that. I know he doesn't call me..........and I'm betting he feels threatened which is why I don't hear from him. Thats why nothing seems to get done which is frustrating
He’s probably on this forum reading all about his fuckups!
I'm heading back to the equipment yard today. No telling what has or hasn't happened since I was there last. My current feeling is...........
Your giving him too much credit, he's not that ambitious.
Assuming he can read.
Probably spend there day watching youtube of trucks "roaling coal"
[QUOTE=" How does a company like this not have the resources to hire competent people. [/QUOTE] Maybe because they went from paying one owner's well-earned salary to paying three marginally-if-it-at-all-earned salaries? Rags to rags in 3 generations.
Maybe because they went from paying one owner's well-earned salary to paying three marginally-if-it-at-all-earned salaries? Rags to rags in 3 generations.[/QUOTE] Well, this is what I've seen and heard........which may answer some of that question. 1. Of the 2 sons and sil, only one has any experience in this field, and his is limited to bidding work mainly. The oldest son was/is a private jet pilot, the sil was in pharma before this gig. 2. The new trucks are abound throughout the business......especially for the top 3. $100K +trucks ***? 3. I was told by a super last month that the company now has an airplane ( absolutely no reason for one, but they HAVE one.) 4. I asked about some old equipment in the yard that has needed to be sold or scrapped for years now. I was told they can't get rid of anything because they have borrowed money against everything. Thats what a $20M loan does to you. 5. Super high turnover rate in employees across the board. Mostly super's on down. 6. They went from an office space that had been theirs for multiple years and paid for to an office space downtown leased for $10k+ a month. The only reason I can think of is for image purposes. 7. Not holding the manager/mechanic accountable. This comes from not even knowing what to expect from management that doesn't know the business. 8. Equipment not being repaired until its down and no pm. If something cant be repaired quick (which is the case 90% of the time) they go and rent something to replace it. That cost alone is ridiculous. 9. Buying parts without regard to price. No shopping is performed because they don't know how to do it. The dealers are taking huge advantage of this. 9. When they do buy replacement equipment, they just trade off older stuff at whatever trade value the dealer throws at them. I've watched them get F^%&ed bigtime here. 10. An owner that is disconnected from the company. Yes, he is still in and out and has some say so, .......but he isn't paying enough attention to what has been going on, and letting his family bleed the company for personal gains. I have seen this numerous times over my life in this business. The original owner retires, lets the family take over, and before you realize what's happened....the company goes under. Regardless of the ol saying "Too big to fail"....yeah, that isn't true. I was told by the main asphalt super that the company has bought out a smaller one in OKC. He wants to send them the oldest Weiler paver, the Bomag miller, and the new Cat 622. I am to repair everything all of that needs so they can be ready to deliver by the end of this month. Is this the reason for the $20M loan? Maybe, I have no idea. I have never had a problem getting paid from these people. The asphalt side of the company is where most of my work for them comes from...............and I am told it is still separate from the dirt side. The checks are still good, but I will have to watch how much I invest in them moving forward. If I get too into them and there is a sudden bankruptcy, it could pull me under with them.
Where I am, the old fella started the company in the 40s. The son ran it into the ground from unwise business moves, big spending, and heavy drinking. In one season he bought like 25 new loaders, then he built a shop that would hold every piece of gear they had in it. His son, the owner today, came home from living away, and went to work rebuilding what was left. The government bought their shop for a highways depot, sold off 2 asphalt plants, and called in a few favors from other contractors. Today they are sucessful and financially secure. One of the brothers 2 sons are now assuming managing rolls, but they have been working in the company since they were teens. They have worked every angle. Hopefully they can keep things going. At least 15 more years anyway.
Well that explains the company plane. He can keep his license(s) current on the company's dime.
I knew this day wasn't going to go well after I ran into this when I left home this morning........ This idiot driver apparently decided he was going the wrong direction. He then proceeds to attempt a turn around right in the middle of Route 66. If he would have driven 2 more miles there was plenty of places to make a u turn. His dumbass got stuck right where you see him since we had 5 inches of snow melt the last few days.
Around here, they groom the snowmobile trails, and they look like roads.
Oopsie 1&2!!!
In the midwest is usually one of three Crete Swift Schnieder
It is amazing how far down a snowmobile trail they can get before they bury it . . .
Yeah Facebook is full of Swift Memes. The picture is a stock photo, I couldn't find the one I wanted, but that stuff happens a lot
I'm starting to think vtech is working for a place I temporarily worked for but quickly moved on when it was apparent I interviewed at a different company than the one that hired me. Or these construction companies are too often have poor fleet management.
Most every small company I worked for on the side had no clue how to functionally operate a small fleet, was shotgun maintenance surrounded by criticism as to spending money or use of time until critical needs were not met and all hell broke loose to fix everything the day before needed. One Shop had One mechanic for a seven site concrete paving company, he awoke every day at 4 to run like a madman covering essential emergencies until the sun went down where three of us side jobbers were hired to cover maintenance and get machines available as spares. Smitty was on the road for half his day unless one of us could cover and he could spend more time at a site. Quarries were eerily similar, run machines until something important fell off or failed then call in the troops and fix everything could find then slide back to routine.
I’ve got two types of customers and size is not a factor. the first brings it in or calls field service if they can’t handle it and wants the job done and done right and anything else fixed that you find broken on the way without quibble. Obviously you’re going to call them for significant issues but minor stuff you can fix it without bothering them. the other bitches about you replacing the $100 hose that’s about to blow and dump $300 worth of hydraulic oil on the ground and stop the machine for a day or two. AFTER you get chewed out the first time for replacing that $100 hose the next time you call for approval for the $100 preventative fix that’s going to save a lot of aggravation they refuse to authorize it and would rather spend the 8 hours of labor to get back to it and replace it than the $100 while you were already in there. you can guess which ones make me groan when I see their lowboys come in.
My long-time customers know how I operate. I have to look at function ability and safety on everything I go on, so I always give the equipment the "once over". If I see something could be an issue, then I have to determine cost. If we are talking about something less than $1000.00, I will go ahead and do it. If we are talking thousands and safety concerns along with it, I will report it immediately to whoever is in charge. I explain why these repairs need done and what I estimate the cost to be. If they elect to wait or compromise, they have to sign off on it. In all the years I have been doing this it's been rare that compromising comes into play. They know I'm not just trying to pile on the bill like some around my area have in the past. I also check for service hours on filters and if the machine is overdue, I make them aware of it. 95% of the time I am allowed to do the PM while I am doing a repair. The asphalt side of this company understands all of this. What I say generally goes without question, but I don't just go crazy..........it's not my money of course. I try to be courteous and respectful but I won't allow myself to be a scapegoat if I didn't bring up a safety concern and something disastrous happen.
I've been covered up with asphalt equipment lately. I did notice that someone has been working on that Deere undercarriage. Yes, it still isn't finished.
Just remember to take a rinse in Gas to remove all that Asphalt covered with I seriously doubt said Crawler will track out on its own without YOUR hands on it.
I had just got off the phone with my woman yesterday telling her that I was going to be done early and that I would be by her shop if nothing came up. Well, something came up, so I texted her "Something came up". She replied, "Whats her name?" She does this quite often when I tell her something and change it shortly. I texted back "I just found some bimbo". She replied "You better NOT have!" I sent the following pic to her I had just taken of a trailer next to me 10 minutes prior.............. Sometimes.........the stars just align perfectly.
Bimbo was the happy birthday clown on the uncle Bobby show. Bimbo Bimbo, he's the happy birthday clown Bimbo Bimbo and he want's you to have a happy birthday too!
Pan Bimbo is a Mexican bread company. Mexican supermarkets carry it in Mexico. Joe H
It’s in all the supermarkets down here as well.
Stores around here sell it.
Nige, as you said "down here" I guess you're back at it & about to post further adventures at the mine? Back to repair all that new equipment? Joe H
No. I’m sitting in the sun with nothing to do and all day to do it in.....
...taking pixtures of food.....
Making "essential purchases". The supermarket sells alcohol as well as food.
My daughter thinks that's terrifying
Most girls hate clowns.
Bimbo Bakeries also bought out Hostess, when Hostess was going under. Now my favorite snack, "Hostess Cupcakes", are made by Bimbo. Jeff
Thanks for finding that. It was a long time ago and Bimbo is kind of frightening in retrospect.
In St Louis, Back In The Day, we had Corky's Colorama for Corky the Clown, Captain Kangaroo and The Captain and Cookie Corky was not so scary. Corky's Colorama - KSD TV Clif St.James - YouTube Clif St James was actually a Weatherman on our KSD Station. S.S.Popeye "Cooky & The Captain" St.Louis,Mo. TV 1960s - YouTube Captain Kangaroo was Nationally broadcast. Know several people guys and gals that are scared Crapless of Clowns and they cannot explain why.
Swamped with even more paving equipment repairs. I don't have time to get back to the dirt equipment so I hope HNC and TNH can handle it.
Paving equipment has been constant. I'm just now getting on the backside of it for the moment.  Not anything to report on the dirt side of the company.............I haven't had the time to screw with any of their crap. I do have something that should go in the "parts guys" thread but screw it......its going here!! I've been trying to find brake components for an older Bomag MPH100R. It has a bad accumulator charge valve and I have been going back and forth with the dealer here on trying to get a part number........all this just to see if it is even available any longer. He has sent me 3 email breakdowns of.........the rotor hydraulic system LOL I have replied all 3 times that your not even close but he says he is getting the information from Bomag. So I decide to pull out the ole smart phone and send him a map from my schematic.......... I then tell him the right half of the page is all brake hydraulics, ...........told him to send that to Bomag and maybe we will finally get somewhere. Haven't heard s%$t for a week. Seems everyone involved doesn't have a clue.
I was fixing some dirt crew screw ups on their Bomag miller (1300/30 model) Seems they borrowed it from the paving side of the company for 6 months and has torn up all kinds of things. They didn't drain the water system well enough, so it froze up and busted about everything having to do with the spray system. After getting a new pump installed and all the valves /fittings replaced.........the water pressure switch is now showing a crack and it's losing enough water pressure that the PLM is shutting the system down. The ID tag on the vale is unreadable so I order a replacement from my Bomag dealer......$808!!! Are you effing kidding me?! No choice so I get the dam thing and get it installed. Now the system works, but only if the pressure is above 4 bar.............it's supposed to run between 1.5-4 bar........by the time I open both the rotor and conveyor spray valves, it goes under 4 bar and the PLM shuts the dam thing down again. So I call the dealer and ask if the new switch is preset and they say yes. After 2 hours of jacking around I realize that I can change the pressure setting with an adjustment screw on the new valve housing. Come to find out, its NOT preset and the adjustment screw was bottomed out to its highest setting. I back it off to where now the system operates within its designed parameters. Just another misinformation from a dealer, hell even Bomag told me it was preset. This isn't even what chaps my ass. This is a pic of the new valve in the box......... I found this same valve online, brand new for $230.00. What a MARK UP!!!! Its robbery without the gun.
What's so special about that switch ? 0-4 bar could be handled by the switch on my house well pump... maybe not for 8 million cycles. Nor 120 cycles per minute. https://tesensors.com/global/en/product/reference/XMLA004A2S11 Spec sheet says it's adjustable ...
Telemecanique is garbage. They try buying their crap to save money around the asphalt plant and crusher. Their soft starts are thousands cheaper than Alan Bradley, but they are so mickey mouse, and cheap. Never last.
We call it Telecrap. They just said it was present cause they didn't know but figured they had a 50/50 shot to be right lol.
Interesting. I went onto Bomag's Dealer portal parts and these are the choices I get. No MPH100R.
All the materials as this the local indie’s use are turning out as bad. The guys I speak to around here cannot get switches or controls for much of anything, getting really bad with new parts failure rates excessively high.
I would be having a serious visit with all the operators and they would soon know that they had better start looking for something as simple as a plugged radiator if its getting hot. Should be part of their daily machine check.
I think you're going to be disappointed if you expect people capable of doing that.
No it's a lack of standards correct employees dont follow thru on some of the simplest things but if you spend the time to teach them why its important you get a lot better mileage
In my dads day operators greased, did daily checks, serviced their radiators and air filters, even did basic services and maintenance. You’ll even see in the Cat catalogs tool groups to stay on the machine to accomplish these basic tasks. todays operators are unfortunately often a different breed altogether.
Most cannot drive a electric grease gun, have no clue what end to use.
That's what you call cab ocupant
Seat warmer!
We call them lever pullers.....
Most I work with are pretty good, but there are a few, and they are good at operating the machine, so nothing is ever said. I've often said that it would be worth it to have a couple oilers to go around the sites at break times and in the evenings to do the stuff that these guys don't. Only the paving jobs run till dark. Most of the dirt stuff is done at 5:30, so it's doable. It's rare that any jobs take place too far from home, so it wouldn't require much running around.
How about a little opposite perspective - when the boss is running you as a driver for maximum production on OT 6 days a week plus night call. You want to go home some of the time. So the quality and detail of maintenance checks suffers. I second the idea of an oiler that can take care of little things. It would make the driver feel better regarded as well.
reap what you sew.
A lot of the old school operators started off as oilers and maintainance workers. I wonder if it's a lack of funds nowadays? I think there are new operators that have a similar attitude to kids joining the work force, it's not their machine so they don't care too much if it gets greased or not, I'm an operator not a grease monkey.
The people that own these machines don't care if it's maintained either only the poor b*****d that has to fix it does. The only time that the owners get pissed about it is when production stops or several large repair bills come in. In the end machines still get torn up. Production takes priority and it's either the mechanics fault or we don't have enough mechanics. Either way there's no accountability anywhere.
When did these “old school operators “ cease to exist? I don’t have nearly the years of experience around equipment like many of you but I’ve been around equipment and operators for 20 or so years and I’ve seen it go both ways. I know guys who take pride in caring and maintaining equipment they don’t own and I’ve seen owner operators who don’t give a s*** about a piece that makes them a living.
Most of us Old School types are still working and still doing as noted, some are just sloughing it off as Not My Job and moving toward Retirement day.
My next younger brother (Diesel Duck) was a oiler back in the later 70s on a small fleet of scrapers (666s, 660s, DW-20s and 21s and three new 657s) when we were building the power plants and associated work in N.D. He worked afternoon shift and fueled them, greased them, and gave them a good once over. Anything he found out of sorts such as a radiator getting dirty, crack in the metal, even a zerk that would not take grease he would report it to the mechanics and they took care of it. That spread had very little downtime due to breakdowns. The push cats, sheep foots, and other equipment had their own oiler to keep after them. The head mechanic had put in 24 years with a Cat dealer first was keen on maintenance and was sharp as a tack on teaching the oilers what to look for.
A line I hear all the time is " They got lots of money, they can afford to fix it."
They can also hire better operators who look after the machines they run. The really sucky part is when you do the proper maintainance and stuff still breaks down and/or needs refurbishing.
I hear that so much from the brother's guys, if I had to deal with people like that i'd either be in jail for knocking some sense into them, or they'd all be fired. I've been close to saying "an attitude like that is why you don't have two nickels to rub together". It's really trying on my patience to see such stupidity. But the sad part is it's insanely common even from the better guys, you don't want to know what it's like with the bad one's. I'd bet maybe 1% of employees actually treat equipment like it's theirs and look after it. There's not much you can do. If you want to be the size of having employees you just have to find the best one's and keep on top of them knowing they are still pretty close to useless.
They are nearly impossible to find. Virtually anyone with the care and ambition to look after stuff and do jobs well isn't going to work for someone else.
And the ones that do come with a whole 'nuther bunch of problems. Those of you that sign paychecks know what I'm talking about.
Or they are happy working for a company that appreciates them. I always treat other peoples equipment better than if it was my own. I have on occasion pushed my own machines a little too much. I know a guy who ran a successful auto salvage and then auto repair business for years. He got into raising chickens and bought a skid steer to clean out the barns etc. He bought a brand new machine because he had ran mine and liked it. I was gobsmacked at how little maintainance he had done on it. It was like he was allergic to a grease gun. The pins for the boom.lift cylinders seized and he had to drill them out. The pins and bushings for the bucket were so worn and mangled he just stuck long generic pins in the wallowed out holes. Nothing to hold these pins in either. The most shocking part is this was all achieved in less than 500 hours!!! I think the machine even came with the first 500 hours service included if you took it to the dealer. Mine did so I took advantage of it. He didn't have a trailer but knows lots of people that do. His excuse was you never have time to work on your own stuff. I was in disbelief. My machine with 4000 or so hours and a few years older was in 100 times better condition. He used to talk about customers of his neglecting their vehicles but he is the worst I have ever seen. You need to do more than check the oil and air filter.
That's where the automatic greaser is good to be sure a machine gets greased, but on the other hand, I find that while you are crawling over the machine, that's when you find things that are broken.
An automatic greaser on a skid steer seems a little overkill. I would bet a lot of owners/users either forget or don't bother to grease the double U-joint for the pump drive. Some machines don't have it or it's not greaseable but if it is, it's worth the trouble to grease it. Replacement isn't a simple process. I heard that if your control levers get sloppy it can be because the double U-joint is either dry or worn out. I grease it every oil change.
Auto lube depends on what you use the machine for. Sometimes the guy fixing the lines spends more time at the machine than the operator
Yea I would never own something with auto-greaser. Most newer stuff with the quality of the bushings only say grease every 50 hours or more, so it's not that often even if you cut it in half it's only every 2-3 days if it runs all day. Not a big deal at all especially with a cordless grease gun. I know some places for the bigger stuff when the fuel truck comes around they also grease the machine, that makes sense and you know it's getting done that way.
Quarry operations across the Midwest have adopted Auto Lube systems, DEERE and CAT install them as a Factory System, work reasonably well but as noted do not grease U Joints in drive shafts or much smaller stuff in or under cab. Bucket and loader arms along with pivot points get a 'Hit' on a timed meter interval, pins do not squeal or show signs of materials damage(Metal Dusting) nor do they show excessive lube discharge so have been dialed in pretty well.
My two cents-I'm hired for a reason, so do me a favor stay the f@ck out of my way. Go micro manage the golf coarse if you have nothing better to do. Just another big shot boss that's full **** and himself.
The broken tube stuff happened a lot when the systems first came out and there would be issues. I didn't like them at all back in those days. In the last ten years the installs are done better and the systems are far more efficient and have alarms that will alert the operator that something is wrong. I've looked at machines with auto lube where the implement joints were original at 12,000 hours. I've looked at machines with 3,000 hours dependent on the operator greasing where the joints were like a lot old lady's knees, completely worn out. I would recommend them every time now. I don't know of anyone who has a machine with a system who would buy another machine and leave it out. I know of a couple of construction companies that now put those systems on their highway dump trucks. The opinions of those who have never had a machine in their fleet that had an auto lube system are basically talking from a position of ignorance.
Yes having spent time around both there’s something to be said for pushing pins out when it’s time with a hammer handle as opposed to a torch, lance or hydraulic power.
Wish I had a record of the hours on a Cat 966C that was at one of the companies quarries many moons ago. That machine had one of the very early auto-lube systems around. It used 80W-90 gear oil and the system worked off the air brake applications each fitting had a valve that regulated the amount of oil each one got. By todays standards it was crude and the small nylon lines carrying the oil tended to be fragile. But the operator and his boss were very good about keeping the system working. If operator noticed a broken line or fitting while loading a truck he would finish that load and run to the shop and repair it before going to the next truck. I had to rebuild a couple hydraulic cylinders on that machine when they started leaking due to age and when removing the pins the only sign of wear on the pins was a slight difference in the finish of the chrome plating. When that machine was sold off due to it's age it left the company with all the pins it left the factory with and was tight as the day it first hit the first stock pile! But on the other side of the coin I have seen machines with much new and sophisticated auto-lube systems that were lucky to last over a year with out needing some new pins and bushings. Point is no system is better than the person maintaining it! Auto-lube can save a ton of work but it is no replacement for proper maintenance!
Imagine something like a dragline without an auto lube system. For certain machines they are the bomb but for other machines kind of a novel idea. Would be great for skid steer bucket pins but a little over the top for a smaller machine like a skid steer. Kind of like putting 200mph tires on a VW bug. Sometimes you just have to manually do it. The cordless grease guns would be a great benefit as long as the owner didn't figure they were too expensive. Now that I have a grader, I need to look into one. Interesting in the owners manual for the grader is says all fittings should only require a couple shots if they are regularly greased on schedule.
Auto lubes are great on about anything they are put on they have come a long ways since the late 90s but for what it costs unless it's a bunch of moving parts or hard access they are kinda expensive they really work great on big iron because those pins require more grease and you need a ladder to access certain things On a skid steer having room to mount an auto lube would be a challenge Everything I own gets greased begging of shift by the operator I put grease guns in every machine pickup and trailer we tried electric grease guns they are nice but with employees around the batteries seemed to never get changed and it was an easy excuse to not grease so I went back to hand guns those waste less grease anyway
I’ve had Groeneveld auto-greasing systems on 2 highway trucks that were on them before I got them(likely since new) and they worked good but I was told not to let them run out of grease because they can be difficult to bleed the air out of. These were two previous Trimac Transportation trucks and at that time they had specced all their trucks with that system. It worked well for them instead of having to depend on drivers to crawl under and grease. We know how well that works unless you’re the owner.
I have one machine that came with an autolube system. At nearly 50-75 grease points (no, I did not bother to count) on the Menzi Muck, it's a real time saver and makes sure all points get hit. I hit the "grease" button on occasion to increase the frequency of lubing. I prefer grease running from a joint rather than a dry bushing. I certainly do like this system although it is rather complex with the number of splitter blocks required to hit all of the fittings. Since having to make some repairs to this system, I found https://www.autolubeparts.com/Default.asp that carries a wide variety of fittings and hoses required for these systems. Rather than going full autolube, I have added distribution blocks so that I can grease up to 12 or more points from a single location and decrease my lube time when servicing equipment. I don't have to access difficult or cramped spaces to lube anymore, either. Fewer grease fittings to go bad, less coupler wear and it saves me lots of time. I always grease from 120lb keg with an air powered lube system in my service truck so it's fast and efficient. No time lost to bleeding air, changing cartridges or forever replacing fittings and couplers. The blocks don't cover all of the fittings so I'm still inspecting the machine during every refuel when I grease the standard fittings. Working alone, time efficiency is everything to me. Depending on which machine, I likely save 5-10 minutes per grease cycle and lose less grease to waste. For a cheap electric switch lube system, Ebay sells 12v wired grease guns that accept tubes or refills from a port. Mount this on a machine, plumbed to a distribution block system and you can grease every time you hit the button. Distribution blocks have the option of plunger counters that are visible and can flip a momentary switch to turn on a light so that you can count the number of cycles that the block has gone through during a greasing session.
Yep, an old man told me years ago K.I.S.S.... Keep It Simple Stupid!!!! He was so right. I just found this thread... what a gold mine you found, can't wait to read on. Thanks for sharing
Cool
Alright fellas............looks like we are starting up again! LOL I got a call today from a guy named Victor from this construction company. First off, I had no clue who this was...........so I asked. He is the new dirt general superintendent for the dirt side of this company. He informed me that there have been a lot of firings in the last 7-10 days which included the former super, TNH, and believe it or not, HNC. Probably others also but I don't have all the skinny on the situation yet. He informed me that he would be calling me a lot from now on. In other words, they are now without anyone to take care of any equipment. I haven't received a panic call from any management people as of yet, but it could be coming real soon. So, just for funzees, if I were to offer my expertise full time, including equipment management, PM, shop, and field repair for a 40 hour work week.........what pay rate do you think would be a fair offer for 35 years of experience in the business? I have a figure in my head but I want to see what you guys think. Keep in mind there is NO ONE to hire in this area that comes even close. Let the games begin! PS ......I don't make lateral moves.
Idk for rate... but they should provide a limo to drive you around at the very least
This merits a bowl of popcorn at the very least.............
I would say $100k with incentives and/or bonuses.
Not even close my friend. I make almost double that now.
Here are some ideas that might help. Keep in mind that I’m a lurker and have never been paid to pull a wrench. So you should amortize your truck, special tools and equipment over what, five years? In other words, at the end of five years, you theoretically would have saved in the bank enough to buy everything truck, special tools and other equipment new. Maybe 7 or 8 years. Let me know and I can give you some factors to apply toward the cost if all that stuff. Taxes and insurance on your truck. $X dollars a mile for driving your truck (fuel, tires, expendables, but not amortization). Three weeks paid vacation. 1.75 x for anything over 40, except If called out on Sunday morning before 8AM. Four hour mlnimum if called out at any time, and 5 times (called golden time in the movie industry) if called out on Sunday or a scheduled vacation day until the work for that day is over. Full health insurance with a very low deductible for you and your dependants. Per diem if away from home for the night. I have no idea of what your hourly rate shoud be as an employee where you just show up for work as an hourly employee with hand tools. Term Life insurance, payable to your designee, but assignable to you if employment ceases. Cell phone. What have I missed? Neill
"A" list actors, top athletics, CEO's make big bucks because they earn for the company their salary plus. Can you produce double your expected salary ? (reduced / eliminated rentals, downtime, repair parts, etc) If so, ask for $200 K plus as a subcontractor that manages their equipment. Then you can keep your existing good & faithful customers. Maybe hire an associate to service the routine for the G&F customers. Follow the model doctors use. Physician's assistants handle the routine and such under the direct supervision of the doctor. As the helpers work for you, you hire & fire. Then there's no HNC dragging your efforts. \ This thread could be an eye opener for Victor if you point out the date it started.
First-how many pieces of equipment do they have-total.
Between asphalt and dirt equipment over 150
Sorry-but 150K-better stay where your at.
I'm heading to their yard in the morning to see what equipment is there. Be ready for pics!
As Truck-shop said in few words. You have built up security in your present position don't jeopardize your future. Grow your present business. Employees are a pain the in the butt. But, your skills are better used elsewhere than cleaning radiators or replacing track pads. Remember, one doesn't pay for 35 years of experience. One pays for the results 35 years of experience produces. Using the Doctor analogy again ... Diagnose and prescribe the solution to the problem. Let someone else execute. You might even find & teach your replacement in the process.
What makes you think you can keep up with 150 pieces of equipment in a 40 hr week? It would probably be more like 80-90 and losing ground steadily. I’m thinking that if you show up with your own service truck full of tools and 35 years of experience you’d need 250k with full benefits to make it worthwhile
Four additional techs to lead by the hand to get things done and you will still not keep up, may stroke out trying to if not careful. Six Figure Income WITH Perks is a Start but better start with a 2. They will not go there trust me they are looking for a bargain HNC Replacement and do not realize why HNC and TNH did not really work out.
The problem is it doesn't make sense for them to pay someone a service truck rate to look after their fleet, and chances are they have a fully tooled shop? Also wouldn't make sense to be paying $125/hr or whatever it would be to change oil, grease, all that little stuff that could be done by someone for under $30/hr. IMO there is advantages of it if you had a guarantee on how long it would last. No chasing money or work, guaranteed hours, etc. Maybe you offer them your services in the yard when it's needed, and for service calls and they hire guys to work in their own shop? As far as rates go here, a guy running a shop is getting around $50/hr. I can't see them even considering offering like $250k.
I'd like to comment here but I'm not smart enough. 100-150 bucks an hour seems wicked cheap for a fella that knows what he's doing. 150 pieces of equipment is nuts. I don't know.
It's a fair rate for experienced mechanic with a service truck, but what the company likely needs is an employee to run a shop and do repairs and that is not worth that kind of money. There is no way you could afford to pay $150/hr to change oil, grease, etc on all equipment, or paying for a truck when you have shop space already. I can say pretty confidently, no one running a shop as an employee is making over $100/hr anywhere.
In the states about the ONLY region will find $30/hr or less is Really DEEP woods Rural in really poor states as the Deep South. Even here road techs with their own trucks are getting $120.hour, shop Mechanics with decent skills are over $40, even grunts at Jiffy Lube or Lube Express are getting $20-24/hour. Last Shop Superintendent I have spoken with is making a Fixed Salary of $210k/year plus Company truck on Company Fuel with a Company Phone and Laptop he can use at his own discretion along with a Company CC to use as needs to for Company based purchases.
I have managed three shops owned one for a short time. You get to inherit all the inhouse politics, You get to deal with X amount of personalities just for starters. It would take a minimum of 3 to 4 years to get maintenance under control, and by control I mean working 9 to 10 hour days. What they have is a bomb in their lap because of a lack of leadership. The company needs leadership not micro managing. In order to get things in order without going willie nillie with their pocket book the whole set of machinery would have to be prioritized per machine. Once in that position your skills hands on would be secondary, A high percentage of time would be spent overlooking 3 other mechanics. So less production out of you. Some where there is a trade off. But they are not going to pay an incredible salary because all wages are reflected in the overhead. It has to be reasonable. I work some pretty crazy hours, I don't make super high wages. But with all the added extras It works out for me. I don't live in a crowed town, I don't have to put up with crime, It's perfect weather for me, It takes me five minutes to get to the shop, My shop is located in a park like surrounding with the best view. All those things need to be accounted for. I deal with 110 refer trailers and as of right now 63 tractors.
And everyone wonders why shop rates are shy high. That shop boss is way over valued.
I was making the assumption that you would be doing very little 'work'. I figured you would be organizing, telling others what to do, and diagnosing problems for others to repair. If you were to be doing 40 hrs/wk of wrenching, that would be different.
We rarely agree-but I agree 100% with that.
That is rare! I think it's really just two different worlds both with their own perks. Vetech63 is not wrong to expect $250k or whatever the number is, nor are they wrong to offer $150k and think it's a good offer because it is. To bill out 8 hours as a contractor, you'll probably spend at least 1 hour between invoicing, collecting, time spent getting insurance, fueling up the truck, all that stuff that you can't bill your time for, whereas the employee gets paid for the time they show up until they leave. Also all the expenses of being a contractor that wouldn't be needed anymore. And in their eyes, even if it cost 25% more for a dealership service truck it would make more sense. If 5 machines break the same day they can call out 5 people, whereas he can only fix one at a time and would still get paid if nothing is broken. Also would no longer have any liability or free time if a repair isn't done right, it's no longer your issue. Obviously risk if things don't work out but if someone offered me even 75% of what I make on my own working for them and none of the stress of running a business i'd do it in a second, it would pretty much work out to the same money per hour.
Being a babysitter is a tougher job then doing the work yourself in many cases though. Not as hard on the body, but harder mentally for sure.
With that much equipment it would make sense to have a laborer who wants to learn the trade doing that stuff. $210k is insane for that, must be a massive company because that is really good money and absolutely not common.
You will stand corrected in western Pennsylvania if you making over 30 a hour pulling wrenches your doing real good
Are you talking about becoming and employee, manager or a consultant? No one can keep a fleet of 150 pieces running by themselves. I had about twenty at one company that was me and a helper. I had seven people filling different needs at a company with about forty pieces running two shifts six days a week and most Saturdays. The stress was a killer and the money terrible for what I was doing and the fleet kept going down hill over time. Life got a lot better when on my own. More money, less working time, got to watch my kids in their high school years. Got better as time went on. The company I was working for went broke.
Boy...you stirred it up! I would stay at your hourly rate, travel milage, double your rate for after hours and emergency call out. Continue making good money you have been, while still being your own boss. That way you don't fall under their rules and procedures and can walk away if you need to. They will always use a great mechanic, until they can find cheaper people to do the work. Which we all know... they will be calling on you again to get them back up to par... when it fails. A full time management position ( which it sounds like it would turn into) in my experience will wear you out, no thanks....just keep turning wrenches and it would be alot less stress. Good luck on what ever you decide to do, please keep us updated.
They're not going to pay you what you can make on your own. You can't keep all their equipment running by yourself. I'd stay just like you are, with doing their more complicated work, and they are going to have to hire some new guys to do the smaller work. I don't think this is probably the time to put all your eggs in one basket. Why give up all the customers you've spent time building up, to concentrate on just them? When the family that owns it decides they are done and sell out- you'll be back at square one. I see no advantages to working for them only, unless you want to slow down, get rid of your billing and paperwork, and just cruise until retirement. But they aren't wanting someone that "cruises" to run their shop and equipment. So I guess I don't see any way this is a good change for you, unless you want out of your own truck and customers.
X2 what crane op said Funny thing about managmebt when your an employee they cant give you a raise but as soon as your an outside vendor cost doesnt seem to matter Chances are you can bill them a 100 grand or more this next 12 months provided their ship is not already sunk from a lack of leadership so why deal with unrealistic expectations and go on steady you can work at your pleasure and when you need a different view for a week you go to other customers and not burn out You already got them in the best possible position you can negotiate enjoy it cause it will be 2 years till they have maintenance stability so it's going to be a gravy train for a while
My thinking is how many people do you know that you could hire to work in the shop? And I mean know personally that you think are capable of doing the work the way you want it done. If the answer is zero or close to it there's no way this can work out. If you know 5 or 6 guys that you think could keep 150 machines running while at least 100 idiots try to destroy them daily maybe it could happen IF the money is right. In the meantime your existing business goes to hell & you possibly end up where you were 10 years ago. Any if you've been at it 35 years you surely have been thinking about packing it in soon, right? If I was 40 I might do it, at 50 maybe and you're probably 55+ so it's a big gamble. And money wise are they really going to offer enough more than what you're making now to make it worth considering? I'd bet not, but who knows. Firing those 2 AHs sure is gonna take the fun out of this thread, innit? Joe H
You ALL have made good points! I threw this out there to see where you yourself may be in the thought process. Let me see if I can make this a clearer picture......... I realize there is no way in hell I could keep up with this much equipment by myself. There is ZERO pool to pull in experienced heavy equipment techs and apprentices worth a dam are very few. Most all of my customers have been dealing with this problem for years, and the last 5 years it has gotten much worse. This equipment is in the shape it's in because of hiring bodies, not techs. So, what is a construction company that needs techs to do now days? Their shop facilities and tooling aren't near where they should be.........their pay rate has never been very good for this field that I'm aware of..........and running ads for help hasn't brought in even 1 applicant in the past. The outlook is bleak to say the least. Do they hire another body in hopes they may get lucky? They are set up to fail by doing so which is what continues to happen. My thoughts are these..... If per say, I was approached (completely hypothetical) , becoming an employee wouldn't work for me as I couldn't do everything needed. I could either wrench, or manage as an employee.....but as a manager it puts me in the position of trying to hire the impossible at this point in time. Working for them as a wrench isn't feasible as the pay wouldn't be close to where I am now. I dam sure wouldn't be able to train anyone. Could I assist as a sub-contractor? Sure I could.......that's what I do now in a way. I can continue to do the repairs for them just like I always have. It would be expensive but what other choice is there? Is the equipment dealers going to be cheaper? Can the dealers get to a breakdown on the job quicker than I can? Can the dealers save money on major component parts like I can? That answer is NO! As a repair contractor can I save them money long term? Can I organize repairs and prioritize? Can I schedule PM's on equipment? Do I have the ability to be Johnny on the spot when needed? Could I manage equipment trade values when replacing equipment? Those answers are YES! ............providing the compensation is equivalent to what I'm doing. I would never put myself in a position to be owned by an employer. My company has to continue on as long as I can do the work. Its the only real security I will have. More to come this evening.........I'm heading over to their yard to see how much worse this mess is from when I started this thread. Hold on to your hats!....
Well, it's worse alright. Remember this? Moved 5 feet from where it was when I started this thread............nothing has been done since. Why am I not surprised?
The water truck on the left hasn't moved in over a year. Has brake issues from what I was told. Same 350D excavator also, not sure if it has ever left...........I don't even know if it's been repaired.
I noticed a hydraulic leak up near the bucket on this machine Found these open aux lines
I am assuming this machine is in the shop for the boom lift cylinders that have left a small pond under the machine
This small blade is sitting in the yard for some reason Then I checked the filters for dates and hours
The lube truck n the left of this pic hasn't moved in a year. I don't know how equipment is getting fueled and they are not getting anything else. Geez..........I'm going to eat dinner , then I will tell you what a current job super told me today.
We've been looking for a licensed T&T man since Christmas. Hired one this week. He was waiting for his license to arrive in the mail. 20 something years old. Probably move on after a while. Pickins are slim. If it was not for great dealer service, we'd be screwed. Saw the cat man this week working on a 20 year old D6. Be a big bill, but the pool is thin.
This one is comical This is the dozer I watched HNC put the tracks on backwards a while back. Someone has declared their love of duck..........a sign of the times we now live in. Notice the missing pad at the sprocket. I guess they lost the master pad and instead of replacing it and the bolts..........they just welded the link and left the pad off. These were new rails with less than 500 hours on them
This is better than any TV show….keep em’ coming!!
A long time super I have known for over 20 years gave me a bit of info today. He said in the last 2 weeks there has been massive defections. The primary estimator and another estimator under him, the concrete foreman, the general super and another job super that had been there for 7 years, HNC, and TNH. He told me than HNC and TNH asked for raises and were told no way. They decided to leave. He wasn't sure if the others were for the same reason or not but did say that the dirt side of the company wasn't making a profit and losing money. The asphalt side is busy and making money hand over fist and is apparently carrying the dirt side for awhile now. This looks more like a major housecleaning to me. Maybe from the father and founder? I will have to be real careful as to what I am willing to risk with this dirt side outfit.
That place is in desperate need of a mechanic. Even a half assed decent mechanic would do. Because in the land of the blind. The man with one eye is king.
At the utterings of Housecleaning I would be BACKING AWAY Rapidly. Let the bones fall where they may but leave that snake pit alone for the time being.
Question-How can they or why bother to stay in business. But if they can operate with that much derelict equipment fence rowed? maybe some of it should go down the road. 2 cents.
That’s the nice thing about having your own customers. Your not tied into this. Help as best as your business lets you … and the checks clear. It is good entertainment for us while it lasts.
Oh I completely agree trust me. I’d sell a lot of it if they hadn’t borrowed 20M against all of it……or so I’ve heard
Sounds like Someone is funding things other than the business. That's a giant red flag.
20 million borrowed from the bank- to buy out the old man by the kids I bet. And it sounds like only one of the three kids knows what's going on. That's going to be tough to make it. Really it looks like pretty new equipment to me, that they've just been running into the ground. The dozers/ fuel truck and everything else looks pretty new. As long as they keep paying you, I don't see any reason to stop working for them. It will take them a while to run out of the founder's money. Give them about 3 years and the kids will see how much work it took for the founder to get there, and I bet they will be looking for someone/ competitor to write them a check for the whole thing. Its just so difficult when the employees know that the boss/ bosses don't have any idea what they are doing, and dad handed it to them. Its a pain for the superintendents and for everyone else down the chain, because there's no one to ask "how do you want to do this?" because the new bosses don't know what they are doing.
Like was mentioned up thread no leadership bad leadership is one thing but a vacuum of leadership is the worst cancer to an organization there is
I totally agree!!!
Hey I know this dance! Companies all around here are having these same issues, some keep trying to hire cheap and get what they pay for and others sold off the whole fleet and only lease now, let the repairs be the dealers problems. As far as pay goes it's basically $35/hr with crap benefits for field mechanics unless you're the golden child every company seems to have, then you might hit $40/hr. Personally I'd stick with being a contractor, I had one company want to hire me for managing their fleet and it was clear they had no desire to fix the issues as much as find someone to blame when their ideas didn't work out as well as their ego said it would. As a contractor though you're their hero; coming in to scoop up the broken pieces and gone before the next bright idea college boy learned in some construction magazine. And that's what I'm working towards, as soon as a service truck comes along that insanely over valued.
I agree with staying as a contractor. I think there would be nothing but headaches if you worked there full time. As a contractor you can decide if you want to work on something or not. The fact the equipment looks fairly new and is sitting idle because it needs repairs, etc. indicates the operators don't care much and the equipment hasn't had very good or any preventive maintainence done. A few years ago a large contractor that was around for years went into receivership owing about 58 million. 3 employee's bought the company from the retiring owner. They were very busy at first and almost bragging that they could buy new equipment and were doing fantastic. They were even on the news. Fast forward, about 3 years, and they were on the news again but not favorably. Long time Edmonton contractor folds after 50 some years. Construction company Sprague Rosser in receivership | CTV News Staff at Sprague Rosser Demanding Pay - Video | MNP LTD (mnpdebt.ca)
While that is quite a bit of money and iron sitting around, if they have 150 pieces, even 10% of it sitting in the yard that's not a lot, and if the other stuff is working steady it will pay for it easy. It doesn't take away from it being dumb to manage it like that, but any company who needs 100% of their stuff out working is going to fail.
If it's just showing up with a lunchbox and punching a clock, I agree with T.S. that $75 per hour would be about the limit that any company would pay one man to do a job. Any more, and they would just as well have the dealership do 100% of their service work because then they would have zero overhead. No need for a shop, tools, diagnostic equipment, parts inventory, nothing. Now, that being said, IF they wanted you as an asset, i.e. you come in with your business (truck, tools, whatever of yours that you want to bring to the table) then you need to double that $75 and add 30%. Nice round figure, $200 per hour.
I think the asphalt side will eventually divest itself of the dirt side and let it fold, and it will happen all of a sudden. Best not to be holding the bag.
Dealer field rates out here are $160 plus per hour and charged point to point. So wherever I'm at, when assigned the job, till I reach either the home shop, motel room or home the clock is billing. Mileage charges are $2.00 per mile minimum. Expenses such as consumables like canned fluids, zip ties paper towels, coveralls, electrical connectors and such are usually charged as miscellaneous materials and are a percentage add charge based on either the whole bill or the labor charge. Environmental charges are also a percentage added on top of labor or the whole cost of the project. Meals and lodging if out beyond an hour or two drive to home are usually charged at cost. Only huge companies with superior accounting departments can afford any franchised dealer maintenance program for long. Even the guaranteed cost per hour programs done on new fleets of equipment are basically a shell game used to hide the way a dealer is going to keep putting in add charges. Independent wrenches here are charging $100 per hour and have all the work they want. Most are not worrying at all about getting paid either.
Now one big question--is all this high dollar an hour money talk--take home or gross. You going to get any medical, vacation, sick time paid fuel? When I ask for a pay increase--It's always figured at take home never on the gross.
Dealer stuff are street rates. The guys on their own, are on their own, and seem to stay that way over a long period of time. They also usually cozy up to one or two customers that take all their time.
That's a valid point and part of why a sub will get more per hour because you get zero of those perks. But that's surprising, I can't say i've ever heard of anyone negotiating pay based on take home, there's just so many factors. Here if you're married compared to single your take home pay will vary. An employer would have no idea what the pay is actually costing them when they agree to it.
One huge difference between someone on their own and a dealership truck is if the guy doing the repair doesn't know what he's doing, the guy on his own you are screwed most likely best you've got is a taillight warranty if that, compared to a dealer standing behind the work and fixing it. I think that can be why so many struggle starting out on their own, it's a lot of trust to let someone work on say a $500k piece of equipment without a large company backing up the work, or a very trusted referral. Granted it seems even getting work done at many dealers the work is absolute garbage, but at least there's a better chance they will fix it.
Well, I wonder what this week will bring. Nothing much has happened yet.......I am assuming they are trying to figure out what to do next. They need to figure out something fast though as this stuff doesn't repair itself and it will get worse by the day. First thing I would do is downsize the older part of the fleet. I can think of about 20 pieces of equipment that is still operating at times but needs to be going down the road. The problem with that may be that all the equipment is mortgaged.
To the hilt.
Have you considered becoming their Master Mechanic/Equipment Manager ?? Hear me out on this; YOU run the equipment department; the supers tell you what they need, you pull from inventory for them to use. YOU hire two or three mechanics that are responsible for diagnosing and repairing the fleet, answering to you only. (I would bend Nige's ear a bunch about how all this would shake out) You would park your truck for a time, say six months, and take over this part of the company for them, as an employee(very well paid employee at that), as you would have a large responsibility on your shoulders. This idea may not work at all, but it appears the company will fail in short order if something drastic is not done with the equipment division in terms of readiness. Big question, do you want to step up to management, keep your hands relatively clean, and prepare for a position that allows you to begin slowing down as you age, without the loss in pay coming in? Just a thought for you and the others here to chew on.
Just because a company has a lot of equipment doesn't mean they are healthy. Spending all your profits on new equipment when things are good can backfire if there's a downturn in the economy. Some company owners pay themselves and/or their family members way too much which can also seriously hurt the companies finances. There's a lot of truth in the saying... The bigger you get, the harder you fall. Smart business owners will look at what the economy is doing and are able to change direction on how they operate and what type of jobs they do. I was just in a Domino's pizza and there was timeliness on the wall. They used to do deep dish pizza but changed based on what their customers wanted. They grew to have revenues over 2 billion dollars. It's not much different in the construction industry. You have to be able to pivot based on where the demand is.
Jimbo, he said earlier there's no one out there to hire. Where is he going to find those 2 or 3 guys? They don't exist. Joe H
thats about where I’m at. My largest customer is about 65% of my total business. The other 35% is split among 3-4 log yards and a handful of once in a while, cash paying guys. My big customer keeps adding more and more stuff onto me which is great for revenue but it’s hard to keep up with it all and I am also leery of having all my eggs in one basket.
If the blanket loans work similar to what they do here selling a few pieces is pretty easy, the bank will only want assurance that the price it's being sold for is market value, or sent to an reputable auction. Although they would likely want 100% of the proceeds so it wouldn't help if cash was needed.
Here's something new. My wife's older Haas VF1 that had a power distribution failure 2 weeks ago. She paid Haas to come out and determine the issue, then ordered the part (power control board). It came in last week and Haas hasn't shown up to install it nor have they scheduled. It's been like a monsoon season here few the last several weeks and was raining yesterday so I said to her "Give me that!" I had it changed out in an hour even though she was reluctant because "I'm not a Haas guy." LOL......whatever. Now I'm the Haas guy. This is not the first time I have repaired some of these CNC machines for her.....she just had it in her head that this was too technical for me. This is the dead board. This is simple compared to some I've seen in equipment. The replacement board is in the upper right corner with the green lights on. She is up and running when I took this pic. Wifey is happy, which means I'm happy.........until the next failure that puts her in a mood.
Jeez, what is a Haas and what kind of kitchen appliance is that? lol
When it comes to fixing stuff round the house my usual discussion with SWMBO goes something like "you can either tell me what you want done, or how to do it, but not both."
Cnc milling machine I want to say your more than a ‘black thumb’ but that was established a long time ago. Possible retirement gig?
I also have SWMBO Nige Where you and I both have explained that to them!! As to a better mood? All I ever see since wedding day is bad or worse then back to bad, so is bad better or less worse better
This begs the question, what does your wife do with CNC machine tools? Is she more macho than you? LoL
Do not enrage the Feminine Side WD!!! Met this little woman, FEAR can be a necessity at some point!
Inquiring minds want to know, your wife has a machine shop? And makes what? Joe H
Ok, so your wife is a source for long lead time parts. Cool.
Dang...that panel looks so simple when compared to the mid 80's Fanuc 6t's that were in the shop I worked at.... Ed
To satisfy your curiosity........YES, wifey has a small parts machine shop. The company was started by her father back in the early 50's and has always been family run. It was turned over to her about 4 years ago after her oldest brother died from a heart attack as she has been with the company since she was 20 years old. The shop builds parts for the F35 joint strike fighter, Abrahams tanks, and other military hardware. She also manufacturers parts for flight simulators and training tools for both military and commercial contractors. I had to repair another CNC mill yesterday. It blew the main air pressure supply line. If I tell you anymore about her business, then she will have to kill us all. LOL
Harrumph Harrumph
That's awesome! I bet she can put a lot of guys to shame.
Reminds me of a small machine shop in city near me. Small shop with maybe half a dozen workers. Managed to get a short tour one day many years ago. One of the things they were making were the vanes for some jet engines. They had to save all the chips in a barrel and return them to the company the parts were for so they could be used to make new castings!
Probably made out of titanium or similar expensive material.
Exactly what I was thinking.
And as I recall the company the parts were for also supplied the cutters.
Oh man just read this whole post, and the last thing I should be doing is sitting around reading stuff. But it's helped me relax a bit. I am the first generation and aspire to be the disconnected ol' boy who travels back and forth to Arizona some day. Last week my truck driver quit, I blew the turbo in my hoe, and I keep having issues with a 140H that I thought was a good buy. Unfortunately I drained my bank account cause my bank still sees me as a pee on. $11000 into fixing this grader and still having issues. Overwhelmed I is and I know that's peanuts for equipment repairs just bad timing. My point is that trying to find someone that is able to do a good quality efficient repair is proving to be difficult. I appreciate folks like you who just want to fix it properly. I hate to say it but you are a dying breed. Thanks for this thread
I talked with a management person last Thursday. He said what happened was a major house cleaning to get rid of dead weight. About time on some of those.
Me and wife have been gone since Tuesday getting a needed break from the everyday madness. Caught this guy near the trash dumpster on our way to our destination in SE Oklahoma. 350+ lbs
Bears in Oklahoma? Weird!
Have them all across the Four State region, E KS, MO, AR, and E OK, they do not do well on open plains.
They came out west in a covered wagon in 1828.
I'm kind of surprised we don't have any here. I imagine one day we will and I'm pretty sure they are around in southeast Ohio.
They are found here
Well, they f^%$#d up a JD 350D truck while I was gone so that's nice. Got a text message from the new temp super last night about whether he should run the truck today until a gear came in. ?????***? Seems someone decided that the air compressor went out and one of the mechanics at the bought-out facility in OKC was sent out since I was gone. While trying to remove a gear from the compressor shaft, he broke one of the teeth off. SO.......I'm being asked if its ok to run like this until the new gear comes in. I have no idea what gear or tooth they are talking about, no pics, no nothing. After a few other questions that I really didn't get much of an answer for...........I told him it wouldn't be a good idea. He replied......."Well, we are going to go ahead and run it. We haven't been able to find a rental and we need it badly. Hopefully it wont f&*k anything else up." Why bother me about it then? An hour later I get the final text saying "If we get the new gear, could you possibly come out and install it? That mechanic is taking forever to do anything." The job is 3.5 hours away. So, the best I can gather is that the mechanic broke off a tooth and installed the compressor anyway. Now they are questioning whether they should run it until the new gear shows up. I highly doubt the problem is the compressor in the first place. I got tired of texting so I told him I would call him this morning. Now I get to tell him that those guys don't need to be wrenching on the equipment. More details later............
Well, they f^%$#d up a JD 350D truck while I was gone so that's nice. Got a text message from the new temp super last night about whether he should run the truck today until a gear came in. ?????***? Seems someone decided that the air compressor went out and one of the mechanics at the bought-out facility in OKC was sent out since I was gone. While trying to remove a gear from the compressor shaft, he broke one of the teeth off. SO.......I'm being asked if its ok to run like this until the new gear comes in. I have no idea what gear or tooth they are talking about, no pics, no nothing. After a few other questions that I really didn't get much of an answer for...........I told him it wouldn't be a good idea. He replied......."Well, we are going to go ahead and run it. We haven't been able to find a rental and we need it badly. Hopefully it wont f&*k anything else up." Why bother me about it then? An hour later I get the final text saying "If we get the new gear, could you possibly come out and install it? That mechanic is taking forever to do anything." The job is 3.5 hours away. So, the best I can gather is that the mechanic broke off a tooth and installed the compressor anyway. Now they are questioning whether they should run it until the new gear shows up. I highly doubt the problem is the compressor in the first place. I got tired of texting so I told him I would call him this morning. Now I get to tell him that those guys don't need to be wrenching on the equipment. More details later............
LOL....double post due to site lag. Nice way to start this week.
Well guys, help me out here. I have been asked by management to make an evaluation. What you can't see is the articulation pins and bearings are gone and need replaced. I already know what I will recommend but I want to see what you all think. I have no hours due to the batteries being dead.
Same thing on this one. No hours/mileage due to no batteries.
Not familiar with the specific machines but just from a quick look I see a general amount of abuse and lack of maintenance. I would be worried about all the things that can not be seen.
It is a peach! Auction or trade in time.
Definitely could make some money on them, working on them or sending them down the road. Sounds like you have enough to do without these jewels.
That Deere loader appears to have the frames cracking. I'm looking at the bottom corners and see the lines in the paint that need to be checked out. The water truck looks like most I've been around. They get used occasionally by the newest or lowest paid stooge on the claim and become garbage cans. Loose stuff all over the cab, leaking cabs, components underneath flopping around whenever the truck hits a bump. Get them running, clean both up a bit and send them down the road if the outfit has the funds to replace them. If not, the decision is made for them. You will either make a little money or a lot of money making them run.
I have seen dairy farms with cleaner equipment lol
Be glad it's not a 1266D Koehring they want you to fix up.
I will never understand the leaving dead equipment laying around like that in pieces, you see plenty at auctions though. If you can't fix it either sell it, get someone who can fix it or keep what parts you want and get rid of the rest. Just leaving it sit in pieces it's worth less every day it sits, it's taking up space, and parts get lost. Having said that it's pretty common. My dad has a pickup sitting in his driveway for over 4 years now for a minor electrical issue, and doesn't realize the whole truck is now worthless and not worth fixing, it was maybe a $5k truck before 300,000 miles and beat to hell and not looked after but still had some time left. Probably not a part worth removing now except for the flatdeck.
With record high used equipment prices and however many million borrowed against it I'd think auction would be the way to save some serious headaches for the owners and yourself.
As to what I can see in the limited photos, is time to cut losses. By the time ALL the Necessary to maintain Productivity and Safe operation repairs get done, the Time down and BEEN down as well repairs costs if can even get required parts, will be well beyond the useful value of those shown machines. Is NO TELLING what will find beyond the visible that will start the actions all over again. Trade out or Scrap Sell off or auction off as is where is.
I have recommended that both of those should be terminated so to speak. After looking at values for each and factoring in costs of repair, determined worth after repairs, and overall condition moving forward using them for productive work is not feasible. I am waiting on management to give me the OK to list them for sale. In the meantime, I have been taking care of the breakdowns that are occurring on the jobs but haven't done a thing to anything sitting so far. I'll get to those later on. Still nothing from management about the future and whether they plan on hiring people..........so I guess it's all me for the short term.
Cha-ching Cha-ching!
Well I guess as long as the checks don't bounce at the bank, keep at it!
My thoughts at same Moment!!
Well???? What happened or has it happened yet?
I fire people who bid work that far away, just sayin on the jd350 truck.
Still waiting. I have them in the yard "inoperable"
Since I know you guys enjoy the quality work of former HNC............I have attached the following for your viewing pleasure. These are of a 524K I went out on yesterday after the customer replaced fuel filters trying to correct a engine loss of power problem. Machine currently has 12213.7 hours Engine oil filter, last changes on March 19, 2020.............at 10156 hours.
Same machine.....hydraulic filters. No hours marked
Hydraulic tank breather filter.............YIKES!!!!!
The problem was a cut in the injector harness. Parts will be here today...........repair and full service on this dude. Then a recommendation to replace this machine in a hurry with 12K hours.
Seems like 2018 was the year for servicing!
All of that is a product of poor management. I put that solely on the shoulders of the equipment manager. People are always going to try to get away with doing nothing. It takes a good leader to hire the right people and to follow up on the work they do. Trust but verify.
That's only 2000hrs on a oil filter. Maybe he read the service interval wrong, it called for 250hrs and he thought, we're not there yet (2500hrs).
I have $10k if they want to offload that 524k!
Pretty obvious that there was no equipment manager.
I would've thought what that company really needed was a maintnenance planner. By the sounds of what Vetech has posted previously they own enough pieces of equipment to justify the position.
Is there a difference in work duties between the two titles? I've never worked for a company that had someone that managed the fleet of equipment that wasnt also the mechanic fixing it.
Correct Colson--Much more effective way of doing things. A much closer eye on what's at hand. Plus the last thing a company shop needs is a pretty boy who never gets dirty telling everyone else what to do. Really bad for morale in the shop.
I'm hands on AND pretty
Pew----if you say so.
Here is another from yesterday. A 310SJ loader/backhoe...........here is some back story. 2 months ago, before the well-deserved mass firings, this machine was in their shop with the radiator, shroud and fan removed from it. I happened to be there and saw it in their shop torn down. Since I was there doing paving machine work, I didn't pay too much attention to this unitil I got a call yesterday. The new radiator and fan they installed is damaged again.........exactly the same damage and failure. I had this machine brought to their shop and tore it down yesterday. The one on the left is the original that they removed. The one on the right is the new one they installed 2 months ago. A closer look at the damage on the new radiator
You can obviously see which fan blade did the damage and the fan had been hitting the shroud for a bit. I asked the operator about the noise the fan was making when I first looked at this machine yesterday. He said it had been like that since it was on the job for the last 2-3 weeks.
The first thing I noticed upon tear down is that they didn't replace any of the isolation mounts..........so the radiator was sitting too low in the hardnose to begin with. The lowers were half the height of a new one. The other thing is that there are only 4 bolts that hold this hardnose to the mainframe, 2 on each side. When I removed the bolts, the upper right side bolt was broken.....with the head of the bolt still in the hole. This pic is of the left side............I noticed that the bolts are smaller than the holes. The odd thing is the parts page for this shows a M14x40 bolt as the factory bolt, but the holes are around 9/16". They don't seem to be wallowed out but with that much clearance the hardnose can be pushed back almost 2 inches at the top of the radiator IF it were to be pushed on.........say by hitting the side of a dump truck while they were loading it with dirt. I bel;ieve this is what happened both times........so I am going to have to beef this up a bit. These operators are not paying attention, not noticing, or not caring.
Have to be a big outfit before titles are bestowed on job positions. Usually only one or two mechanics who are expected to put out fires. Not much planning if any at all.
In principal this is the way forward, someone to plan maintenance, get the parts and maintain a stock of common parts, and generally keep the guys busy, the issue comes with you who you place in this job, realistically you need an old boy who has been on the spanners and is getting fed up of the humping stuff about and knows how the job works.... but they are sometimes not office savvy enough to do all the paperwork etc and keep up with office politics, so you ideally need 2 people one smart with the office environment and one with physical machines, tools and people. but neither with more power than the other.
Exactamundo. My planners were generally always ex-mechanics who had moved away from the tools for whatever reason but had "been there done that" and were respected by the wrench turners. The time they can save the shop floor on a big fleet by keeping parts available and using their crystal ball to forecast what's going to need what and when pretty much pays their salary. As an example TS would be a perfect candidate as a planner after he retires from pulling wrenches.
Funny Nige, I was going to recommend you for the job !
Foreskin at Mack when I worked there was a wiry little Irish descent fella Herb Talley, could almost tell you the parts to pull to build a END from memory, could listen to a engine or trans and give estimate of life left, sadly he left this world not long after a lay off as I was growing in the industry.
The commute would be a killer though.....
But, didn't Vetech say the company has a jet ??
nice!
Wouldn't want to fly in the company jet if it has the same maintainance policy as their equipment.
That is a area commonly overlooked. Any fan be it metal or plastic especially plastic can crack where blades attach. The older the fan more than likely hair line cracks are present, plus the larger it is. I towed one years back that had radiator replaced two weeks before. The truck was on a short grade just before the crest, driver said engine had just reached 2100 and he was getting ready to shift up when the fan hub engaged. Exploded lost four blades all on one side, destroyed rad, shroud and everything around it. Driver said it about shook his teeth out.
That's just job security Seriously though I;m fixing a 544K and I think the operator thought it was a multifunction machine, use the belly apn for grading and the rear for dozing. I found a golf ball sized rock jammed against the DEF lines inside the access cover.
Sometimes it can be a toss-up between hating people like that and glad there are people like that. If you get paid to fix things, they can be good for your bottom line! But if you depend on that company for your pay check, it might not survive for long and you will be out of work. I have to lay 99% of the blame on management for operators that abuse equipment. These so called managers seem to think if a machine is not being run to death it's not making them money!
I got the 524K loader done this morning. I will be going back together on the 310SJ in the morning. The heat here has been miserable, so I have been leaving at 4 am and trying to finish my days before 2 pm. 2 more days of 100 degree + and then some relief for a few days. I got 3 more calls from them today........all thinking they are having fuel filter issues. Does that surprise anyone?
Me.
LOL!! Not Me! Just don't push yourself to exhaustion or near death, no need of that these days.
This was a nice find this morning............ I opened the compartment to check it for hours on the filters and the air filter lid is nowhere to be found. The filter was close to falling out ...........no telling how much dirt this engine has ingested. On another note, they have a newer Hitachi excavator rented from the Deere dealer here. I don't know how long they have had it rented but it currently has 1818 hours, and the fuel filters are marked at 787 hours. Water seperator light was lit on the dash panel and the machine was struggling to run when I got there. I was asked to put fuel filters on it because the dealer had nobody available to come service this. I waited all week for a Deere service tech to ET their newer 700K dozer.........with no results and no calls. I am in the process of getting the company set up with another Deere dealer in OKC because this one isn't making the grade.
No no no, that's the new free flow system you have there, the duct tape fell off is all.
Never cease to amaze how dumb some can be. What a snake pit to walk into!!
I don't know I think this steady as she goes these days. It's a common issue.
My $.035 adjusted for massive inflation is get as much of their money as you can but don't let them get ahead of you on invoicing. With the coming recession this type of horrible mis-management isn't going to survive.
Is that fuel filter with Japanese? writing the original from the factory too? Edit: It's black so maybe they didn't notice it. Somebody in the shop probably found some black plastic thing and didn't know what it was for so chucked it.
Bahahaha...I literally laughed out loud!
Yep. That's the way the filters come from the dealer on my Takeuchi with Yanmar engine.
It looks like a Yanmar engine, those things are tough as hell. When I bought mine there was no inner air filter and the fuel water separator drain was clogged with sand. 2000 hours later and 5000 hours total on it it runs as good as new. Everyone says even not looked after great the motors will long outlive the excavator going at least 10,000 hours so at least there's that! I think i'd be more concerned about the filter falling out because of the missing cover, not the dirt from lack of cover though.
The point of the photo is that no one even bothered to do a minimum of a check out before starting the machine before each shift. Who gets the blame for that? Operator, site boss, job manager, owner? At least the free air filter isn't a safety issue. But then again, how many unsafe practices are happening that are like a bear traps waiting for someone to step into?
It always gets me how people whos livelihood depends on a piece of equipment being able to do a job will misuse that equipment. This goes for everyone from the seat warmer/operator to the people in the main office. Not saying they need to wash and polish the equipment everyday after using it but just a quick walk around opening access doors to look for damage. And how can someone replace a radiator with that damage and not question what caused it!
We have 61 drivers-51 of them are capable of tearing up a anvil. The other 10 are capable of eating it.
We had mostly reasonably responsible drivers at the yard I recently left, looked over the equipment, aided in service work, performed excellent inspections every day Before and After runs, was but two wrenches in the shop and if did not account to a Emergency on their part was ignored. Owner wanted machines kept safe and functional as able to pass DOT Inspections but wanted repairs done only AS NECESSARY and at minimal expense as all owners do. Led to a lot of disagreements and disenchanted operators vs wrenches.
You can't get there from there.
I think some of them either came east to work at the quarry or maybe they left the quarry to move west! And they could be locked neck'ed in a padded cell and the anvil would be just a pile of dust by the end of the shift! If you said anything they would say "It was like that when I started the shift!". Maybe so but the dust would be a finer powder when they left for the day!
Absolutely. Without knowing how long it's been off it's really on the operator. If it's recent and not in need of service because no one said anything, it's no one else's fault. You can tell someone 100x to check a machine in the morning before using it, but with most of them it's in one ear out the other and if you want to be in business you have to employ people like that sadly.
Here it IS a legality as one signs off the machine Has no faults on a Inspection sheet or column.
Yea it is really bad. I compare the shape of my stuff that is 99% run by me only compared to my brothers who has around 15 employees, it's night and day. One complained about running skidsteer without door glass or rear glass, but funny enough added 2 more skidsteers and neither lasted the summer without broken glass either. You'd think when you have to run one in the rain and have a garbage bag on your legs you'd think "maybe I should be more careful and not break the glass next time" but nope. One of them borrowed mine and it took TEN minutes to shatter the front window, yes TEN minutes to break a $400 door. They also borrowed my skid steer forks, managed to bend them up too somehow. I don't understand it and don't have the patience for it. I would either fire virtually all of them, or i'd be in jail, there is no way I could put up with the stupidity. I mean if they were making me an insane amount of money maybe just maybe, but that's not possible with how hard on stuff so many are and slow. We were talking about it the other day and he mentioned how he is likely planning to downside to around 5-8 guys, said he's not making anymore money with 16 guys it's just more stress, and can keep the better guys and fire the rest, and bonus sell equipment when it's high. If you break it down to per hour invested, we make about the same money and I don't have the stress of any employees. There is perks of employees like if something has to be done on a saturday you can send someone where I have to do it myself, but there's also a lot of stress and if jobs aren't paying or whatnot you can lose a lot of money quick with that kind of money going out.
Speaking of just equipment, unless it's government or really big companies no one here does written inspection reports on equipment, only trucks. And so many don't care, long time ago I worked a summer for the utility company you had to do written inspections but no one looked at ****. In the summer I was there I could probably count on one hand the number of times I saw someone pop a hood and check fluids.
Here an Accident occurs and Insurance wants to see the Historic Records of Inspection or they WILL NOT Pay. That I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own Hearing Aids. Machine lost a Hydraulic hose, sprayed down a laborer Hot Oil, Inspections were Signed off and hose determined Instant Catastrophic fail, Insurer Paid.
Unfortunately it's not like that here so we pay higher insurance premiums because the other insured morons have claims.
I recall looking at pre-op check lists where the person just drew a line straight down the page in the OK column. These were generic check lists so there were some items that plane did not apply things like, ladders, they got the mark even if it was a small skid steer!
Known as "tick & flick" in the trade......
Or pencil whipped.
I'd rather someone who actually inspected it and sped through the paperwork then someone who sped through the inspection and did the paperwork properly. The paperwork doesn't mean anything if it wasn't inspected and I don't think forcing people to fill it out makes it anymore likely the inspection is actually getting done.
Some one here, would put money in a place that it would be found during a proper inspection... I remember him saying he didn't lose cash very often.
There is no such thing as the perfect employee or the perfect employer. But a bad employer can bring out a lot of bad traits in a employee.
Back in my time in the military it was called a radio check. Get caught doing that and it was Captains Mast at a minimum.
I agree. But most companies or individuals don't want to pay for a real inspection. It's a real shame, it could save them real money in the future.
" borrowed my skid steer forks, managed to bend them up too somehow" how is it even possible to do that??
Believe it or not, seen it done!!
Finesse-in most cases is all it takes to complete a job. Good operators have finesse, cut time down with less moves and moved more dirt. People tear stuff up because of zero finesse abilities. Bull in a China Shop.
I have no idea. I have lifted buckets for my 210 with one fork etc and they take that fine and they are over 2000lbs. But they managed to bend up the bottom on one side where it attaches to the machine as well as the guarding at the top is all mangled, they are rated for 4500lbs so they aren't light. Granted two of his skidsteers are quite a bit bigger then mine I think one will lift over 4000lbs, it's just a lack of common sense. They used them for about 2 months and they went from looking brand new as they were only used a few times to 5 years old in that span I don't think there is a section more then a few inches by few inches that doesn't have scrape marks on it. And for the most part they were used to move plywood and rebar....
I wonder what this week will bring?
The equipment we see in the best shape comes from owner operators who operate all of their own stuff or have one or two operators with them who are closer to being partners than normal employees then the next best stuff is decent to large size fleets with owners and managers that direct operators to take good care of equipment and are willing to spend the money. Everyone else is a train wreck to some degree or another and the operators are careless slobs who I want to hit over the head with the shovel I have to use to clean out their cabs because they always have a yard of dirt packed in and covered with dip bottles and dip spit everywhere, then other food and drink containers all crammed behind the seat. I swear to god it’s a race among these retards to see who can tear a machine up the quickest and in the dumbest ways. I eagerly await the day autonomous and remote operation ends the need for cabs on machines so at least I won’t spill a nasty cup of dip spit all over me trying to empty out the cab enough to work on the POS.
Oh No the {A} word the planet is wobbling!
I dated a lady who was a deputy sheriff back in the day. She told me it was kind of a joke among deputies, they would see who could tear up the transmission in the Crown Vic patrol cars first. A$$HATS
It was pretty quiet yesterday........allowing me to finish up the 310SJ. There was a Deere solution for the problem which was basically drilling and installing another hard nose mounting bolt............that was never done which is why this failed the same way twice. I've been waiting about 10 days now for a Deere tech to go out on a 700K that needs a service advisor hook-up. I called again yesterday about this since I haven't heard anything (I've actually called twice in the last week besides this) and had to leave a message. The good thing is they actually called me back. They are supposed to be looking at that machine this morning. I could use a quiet week..........but I doubt it will happen LOL
Is no way that snake pit you have dived into is gonna get quiet until that day you have had enough. Deere tech show yet?
Why don’t you have service advisor? Seems like you get plenty of Deere work
I never thought it would be worth the investment. I only need a hook up for service advisor a handful of times a year if that. I haven't checked pricing in a while but when I did, I determined it was much cheaper to have the dealer do that part. I, at this point, am nearing the end of my career in this part of the business so to invest in it now wouldn't be prudent. Also, I downgraded the size of my newest service truck and don't have enough room for what I already have. I did this with the intent of declining some types of work moving forward due to my age and physical condition. I did get the truck washed today........first time in a while.
Yes, but he left the job with parts lying on the tracks and didn't say anything to anyone on the job about what was going on. I'm calling the service manager in the morning to get an update.
Prude!
Awesome....don't you love that...no communication.
Nice truck, smart move... looking forward ..work wise. How long have you been mechanicing? Just curious I have almostv30 years in right now.
Communication? Hell we don’t need any of that when dealing with ungodly expensive equipment that companies and people’s livelihoods depend on.
Many a female would beg to differ. I am pretty easy LOL
33 years self-employed. Total of 41 years if I go back to when I started.
Hopefully I will get a report this morning on the 700K. One thing that always chaps my ass is the lack of communication when a dealer tech is sent out and doesn't let me know what's happening. It seems like an open checkbook operation when that happens. Although I am not an employee of this company, someone still should be informed of what's needed and the approximate costs. It's not like they would let a $300K machine sit for an expensive repair but someone should approve repairs in my opinion. I've never spent a customer's money in the multiple thousands unless someone knows and approves it. I don't know yet............maybe the tech isn't finished troubleshooting the issue? One thing I DONT want is expensive parts thrown all over this machine so I will be asking plenty of questions in a bit.
^^^And this is exactly why I made the suggestion I did earlier. As an employer, I would trip over myself to hire someone like yourself who watches my money and expenses closer than I do. And you might be able to lay off the heavy lifting....
I've always viewed a repair project as a partnership between me and the owner or representative of the machine. I determine what is wrong and approximate cost to repair. Many times there are multiple ways to repair something and that requires communication with someone. One type of repair might give them the machine this afternoon, cost little but there are chances it will be dead again tomorrow or next week. Another fix might take a week and cost a lot but not need to be worried about it ever again. I always made the owner or rep make those decisions.
Jimbo, right now Vetech is his own boss. If he goes to work there he's the boss of who? He's already told us earlier there's no one to hire, so he'd be worse off than he is now. Joe H
Always intended to expand to larger 4WD truck when was working side work had seen 2 ton IH Utility trucks with 4WD go cheap at sales. GLAD I never got there as do not know where I would have ended up by this body age.
Wow, thats a ton of years and experience. I'm 29 total years in with 3 years independent! Don't think I could ever go back for working for any one again!
The 700K report is in. In their opinion, lack of filter service.....especially on the fuel system, had caused a restriction and sensor failure on the high-pressure rail. They are correcting these and then checking the system again today. I was supposed to look at a couple of Case backhoes yesterday for another customer when they arrived in town around noon yesterday. I spent 3 hours in the construction company's shop cleaning and sorting through crap while I was waiting on the Case customer. His equipment didn't show up til after 3 pm...........so I am looking at them this morning. In the shop I have found numerous new parts in boxes and bags, most unmarked, lying pretty much everywhere. I sorted that stuff and at least shelfed it in one place so its altogether. There were also numerous areas that had faulty parts that had been replaced lying all over the place in the shop, and outside. Most of it looked like it had been there for years and years. It's all now in the scrap bin outside. Evidently the trucking side of the company changed oil in one of their trucks the afternoon before..............they didn't clean up very well and had walked through spilled engine oil on the floor and had tracked it everywhere.  You may be thinking to yourself "Why is he cleaning up in their shop?" I can't just sit around and need to stay busy for the most part. I'll get paid for my time one way or another.
Mess leads to incidents and accidents, easier to clean and be relieved that is safer. Plus gives an aspect of what needs be pitched and what should be looked at later.
More than once while working at another quarry for the company I worked for while waiting for someone to bring the machine I was there to work on I would keep busy while waiting by pushing a broom in their shop.
There isn't a sales person or anybody for that matter that doesn't comment on the shop. {I can't work in a dump} filthy shops are a hazard and time consuming. If your spending time looking for tools or parts your wasting time. Floors need to be swept after and while working a job. Stumbling around in dirt, junk parts and just plain crud is depressing. A shop will have way better performance when clean. L&I likes it too.
I worked in a small CNC shop in 2004 that was a cluttered, dirty mess. We got a lot done, but it was like walking into a hot, dark hole every day. Parts and tooling everywhere, chips scattered on the floor. Dirty, grimy walls and ceilings from decades of machining. I moved on and ended up at Mercury Marine in 2005 in Fond du Lac, WI. The first time I toured their shop, my chin hit the floor. The floors were grey epoxy coated and shining. The walls and ceilings were a bright white with high end lighting throughout. They had hundreds of Mazaks and every machine sparkled. Work stations were clearly defined, tools in shadow boards, work benches only had current part in process on them. All parts, no matter what stage of production, were stored in organized dunnage bins specifically for that part in specific locations. A place for everything and everything in its place. That factory had a completely different feel. They were still machining parts with same brand of machines, but a completely different culture and attitude about the workplace. I loved working there, but my time with them coincided with a sharp downturn in sales so there was no long term option for me there.
Much better attitude in a clean well organized shop. Some of the larger shops I worked in even had lines painted on the floor for walkways. Some of the other shops I worked in were horrific. One in particular had steel scattered about and you never knew where to go to find what you needed. You go to one of the shop and then the other looking for the piece of pipe or tubing you need. This shop also never supplied any blueprints so you could build things. The foreman would tell what to build and if you had any questions you had to go back to him. Even worse the owner was so cheap (or worried about theft) that you had to also ask the foreman for a new grinding wheel or contact tip for the Mig welder instead of just going to the tool crib to get one. Didn't have to have 100 each in the tool crib but a few grinding wheels would certainly speed production. Half the time the foreman was in the office with the owner so you had to wait until he was back on the shop floor. Very frustrating and not efficient at all. It's no wonder this shop didn't survive. The owner was too busy counting the money he made to realize how much he was losing.
This is my favorite thread. I check new posts, wondering when the mechanic is going to find an alligator sleeping in the engine compartment, or a space alien scavenging parts to get him back to the planet Koosebane. This could be a cool reality show.
So what happens when they need that transmission to function to get them out of danger, and it ***** the bed because of their abuse? I think this attitude is spreading everywhere these days.
Just recently a Vancouver Ferrari dealership discovered a rattle snake in their showroom. Appears it climbed into the undercarriage of one of the cars when they had a group vacation. It had a green ring on its tail which indicated it was chipped and they returned it to the exact rock where it was 1st. discovered. Probably a real good thing it was discovered on the showroom floor. Still would imagine it would have startled who ever discovered it. Wouldn't want to discover it going for a test ride or checking tire pressures or something. Rattlesnake found at Vancouver Ferrari dealership returned | CTV News
I like to work in a clean space and I like it even more when everything has a place and when everything is in its place. I constantly clean my work space throughout the day. When I am tired and hot. I take a break and pick up a broom. Organize removed parts, clean spills and remove trash. I work better in a clean and organized environment and it's also better for my mental health.
At my last Commercial mechanic position when started with Union Electric was at the shop during a Emergency Call in to Stand By as line crews worked storm damage. Had to remain available to make quick repairs and was on the clock at Double Time, so cleaned most of the morning, Windows, Doors with big slime smears, floors even got washed, emptied the paint booth we had and replaced filters, was about done cleaning office equipment when the guys finished up, boss said done for night and could go home. Next day Superintendent was just beside himself as to the shop being so clean, was patting day Mechanic on the back when he noted I had done it as far as he knew. Got a Cash Bonus later in the week by Company Mail out of Petty Cash!!! AND Paid Double Time to boot for 6.6 hours!
Nice to be appreciated. A lot of guys would just sit around in the lunch room playing cards or something.
I am similar to vetech, there is no sitting still, can play cards if someone is around and on break but just better to be at or doing something constructive on the clock. Super saw that in me as I started, need no coaching to find something to do and get it done. Dirt and collecting trash DRIVES ME NUTS!!!
It’s actually relaxing for me to take my time and clean thoroughly at work, especially when I have the time to pull out all my tools and clean and reorganize them. Last time I went to get tires put on my truck the state of the tire shop’s building about drove me nuts holy crap big mess doesn’t even describe it
Where do I start ?! This thread has been an interesting read to say the least! Not sure how you have such patience but that must come with wrenching I know if I had to deal with the stupidity of half the crap I’ve read I would of probably hit the loonie bin. I’ve never read 30+ pages of one thread before but to know the story was worth it. Hopefully you get to retire and never worry about another paver or dozer again lol!
I've been doing other customer work the last bunch of days. Someone tried stealing this battery out of this mini ex over the weekend. I guess it just got too difficult LOL A quick fix in this case but enough to aggravate a normal person.
Strange battery connections probably confused the thieves.
Scum bag drug douches.
I agree! Who else would come up with those stupid battery connections.
My 2008 Nissan Pathfinder used those same hookups.
Hate to say, even the 2010 Impala I have is like that.
This country is going down the toilet when the thieves are to lazy to steal.
They have to justify hiring engineers somehow. How many types of electrical connectors are there? Never had a problem with the good Ole weatherpak. Why do they have to keep reinventing the wheel.
Because the patent protections ran out on the wheel.
Product designers have to justify their existance.....same as software people. Ed
They still haven't decided on whether to get rid of this old water truck or not. I was asked if I could get it up and running. I'm thinking about telling them it's going to cost $20K. My luck they will go for it
Quote $30K, no need being Kind!!
Tell them the best value is to put it on Big Iron or Purple Wave auction site as not running.
Ah! a nice truck for you to work on.
I've been doing other customers work lately but I have a paving roller I am breaking down today for the asphalt side. Yesterday I went out on a customer's Cat 320D excavator. I was informed that they had installed a new a/c compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and receiver on the machine but never could get the vent temp under 68 degrees. After a few questions I realized they really didn't know much about a/c and how it works so off I went to the machine. When I get there, I hooked up my gauges and asked the operator to fire the a/c up. Almost immediately I heard the belt squall, and it would every time the compressor cycled. I asked the operator when that started, and he replied since they had done the replacement parts. The gauge readings were crap. I remove a panel under the engine to attempt to tighten the loose belt.........no go. The adjust screw was bent and locked up in the pulley shaft. Replaced that, got the tension correct, then drained and re vacced. Got perfect pressures and a vent temp of 47 degrees. They probably replaced all those parts for nothing.
That never happens. They are professional parts cannons.
Yep, keep changing parts till something starts working, then you tell the boss everything was bad, not just the one loose belt!
"You mean all those parts went bad and caused that one problem?"
I want to know how did the screw get bent ? Cranking without loosening the pivot bolts ? Another sign of incompetents with wrenches? (I wanted to say idiots but have to allow for ignorance) But, they had to use it IF they replaced the compressor.
You guy's are getting excited over a bent tension bolt? The proper fix on that is a ratchet strap, just give it a click now and then keep that belt just right on tension. All those parts were necessary to keep the economy moving.
My neighbor had tie wire holding the alternator on one of his tractors. You don't need that extra bolt.
Let's play a game. It's called "What annual salary did the BIG boss throw at me yesterday?"
I'll guess. Not enough LOL
50K?
100 K and a shiny new truck.
Counter-offer. $150k + 10-20% of whatever you can save the company based on their last year's parts/dealer callout spend when TNH & HNC were in charge.
$25k with a 1099 and you have to supply your truck and buy fuel. Because good mechanics are everywhere and shouldn’t cost any more than that!
Not sure on a number, but less than his. He knows he is more valuable
Happy Friday!!!! My guess, $150,000 plus benefits, company credit card with a $2,000 limit, company truck and one week vacation that can't be taken all at once with prior approval of 2 months lead time.lol Can't wait to hear what they offer.
I suspect the offer will be less than what a dealer would charge per hour and more than a dealer would pay their mechanics. Figure 2080 hours per year and out here a field wrench gets around $50 per hour. That comes to $104,000. Loaded costs are around 15% more which puts total compensation at around $119,600. Then add in another $30,000 for your truck and tools on top for a minimum of $149,600 for the bottom of the low side of the bid. Field charge out rates here for a dealer service are at $165 per hour. 2080 hours times $165 come to $343,200. Add in the misc hardware and environmental charges of around 8% and you come up $370,656. So if they want you full time to fix and run the maintenance and they are going to want you more than 40 hours a week plus you get all that stress with the responsibility, maybe two weeks a year vacation, and all the aggravation plus use your own truck and tools. Then I would suggest $300,000 would not be out of line. Use you own numbers for your area and see how you come out.
As an aside, if you want to accept and will have to more or less lose all of your other customers, get a multi year contract and hope the business survives!
Enough to buy the rest of the train you & your wife are on? Whatever it is it needs to include a stipulation that you can pay a wage that will attract at least one decent mechanic or you'll be working 16 hour days until you quit. Joe H
85k
Go with first response, NOT NEAR enough.
Based on the sad shape of equipment, I'd guess an even sadder/insulting offer of $100 to $125K and they'd consider you the same as an employee. I don't think you want to put all your eggs in their basket though.
So who won? What’s the answer?
Maybe he took the deal and is stuck working while regretting his decision.
He's probably still stunned and wondering what the heck they were thinking... or what he was thinking.
I know him fairly well. I doubt they throw a number anywhere close to what he wants and furthermore it won’t be about money for him anyway. He’s too cranky to work for somebody else!
Still the best thread going. Joe H
Average salary for a medical doctor/family practice is around $250.000. Some how I think the mechanic industry is slightly over valuing it's self helping create the inflation we all despise. But I'm just a #3 greasy monkey that hasn't lived much. $115,000 and all the beans and weenies you can eat should be satisfactory. After all we are working on inanimate objects not peoples lives. 2 cents.
I would have to say you hit the nail on the head if I made that I may actually want to work ot then.
Orthopedic Surgeon was around double that 10 years ago. I don't even want to know what the Sports Medicine specialist that looks after KU players and the Chiefs makes.
For good reason! The good one's make a LOT more. You can pay $2k or more just for a quick consult. If you can't fix a truck/equipment you can sell it and buy a new one, or keep throwing parts at it. I don't think we're anywhere close to being able to do that with bodies. I messed up my shoulder 10 years ago and it's still fawked. I would write a check for $50k in a second if there was a orthopedic surgeon who could fix it back to what it was!
If they offered $300k a year for 40 hours a week, be a fool not to take it, I bet you could have 100 experienced mechanics from around the country who would move there in a second for that kind of money, assuming you knew it was guaranteed for a few years, even if you had to supply a service truck for that. I don't think you will find any employee pulling wrenches in all of USA making $300k unless they are working like 80+ hour weeks. A guy running his own service truck and putting in 40 hours a week total of his time wouldn't make $300k at $165/hr. That's 35 billable hours, it gives you 5 hours a week to do everything else or 1 hour a day, I don't think anyone could spend that little of time getting all that stuff done. How many hours in a week on a service truck are you spending fueling it, repairs, invoicing, insurance, chasing money etc that you aren't billing out the hourly rate? Never mind having to fix a repair for free if you screw up. None of which is your concern if you're an employee. If someone offered me 75% of what I make running my own company to work for them 40 hours a week i'd jump on it in a second. Make nearly the same money because you no longer have a ton of unpaid hours. Being able to leave at 5 and not a care till the next day is worth a lot too. I think the ONLY downside if the pay was really good is how long will the company be around and/or how long are they willing to pay that much money? Other then pretty much everything else is an upside.
I bet offer is around $120k-140k. Something that is very good pay for the position but still cheaper then hiring out repairs, and enough to try and entice it to be accepted.
I'll guess closer to 70, plus benefits, plus double time on Sunday, and expenses paid for overnight travel, that is, don't expect to leave at 5.
A lot of Dr's. bill by 15 minute appt. times and I'm sure a lot of them have more cycles that can fit in a day. Some medical specialists do deserve the big money. On the other hand it's been said that welding requires the 2nd most hand/eye coordination of any job except a surgeon because if a surgeon makes a mistake it can be fatal. However there aren't many welders making anywhere near what general Dr's. are making let alone surgeons. Welding used to be one of the higher paying jobs but now there are people sitting behind a computer screen all day making closer to what Dr's. make. Welding is also one of the most tested trades and it's for good reason. You don't want that bridge failing or the pipeline leaking like a sieve. Too bad the pay wasn't more related to the quality the work needs to be or the skill required to do it. There's a member on the Welding web who does boiler repairs in tight spaces that is 100% X-rayed so basically has to be perfect. Seeing some of the pics. he's posted he should be getting paid like a surgeon. Having to feed Tig filler rod through the middle of the pipe while basically standing on your head or having to Tig weld using mirrors requires unbelievable skill. I've had to crawl inside an 18" pipe to back weld 45 deg. elbows or use the stinger taped onto a 4' broom handle to reach in a hole but that peanuts to doing boiler repairs.
Having met Vetech personally can attest to his character as noted!!
Suspicion is likely closer to Delmer's bid, not going to see any Real Money from these as they had hired HNC and TNG, where are paying STIFFLY for Vetech currently to keep things moving and most likely chasing a break in expenses. Watched the Nuke welders at the plant doing just as WD noted, skills at welding I could never accomplish, with radiography welds and patterns that look like painted them. Absolutely CLEAN, Crisp and precise. Guys could stand on one shoulder in a nasty corner of a concrete vault and weld overhead, upside down, and suffering, never missed a beat and welds looking better than anything Flat I ever laid out.
SO you guys really want to know huh LOL. First, my day yesterday.......... Cat CB34B drum bearing failure. I've done enough I could do these blindfolded. It's a common issue.
You took the job???
5 hours of drive time yesterday afternoon to replace a broken belt. It's a pain in the ass to change that inner one but the drive was relaxing. Notice anything on the filters? Hour meter no workie Whoever that PDI guy is sucks balls.
OK fellas..........now what you have been waiting for.........the offer was $200K. Of course, I turned it down.....its less than I make now but I told the owner he was getting close. His reply was he hasn't given up yet. No responsibilities have been discussed on what a 200K salary would require as of yet. I'll put my thoughts on this here tonight when I have more time.
And I suppose that nobody told you beforehand that it needed servicing before you left base, and you didn't have any filters with you..?
Of course not!
Actually not an insulting offer at all. I think part of it depends on if you want to give up your other work and work strictly for this place. If so you won't have to buy your own insurance and other expenses required for being independent.
I’m curious to hear the details and specifics. As an independent I’ve had customers offer to put me on the payroll but we never had a serious talk about it. To be honest I don’t think I want to be tied to just one customer
Get the all you can eat beans and weenies in writing-the rest is blue sky.
The expectations would be high…..as in so high it’s impossible. There is no one man operation that will do this job and meet those expectations. The possible pros? 1. Salaried hours at 40 per week 2. Health insurance 3. Paid vacation (maybe 2 weeks a year) 4. Knowing the equipment and personnel 5. Less stress? Doubtful on that one. 6. Steady paycheck Cons? 1. Loss of freedom that self employment gives me. 2. No job security. If things go bad with the company I could be canned being highly paid. 3. ?…?.?.??…? This was a fishing expedition by the owner to figure out where my line in the sand is. He knew I wouldn’t except before he made it but gambled that I may be growing weary with my age. LOL He has seen 1st hand my work and what I do for 20 years. He knows that hiring me would be a good investment at a high salary because what I have saved him in past years would more than make up my salary. It’s highly unlikely anyone else would get an offer even near there….. a perfect example of “you go with what you know.” Ive thought of a better plan that would by far benefit us both much easier………I just have to sell it……I’m not even sure I want to sell it yet. In the meantime I will just keep billing them between 15k and 30k per month depending on the jobs that come up.
Vetech-just stay where your at, your better off because it's your game not theirs. Once you move your control is lost. Nothing worse than frying pans and fires.
I dare say you have made a good choice my friend, you are financially better off as you are, can come and go with the business that mostly come and go. At some point we all reach retirement, just make certain have enough to get you and the significant other into a softer life after working. I have been text'd, phone messaged and directly asked here if would consider working a few days a week on a cash basis to preclude other concerns and have had to explain as I worked the local trucking company was basically out of friendship and necessity to keep them functional during the Covid Mess, was not of need to make money. Seems no one believes that as continue to press for me to work for them. Biggest problem is should I or anyone around me get injured, or auto damage and not be on IRS or SSI roles then the **** with insurance or Work Comp, not heading down that road.
So my $300K figure wasn't pie in the sky? I was told after a salary negotiation by a mining engineer that I had finally understood my value to a company. Maybe it's about time our education system start training students in business math and the philosophy of leverage.
Never happen! It is not an education system. It is an indoctrination system. To paraphrase George Carlin: They want people just smart enough to run the machines but stupid enough to not realize how badly they are getting forked. People are taught what to think, not how to think.
Those with trust fund money and a guaranteed education paid for by prior generations don't seem to have any problem understanding value. Most of us are no more than farm animals to be worked till all the value is gone and then thrown away.
While $200k is far more then I guessed, $200k is a far cry from $300k and I would bet that their top dollar isn't much over $200k, and is nowhere near $300k. Using your leverage to try and get insane pay will backfire at some point because they will look for someone else to bring in more cost effective, meanwhile if it's fair on both sides they won't. I would honestly be worried if they offered $300k because either it means they know it's short term until they figure out something else, or maybe it's to get everything fixed to sell or something like that. That's about $150/hr. No one can afford to pay an employee that kind of money to change filters or belts. You might be able to get away with it for really technical repairs because the experience means you aren't changing out unneeded parts or having it come back, but that's still a stretch. I would wager at a $300k salary it would be cheaper to rent/lease every single piece of equipment and hire out any required repairs. Unless their plan is to cough up the big salary and hire a few decent guys he can mentor and not have the big salary too long. There is just no way that kind of money could be a long term plan for them. I would bet even at $200k it's the same thing.
It’s not always about what the rate of pay should be for an employee. It’s about what you lose when said machine or machines are down. That loss can be revenue, liquidated damages for failure to complete a project….liability from a failure. There’s a lot more to it than what a feller should be paid to service a machine or diagnose. You’re paying him for his experience and expertise not the time it takes to do things. That knowledge goes beyond the physical repair. It can be planning, timely parts procurement, catching a small failure before it’s catastrophic, watching trends of use to cull the excess equipment. Lots and lots to it.
I hope I'm still alive when the first mechanic makes a million after taxes.
And that will happen the same day the dollar menu becomes the 10k menu.
Inflation will make that happen between your genes and the current administration. LOL ..
The only thing that's going to happen in my jeans is a prostate operation. And as I get older maybe a few other things.
suldas said: I would wager at a $300k salary it would be cheaper to rent/lease every single piece of equipment and hire out any required repairs. Seems the local dealers aren't doing any better trying to keep things running so the problems are still going to be there, just someone else's fault but still Vetech's problem. It don't run and the dealer can't fix it is not going to help, and leaves someone wondering why they're paying $300K to the guy who was supposed to eliminate this mess. Joe H
For sure, but paying 3x what is average for the position probably even more as $100k is a pretty dang good salary for 40 hours for a mechanic. It would be totally different if the position was to lead their shop and they had a bunch of mechanics. I'd wager they are better off to just continue the way they are then pay $300k salary.
Leased equipment is a much different story though. If it isn't running and dealer can't get it running many will just turn it back in. Dealer service also has a lot more accountability then an employee does. Rentals if it's not running unless you damaged it it's not your problem and can leave it sit where it is and go rent another one without a concern, there is a ton of companies that rent stuff for 6 months in the summer instead of owning. Also a lot of the problems seem to be lack of maintenance, which dealers i'm sure would set up a program for them and take care of servicing everything at the required intervals.
I don't think it matters what an average wage for a mechanic is. What matters is what the mechanic is worth to a specific business. To take it to extremes, to my business no mechanic, no matter how good they are is worth 10k, because I simply don't have the work for them more than that. Obviously I don't employ a mechanic because no one would work for that. But if the value is there as junkyard stated then it's whatever the business thinks is right for them.
Money isn't everything. Find what you love to do, if your just chasing the dollar, you'll have a lot of stuff, but may be miserable
Finding and getting a job you like to show up at every morning is half the battle. I'll take better working conditions over higher pay any day. There are too many people working in jobs they may not hate but certainly aren't excited about going to. You're also more willing to put in overtime or do extra's if the company appreciates you and you're not just a disposable number.
In our business the workplace has changed. Like it or not, the highly skilled in trades will be able to name their price and that’s not going away anytime soon. The labor force has shrunk and will continue to get worse……which is better for guys like us. Mechanics/Service techs have always been viewed as necessary evils as long as I can remember. The wages have never been great but the demand for this work is steadily jumping up those incomes. People still have the same thoughts on mechanics today……not worth the money. Let’s put it this way…….. …….When your $50 Mil Highway contract is stalled due to broken down unusable equipment in need of repair…….yeah, that $200k mechanic is pretty dam cheap. This is what it’s coming to and in my opinion…..it’s about dam time.
The guy's that hook up the lap top and read what the screen says are probably making more than a lot of mechanics who actually fix the problems are. Probably classified as some kind of computer tech similar to someone like a radiographer or ultrasound technician.
Thing is with a lot of the new systems, you need someone who can hook up the laptop And make the repairs. On a tier 4 machine we always put it through a service regen and watched the graph to find out where the issues were. For instance on a Volvo Tier 4 interim if the burner didn’t reach between 1350 and 1500 degrees you put a burner on it. There’s no old school mechanic who could properly diagnose this without a laptop or just guessing.
Same with Auto and Boat motors, all require a laptop and software
As much as I may bitch about needing a laptop there are times that I’m grateful to it in the seat and read data or run tests.
To your point on leverage, the way it would work is if they could find someone to do the same job for less. They already have ample evidence of the current market of mechanics and it has cost them far more than the $300K value I gave. Also a quick question, in ball park numbers, how much do you gross in a year? More or less than $300K.
The guys hooking up the laptops are the mechanics. And you better know how to be skilled at mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic diagnosis and repair to be an effective mechanic these days. there are product support reps and such who try to look at stuff electronically as you portray but they usually fall far short without the system knowledge and skills. I’ve had them send me on wild goose chases before because they just don’t understand there is far more than “plug in and let the computer tell you what’s wrong”. Usually you have to play along and then teach them a lesson to get them to understand.
For sure, but I think no matter how bad the shortage gets, there's a ceiling for the wages, you can only afford to pay so much and it would cause everything else to go up. And where does it end? If the people fixing them want more, the people running them will too, they are just as valuable and then it never ends. I think someone working a skilled trade should be able to live comfortably on 40 hours a week and support a family and the wage to do that is going to vary a lot depending where you are. But I don't see a day coming where the average mechanic is making $200k in 40 hours, around here right now i'd say it's like $75k.
And some of these laptop diagnostic charges/and diagnosis is fairly worthless-in some cases. For instance DD15-16 engine miss at idle low on power, a very common issue. All one needs to trouble shoot the problem is having experienced level of hearing, a blind man could trouble- shoot it. Intake valves so tight you can hear it 50' away at idle popping back through the air cleaner. I even pointed one out to a Freightliner warranty cop. He stood there with a rather dumb look. To hook up it costs $300, which is excessive. And that's only one. First you need to understand mechanical aspect.
So how does that explain the insane money being paid to executives? The laws of supply and demand has to apply here and institutional stock holders are not stupid when it comes to reasons that companies are not profitable.
I like the term demand and supply-no need to supply it if no demand.
A technician who can read the lap top and also do the repairs and diagnostics with it is worth the big bucks. I've read several posts on here that some of the lap top readers would be lost if they actually had to diagnose something the manual way. They don't deserve the big money a lot of them get.
Be careful. You are starting to sound like the cashiers at McDonalds who thought they were worth $15/hr. They got replaced by machines. I am on your side. You have a valuable skill and should be compensated accordingly. I think you are caught in a bad/ interesting place. You should be paid for your skill and knowledge. I think you are at the point that you should be paid for that and not the turning wrenches part. You are probably worth $150k + bennies to a company like that, but should be doing a different job. You should perhaps diagnose, but mostly call what to do, maintenance schedules, run techs/mechanics. Then your pay seems better because it allows you to ease into retirement physically speaking. We can't do the hard stuff forever. You are getting paid well without having to do the grunt work. I don't know if this company is in this position, or has this mindset. You have already stated that there is no one competent to hire as help/tech... You have not indicated that this is what they 'ultimately' want from you. Maybe this will stir ideas in you for your next round of negotiations! Best of luck, you sound like you will come out well whatever way it ends up.
This is what I think his job should be, but an analog version. He needs to diagnose and call the repairs. The company needs other techs to do it. This company needs organization. He can provide it between maintenance and staging repairs with proper part replacement (vs leaving new parts laying around and not replacing the correct ones)
Same as I suggested for Vetech. The guy with the laptop needs only to be able to direct others to the problem parts. Let them replace the parts and do the grunt work.
If it were only that easy. There are to many pitfalls that will come with that position. For whatever money is decided on. The big wigs will want results soon. He would have to find people as talented as him to get those results. That's not easy and that's not cheap. You can't be the equipment manager and lead mechanic at the same time. A good leader will hire competent and skilled people while keeping the rest of the management team out of their hair so that they can get it done. Then there will come a time to explain the money being spent. All of the labor, all of the overtime, all of the parts. And when things get better. Then they will look at the money being spent again. And then they will want to trim fat. The high wages and salaries. It's a vicious cycle. People with degrees don't like it when people without degrees make more money than them. If it were me in Vetech63's position. I would pass and keep my freedom. Unless I was thinking about shutting it all down before the offer was made. And then it would be under contract taking care of any concerns that I may have. Good luck Vetech63. I wish that I was in your shoes. It must be a great feeling to be valued. And to have the leverage on your side.
Only one problem with this thread---people who wear office clothes/suits and ties. Can't be trusted.
While most are insanely overpaid I don't think it means everyone else deserves a huge raise. A 100M company can afford to pay a CEO 1 million plus easy. But paying a bunch of employees $300k? No way. The thing that makes it great to live in a free country is that if someone doesn't like the pay they are offered they can start their own company. They are not forced to work for that amount. If enough say they aren't working for that it will push up the wage. While there are many good employees the majority don't do themselves any favor's with their crap work ethic and general attitude of not giving a crap about anything. Around here in construction, if you can find someone who shows up everyday, has a heartbeat and is capable of tying their own boots they are ahead of 80% of the workforce.
But Vetech63 isn't most other people. He is on par with any dealer scrub that comes around and the dealers charge $165 an hour. That's $343,200 a year without the incidentals. He is entitled to most of that easily. The problem here is that the naysayers are afraid the people worth that money are going to start demanding it and then they have to reduce their $300K or more a year. I have colleagues with trucks and their own businesses making $200 to $250K a year now. I know a dealer wrench making $150K and only limited by the time he wants off to be with family. I've never bought into the propaganda that any CEO is worth a million a year, let alone the many getting paid $10 million a year or more.
How about the CEO of Value Village making over $1 million a year off of people donating items to them!
Warranty Cop...that's hilarious!!!
Everyone makes good points. This particular job would entail everything having to do with the equipment........service, repair, parts, management. Way too much for one person. Here's what bothers me about this job in particular. Let's say I accepted the offer................ A. I already know I can't do it all starting off. There is no mechanics to organize and schedule so I'm square behind the 8-ball. B. Management will be seeking instant results, that's just the way they think. Everything is so far behind and in such bad shape it would take 2 years or more just to get this in a manageable form. C. What control would I really have? I would have to run this MY way to have a chance. Could I get that kind of support? D. I would need to hire my own people under my direction and be able to give raises as I see fit without question from management. This from a company well known to under pay and ignore raises for employees. E. I would need old equipment and trades to run through me. F. I believe the owner knows this, the kids running the show?..........nope. At what point are the kids going to be fully in charge. G. I would need to get the right people at a good rate starting off. Is that something management will understand and allow? What they want is someone that can do everything......is an impossible hire and they will figure that out soon enough. I see this as a 4-man operation at a minimum. Now IF I could get compensated where I would need it to be..........have 2 years and a lot of management patience it may be worth the gamble. Hiring people that shouldn't be repairing equipment is why they are where they are.
I'm glad that, as I suspected, you are looking at this "opportunity???" with eyes wide open! I recall years ago when the state level manager of the company I worked for when someone had complained about either pay or working conditions at the quarry. This SOB made the claim that "If you don't like it here there are ten people outside the gate who would be glad to have your job!" Since I retired in 2015 every time I talked to my last boss they were struggling to find people to work there that could pass the drug test and a few months back my last boss who I believe is only in his late 50's left in frustration with the way this multi-national company was running the place. I can only imagine how it would be at a poorly run family owned company if know nothing kids took over!
D. I would need to hire my own people under my direction and be able to give raises as I see fit without question from management. This from a company well known to under pay and ignore raises for employees. Are those potential employees out there? It's not going to happen without them so maybe stay where you are doing what you can. Tell the owner how you see things and let him figure it out. Or not. Actually he's already figured it out and see his solution, you're it. Or not. Joe H
This issue is exactly where my employer is now. He has spent 5 plus million erecting a shop leasing part of it to Penske and Penske will do his service/repairs when I retire. His tire bill is going to go through the roof just like all other companies in this boat. His service intervals are going to have over runs till hell won't have it. In order to keep things under control I have to figure out the drivers bad habits his personality and attitude. Penske isn't going to bother with any of that. I know and keep in my head the miles 65 different drivers average, who is slow who runs hard. What he will be paying in labor will cause the overhead to fly. One of the reasons that's been left behind about competent mechanics and part of what caused it, is the fact the vacuum left with boomers retiring. Companies sat on their *** and didn't grow their own expecting tech schools to fill the void. What a mistake that was.
I think what you would need is an additional budget to run the service dept. kind of like a separate division of the company. You would basically be in complete control of it. The budget for you to hire the required employee's and get what ever other tools, supplies, etc. you need would likely be well over what they are offering you. That's where I think they might realize just how bad their situation is. You tell them you need a 4 or $500K (maybe more) budget in addition to your salary to hire the right people, etc. and they'd fall out of their chairs.
I feel for you Vtech, seems like an interesting problem and you like the owner so you want to help but I think you already know the answer. Companies just don't value employees. A good employee is worth whatever you can pay him and be profitable, instead companies want to pay as little as possible and make as much profit as possible. Equipment owners almost never value their time in repairing their own equipment so they definitly don't value the employee doing it for them, at least that seems to be the mindset so often around here. Even if a construction company splits off the equipment to a "rental" company the rental company turns around and does the same crap, it's frustrating and I think a lot of it has to do with bonuses. Don't spend all of your allowance well the suits get a percentage of it, and now it's avicious cycle. I had a guy with a POS backhoe try to get me to fix his leaking hydraulic hoses after work. Asked him what he thought it was worth, he told me $20/hr, any more than that and he'd do it himself. I asked him how that plan was working out for him as he stood in a puddle of hydraulic oil. Then he asked me what tools he needed as it was hard to get a wrench on a lot of them, I told him that knowledge is what he's really paying for. Guy still didn't get it.
Can't like this enough.
Lets just say they accept the terms.... Then lets say you pull it off and get the ship righted and under way.... I would think with this crowd 2 or 3 years down the rode they would say "Why the heck are we paying this guy so much money, nothing is broken." I have the feeling your the kind of guy that does what you want to do and respect that but in your heart you know this is not going to be a gig you can retire from.
AN employment contract that covers the time span till Vetech's retirement. Would cover his objectives. And if the company goes under he's a creditor instead of just unemployed. Of course, a competent lawyer in required for him.
Had a guy in the shop yesterday asking questions about riveting fenders on a Pete. Wanted to know where to buy the rivets and wanted to use my huck gun. {I don't loan tools especially that one but I will rent it to you with a deposit of $4,000, he got pi$$ed and left}.
I'm curious about the back story. How does some random guy think he can just waltz up to a company shop and take up the mechanic's time? Do you even do outside work?
I use to do outside work, people are crusty, something for nothing.
Plus this was a farmer, farmers don't waltz. But he did have mean Texas Two Step.
companies only now realized in the past 6-7 years with the 2010s economic booms and boomers retiring just how screwed they are and most still don’t fully get it.
When the current owner bought the company I work for the previous owner told the current--------- {The biggest problem he would face is most of the key work force will be retiring, replacing them won't be easy}.
Well, there are a few things people do around here: 1. They waltz in (like they own the place) 2. They show their face (i.e. they should be too ashamed to come around) 3. They help themselves (to whatever) 4. They thought it was cute
The huge equipment is very contagious to handle and should be handled with care as even a simple crack or repair may cost much which may or may not be affordable. so it should be handled with care.
Contagious machines .... Great, another pandemic
Nothing to report. I took yesterday off (due to 110 degree temp) and I am today also. Today I'll be having fun with my 5 youngest grandkids (just me and them which I enjoy immensely). Just got our hay baled and it's on the ground...........have some hide and seek to play) Back to work tomorrow
Your customers are okay with you taking the day off due to the weather? I must learn your ways, O’ wise one! I worked in south Texas at 109 and last winter I worked at -27. Both days were memorable but neither was enjoyable
That is where you went wrong caring what they think. I've done the insane 80+ hour weeks, no more. My attitude is if people cannot plan ahead not my problem, and if they are 1-2 days behind on their project, so be it. If it's really hot out I have no problem finishing early, whether or not a customer has an issue with it. I hurt my back last week and took 2 days off, and the following 2 days back I worked only about 5 hour days to not push it. Customer was very understanding and not worried which is nice. Had they not been and been a pain it wouldn't have changed how much I worked one bit. Unless I promised them a completion date, I will do the job at my pace and i've gotten to the point I don't over schedule myself and make sure I have a extra day here or there if I get behind instead of booking really tight to make people happy. I'm tired of working weekends catching up. In the winter no equipment moves below 0F for any reason. The worst was a few years ago, backfilling a basement on a saturday, it was the builders request as it was not ready on friday. I was able to finish most with my skidsteer but informed him I would have a few hours monday morning with the mini. He lost it, flipped out that he had to have it done by monday morning, framers and material coming blah blah you HAVE to finish either come back today or tomorrow. I calmly said i'm here on a saturday to begin with i'm not working well into the evening, I don't work sundays and I do not appreciate your tone. He did apologize later and was fine with monday. I just don't get some people. Book trades too tight and your job will go slower.
I was finishing up one Friday when I was in construction. The superintendent came over to see my progress. As I loaded up the last of my tools I told him to have a good weekend and I will see you Monday. He said no I will see you tomorrow. I told him that I don't work on the weekends. He gave me a lecture that all his crew's work on Saturday. Then he asked me how is It that I don't work Saturday's. I told him that it was easy. I just don't come in. He then proceeded to tell me that I will be there on Saturday. All he had to do was make one phone call and I would be there. I just told him to make any phone call he needs, but I still won't be here Saturday. My philosophy on this sort of thing whether it be a Saturday or any other day. Your emergency is not my emergency. I will no longer kill myself for anyone else's benefit except my own. The job takes as long as it takes. But you can be damn sure that when I am finished. It will work and it will be right.
Just say SDA.
Sorry Truck Shop I don't know the meaning of SDA. I never been able to discern short hand text. I often have to Google some of you guys short hand. But this one eludes me on the Google.
Almost word for word my opinion on weekends! I do work saturdays sometimes, like this past one because I was behind but I will never book a job on one. I'm getting to the point I want at least 1 weekday every 2 weeks where I catch up on repairs, paperwork, etc so there is less of that on weekends too.
Seventh Day Adventist
Yesterday it was these 3 rascals........... Today it's a Broce broom, cat paver, and a JCB forklift.
A beautiful, healthy crop of grandkids you got there Vetch!
X2 !! They deserve a full view image !! View attachment 264315
Americas future.
The broom was simple but dumb. The alternator had failed, and the belt was on its way to failing. Someone (I assume HNC or TNH) had routed the belt wrong and the tension was so packed with dirt it wouldn't even move. You can see here where the ribbed side of the belt was run over the smoothe side of the idler.
Not sure either..but i took it as...Sorry Dumb *** !
I STILL get those calls as TS does, the "Do you have a 450# torque wrench?", I will say yes, they will ask to borrow and I say Sorry, NO. Or drive up to my shop, looking for me, come to house ask why not working, note I AM RETIRED, then send them on their way. Or go to the parts house or KW in CoMO, get the "Want a Job" question, look at them and ask Did I say something to Indicate that? Or they throw a dollar figure at me trying to Coax me in, look at them Smile and tell them I make that much on my Pension and SSI. The industries set themselves up for this issue, leave them to figure out how to fix it. Put my name in the Hat for either a Temporary Instructor, a Substitute Instructor even as low as Mentor at local Trades School. Noted have skills and training as Mechanic, Electrician, Power Station Operator, but was explained "Sorry, you do not have a Degree". Left it Drop, several Instructors that KNOW me, as well students asked me to try again, told them will accept the NO Issued. Admin is whining CANNOT acquire suitable instructors, but require a Degree for a TRADES Course, could give a rats butt if they fail now.
Per Ron White, "Stupid Is FOEVA!!! Sorry but that is brain dead!!
Damn good chance the guy with the laptop would order an alternator put on and have no clue the belt was a problem. Joe H
DMiller, with all due respect, the administrators are (usually) a bunch of pompous over-educated idiots......Those students however, NEED someone with your skills to teach them. Please reconsider. Those that can, DO Those that can't, TEACH Those that can't teach, ADMINISTRATE
Buttwipes STILL Require a Degree, cannot bend the rules for ANY reason so languish and I made certain to note that of our last contact.
Your situation reminds me of a night course in machining that I took many years ago. I NEVER forgot what our instructor said one night. "For those of you who continue your education and become engineers or machine designers, you will NEVER know as much as the guys running the machines in the shop. If you want the best advice on how to build a project, ask the guys in the shop who will have to machine what you design. They know the most efficient ways to do the job. They know more about making things than you ever will. Give them the respect they deserve and work WITH them to make the best designs possible. Your degree is nothing more than a piece of paper, not a list of accomplishments." It's not about having a degree to prove that you spent time in a classroom to pass a test that means next to nothing. Real life experience is more important than any textbook theories can provide. Just look at the overeducated idiots that are running the country into the ground for a good example. No real business experience, just theoretical unicorn farts on how to run things with an endless supply of money that they steal from us. It's frustrating to see elites run a school in such a manner as to deny those with the most experience to teach a class that is sorely needed.
And if the trade schools around there are like they have been here for over 50 years the kids the local school districts want to send there are the kids that are causing trouble and they use the trade schools as a dumping ground. I know this from both sides of the problem. When I was in 10 grade they were starting a trade school in the county and I tried to get assigned to go there. I was told by guidance councilor that I was to smart for that school. About three years after graduating with a more or less useless degree from High School I dropped out of Community College when I got the chance to work as a mechanics helper at the quarry where dad had worked for years. That job only lasted 45 years and I was the only mechanic there when I retired. On the other hand my older brother who spent around 20 years in Air Force and while in there got his Masters Degree came out and taught math and science for a few years then moved in to assistant principal at the trade school not far from the one I was refused admission to. And sure enough something like 30+ years after I ran into that attitude he had to deal with the same thing from the local high schools. And this was even after all the advances in technology for cars and heavy equipment! Maybe back in the mid to late 1960's one could get by with out much training or knowledge of the fine points. But things had gotten much more high tech in those years. One of his favorite things when to ask when some high school administrator or guidance counselor wanted to "dump" some reject into one of the trades classes would be to ask them if they really wanted that drug addict good for nothing kid working on their wife's or kid's cars brakes or steering? Hate to say it but most of the time that just got the "deer in the headlights stare" from them as they just could not see the point he was making!
I already was approached by the local WWCC program here, I was one their board years back. No thanks--not butting heads with office types.
We had a young buck working in the shop about 6 years back, I gave him the shop name of {Weed Hopper}. Gayle the other in the shop I worked with just loved yelling out-HOPPER what the hell are you doing? Hopper came from WWCC with a degree. Had a truck come in with a A/C issue. We turned Hopper loose on it {he was taught A/C in school}. He's got the Robbin hooked up sucking it down and Gayle plus I walk over to take a look see. We both see the same thing at the same time. Gayle yells out {HOPPER} it would help if you would open your eyes first. The A/C clutch was toast and the belt burnt to a crisp.
I was just sent this by text message with "Can you help us out?" 2.5 hour drive to this job site, tomorrow is Friday, and the closest place to the jobsite that is capable of building a hose................providing that's what it is...........is 1.5 hours away from the jobsite in a different direction. Looks like one of those 12-14 hour days again.
That’s called everyday.
Just tie wire a strip of rubber around it and add some more oil till you get the new hose. I did my time as president of the advisory committee for diesel tech at a CC. The teachers were all about keeping pay checks rolling in and whine about what they didn't have to teach with. None were current with industry in their own knowledge and the employers wouldn't deal with them anymore. I taught apprenticeship courses at nights and most of those kids hated that I took attendance and turned in those who missed classes. Then they would show up and sign in and leave so I made them sign out as well. Two heads would take turns staying the whole time while the other signed both out. Both got thrown out of jobs with the longshoremen. Probably the worst decisions anyone ever made on a sure lifetime job.
Flex tape
In fairness if they are a good customer and look after equipment and try to catch things before they fail, **** does happen and hoses that look fine can blow so it's hard to fault them for wanting to get something fixed asap, IF they look after stuff and are just as quick as paying as they expect the repair to be.
I had to fight to get into a trade school. Excellent teachers with years of experience. It was usually referred to as a dummy school by students in regular high schools. When asked you never really wanted to say what school you went to. There were some not too bright students but there were also a lot of good students who just didn't get all the academic crap they teach in a regular school. The school had an excellent reputation with businesses though. I got out of school early because I had 2 offers to start an apprenticeship. My teacher said I had good marks and I should take the job I liked the best. I started at $7.31/hr. in 1981. Later in the year they had a 13.58% wage increase and I went up to $8.30/hr. The graduates from reg. high schools were fighting for a min. wage job at McDonalds which was about $5/hr. The school changed to a standard school in 1991. I used to visit my teacher and he said there wasn't enough interest in the trades anymore. The city had wanted to change the school for a few years because of the growing population. I don't think it was because there was less interest in the trades. I think in large part it was due to not promoting the trades anymore to Jr. High students. I remember a few people coming to my Jr. High that were promoting the trades. I think they stopped doing that and the dummy school moniker didn't help. There are quite a few students who went to the dummy school and ended up with very prominent jobs in some very large companies. They certainly aren't dummies.
I learned more about metal working and welding in high school from a part time teacher that worked the Bremerton ship yards, That fellow could run a torch like no one I've ever seen.
There is definitely still a ton of the trades are for dumb people mentality around here. As a teenager I was already working construction with my dad, I had multiple teachers tell me I had to use my gift in math and get a university education, one half kidding told me she would track me down if she found out I didn't pursue something related to math. Some days I do wonder how things would have been different if I pursed something like an engineering degree. But I tried 1 semester of college and hated it. I could never work in an office. In one way I get it, maybe they just meant not doing something physical labor for forever which I would never want to do, but i've never minded working outside too much. I mean sure I could do math problems in my head and didn't need to show up or put in any effort to be good at math, but I don't see how much of that translates to a very good career. A lot of the stuff you learn is things you'll never use anyway.
I went to a trade show in the early 80's and watched a rep. from Smith cut people's names with a torch by hand. You'd swear it was cut in a pattern tracer if you hadn't seen him do it. Ever since then I wanted to try and get that good. I'm pretty good with a torch but was never quite at that level of precision. The biggest problem most have is not taking the time to clean the tip. It takes about 10 seconds.
This guy had some tricked torches. He even admitted they were custom for burning heavy plate.
Bahahaha!!!
I like cutting heavy plate. The biggest issue is keeping the torch square to the plate. If your torch angle is off just a degree. Your plate is off even more the thicker it is.
What machine is that? What a horrible design to have all those hoses jammed in at the king pin.
428 miles today for one hose replacement. The good news was I found a Napa nearby that was able to make the oring face hose replacement. Just this one small blow in the hose, inside the abrasion cover with no abrasions, cracks, stretches or bends. This hose was over 9 feet long and ran through multiple welded loom rings up to a valve in the upper front frame. It sucked but I've had a lot worse.
Stuff happens/weak link. Wednesday morning I got to work at 7 am Jeff pulled up at the same time. We were getting out of our rigs and heard a rather loud boom. A U.S. Food Service trailer that had been parked in the lot for two days-had a right front outside tire that decided it was time to blow the sidewall. Made a nice dust cloud. Toyo-had 60% tread virgin casing. I never trust truck tires.
Was the hose or the fuel more expensive? I guess 300 in fuel.
It's a $1,400 dollar hose. The machine can't operate without it-so it is.
This whole day trip was expensive. I get the same rate traveling as I do turning wrenches.
Thanks for the reality check TS.
Hahaha...
Windshield time is great when it's this hot and humid
Back in the 80's when I did my apprenticeship they didn't fool around. Too many on the waiting kist to get in. They were running 3 shifts and had to play around with times and classrooms to fit them all in. You miss more than 2 days or are late more than twice you're gone. Worked with 1 idiot who got kicked out of 1st year 3 times.
When i was writing an apprenticeship exam with about 100 other people, one guy was absolutely hammered. The guys running the exam escorted him out. He was loud and disruptive as soon as he sat down. Apparently it was his 3rd attempt. He was ok until the night before the final exam and then he couldn’t handle the pressure and would start drinking heavily. The guy who came back and collected his exam off the desk said that, as of then, he was permanently booted out of the apprenticeship program. I couldn’t believe somebody could be so stupid once or twice, let alone 3 times
Not the same school anymore as entered the US Education support finance theme, went to David Ranken Trade School in 75/76, was a crash course just to get young capables' into the market. Basics on Mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, testing and major repairs with touches on failure determinations and typical failure causes, touched on welding and machining principles. Diesel/Gas Engines/Gear Train and Chassis. 10 Months, class started with 33, ended with 15 graduating, 11 placed initially and four changed careers right off. For a HS Drop out I was number Two in GPA at graduation. As of 1987, the school got into finance woes, bought into Fed money, became a worthless degree program school directly after. My course went to Two Years, with more academia than skills base teaching where the school now cannot achieve enough entrants.
When i went to votech school they told us dont miss alot of school when you try to get a job they will be looking. I enjoyed going i wonder how many went into the trade. The guys in my class didnt live close to me and i didnt keep track of them but at the bank i use one of the tellers had the same last name. I ask her if she was related to a guy Bruce yes she had a brother inlaw Bruce . I ask about him she said he had a repair shop in the city. When she said he had a shop i said no not the same guy because about every day he told me he didnt like this kind of stuff and didnt plan on ever getting into it. She told me some more and yes it is the same Bruce. I bet out of the 40 i went to school with maybe 5 went into the trade.
Sounds like WWCC to the tee.
They fall into same money pit of despair? Several trades schools have gone this route ending as failures. Linn State Tech or Mo State Tech ‘College’ as named now is fairing no better.
The school district we lived in in Texas, has a really nice trade school facility. more students are taking classes there every year, and they are adding programs. Our son went through their auto technology program. If it had not been for that program, I am not sure he would have made it till graduation. One of the Dallas Community colleges was offering a 2 year degree in auto technology, and had a great shop program. He went there, worked for a couple of auto dealerships, and for the last 8 years, has been employed by the local Cat dealer, in their emergency generator division. Doing really well, and it is all because he got great instruction in the trade school programs. More schools need to be offering various trade school programs. You can make a LOT more money in the various trades than you can working at Starbucks or McDonalds, or some computer related job. Jeff
Had a couple friends that went to linn for fabick. Said they learned more in a summer working at a small mom and pop shop than in 2 years at school.
No Doubt
the schools get a kickback for every student they send to a four year university. That’s why up until very recently most acted like going to tech school or into the trades made the graduate a leper.
WWCC over spent then when the covid issue arose they had to make deeper cuts. Several trade courses along with the CDL driving school were axed. Most of it was about tuition/and state funding. When I was on the board [a long ways back and a short time] they were proud to announce 3 graduating out of a class of 28. That's when I decided I was wasting my time there. I hired two from the WWCC diesel program, one couldn't read a micrometer the other had no hands on experience with a simple task of rebuilding a wheel end including brakes. Neither one could expect to make it in a dealer shop or anywhere else. They had some ability but wasted time and money going there.
All of this pretty much sums up my experiences with tech school graduates. Even the major dealers here hire them but they don’t last. Last time I talked with the Komatsu dealer shop foreman he told me they may get 3 decent ones out of 50. That’s just **** poor
I remember one of the instructors telling the class not to try and cheat on the exams. Apparently there was a student who didn't understand English very well and a friend tried to impersonate him to take the final journeyman exams, NAIT exam as well as the Red Seal exam. When they looked a little closer the person that came to do the exam didn't match the person listed on the student ID card. Different height, different weight, etc. This is a serious offence that could lead to jail time but before they could prosecute the guy, he left the country.
I had a old mechanic tell me going to trade school you will ether not learn much or already know the basics of what they will try to teach you he was about wright but it is kind of like a primer to get you started i would recommend it. I had been welding for several years on my own i went and took some night classes i learned alot there. If i could i would take some more welding classes.
I was very fortunate the teachers at the school I went to were all very experienced tradesmen. I remember my welding teacher saying that some of the teachers at other schools (non trade schools) didn't have enough experience to be teaching welding and other trades. In the last year of high school, I was in welding class all morning the entire school year and went to work experience 3 times. Each work experience was 4 to 6 weeks long (can't remember exactly) where you went to actual shops like an employee. Several students got job offers for when they finished school. I got 2 job offers but not from work experience. I lived close to an industrial park so my teacher told me to apply at at least 3 companies everyday after school. Thankfully companies didn't consider the students dummies and were aware the school had experienced instructors and a good reputation.
My instructors in the 70s were ex-mechanics, as were the Automotive, Welding, Machinist, Electrical and Plumbing instructors Most had either injuries, age related disabilities where could not longer work, or had been called upon to teach as the school did at times call up old class member s to see if would consider. Not true any more. My own BIL graduated two classes after my own, he was in one of the first extended Diesel Classes prior to degree programs, my own class was last of 10month course, his was second of 12 month where soon came to degree programs.
As the younger guy around these parts growing up around earth moving the works call someone to fix it I never knew could be used to make sense. Well till I was the one called to fix it..... Dad and his twin where welders in the power plants. So I taken up welding in votec the teach knows our family so he moreless gave the fast though version and half way though I went to work half a day and to school half a day. Learned some there of course the rest was moreless learned from dad and uncle and out of necessity. There is also some honorable mentions from this forum being Truck Shop and Nige also a few other thanks to you.
my class had 24 in a completely dealer sponsored and run program that basically is hands off administered at a decent sized technical college. 3 or 4, including me, are still with their sponsoring dealer. One or two of the others are with other shops or dealers now, and the rest have left the industry. The vast majority quit within 6 months. Another problem is that the dealers are so desperate for mechanics they will not fire someone who needs to go. One of ours spent two years in tech school and can’t even run the simple diagnostics programs on the laptop. Yes the kind where all you do is push the start button.
Yeah, in some trade schools its air conditioned and the hands on is clean stuff. Once they get into the real world of the business it's too hot and dirty for most. Trade school is not really an accurate portrayal of this business in some respects.
Was not called interning in my day. Were explained by the instructors that we should try to gain part time jobs as cleaners or whatever entry level positions were available in the industry. I worked at a gas station initially as grunt, floor cleaner then shop straightener and then actually learning more as to shop work from the two men that did work there, as graduated pushed for side work much of the time to hone skills I was still learning and to earn more cash to buy better tooling to expand the skills. Two other guys managed to get on with Cat as machine washers where became apprentices as graduated. One other went to work at Western Diesel that became Clark Detroit Diesel, he cleaned a lot of parts, he retired from there two years sgo. Cat boys quit years ago, one opened a car shop, the other a insurance brokerage. Lost track of the rest.
After 48 years I'm just sore and tired and don't care who takes my spot.
No one will take your spot. That's your legacy that you can be very proud of. They can hire another mechanic but they will have to create their own legacy. Hopefully they will take the same pride in their work that you did.
Thanks but Penske will take over the work, the other guy {Gayle} that worked in the shop has been gone 18 months now. Did good work---------with office and drivers they forgot about him in a month. Here today forgot tomorrow, It's just the way it is.
The only memories of a good employee when they leave are of the sour results someone else causes and then blames on the guy that is no longer there to identify the perpetrator and defend themselves.
You said a mouthful.
Heard from the nuke several operators wanted me back to train them on what I seemingly alone knew. Enga near taught me some slick work arounds for specific systems never written in the procedures as could not write them in as worked around the auto systems. Nothing related to nuclear just water handling and filtration controls. Backflushes on resin beds, dealing with warming steam preheat systems that would not operate in auto until were fully warmed, small nuances and tricks to keeping machines functional. Management would not have it so mechanisms drive them nuts.
I went to a 10 month community collage (vocational institute) course that has long since been rolled into the provincial trade school system. 3 skipped days and you were done, no late shows or leaving early except for one summer long weekend where we could slip out in groups of one an hour early. Pretty much covered the school part of the apprenticeship in more depth as well as 3 hrs of shop time each day learning some hand skills. My transcripts also had an attendance record on them. 6 of the 12 who finished were in the trade 10 yrs later. We all drifted apart over time. I used to run into several of them at the wholesalers over the years. Cam
Don't worry, there will be times when they will wish you were still there because you could figure out the difficult problems. People often talk about the old timers that were pretty ingenious with coming up with ways to do things. No offence but when you retire you'll be one those guys. I'm not sure a lot of the young guys now will ever get that distinction because they rely more on what diagnostic codes show them than actually having to manually diagnose things. There are times when employers don't realize they lost a good man until it's too late. One guy I worked with who wasn't appreciated used to say, "You want to know what I do in a day? Fire me and you'll find out. I've said it before but I bet a lot of the younger welders today would have trouble with a non auto-darkening welding helmet where they had to hold the rod steady while they flip their head to bring the helmet down. I could never bring myself to paying $500 for an auto helmet when they 1st came out. I've had a couple helmets destroyed in the shop and would hate to have to replace an expensive helmet like that. A high school student came for work experience when I worked at West Edmonton Mall. He was very proud of his Miller Digital Elite helmet. Cleaned it all off and put it in the bag at the end of every day, which is fine. Working in a bigger fab. shop helmets tend to get pretty dirty and don't stay looking nice very long. A fancy shiny helmet doesn't make you a better welder but can make some jobs easier. I think an auto helmet would be a real benefit for Tig welding or welding small parts.
Chalk it up to he respects his expensive tools .... and hope that is truly the case.
I get that. I think he thought it made him a little better welder. He was a good kid though.
Not related to this customer but I started work on a JCB 930 yesterday. Got the steer cylinder pulled out of the barrel no problem. Went to take the piston off after removing the lock pin.........BIG PROBLEM Only ones I can find is 8 of these in England. JCB dealer said 8-10 weeks on the slow boat.................but for an additional 30% I can have it in less than 2 weeks. FML
Was rebuilding the cylinders on my 955 and 2 of the rods were pitted. Took it to Froedge in KY and they made me new rods for less then I could have bought them from CAT
Hydraulic shop here can make those but they're always all backed up. Probably will have to wait for 2 weeks anyways.
I can get them made here.......in 30 days
I don't know the application, but I often rework similar failures by drilling and tapping the end of the rod and inserting a stud.
Try DHL, they'll have it to you in 2 or 3 days max. Unless they can't find Oklahoma. Joe H
JCB does the same parts availability with me. Vague time frame or 30% more for quick. On seal kits no biggie. On that. Ouch. There’s a place in KS that Crossland uses a lot for rods. Maybe they can hook you up? I assume Mac’s is 30 days? They told me two weeks to get to one of ours and they have the barrel and rod on the shelf for it.
You could try Kanamak Hydraulic in Garden City, KS, 620-275-6055 for a custom made replacement. I'm guessing metric rod, which makes it more difficult. They have good inventory of raw material to make repair parts, and can do design and build of custom hydraulic parts and systems.
Everyone that I've checked with has too much work stacked up and not enough workers...........what a shock . COMPLETELY METRIC........another shocker Can you get a name........I'll definitely try them. Sometimes, I can't find Oklahoma I'll check into that and see if it's possible through the dealer. If only I had that kind of time. I'de have to make a piston too.
Have an ATD down because the washer button broke and it's only availibility is Russia so yeah we'll never see it. Supposedly Cat will pull one off the assembly line to ship to us but it hasn't happened so far, nor have we had a time frame update. JD actually pulled a orbital valve off the assembly line and shipped it out in under 30 days.
Could more threads be cut on the rod, if it is long enough to still be useable?
Still have to wait for availability at a machine shop. The local shops I know here are backed up with all manner of work and a lack of employees to complete it. The machine shop I worked at 18 years ago used to run (2) 10 hour shifts, 6 days a week with a line of guys outside wanting a job there. Today, they are a bigger shop, with nicer equipment, air conditioning, and struggling to find help to fill one shift. I talked with my friend and he said no one will even show up to the interview after filling out the application.
Precisely
So where are all those people? And it's the same at McDonalds? Are they all home sniffing glue? Died? Joe H
I haven't a clue. Unless they're like me and flying solo these days. I got laid off in 2020 and have been self employed, and busy as heck, ever since. It doesn't even matter what I dabble in, there is such a demand for so much that anyone can do anything and make pretty good money.
Good Question? I haven't found any information that breaks down the number of people available to work compared to the number of jobs available to hire them. I hear lots of talk but no reliable information that would allow analysis of the problem or possible solutions.
Where are they at? Don't know. But you can bet our tax dollars are supporting the sorry azz pieces of zhit
What evidence do you have to make a statement like that?
Everybody eats, needs clothes, med care, & shelter. Even the homeless are supported in some way. Not everybody is self supporting so logic says the self supporting people are taxed (in some way) to provide for the former mentioned. There aren't enough basements for grown children to live in.
This article will help to explain where the workers are... https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/stimulus-check-update-states-sending-inflation-relief-payments
That is why I bought a lathe and a mill. Got tired of waiting on people.
Free money, state of NM sent us $500 for some reason. But I'm retired so it doesn't have any effect on whether or not I go looking for a job. Actually I can't imagine a job, isn't that where someone tells me what to do? F that. Joe H
The Great Resignation occurred, Get Rich Quick off Social Media Advertising or sit at Mommy And Daddy's place sucking up their extra cash while awaiting that six figure starting wage BA degree supported stay at home career that will make them millions by 35. Great Resignation shows no signs of slowing down: 40% of U.S. workers are considering quitting — here’s where they're going | Fortune Yet according to most analysts of this, it is becoming the Great Regret.
I stated it on here before several times, a large factor in the work force problem-------------------------IS BOOMERS RETIRING. The Silver Tsunami is causing havoc in the skilled work force. Read Below. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackke...unami-great-retirement-trend/?sh=3a118f0260bd
Guess the shiny trinket that was reflecting light off it looking like silver that attracted them from their current position turned out to be just aluminum ball of foil when they got to it. They got foiled!
Yes TS, we as Boomers are retiring faster than the Millennials will take up the duty, at some point they will have to either try and fail until find their niche as we all did for lower money or die penniless and homeless, Parent's money or Government handouts will not continue unabated forever.
And that is correct DM. But Boomers played a big part in fact of a saying I just hate and I can't count how many times I've heard it said {I just want my kids to have better than I had}. Just what was it that caused boomers to think they had it so bad. 90% had way the hell better than their parents. In stead boomers traded in their tie dyed tee shirt cut their hair got a real car stopped smoking pot {Which boomers are responsible for the drug culture amongst other things} and joined Big Brother which they railed against. Plus started the thought everyone needed to go to college, and started the trend of paying/saving for their kids college buying them vehicles without the kid forking out **** for it. I'm a boomer-It takes a boomer to know a boomer. Except I have no children for a reason {my job doesn't work well with a family}. Boomers started this mess they can live with it. I don't rant very often-but this issue is very stale starting years ago.
Great ... Inflation is a gov't monetary policy problem... too much money chasing too few goods or services. So gov't is handing out more money. This is a sore point for me because fixed income folks like me are getting their savings stolen.
Yes we are all in this toilet together when it comes to inflation.
At home earning their living on your back
We have no kids either TS, almost as glad as sad never had any beyond the one that passed from a different momma.
It was our choice, we played the cards as we saw them.
I'm dam tired of work at this moment........so me and the wife are taking the next three days off and getting the HELL out of here! I just may sleep for 3 solid days, but I will check in providing I can get service. Whatever you all do........DONT get this thread locked! LOL
Well I had no kids for the first about 39 years of married life. After separating from first wife got a second wife who already had a daughter who was 19 going on 20 and just after meeting her mom she moved out of house she was living in with her mom. But now she blessed us with a grandson so I kind of skipped the child and moved right on to the grandkid stage!
Have fun, don't forget to write. Joe H
OK everyone lets start a stupid political argument the minute Vetech leaves the room!
I went the premanufactured family route. Never wanted kids. Ended up with 3 step kids. 10 out of 10 wouldn’t recommend. Now there’s a granddaughter and she’s fun in small doses.
Being a stepfather is the hardest thing that I have ever done and I don't say that flippantly. If I knew then what I know now. I wouldn't have done it. I don't recommend it for anyone. Being a stepfather isn't for the weak.
Amen. My step kids are all grown and out of the house. The 2 girls and I get along good nowadays but the boy- if it wasn’t for his mom we’d have gone a few rounds by now.
You are making a supposition with no basis. Another way to look at it is you are starting an unprovable rumor.
So how far do you think a thousand dollars or less will go? Most of those numbers are also based on a person paying taxes in the prior year. How in any way do you think that would affect people being available for a job? What I currently see is just not enough people to begin with. What I want to know is how many people are in the streets that should or could be part of the job market.
My step children are all grown and out of the house except one. Three boys and a girl. Then I had to go and give her a f@#k trophy of my own. Probably the best thing I ever did, but if it weren't for this beautiful little girl. I would've told the old lady and the last one to leave the house to kick rocks a long time ago.
Maybe you guys should start another thread and argue about economics and the welfare state. I am with Vetech63 on this one. Don't get this thread locked up on some **** neither side can prove or do anything about.
Agree go play somewhere else
wrong forum
That is the best advice! I dated a women in her mid 30's with 4 kids from 3 different guys when I was in my early 20's. Funny enough, I was far closer in age to her oldest then her, oldest was only like 5 years younger then me I picked the wrong one. It took me awhile after it ended to realize how stupid I was. She got back with one of her ex's and had a 5th kid after. Now I won't go near a women with any kids no matter what.
Back on topic. After so many great years I had a bad experience with Volvo dealer. Called yesterday about a/c clutch, none in north america, have to check on lead time $850, we do have the a/c compressor in stock though $500. Called me back today and said none available but you could just buy the whole a/c compressor with pulley on it. I didn't want to ask the stupid question yesterday if it came with the pulley because I just assumed they'd tell me if it did and why would a component of one part cost more then the entire thing? Was annoyed at that, why wouldn't you say right away the whole part is less and in stock and not waste time? And why the heck is Volvo so stupid to even have a part number for the pulley separate at a insane price?
I'm not playing.
I'm heading out in about an hour. A small cabin next to a creek (might be dried up now) nice and quiet, birds chirping, squirrels dancing, a nice breeze through the pines. I'll post some pics when I get a chance between multiple 5 hour naps. AHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh
Dancing squirrels, send video. Joe H
This absolute incompetence in all aspects of life from these morons is beyond infuriating. It is everywhere you turn.
Have a good vacation Vetch. Hope the fish are biting and the weather stays cool. I've been thinking I should have one of those european vacations where they take the month of august off and find some cooler weather.
Bah ... Just weld it up ...
Hey man, you quoted me $500 for the repair, I expect you to honor that ....
Boss wants a quote to get a D400 they converted to a water wagon, right now parts are at $8000 with no major componets; mostly hoses, a few seals. But it will also need a valve added in to make the hydraulic suspension system work, and we all know the operators or delivery drivers aren't going to remember to put it back to low, so the hydraulic water pump motor doesn't blow. I see it happening the second delivery if not the first. Also had a ATD burn down, wanted a quote on what it would take to repair, basically told him another mechanic as I don't want to touch it with the longest stick I could find.
Well, it's back to the daily grind. Me and the wife ran off and forgot our phone chargers so no pics........but believe it or not, it's the first time I didn't have my phone for 3-4 days in a row since the cell phone was invented. Awkward at first but a blessing in disguise.
Been tempted a time or two to fling my own to a wall.
That is pretty nice. Last weekend went camping and there was no cell service, unplugged for the whole weekend. I didn't miss it at all.
I pull into the construction yard to find this pushed up to the shop door. Pretty self-explanatory here. Apparently, ALL rubber tracks are made overseas now (China, Korea, Japan). I can either get standard or HD tracks in several tread patterns but the cost on aftermarkets are right where the OEMs are. I can get standard aftermarket for around $1800 per track but I'm not sure what the quality of those would be. OEM runs $5400.00 a set. I'm still looking around at the moment The last service done on this was before paint was invented I guess..........nothing on the filters.
There was also a 700K parked out back. I went down to it to look it over and noticed what looked like oil pushed through the holes on the right engine enclosure door. Yeah, I was right........ I pulled the oil dipstick on the engine and there was just a touch of oil at the tip of the stick. I called the haul truck driver, the general super, and the job super and asked if they were aware of any issues with this dozer. All replied, "Not that I'm aware of." *** I tagged this one out of commission until I can get to it.
Friday night when I get home I make a conscious effort to set my phone on the table with the ringer off until Monday morning. I will check once a day to see if any friends have checked in but that’s it. I have no problem grinding it out 12-15 hours a day from Monday through Friday but I need the weekend to reset otherwise I feel a case of burnout coming on.
Tracks have went that crazy? Dahm I priced out one's for my Deere 319 it didn't seem like that long ago for $2400 for the pair in aftermarket, i'm happy with how the same brand has stood up on my mini hoe i. I'm getting every last hour of them I can. Compared to those they look new though. The only problem is the lugs are nearly wore right off and traction ain't so great. Question for you on tracks, I recently put a cut on one in my mini hoe (my stupid fault using bucket to put a thrown track back on), it's about 1 1/2" in and up to a cord and about 2" long is torn. Should I cut the piece out? Braid it back together? Something I can put on to protect the cords from rusting out? Tracks are probably 60% to 70% life left so not looking to replace anytime soon. Although from the looks of those pictures and the amount of cuts and that the track never snapped maybe I have nothing to worry about?
Whada ya mean replace both? That's good for another 6 months at least. Joe H
I'm not aware of any fix for splits in rubber tracks. The abuse the tracks take would more than likely destroy any type of fix and possibly make the fix area even worse. I would leave well enough alone.
I went out on a call yesterday, a 310B JD backhoe. This new customer called originally late last week right before I was leaving town.........he had bought a new injection pump, was wanting to install it himself, but didn't know how to time it. I asked him how he knew the pump was bad and he said the JD dealer told him that was more than likely the problem . I told him last Wednesday I would call him yesterday and make arrangements to look at it for him............after I told him to not touch ANYTHING until I looked at it........and NOT to even open the new pump packaging. Back to my visit there yesterday. The first thing I checked was for power at the fuel shut-off solenoid.......of course there was none. Back traced to a loose connection at the ignition switch, corrected that and have power there now. I went to attempt the engine start and the cranking speed was wayyy to slow. Battery checked ok but it had two of the b*****d bolt on terminals that are worthless.......so I installed 2 new crimp on terminal ends and reattached to the battery terminals. Went to start the engine, rolls over about 4 times and fires right up. Sounds great for its age. Now the look on this guy's face was priceless. He had told me that he had been looking for someone for the last 3 months to come look at this machine and couldn't find ANYONE. The JD dealer refused to check this for him as he didn't have an account set up there.........which is ********. All they had to do was pre-auth a credit card.....they just didn't want to help the guy out . I asked him how he got my name........he said the JD dealer told him to call me LOL. Sorry effing dealer we have here but that's another story. While working on the machine me and him had talked quite a bit, about his background, the machine and how it works. Come to find out, this guy is a Vietnam Vet and the local commander of some chapter here in Eastern Oklahoma (He told me the name of it but I can't remember it). It was time for me to pack up and leave him with his problem corrected and he asked what he owed me. I was only there for 45 minutes so I told him I wasn't charging him for it. He wasn't having any of that.........so he handed me $60 and told me to take my wife out to eat on him.......I took it out of respect as I wasn't going to argue with him. I told him to take his injector pump back to the dealer and get his $2000.00 back..........and if they tried to charge him a restock fee to let me know. They may try that, but I feel if I call the parts manager, I can get him a full refund. He asked if I had any business cards, which I didn't and haven't had for quite a few years, but he has my number now. I think he would have given out a hundred of them had I had them to give. He even texted me last night with another thank you for helping him out. It just goes to show you the type of people you can meet when doing your job. It's too bad the dealers have lost sight of that fact, and don't care.
Dealers do not care worse than the Did Not Care from thirty years ago. Seems that attitude has only gotten worse.
Did the dealer actually not look at his machine because he didn't have an account or was that just something he said because didn't want to admit he never had them look at it or was in a hurry to get it up and running and the dealer couldn't look at it right away?
Man, have i got some good stuff for you all today. Stay tuned
Dealer didn't want to work on a 40 year old backhoe, but was willing to screw the guy over parts. A reman 4 cyl Roosa Master pump for that machine was about $850 a couple of years ago, I doubt if they have gone up that much.
Stanadyne Roosa is still around $900 rebuilt on your casing. And as usual the Dealer throws the High Dollar parts right off.
Doesn't make that full time gig look any better, does it? Joe H
9 They didn't want to help. This has happened numerous times with the small guys...........it's well known around here.
What an interesting day! Remember the 700K oil on the door from yesterday? I found out today why that is........... The haul truck driver lost the machine while unloading it in the rain this last Friday. Another job super sent me these today when I told him I was having trouble finding an oil leak. He said the engine only lost 1 gallon of oil and when they got it back upright, they let it sit for an hour and fired it up. They drove it to the back and parked it.
This is the amount of oil I put in it this morning so I could get it in their shop........ Thats 20.085 quarts..................alot more than a gallon. They didn't even check the oil level before starting and running the dam thing.
Geez,
More crap I found.........Including the trash I threw out of the cab.
A couple more Well, my planned day got shot to hell. This moved to the top of the list as I figured it would get picked up and hauled to a job before I got to it. I moved the dozer into the shop, inspected, took pics, then I gave it a complete service front to back. Everything powertrain wise seems fine..........I can't believe they didn't roast the engine, I guess they had some good luck for once? Turnover damage was slight........this idler and cylinder leak may or may not be part of it.
Now........presenting the LAUGH of the day!!!! This poor Sullair compressor........... LMAO!!!! YES!! Thats black duct tape holding the air cleaner cap and filter on. OH WAIT......................... Here's a great idea............lets run this machine around concrete dust clouds without a fuel cap!!! LOL
Oh, I forgot............HNC wants his job back too!
It must be nice to have that much money that the owner doesn't really give a damn.
At least they got the right colour duct tape
The Cat dealer here (Finning) doesn't even have a service desk. They'll call somebody from the shop to come up to see you. They were willing to help with an issue though that I think required looking in a service manual and/or they let me look in the service manual. Can't remember what for though.
Wow
It was tired and needed a nap
Surprising they have anything that runs or moves. You need a clone, 2 Vtechs. Hell, maybe 3 or 4. Joe H
You have no corner on the market for idiots in Oklahoma Vtech. This one happened some years back. Trust me we have just as many per-capita. This was a real nice smooth bore when I bought it. State rented it as a fire tender-forgot to open vent. And I have another from today I will post later.
This escapade started three weeks ago when a U.S.Food driver hit something and tore the hoses to air can. They had a mobile service come repair it in our yard {because I don't do outside work anymore}. Plus he supposedly fixed some marker lights-I don't know how he did it because he never hooked power to trailer. Then the tires blew out after setting two days in our yard from flat spotting. Then a tire shop came out and installed some runouts to get it back to the Post Falls Id. yard. They tried to move it but that wheel end was still locked up and put a red tag on it. This morning arriving at 5 I could see skid marks on the road heading back into our yard. I went out grabbed one of ours to put a tracker in and here comes Sergio, Mike can you please help me one of our drivers tried to take off with the trailer I red tagged. Give me an hour, I'll take a look at it. Hour later I grab some wrenches and head for the trailer, swing under moved the reversed air lines to air can {5 minutes}. There you go Serg happy motoring, by the way you need two more runout tires.
Obviously he verified air hose routing the same as he verified marker light function. Why do people not verify their work? The employee, and the company, get paid by the hour, right? Proper verification makes the service co more money and makes the owner happier when the tires do not get wrecked/have to wait for it to be repaired again?
Can believe a idiot would push the brake charging buttons and drag a trailer into submission. Seen it happen, watched a moron drag a trailer with two destroyed tires and a locked up hub on I70 with two MoSHP attempting to stop him, oblivious to everything. He had just left a t/s I was at to take a emergency dump.
Current suggested list price from Deere....$2061.18 That is why thepumpguy is busy.
And with a Deere 4024 in it.........
I guess HNC is looking to get his job back. The super told me yesterday that he had called several times in the last 2 weeks. He asked me what I thought about that.............I told him I didn't have a problem with him personally and that if they hired him back.........make sure his job had nothing to do with repairing or servicing equipment. I guess he could run a roller or something. I also got a text message last night from the company truck mechanic that left almost a year ago for a better paying job. Seems it didn't work out like he had hoped and has been looking for a new job the last 2 months. He said he had done several interviews but hasn't gotten any call backs. When I started asking him questions, he said he had been looking on Zip recruiter and Indeed. I told him to apply at places where there are huge signs out in front of businesses that say they are looking for techs since they are all over the entire area here. His main experience is in trucks and trailers, but he is young and has very little knowledge of heavy equipment. I never really got to work with him to know if he is trainable or not. I gave him a few pointers and suggestions..........and maybe a couple of places to try.
We have the market cornered on "Midwest" dumb. Stay out of our territory! LOL
Lol that’s pretty funny. I don’t think anyone has the market cornered on dumb. In my experience they’re pretty well distributed all throughout the land.
And the NEW pump would not fix the machine..... Dealership must employ a bunch of part changers.
I don't want any of yours, But we have plenty of 53's to export the ones we have and deposit in the midwest. lol
I'm generally curious what % of mechanics are actually somewhat capable to do even the most basic of repairs without screwing up? It's absolutely pathetic. My mom calls me today, truck making bad noise and got it off the road, runs fine but won't move. Can smell gear oil bad truck will move with some throttle but sounds really bad, rear diff has no cap on it. So I ask has she had it to someone who's touched that recently (I sold my Mom the truck 3 months ago so I knew someone touched it), yep diff just serviced yesterday. Diff is in bad shape, he said he will fix it, guess we'll see if it happens. Pissed off that he even said to do the diff oil as it was just done 10,000 miles ago so I know it wasn't dirty, and also sold her new front brakes and pads. Said he had the front tires off anyway replacing a torn boot on the CV so why not? Well because the brakes were fine and the truck sees 10,000 miles a year, they would have went probably 2 more years and the rotors were nearly perfect, complete waste of money. I said over and over the truck doesn't need any of those things and if a mechanic says it needs anything tell me first so I can tell you if it's BS or not. I really want to say to never let him touch the truck again after he fixes it, but I don't always have the time to do everything on her truck.
Last 3 days have been interesting. Yesterday this customer lost a water truck on the expressway. Seems the new employee didn't follow directions when told to go down 11th street to another job. 11th street here is a 4 lane stop lighted avenue @35-40 mph. He decides to get on the expressway with a half full tank, takes a sweeping curve too fast............water slooshes to one side and over she went. Funny thing is the truck is a rental and not even theirs. Driver is in the hospital with a case of road rash because he wasn't wearing the seat belt and was partially ejected from the cab. He's lucky to still be alive. The truck is a total loss. I'm still waiting on pics of it from the job foreman. Found this nice little mess today Those are supposed to be threaded holes, and half that size. I spent the day grinding, die grinding, and more grinding until I could get a grade 8 nut to fit snuggly in the holes. I Vee'd the outer area about a 1/4 deep, installed a bolt on both to protect the threads from splatter, then welded them in. It's not the preferred fix but the machine is needed and there aren't any rentals available this size. The weld repair seems to be decent and strong enough to buy me some time getting a replacement drum found.........or a better fab repair by drum removal. It was 108 degrees today and welding made it seem like pure hell. I would have taken more pics but the heat had me just wanting to get this done asap. The finished product. I left one part decal on for the pic. It adds some color and fashion don't you think? More coming..........I'm too beat to throw more at you all tonight.
Damn Fine job
Yeah = the weather map showed that angry looking red today over your way. Supposed to be nasty yet tomorrow and cool off next week. I'll believe it when I see it- its august after all.
How the hell is an idiot that can’t even put a diff plug back in going to replace one?!? I think we need to bring back beating the hell out of such idiots. Violence IS the answer.
This is now known as the 2022 Tulsa Water Truck Massacre
I get to work all day today. I'll do my best not to kill over in this dam heat. It's all work and no play lately.
Can’t fix stupid Does it all by itself
At least the driver is just banged up. Could have had a mini van full of kids with the mom checking her phone right beside him, it could have been way worse.
That's what you get for taking time off.
You better work fast and be done by noon.
Just take your time, and NO Job requires getting sick over. Right in there with ya.
Got the wagon water washed, taking a short break go pick up parts and then come back wipe down with enamel reducer call it a day, been inside shop since 4:20.
That reminded me, on a much simpler scale, of a friend of ours who has been driving long haul trucks for years. One time he was helping someone out by driving a milk tanker 18 wheeler when some one was off sick. He had picked up milk at one place and was heading to the next stop but had to take the toll road to get there. He pulled up to the toll both and hit the brakes and just as he was reaching out to the ticket the half a load of milk came forward and shoved the truck ahead about 15 feet. Person at toll both asked him if it was his first time hauling milk! Guess he had hauled liquids before but the milk tankers don't have any baffles in them like other tankers to make it easy to clean them!
Second job behind all the others Hauled gas, diesel and JP with a Open no baffle tank. Guy bought POS Us mil surplus was 8500 gal cap, STEEL with tool boxes and a pump setup under it. Could not scale but 6200 gal legally where had 7400 in it one winter evening to Jerseyville IL airport for a helo service, a little frozen precip on ground and had to cross IL scale halfway up on Hwy 100. Needless to say scale was open, followed a truck onto scale throttled up and slammed load to rear as steer hit scale and slammed brakes, had to have been all balled up as it hit the front wall, all the axles slid on grade except steer it slammed scale table forward and it locked up. Scalemaster NOT happy, ran outside screaming destruction of state property blah blah blah, all the time truck is slipping back and forth some few inches as load kept slogging. Told me GTF off his scale and I left, scale never reopened. I brokened it!!! Saved my wallet a little coin cost IL a bundle!
Fairbanks had the contract for the IL dot scales for a while (may still have them) I have cut out several of the old ones and after seeing the state of their scales I would fight any over weight ticket they ever issued.
This old scale was built in the 50s?, I broke it in the 80s, all that is there now is a pull off the highway, shack and all mechanicals are LONG Gone.
Statistically there were probably a minimum of four other wrecks just like that one or very similar on that same day spread over a 16 hour period involving speed with shifting load/live load. We only have 57 trucks running and I guarantee in a 7 day interval something gets trashed, maybe not as bad as the one above but still something gets trashed.
Could not do it TS, not without smashing some itinerant idiots nose when mouthed about bad equipment they destroyed from stupidity.
I'm not sure, dropped it off yesterday and he said he would fix it so we'll see. Took plenty of pictures and they were texted to him as proof it happened the day after he serviced it just in case he doesn't fix it, or doesn't fix it properly and need to take it further. He did a motor swap on one of my brothers work trucks a few years ago and it's been running good since. He's far from the only one who screws up around here though, it's far more common to get something back and something is done wrong then get it back and everything is good.
Well, I worked all weekend on their S&*T so no rest for me!!!! Had a generator fail on their Weiler paver and without it there isn't any screed heat. For some reason Weiler doesnt sell a complete replacement which was what I wanted. I ended up with the main generator casing and had to change over everything else from the old one. It's not too bad of a job. I went out Saturday and pulled this, then did the changeover at their shop. This is the new one installed. My wife wanted to know if I could get the old one rebuilt...which I replied "Yes, why?" She wants to attempt to drive this with wind power! LOL Yeah, I don't know how she plans on getting this to turn 3600 rpm much less carry a load. I'm not even going to argue with her
She is a machinist!!
The ventilation system in the Cat AP555E. What a pain in the ass............it in the upper left corner behind the fuel tank......this is a pic before I started on it today. Absolutely NO access from anywhere. Your choices are to remove the radiator/oil cooler assembly above it...........or remove the hydraulic tank.........neither is an easy feat. I stared at this for the first 30 minutes just trying to grasp how I wanted to approach this. I decided to go in from the pump house......through this 10 lbs of S%^t in a 5 lb box. Well, it's possible to get the dam thing out if you move a dozen hoses out of the way. Everything came out that black hole in the upper left corner. The bad thing is you have to disassemble the components in that hole and bring them out 1 piece at a time. Even with that opening, it's all still a tight fit coming out. My arms look like I fought with a wildcat and lost BIG. This has been broken for a while by the looks of it. They were still trying to use it LOL Its going to be a B&*^% getting all this back in that little bity hole. It would be easier if I could lose about 30 lbs. in the next few days.
Looks like it was designed and built by Fiat. Reminds me of a pea harvester----cut your way in and weld your way out.
EERILY Icky way to construct
You will be there in no time with this weather we are having. Just don't drink any fluid for a day or 2!
Hey now, Fiat Chrysler owns Ferrari. I like my 458 spider.
A ferrari is a long ways from a fiat. A company that made golf carts and bowling balls once owned harley davidson too.
And built the bikes the same way
And I just learned something new! In January 2016 , Ferrari officially split off from its former parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
The AMF Harleys were the worst of the worst. LoL
They were nasty and problematic.
This must be HNC in action:
Still find a few AMF Years HDs on the market, cannot get them to retain repairs, fix it and within miles same bad concerns re light. Electrical problems, support equipment supply issues, gauges and controls fell apart. 1969 to 1981. A great deal of US Manufacturers died by sell off in those years.
But if you went through your AMF and replaced all the wiring they ran very well. Had a few.
I know, Owned TWO, for a short time.
Poor or non existent quality control but I thought it was only around the mid 70's models. Didn't realize it was for over a decade. Know a guy who has one of the AMF dirt bikes but they were made by someone else, can't remember the name though.
Had a 76 FXE that I basically rebuilt from the ground up which provided me with thousands of miles of carefree riding until it broke again or started leaking oil from another spot
Aermacchi?
Sounds right
That's it. I thought it was but was too lazy to look it up. Some Harley dirt bikes used forks for rear suspension but apparently they worked not too bad. The golf carts weren't too bad just odd seeing HD golf carts.
RE: the wind generator. Start with something simple like a Delco 22SI alternator, use a crank pulley on the blades and belt it to the alternator. Cut most of the ribs off a ribbed belt to lessen drag. May need a jackshaft to increase alternator speed even more. Will still make DC at slow speed.
Remove bridge rectifier and have 3ph ac lol
Good luck getting 60 hertz.
Pull the inverter from a genset with a fubar'd engine. I know the Honda inverter generators run from 12 volt DC. That'll provide good clean 120 volts @ 60 hertz Of course, this gets away from using the generator from the paver. But that was going to sit in the shop gather dust anyway.
Told her last night I needed that generator for a bicycle I'm designing LOL
Just leave it as rectified D.C. and put an inverter at the base of the tower.
I was on this 672D blade yesterday. The engine dropped the accessory drive belt due to a bearing failure on the a/c compressor. I got the compressor changed out and the new belt on it........then I started to get out my vac pump and gauges. The job super looked at me weird and said, "Are you going to charge that?" Well yeah! He said that he had told HNC multiple times about the a/c not working and he never did anything about it. I'm positive HNC wouldn't know how to hook up the gauges or anything else about a/c. I get the system vacced down and leak checked and start searching for the hi/low switch in the system.............I can't find it anywhere, but I know it has one. I look for 30 minutes and no find...........so I message our resident Deere God and ask him where the hell this switch is. He tells me its under the seat! ***......who designed that!? Then he says, "Enjoy getting that seat out!" LMAO...... Whoever decided that switch needed to be under the seat in a no access area should be fired immediately.  I got what I was after............ I thought 45 degrees was pretty good since I couldn't find a cab recirc and it was 97-degree temp outside.
There has been a Bomag BW211 sitting in the back of the yard for 2 months now. The Bomag/Deere dealer called me today and said that the module/monitor HNC ordered in in. I walked back there to look at the machine and figured out that the water in fuel sensor was active and the engine will shut off in 2 minutes, which is set in the module. I checked for water at the sensor and found none. I unplugged the sensor, same problem. I unplugged the wiring for it at the control panel, same problem. So, I'm getting ready to get off the machine and when I step on the first step that is welded on the control panel, the door shifts a bit..........and the sensor light and alarm stop. It was a bad ground. I hope I can return that monitor! I'm sure it was several thousand dollars.......I'll find out tomorrow.
Just got done with a BW211 last week. I know the park brake switch is $260ish so I can only imagine what a board cost. My current situation... Just glad this little truck has an electric crane on it. 6.4 ate a couple push tubes and rockers. New Jesel roller rockers and tubes were ordered today. Have 2 more deere engines behind 963 torn all the way down waiting on parts and just got word another 6068 deere coming in tomorrow. And 3126 out of crawler is getting pulled down this evening. Hasn't held oil pressure for over a year so they just kept adding Lucas but they finally brought it down when it started getting compression in radiator.
Oh no I saw a {OBJ}.
I'm putting another customers JCB cylinder stuff here to show what we all have to deal with sometimes. The customer had a bad cylinder drift problem on their fork tilt circuit. They told me they thought it was a control valve problem since they had all the cylinders on the machine rebuilt 3 months ago. The fork cylinders failed a leak test, so I pulled them apart. I knew this wasn't a JCB piston seal as soon as I saw it. The seal is flat and is the same height as the guide ring. It didn't seal worth a dam hence the drift. I installed a JCB kit and you can see the obvious difference. The piston fits snug inside the cylinder barrel with the right seal. Whoever rebuilt his cylinders did a half ass match up and didn't even put new seals in the glands. The oring on the bottom was what I pulled out that was used as an expander. The top expander is the JCB OEM. ALOT of difference. Just because you rebuilt a cylinder doesn't mean it's not still a problem. This cured 95% of the drift problem by itself. I try to always check a drift problem by starting with cylinder tests.......even if you may have just rebuilt it yourself or had someone else do it.
Vetech .. I hope you show the customer your photos. It's an education as well as justification of your work to the customer. It's like gasoline, one never sees the product unless there's a performance problem.
Hopefully the owners he works for have the experience or imagination to understand what it is he is trying to show them. Not all owners have any mechanical experience or ability at all.
Why would anyone rebuild a cylinder without OEM seals? Saving $20 is not worth it in a part like that. IIRC I paid about $50 for each cylinder when I did 2 on my CTL, and that was at John Deere. The part that baffled me was shops were telling me $1000 each to rebuild, I said screw it and tore them apart, first one took me probably 4-5 hours as i've never touched one before, the second about 2 hours and haven't had a drifting problem since. I was pissed after the fact though, how could a shop justify charging $1900 in labour for maybe 2-3 hours work? The price was based off of only doing seals, any machining, etc would be more, I get you're paying for their experience but that's just gouging.
I’ve heard cylinder shops base their rates on the percentage of the cost for a new cylinder. That rate seems high to me as well. We’ve had elevating and crowd cylinders honed and resealed for less than that. I often have to source seals other than OEM and don’t have an issue. They get them somewhere too. It’s replacing with the proper piece. If I get into a cylinder that’s old and seals are junk I will use OEM simply because I don’t have anything left to match or measure.
There's some good aftermarket seals that are a lot more than $50 less than OEM. Hercules are usually good.
Hercules made some seals for me, outrigger cylinders on a MF50. Wasn't cheap but proper kit was unobtanium. Joe H
Many shops price repairs so their overhead gets paid for. The hydraulic table to break and torque gland nuts on rod pistons are pricey.
Yea but they don't have to pay for the table on the first cylinder they rebuild! And every one after that!
I've never worked at a place that charged cylinder work by anything other that hourly labor. Cylinder benches are a capital investment and are depreciated over time, usually seven years. Cylinder benches also last significantly more than seven years. One has to also remember that cylinders are not a cut and dry rebuild. Breaking down a cylinder at times is like unraveling a Gordian knot. Stuck glands and piston nuts, broken snubbers and getting the right packings have no book times. A thorough check of the barrel for damage and swelling plus checking the rod for being straight also takes time. The other thought about costs to do something is that everyone is free to shop around. If all the shops charge the same way you might think there is collusion in the market but then you would have to find a way to prove that. It might be that they are all just trying to stay in business.
Dam, Vetech, you sure create some interesting reading on here ! Keep up the good work !
I still do some commercial work and the last 2 big cylinders I did went to the hyd. shop came back at 26K apiece. they were 16 and 18 feet long and needed new rods. I use a hyd shop for their warranty and parts and quick turnaround. I get a tested complete cylinder ready to put on that I don't have to worry about. Bad Bob
At one time there was a real good hydraulic shop here in town. good work and fare price. It wasn't worth doing a DIY at that time. One good shop left in Dayton, but it's worth the drive to have them do the work.
It was a small CTL cylinder, it didn't have a gland nut to torque. I didn't spend a penny on a special tool to rebuild it, and 2 years later both still working fine so I obviously did a ok job.
New cylinder was $2000. If you're experienced enough to see if the seals are quality then sure, but otherwise going with OEM is a no brainer.
Not sure how they charged it, it wasn't an exact price but told it would be right around there and that was enough for me to say nope. I called two different shops and both said the exact same $1000. Some jobs I price a certain way because I know others do and I almost feel guilty invoicing because of how much money i'm making so I do get it. If they want to charge that they can by all means, they just won't get my money because i'll do it myself.
We're 500 minimum plus seals on small cylinders, 4"x48" and under, for shop rebuilds right now. Clean, teardown, rebuild, paint, cap and wrap or pallet depending on the cylinder and how we're sending it back.
No offense but your home shop also doesn't have the EPA or canadian equivalent up your butt about oil messes. It's a huge deal at dealers and rebuilding cylinders always makes a mess so there's some of it. Also I haven't done a ton of rebuilds but several were beyond repair but know one knew until too late or something else went wrong and now the shop has to eat the cylinder.
I’ve broken cylinder glands breaking them loose from the cylinder barrel, stripped threads off removing the nut, encountered bent rods that needed to be replaced, and so on
For sure, there is far more expenses in running a shop. I would expect a hydraulic shop would charge like $150/hr for repairs, but they were quoting like $400 which is insane. I didn't ask, but if they took it apart and determined it was junk, I would expect to pay something for disassembly if I didn't buy a new one from them. They were quoting the $1000 based on everything being good and just replacing seals, anything more would be extra. When I got a new hydraulic cylinder for my dump truck they opened up the old one to see if it was worth fixing, and didn't charge because I bought a new one from them.
Maybe they didn't want the job? I remember deere alloted something like 2 to 4 hours to rebuild a cylinder depending on size, you said they were off of a CTL so with $150? seal kits each, yeah I see it. But that being said CTL cylinders should really only take an hour each.
Had my 580k stabilizer cyclinder repacked,said the rods were bent, not sure about that.Charged me 400.00 bucks each, that was a few years ago.Did my crowd cyclinder last year for 500.00 right now I’m leak free,next time I might try it,have a childhood friend that’s an excellent mechanic that could help me if I need it.
I think some shops will tell you there is more wrong with your cylinders than there actually is. Once they have your cylinders you're kind of at their mercy. I had my bucket cylinders done and was originally told would be about $800 for both. They were weeping just a little too much. When I went to pick them up it was over $1750. They said they were bent .010" and they had to be re-chromed, etc., etc. They were Cat cylinders that have thicker hard chrome that some other cylinders. When I had to get my stick cylinder repaired because the piston bolt pulled out, another shop just heavily polished the rod and it was good. The bucket cylinders were much smaller and I question if they were as bad as they said. They completely rebuilt everything including the seals for the pins. A shop I go to for hoses got into doing cylinders and they're usually very reasonable. I took just the rods in from my 4 in 1 bucket to get new seals. That's all I wanted. They charged me about $100ea. for the seal kit an hour each to install them. They didn't polish the rods but said they looked good. I put the cylinders back together and no problems. It's my go to shop now. They generally have the best price on hoses and make them while you wait. Very good customer service.
My experience with hydraulic shops are: they do quality work (Most times) they want the cylinder to be up to OEM specs when it leaves their shop. BUT, most hydraulic cylinders are not critical. Failure or leakage can be tolerated. For hobby machines like mine, cost is more significant than failure or downtime. A slightly bent or dinged rod or leak down on a stabilizer cylinder is nothing. I don't need the cylinder to be honed. It's not aerospace performance. I can stop anytime and get a cool drink to ponder my situation. The trick is to find the shop that understands my situation. I want to know the state of the cylinder but let me decide how much $ to put into it.
That could be it, they figure every cylinder is super critical and don't consider that for a hobby machine it doesn't have to be 100% to factory standards. I didn't really need the cylinders painted and figured they probably charged $100 just for painting. I also don't think they necessarily needed to be honed. They were just weeping at the gland nut seals.
Coming from the other side, your customer who you let go out with a dinged rod and it starts leaking, will always conveniently forget that he told you not to worry about the ding when it was apart in your shop. So you do them all the same, 100% or not at all.
Seal kits were only $50 each, so $450 just for labour each. Yea they are small cylinders and not hard to do at all.
This ^ We have to warranty it, DIY doesn't, any future warranty/comeback work can be a real bite in the overhead. Proper pricing filters out a lot of trouble right off the bat.
We had to rebuild the 4 cylinders on the RGN this spring. 5.5" x 36" long, 2.75" diameter rod. All four needed new rods. Ended up right at $1100 each.
As Birken said, the customer never remembers who's money was saved doing it halfassed. Joe H
dont be too hard on the rebuild shops, they are putting their neck and reputation on the line when they rebuild the cylinders, remember you dealing with high pressures and if it fails and someone gets hurt or killed, and the lawyers will want to make someone pay that is why they dont want to cut corners
Ready for Tuesday? Supposed to be 83 degrees here and look at that- 106 out in oklahoma.
That's insane, that's WAY too hot. It's only mid 80's at most this week and that's way too hot even.
Yeah, I'm done working by noon. I was in their shop yesterday until 2:30...............it was like sitting inside an oven.
I got the ventilation system back in this paver today. As I had mentioned when disassembling this mess......its piece by piece. Same way going back together. I silicone that venturi plate to the new base weldment for a reason......... Once you battle your way to get the shroud in position, all the bolts come up from the inside of the housing...........so you have to contortion yourself into many uncomfortable positions to start and tighten each bolt. I threaded the top one in backwards to help hold the entire thing in position then secured it with a nut on the bottom side. There is no room for 2 arms in here unless your one of those midget Olympian contortionists. I had to pry 2 hoses out of the way to get the fan in position then secured it. The rest was hooking up the hoses I removed and topping off the tank with oil.
I highly recommend these. This is the first time I have used them, but they worked beautifully! Soft enough to bend but strong enough to install and remove. These will push into a hose or fitting. 90 degree fitting?..no problem! They saved me from draining the entire hydraulic tank and the oi l cooler above my work area. They were strong enough to hold back 30+ gallons of hydraulic oil at the bottom of the tank. They are kind of like ear plugs..except cone shaped. I think I paid around $50 for this kit.
Those work very well.
Oh I've got to have one of those kits. I hate oil running everywhere, and I really dislike pumping out 100 gallon hyd. tanks to replace return lines.
For those looking to replicate Vetech's plugs ... http://www.srmindustries.net/
I have the yellow kind but for some reason mine slip out if there's any pressure build up even just oil falling down a tube, a coworker gave me a set of orange ones that have shoulders on them and sometimes they stick so well I have to really yank on it to free 'em. Oops hosspuller linked to the ones I have, mine are grungy enough I don't think you can read the name anymore.
Wow, what size machine was that?
Where were those plugs when I was still working. I would have killed to have something like that!
Cat transducer. P/N 216-0244 . They have adapters to fit all kinds of hydraulic tanks and fittings. It is a venturi that pulls vacuum on a system so you can change components with minimal spillage.
Is that the latest P/N for the old 5P-0306.?
I believe so. That is what my version of sis shows. Does not give me an image though to verify.
Much cheaper to buy from air vac than cat though, but gotta have it. So much vacuum
I made this years ago and it has always worked well. I think I got it from a Napa store and I made the adapters for fit it. Cost less than $10 back whenever.
How is it used? I don't work on hydraulic systems often and usually end of draining the tank when I do. But I'm absolutely open to methods that save time and make a job easier.
It is what is known as an eductor. I hooked up the male threaded side to my air compressor. The air goes into that through a small orifice and it opens to a larger space above the male hydraulic adapter that I attached to a fitting that I installed on a plate on the top of the reservoir. It takes somewhere around 4 to 5 CFM on the air side to make it work. I have never measured the amount of vacuum that it pulls but I could pull the suction hoses off a PC400 pump and hardly have a drop of oil hit the ground.
Well if we are all showing off our tools! This is one I built after we had a class at the shop with a Hough mechanic. It was a very handy tool if you were working on hydraulics in those H- series Houghs and the later 560 and 400 Houghs and Dressers. As they all had the hydraulic tank mounted directly above the pumps, many of those being vane type Vickers. So many lines on the machine would cause a major oil leak while changing a simple o'ring. Using this simple tool and a piece of cardboard if you were careful and no one turned off the air compressor you could actually remove one of the pumps with hardly a drop of oil on the floor. The cardboard was the trick. With suction device connected you could loosen the inlet connection and slide it up just enough off the top of pump to slide the piece of cardboard between the pump and inlet coupler. The vacuum in the tank working on the approx. 7 square inches of the inlet pipe were more than enough to keep the oil in the tank.
In those days, service trucks had gas engines and we carried long hoses that would connect to the tanks. It made the engines run a little rough though. I know of one mechanic who had the vacuum going from his truck and while pulling the pump from the 560 log loader, someone came by and shut off the truck engine. There was an eruption of some colorful language, so I've been told.
I use a shop vac. Duct tape the hose to the reservoir neck. Poke holes thru the duct tape with a pocket knife to lessen the vacuum. Variable speed shop vac is the best. Pulled many a suction screen out of a farm tractor tranny without losing any oil. Works good if you want to check the magnetic drain plug without draining the oil.
Yep I did that gas engine trick a couple times. Once while working on a control valve for some load, maybe Michigan. Only problem was it managed to suck some hydraulic oil into the Fords intake. Took a good 2-3 mile run at high speed to stop laying down the smoke screen behind me!
Lubes up them spark plugs real nice.
Also probably reduced the mosquito population in the area for some time!
They used to have spark plug air compressor adapters and Miller even had exclusive Deutz engines with 1 cylinder used for an air compressor on their early air paks. Problem was the air compressor cylinder would wear out prematurely to the rest of the cylinders because it didn't have the lubrication from the diesel fuel.
When i was a kid the only portable air we had was one of those spark-plug hole adapters and a hose to fill up tires. The old 235 in the ‘59 chev pumped up many tires in its lifetime
I used my spray blow gun to pull vac on a tank, tied the handle down lol I really wasn't sure it would be enough till I pulled the hose.
I've seen them also, and always wondered how many air mattresses and tires were filled with a perfect air:fuel mix for an explosion? Did it ever matter?
Only if smoked in bed with a leaker!!
@Questionable wizard I am thinking about trying this as I have to pull off a huge hose running under the hydraulic tank down to the excavators tracks and don't want to dump out all of my oil. Any suggestions about how many holes / how it should look or anything? I'm a newbie.
I don’t have any shop vac tips but with a transducer applying vacuum I can tell you to use care. I’ve never had the luck others in this thread have had on large hoses and I’ve seen coworkers take baths trying to do large hose changes at the tank.
The ones I have seen had an inlet check valve on the spark plug adapter, so there would have been extra air. Still I always wonder too, did the gasoline attack rubber inside tires, etc.?
Probably never know---Dad airs up the mattress for the kids camping in the back yard---------------- next thing you know the boys strike a match to light a fart.
just out of curiousity how do you torque the nut on the really big ones like for a 270dlc
A hydraulic cylinder bench. There are several different sizes and styles. The one I have is very simple but they are like anything else and you can get them as fancy or as plain as you like or afford. I have never had mine maxed out but have been up to 35,000lb/ft and it is definitely an eerie feeling watching the gauge come up as things start popping and creaking.
No idea, mine didn't have a nut to torque, I don't think i'd be trying myself on a cylinder that big.
Lol. We made up 8" drill collars to 56,000 lb-ft. That is very eerie watching 4 ft steel tongs that weigh several hundred pounds flex and bend as the line pull gets up to 14,000 pounds. The worst part, is it might take 60,000 lb-ft or more to break them out when done drilling. Clear the floor in case something breaks.
those high torque pops tell me to get behind something solid like a another machine and let what may break fly we have a nice big chip in the armor glass of the service office from a puller rod deciding to pop the thread nut. The right way is to use something like a hydraulic cylinder bench the not quite right way but still may work is a very stout vise and holding fixture and another machine. I have access to and prefer the first, and have seen the consequences if you don’t get it tight enough. some of our customers will pull the rod and gland assembly and have us break the nut loose and they will repack it on the back of their service truck or pickup and we will retorque it for them.
You mean something like this..? The "stout vise" in this case was a 980H IIRC and the "other machine" was the bucket of a 336.
Wish I had taken a picture or two of the way we did it. We had a workbench in the welder's area of the shop with something around a five by six foot top made out of 2 inch thick steel plate. To hold a ram I cut a hole in the plate over to one side just big enough for the pull rod for our 30 OTC hydraulic ram. Position the eye of the ram on a spacer and then put the pull rod through the eye with nuts and plates on either side and hook up hydraulic pump to the ram and clamp it with 30 tons of pressure. We also had a 16X1 torque multiplier to turn the nut using a torque wrench. Also put a wood block under rod near the piston and used a heavy duty ratchet strap to hold it down to prevent flexing of ram.
Nige, is that rod as bent as it looks? Joe H
The rod was a bent one from an old damaged cylinder so we used it to prove that the tooling worked. If something failed during the process we weren't going to lose by it. Actually it worked out very well. The wrench moved down a few inches under the pressure of the excavator bucket and then simply fell to the ground under its own weight. It was made from 1-1/2" plate if my memory serves me right.
Last Friday was a Event, Vetech took some time away and had lunch as I arrived in OK, EVEN PAID FOR IT for Myself, JY and he!! Was a really good day to just rattle on about our pasts.
I'll have a pic of something done on a piece of equipment that defies ANY logical explanation this evening. I believe it may be some of HNC's handy work........but I can't prove that of course.
Please don't make us wait that long to see the ingenuity of that craftsman.
That kind of thing is how we worked years ago. If you needed to do a job and did not have a tool go to the shop welder and have something made. Then after a few mergers and becoming part of a major international company with more lawyers than mechanics that changed! The last couple years I was there we were not allowed to use any shop made tools of any kind. All of a sudden those tools that had worked fine for years or decades were no longer safe. What really pissed me off was if an outside contractor was hired to do a job in our shop no one gave a rat's ass about the cobbled up tools they might be using. Guess it was assumed their insurance would be covering their butts and not our company's! So despite the claims about it being about "safety" it was straight out about the money out of corporate's pockets. As long as corporate did not pay you could kill or maim as many as you wanted!
Still impatiently waiting lol
I think these days MSHA frowns on shop made tooling my company does also but when the alternative “right factory made tool” is mega bucks, unavailable, or non existent I’m making my own. My company also doesn’t like cheater pipes but I’ll be damned if I’m hurting myself when more leverage is far safer for my back. The intention behind such rules might very well be more safety but a lot of the time the people who come up with these rules don’t have any time on the tools to know our reality.
They don't want to spend the money for the right stuff and they don't want to pay for the dealer to do and they leave it up to you to find a way to get it done and then whine because a pair of slacks thinks it's unsafe? No way to win, time to move on.
I've seen dealers that don't have the correct tooling. Always amazed me lol
Let's take 2 perfectly functional, older pieces of equipment and screw them up royally. Both of these Ingersol's were perfectly operable 1 year ago when I saw them last. So, tell me.............why??!!!
Even at an auction these would have brought several thousand minimum. Now they are worthless without spending money on them. It just makes NO sense at all.
More HNC/TNH work that wasn't right. I got to this JD333G yesterday on a problem unrelated to this leak. No one even told me there was a hydraulic leak in the first place. I noticed the lake of oil under it when I got to the machine. That cleaned off fitting in the pic was loose at 2 places....both return lines. I pulled the orings in each loose fitting......... Right diameter, way too thick for the fitting. Pretty sure this was TNH work as HNC wouldn't have known how to get the cab tilted to get this far.
So they took a sawzall To the hard lines???? Id show those pics to the company owner and let him know the full extent of stupidity and willful damage and destruction they did.
Wont matter that it was willful damage I would bet those are sitting behind the shop so the owner cant even walk out the back door and see the stupidity because he has no clue either
I have a feeling the owner might not care or just thinks this is a normal way to do things!
That’s the kind of stuff i would expect from vandalism- not a repair procedure
Or from someone that knows they’re getting fired…..that’s disgusting that someone that was hired as a “Mechanic” would even do that! Seems like the sort of guy that could break an anvil!
I can't see where that's anything but sabotage, something that could be claimed on insurance if it's worth it. There is no way anyone could justify that as trying to fix something. If I saw someone doing that to my stuff, there would be a fresh hole backfilled in my yard that's for sure
Maybe some tweaker thought those motors are catalytic converters? I'm beginning to think people should have to pass a background check to purchase cordless Sawzalls. A couple of weeks ago they cut thru a chain link fence at the yard where my boy works and cut the leads off his service truck welder about a foot from the quick disconnects. Bad Bob
Not surprised, and yes that was deliberate. Easy to get to. Pi$$ed at the company. Folks that kind of crap happens everyday somewhere near you, sad but true.
Or maybe just bring back lots of cops and hard jail time for criminals rather than pampering and psychologists!
There was a time I was in charge of insuring the destruction of machinery. Company with very deep pockets didn't want any chance of machinery being reused. Lawyers said if someone got hurt from a scrapped forming machine, company could still be part of the lawsuit. So, I rode out to the scrap yard while a hydraulic cutter on the end of an excavator cut the machine into bite sized pieces. That was fun to see. I wrote a witness statement to that effect for the files.
Yuk .. The oily muck under that fitting deserves an official swamp designation. I'll bet the O-ring came from a generic kit instead of an ORFS kit with 90 durometer rings... Just a thought, does the shop even have an ORFS O-ring kit? With all the equipment that uses ORFS it should be at hand just like any other tool.
I ran across one yesterday in their tool room. It was buried under new parts, trash, and other crap. There may be one on their service truck but I'm not sure. It hasn't moved from the west side of their shop in over 3 months. It's locked up with no access other than whomever has the keys. I have a ORFS kit on my truck..........I don't think they matched the oring thickness.....just the diameter. My kit has 2 different ones for that diameter oring.
This is a possibility but there are 4 other Ingersols there right next to the damaged ones that haven't been touched.
I've been waiting since Sunday for a CB64 roller to show up in the yard from a job in the Oklahoma state panhandle about 5 hours away. It seems they have burned up one of the vibrator eccentrics in the rear drum...............but that's another story....and expensive too! Anyway..........It still hasn't shown up, so I called the job super yesterday to find out what's going on. It's still there.............it seems they hired a local to Tulsa trucking outfit to haul some of the equipment back to Tulsa and this machine was supposed to be on that truck. The driver loaded equipment, left the job with the equipment, drove an hour away from the job.........then quit his driving job. Left the truck and the equipment sitting on the side of the highway. ***!!?? I just don't get people anymore. It is supposed to be in the yard today. Remember that skid loader with the broken track from a month ago? The new tracks showed up late yesterday. Took 3 weeks to get them from Texas to Oklahoma......
I got the tracks on and adjusted today. Believe it or not, this machine had been serviced back in April of 2022. It shocked me at first, especially since there was a date and hours recorded on the filters There was also 2 initials "BD" ............Now I get it.......this was serviced by someone at the JD dealership. Neither HNC nor TNH have those initials.  It had just under 400 hours since the April service........so it got serviced again today. Its ready to rock and roll. Cat CB64 still didn't show up...........I have no clue when to expect it at this point. I trying to decide whether I should tackle this job or not. I can do it.............it's that the company really isn't tooled for it. In other words, it will have to be done outside since there is no way to lift the drum inside the shop. I'll have to check the drum weight with the eccentric still in it and see if I think I can forklift the drum out of the shop to turn it on its end. If so..........its game on! I guess TNH was stashing his paycheck stubs in a first aid cabinet on the shop wall. I found them today when I was going through cabinets to see if there was anything in them. This company was paying him $35.00 an hour ........about $15 too much if you ask me from what I've seen. HNC's hourly was supposedly higher but I don't know that as fact. A cat field tech told me earlier this week that he was being paid $35 an hour and he had more than twice the experience of TNH. I just found this funny.
Pretty simple, TNH and HNC were lousy in their so called profession. But both did have a very credible talent at being great/fantastic {bull sh!tters}. The owners swallowed it hook line and sinker and over paid them for their bull ****. I would guess both TNH and HNC standing in the right light had brown 4" circles in the middle of their faces.
Sounds like you need to hire the Cat tech.
Can remember my bosses in the 80s bringing in the New Hires and putting them on MY Shift, expecting ME to get them up to speed. I was having enough issues with guys that would drag ass thinking could slip Straight Time into a Chargeable hours job. One guy was taxed with wiring up side markers on a framed 32' dump trailer, supposed to be a electrical whiz but proved just a whiz. Got the wiring done so showed me lights worked, told him would not last where had to raise the bed for proof to him as he wired DROOPED UNDER THE RAILS that pulled away as soon as got it lifting. He looked at me and said 'The Frame does not raise too?' Another two hours of rerouting nothing worked so fired him, finished the job myself, took less than a half hour. Fired SEVERAL of this caliber of Uselessness, many could not even gain employ at the local dump. One guy was hired as a 'Detroit Tech', where had a low power complaint that had several filters changed by owner made no difference, first thing he asked for was filters, first thing I told him was check transfer pressure and lines for rubs, got deer in headlights double blink and he asked, How do you check pressure? He lasted another hour staring at the truck with a pressure gauge sitting on the frame rail. Could not find the transfer pump on a 6L71 in a CO4070A IH.
we had an idiot go through the same diesel/heavy equipment program I went through who didn’t know how to tell the difference between 12 and 24v wiring schemes or how to drive an AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION backhoe. He spent most of his time sitting on his computer looking at Facebook instead of doing his work.
First design house I worked at, owner would hire "green" detailers....his son and I would run them off in a few days. His "experienced" hires would take 2 weeks at the most. Owner thought we needed help, we really needed him to stay home..... Ed
That wouldn’t happen to be a sd 60 roller would it. I need a rear end for one.
Not much to report at the moment. I'm still waiting on equipment to show up at their shop. Just the day-to-day crap right now.
Might be sneaking into a caught up moment or two.
Getting a maintenance schedule created and followed?
If that's the case it's a one man show-no need in a second mechanic.
Yes and no. There is still plenty of work to do. I have been concentrating on the everyday repairs and equipment coming to their shop for repairs. The problem right now is turning money fast enough to keep going at this pace. They aren't getting past the normal 30-day payout, but I am sinking so much into them the 30-day terms are not efficient for me to keep operating. When I'm billing $5-10K a week and only getting back half of that............something has to give shortly. I have shut the operation down to them for the short term but if they take very long to pay up within reason............I will just get behind again and the cycle will start all over. I may have to call the old man to get this straight, but I'm giving the son in charge a chance to correct this issue first.
You mean quarterly pay is a deal breaker guys should be lining up to only get 4 checks a year Raise your dam rate every time they get behind cause clearly your the bank so make the interest on your money for loaning it them
Finally got money so it's back to work........even though the layoff got me further behind. I ordered a replacement idler pulley assembly from Bomag last week.........it only comes as an assembly. I picked it up and drove 1.5 hours away to install it so this machine can get going. I removed the failed assembly then installed the new one. Before I get the belt tightened up, I notice that the pulley is a bit out of line with the crank and fan pulleys. So, I start comparing the pulley and the bracket......... It seems the new bracket is stepped more than the old one so I had to put the new pulley on the old adjust bracket so it would line up. This pulley/bracket assembly was ordered by model and serial number......it just wasn't right. For $673.00 you would think this would be right on the money. Now I have a new bracket that gets no use. Overpriced and wrong........meh, what's new
Not surprised, part numbers get mixed. Took me 3 times to get the right exhaust manifold from CAT I might think contact bomag and see if there can be a fix or at least a reduction in price
Had several as that years ago on IH products Varied from old DT powered tractors and HE to trucks Variables to all and would interchangeably mount just were wrong for applications.
Well I guess at least your lucky they did not change the way the pulley mounts to the bracket. So at least you have a usable machine.
That looks like a $40 pully/bearing assy to me. Joe H
Agree to a point. But when the broken machine is out in the field 1 1/2 hours away and needs to be fixed right now sometime you have to do what it takes to get it working. Now if one had say three or four machines with the same pulley set-up and one had the time to disassemble and inspect a failed one it might be possible to just press out the bearing and press a new one in it's place. That is the kind of thing I had done for machines at the quarry. But then I knew I was going to be there when the next one failed and had a place I could label and store the "spare" rebuilt part. Reminds me of the spare main hydraulic pump for the WA600 Komatsu that was the main loader at the quarry. When the loader was only a few years old the main pump had a problem that I forget right now. But as it was at that point the main machine to load the trucks in the pit getting it replaced was critical! I was able to get one coming through the dealer but had also found that a hydraulic shop could supply one for much less money, but there would be a few weeks delay. Told boss and he said "order both" and install which ever gets here first we need that machine. Plus he said if one failed we will probably need another in a few years. When I retired about ten years later that "spare pump" was still in the box in the store room and loader is now just a stand by machine in the quarry. And with all the change overs in personnel from top to bottom since I retired I'd say no one has any idea what is in that box!
My original intent was to just get the pulley and the bearing, but I was told by the dealer that it wasn't available separately. When the bearing failed and they called me about it, they didn't have the old pulley and couldn't account for it (I have no idea why). The assembly from Bomag was the only option to get the machine up and running in 1 round trip. Yeah, I hated to spend almost $700 on that and had I had the time I would have tried to come up with the old pulley and got a bearing for it locally. The bad thing is that the machine would have been down at least another day and the cost for a second trip back would be prohibitive.
The funny thing is, I only noticed the "wrong part" aspect of the complaint, not the $700, I did not even think about that until Joe H commented on it. Just shows how they have conditioned us to accept these outrageous prices on stuff these days.
Yea I wish I had made some notes on things I came across that were way out of line price wise. Just recalled one and was able to find notes on it! This was an alternator on a little Cummins B3.3 in a Rosco sweeper. No one had one in-stock locally so I had called a few places. The Rosco Dealer wanted $1156.00 plus shipping, Cummins offered me one for $562.00 plus 13% for engine down shipping, local electrical and fuel system shop said $214.00 plus $60.00 for next day air freight! This was a little 12 volt alternator that probably could have been replaced with a simple Delco alternator off a 1978 Chevy that I could probably get for $50 from O'Reilly's if I wanted to spend time fabricating a bracket and making some wiring changes. I opted for the $214.00 one as even with the $60. shipping they would drop ship it to me to save me driving half an hour each way to pick it up.
I had a Jag repair shop for 30 years, that idler pully with arm thing was real close to one that was used on V12 Jags for years. Same thing, only available as the complete assembly. It was about $250 back in in the 1980s for a then $25 item. But yes, when you gotta have it you gotta have it. Joe H
Ah yes. I’ve been friends with a Jag mechanic/collector since high school. Been around many E types, XJ’s, etc. Love the Lucas electrical stuff. That’s why the Brits like their beer warm, their fridges were made by Lucas! They do have some unique features and with a healthy engine an E type will scoot right along.
Not much to report even though I've been busier than a 3 pecker'd dog. I'm trying to decide if I should keep this thread based on stuff I have seen that I know HNC or TNH has screwed up...................or just screw ups in general? This probably isn't the thread to do just a standard, everyday repair thread. What do you guys think?
I like to hear all the stories!
An everyday repair thread would be beneficial to quite a few people searching for help with similar repair issues. But, those two clowns you have to deal with make an interesting read.
I think the screwball attempts at repairs by the unqualified are the most instructional. They illustrate the reason why great mechanics should get paid those big bucks.
Stick with it until the bankruptcy at least. They're not going to change their business model so it won't be long. Unless dad comes back and kicks some ass. Joe H
I would just keep updating us the way you have been, whether it has to do with those two knuckleheads, new issues that have arisen, or for things that you’re doing that don’t even relate to the company you are doing these repairs for. Use this as your “repair thread”, it will be a jambalaya of interesting repairs and previous attempts at a repair….
I second @Tags . Share it all
That would be a busy puppy alright with that many balls to lick on top of his other daily chores.
Over the last week, I've read all 57+ pages of this post. Every single post. It's been educational and fun to boot. I will keep reading it; if you start another, I'll read that one too. Thanks, Vetech63 for taking the time to document all this. And it's very well written... I'll bet you had good grades in English class. Oh, and thanks to those who have replied... your input is much appreciated as well!
OK then! LOL
All I can say other than keep up the posting would be to not get into these fools more than you can afford to loose! But I know you are being careful about that. Not sure about laws in your area or if they would cover your type of work. I know at least it is possible for say a building contractor to put a lien on a customer who was supplied labor or materials for work done if they are not paid. Might not guarantee full payment or fast payment of money owed but at least it might get you a percentage if say they go out of business and try to sell off assets.
It's all part of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) that as I recall all states conform to now. It basically requires filling out forms and filing them with some entity of the state or possibly county governments. It also usually requires someone at the offending company to sign some type of agreement or written contract for the filing in order to secure your interest in the money owed. I've done it a couple of times but it guarantees nothing without a attorney being involved. It takes multiple thousands of dollars in debts before it is worth the hassle. If a company declares bankruptcy and you have a UCC filing, you will only get a percentage of any proceeds left or just a bill from your attorney with regrets about there being nothing left. Been there, done that!
That is a fact.
Been there a time or two, really sucks too.
Yep you can't get blood from a stone. Thankfully only ever had 1 job that went to bankruptcy and there was nothing left guy was taking all the money from the draws and not paying anyone, thankfully I was only out about $5k. I made out a lot better then many others, from what I heard there was around $1.5 million in debt that didn't see a penny, even the first mortgage company lost some. I am amazed the guy is still walking around today. I am now much more careful about who I do work for. Just googling a business or personal name can tell you a lot.
There are some attorneys that will tell you what you want to hear in order to get a retainer and later on if things don't appear to be going in your/their favour, they have no sympathy for you and have an attitude like oh well that's how it goes sometimes... here's your final bill for extra's that weren't included before. They could care less if you won or lost as long as they get all their money. That's why personal injury lawyers can only get paid if they win your case. They typically get about 40% if successful. Some of them even advertise they don't get paid unless you win but it is the law and applies to all of them. I'd rather have an honest lawyer tell me I have a good case but will be hard to prove and cost a lot than a lawyer saying I have a clear cut case. I've had this happen to me in a wrongful dismissal case.
Kinda off track but something that's good to know, you can stop payment on a cashier's check. I found out the hard way (how else?) and when I was talking to the cops about it the detective started laughing when I told him guy's name. Not comforting.......... But VeTech is a long way from that I hope, I'm not ready for the saga to end. Joe H
In the 80’s had a Bank Draft check attempt at refused, guy had paid for it then notified his bank not an hour after paying me with it as to having been ‘Lost’ and requesting it cancelled. My bank manager was contacted as I had already deposited knowing was a problem client where they had contacted the issuing bank on deposit attempt where it was already cleared. That manager approached as I was still in that bank as he played his game so I was not declined the funds that time. His bank evidently had this game played as well where he called demanding his money back threatened to sue as job was ‘not completed to his satisfaction’, never went to court where he filed Chapter 13 in a few weeks. Were several I dealt with were just at bankruptcy monthly, a great many were big names of the day just poorly managed or raided for lifestyle money regularly. Major failures seemed to always be company establisher would try to supply their kids with a income source as a eventual inheritance only to see them pizz it away in weeks to months even before their parents retirements. Kids seldom respected they had to work to keep the companies at income levels or that moneys had to be reinvested to keep the company financially fluid positive.
I'm making sure they are staying paid up within reason..........so far so good. I hope I never have to go the legal route with anyone and never have. I have lost money on jobs over the years from non-payment and took steps to avoid those scenarios. I do know how to immobilize equipment if I have to . The Cat CB64 finally showed up last week and I got to look at it yesterday. What a mess this is going to be........... Gear oil all inside the drum from the eccentric housing.
From the looks of this discoloration, most of this will be junk I'm suspecting Cat told me this is not sold as an assembly. I have to buy all the individual components and build it from scratch. Parts alone are $15K. Dont let the pic fool you...............this eccentric is around 27" diameter and a heavy mother %%^^&*%$#!!.
I'm trying to decide if I want to tackle this project. I have the knowledge and the tooling.....the time is what is worrying me. This isn't something I can whip out quick, especially waiting on parts. I also have multiple other breakdowns a day to keep up with............and no help either. It's not a difficult job.... remove the side plates and the front clip and I can roll the drum out. But then I have to stand the drum on its end to remove and install the eccentric. I estimated the cost to around $25-27K if I do it. Cat says $35K plus if they do it. What do you guys think?
Move on to other jobs that will generate just as much cash. Don't have to tackle everything.
I would recommend repairing things that you can accomplish quickly. Suggest to the owners to send out bigger/longer jobs to the dealer. This will get the maximum number of pieces in service for the owner in the shortest time frame.
There's $10K profit in that job? Are the parts available or is it going to sit for 6 months waiting? Joe H
You look at some photos and read a bit of the scope of the job and declare a $10K profit? So how many Cat rollers have you had to repair with this damage?
You wouldn't have to do much to immobilize the equipment...just leave it the way it sits. It's already immobolized. LoL
Or just let one of their operators run it for a few minutes!
If you're talking to me, all I see and know is what VeTech posted. Parts are $15K, I don't know what's involved but when I had my shop the parts + the labor was the bill. He works alone so the labor is his. What did I miss? Joe H
Pull the roller which means crib support the machine, stand the roller on end and withdraw the Eccentric. Then disassembly to find broken parts, ALL heavy as hell, awkward, dangerous. Couple Days labor, cannot just leave it halfway apart and exposed includes time for parts to come in and reassemble.
I have a tendency to quote high on jobs I haven't done before or jobs I don't care to do. I am not familiar with this particular eccentric and have no idea what it may take to get apart once it is on the ground. If bearings have spun out and seized on the shafts, or seized in the housings.........I will need to torch those apart. I will have to inspect everything to know if anything is reusable, I will then have to make my own parts list, I will have to pick up and deliver said parts. It would be a very labor-intensive feat. I'd like to know what Cat's flat rate is for this job. I'm not getting the numbers they are putting together but I haven't seen a formal quote. I know for a fact their labor will be higher as they will disassemble every single bolt with removing the side and drive plates and removal of the vibration and travel motors........ which is unnecessary the way I do these. If I did profit 10K on this, uncle sam takes his 35-40% out of it right off the bat. Hell, I'm afraid I may be doing it too cheap
I can do anything. I just can't do everything.
Nor do I want to.
Sometimes you have to charge extra either for unknowns you might run into or because the job is a real PIA to do. There are times when you quote really high when you really don't want to do the job but will for the right price.
You don't bid jobs like that anyway but time and materials. I worked twelve years at a Cat dealer. I never saw a flat rate anything in that time. Even warranty jobs that the factory gave times on were not flat rates. It was just a statement that said it was all they were going to pay.
This ^ post begs to have a repeat of an old joke ... A guy walks into a bar and walks up to a beautiful woman. He asks her if she would have sex with him for $10,000. She thinks about and says she would. He then asks her if she would have sex with him for $100. Disgusted, she declares, “What kind of woman do you think I am?” He replies, “we have already established that, now I’m just negotiating price.”
Or to by pass it, I've had many times I've waved off overhauls on big cam cummins, Especially if I know it's a Cummins recon. Cummins used counter bore repair sleeves as a last ditch effort to save junk blocks-a can of worms. It's a job and is money but still a can of worms. I could rebuild 3-13spds in the time wasted on a BC recon. And all bench work.
If you're an independent (mechanic or contractor) and aren't real interested in a job you can certainly put a higher quote/estimate on the job to make it more worthwhile for you to consider. Some jobs you just have to say no. At a dealer you don't usually have a choice if the job is assigned to you. There was a thread concerning this not too long ago.
You guys pay that much in corporate taxes?!?! I thought we got screwed in Canada, but don't pay near that. And it sounds like you need more write offs if there's too much profit
I pay an additional self employment tax of 14% last time I checked.
Income tax can be at a C corporation rate or an individual rate for an S Corp or LLC and is graduated. The more you make the more you pay. Now the income tax rates are bracketed and you pay more as you reach each bracket. You will pay 10% up to the $20,550 of income. Next bracket will be 12% on all moneys between the $20,550 up to $41,775. Next bracket is a big on where a tax of 22% will be applied in the range of $41,775 up to $89,075 and so it goes. Keep in mind that these rates are for single people. Married couples have different brackets. The highest range is 37% on money over $539,900. A common misunderstanding is that tax is paid at the highest rate on all money earned which isn't true. Taxes are paid at on money earned at each bracket. So if you made say $85,000 all your money would not be taxed at 22%. Only the money that was over $41,775 would be taxed at that rate. On top of that we pay self employment tax which is Social Security and Medicare. Social Security rate is 6.2% for an employee and Medicare is 1.47% both of which an employer would match. Self employed people pay both sides of those taxes which come out at 15.3 for 2022. You only pay social security on money earned up to $137,000. There is no tax above that on social security. Self employed people pay the Medicare tax of 2.9% on all money earned. All this sound horrendous but keep in mind that we get to play the expenses and deduction game to lower our rates.
Flip HNC or TNH $50 to go "fix" it. Within 10 minutes they will have have it immobilized
Go at it like the dealer, change parts until it's fixed or customer goes broke. Seems to work for a lot of dealer techs, flag the ticket and on to the next sucker. Joe H
Unless you had someone who was very good at writing Supplementary Claim reports........... the good old "If you have a $50k claim you need a $50k story, not the few almost illegible words written on a mechanic's Service Report" type of thing.
I may be mistaken calling it a flat rate. I remember back in the 80's working for the Terex dealer a book rate of repair time we used to reference on quote jobs. I also remember those repair times being under ideal conditions which were never the case. You could bank on running over 90% of the time.
You guys still have me saying *** !! 40 % tax!
Those rates are for poor people. The billionaires have a different system.
We say that ourselves on a regular basis!!
Bugger, looks like along with fuel prices, we win again. Our system appears basically the same as yours with the brackets, but our top is 45% over $180k.
You don't need your money, we have better things to do with it. Joe H
Yup-it's almost 0%
Yep! I guess we don't get screwed with taxes in Canada. As a small business (under $500k gross revenue) the tax rate is 11%, 2% in Alberta, 9% federal.
That's just so stupid. It should be the opposite. If your profit is in the millions you should have a higher tax rate.
Except for the part where many millionaires are the employers in this country. We’re probably walking a fine line here where this thread can get derailed and closed. Let’s tread lightly.
Big difference between millionaires and companies with profits in the millions though.
The NDP party's entire election campaign was to tax the super rich. Not trying to be political but the super rich can only pay for so much. You'll never win an election with only 1 strategy.
Ditto at Deere, except in the last couple of years. Now with Deere, if we tell a good story, they have paid more than their job codes state. So the pen can be mightier than the wrench!
When i was service manager at a small ag dealership a lifetime ago, i learned real early to write a good story. At that time Sperry New Holland had the best warranty in the business and if you could prove the fault, they would approve warranty on machines that were long past the assumed warranty. That changed quickly right after Sperry exitted and Ford jumped in
First and foremost requirement for a top notch service manager-You have to be able to spin a story 10 times better than a politician or news outlet. Your degree/sheepskin hanging on the wall should be from the top 10 schools of bullsh!t artistry. I have always found it interesting the job requires a minimum of 10 Pinocchio's by noon and there's always someone willing to take the job.
I was a maintenance manager and a service manager and it didn't matter what kinds of tales you could tell with any of the dealers or manufacturers. The words on the warranty papers was the determiner of warranty coverage. Everyone on the supply side knew what was happening so the size of the owner's company was the usual determiner of who got coverage outside of the time limits. A five million dollar a year company got better coverage than a $500,000 dollar a year company. A couple of months ago I had a call from a gravel pit client who had a final drive fail on a big Cat excavator within the time limits and the type of failure. The dealer service department decided a rock got into the sprocket seal area and caused the failure. Turns out there was a service letter out about the factory issue and the service manager didn't want to take the time to look. He just wanted to bill the customer and not have to mess with the warranty issues. Other times the factory people just outright lie about their product. Link-Belt 4300 CII logging shovels had a problem of high crankcase pressures blowing engine oil out every gasket and seal for years. It usually happened while the machines and engines were still in warranty. Back then there were air compressor installed on the engines to pressurize the hydraulic tanks. The cooling lines to the compressors were too small and not allowing enough flow to the compressor to cool it. The rings went bad and lots of air under pressure went into the crankcase. The air compressor was the same that would be put on a truck to work a brake system. In this case it only filled and air tank and had a line that went through a regulator to the hydraulic tank. Most of the time the compressor was just running unloaded. I called the compressor people who were very quick to inform me that Link-Belt was told about the issue and the problem was Link-Belt's to solve. I called Link-Belt who said there was no issue and the problem belonged to the customers. I left the dealership shortly after that. I could write about this stuff for days and I'm sure Nige could do the same for weeks.
It's sad when it depends on who you talk to. This is where a good salesman can be a great benefit if the service manager tries to get out of a legitimate warranty claim.
I remember back in the day we had a C7 back when they were new, and bad. Road service guy came out and gave it a little spritz to get it started one last time to get it off the bad corner, and said "don't tell Cat we did this, they will do ANYTHING to get out of warranty." It was the usual HEUI pump shelling out at the root of the problem.
The short time I worked for everyone's hero Ford, working 6.9/7.3's the lousy excuses never ended. The only reason I drive a Ranger is I got a good deal on it, Other wise I would have built a B61 mack or a KW pickup. At that dealer--the lying started at 8 am and didn't stop till 5 pm.
And y'all thought those creative writing assignments in high school were useless.
I just sat in class drawing pictures of old cars and trucks-still got a C. And a {A} in art. Which caused a B average.
Based on your trucks pics. you still should have averaged an A. Your truck pics. are better than A plus!
I can't say i've ever seen a good write up from a service. It always reads like it was written by a 12 year old (being generous), half the words spelled wrong or just used wrong, even with a decent understanding of what they did sometimes confusing trying to figure out what they are saying. I think many times even at the dealership the server manager just takes word for word from mechanic instead of cleaning it up.
I have the opposite problem. The service writer often condenses my full-page essays into 4-6 sentences.
Sometimes nowadays businesses use a crappy computer program for fleet maintenance/repair that words stuff strangely and is somewhat vague and it also depends who is entering the information. I bought a truck once out of a large fleet and i was able to get copies of some of the repairs that had been done to it. It was like trying to decipher a foreign language. Talk about vague
If it's a job you've never seen or done before, Quote to strip and inspect first, so that it is just chargeable hours at an hourly rate, then quote to repair from there so at least you can properly see the pitfalls ahead and how long it's going to take to put back together.
I'm waiting on the owner's input on the CB64. I went out to a job yesterday for an a/c problem that ended up being plugged airflow filters. Before I left there, 3 other machines went down within 2 hours...............all of them filter related. Just shocking
The owner called me today. He is getting a trade value for the CB64 and may possibly trade it off for a new roller..........providing Cat can find him one. It still may end up being a repair job, but I don't have to bother with it for now. The JD 650J dozer that quit running on the job yesterday........lack of PM service so bad that the fuel filters completely plugged up. I serviced it completely today so it's working again. The outer air filter had already started to distort. Current hours on the meter are 7224. Nothing else needs to be said Yeah, that's 2019
EEK good greif
Its only going to get worse in this industry - good for those of us who like to work at least.
Vetech .. When you're starting you meeting with company management ... pass this comic around ..
You don’t have to wait on the maintenance issues. I’ve seen hundreds of machines with that condition and worse.
Vetech .. When you're starting you meeting with company management ... pass this comic around ..
Sakai 505 roller I serviced on the 19th was struggling to run yesterday afternoon. I get there and there is engine oil EVERYWHERE under the hood. I spend over an hour cleaning oil off with brake cleaner trying to find an oil leak. Did I leave something off? Did I forget to do something during the service? I couldn't find S$%t so I called the job super and asked why the general super called me about this machine, other than the massive amount of oil under the hood? He said "Don't worry about that oil........one of the operators left off the oil fill cap this morning." He then said the roller will run fine at times, then sometimes it will lug badly with black smoke and no power. Pieces of rubber, a small twig, and what looks like a partial leaf....all stuck in the inlet and outlet check valves of the primer pump. I missed this
Really EASY to miss crap in the line flows, we do not have Xray Eyes, been there big boy!!
I love this thread. I'm on the processing side of mining and I'm pretty sure some of my coworkers could have been working on this equipment. I've had an intern now turned full time mechanic under my wing all summer. The kid loves to work and does pretty good work. He started to get the PM's are a waste of time bug from some of the other parts changers we work with who are too good for PM's. I caught him paper whipping a PM on a go home day. He got to listen to me on my soap box the whole way out of that hole about PM's and a good mechanic does good thorough PM's and checks a lot more than the paper asks for when they have the chance. This hitch his attitude changed big time and he basically thanked me for the butt chewing. There might be hope.
one of the operators left off the oil fill cap Hey, at least one of them checks the oil and adds if needed. Progress? Joe H
Probably wasn't your miss. You don't fill the fuel tank or know which bucket they got the fuel from.
Looks like Same bucket they cleaned Belly plates out using.
Good on ya! Those of us who've been in this industry a while need to start passing on attitude, ethics and knowledge to the new/younger crowd.
Catching the SMALL **** in a PM is key to Not have to return to a machine you just worked on too soon. Bad Batteries, bad cables, rotator coupling dribbles or collector ring corrosion, ALL easy pick outs. CLEANING is tough to get the mentality to digest, CLEAN shows where problems have been or will end up.
Here is something I found interesting yesterday. This is a newer style air cleaner that I haven't run into yet.......until yesterday. Customer has 2 of these Broce brooms and this one hasn't been serviced since new (about 1.5 years old) and has 1200 hours on it. It has a Cummins tier 4 2.8 engine, and I started looking for filters. I called my normal filter supplier on these air filters...........backordered until October 24th at the earliest. Called Cummins..........indefinite back ordered. The lid is missing on one of the brooms, so I called the Broce dealer here.........can't buy the lid, I have to buy the entire air cleaner assembly.......$1565.00!!!!!. OMG are you kidding me?! So I decide to call Cummins back and ask about the lid..............again you have to buy the entire air cleaner assembly. I ask him to find out if the assembly comes with the filters in it. He calls me back about 10 minutes later and says YES they do.............and with a new filter restriction indicator also. I ask him the price for one as I am readying myself for a coronary. My cost $175.48 ea..............................2 of them will be here Monday Sometimes finding and getting stuff the hard way pays huge dividends! 
Research time, the never ending unpaid part of work on machines.
From what I remember, they used those style air cleaners on Skytrack telehandlers. Could always check a JLG dealer or rental shop for the filter if you're ever in a pinch.
I like that Nige
I think Bobcat used the same air filters on their skid steers.
Sounds like a complete failure of Cummins and/or the parts guy. If a complete setup is that economical it should be mentioned instantly if the filters themselves are backordered, you shouldn't have to ask. It's just like when a part of an assembly is more then the entire assembly, it's massive failure on the parts supplier.
You always looking to blame someone?
If someone is to blame, yes. Parts people should be knowledgeable and more then just looking up a part number.
Good luck with that these days, not on a computer screen or you have p/n they can search are lost. Newer mechanics rely on electronic diagnostics even when the problems are not associated electronically. Hardly anyone under thirty can diagnose or freelance parts as the old crew members could. Been going downhill for twenty plus years. But Hey, most have some sort of junk degree.
As to my previous comment on wrench benders, was asked by a local mechanic what device/machine I used to Diagnose my low oil pressure on the C15. He had NOT listened to the methods I had physically listed used or that found the 025 stamped in the block. He looked dumbfounded when stated, 'My Eyes and Hands'.
Most of the big houses around here have three people on the parts desk. They generally have around a 100 calls a day each. They have to know how to access information on hundreds of different models that were produced over fifty or more years and be up on every change, update and factory campaign ever done plus chase parts out in the warehouse when the regulars show up unannounced. None of them have much training or experience in mechanical things and maybe not any aptitude for it anyway. Maybe the onus has needed to shift onto the customers to actually know a little bit about what they need and how to find it to make things easier for everyone. It's great to have the jewell in the rough who is knowledgable, experienced and pleasant to deal with. It took five to ten years for them to get that way and now thirty to forty years in they are retiring from the abuse that a lot of the A holes want to spew at the people at the bottom of the totem pole. The newbies now are only into the systems about two years in most places I deal with. I suspect may will decide to find other employment instead of getting an earful of crap every time they pick up the phone.
Not to mention one part will/could have as many as 3 to 4 updates and a number change each time.
Want to make it easy-Have the vin, model, and part number before you call. It's what I do, been doing it that way for years, way less problems.
I try to look up all my part numbers before I call unless it is something simple. Many times I have trouble figuring out what I need and am pretty good at it. I can't imagine being the parts guy trying to find it with me explaining it over the phone, I know I wouldn't want that job.
Some people wonder why they get poor customer service, everywhere they go.
Some trivia from my way back machine. In a Michigan Auto Machine Manual-Which listed all machining requirements and related parts for rebuilders, every now and then but rarely was a mistake found and normally corrected with next years manual. For the late 60's Olds 425, 455 engines it listed the same camshaft for both under the same part number. Many shops ran into issues on start-up and tuning-couldn't figure out the low vacuum problem until some major investigation and tear down happened. The stock replacement cam Michigan listed for a grocery getter was actually for a H.O. 455 4spd. For some reason that was one mistake that was never corrected for years-it was still listed in 1995.
Someone is making a lot of assumptions and you know what they say about that...... Of all the dealers I go to only one is awful, and no it's not poor customer service they are friendly they are just clueless and the brand I buy from them, Takeuchi is treated as the red-headed step child. Not a single one of their parts guys has any idea how their system works or any knowledge on the machines, even though they not only sell them, they rent them too. They've been the dealer for quite a few years now probably 4-5 and yet I wonder why they even bother? They stock almost no parts, most of the time they have to order basic filters (this was an issue pre-covid), they don't know what filters they are, I have to provide part numbers because otherwise most of the time they are wrong. Any other place I go I provide the year, and model and sometimes they ask for serial but they always get the right filters and they also ask what hour service it is to check if I need other filters, 99% of the time anything I order is in stock or it's next day, Takeuchi is at least 1-2 weeks to order anything. How foolish do you look when you are provided a year, make, model, serial number and ask "both hydraulic filters" when the machine only has one? Any company who doesn't have a system where a parts guys can look up a serial and/or year and model and it pulls up all the maintenance filters is making their parts guys look like fools. My Volvo dealer on my first trip there when I bought it printed me out a sheet that did so I knew which filters for when..... There's a difference between a company/dealer who provides great service and one who simply tries to half *** it, and there is a reason why one I buy virtually every part I need from them, even if it's a little more, and the other I will never step foot into again unless i'm really stuck for a part (not like they'd have it in stock or able to get it in a reasonable time frame anyway). I will other from another dealer, I will spend a bunch of time researching where else to buy just so they never see another dollar from me. Funny enough the John Deere dealer use to be worse, a few years ago they came by my yard trying to drum up business and said they regretted the poor service they were providing the little guys like me, and they've really done a lot better now when I gave them another shot. Many big companies forget how important the little guys are to their business, and either they remember it, or they go under. I'm sure many are lacking on training, but where is the desire to learn? I bet every dollar I have when it's a slow day or slow hour they are on social media or their phones, etc instead of learning more about the systems and parts etc which would make them better at their job. For the record I know customer service is a hard job, I will never treat them with disrespect even if they are terrible at their job.
Do you write warranty stories to?
Vetech here's one that needs a good tune-up.
Just needs a little TLC!!
Probably wouldn't take much-hell just fuel and some batteries, buzzing in no time.
Kinda looks like a twin unit a 12 -71. Bad Bob
LOL 1/2 a 12v
Gray meant something completely different in those days.
That should be sitting in a museum!
I work for a major brand construction dealer and we have what my company calls “allied brands”. For our designated brand we have full service access and parts information access plus training but for most of the allied brands we get just as poor support from as you do. No classes/training, no access to the service manuals, half or more of the time we are fumbling around on the brand’s website trying to find parts links or manuals (damn near every brand’s website is ********, this link is deeply hidden 3/4 of the time). A good example…Nominally we are AGCO and New Holland ag dealers but neither brand wants anything to do with us it’s like pulling teeth to get help. Accordingly if you want to buy a part for either brand good luck and if you want service for a machine under one of these allied brands it’s going to be a pain for both you and me
IIRC that Gray series engine had Two Valve head, later 6L DD series went to Four Valve increased HP and better scavenging. Some cleaner for a Double Breasted Yamaha.
I think all the 71's originally had the two valve heads and the very early ones had what I believed were called low blocks. If I'm recalling it right those had a head gasket more like other engines, all one piece. Then the newer high blocks were the ones with all the separate orings and the seal that went around the outer edge of the block to keep the oil in or at least most of it!
Any of the two valve engines were noted for dropping valves.
And the four valve heads were noted for cracking between the valves.
Also had a couple 8V-71 that broke cranks. Funny thing is they would still run with a bit extra vibration! One was in a IR Drill rig and the other was a PTO engine running a crusher. A little hard on the lower mains and the block!
Years ago--A guy had me tow a K100 to a Kenworth dealer, didn't want it dropped in their yard, dropped it 6 blocks away. He rolled a set of bearings in on a broken crank {92}. He had already traded it on a new W900.
One of the films we saw while going to apprenticeship training was on detroit diesel governors. It was an old Gray Marine film- kind of scratchy and well used. It was obviously made during ww2 and showed the engine in a landing craft.
They were in everything in the war years up past Vietnam.
So they really are government motors!
Yep same as Gmc and Chevy Ok that's enough political stuffs
Gray was like any other company-lived off government contracts.
I was just remembering my old adventures traveling up and down California (hundreds of miles) in a fire truck with 6V92. Fell asleep both ways in the middle of the night with the Detroit near the governor, woke up with my ears ringing. So you can sleep with noise loud enough to do damage.
What Gray Marine did was set up the engines for marine use. They installed marine coolers and raw water pumps plus wet exhausts. Lots of amphibious craft got keel coolers instead of the sea water systems. The engines were still manufactured by General Motors Corporation. When you think about the manufacturing run from the thirties until the seventies or eighties, can you think of any other engines that have been manufactured for that amount of time?
Wisconsin air cooled comes to mind, but not much else. Also crude, loud, and thirsty.
Not much to report..............but more coming!
As far as automotive the small bocks Chevy, Ford and Dodge built all had long production runs. The Cummins small cam 855's 1962 to 1995.
Small block Chevy from 55 to 2000s. Various small changes yet essentially the same basic engine.
More as in “train wreck” or just lack of basic maintenance.?
Kinda like the farmall cub made from 48 till 84 ish in on form or another with the same engine and transmission/final drives
Continental & Lycoming...
As far as tractors, the Ferguson system used today is basically the same as used on tractors starting in 1939. There are still thousands of Ferguson and 8N's still being used. Improvements were made over the years as well as going back to a simpler system but the basic tractor and 3pt. hitch/PTO is the same and is likely to carry on for many more decades. What isn't clear is if tractors will all have to go electric and how that will change implements.
Well, I wonder how many minutes you could chop corn for silage , before the battery in your tractor gives out. Maybe they can put extra batteries on a trailer to pull along with the chopper.
We'll put a tether on the chopper to grid power, run all day with no loss of performance! LMAO
Like the old bumper cars at the amusement park or street cars
Which does this fall under?
That paint or dirt??
Months of dirt on a machine with 2046 hours since new
2000 hours and Never a bath, awesome. How bad they cook it? No pun!!
Not any worse than any radiator in any truck used in pea harvest. The leaves are small and harvesting them dry it will plug a radiator in three days.
Know a guy who had a chicken farm. Cleaning out the barns was like a thick white dust that you didn't think was too bad until you took the air filter out of the skid steer. It didn't seem bad because of the colour and how fine it was but once you tapped the filter on a tire or something it was unbelievable how thick it was coming off the filter.
Plug in implements. A mower designed for a 40HP tractor will now need a 15HP or higher electric motor to power it. For a large mower for highways and ditches I don't know if an electric version of a 100HP tractor would be near as efficient. It would have to power the tractor as well as the mower. Hydraulic power maybe??? I wonder if there's any reports yet on how the Case electric backhoes are making out?
Drag a cable around like an electric dragline, except the dragline only moves once in a while and has an army of men to keep it going.
Maybe have remote electrical hook ups in the field like sod farms have for watering or something like central pivot irrigation.
Vetech asks "Which does this fall under?" Not yet completely plugged, drive on. Joe H
As HNC grabs a blowgun I kin fix dat !! Pressure washer would do wonders but rough on cooler cores.
He probably wouldn’t know where to look.
It's been paving equipment all week. I am doing a cylinder update on the Weiler paver due to a design flaw. I did the right-side extension yesterday.................will be doing the left side today. It's a crock of crap what you have to go through to gain access. I'll post step by step pics of this process tonight so you all can feel sorry for me. LOL
You cannot really expect pity from us can you?
The more I repair Weiler's, the more I despise them LOL So much labor for what should be something relatively simple................extension cylinder changeouts.
Once you get the crap out of the way you can finally see the cylinder mount............but you aren't there yet.
All of this just to get the cylinder out. Weiler's fix? Thicker mount plates I did the right side yesterday............took right at 5 hours. Left side I did today at about 4.5 hours. Cleaning the asphalt away from where you need to get to is the roughest part. Its still a royal PITA and if you have a fitting leak or need to replace that rod end hose!? ...........you have to tear this down the exact same way..........
I use the leaf blower on my backhoe when I am done using it. It helps keep things clean.
Went out on a 60G mini ex today. Typical electrical problems due to a **** poor repair previously. The operator, when I was done with the electrical repair, asked if I could weld a tooth back onto the bucket shank. Previous weld was S%^& but I did it. He has WAYYY bigger problems than a missing tooth. He didn't even say anything about the bottom of this bucket being caved in 5 inches and the weld seems ripped on both sides by at least 10" long. LOL I'm trashing this bucket and getting a new replacement ordered. I'm not even going to screw with this repair.
Nope. I’ll stick with logging equipment. Straight up abuse without scraping off asphalt
Oh joy that paver crap doesn’t look fun and as a bonus I found out today I am slated to go to WEILER paver training sometime next quarter. I think it’s up at their factory in Iowa.
Hate anything and everything to do with asphalt.
Abuse for sure but I'm wondering where the bucket was made. It can't have had much weld on the inside.
There's still a few thousand hours and a lot of hits left in that bucket! Lol
Or anything to do with heavy oil/bunker fuel. Surprisingly both products come from a very similar area of the fractionating column at the oil refinery. Coincidence.?
Asphalt spreaders, rollers, even the trucks hauling the stuff always a mess. Oil and build up aggregate materials end up in or on everything, product heat causes uneven metal deformation leading to cracks or absolute seam failures and the people applying the materials have grown numb to the issues allowing advancing decay of machines to proceed until cannot be repaired. Salvage yards actually reject or severely reduce metals prices when coated with the mess.
Well!....at least I won't be alone now. Welcome to the club!
I'm taking this weekend off and finishing up my horse stable. Oh wait.........I haven't told you guys about the upcoming horse adventure. LOL........Oh joyyyyyyyyy
From Oil Cookers to Hay Burners, OH GOOD GRIEF!!!!
Stupid horses.
Did I say hate anything and everything to do with horses?
Healthy as a horse :roflmao:
When an operator uses uses a bucket as a hammer they don't last long, we have a bucket off a 350 completely trashed because of this.
Now we know what the paving crew was using when the roller was down. On the horse front, I can only plead ignorance when wife asked for a horse many years ago. My education cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and hours of hard labor later.
I haven't told you guys about the upcoming horse adventure. LOL........Oh joyyyyyyyyy Time to raise your prices & make friends with a Vet. You'll be making his boat or plane payments for awhile. Joe H
Were the Cat pavers any better to work on before Weiler took over paving?
I never saw a paving spreader that was easily worked on, A year into use and were filthy oil gobbed messes, damned near needed to tank them in fuel oil for a week to find fasteners and God help you if had to weld on one.
Weiler took over Cat forestry not Cat paving. You can buy a Cat paver with a Weiler screed though and Weiler uses a lot of Cat components in their equipment.
Did not realize that. I thought they picked up both.
Ahh...the great horse adventure. Wife and daughters (and grandkids) are dying to have a horse and have bugged me for the last 2 years. I have been around horses but have never owned one..........my parents on the other hand, raised and sold paints for years after us kids left home, and I helped out some. ALOT of work in their operation. I made an agreement with the wife that they could try this for 6-12 months and if they can handle the load then I'm good. If not, they will go to the nearest glue factory (I did tell her that, but I was joking) ..........I actually have 2 horse sanctuaries near me that would take them because I checked first LOL. SO......we have 3 retired trail ride horses coming here in 2 weeks to live out their lives grazing on my lush prairie grass until they are no more. These horses are coming from friends of mine in the southern part of the state that own a ranch that offers trail rides through the Kiamichi mountains here. The horses are free and will be delivered here for free........so my only out of pocket has been for a site here on my property to keep them. Everyone, except the men of the property here, seems extremely excited......us guys are "meh". I know there will be costs involved and I'm ok with that as long as the women here are doing 90% of the work. We will see how this goes. I don't have the time to do a lot with these and don't foresee that changing anytime soon. Here is a pic of the stable this family has built together over the last 7-8 weekends. It's not quite finished in a few spots, but I will get those things done this next weekend. Not too bad for a bunch of amateurs huh! Now I'm going back to work that actually pays the bills.
Looks good
Does look good, where's the heater?
Some of my horse education over 35 years. 1. There is no free horse. 2. Hoof care is critical & expensive. Shoes are changed every 6-8 weeks. Even barefoot horses need to be trimmed. 3. Feeding a horse is expensive. Feed the wrong stuff, horse gets sick & dies. Feed too much of the right stuff, horse gets sick & dies. 4. Horses are suicidal. They will hurt themselves on anything. (do get post toppers on your tee posts. the sharp top will slice horse flesh like a knife. Avoid the vet bill.) 5. Proper fencing is critical. They like to scratch, push, & rub on stuff. Your fence can't stand up to 1000 pounds of stupid rubbing on it. Get an electric fencer to charge a line on top of the fence. Then teach the horse, the fence bites so stay away from it. 6. Horses are less expensive than psychotherapy or a divorce. 7. See # 1
Wife wants a horse I told her same thing my daddy told me when I wanted a horse: get a fourwheeler. Fourwheelers don’t get scared of their own shadow and buck you off and don’t require daily care nor vet bills
fourwheelers don't eat except when you are riding them, either!
1. yes 2. enthusiastic women should be able to trim a horses hooves, if the horse is trouble, glue factory. 3. yes, tricky balance between all the nutrition ailments and too fat,although getting sick and dying isn't the worst outcome. 4. yes 5. yes, electric fences are wonderful, as every man knows, women, especially horsey women often disagree? 6. I don't know. At least it sounds like these have come from a place that will hopefully have weeded out most of the most common problems. The best thing you can do for them is to keep them at the same level of consistent activity and everybody stays happy. Hard to keep three horses exercised for most people.
With 3 and enough room to run they will keep themselves exercised. Buddy has 3 retired race horses and they do fine. Electric fence is best, matter of fact that's all they have is 3 strain electrobraid
All good points fellas. I informed wifey and she can modify things if she desires. I had the old man call me yesterday wanting to know if I could do the repair on the CB64 with the burned-up eccentric. I told him I could, but I would need something from him first. The 30-day terms I have are normally ok, but with the volume of work that is thrown on me daily it's not working for me right now. I'm spending more than I am getting in return during the 30-day term and I am constantly playing keep up. He said he understood, uttered "Welcome to my world!", said "You know they call this extortion right!?" and a few other things we laughed about, and I told him if I could change those terms to 15 days it would help tremendously. He said He was on it, and within 45 minutes of that phone call, I had a check waiting on me for every invoice over 15 days out. Got to love the old timers.......they know what it takes to get things done and aren't afraid to do what it takes. All kinds of equipment is showing up at the yard right now, most havent been here for who knows how long............mostly needing PM service. Alot of repairs are either started and waiting on parts.............or waiting to get started because it is waiting on me. With more showing up now....................it's overwhelming me at the moment. I got to get my second wind!
Just don't drive yourself to exhaustion. REALLY Bad place to go visit, been there done that.
I know what you mean. Had a customer at the last dealer that bought all his mining machines, so we’re talking $1-3m a copy and often multiple machines at the same time, on nothing more than a handshake. Great guy, I had a lot of time for him.
I managed to get their newest 160G serviced yesterday. It had almost 1600 hours since its last service and not all of them had dates or hours marked. The ones that were marked were all over the place and inconsistent. The bucket teeth were worn badly, and the shank tips were just starting to show through the bottom of the teeth...........so new teeth and retainers were installed. 3 of 5 I had to torch off since the retainer pin heads had been stripped off. I was informed yesterday that 2 of their CB34B's are going to be replaced. I am waiting to see what Cat here is giving for a trade value. They are in pretty good shape at this moment so they may be some good buys. If you're looking for a compaction roller or 2 then...... . I might be able to pick them up on the cheap! I had one of the haul truck drivers show up in the shop yesterday because he couldn't get a 650J dozer to start that he was supposed to haul. I walked out and sure enough, all it did was spin over with no fuel out the stack. I went to a fuel filter and started pulling it to see if there was any fuel in it. When the seal on the filter broke, there was 15 seconds of air rushing into it..........sounded like someone inhaling their last breath of life. Tightened it back up, removed the fuel cap, spun the engine over for a few seconds and she fired right up. Clogged vent in the cap...............no telling how long this has been going on.
I feel bad for you i guess it could be worse maybe some how it will work out. On the good side it makes me think how lucky i am.
Tightened it back up, removed the fuel cap, spun the engine over for a few seconds and she fired right up. Clogged vent in the cap...............no telling how long this has been going on. If not for the haul driver would have gone on until it needed a starter. Joe H
modern Cat machines have a replaceable little breather on the fuel cap that gets ignored by many or worse broken off and not replaced, letting water and debris into the tank.
I spent most of last week doing PM's on stuff that was showing up that hadn't seen the equipment yard in forever. Everything was 1200 hr + overdue of course. I'll be hitting other repairs this week, I hope. It's been a challenge lately to keep up.
A couple of weeks ago I got started on a small 35G excavator with numerous things that needed attention. One of the issues was the a/c not blowing cold but I could hear the fan blowing on high. One of the louver vents was missing and I noticed a rag stuffed into the vent tunnel...........removed the rag but it didn't improve. I already figured I was going to have to pull the unit from under the floor, but then I got hammered with other primary stuff and just got back on this yesterday. I got the unit out and broke it down to find exactly what I was afraid of......... a completely plugged up evaporator core. This is what happens when the cab filters get ignored...........4000+ hours of abuse.
I don't know what you are talking about there is a open space for air to get through that core see the red circle!
Running with the cab doors open on a machine with a/c doesn’t help either
Would an entry level PM guy help ease your work load? Any operators working there you can tell spend way too much money on upgrading their car/ truck who might have some mechanical inclination and potential? Maybe not have the new guy PMing stuff that hasn't had eyeballs on it in 4k though have him keep on top of the stuff you've gotten up to date.
Yeah, that would be nice. I could keep someone busy just pressure washing and doing PM work alone. Operators for this company I would trust to do anything mechanical, and the company doesn't seem interested in hiring anyone right now. They hired several beginner types the last 2-3 years and none of them made it a week...............a lot had to do with working for HNC of course, some of it was laziness or the work was "too dirty or too hot". I think the company has given up on hiring in that type of position, at least in the short term.
So what's there plan when you decide to step back cause In 3 months I doubt you will still want to run this pace by yourself. If and when you decide to step back within in 6 months most of there equipment wont be functioning
I’m praying for some kind of miracle because this is wearing me out quickly.
Well when you step back and there equipment spirals out of control just remember it was there stupidity that put them there I am all about helping people but your a better man than me cause that much brain damage would have sent me down the road all ready so I really hope you are billing the hell out of them. I work for and around the same mentality here and they never learn there lesson and continue to repeat the same mistakes. Good luck
But as long as their checks all clear the bank before that who cares? Someone's got to supply the equipment for the next Iron Planet auction!
Us bottom feeding gut eaters love when big companies head to the auction that's better than the bargain rack
Yeah, I'm making great money as I should be with this outfit. I fully expect this if I were to step back. I'm mostly enjoying the challenge to a point. No truer words have ever been spoken!
Since I am not an employee of the company, I can't just hire someone to help on their payroll. They dont seem to be interested in a helper at this moment........I guess I have proved I can keep up maybe? What I am considering is bringing someone in under me, working for me doing the things I need. I would be paying them and back charging the customer. It would have to be someone that could work weekends and after hours because I wouldn't want someone depending on this as their only job, especially coming into winter. This way I could keep up a bit better and the cost to the customer is no more than what it costs to pay me to do the same stuff. I havent decided to pull the trigger on this yet.........I'm trying to decide if it will be feasible for the short term.
If new guy does as good a work as you I see the company asking if they want to work for them full time, then they don't need you as much
LOL.....I forgot to mention. I'm looking for a beginner that knows the difference between a ratchet and a crescent wrench. Someone that can hold a pressure washer wand and not care if they get wet and dirty. Somone that can do simple filter and oil changes.
The real issue is that anyone worth a damn basically needs it to be a full time job
I wish i was closer i need a part time job . I dont mind to presser wash or do PM i dont want to be the brains . I would like to find something but every thing is 60+ hours.
Vetech ... Old Doug has the ticket, A retiree has the experience and will to do the job. Doesn't need or want full time work. Only issue is you become an employer, with taxes, liability insurance, AND worker's Comp. A retiree will have Medicare for themself. Your costs will be just about your billing rate !! Such is the dis-incentives to working and productivity in these United States. Also, a retiree isn't likely to become your competition.
You and about every company I do business with or just meet.
Two dirtiest words-{weekends & afterhours} good luck, it's hard enough to find someone 8 to 5-40hrs.
I'm not holding my breath for this for sure, they do now have a lube guy that started recently running the lube/fuel truck. 20 year old but I don't know if he has any experience with machinery. I was repairing a 700K yesterday and he showed up to fuel the equipment. When he got to the dozer I was working on........I noticed he only added fuel and didn't check anything else. When I fired the dozer up to check my repair, the low coolant alarm was going off on the monitor ........I'll catch him soon and clarify what his job entails, seems no one else has or he doesn't know the scope of his job.
They probably told him to just fuel up the equipment... so it could get more abuse and neglect.
Nothing but normal repairs this last week. I was told by super that HNC is STILL trying to come back...........so far, he is hearing crickets. Hopefully it will stay that way. The owner now sees how bad it actually was ..........thats a good thing. More to come!
That's a start. Would the owner be on board with a little training from you for him? Just getting him to top off fluids and letting you know when he's topping the machine off every day has the potential of saving a noticeable amount of money. I was just talking with a coworker the other day about how if you don't lay out expectations you really can't expect anything. PM's here are a prime example, our PM sheets here are horrible, usually the new guy is trained by the second newest guy on how to do PM's, and there's all this stuff that "should be getting caught" on a PM though it's not on the PM sheet and not communicated or taught that you should be doing it.
I'm sure the owner wouldn't have an issue with anything I do at this point. I need to separate what I can do as a contractor versus what an employee should do.
And what the employer should do and/or change to ensure the PM gets done so you're not swamped with the simpler stuff. Then you could concentrate on fixing the bigger repairs.
We tend to think regular PM is simple and easy. So it gets pushed to the back burner or said, any hillbilly can do that. But then when any hillbilly really does do it, over or under fills the crankcase and cross threads the drain plug you realize it might be better to pay a high dollar mechanic to do it right.
PM's and the lube/ PM bay are this double edged sward. You want them done right though your good mechanics are busy on more important jobs the green bean can't handle so the new guy gets thrown the easy PM while the high dollar mechanic is in the middle of a major repair. PM's is where many people start out, they learn how to spin on filters, fill fluids, and grease zerks. They don't have the years of experience to realize what they are looking at while they are doing the pm is about to fail. Or know there is a common problem with X piece of equipment and they should shine their flashlight up there when it's in the lube bay for a PM to check and see if it's starting to have the issue. Working with a good experienced teacher for a bit helps though you can't replace years of experience. One example I ran into here was the tension and bin pullies on one of our belts had 5 grease fittings in 1 spot and an orphan grease fitting on the guard 20' below it on the crusher floor. It takes a bit of experience to question why there's 6 fittings on one belt and only 5 fittings on this belt. The second newest guy who trained me had no clue about the orphan and hadn't been greasing it. The kid training me on PM's here had 5 months total experience on his tools. He knew how to fill out the PM paper, he didn't have a clue why we were really doing things or to open up his eyes, ears, nose, and touch things to look for more problems while we were given the time to look at the equipment. Yes the grease fitting finally got moved yesterday when we swapped out the pulley. With the fuel/ lube guy a binder in each piece of equipment with the date/hours, the different fluids/ things like air filters that need to be checked, a line for checked, and a line for added would help keep the kid organized. If the equipment has grease zerks a picture of the machine with all the hidden zerks on it will help him remember where they are with possibly something designating the stuff that needs to be greased every day vs the stuff that doesn't/ shouldn't be greased every day. I know I can't always remember from day to day what I have added fluids the last 3 times I've looked at something or if a piece of equipment has 2 hours on it since the last time I checked the air filter and I probably don't need to check it again.
Perhaps the employer could hire an apprentice or pay extra to so you could hire one or even somebody with mechanical aptitude to do the more simple tasks. There are people capable that aren't going to cost $50/hr.+ that an experienced journeyman mechanic costs. Even if they need some training it will pay off in the end.
Unfortunately to give you an example of the issue we face with getting apprentices maybe one in 20 is decent. The rest range from lazy to just plain stupid with a nice healthy dose of dangerous and overly cocky across the board. When you find a good one it’s like striking gold. And that’s for a program that puts you in school for five semesters to earn an associates degree, has you work when you aren’t in school between semesters, and gives you a really nice starter set of tools and a base level Snap On single bay rollcab plus if you work for is for just there years after they repay your school costs.
To me the guy doing what some think is simple PM's is one of the most important worker. He is all over the machine and sees it probably everyday or at least more than the guy doing major repairs. He, if he has his eyes and ears open, can spot things while they are minor things before they cause major problems.
Most definitely the case here. I watched these people try to hire someone for quite a while. Getting someone to just pass a drug test was a challenge by itself. If you were lucky enough to get that done, the next challenge was to get them to show up on time daily. I don't think I saw 1 work past a single week......too hot, ......too dirty.......not enough compensation.........etc.......... This is a huge reason I am hesitant to get that involved. 1st off......I am not an employee, so I don't feel like I have the authority, nor do I want it right now. Training takes time and patience which I am consistently short of. 2nd...I stress easily over others dumb ****. I may be setting myself up for an embolism. 3rd......When you have an employee or a helper, you are married to their own personal crap too. I just don't have time to deal with that either. I will point things out that should be done as helpful suggestions. Outside of that, it will cost a crapload more than I am currently getting........which is pretty nice right now.
I guess it depends on location as far as finding decent help. It used to be hiring kids who came from a farm or had worked on equipment a little were interested in getting into mechanics and really applied themselves. There used to be some good trade schools with some eager to learn students but a bulk of them have shut down. They claim people aren't interested in the trades anymore. I think in the very near future it's going to be very difficult to find anyone who knows how to diagnose and fix older equipment. That's why this forum is so good but what happens when the group of experts on here aren't around.
Barrelroll's post reminded me of a story about a young bride cooking her first Thanksgiving meal. She got the required turkey and in preparation, broke its legs. The young husband was aghast at this desecration. "How can one eat it caveman style without a handle on the leg?" "That's how my mother cooked the turkey" replied the bride. Young bride called her mother to ask why she broke the legs for all the Thanksgiving turkey meals since young bride could remember. "That's what my mother did as long as I can remember " replies Mother of young bride. Luckily, the bride's family is long lived, and Grandmother is still residing at the old homeplace. Asked why she broke the turkey's legs for the Thanksgiving meal ... Granny said. "Our oven is too small to fit the turkey big enough to feed the entire family and friends." "Why" is not a stupid question. So, you wrench benders... remember this story.
Lmao.....that is something loml would do. Ed
Zz
I remember Dad cutting the legs off a turkey with a hack saw for an exceptionally large Christmas dinner when I was a kid for the same reason. Cam
That's a great story. I printed that out and put it on my locker.
Started on this beast Friday. I'll do a step by step for those interested. I weighed the options and decided to do this job myself............we will see if I made the right choice. Bring on the pain!
I got 1 hour into this..............and then the rain started. I got the machine cribbed where I wanted it (right behind the drum) and got the front piece off. Rain today, so I won't get anymore done til later in the week
"Todays game was called off on account of rain"......
In the words of my old man - "Your skin's waterproof isn't it.?"
I like the parking spot
Put an easy up over it lol.
Nige, he sounds like a California carpenter. They come up to the Great Wet North, and a few drops of rain fall and they are taking off the toolbelts and heading for the car.
Could be worse.....
Come on guys.....I'll melt out there!
You must be missing the web toes and moss on your back that come from living on the west side of Washington State.
Naa turds float. Bad Bob
OK I admit it, it's pouring out there now and I am looking for other things to do too
Sometimes a little rain or other delay is nice so you can relax and have a bit of a break instead of go go go.
Man oh man. They just don’t make field tech’s like they used to.
LOL......whatever you old kodger
Speaking of turds..........wifey texted me this yesterday afternoon She isn't very happy now that her shop septic tank top collapsed. Nothing was driven over it...........it just apparently did this from age and tree roots maybe. She was whining at how much this is going to cost to fix (she's a cheap wad lol). I told her that the only way I could think of to supplement the cost was to create a "Oklahoma s(t)ink hole" sign and stick it up by the mailbox. She could charge $5 a view and sell masks for another $5.
Septic tank installers need to make money too.
As a leisurely septic installer I am offended by the insinuation that are prices are majorly outrageous when they are only outrageous. The majorly part is just to much my good sur and you should apologize
Pay for a pump out then form up and pour a new concrete top. Should be pretty cheap.
Yep raining here still, 2 1/2 days. Screw this I’m going duck hunting.
Well, the eccentric is on the ground It looks like more than it really is. More muscle than brains to get this far..........It took about 3.5 hours to get this far.
I had the eccentric out of the drum pretty quick. The high noon siren next door started wailing as I was driving the eccentric assembly into the shop.
I split the eccentric assembly and tore down one side. I am NOT finding what I was expecting at all. Very little metal filings, no spalled bearings, just cooked oil and seals............so far.
Is that bearing as big as it looks? Joe H
Still not much I wonder if I will find the same on the other half tomorrow. If not, this is looking like a bearing and seals job. SO......what in your opinion would cause this to overheat? ..Enough to discolor the case paint and bond some of the oil to the inside of the case? I have a suspicion, but I need someone to verify something for me...............How much of what type of oil does this eccentric call for by the manufacturer?
yes, I'd guess 7" diameter or so
cat prefers to use compactor oil. It’s a high dollar synthetic oil. Maybe wrong oil? No drum cooling oil? I did the rebearing and reseal of an E model vibratory sheepsfoot roller last year, one of the eccentrics sheared the little shaft and produced metal. I ended up having to cut the bearings out with an air hammer and then welding the races to shrink them, when you go back together if it has dual eccentric housings they need to align properly and that’s done putting it back together horizontally. I made do with a forklift and long guide studs made out of puller rod.
I'm suspecting this currently. I drained 5 gallons of gear oil (90 wt. I believe) out of this unit.
It might be just the round lid. I can't tell from that picture. Sometimes they just rot and fall in. If it is just the lid, you can get a riser kit and fix it really easily!
The aroma and flavor-a true wine vat. If it's old enough for the flavor lid to collapse, what about the drain field? You need a place for all that grape juice to go.
I drained 5 gallons of gear oil (90 wt. I believe) out of this unit. Looks like somebody once upon a time was doing some sort of maintenance. Wrong, but done. Joe H
Check your PMs.
I had another machine down yesterday so I just finished the eccentric tear down today. I found a small amount of spalling today.........not too bad but enough that I am replacing this spindle. The rest looks good so this will be a bearing and seal job mostly. The wrong oil looks to be the issue, double the capacity required and the 90 weight they put in it couldn't cool. Parts are 1 week out.
I walked by this trailer this morning and just had to get a pic of this for your enjoyment. LOL.......don't ask me why because I have NO Idea. I assume the tire is going flat overnight but who really knows?
They're using a battery as a jack-stand? I hope it was a dead battery. Or is this a new way to start a delayed fire?
Ah the ol battery jack stand, possibly the only thing worse then those hobo freight ones that were crushing people lol
It's a Napa Legend-besides the fact it's legendary for not lasting long-it's new beginning will be legendary on HEF--as a jack stand.
Does double duty as a concrete etcher... when the case cracks open.
They couldn't find a cinder block.
It was chaos Monday today.............equipment breaking down on the jobs right from the start this morning. !st the Cat profiler, then a Bomag roller, and then the Cat paver. I had to think outside the box on one of them. I'll get picks tomorrow.
Have you ever had a week where nothing goes right, and you had nothing to do with it? LOL.........well, I'm having one. Monday morning I get a call around 7:45 am.........Cat profiler is down and there are 13 dump trucks sitting, an entire crew standing around, and 2 state and Fed highway construction inspectors twiddling their thumbs. I get there about 15 minutes later to find that the hydraulic rotor belt tensioner has broken the base end cylinder post off. The cylinder is just hanging there by the rod eye. I told the job super there wasn't a lot I could since the broken stud wasn't a replaceable part as it was part of the mount bracket assembly. I go ahead and call Cat parts to verify that I am right which proved to be a challenge. After 20 minutes on the phone and the parts guy sending me email pics of things not even close to where my failure is............he says he is going to get someone more experienced to help me because he has never looked up anything on this type of machine. I finally get someone who knows what a cutting rotor is and the confirm that I have to buy the whole bracket assembly for $1000. I order it next day air out of Morton. In the meantime, the BIG boss shows up and asks me if he is screwed (LOL.....I'm thinking in more ways than one). I tell everyone standing there that I only have 1 option, and it sucks but we can try it. I took a bolt and welded it to the bracket and used it for the cylinder base anchor. I didn't think this would last 30 minutes, but I had nothing to lose. It actually held through the entire job, and I was supposed to install the new replacement yesterday when it arrived. Well, I get to Cat yesterday morning and no part. They spend 30 minutes trying to find paperwork on the order I made and finally come back to the parts counter with a supervisor. He informs me that UPS has put a hold on the part, and he doesn't know if it is here local or still in Morton...............and he won't know anything for sure until this morning (TODAY). Nothing I can do but wait. I get a call at 7 this morning that the part will be delivered by UPS this morning at 10:30. I pick the part up and head out to the profiler to install the new bracket. I remove the old bracket and set it next to the new one.........then I notice something..... The new bracket didn't come with the bushings for the pivot pin boss after I was told IT DID! ***?!! I called Cat to find that the parts guy just missed it . The machine is scheduled to mill tomorrow, and I still don't have a useable part. No time to attempt to remove the old bushings for reuse, so I had to put the old, repaired bracket back on this dam thing so it can work tomorrow. I feel like I have worked on this all week and got nowhere. Then Deere ordered me the wrong hose for my downed 250G excavator. It just never ends
Some days you're the dog, others you're the tree..........
I ordered two linear actuators Monday afternoon, priority ship, got em late yesterday. Both broken, probably dropped hard by a UPS monkey somewhere along the line. Now the search resumes to find at least one in the US to get the customer back up.
Or one minute your the dog then a minute later the tree then back to being the dog a second later. A lop sided pi$$ing match. He puts his cape on then takes it off-on, off all day.
Could also be worse. Think about the owner having to pay all that plus listen to the operator geniuses telling him how to run his company.
At least your welded bolt repair can get them out of a jam.
That's what I love about being a machinist and having a shop. I could have replicated the pin/boss probably in 4 hours.....for a price! I actually get a lot of kind of repair, since I try keeping a largely obsolete fleet going. By the time I could find a decent used part, I could build another one, or long before. There are a couple of times I still haven't found the part I wanted, but made something that worked. Of course, I haven't looked as hard now, but just in case my version failed I wanted to know where to get one, or just get it to have and replace to stay original. But under the circumstances, I'd say you went over and above for them. I hope it's appreciated.
If it were mine I'd cut the old one off and weld a pin on and be done with it. Joe H
This is always nice.........
.....to go along with a PDI marked hydraulic filter on a machine with 3491 hours just another day at the office
Is it my imagination or is that cutting edge worn down to the frog? It kind of looks like it and it wouldn’t surprise me
It's never pleasant when your ball falls off, especially when it's accompanied by a lack of lubricatrion......
Bolts were never torqued properly when the blade was assembled. Were there any shims in that mess?
My eyes are going, I don't see any zirks on that ball, what lubes it (or doesn't) ? Joe H
Your customer needs to sign up for cat sis so you never need to deal with a parts man again. The time and suffering saved is priceless! Oh wait. Have I already mentioned that.
looks lubricated did the bolts loosen up then snap?
Not sure if I come here to hear about Vtechs trials and tribulations or just to laugh at his sarcastic comments about things that are going horribly wrong….look forward to it every day!
To answer some questions 1. The cutting edge is within 1 inch of the mold board. It will get a replacement before it goes out. 2. The shims are gone.....somewhere on the job buried in the dirt. Ill have to reshim it. The ball and socket seem to have little wear so I am going to attempt to reuse it. 3. Of the 6 threaded holes, 1 was full of packed dirt, 2 bolts are broken off flush, and 3 are broken jagged. It looks like the bolts worked loose.....lost one completely and the rest gave up over time. 4. There is a grease point with a zert on the side of the socket. It was full of dirt and couldn't be seen. I had 3 bolts extracted in 15 minutes....2 of these are going to take a lot more.
An air scribe like the CP9361 is my first try to remove broken bolts when the bolt was broken from tension or over torquing.
I’m a huge fan of LH drill bits for broken bolts. You would think that blade must have been wobbling pretty good before the ball and socket actually came apart.
You would think that blade must have been wobbling pretty good before the ball and socket actually came apart. Turn up the radio and drive on James. Joe H
Holy s*** I just learned something about removing broken bolts that I’d never heard of. Thank you! Please excuse me I have to go cp9361 scribe shopping now.
I am not familiar with that either. Can you explain how this works?
Small air chisel used mostly for engraving.
I should be back on the dozer blade today removing the other broken bolts. There is an entire yard full of equipment that needs some kind of major or minor PM/repair and even more showing up daily. Right now, I think I could keep 3 trucks busy for a while. Shifting around to multiple repairs is not something I generally like to do............well, I take that back. I CAN do it and have for years but the volume of it is what is killing me. I'm enjoying the challenge of it all but good grief........I definitely don't have the stamina I had even 5 years ago. I could work 18-hour days and not catch up. My JD dealer support is worthless. I had them come out on a Bomag BW211 about 9 days ago with a fault code for the fuel rail PRV. I waited a week before that for them to even show up, but they finally did. He plugged in his computer and 30 minutes later confirms it's the PRV. I told him to get it and fix it since I am swamped and I'm paying you for being here anyway...........and by the way, I have another identical Bomag with the same issue and same code, so get 2 PRV's. I haven't heard a word since............I called this last Monday morning to find out what the hell is going on and the service manager didn't answer the phone, so I left a message. I still haven't heard from them. The moral, if you can call it that, is the machine has been down for 3 weeks for something that should have taken no more than 2 days and their lack of communication is just pissing me off more by the day. I have a Superior broom in the shop at the moment while I am waiting on numerous parts for equipment I already have torn down and waiting. I needed 3 electrical rocker switches for the headlamp, strobe, and water pump. I called the dealer, which is Cat by the way, and ordered them. I explained what I needed; they looked them up no problem. I picked them up yesterday........ The switches didn't come with the rocker part LOL. Does anyone else think this is just stupid? Another day down because of this ignorance.  One thing is for sure fellas.................I'm definitely NOT bored!
HMMM........Hey MIKE, get 2 of those!
The air scribe will vibrate the broken screw enough you can put the point in the screw and turn the stub with the scribe. One job I did recently was remove several broken screws that hold the drive motors to the frame on 200D LC. I probably got out 10 with the air scribe and only had to drill 1. It took way longer to drill 1 than remove 10 with the air scribe. Do not try an electric engraver and say it won't work. The air scribe is orders of magnitude better.
Can (will?) an Deere ag dealer fix the PRV?
Oh, I just remembered. I talked with the asphalt super yesterday about this eccentric issue (still waiting on parts) and asked how all this came about. He claimed that the original issue was that the sight glass started leaking and that it was run low on oil. He showed me a video on his phone of the oil in the sight glass boiling and I could hear it boiling through his video. He contacted Cat about the type of oil to put in it and the procedure for installed the correct amount of oil. He showed me what Cat had sent him and I have pictures of that now. I then asked where the oil they got came from...........they were out of town way out in the sticks where the only place to get oil was a NAPA store. The NAPA people gave them some oil that was supposedly an equivalent to the Cat specs............but he said the put in almost all of 2 5-gallon buckets. So, something isn't jiving here. If you position the machine drum as specified in the procedure, how in the hell do you fit almost 10 gallons of oil to be in the sight glass? It's an impossibility .......and if it was run out of oil originally, why is there not more severe damage to the bearings and hard parts? We will never know what actually happened which is a shame. What I bet happened is they didn't follow the procedure correctly and had the drum in the wrong position. I also bet the oil they put in was not the correct oil nor a close equivalent.
I hear ag is just as bad or worse. I'm so frustrated with the JD dealer right now ...........and I know why everyone else in this state is too.
I think the switches are sold like that because some have different colored lenses or maybe even lettering on them. Are those little bumps on the rocker so blind operators can read what the switch is for?
Too bad about the ag dealer. I'm in the middle between 2 different ag dealership chains, and get excellent service from either. If I call Murphy, I will wait weeks.
Quick Dick McDick's take on the tractor dealership's service. This guy is usually spot on with most subjects and I really enjoy his videos.
Around here, maybe all of California, the way I heard it was that the mothership decided that the construction dealer would buy out the ag dealer, and now there is only one place to go. I thought that was nationwide but maybe they have not gotten around to it yet.
Pricey little toys, $270 for the kit here --> http://www.sand-blasters.net/chicagopneumaticmodelcp9361airscribe.aspx How bad do I need one? Joe H
It’s only expensive until it gets you out of a jam. Then it’s a justifiable expense.
That's it in a nutshell. To get a complete switch for certain particular applications you need to order two Part Numbers. T'aint hard, both numbers are right next to one another in the Parts Manual.
You couldn't reuse the old cover?
I thought that as well John C but surmised the switches may have been missing completely.
It’s only expensive until it gets you out of a jam. True enough, but I'm 73 and the jams are not as frequent. And I'm a cheap old b*****d too. Joe H
In that case my go to tool would be a sharp prick punch and small ballpeen hammer. Often have been able to get broken bolts out with those. That of course assumes they are not rusted or held with loc-tite. But then I kind of doubt that Air-scribe would work either!
Then there's the drill with left handed drills.
Somebody else asked this question. Why do they make right handed drills? If they were all left handed would they not work just as good, and get bolts out sometimes too?
Drills are right handed for the same reason screw threads are right handed. There are far more right handed people than left handed. Even if left handed drills were the standard, there would be right hand drills. Left hand drills do not exist to remove screws, they just work for that purpose. There were many machine tools with multiple spindle centerlines close together and geared in daisy chain fashion. This means every other spindle turns the opposite direction, thusly requiring left hand drills.
Another learned something new today. Joe H
Why do stock cars always turn to the left here but not else where--I think it's because of too much BBQ and beer. who knows.
Brown & sharp screw machines use them as well when you are doing a tapping operation.
All Carling rocker switches are like that; One part number for the switch one part number for the cover. Were the old switch covers broken or worn? Only takes a small flat head from the under the cover to pop one tab loose.
2 of 3 were missing. I expected the switches to come with those and apparently my parts guy did too.
I went to dirt track races in Stratford, North Island, NZ a few years back and they turned left even though they drive on the lh side of the road
I just got to the rest of those broken bolts this morning. It took me about an hour but the difficult 3 are out. I'll chase threads Monday and hopefully what I ordered will be here Monday too. I just welded nuts to the ends and zipped them out with the impact gun. I didn't get that one on the right centered very well did I...........sue me!!!! .
I started on the 60G excavator today also. I found that the pilot filter hasn't ever been changed since the machine was new............it has 5894 hours on it. I don't know if anyone ever looked for it and look what I found on the hydraulic fill cap when I removed it......... I'm not sure if someone dropped it in the dirt and put it back on.................or they have been scraping oil off the ground to put into the tank.
That's quality maintenance at it's best.
OMG there could have been at least a dozen panic attacks over the last four pages!! This would drive me NUTS!
What the hell anyway, a mechanics job is repairing neglected torn up stuff. If it weren't for dough brains we wouldn't have a job. So business people please hire all the morons you can.
AMEN!
I'm still waiting on parts for 5 different machines I have torn down. I am STILL waiting on the JD/Bomag dealer to get back with me, and there is a rain/snow mix chance late today. I painted myself into a corner by having too much in the shop torn down and now have no more room for anything else. Oh what to do........................
Take a dump, make breakfast, have more coffee!!
Put your wet weather gear on and start working outside.?
Go work for other customers and clear your head of this one until the parts come in.
One of the things that has changed from when I started in this industry is the way people are pushed so hard to do everything this instant. It broke down last week but it has to be running now! All the push is put on the mechanics to get a machine running but nothing done about operators tearing stuff up. When I was an employee, I would warn would be emperors that my give a spit level was getting dangerously low so maybe they should go away. Some took the hint, on others I eventually just packed up my stuff and went somewhere else. The gig Vetech63 is doing sounds like a gold mine to me. You know where you are going to be each day, have a good paying customer and no tin generals to raise the aggravation levels. From my point of view the biggest hassle is in writing out the invoices.
It can be good and bad going to the same place all the time. A lot depends on the types of jobs you're doing. If the bulk of the jobs are from neglect and abuse and everything is caked in oil and greased soaked dirt, it would get old fast. You have to take the good with the bad but hopefully the bad isn't pathetic and day after day of scratching your head wondering why the hell you stay there, especially when there's other work available from companies who look after their machines better. If you're good at your job and known in the industry one of the biggest advantages you have is you can pick and choose which job(s) you want to tackle. It also let's you move around a bit so there's some variety in the jobs you do. Employee or self employed it's hard to stay motivated when your biggest thoughts are what kind of BS job do I have to at at that place today.
For me it gets a little easier everyday, time is getting short. Someone's emergency-well is becoming less of a problem. Drivers, operators or what ever are wet nursed to keep them happy, all the while business owners wonder why the overhead keeps climbing. Back to the old-you get what you paid for.
In reality is they pay for what they receive, bad as it gets will get worse. That huge Clay mine north of here, just released half the miners, might actually sell some machines IF can sell. Money and demand is bottoming out. Not seeing anything good occurring any time soon.
Did ya get weathered out Vetech?
More coming, just been getting killed
Be cautious in the cold my friend
Why is it my hands always get cut and bleed more in the cold? Is it because I am in a hurry to get the job done and back where it is warm? Or because my skin is numb and can't feel the cut zip tie gouging its way through until it is too late? Do others have this problem?
I probably have identical scars on my hands to yours. Maybe all mechanics have those scars. At least they don't hurt so much until your hands warm up.
Can attest to same conditions. Knuckles have suffered the worst gouges.
LOL As long as I can pick my jobs that can't happen! The cold has me locking up with limited movement. Both for me.
After a couple of parts delays by the dealer, I started putting the blade back on the dozer yesterday. It looks like I will have a helper available when I want one, a young fella that has been running the lube truck lately. The lube truck is down (explain that one later) so he assisted me with the blade install. He will be with me again today on the PM service and a few minor things on this same dozer. Seems to be a good kid and isn't afraid of getting dirty. He hasn't been getting 40-hour weeks so I think I can use him as fill in to get those hours. We will see how this goes but I'm hopeful all will be well.
Lube guy may turn in an apprentice? Good attitude and not afraid of real work is a solid foundation to start on.
Why the slots cut across the bolt holes ? I've not seen that done before. Cut before welding for extra weld surface ? Would appreciate the explanation.
To get them out with a flat screwdriver. Works sometimes and is quick
What Mike85 said^. I can get away with trying that in non-critical areas.
That's a unicorn in these days. Not afraid of getting dirty and actually wanting 40 hours a week.
Well, the 700K blade got finished yesterday after a couple of emergency break down repair delays. I noticed something going back together, one of the retaining washers I had removed didn't fit the bearing it was supposed to be retaining. There was so much crud on it that I didn't notice it when it was removed. No big deal now that I have the correct one on, but I am surprised that this didn't come off the post at some point in the past. Deere wouldn't have done that.......right? I don't know if this has been off before or not.
My helper has been doing pretty good actually. He has been full of energy and eats like a horse (I took him to lunch with me, and I paid LOL) He seems to work well, pays attention, and isn't afraid to ask questions if he is unsure of something. We serviced the 700K while it was being repaired, showed him how to mark the filters, and he did most of it with me overlooking. The only thing that's freaking me out is that he keeps calling me BOSS...........OMG. Thats the last thing I need. So far, so good..........but I believe they have the small fuel truck fixed now so he will be back to that next week. I told the general super that he had done really well working with me and he seemed shocked. I guess this kid has been moved to a couple of different crews as a general laborer and it hasn't worked out. It seems the fuel truck was a last resort for the main super to keep him with the company. What's funny is the kid spent his own money and several weeks to get his commercial truck driving license so he could run the big fuel truck, which he now operates when its running. That tells me a lot about a person. Sometimes you just have to find your niche......same way I did when I was his age.
All that and pee in the pool successfully? Definitely a keeper.
More than likely you provided the example of what someone could accomplish by being a professional. Put him back in the zoo and he could revert back to the animals.
Could it be that the kid can actually think and that has others afraid of him?
I'm not sure. I personally think they never had any great expectations for him anyway. I told the main super that I would like to continue to use him when he is finished doing his regular job on the fuel truck. I also told him that if something happened to his employment on the fuel truck...........I would be willing to work him full time in the shop. He agreed and again.....looked shocked. I keep calling him kid on here, but he is an early 20's something with a young wife and really young kid. He hasn't been getting 40-hour weeks and his wife doesn't have resident status yet, so she is unable to work. I can get him the hours he needs working with me to fill out his paycheck......as long as the company is willing. I'm going to see what he is made of in the next few weeks so we will see what happens. The good thing is........If the willingness to learn and take instruction remains positive, he could quickly become an asset to the company..........and I will DAM SURE make the company bosses understand that. I wont be afraid to make sure his pay keeps up with his ability also.....but again, as long as the company bosses co-operate with me. I have a warm feeling this could be great for a young man that needs a break......and I am willing to give him that.
I wonder if that is how I would have been - I like operating equipment, right up to about the 3rd or 4th push or scoop, then I wish I was elsewhere. Mechanic work is my favorite, it is always some new place and new problem to solve.
Couldn't agree more my friend!
Good on ya.
I hate general equipment operation (especially earthmoving) it’s as boring as watching paint dry. I found that I liked problem solving much more and I still get to test run the equipment before and after a fix anyway enough to satisfy any desire to run it.
Good for you VeTech! I always enjoy running equipment. It is like a background program running on a computer for me. I have to give it little to no conscious thought (other than obvious safety things). This allows me to do my figuring, planning, and problem solving for all my other tasks while still accomplishing something.
As with most on here I CAN operate most any type machine when handed the keys, generally get better at it as work but the work I did ON those machines is where I got my most satisfaction.
If something happens there or with you send him my way. I need 2-3 more guys with various levels of knowledge.
Some days wish was thirty years younger. Opportunities today we did not have years back.
I am the exact opposite, every time I get part way through a repair I wonder why I didn't pay someone to fix it for me. I enjoy running it instead of fixing it.
Actually, I think I have some of that problem also. I enjoy tearing it apart and finding what went wrong, but putting it all back together is sometimes a drag unless it is an interesting or specialized part. I guess I just don't like much of anything except a few parts.
Personally-It's still being able at 66 to turn work out in half the time it takes someone half my age, which is a high percentage of mechanics.---Then set on my ass.
We have similar demeanor. Get it in get it done, then screw off some or Gov Work if make good time. Guys in the garages I worked never understood my being able to motivate that fast, I like being able to get My Time but only when all else is done. As to rip strip and tear, KW says it best for me, Scatter to the wind then sort it back together. LOVE 3D puzzles!!
I usually asked {you gun'na fix that or screw it}.
I'd say I preferred fixing things but did like the chance once in a while to get to run equipment in the quarry. Think spending some time running the machines helped me when it came time to fix them. But to sit in the same 769C for 8 to 10 hours a day five days a week would not be fun. The ability to run most anything did come in handy a few times when an operator was late getting to work. One time I did have some "fun" test driving a 773 Cat haul truck after repairing a shifter problem. Took it down an unused haul road and went through the gears running flat out then touched the brakes! Yep! those 773's had good brakes especially running empty on a flat road. Good thing no one was watching, or coming the other way!
I was always the go to for basket cases. Drag the junk in, unload the boxes of pieces and hand me a work order. Was neat at first, got old pretty quick. Early 570 PayLoader sitting at Quarry in Marthasville MO had been taken apart then the mechanic died, he was seventy something, engine in one building, apart, trans in floor by machine, apart, bolts scattered. Took me four days just to sort out what was broken. Converter blew up as driven turbine failed, busted housing and drove crank forward ate thrust bearing among other parts. Three weeks awaiting parts and pieces then assembling in a quarry shelter. Then they sold out.
3 months a year running a Cat 1600LHD with a mile long tram mucking mud on night shift satisfied any urge to be an operator for me. I just don't have the gift and that's fine with me. I'll take a wrench, 4" of grease covering something and hydro oil dripping on my head vs. driving in circles all night. Glad the kid is working out for you. Sounds like the golden ticket if it works out for him. Most of our diesel mechanics here are mid 20's to early 30's making over $100k a year with awesome benefits.
Had it still written down as to my wages in 1976, Including OT I made almost $15,000. In 1984 as I ceased working multiple jobs as a on site contractor I was earning close to $74,000/yr and killing myself in that process 12-18 hours per day six days a week, Roughly $16/hr, my tools bills in 1984 had reached almost $4500 trying to keep up with the changing fastener types and demands. As a wrench for Union Electric I was over $42,000 in 1996, that was 26 years ago when COL was significantly lower where I bought a New Ford F2504x4 for $18,000. Today $100k is almost a starting wage in shops. The first Service Truck I bought was at auction, gave $1275 for a seven year old Well Beaten Ford F350 4x4 SRW with a utility body and a front winch, 4604bbl four speed that managed 8mpg and had over 150k miles on it. A decent service truck today you cannot touch used for less than 5 figures and most over $40k worn slick.
Managed to post that with no text…old fingers. Vetech, I’ve been away from here nearly three years, but lucked onto this thread. It’s been a fantastic read, and I really hope your new assistant works out, boss. I’ve had a few apprentices the last few years and your lad sounds like gold dust. Paying for his own CDL, that says a lot to me in itself, and I hope the company value him as much as you do. As for the compactor gearbox, I did the exact same job on a CP44 drum last year, tackled it the same way. I made an aligning tool from a drawing of the Cat service tool and it fell back into place. Already been said on here, Cat recommend their own Cat Compactor Oil, it’s a fully synthetic product worth (and costing) its weight in gold.
I like running equipment like others, but hate the monotony. If I operate any piece of equipment for a short time, I ALWAYS find something that needs attention on it. Usually the operator hasn't noticed yet. I'm a firm believer in spot inspections and regular inspections, apart from lube services. I spent a number of years as a crewchief on C-130s in the air guard. Required levels of inspection between flight hours. I hate reactionary maintenance, once the machine is down and unusable. Often, unscheduled downtime is preventable. I believe if all maintenance is reactionary, it's the mark of poor management. I like puzzles, if I can achieve success without stressing out over it. The intermittent electrical issues are the worst.
I have a BAD Habit of seeing what others ignore or just can't see. Would tell a operator noticed some odd noise or condition they needed to write up, seems they did not care until outright failed, then would ask How I Knew!! At the Nuke almost as if came to a understanding of the machine, be in our Ready Room between functions and feel a vibration change, hear a different howl or worse yet, Smell a odor NOT supposed to be there. Guys would raise heads if I got up and told them 'Its Wrong' and I would head into the turbine hall. A few would follow, few ever developed that sensitivity where I could detect steam leaks, hydraulic leaks, a valve slipping in position and damned near every time could find it.
Intermittent electrical problems is my specialty, things that only happen first start of the week type stuff. Show up on site, tell the customer DONT touch anything, let me get the covers off and my meter ready and we will track it down the one time we can before it fixes itself and we have to drive out here next week. Some people think they are doing a good thing by learning where to tap on it so that it fixes itself and don't realize that once they have temporarily fixed it, not much further T/S is usually possible until the problem recurs. Got to charge time and miles for all that driving.
NOT Quite that simple Digger, but kind of close!!
Well I managed to "fix" an 8-V71 just by walking up to it and starting it! Drove an hour and half to the quarry and was told it was making some bad noises, yea I know bad noise and Detroits to some are synonymous, anyhow mechanic at the plant was busy said for me to fire it up and hear for myself. So I did and listened close for 15-20 minutes and heard nothing abnormal for a Detroit. The plant mechanic came over and asked what I found, I said: "Nothing!" he says: "Well it's not doing it now!" Never heard of it having a problem again!
You're the Detroit whisperer.
What did you say? Yea, I worked on a few Detroits, so you might have to talk a little louder!
LOL
Say HUH?? Speak Up we be Deef Here!! And that VT1710 did not help matters back in the day.
Somedays-hero today dud the next. Everyday is a whole new set of circumstances, heroics yesterday is just that history. New day and new bridges to cross, what was sometimes intuition one day the mystery comes back to haunt the next. And it's right under your nose like a bad smell. Negative approach {no] it's just the way it is. The person who thinks your great one day for the lucky find, will be cussing you the next day at 6 o'clock setting in the local tavern griping to his buddies. Fame only lasts 15 minutes. Life of a mechanic, never mind the technician.
Yea worked on a few of them too!
New here, poking around found this thread and spent the last two or three days at times reading from page one. Just got to the end of comments and can say that this read was enjoyable. Thank you for sharing Vetech63, brought back some fond memories and some scenarios that are all too familiar with companies and the lack luster maintenance / mechanical crews. Seems like you have found yourself a young man eager to learn and hungry for opportunity. Wise of you to notice that and great of you to nurture the situation. I remember when first starting out in heavy equipment fresh out of high school with a wife and baby, only an automotive background. Found myself by far being the youngest in the field of work surrounded by guys all old enough to be my dad or grand dad. Lube / fuel truck mechanic was my title and quickly after that two of the most knowledgeable fellas I'm still friends with today took notice of my work ethic, attitude and ability. They both have told me that I was not like other young guys that they have worked with thinking they knew it all, so that is what kept them wanting to teach me all they knew. I eventually moved companies, got sent to quite a few different schools for certifications and eventually I was receiving phone calls from both of them with questions about different machines due to all the newer computer controlled machines. Was nice to be able to point them in the right directions all while knowing I could still lean on them in times of my needing to pick a brain. Eventually became Sr. field Service tech for a large company and would get all the younger new hires, to check them out and if they were going to make it or not. Two diamonds out of them all were super successful later on, they were eager to learn all they could from me and anyone else that took the time to explain / show or teach them. It's a great thing to be able to help a younger person find their way and pave a career that will support a family.
Having a good mentor can make all the difference. I've seen far too many guys forget that they had to start at the bottom and won't do the slightest to help the newbies out. I'm convinced some of them don't know as much as they think they do and are worried the young guys are going to show them up... and take their job. Thankfully I had a lot of guys willing to help me learn the welding trade. High school welding teacher was the most influential by far. Let me work on a few projects at the school after I graduated.
A complaint of a leaking engine oil filter yesterday on a Deere 672G. The filter was a bit loose, but the bigger surprise was..... OK, it wasn't a surprise 3 years old, I didn't even bother to climb in the cab to see how many hours are currently on this machine, I just called and ordered every filter on it. HNC continues to strike again and again.
At least they were labeled lol.
HooBoy fun fun fun!!!
I've often wondered through this thread if the goal was a torture test for the equipment See how long it takes for a machine to lock up, Engines or hydraulics first without filter or oil changes.
One dealership i worked at about 35 years ago had a main field service guy who also worked in the shop. He did not like to share knowledge because then the young guys would eventually know as much as him and knock him off his pedestal. He very much enjoyed his reputation as the best mechanic in town. At best, he was only a mediocre mechanic but had convinced the owners and customers that he was the answer to all their mechanical problems. The best day for the rest of the guys in the shop was the day he retired. He did some good work but also had screw-ups that nobody heard about. I have always tried to share knowledge with any young mechanics but sometimes it is an uphill battle. I have a lot of patience for somebody who wants to learn but none for those who don’t
Fired up the oil furnace a few days ago for the first time since the spring. Standing there beside it and it's making a strange noise. Seems to be coming from burner blower. Sounds like a bearing or the fan is loose and rubbing. Call the service guy. Listens to it, yep that's where the sound is coming from. Opens it up, reaches in and brings out a very dead bat. Been in there a while too. Dried out like a piece of parchment. $225 later. D.d.
It's not good when the apprentice tries to show up the experienced J man trying to reach them. Not that an apprenticeship can't have good idea's, when they act like they know it all and they are the teacher. Didn't happen often but usually right after they got back from schooling. Really tries your patience.
That's a new "Smart Filter"... tells you when it's overdue for a change by leaking all over everything. Gotta love this new technology that saves you unnecessary work.
I think that's a big problem a lot of places. Where I'm at now the guy who's been here the longest on our crew doesn't have the skills he should have for the years he has on his tools. He gets down right nasty when you ask him a technical question he doesn't know the answer to wiggling out of answering it. He's not allowed to do pump and motor alignments anymore, most of his "dead nuts" alignments were bolt bound needing a 1/8" or more move discovered after the couplers couldn't take it anymore. I've been here 2 1/2 years, before working here I had 0 experience working on most of the equipment we have here. It's frustrating, I don't have anyone I consider a mentor to learn the why's and finer points from and. Watching our senior mechanics work habits is very frustrating. They just don't have the habits you'd expect from someone with 10+ years of experience who's at the top of the pay scale. They miss a lot of the fine details and do things the hard way instead of looking for ways to innovate and save time. Just today the "kids" on our crew went and did a job that for the past 10 years was a 1/2 day job in 20 minutes using an air hammer instead of attempting to swing a hammer in a spot with no room to get a good swing. It really makes you wonder why they struggled with it for 10 years.
Sounds like a gov't. job. I had a friend go on work experience for the highways dept. fitting snow removal equipment. They told him to slow down because he did a job in an hour that they usually spend 1/2 a day on. He was shocked. He thought he took too long.
Don't come back until 5:00 My younger brother got a job at Southern Cal Edison Huntington Beach plant when he was 20 years old. One day he gets sent down to San Diego to get something, so he goes and returns. Boss grabs him when he gets back and tells him he's not supposed to get back before quitting time. Next time he goes he takes the company truck to Tiajuana and spends some time, back at 5 & everybody is happy. Joe H
Some people just desire to be stupid, others were born into it. I see it everyday and there’s always a few who I start cussing when I see them headed my way to disturb me.
Some days get those 1/2 day jobs done in less than hour, others will end up taking two days. Never been consistency to general work, bolt(s) break off or strip, what they were driving with a hammer may come smooth once the gall and require oxylance and deep repairs next round. Been said a thousand times some days you eat the bear most days the bear eats you.
Well, I had the owner of another construction company call me yesterday. I had looked at a couple of his machines months ago and made some recommendations, but I haven't actually repaired anything. They are wanting me to look at 3 pieces of equipment on one of their jobs. I guess one mini ex has been down over a month and they had someone trying to fix it that hasn't succeeded and evidently gave up. I know the company isn't the size of this current one and they also (from what little I have seen) run equipment that is pretty ragged. The one thing I do know is that their money is good, and they have plenty of work. I told him I would swing by the job next week and give him an initial recommendation. Too bad I don't have anyone I can sub stuff to.........this is going to become a lot more common. I don't see having he time to add to my already overloaded schedule unless I want to work 18 hours a day..........which I DONT!
It's the mindset of this is a pain in the ass job and I'm not going to try to not make it a pain in the ass, I'll just do it how I was shown. It used to take a half day when things went right, now it's 20 minutes when things go right. This is one of those jobs I've taken 2 days on thanks to someone leaving a broken off pusher bolt. It's changing poppet seals and seats on a schwing concrete pump, the seats are a slight press fit with nowhere to hit them out from the back side.
If I was a little closer…
A few years back I had a out of frame on a C15 going on, I was setting the head in-place when the owner came buzzing up interrupting what I was doing with a worthless conversation that could wait. I quickly told him- {This is a 32K engine and when someone breaks my concentration I have a tendency to forget things, do you have 32K to wipe your ass on?} he never did that again.
A pretty new D39 is in the yard with 1479 hours. I opened the engine enclosure door...... Why on GODS green earth would you change 1 primary fuel filter and not the secondary? I just love the fact that the rest of the filters on this machine are PDI @ 2 hours. Just under $900 for all the filters from the dealer since there just isn't many crosses for Komatsu filters. HAPPY THANKGIVING EVERYONE!!!
And for those who thought Cat or JD parts were ridiculous in price...wow! How many filters in total?
Aftermarket filter on the fuel system would be a key to open up a lot of warranty conversations.
Just wondering John, Magnuson/Moss act does cover things such as filters doesn't it? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnu...ranty, the warranty must comply with this law .
I second the filter question as to why I cant use a comparable filter that's not oem and have warranty issues
It has lost a lot of its meaning over the years. High pressure fuel systems can be a gray area where a manufacturer might not list a filter used as complying to their minimum standards. Nothing in their sales contract says you have to use their filter, but again nothing in their their warranty contract says they have to warranty a failure caused by some one else's parts. Here are a couple of statements from the law. (c) Prohibition on conditions for written or implied warranty; waiver by Commission No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the Commission if— (1) the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and (2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest. (c) Waiver of standards The performance of the duties under subsection (a) shall not be required of the warrantor if he can show that the defect, malfunction, or failure of any warranted consumer product to conform with a written warranty, was caused by damage (not resulting from defect or malfunction) while in the possession of the consumer, or unreasonable use (including failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance). The entire law can be found at the following link: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-chapter50&edition=prelim
I’ve always asked is a few bucks worth the downtime while everyone argues over the check?
Everyone knows if you're changing all the filters you're just wasting money and breaking the company.
My grandpa felt that way on his farm. Oil and oil filter at 250 hrs religiously. Fuel filters get changed when the tractor gets low on power and acts fuel starved. Hydraulic filters get changed when they rust through and start leaking. So, for those keeping tally, that's about 1 oil filter per tractor per year, except feed wagon tractor getting about 1 a month. Some of the trucks don't hit 250 hours in a year, so they get one every other year. Should have heard him belly ache when we got the 2 Mack's with E7-350s under the hood. "Three oil filters?! Thats like $250 a truck in filters!" Note - the Mack's don't hit 200 hours of use per year on our operation.
Don't most filter manufactures offer their own warranties if it's proven the damage was caused by the filter? If you put a name brand filter like a Donaldson on a Komatsu it would void warranty? I'm not so sure Komatsu would do so good if there was a court case concerning a recognized industry standard filter.
The way I look at it, the older the machine the less you need to change the filters they were built will less stringent. New machines on the other hand why the hell would you Flip about with not changing and using manufacturer filters, if your $50000 engine in your $100000 machine shitz itself because and injector got stuck open with a bit debris is your A/M filter supplier REALLY going to stand the cost of repair....NO of course they won't ( well you did buy A/M filters sir ) but a manufacturer has to, it's their engine with their filter. New machines are now less tolerant than ever to contamination in any of the systems whether it be oil/ hydraulic or fuel, so for the sake of a few $ i'd rather be safe than sorry any day of the week.
Crap-I knew a guy that was so tight he screwed his socks on in the morning-He had two filters for everything--one on the engine and one in a pan draining to reuse next time.
Remember the Toilet Paper auto filter add on as did not have filters on older engines!!
Heck most way back had dipper rods and no rear main seal-reverse screw.
Ran a White Mustang for a old guy neighbor when was on IL Great Aunts Farm at 16 years old, had the White Gas inline six, take grain to elevator, NO HOIST, put it on tilt table, block it against the backstop, rope a five gallon bucket under the flywheel housing to catch the drain oil from NO rear seal, pour BACK IN as truck came down.
Those early oil filter systems were only a bypass system anyway so the filter media could be almost anything as long as it caught something
Like the old Luberfiner Filters, just a chance bypass catch hole.
Using someone else's filter does not void a warranty. If something happens that can be traced back to the use of someone else's filter, it can mean that a warranty will not be honored. My recommendation has always been to use factory parts while a machine is under warranty to avoid the excuses to not cover a claim.
Absolutely while under warranty. Really those Luberfiners hanging on the side of a old truck---was a oil cooler and not much else.
It seems like we are hijacking this thread, but Dmiller's post about Luberfiner filters made me recall my grandfather's water well drilling rig. He bought it new in 1975. IH Paystar, IR TH60 rig. Powered by a 318 (8V-71) Detroit, RTOO9513 into a (no idea the brand) transfer case that divided power between the rig and the wheels. I believe they ran it in 6th direct. The original engine received Cenex Golden D SAE 30 oil from new. It had a large Luberfiner filter in addition to the double canister filters. The speedometer cable failed at 390k miles. In 1980. It was ran at about that same pace until around 1995. Grandpa had them change oil once a month in the busy time. What eventually did the engine in was my uncle starting it one spring without checking coolant level, and cooked it. My point in all of this is I've always believed that the Luberfiner filter did more than people give them credit for. It's impossible to know how many hours that engine had, but many guys that knew my grandpa from the beginning said it should be in the Detroit Hall of Fame, if there were such a thing. If I assume 400k miles per 5 years, that's 1.6M miles at I'd guess an average speed of 25 MPH, since the engine wasn't running full throttle all day long, only when actively drilling. That figures to well over 50K hours. It also had an air throttle on a foot pedal that would rev the engine to full throttle when pulling stem or using the load line, I'd guesstimate that it was revved like that dozens of times per day in addition to running WOT while drilling. I know this sounds absolutely unbelievable, but it happened. And Cenex Golden D oil wasn't even diesel engine oil, it was gas engine oil.
We opened one Luberfiner cartridge years ago, was used but thought why not. Was full of Wood Shavings and rough dimension sawdust. Surprised the filter ever flowed.
Forgot to add, AFTER I left that shop they got a NEW Toy, Trash service Required ALL Filters be Crushed prior to dumping in trash. Used to allow to sit on a grated drain pan 12-24 hours(Some times a week!) but that changed, a New Kid dumping drain pains put a 750C in the crusher, according to the guys I worked with, the explosive force Dented the Protector shield around the filter and almost filled a Five Gallon bucket of filter media once Decompressed!!!
What's a 750C?
The full size Luberfiner bypass filter, big chrome thing hung on the side of 70's trucks.
Gulf Coast filters sells large water separator fuel filters, mostly marine, I think, that can use a whole roll of Bounty paper towels as a filter element. They sell the elements, but they say the towels are an acceptable substitute in all their documentation. These filters are expensive, but have a great reputation in the tug boat world. I have one as the first step in my fuel polisher, and it works great. http://www.gulfcoastfilters.com/
how do the paper towels in such a situation stay intact and not shred and fill the fuel system?
It's oil not water, so the paper towel, or toilet paper filters similarly to the paper in any fuel or oil filter.
Some water filters commonly used on plasma torches can use a toilet paper roll instead of the cartridge.
Can remember the first Two Filter head spin on system Cummins sent out with a Bypass Filter, even numbered after the old Can Style, LF750. For FOREVER LF670 main spin on.
LF777 was the bypass on every 2 filter Cummins I've ever seen.
Those came later
https://bullseyeindustrialsales.com...o-filter-or-mounting-straps-semi-truck-110157
I looked it up after Delmer responded amd recognized what they were talking about. I never knew what those were before.
I walked into the Komatsu dealer here yesterday to pick up some parts. The parts manager saw me and said "HNC is back. He's working over at XYZ Eq." This company is the one I have talked about before.......they buy strictly auction equipment sight unseen and then attempt to repair it to make a profit. I used to do a lot of work for them years ago, but I was too expensive because I refused to short cut stuff. This may be a good home for him as they pretty much patch repairs with duct tape and baling wire. On second thought, he didn't even do that much before. I hear from this company only a handful of times a year on something they can't figure out. I can't hardly wait until I hear from them again. What's the odds HNC has something so screwed up they call me here soon? Odds are pretty high in my mind. I should still be covered up by then so OH WELL The new parts girl there at the Komatsu dealer told me he was rude to her for no reason and that he was a prick. LOL
Imagine that!! HNC a rude prick!!!
My guess, she'll have been right about something, he'll have been wrong but won't have admitted it and just blustered about something else.
And she sounds like she might make a good parts person if she was able to diagnose him that fast!
I can't fathom why anyone would be rude to any vendors or whatnot. You need those people to be your friends, as favors are the only way some parts can get looked up any more. Also you will often find the same people working at one place today and move to another place tomorrow and you can't make enemies. Even if they are almost incompetent you have to bear with them because if too many more quit, you might have to call an 800 number for parts in the end, and you aren't getting any favors from them.
This reminds me of a guy in the parts department at the local Cummins store. He would answer the phone "Yea, what do ya want!?" I know many people did not like it when he answered the phone. I found out all I had to do is reply "Hi! Chuck! it's Ken from General Crushed Stone, looking for some parts for the engine I'm working on today!" After that I could not ask for a better guy to help me with Cummins parts. As 98% of our Cummins were for off-road applications and 99% of the engines this dealer dealt with were over the road trucks stuff I was looking for could be a bit different from their normal stuff. With Chuck if I needed gaskets for something all I needed to do is give him the casting numbers off anything that gasket sealed and he could figure out the part numbers and if they didn't have them on the shelf he would have them in a couple days. Other guys would try to tell you that it must not be a Cummins part, probably something the company that built the machine supplies!
Some parts people are pretty useless and rude themselves but nothing is worse than a customer coming in not knowing the proper name or even what part they need and expecting the parts person to be a mind reader and know exactly what they need. Then when the parts person can't figure it out they get slammed as not knowing what they're doing. Sometimes even the best parts person can't decipher what you need from a vague description and the customer is guessing what the problem is.
On a main steering pressure hose. I wish I was making this up............but I'm not.
Does this drive anyone else crazy? It's got to be just me.......right? You have to take all the clamps off to replace this hose, but you don't take the time to make sure the hose runs true with the others............then when you tighten the swivel fitting you don't hold the crimp nut and let the hose twist until the fitting is tight? I must be insane!!!!
That drives me mad too
Little things as that bugged the crap outa me
You’re not alone. It only takes a couple of SECONDS to get it right…
I thought the parts guys at my local CaseIH ag dealership were pretty much incompetent until one time one of them said "come back here and see if you can tell what part you need." We looked through the drawings on the computer and the drawings were next to useless. You couldn't blow up the pictures enough for the amount of detail shown on the drawing because it became pixelated before you could see good detail, descriptions were poor, and it was very difficult to follow an area of the machine down to the detail level. Since that day I have a lot more respect for those parts guys.
Go to Kenworth!! To find Door Latch Parts, Look up Door click on that page, find latch secondary page click on that, go to latch for that page click on that, drive down to what they will illustrate as do NOT illustrate everything, try to derive what numbers go to what parts as naming is a new game for Illustrator buffoons. Sat with my parts rep as we could not find what was in my hand. and finally ended up calling Factory rep in parts, get that "Oh Yeah, We do not illustrate those pieces, you need Blah Blah whatever, how many you need, min order is Four". He bought the four and sold me one, logged that nonsense in his hidden gem sites notebook.
Often doing it correctly takes NO MORE time than doing it poorly.
The real problem is PacCar like everyone else has superseded the same part and updated X amount of times the schematics weren't updated also. The tilt steering column came out in 83 for KW, that same basic part/piece was updated no less than 6 times by 95 and has been updated another 7 since then. Anything under 12 years old is obsolete automatically with so many updates. The part number has changed who knows how many times.
The hose thing bugs me too, and could get you offed in the aviation business. I'd spend a long time getting those fuel hoses right at the engine. We also use figure 8 zip ties and silicone beds between overlying hoses.
I went out of town about an hour for this one today. A no-start condition on a Bobcat S-770. This machine only has 479 hours on it, but what do you know!!!! Busted door glass................ At least this machine doesn't have 1500 hours on the PDI filters! YAY!! The no start was a fuse in the panel.........easy peaseyyyyy
These characters get extra pay for screwing up machines?
I went out on another customers mini ex this afternoon. This is the one that called me last week..........machine has been down for over a month. I called him to get directions to the machine then he proceeded to tell me he had bought 2 parts that had been changed out but neither corrected the problem..........engine will not start. He didn't know what was changed but was going to have his mechanic meet me there and explain what had been done so far. I get there and the cab is locked up with no key to get in. I decide to start looking around in the engine compartment for starters while I wait on his guy........ WELP!....someone's installed a new injector pump! YAY!!! I already have a bad feeling about this one.
Other things I see....
So, 4 different people have worked on this and nothing. The owner said he has spent $6K so far and nothing. His mechanic shows up, hands me a service manual that they copied from somewhere and tells me he changed the IP when the Wacker Nueson tech told him it was bad according to the error code. He also said that they had been shorting across the starter motor because it wouldnt engage from the ignition switch. They also replaced the broken monitor in order to get any error codes. So here we go!!!!!!!!!!! I hate this crap, but it still pays.
Sounds like the Dodges with VP44 injection pumps. Half the time the code that everybody swore was a bad pump was cured when the grounds were cleaned up….
Basic troubleshooting to start. I first check all the fuses in the panel.........all good. I unplug the harness connector and check for voltage at the proper wire......none. Back trace wiring (according to the SM) to the EECU connector, then I check continuity on the wires from the EECU to the IP wire plug (5 wires)...........all good, so I don't have a wiring issue there. I then check for power supply to the EECU......none! Now I'm getting somewhere. Look at the electrical schematic and back trace to relay K1 and K42.........solenoids are not grounding from the EECU when the ignition is turned on. I jumper a ground to K1 and now I have power to my EECU. I reconnect the EECU plug and the IP plug and hit the key.......I'll be damded, the starter engages now.....about 10 seconds of engine roll and she fires right up. I still don't have high idle as I believe it may be hooked into K42. Now it's starting to get dark, so I'm done for the day. The EECU pin out detail in the SM sucks donkey balls. It gives no wire colors or markers and the descriptions for each are vague. I dont believe the EECU is bad at this time.............more of something isn't happening that the EECU needs to happen n order for it to release those grounds. I'm not sure what act of congress it will take to get the info I need from WN, but I will call their tech service at the factory tomorrow. The owner wasn't happy when I called him and told him what I had found so far. 4 people, 2 of them service techs from the WN dealer here........and $6K later. He told me that both of the WN techs had condemned the IP and that's why it was bought and installed in the first place. He also said that both of those techs had laptops to connect to the machine, but they didn't have the right connection cable.............and they just left him hanging YIKES!!!!!!
Holy Crap!!
Owner should be asking for a big chunk of money back.
The secret to a mechanic's magic wand, you have to have a pretty good idea how it works before you can troubleshoot it!
Curious if the original injection pump was inspected for damage or the no start issues? Would think there has to be pretty extensive damage to require a whole new pump.
Vetech---------you have too much fun.
Nice work so far. I'll complain like crazy about what happened when people are around but secretly, I love those types of jobs.
After they are finished and the check shows up. Until then you are not sure if the owner thinks you are just another shotgun parts changer.
Usually isn't too hard to spot the hackers in most trades. Sometimes all it takes is seeing someone on the ball, do something that has others scratching their heads, to be able to tell right away they're the person you want on the job. It can be something that appears pretty simple to. Bob/Ont suggesting putting 2 seals on my leaking throttle shaft is an example. Simple easy and 100% effective! No speedy sleeves, shaft repair or replacement and especially not needing to rebuild the injection pump.
Guess I don't feel so bad about my frivolous power probe purchase.
cheap machines cost a lot when you can’t get good support it drives me up the wall when I can’t get good clear service documentation and the engineers seem to have two preferences these days, either extremely crappy or way overly complicated
I’m not real adventurous about trying out new customers these days. I’m not real interested in anyone with a reputation of slow or no pay.
The timing on those injection pumps are quite the procedure. You don't just bolt them on in the same spot.
Trouble shooting-our last two new trucks one came from factory minus the aux heater {Wabsco}. Driver stopped at a dealer to have them check out why it wouldn't run, {was told it wasn't getting power} . He called me while they were supposedly working on it. Told him there's no heater, factory ran out. {but call me back when they find the problem}.
Thats exactly what they did. The owner said he was going to put it in an auction so it may end up on this forum by another owner.
I don't believe there was anything wrong with the original IP. I think it was the WN techs best guess.
Come get you some of this big boy! LOL
I'm just a little feller, hardly get anything done, barely make enough to eat.
I'm small too, but I will take the challenge, just don't get mad when you get fired for not keeping up
TS isn't little, I saw a video he made once.
I've met him, he isn't. We are almost the same size, I'm smaller.
Too funny
You guys prolly helt hands too dint ya lol
His wife wouldn't let us.
Her words verbatim, "Absolutely not he's all mine" she spoke just now after reading that.
LMAO dang women always raining on our parades
Looks interesting and helpful. As a novice, I believe I will get a lot from it...
I'm still buried alive, but I will update this as soon as I get a chance.
I had a young guy show up at their shop today looking for a job as a field tech. 25 year old with 7 years of experience with one company. Claimed he could do it all, just get him in their service truck. He was WAYY to interested in this service truck. Not even a hired employee and he started opening the tool bed doors and checking out what all was in the truck for tooling. He said he had all of his own tools....everything Snap-On of course. Continued to claim he could do everything needed, has a 2 year degree in from a diesel school, HVAC license, went to welding school and graduated with honors. Obviously trying to impress me, just kept on and on about driving this service truck, doing field work, and driving the truck home......even started calling it his truck. He hung around for an hour and inundated me with all this knowledge and experience he had.........7 years, sounds like 5 of it was in schools to me. I was in the middle of installed a new rubber track when he showed up, so I got back on it about 30 minutes later.......he pitched in to help which was fine........free labor. I asked a few questions. He's married wih 3 kids, no dealer experience, and the only experience he has is with one wrecking company. But, he can do it all! After getting the track, he grabbed my grease gun I had sitting there and started trying to put grease in the adjust zert and I let him pump that handgun about 15 times before I told him that you have to tighten the release fitting first. The grease gun runs out of tube grease, so I hand him a new tube. He puts it in and pumps the hand lever about 30 times and can't get grease to come out. It was airlocked and he didn't know what to do. I grabbed the gun, puled and pushed the rod a couple of time, tapped the end and it's good to go. I begin to take a damaged tubeline off the boom cylinder, he wants to help, so I let him help........no problem there but pretty simple. He then says "Well, have I done enough to show you that I can do this!? I'm ready to go to work right now. Would you consider hiring me on?" F^&K ..........I looked at him and say "Well, I'm not an employee of this company. I'm just a contractor doing repair work for them." The look on his face was priceless. Sorry, a 25-year-old can't do it all. If you think you can then that's a problem......A BIG PROBLEM.
lol the 25 year old journeyman who has seen everything but the wind blow and been everywhere but the electric chair its always funny because according to them they’ve done it all and can do it all in a tenth of the time anyone else can BUT you never see them twice. It’s almost like they either beat feet or get fired once their ******** has worn their welcome out. When you go to a class there is always at least one or two of these characters who refuse to STFU about how much of an expert they are.
He hasn't had enough failures to realize his shortcomings. Let him down easy, today's generation struggles with with brutal honesty and unpolished people skills. Someone mentoring him might turn him into a decent apprentice before he bails on the idea. I had a new 21 year old start this week to help me with lube services and light repairs. Been thru the Diesel Tech program. Four years grain farm experience. Year working second shift at a trucking company doing trailer DOT inspections and repairs. Still watching for bad habits that need broken. I've drilled into his head the job requires good judgement and common sense. He's admitted he's young and has a lot to learn.
I thought he would be hired since he actually picked up a grease gun and knew how to use it (somewhat)
I used to like throwing the experience questions at applicants. Tell me how you would pull the starter out of a D3B. How would you adjust the steering brakes in that D3B. What pressure range of gauge would you use to check the steering in a WA600. Tell me how you would adjust the clutch is a direct drive crawler tractor. Describe how to pull the driveline in a highway truck. Tell me how the shift pattern works on a 13 speed Road Ranger transmission. Tell me how you would change the cutting edges on a big dozer? Same question for changing the edges and bits on a grader. How would you troubleshoot an overheating transmission in a D8R. How about a 450 Deere? Do you know the different between stick, hard wire, inner shield and dual shield welding. When the wind is out of their sails you usually get straight answers. I usually gain some respect for them it they can answer about a third of those questions. Doesn't mean they would get hired though.
Years ago foreign car shop I worked was looking for a mechanic. Everyone that showed was in their words a Smokey Yunick or they wanted you to think. This college kid comes in long hair looking typical college material. My name is Casey and I'm looking for work and I'll be upfront I can change a spark plug and that's about what I know. I found out he was a chemistry/math major. Told him to show up Monday at noon when done with school. And by the way your going to want to cut that hair {It will get caught in the creeper wheels}. Turned out to be a hard working smart guy, his math ability was tops. Was a good mechanic, came from Sitka worked his dads boats.
Dollars to donuts he was just recently out of school. It doesn't matter if someone has been in a trade for 50 years, nobody knows it all. The best guys learn something new all the time. Sometimes from the new guys too. The big thing is they're willing to listen to the young guys and accept a new or better way to do something instead of being stuck in their old ways. As far as grease guns, I use the professional Lincolns. With new tube they are usually pretty simple to bleed if they don't right off the bat. Bulk loading the one I use the most can be a pain to bleed sometimes.
the problem is people like the guy VeTech ran into are more often than not complete pains in the butt that will not listen…they know it all, or so they think but will drive you nuts with their cocky attitudes.
That's why I hired Casey-he was truthful, that's most important in my book.
I'm not disagreeing. I've ran into a couple apprentices like that. They try to act like they are teaching you rather than you're the one in charge of the particular project. Usually sooner rather than later they realize some of their idea's won't work. You kind of let them do their own thing but have to step in before they cause a major and/or expensive problem.
I think VeTech already had a similar experience working behind HNC. Perhaps Vetech would call the recent applicant HNC Again or "Redo" for short
I may have been a bit biased in the beginning yesterday. The young fella's approach was just like HNC's when I first met him,,,,,,,,,,,,,,SOB knew everything. I was immediately turned off because of the HNC experience. What really bothered me was his unusual infatuation about being in the service truck. It was comparable to a toddler getting ready to open a Christmas present. That kind of set my alarm bells off too. He also did the "Have you ever done a blower motor in a 200? Ever done a drive motor on a XYZ?" All I could think about was "Kid, I've forgotten more than you know, and I can guarantee that!" What this company needs is a minimum of 15 years' experience in a service tech in my opinion. Lack of experience has gotten them where they are. I'll give anyone willing to show up on time, pass a drug test, and willing to learn and work hard a chance.......even this kid. I just know that if I am asked my opinion of him, I will give my honest opinion which is..........he is green and has a lot to learn. He isn't a tech I can turn loose on anything that comes up. I told him this company wasn't used to paying a great rate for service people, probably $25 an hour to start. He said that would be great. He sold himself wayy short for the supposed experience he claims to have.
almost all of our apprentices are obsessed with “getting into a service truck” and not wanting to put in the time to become a solid mechanic. the service managers that do put these 1-3 year experience employees in service trucks regret it 9/10 times.
I just learned how to get the grease gun pumping grease and now we’re on to something else already? Will admit a manual grease gun has given me fits a time or to. Lol
Anybody who can't get a grease gun pumping, can't do the most important part of maintenance... proper lubrication.
Even the best grease guns can be a real hassle to bleed sometimes, especially when bulk loading them. Using tubes is easier but I got a full pail of grease from a friend that was moving and asked if I could use it. I'd like to get a cordless gun but darn they are expensive.
I'd say the biggest problem here is still using a manual grease gun Nothing wrong with not knowing something, but the BSing know it alls get old real quick.
Its funny because any of the shops i worked at, usually put their most experienced guy in the service truck unless he was cranky and hard to work with which is not good for customer relations at a dealership
Sometimes/most of the time as I tell anyone and everyone {You ain't going to get it all} Either the person is a mr. nice polite congenial sack of manure that gets nothing done {OR} ornery, nasty with food stains on his shirt from the last week who tells it like it is. And gets work Done. Reality is your probably not going to get the perfect worker. As far as grease guns go-those were designed by a blind paraplegic-We use 55 drums with Lincoln pumps on hose reels that hold 75' of hose.
I have likely fluctuated myself personally between both those types of mechanic as the need arises
This gets a 1.5 rating for artistic impression. Functionality ......0.5. I had already removed the 2 bungee cords before I thought to take the pic for my HEF friends.
I don't remember exactly when I installed these, its back somewhere on this thread. Cat 299D........I'm thinking it was back in the spring. Already wiped out.....Camso brand.
Long story short, I had JD dealer come out about 6 weeks ago to check out a engine fault code on a Bomag BW211. He said it need a new PRV on the fuel rail...........so I told him to go ahead and take care of it. After I called 3 weeks later since I hadn't heard from them, the service manager informed me that the valve was unavailable by itself...........it only came as an assembly with the fuel rail manifold. I told him to let me know the cost.......next thing I know the new part is on the machine and its running about a week later. This happened while I was out in the field and the tech didn't say anything to anyone.......so it sat for another few days until I called them back and they told me it was already done . Well, they charged $2200.00 for that fuel rail manifold assembly.... . .......which they never informed me on. I have the same problem with another identical machine and engine. I found the Deutz repair kit for that manifold for $539. Yes, it is available, just not from Bomag? I don't know..........I'm thinking it was an opportunity to make a lot of extra profit. Here is the new parts including the box in case someone else runs into this. The engine is a TCD3.6-L4
I think I changed the exact same parts on a 1021f case not too long ago. Bosch fuel system? Case/curser was nice enough to put the rail under the valve cover.
Apart from the obvious McGiver-ing to try to hold the battery in place what amazes me is that there appears to be no fixed "tray" as part of the shelf the battery sits on to (somewhat) keep it from sliding around. Not a particularly good design, especially if the hold-down bolts go AWOL. I bet the designer never considered that..!
Ran it to something like that a couple years before I retired. Quarry has a Rosco sweeper to keep roads clean that customers drive on to prevent too much mess on state highway out front. This sweeper has some small 4 cylinder Cummins engine. One day the starter failed so first I called the Rosco dealer and got a price on starter, forget the actual price but know it was outrageous. Next called local Cummins dealer again don't recall the price but it was half what Rosco dealer wanted. One more try called local electrical/injection shop we had dealt with for years and their price was half what the Cummins dealer wanted or one quarter of what the Rosco dealer wanted! No one had one on the shelf local but the electrical shop had one to us UPS on second day. I figure I made my pay for the week in a matter of 1/2 hour making three phone calls with the money I saved the company. So I don't feel too bad about the handful of ty-wraps I may have taken home to work on my old Farmall's wiring!
Allways intrested to check into this thread from time to time. To be honest,you’ve lasted longer than I thought.I mean no disrespect,but I did wonder if they’d have run out of money by now.
Was amazed at the Nuke as to parts procurement, NOBODY in Supply had anything except the OEM Manuals, would ONLY call OEM suppliers as then it happened while I was there that several machine suppliers were No Longer In Business and parts manuals worthless except to find used broken junk. Explained some of the generic basis points to Cummins, Detroit, even for Electric Motors as had Several Allis LARGE Motors, would not listen to me as I had no Nuke requirement experience. Today are using a supply source VENDOR that does exactly as I noted as had finally hit the wall of Unavailable OEM Parts.
Have to relate, buddy of mine calls, has a Cummins, "Chirping" around Turbo, another shop had swapped turbos as was certain had internal contact, still chirping. Older N series, still has three head design, explained how to find the busted head bolt, did NOT believe me and fought it another three days. Called me back last night, found busted head bolt, asked how I knew. Told him was a $1000 question.
Tell him you don't take checks either! LOL
STILL have that piece of 1/2" bar stock in my tool box, just for rapping head bolts.
No Money yet!! Beer is on the way though.
I knew you were a gang'sta rapper on the side.
More Disco than Rap!!
I'm quickly approaching the end of this year. I am in the black more than I really like but I believe I can expense some to get me poorer........at least for tax purposes. I thought my helper was going to work out pretty well, but he has been missing in action since I posted here about him. He showed up Friday about noon and said they had been keeping him busy doing the fueling from the small truck. That means not much else is getting checked or done......no surprise here. I put him pressure washing a skid loader for me, and he did really well until quitting time. I made arrangements to have him come in Saturday, but the general super nixed that. I could tell he didn't want to tell me no on the help as he knows how far I am behind. It seems they don't want to be paying any overtime this time of year. Looks like they prefer paying me 5X + his pay to do it myself. Its insanity to me but hey, It's your money. The young fella that showed up last week contacted me by text. Hasn't heard a word from this company and I'm afraid he is wasting his time trying to get on here. I sent him 2 other contacts of other companies that I knew were looking, the ball is in his court now. I believe he answered a help wanted ad that has been out there for a while and this company isn't interested in hiring anyone since I am doing the work. Evidently only 3 applicants in over 6 months.........exactly what I would expect in this industry right now. I am still expecting another offer from the owner..........at some point I would think he has to try again. I'm billing over $30K a month to them now and in the past that would have been too expensive for the CFO to bear in his mind. I know I have offset their maintenance/repair costs and they are getting a whole lot more bang for their buck, but DAM!! I was predicting this type of scenario the last bunch of years. The lack of qualified, experienced service techs on the supply side................and the super high need for them on the demand side. In another 10 years there will only be half of that qualified number due to the lack of interest in this field and those currently in this will be retired. This is going to be a crazy ride.........I hope we are all ready for it. I'm back to the grindstone.........
Been doing same here, seems nobody was listening, now are crying no one told them. NOT going back to it, Uncle Arthritis and I already do not get along, cannot imagine how bad would hurt working full time or even Part Time after completing the KW. Seriously doubt will be Half in ten years, likely less than a third as not seeing as many here as you have found there, where demoralizing as that company is doing sends more packing to some other trade or existence.
Our son is a mechanic at a Cat dealer in Texas. He has been there almost 10 years now. He could work 80 hours/week if he wanted to. He tells me they can not hire anyone who even knows "lefty loosie, righty tighty". Heck, back when he hired on, the company gave him 7 choices on what division/location he wanted to work. There does not seem to be any qualified heavy equipment mechanics out there to hire. Or, even any young, inexperienced guys who are not afraid of work.
It's "Righty tighty, lefty loosey". Joe H
I am left handed. I get everything backwards, or at least that is my excuse.
Only one here in his Right Mind
People get in this business now only if there isn't something better to do. Not many Got that Working at the Car Wash Blues syndrome.
Not too many want or accept getting dirty working with hands anymore, push a button, trigger a Hot Key, request service come repair.
A Creative Approach to Recruiting New Employees - Erie News Now | WICU and WSEE in Erie, PA
Good on him. I hope he succeeds.
Same here, somehow have to find somebody willing to be appreciated.
Vetech, you already up?
I'm up at 4:30 every day. I just don't jump on here until I've had 2 cups of coffee and my vision is locked in for the day. A lot of rain here the last few days so things have slowed up a bit. I stopped working in the rain after the last fall I took off a wet excavator. My shoulder never fully recovered from that one.
Speaking of rain, if you want to know how much hit a particular location (jobsite) that is close or far from home, check out this link. I want to know before I leave my shop whether or not it's a waste of my time to travel to a site as our rainfall totals can vary widely here just within a quarter mile or so. https://www.iweathernet.com/total-rainfall-map-24-hours-to-72-hours I've checked this against my gage and it's always within a tenth of an inch or so. I can check down to an hour's accumulation or up to as much as 3 days. It's been really helpful over the years since I found it. Why waste a 2 hour drive just to find out a site is too wet to work?
According to that we had .91" in last two days. Understand the Up Early, aches and pains awaken me two to three times a night, up close to 4 myself as could not lay still further. My shoulders, knees and hands are pretty well shot from the abuse of 45 years. Worst spill I ever took was off a American slick pad tracked lattice boom, in the quarry, sloppy day. Stepped out of house to shoes, feet left, bounced once off rails and landed on back in much of lime mud in yard. Luckily was mud or may have damaged even more.
Come on up ! https://goo.gl/maps/b569cm23oYrzwRvD6 https://goo.gl/maps/txfwx4fS8JQR68XQA Google photo is a few years old, but you can see it's a large shop. Hope you like working on plow trucks.....
Yeah that ain't happening as to me headed North or East!! headed in late sixties with Arthritis and bad habits damage, if do anything will be WAAAYYY South of here!! Thanks for the offer!!
Opinions? The instructions on the pic and *note* seem a bit vague. The outer shaft housing is weighted on one side and the new housing half weighted side matches with the lower, just like it was when disassembled. There are 5 possible windows on my outer shaft. If I go by the pic, the tab on the low/high shaft does not line up with the inner weight slot at high or low position. Something isn't making sense, I'm not sure if its my reading comprehension or this instruction is not quite right. It's a hell of a lot of work to correct the line up once this is on the machine. I have to make sure this is right the 1st time. What say you?
Wish could have seen that come down, something does not add up here either.
I'm seeing only one way to align and have the notch and line where it can go
Yeah, I did that, but I'm still not sure its right. It would have been nice to know where that dam inner weight is supposed to line up on the shaft itself when in high and low. It doesn't help when you lift the tab shaft and the weight will spin 360 degrees either.
Oopsie, can't delete my fat fingeriing...see below
"Summer Gig"....
I think I have the eccentric problem corrected. By looking at a couple of other assembly views I believe the lineup view above is off, and so is the description of that action. Not a huge deal unless you're the type that goes exactly by instructions in your service manual. I happen to be that way, but I knew something wasn't right. Sometimes even the service manuals are wrong as we all know. The lineup illustration is not exactly correct, and the literal description is just too vague.
With all the other breakdowns this eccentric job has now become a job to finish as I can get time for it. Just what I was afraid of before I started it. It didn't help that this customer had not inform me of a billing dispute between them and Cat...........and during that dispute their credit account was frozen. I had the parts ordered for this and several other Cat projects and those parts never got ordered by Cat. This went on for 30 days before the dispute was settled and I could buy parts from Cat again. I had multiple things either tore down or waiting so I am even further behind than I was when this eccentric job started. I communicated this to the owners, and they understand why some of these repairs are taking wayy longer than expected.........by no fault of mine. I asked 2 of the main supers about whether they had an existing help wanted ad because of the young fellow that showed up a couple of weeks ago. Neither was aware of an existing hiring ad at this time. They feel that management is fine with what I have been doing for them and no hired help is in sight. My one young lube guy I thought was going to be a good helper has been absent since I bragged on him LOL.......... I guess they are keeping him hoping with fuel/oil service on the field equipment and absolutely NO overtime is being approved. Its back (has been the whole time actually) to me and what I can do myself. Just keep those $30K+ checks coming every month and I'll be just fine. I'm paying off my service truck today More stuff coming up!
Congrats!
Very much so Congrats, removes a Large weight when do that!!
Not good to hear if their parts problems with Cat. Could that be an indication of the general health of the company or was it something else altogether.?
All I know for sure is my checks haven’t been an issue. I was told by a Cat employee that they were over their credit limit x4 when I last checked on my parts orders. Could have been waiting on money like the rest of us have to do at times but I know nothing concrete. I was told the company heads of this construction company had a meeting 2 days ago……discussing a wish list of equipment needs totaling $5M …….and also a discussion of off loading some of the older equipment. One of the heads has described some of this as growing pains.
Keep your eyes and ears open is all I can suggest.
I would start a limiter as to expenses at this point, something is gnawing at my peace of mind of this.
Do you know the company book keeper? I used to get to know them and watch for stress. Coming to work late and leaving early was a sign of potential future issues.
Actually, I deal with her on my payments 90% of the time. There has been nothing out of the ordinary and she has kept me in the loop of what she knows. They seem to be happy as clams right now.
End of year will drive either holding off on spending, or spending with wild abandon. "We are out of money until Jan." "We have to spend it before End of year"
Figured were keeping a eye on this!!
In that case maybe they need to up their limit on parts with Cat. Here’s a thought. When HNC was there did he ever buy any parts from the dealers.? I thought all he ever did was call service.? Wouldn’t that be a different dept and a different budget.?
Agreed! I'm still not sure what he did. There were a few new parts here and there, but I know some of those were purchased by the guy before him. I may never get what he did figured out I believe it is at the big office. I have no idea how they separate everything between the companies. They are still getting used to the way I do things and the costs associated with it. So far, so good.........
Going from previous experience generally the Service & Parts Depts of a dealership are not the best of friends. It was quite usual for customers to have separate budget limits with the two Depts, each one set separately by the Parts Manager and the Service Manager. It crossed my mind that if all HNC ever did was call the Service Dept to get a dealer guy out to a machine there might be a quite high budget on that side that in general terms is now not being fully utilized because they have you, and a much lower budget for parts because he never bought any. Maybe all the budgets need (if that is the case) is a bit of readjustment.? Although the Service Dept might kick and scream a bit about it though.
My experience with Cat credit departments was always caused by bad service and putting failed repairs in the dispute category. I've had multiple instances of five and ten day repairs that should have taken three. I've had service people out to a site to repair a final drive and all they bring are manual hydraulic pumps and leave half of the fixtures back at the branch. I've had welders out who couldn't figure out how to set alignment on a dump box on an artic and the box wouldn't settle straight on the frame of the truck. I refused to pay and the credit depart locks out my accounts for parts. Sometimes I saw credit lock out as a badge of honor. The service manager usually had to come out to my site and sit on his hands to protect the cushion on the chair before things got straightened out.
Is there a market for skid loader tire/wheels? Some thief out there is lucky he still has his hands and feet trying to pull these off with no jack. A few broken studs and I never found any of the lug nuts. I know the dealer here isn't going to have any inventory on these..........so I'll be bringing in the parts overnight tomorrow.....I hope.
While I was on this job, I saw 2 other pieces of equipment of theirs I haven't seen yet. I figured I'd take a quick look..... This poor 26G. No telling what else I would have found if I had spent a bit more time looking.
26G tracks............almost smooth I believe they got their money's worth out of these.
A really nice Bomag roller. Not so nice work on HNC's watch This is getting to be too much. No 1 man will ever keep up here.......I don't care how much experience you have. Something is going to have to happen soon...........help wanted! I need 1 guy dedicated to PM/light mechanical, and another to work shop/field operations. Yes, this is wishful thinking because it's not going to happen anytime soon.............and I'm not working 80 hours a week either.
They're only 4 year old filters.
LOL........well dam, I don't know what the hell I'm thinking!
If you've informed your exec friend of the state of the firm's equipment and needs ... Ride the $30 grand / month gravy train as long as the ride lasts. Just don't get caught with a large account receivable in parts or labor. Keep your billing current and within your risk tolerance.
I could not have conceived such ignorance by any form of human to machines. What the hell!
If they can afford 30K a month, they can afford at least a helper for you like the young guy that was helping you. Probably easier to find a fuel truck driver than someone interested in wrenching these days.
Agree Dave, some kind of imaginative bookkeeping happening there.
You obviously haven't seen my thread on the trucks yet.
My father would have put me in the hospital for treating a piece of equipment like I see iron regularly treated.
Looks to me like they are fixed at $30k a month. it sounds like if VT wants a helper, it must come from that $30k.
At least they used genuine Bomag filters...
Nothing new or unusual about any of these pictures. If their safety manual doesn't say to change filters, then it doesn't need to be done. I have seen this in place after place. You will not change the controllers thinking cause you did not get a masters in business economics. It will not change anytime soon with new up and coming thinking. Simon C
I wish I had a good reason to move to Oklahoma. I'm really tempted to go from working on everything without tracks and tires at a mine to heavy equipment. That would be a great transition job.
I have learned bean counters work one of 2 ways we cant spend any at all so nothing is ever running or fixed so there is no uptime and that reinforces the notion we cant spend any money so nothing gets fixed The other is they are happy to spend a consistent amount of money month in and month out and as long as that's consistent then there thinking is they build that number in the overhead The kicker is VT is efficient at what he does so they were paying 3 people and the dealer to do a lot of what he does what that boils down to is VT Is cheaper than where they were a year ago so they think there ahead and they get more uptime most likely than they did so no one cares about PM work cause they probably dont have separate budgets for that
The other thing bean counters are good at is picking out the unit that has had too much trouble lately and predict it will get worse. Never mind those are long term investments all done in the last year, but it goes to auction because of the bean counters, seen it happen.
This place is a gold mine Vtech.
I worked a job at a powerhouse for a couple years. Our group of equipment operators asked the subcontractor we were working for- "why doesn't any of your equipment have fire extinguishers?" "There's no factory place to mount extinguishers- so the equipment doesn't need them" was the contractors reply. Two days after I put out a fire in the main crane- (with a different contractors fire extinguisher that I stole from their crane)- we suddenly had extinguishers for every piece of equipment and were told "find some place to mount them".
Got to doing some numbers, at $30K a month Vetech is actually saving these people money. Common Tech Pay at ?$30-35/hr? Any Benefits would near to double that figure with UI input for the new HNC(s) or TNG(s) if hire Two to replace VT, somewhere around $120/hour rough expense, about $20k not including screwups, repeat repairs, and are paying for screw off time inside that as VT does not screw off . Does not include OT either that a Noob would run over considerably 'To Get it Done' while learning on the job. That and they have no obligation to keep VT if so choose to do something altogether different.
You just HAD to do the numbers dint ya. Now I think I'm under-selling myself!
Well you are still making &10k a month two Noobs wouldn’t and making it right, making machines right. Nothing undersold there.
I have never understood why equipment not come with a good plate mounted conveniently with many different holes drilled to accommodate easily mounting fire extinguisher brackets. Instead we are always trying to find a place either inside the cab and mount it through plastic or on the outside somewhere and it’s never a good place. However, quite pleasantly, I did discover that Grainger carries excellent heavy duty brackets that have a retainer pin for the latch so it doesn’t pop open easily on its on. Normally when sales or a customer supplies an extinguisher and bracket it’s some cheap POS bracket that ain’t worth a damn in equipment use and it’s vulnerable, rattles and does not retain the extinguisher, which is why you always find the extinguisher jammed under a bunch of trash and crap in the cab behind the seat. This time I got told to order the extinguisher and bracket that I picked out and I found the better ones. I think from now own I’m telling the boss to let me order the brackets and extinguishers.
The worker is likely better inclined as to what works and what won't or what is just superficially sufficient as delivered by a bean counter. Key Quote, "Pay me Now or Pay me Later" even "Ongoing" where 'It' can be replaced for 'Me' in that quote. Edit, Brought to mind my temporary employ at Western Cartridge in 75, had 100# rolling fire extinguishers with a four foot cone ended hose, NOT CO2 but Dry Chem. CO2 had been replaced as was too expensive to keep recharged and functional, Dry Chem would pack up but the maintenance staff would tilt them upside down to break up the bridging. Foreskin was explaining use of these "Marvels of Science" where us lowest on the totem pole would be the Fire Sacrifices to take them TO the fires. His commentary went on to Use, where we were explained Roll these quickly TO the fire, Pull the pin, make sure the handle goes into Lock, shove the extinguisher into the flames and RUN LIKE HELL AWAY as we were not going to control it!! Leave that to the Fire Department.
Get a Coast Guard approved bracket for any fire extinguisher on mobile equipment. It will properly hold the extinguisher in rough conditions.
This situation is about come backs-It doesn't matter what VT is getting paid. The company is only paying for a repair once not twice plus it's done quickly. That's not too hard to figure out.
that’s what I ended up ordering. I saw the picture and said “that’s what I’ve been wanting to use for years”. https://www.grainger.com/product/5T...8RmNNY13Yszaol2nUFxoCwbQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Since we are on a random fire extinguisher tangent. A while back we got popped by MSHA for an over charged extinguisher. The inspector mentioned when he inspects a dirty piece of equipment he looks to see if the gauge has had the previous day's goo cleaned off the gauge of the extinguisher. It's his way of checking if you were actually doing your pre op. Cleaning off the gauge and tail lights are part of my daily routine to keep MSHA away these days.
They also do a similar bracket for 20-pound extinguishers. That’s exactly what we used on all our mobile equipment in addition to the AFEX fire suppression system.
Kidde is good. Amerex is on par with their vehicular brackets.
Can be surprising how well even a small 10# can defeat as to fire, just are not much good at cooling a hotspot. We trained on using a 20# with the nozzle stuck into the water cone off a inch and half hand line nozzle to add dry agent into a material fire. Most days glad no longer fire brigade but the lessons still hang in there. Was getting pretty good at running the nuke pumper for 90-110gpm flow at 140psig to guys running hand line turbo nozzles. Did not want to split a hose or flip a small guy boosting pressure and flow too fast when used 2 1/2” line nozzle, ran those at 150-170gpm and closer to 210psig. Had a couple of hammer handed boys that managed both. Had one fella managed to start all three fire service installed pumps running off a system hydrant. Opened up the flow like winging a newly installed valve on a new pipe!! No finesse whatsoever!
When opening and closing hydrants, and especially 1/4 turn ball valves on a fire truck that can be moved very quickly. Just because they can doesn't mean you should. Always very slow and gentle, a broken hose or pipe does not help firefighting in any way.
Water hammer can do all kinds of damage
1977 Mack Truck Chouteau Ave ST Louis, City of St Louis decided to be rid of their AGED Gasoline fleet of Fire Apparatus, Newest was a 1962. Had American and Ward LaFrance, Seagraves(Corn Queen running gear) Mack, and a few odd assorted pieces of rolling stock scattered to 12 stations so had Mack along with the other apparatus companies submit bids for machines and service to which only Mack was local. Hooked up the pumper at the old city water works for area of testing and instruction for the STL FD, I was along as shop was slow and the Super was trying to keep us busy. The FD Lead Engineer Trainer and two others along with a Mack design engineer began running the unit where got it to a pretty hard suction against STL City low water pressure(48#) then the fun commenced. Were running two 1 1/2" Handlines and a 2 1/2" Attack line while feeding a second truck for display at full discharge of 1000gpm, the old six inch main under essentially a vacuum could not take it and collapsed, the hydrant started bouncing then broke the connection union jumped three feet out of grade and the ensuing deluge of city water began!!! Was a mud mess, city had the shop reset all the new machines so that could not reach a vacuum while working off city mains then the City started upgrading all the feeder mains, still are some forty+ years later. ALL City apparatus use is still proceduralized NOT to draw down harder than 10psig suction. Every City and township around STL has done similarly going from the old gas powered some 500 some 750gpm units to 1000+gpm units behind a diesel that will not droop as easily as a gasser.
At the SC Fire Academy we trained guys never to go below that 10 psig off of a pressurized source, we had "hydrant jumping out of the ground" thing engrained in us as why.
That is just engineer school 101, with elevation changes in the system if you are down to 10 psi at your hydrant somebody up the hill is at negative pressure and toilet bowl going dry, again if you pull too hard and break the water system you are going to be doing a lot less firefighting than if you stay within your means and the water keeps coming albeit a little slower than you would like.
We had a Test Day with Mutual Aid at the Nuke. If ever look at the Google Eart pic of the plant there is a large rectangular water reservoir inside the protected Area, Essential Services Water Supply. (ESW), used for Emergency cooling during a accident or for com[onent cooling during shutdowns as for refuel, in any case had a pumper feeding a pumper to another to feed water around the facility for a reason then returned the aforementioned flow back into the reservoir. As Second truck started hogging from the first truck due to the third truck flowing too hard we almost cooked two pumps. Engineer 101 saw the compromising condition and another of my compadres shut the third truck down to minimal flow, problem was that sent a hammer into the other two and busted several gauges as well blew out a safety valve's guts on the In Plant Truck. Caution to the wind winds up with caution on the wing!!!
Water hammer is a noise that is heard all the way to City Hall.
When a section of a water main goes negative pressure, the air valves are supposed to drop so that the pipe does not collapse. Dropping air valves can let in contamination, a big no no. In a larger system, the operator will start opening valves to supply more water pressure to an area if there is a fire. Cam
Had air release/vacuum breakers on some plant lines, none on potable water or fire piping as had to vent thru end service structures. Not sure would have on city water supplies.
In my part of the world the operator may not even be on site in the 5-10 minutes it takes to discover a fire and the FD to get on scene and start flowing water. That is where I got the idea from the other day, I was at the plant and the operator was saying a lady at the top of the hill had negative pressure because the FD was a little further down flowing a lot of water for training.
In our system, we had pleasure regulating valves that worked automatically. The are quite often in parallel with butterfly valves. The PRV can only work over a certain range. The butterfly valve supplies the volume. The operator in the control room opens the butterfly remotely to keep the PRV within range. If more volume is required, there may be pumps that are started. That being said, we treated and distributed the water to the local municipalities who send it to the houses. Cam
More equipment..........more repairs. Even more equipment with filters dated 3+ years ago.
It was a very interesting week! The highlight was the Bomag MPH364R2 Recycler that supposedly the OKC division burned up the engine in back in June. I was told this machine got a new engine and was put back to work.........I was told this by 2 of the main supers. Flash forward to today, the first time I have seen this machine in over a year. I went out on a hydraulic leak but noticed what looked like engine oil blowing through the enclosure panels on both sides. I open the panels to find oil everywhere, and it isn't just fresh oil.........this is long time oil also that is covered in dirt and packed, it's been there for a while. So, I made a couple of calls to the supers mentioned above.......both confirmed that the engine was supposed to be new or rebuilt. Both also suspected that it wasn't rebuilt or replaced due to what can be seen. I call the Tulsa controller and ask her if she has an invoice for this engine work.........no she doesn't have anything, bill paid out of OKC office. She contacts the OKC controller and has her call me...........which after a few questions my fraudometer starts to go off. I give her my email address so she can email me any invoices concerning this engine. The reason I am doing this is because if this engine has actually had some type of overhaul, it was the worst in history, and I wanted to check on warranty repairs for the oil leaks. She emails me this invoice that she received to pay..............some jo-blo that probably didn't do ****. If this doesn't get your blood boiling, nothing will. $20K paid for on labor only. A handwritten invoice with no mention of the machine model, serial number, engine make or model............nor the scope of any work performed. $10K up front, and the balance paid on whatever the hell they did.........or didn't do. The OKC controller told me that the "John Patton" repair man is a friend of the current man in charge in OKC...........and that the both of them did whatever work there in their shop. The invoice states that parts and machine work was provided by the customer..............so I emailed her back and asked for all invoices for parts and machine work on this job. I still haven't got a reply back.  So now my quandy.............should I mind my own business? ..........or move forward with my evidence to the owner? I still have pics to get and more investigating to do. I know which way I am leaning..........what would you do?
Tell them what you found and thoughts of what probably has happened Thanks for posting, hope where back to watching your posting and not the random stuff that shows up
I’d 100% tell them what you know to be true and offer to investigate further.
Your honesty and integrity with a customer makes your reputation and your reputation can NOT be bought, only built over time. Look out for your customers, treat them right and your will always have plenty of work. Money is great but it's not what life is all about. You can't purchase happiness nor a good reputation. What is a good night's sleep worth? A clear conscious gets the best rest.
No doubt in my mind. You have a good relationship with the owner of the company from what I can see. When you finish collecting all your evidence IMHO you REALLY need to make a "you need to see this" phone call.
I fully agree with JY and last two Comments
I'm doing a presentation on what to expect when testifying in court as an expert witness later this month. Maybe I should record it for you.
Definately should be full accountability for all invoices submitted and a detailed list of what all was done and what parts were required. Sounds like somebody's friend had free reign to charge what ever they wanted. Then you wonder if there were kick backs or something. I'm sure the owner would be very interested in your findings.
Double post
In the first place a proper written work order with full explanation of work performed is a standard. Any work order that says {rebuilt engine-labor $20,000}is a joke. There is nothing to have to stand by. Really in a well run office, accounts payable should have questioned that from the start. The parts that were ordered was probably a lift kit for the man in charge in OKC along with a tire and wheel package.
Years ago I did some welding and modifying on a tank truck for my neighbors brother. Neighbor told me to list everything I did because his brother would question the cost no matter what it was. The list was over 2 pages and after I wrote it all out figured I should have charged more.
Any of the filters with the usual dates from 2019 or earlier? Joe H
Burn it down!
Pic of miscellaneous areas of the engine including motor mount, bell housing bolts........etc. I did see an invoice the had today of parts purchases.......6 piston kits and .010 crank bearings. I doubt any of it went into this engine. What do you think? I estimate it could only have around 200 hours since the "rebuild"
and more
and more......
Only rebuild I see is maybe a 300 gal power wash 200 hours ago
No way it was overhauled unless it was done by 3 tweakers and a monkey.
Well one way to know-drop the pan and check the bearings for size and date.
I was thinking the same thing. That’s a definitive way to verify work or throw the bull$hit flag.
Pull a rod then a main, suspect will know as soon as pan is down. Actually know already, just verifying.
I was thinking more like a bag of bull$hit, makes a bigger mess.
Lit on fire on the front of the shop door!
In all the pictures I see no missing bolts, everything looks to be where it belongs. To me it's never been apart, sure has a hell of an oil leak though. Joe H
Maybe someone forgot to take the oil fill cap off and just poured oil in. Nothing would be too surprising considering everything that was/wasn't done.
I guess now they are saying there wasn't any machine work on this job.........even though it says on the invoice I posted. I am contacting the person in charge of this rebuild in OKC today, but I am going to play stupid. I want to know what was done and see what he tells me. There is room to do an in frame on this, but I didn't see any evidence that made me think that was done. The one thing I don't know is the history of this machine.........was it purchased new? Was it used with an already rebuilt engine in it when it was purchased? I will see if the Tulsa office can give me info on that also. The machine is going to wait anyway. I informed the general super that running this machine with the oil all over the belt and the radiator starting to plug up from oil-soaked debris and 2 fan hub mount bolts missing was just asking for a burn up. He called the owners about what I told him..........they said go ahead and run it and finish the job . Money is not an object evidently.  I was telling one of the asphalt supers about this engine.........he was also told it had a rebuilt/new engine. His response was " How much you think they stuck us for? $50K? $100K?...$250K? Hell, that aint nothing." I know he was being sarcastic.....but dam!
"Running it to finish the job ..." Could mean there's a hefty time limit / deadline cost. More than the insurance deductible for a burned machine. Roadway and parking lot repairs are very disruptive to a business or gov't so they write in incentives to the contract.
what do we know, we are just dumbass grease monkeys to literally everyone that isn’t a mechanic also.
The shop that did the work is likely used to 'OK Whatever's' from HNC or TNG, NOT expecting a REAL mechanic to find their game out.
This is just getting better and better LOL The OKC guy tells me that they removed the cylinder head, and had it rebuilt...........No one can find a receipt for this. He also said that they replaced the sleeves (his words not mine). When they got it back together, the engine would start and run at idle, but wouldn't come off of idle. He said there was no leaks and the engine idled fine . Cummins was called out and updated the ECM calibration but that didn't correct the problem. When Cummins returns, the customer has already sent the machine to the Bomag dealer in OKC. Cummins bill on what they did was $1500. No one can find an invoice from the Bomag dealer as of yet, but he seemed to think that bill was another $10-15K..........and part of that was engine redo. I'll call tomorrow and see if that Bomag dealer can pull me up a service invoice for what they did. This may be the most expensive half ass repair in history.........or there is something else going on
Should we order popcorn now or later.?
Yes, and some alcohol to wash it down with.
Let me get this straight. It ran and idled up before the “rebuild “ and then afterwards it would only idle? Time to refer to rule number one when it doesn’t work right- back up. What did you (or them in this case) do?
Lots of stink on this situation. When you get done with the investigation, your client should consider a call to the state attorney generals office with a criminal fraud complaint.
Any chance there are two machines? Like two Bomag recyclers and the other machine got an engine rebuild. But your client paid for it ... Those invoices and service records may shed some light on this.
Somebody appeared to get a lot of money for something that was or wasn't done and somebody is out a lot money for apparently nothing to match what was actually done. There should be a pretty in depth investigation when you're talking about $15K in repairs that are very questionable if they were even done.
All I can tell you is I know this engine needs work. It doesn't run right in my opinion, is leaking oil, fuel, and or coolant and that is being blown all inside the engine compartment and through the radiator. All I have done at this point it takes pics of what I am seeing. The investigation part of this was so I could possibly determine who may be responsible for any warranty. It is looking like there has been so many hands on this thing that the truth of what really happened from the beginning is questionable. What was the reason that the original engine build failed? How did someone define a burned up engine? Who made the determination? I have more questions than answers.
I can tell you, that would be a total waste of time. And if we're talking a 8-10 or 20-50 million a year road construction business, the $20,000 isn't a big deal, which is shown by their willingness to simply finish the job with the machine before fixing it. At this point- its a consumable. Maybe a flammable.
$75M+ I believe
From your pics I believe nobody’s done anything with that machine but abuse it.
Well, here is what happened from day 1 Engine supposedly burned up and was taken to the OKC shop. This invoice is for labor only by a self-employed mechanic which is a friend of the OKC manager. These are the parts bought
This was supposedly done in frame..........cylinder head was supposedly rebuilt but no invoice or payment can be found. After this rebuild, the engine would not come above low idle.......so then a call to Cummins, who sends a tech out to investigate. That bill is
At some point, the decision was made to send this machine to the Bomag dealer in OKC. After they spent forever troubleshooting the electronic system.............Van Keppel decides to call out Cummins to their shop. That bill is......
The explanation of work from Cummins on this engine while in Van Keppels shop........
A grand total of $47045.69 ............and I still have a bad running, oil leaking, fan hub about to fall off, radiator plugged, sick engine.
47K Ahh that's chump change for a 75M company Sure wish I had that kind of chump
So the whole "only idle" - is that they screwed up setting the overhead? Surely there's a procedure- and wasn't just "well- that's how I set the old 220 cummins we used to have"....
Seems like the "friend" of the manager caused a lot of additional expense including his own. That manager should maybe be looking for another job and his friend should be on the hook for most of his invoice.
Somehow I don't find this all that shocking.
Your telling me this whole situation seems like a synopsis of how this company operates. Furthermore while there busy busy they may or may not be aware of whatever money they may be breaking even on I think the bigger thing is that in reality equipment repairs may not be there biggest wated expense and equipment in general may not be there biggest under performing investment and they remain keeping doors open My guess is they will continue on because right now there to big to fail and when the market slows down they cant afford to cut there prices so will be out of buissness a whole month before they know it and it will be in a total wave of slow money work and in paid change orders in a cut throat market add in high interest rates because you know that bean counters finance everything
That's a good question for the so called mechanic friend. Might explain why there are very few details on his $20,000 invoice.
Unfortunately this scenario-is all too common. The guy who supplies oil to our shop-one of his customers {a trucking company I'm familiar with} decided to cut costs by extending the oil changes way beyond what's reasonable-lost eight engines. Bad business decisions or no oversight seems the norm in todays world.
How are the mechanics of the world supposed to have any work/life balance with situations like this? All caused by management FUBARs and SNAFUs. Invoice like hell to soften the pain!
Well-where I work the owner thinks/acts like a Vegas crap shooter, constantly rolling the dice, gambling till it bites him in the ass. Three weeks ago 485 rolls into the shop, driver telling me he has to add a gallon of coolant every other day. I check it over I tell dispatch I believe it has a problem with egr cooler. Owner rolls the dice-keep running it. Last Friday it pressurized real good like-also took the radiator out. Two states away and no cooler available in the nation. So I removed the one from a wreck setting in bull pen. But now he gets to add another $2,500 in radiator and labor to something that could have been far less. When people have too much money flowing or it's too easy to get, bad decisions are way more likely. Less money-people get tight with the pocket book-and think things through.
Old Pete I hauled grain with is in a slow spiral to dead, were using Schaefer Engine Oil products, had a sampling system take a sample thru dipstick tube send to some odd lab, would let the owner know if could go longer. Buy got to 30K oil changes, not even swapping a filter, engine is pretty well toasted now with severe blowby, suspect cam or rocker rollers bad as a floating miss. I may sample and test thru Cat, will be using OEM Filters and Rotella until I am done with the KW. If not tested will not exceed 20K on miles.
It's time for me to figure out how to work smarter and not harder. The longer days and hours are just wearing me out too much...........and I just can't do everything and have any chance of keeping up. I am not even able to keep up with things at home, so I know it has reached that point. Time to swallow some of my pride and start dishing out some of this to my local dealers, as bad as I hate to. I feel like this pace, doing all of this myself, is just going to put me in an early grave. I'm not getting near enough rest at 60 years old and it is affecting my concentration. I'm going to learn how to do some directing here and there..............hopefully it will take some of the load off of me. I will come back and update this as I go along. Wish me luck.
Repeat after me "I can do anything, I can't do everything".
Have started doing that here, age is not our friend!!
Everyone on here needs to remember--that no one is going to remember what you have accomplished in good work in the past. No gold stars or trophies, no pats on the back, no giant monetary rewards. Just another {I need it now and how fast can you do it}. Everything you do is just another phone call to them, happy as hell they made their problem yours. Yes it's work but sometimes a person just has to realize, money isn't everything. If your too busted up physically and stressed out mentally your not doing your body any favors. Money isn't going to fix that. Park your *** for awhile Vetech you've earned it the hard way. That company is a septic tank, always will be. Don't worry about them take care of your self first.
Just remember that some exec upstairs is bragging on how smart they were to start using your services. Also remember that when you stop doing things for them that the same exec will be blaming you for any and all the problems they are having. Do what you can. Don't worry about what you can't. Good Luck!
Things like this are why I retired the day I hit 65! Every year the upper levels of the company got less interested in doing things right. Just this last summer my last boss with the company, several years younger than me just up and quit. He had been told for several years they were going to be getting him an assistant to help with the work load, never happened. When he first hired on a couple decades back he was going to be the primary crane operator for the state for the company. Then they talked him into taking the job of boss at the quarry. Well now that he quit he has been hired by a local crane outfit, probably like Crane Operator runs. He's back to what he likes to do and running better equipment than what this multi-nation corporation has and no responsibility other than making a safe pick and moving on to next project. Actually doing a good amount of crane work for the company he used to be a boss at!
Good luck! Maybe ask the owner one more time to assign that motivated lube tech guy to you full time?
I found most management execs like to have choices to make. Instead of just farming out work, present a couple of choices, example: Assign lube guy full time to you; hire on someone else; farm out work to dealer, etc. Then list "YOUR" preferences in order. Likely a win -win as the owner seems to trust you. In other words, bring a solution to the problem...
Were you hired as a employee or contract repair, your only responsibility was to do the work correctly-If you have to come up with a solution to the companies issues---then you need to be the one signing the checks at that company. And the exec needs to find a job at 7-11.
At the end of the day most companies couldn't really care less if you're overloaded with work and stressed out. They just want you doing as much as possible and doing it right. Although this company has a different idea for their operators. Set your own pace and if a job gets done today or has to wait till tomorrow or the next day too bad. That's the way it is. It's different if you're the company owner and trying to build your new business. Then you can put in the long hours. If you have other customers that could keep you reasonably busy it might be time to tell this place that you (absolutely) need a helper to keep all the neglected equipment running. If they say it's not possible tell them you aren't going to bust your *** for them anymore. You'll work for 40 hours per week (or a number you're comfortable with) and that's it. If they don't like it, go to your other customers. You've worked too long and too hard for a long time and aren't a kid out of high school anymore. Time to take it a little easier and relax a lot more.
It sure is hard to turn down that big money though.
Not really if you make good money otherwise. It's not worth running yourself into the ground where you're all crippled up and can't enjoy your home life or retirement. If the company doesn't care about their equipment they surely don't care much about the toll it's taking on a mechanic.
Have to add, was in mid 1980s I gave up Independent, Beatings had already taken toll working on my own by myself horrible diet, hours, conditions with little regard to where would end up. Nursing some really nasty Psoriatic Arthritis, also have spinal Osteoarthritis, scars on scars on scars with some skin that will tear open is so thickened and scar tissued. Nerve damage zones, perhaps some mental concerns to go along with all that memorabilia I carry around in there, although can never state a Mechanic is ever in right or sound mind, just look at what we will attack as 'I can Fix That'!!
Every mechanic needs a plan to get out of the game by their 50s for their physical health. We’ve got guys in their 60s still wrenching and they all look like death warmed over and to a man want to die to end the pain every day. Too many seem to paint themselves into a corner financially, getting reliant on that pay that forces them to stay on the tools full time
I still wrench, but on my OWN Junk, still practice what I used to do so can continue to make repairs on this old junk I keep as cannot afford the 1960s style of rotate every two years either paying for a car/truck/farm tractor or paying for maintenance of a car/truck/farm tractor. The consumer is held by the short hairs, paying and paying and paying all the while the media shoves the "You NEED" advertising down our throats, I am pretty well as ready as ever will get for a Class X level 9 solar flare to take out all of the electronic foolishness. Perhaps we need to be back in the Stone age awhile.
Vtech, wish you luck! Hence my post/question near the top of the page. How to achieve the work/life balance? The ability to be at peace in your mind, ignoring the many projects that need attention, and go home to a life of your own. Our United State "can do" or "work-aholic" attitude from an early age drives us into the ground. Yes we are over achievers, but we kill ourselves in the process. I'd like some of the magic potion to achieve the work/life balance. The first of the year, I graduated from being the lead/only mechanic of a smaller excavating company(25 employees- two dirt crews and three pipe crews), to service manager and lead mechanic. I have a day or so of office time each week now, in addition to wrenching. My retired boss purposely ran the maintenance side short handed, lots of patching to show short term profitability. I have a 21 year old eager apprentice mechanic to keep 40+ machines healthy. The business has been around for 50+ years, but this will be the first in a long time someone with maintenance background oversaw the maintenance side. The two younger owners have made it clear, they have no interest in hearing the details of repairs. Only, when will it be done, and how much will it cost.
You should have hired another mechanic a year ago. Similar to planting trees though- the next best time (other than the past) is today.
Only problem is finding someone who actually wants to work and not just sit there playing games on cell phone!
It sounds like Vetech found the right helper. Just needs to convince the bosses he needs to work with Vetech full time. If he could find a good experienced mechanic would be even better. By the size of the company and the amount of neglect it seems there should be at least 2 mechanics and a helper. Kind of bizarre they don't have dedicated mechanics on staff.
Kind of sounds like they figure they don't need a mechanic till something won't work in the morning on an important job. I seen this attitude over the years and I always referred to it as "Prevented Maintenance" in other words those who know and understand the importance of maintenance are prevented from doing it. It ran last week so why shouldn't it run this week? If those filters were good for 250 hours why not 10 more, then 20 more then 100 more............
Or it's not my problem, I'm just an operator.
He is a fireman. He is doing busy work until something breaks down, then he goes and puts out the fire. It's a management style that's taught in colleges to business majors. It works fine when there is a lot of money coming in.
Seems very backwards to doing regular maintenance and preventative checks on a semi regular basis. It's not always just about the money and how fast the jobs get done. I used to work in a large vessel and gas and oil production equipment shop. Plant manager had a meeting with the welders when an attaching bolt broke off because of a poor weld. He said we don't push you too hard here because we don't want mistakes and then showed the bolt. All it needed was a good tack to prevent it from turning but it had a bunch chicken **** on it. A real PIA when your bolting saddles for a vessel on a skid you can't get underneath to hold the bolt.
I am going to disperse Cat on the 299D today. It has an electrical problem that is preventing the engine from running. I could probably figure it out myself, but I can't expect it to be an hour-long task.............I just don't have the time for troubleshooting something that might take hours right now. I don't see how I can take on the bigger jobs either. What is killing me is being unable to stay on a bigger project.........like the CB64. There is just too much happening on a daily basis that requires too much of my time. What JohnC said is exactly right............its work until something breaks in the field then go out and take care of that. I'm going to have a serious talk with the general super this week. If they don't want to hire a helper right now, then I will have to bring one in myself that can at least do light repair and PM work. I will just have to back charge them for the labor time. Finding someone on a part time basis would be preferable.........but more than likely impossible. This whole thing is a catch 22........dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. There is not going to be a perfect scenario for this situation. Thats the tough part..............looking for that needle in the haystack.
The guys running this outfit will never and I mean never hire the man power needed with the right skill set and have a manager over equipment repairs they dont see it as an investment to there buissness they see it as straight cost They will drive an independent guy right in the ground and move on to the next one this is what corporations do there are exceptions but very few. So with that in mind charge the hell out of them and when you get tired let them think your busy somewhere else and schedule your self some down time to have no obligation to keep there organization running Hiring your own helper might be good but are you doing it for you or them it's not your responsibility to fix there PM problem it's also not on you to train there staff if they did listen and pay attention they would have already done so Ask yourself this do you want to be there equipment manager or even there catch all take on what you want to and leave the rest for them what's the worst that will happen they actually hire some one to do a job no matter what they will keep calling you.
"Our United State "can do" or "work-aholic" attitude from an early age drives us into the ground. Yes we are over achievers, but we kill ourselves in the process." This is so true for us but the younger generation doesn't think this way at all! They're totally opposite. It's not can "can do". It's " why do " I have to do this.
If you bring someone in on your own, they should be making YOU money. Bill out $75/hr for your helper or bill the way you normally do for yourself for what he does.
what about insurance for YOUR helper, who pays to fix him if gets hurt
Very good point! I have no idea what insurance for an employee would cost. But I would say what you charge an hour for someone you hire would have to cover that and also make you a little bit over what you would be paying this person to make just the paperwork that would be involved worth while. Your time whether pulling wrenches or pushing paper needs to make money otherwise you should register as a charity because that is what you will be! I mean if I was to help out a small time farmer neighbor fix up his tractor that broke down while bailing hay once a year I might not charge much. But if I was doing maintenance and repairs for a farm with a couple thousand head of milkers that would be something different!
All of this is why I stopped doing outside work, the business thought/pattern has changed-is not what it was 25 years ago. Runner till she drops is the common scheme.
Vetech: Hiring a helper will cost your client a whole lot more than assigning a current employee to you. You have to provide workman's comp, SS & Medicare, time off, hiring costs, etc. PLUS your overhead. Explain that as part of the justification of assigning the lube guy to you. Cost is everything to management. I'll bet you don't cost as much as HNC & NHG combined and get more work done in the bargain. That's why your invoices are gladly paid. The point of your coming availability reduction should weigh in favor of getting you help immediately.
I could only hire someone as a sub. I'm not dealing with all the employee crap..........I don't have the time for that. I did contact Cat at 7:30 am this morning (when they opened) and gave all the machine info and location to the service chik. A manager was supposed to contact me today and set up a tech to come out. Haven't heard a thing. This doesn't exude a lot of confidence in me using dealers at the moment.
Smart large contractors have a full service shop with the right staff to handle anything from routine maintenance to full rebuilding. Sureway construction up here has over 650 machines. I remember back in 1981 when I was on work experience at a large independent shop, they did a lot of work for Sureway. Sureway wasn't that old at the time. A lot was undercarriage because rebuilding idlers and rollers was common then but removing the track frames and all the associated work was hired out. Now it is all done in house in a state of the art service shop. I am sure it saves them a lot of money doing as much possible in house.
I know it seems a whole load of hassle now, but you have the perfect chance at helping the company and paying it forward, that lube truck lad was obviously ( from what you said) the perfect candidate to learn/nurture and guide through to being a decent fitter/engineer, if the company won't give him to you, take him! You can afford to bill at the same rate as you but pay him less, the difference pays for the accounting/paperwork involved in employing him, he gets to learn, and advance and maybe one day takeover from you. you get to have a sliding scale of work to do ( as he gets better you have less to do, and can give him the heavy stuff) they get a solid fitter who will eventually know his stuff and has been schooled in the right way to do things to keep them working and they don't have to employ him as he will be self employed OR show him the books, show what he can earn, tell him to get a small truck with the basic tools to begin with and go self employed but to you, then as he grows he can evolve, and become his own fitter.
Meh, just tell them you need a helper. Lots of headache hiring someone like you said. Tell them to pay pretty good and you need someone ASAP.
Plenty of issues on the definition of a sub contractor. If you aren't careful and handle the situation just right, your sub might get classified as an employee and then you are on the hook for all the costs that are part of that definition. My suggestion is to just keep on doing what your are doing and keep the money flowing from their bank account to yours.
I hired a part timer in 84 just to clean up behind me when worked at my own rented shop, was always having to tell him what to do next, ran out of patience never called him back after two weeks. Can see vetech's concern, takes up a LOT of time for bookwork let alone watching them to make certain doing what should be.
One way to avoid the employee vortex would be to find someone and have them bill the construction directly and you bill for overseeing there work
The problem Vetech has the way I see it is that he can't continue the way he has been. He is getting up there in age and doesn't want to run himself into the ground. Knowing that is what's coming if he continues the same way is being very smart on his part. A lot of people do run themselves into the ground and wish they could go back and do things differently. If it continues might come to the ultimatum, you want me well then you need to give me a full time helper or I'm gone.
I'll figure something out fellas. In the meantime, look at the muck in this............YIKES!!!!!!!! No marked hours and plenty of dirt and rust. I'll post a pic of the trash I cleaned out of the cab tomorrow. It was ridiculous .
Welder Dave has addressed this... The current situation is physically unsustainable to Vetech. Better to change something soon rather than suffer poor health later. I retired early because as the Viking Cruise ad says, " One's time is the only scarce resource. Spend it wisely..."
Now there are two people spouting expertise with no basis.
No just 1 who thinks he knows it all and by his own admission has wrecked part of his body. Vetech doesn't want to do that!
If you're referring to myself... Post # 1805 says it all
Have to wonder how the fuel tank looks inside. Have they been running this with the fuel cap missing?
The infamous words of Rodney King.........."Can't we all just get along?" LOL No arguing on my account!  I did get the CB64 Eccentric job finished up yesterday. I decided to turn the phone off and concentrate on that..........it helped a lot. I had a moment during the assembly, pushing those heavy ass side plates by hand thinking" Dude, you can't be THAT weak, can you?" Even 5 years ago that was nothing.......now it's painful. It really gets me to thinking how much longer I can really do this stuff. A majority of my issues are physical with lower back and rotator cuff issues in both shoulders. .........but some of my issue is mental. Those combined with the workload and unorganized chaos are overwhelming me at times. It looks like I may have been partially to blame for no help being hired. When I first started doing everything months ago, I had made the statement to the hiring super that hiring anyone with less than 15 years of experience would not be prudent with what I was seeing at the time. Well, no one has applied with that kind of experience.......so no hires. I should have clarified that I meant someone in the lead role.........not a helper situation. They are currently on a hiring freeze since we are in Winter...........they do this every year so its normal for them. I'll just have to deal with it for now and that's fine...........I will adjust the workload to meet what I can do; the rest will just have to wait (been stacking them up already) or get dealer directed. By the way...........still no response from Cat field service on my request Monday morning. I'm having to call again this morning. I did whip out my LOCK OUT tags and will be placing them on some of the stuff that is waiting on me. Maybe I can keep some of the stuff in the yard so I CAN get to them! It will all work out for the better........one way or another.
Hope there not the type that lets folks go in the winter and want them back in the spring
Construction would typically do that AllDodge, depends on needs in slow time, machine cleanings falls to work crews, maintenance may or may not get done as to finances being tight, low men on pole regardless positions or skills usually first to be dumped.
The photos and descriptions make for great training aids. I do enjoy them as they depict how not to keep a fleet running.
The sad part is if the winter is slower for work it's the best time to get the machines ready for when the work picks up again. Could be a great time for them to at least assign the lube guy to work with you.
Yea but where I worked every winter maybe one week before shutting down production for the winter there would be a rush to rip out anything that had to be repaired for next season like crushers, screens and such. Once that was done all but a couple people layed off for the winter. Then a few weeks before they wanted to start up production for the new year a bunch would be called back. You could almost guarantee the first couple weeks with those guys back would be the worst weather of the winter!
Winter? It was shorts and tshirt weather getting gas along 44 today.
Yea almost same here. We did get a few days a while back that temps got into the teens but most of this winter has been more dealing with mud than snow. Most winters in the past I would be snowblowing the drive in morning to go to work and again to get back in after work! Feel bad for the guys who marked out the local snowmobile trail just down the road as I don't think there has been a day the trail could be used yet!
Got close to 2" rain yesterday, came as hard showers so much ran off. Today wind is screaming again with a cold front sliding thru, almost 45 yesterday, be lucky to hit 40 today and hard freeze warnings back up for tonight.
I drove from chicago to Lawton Ok Car said 65 degrees When it gets and remains cold I adapt well This up and down temps not so much
You guys in the middle get the opposite of us here in the west. It has been snowing and raining here for 2 weeks straight. One and a half days of sun lately, however now it is raining again, but supposed to dry out for a week after this. But I guess it has been in the news.
Well it's been raining here with high temps in the 60's for the last 5 weeks pretty much every other day except for the sub-freeze around Christmas. So in other words a typical southeast winter..
Cannot make up its mind here, Wind Screeching in at hurricane force to Dead still temps are running from Lo 60s to mid twenties within days of each other. rain today off and on, cold out with stiff wind yet still lo forties, turn around for Saturday/Sunday to get rain into wintry mix then back to warm next week. SHHEEEESH!!! My internal thermostat has also about had it!!
Continued rain off and on for the last 6 weeks has work more messed up than anyone has a clue about I think we have averaged 3 maybe 4 inches since thanks giving there are places just north of the valley that have seen 10 inches in 3 months witch is insane for us
It is mud season in middle TN.
This is the trash I removed from the cab of this Deere 250G. Yes, the can was completely empty when I started.
These have showed up at the yard the last few days. There is also a 51 dozer that's new that had already left the yard. They have never had more than one piece of Komatsu equipment that I know of. Komatsu sale?.......or a different direction? I'm not sure
Out with the old and in with new cheaper stuff would be my guess
I see the gloves where's the empty lotion jug? lol
Give it a couple weeks and the Savages (Operators) will have those machines trashed.
funnily enough we did find a stack of nudie mags and a bottle of lotion in the cab of one machine lol
yep. That’s just a normal rental turn for us to find a dumpster’s worth of garbage, dip cups, and so on in a cab along with a yard of dirt.
It always seems the guys with cleanest vehicles are the ones that ALWAYS leave a mess behind in a piece of equipment. “Don’t get my vehicle dirty but I’ll leave **** ton of trash in yours…” drives me nuts.
Very true.
well you can’t expect them to move that trash to that nice sparkly clean machine, would make them appear the rubes they are!!
Every time we have a truck cleaned/detailed inside it's $350 average, some as high as $500. Normally within 30 days it's back to dirty again depending on driver. To replace the mattress is $500 which happens a lot. Some keep a sparkling interior others not so much.
Pretty sad, not that much area and trash containers nearly everywhere trucks go.
Besides the trash in equipment the thing that got to me was all the "air fresheners" hanging in some of them! Especially if I had to work in the cab on a nice sunny day, the smell of those would hit me right in the gut. First thing I would do is toss them out the window and leave the door(s) wide open.
One place i worked at 20years ago, we had a shop truck for us to chase parts, etc and we always kept it washed and the cab clean. No greasy hands or dirty coveralls allowed. It was well known that our truck was always clean. One day a supervisor asked if we would let one of his operators use it to go pick up something 40miles away. Sure, no problem. The next morning we went to use our truck and there was leftover garbage in the cab . I collected it in a bag and saved it until the next staff meeting a few days later. As i went into the coffee room and passed by him, i dumped it in his lap. He immediately went ballistic. What the **** was that for?, he bellowed. My response was ‘The next time you use our truck, take all your crap with you when you’re done’. All the other operators were aghast and the superintendent and supervisors were bug-eyed. It took a while to get order restored and the immediate topic of the meeting was trash in cabs The superintendent called me in a couple days later and asked me if i could have handled it differently and i said ‘Ya, but nobody takes me seriously until i get mad and i think i made my point’. He said oh ya, but maybe next time, come to me first There was less garbage in cabs after that but it still happened. Funny thing was, when that operator finally was promoted to supervisor, he would grumble about operators leaving dirty cabs and he had been one of the worst offenders
56 wrench that was awesome u did that wish I was there. I can’t stand filthy equipment. I find guys that like the job work look after equipment the other don’t care are just slobes
When I worked construction we had our fair share of slobs. One Labor Day weekend I bought some Limburger Cheese and rubbed it in the radiator fins on several pieces of equipment and stuffed a dead cat of the exhaust/turbo manifold. Only took 15 minuets and the whining started.
Did you eat some of the limburger before you garnished the radiator? Limburger is like one of everybody's other favorite treats, get past the smell and you've got the rest licked
Nope it all went good use. Got tired of having to work in a pigsty-they thought it was ok-fine, go roll in their own stink.
Our fleet maintenance had to start making everyone wash (even underneath) and clean out the cabs or they would not work on them. Cam
Gets bad enough cannot get much done wrestling with the mess. Quarry work was terrible as nothing got washed except when stormed or the operators drove thru the lakes that formed. At least they had a mud room break area at St Charles where the mess of food and trash pretty well stayed.
At the same job i referred to earlier, the operators were told to clean the cabs in the trucks on a scheduled basis. I checked a few and they were quite clean. Problem solved-or so i thought. Periodically we would have a 2-way radio go on the fritz and i would pull it out and send it out for repair. I started to actually read the repair work-orders and they usually stated there was water damage. ***? After some detective work, i actually caught an operator power washing the inside of the cab! The radios were usually mounted under the dash or behind the seat and would get a good wetting along with everything else under the dash . Time to get mad again . I could chew them out and call them idiots because i was union just like them although i was an unofficial shop supervisor and they couldn’t do anything about it other than bitch to their supervisors that i was mean and cranky
Sorta similar is the dipsh!t driver who complains about milky oil in his steer or trailer hubs then you watch him powerwash his truck wheels including the hub caps even after said dipsh!t(s) have been told not to.
Idjits never really learn.
As soon as you make something idiot proof they breed a better class of idiot.
'Lower' Class of!!!
Ran across this problem last week and did the job today. This Sakai roller had all the hydraulics quit on it. I knew it was a pump drive problem but ended up not being what I was expecting. If the hub screw comes loose or the splines wear, the hub vibrates its way toward the flywheel and ends up disengaging both the pump splines and the drive plate splines. I was expecting the teeth on this plate to be gone..............was not the case. A plastic pilot insert would have prevented this.....but there is nothing. I went ahead and installed the new drive plate, new hub and plate retaining bolts. I cleaned the shaft and new hub, installed Loctite on both, and squeezed that new clamp bolt as much as I dared. Hopefully it will stay there.
It seems that upper management looked at their equipment rental costs last year and decided to start their own leasing company. That is why the Komatsu and the new Deere excavator are in the yard. I was told there was more equipment coming for this new operation. I was also told that they are expecting me to be able to care for this stuff. Oh great............MORE WORK
There's only 27 hours in a day
So form a "Leased Machinery Maintenance LLC".
Hard NO. Tell them THEY need the software to set up a maintenance schedule, an administrative assistant to run it, and a tech to do the greasing, fluid and filter changes. That's how business is done, not paying a top mechanic to do that sort of work.
Same here, defined NO. Work load will quadruple with lease clients DNGaF. Big money but death on a clock face. Three guys likely not able to keep up just base maintenance.
In this case I agree.
We have a couple small rental outfits here in town and they employ quite a few people washing, servicing, greasing, and repairing those machines. Definitely a lot more than one guy no matter how good.
I counted 6 guys plus the owners at our towns rental yard...this thread just keeps getting better!
I assumed the "leasing company" was just a wholly owned financial structure to replace the rented machines they already use. If they're renting to third parties, that's beyond craziest.
The company lease is a tax scam. It does allow for charging costs of the machines to individual jobs. I’m not going to proffer any advice to someone who has been making money on these people without any worry about come backs and such. If you are comfortable, carry on.
Is one to assume there rental costs where high because of more work than iron to cover said work or is it because the primary equipment that is owned was broke for reasons listed across 90 plus pages here and needed rentals to pick up the load I would guess it's the second reason and tax reasons aside witch is probably the justification of the expenses after the first year maintenance pressure will be key. Basically I would wager that this venture for this business is a bandaid that's a right off but shows that management misunderstood the reasons for needing rentals in the first place
More work = security & options for you. It's up to you to manage the load so your health and sanity are preserved. As a separate business, you can turn down jobs and/or raise your price. (As in your rates make it a simple choice to bring on the "lube guy" full time) The principles of supply & demand apply.
I never know when something is rented unless I see it on a job while I am out. I would say the rental was quite common from January through mid- August.........That was before HNC and TNH left and not much was even getting done. Since then.......I'm not sure. I know they tend to start numerous jobs around the same time, so the equipment gets thin. Some of the Tulsa equipment went to the OKC location this last year to get them equipped so that is even less equipment here. I have been able to keep most everything running unless it's a major breakdown and I get hung up on parts........or it waits for me to get to it. I know the main super doesn't like to rent equipment as he is always contacting me about repair status on selected pieces. If it is still down and waiting on parts, they may very well rent something to keep their jobs going. The lube guy is going to be a bust here. The general super and him have had past heated words and the main super isn't going to advance him into anything else. I think they are waiting for him to give up and quit myself......but he keeps poking along! I did have the former truck mechanic contact me a couple of weeks ago looking to come back to this company as he now regrets leaving 2 years ago. My only issue with him is he literally no experience with heavy eq........BUT, I could use him in other simple areas that take a lot of my time and he .....I think.........is trainable. I told him to put in an application to the company and if they start looking, I may throw a good word his way. Right now, they don't seem to be interested in hiring help. My rates are going to go up drastically here quickly, I have to see if I can curb the workload a bit or start making some of this work in flat rate/ quote formats to make some of these jobs even more profitable. I don't think they are going to care either way as long as the equipment is being taken care of. I was told they are going to start unloading some of the older stuff soon. I have my line of credit on stand-by. I'll be looking to get some deals.
Better than wondering about condition at an auction, you'll be absolutely certain it's been abused and neglected. Joe H
Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face. Are you going to add a surcharge for training and managing? Or let them cover his mistakes and if/when he's compitent snag him for yourself...not that I would do that or anything. I'm guessing the reasons why he quit are still there and he will leave for them again unless his situation has changed.
Do you know what the lube guy and general super argued about? Seeing how the maintenance is almost non existent, maybe the lube guy had a valid argument with how other things are done?
The lube guy probably said he needed to service a piece of equipment and the super said he couldn’t have it. I’ve been in that situation and it occasionally could become a pissing contest between me and an operator or supervisor
"I don't to want drive those other two yard horses/ trucks, this one is my favorite". Sound familiar? I've witnessed physical altercations with 2 morons fighting over the shiny new forklift when there were 10 other ones sitting in the pile next to it.
No, the lube guy has been reading this thread and decided he's better off elsewhere.
Scam? How is it a scam? The government makes the rules, companies do business within the framework provided to them.
Because it is only available to very rich companies. A shell corporation owned by a construction company buys the machines and gets a tax write off in the form of depreciation. They lease the machines to their construction company who writes off that cost as an expense. So you and I end up subsidizing large companies and driving the small contractors out.
The same set up is available to the small contractor directly as a section 199 depreciation.
Adding the leasing side double dips the deduction. More than one company I worked for over the years used that. Bought machines as one company, secondary leased the machines for use or became leasing agency for the first company, garage further still was a write off as a Third company performing contract maintenance where mechanics were Contracted Employee and their services a write off against bottom line of garage. All a tweak on language using a doppler eye view for almost completely legit.
Section 199a is not available to C corporations. The other businesses only get to do depreciation on a regular or accelerated basis depending on what congress sets up for that year. The leasing allows almost a complete pay off at taxpayer expense.
As I said, it is not a scam. It is using the rules provided by the IRS. The scam is income tax and the IRS.
I used to think like that until I started doing taxes. Deductible in business does not mean the govt paid for anything. (unlike grants, subsidies, and payments) It just means one's taxable income is less. You still have to produce the money to pay for everything. The key to true profit is not your gross income, but how much money you keep after taxes.
Do you own a leasing company?
The owning with one company and leasing to another provides another huge advantage, in the event the operating company runs into troubles the assets are protected as the company owns nothing. It's why so many do it, including me. I don't know about the tax advantages in the USA for it, but up here there is no additional tax advantages.
Another round about as a LLC.
Don't know about Canada. In the US, neither company is protected if one goes down. Leasing company is usually making payments to a finance company that are being paid by the construction company. If there is a disaster that destroys the machines, insurance is what pays for that.
Actually-it works this way the government makes the rules and the business hires a professional bean counter to find the loopholes, pay him a high price to keep from paying taxes. Close the loopholes and break the bean counters abacus and no more problem. Forgot there's one more that needs to go--Golf Courses-get rid of the business mans weekend and afternoon rotten business dealings with his buddies.
Or get rid of the income tax and the IRS! I play golf, leave my courses alone!
You could start your own lease company and lease the machines to yourself. If you have enough money?
Yea that's different case if there is money owed to other non related companies. I meant if there is no real money owed on the equipment, if the operating company owns them, they can easily be taken if something happens, whereas if they are leased from another company with the exact same owners, they are protected.
Sorry, I fat fingered the post and didn't catch it. I meant section 179, which allows the 100% depreciation of assets in the year first placed in service.
Don't use the highways or fly then. Two D8's starting in the early morning hours should have all the ponds and sand traps filled in by 5.
You are aware that there are other revenue collection schemes in place besides income tax, aren't you? Production should not be taxed. Consumption taxes make more sense. Import/export duties and use taxes make more sense. Please leave my golf course alone???
Consumption, or what are regularly known as "sales taxes" are no graduated so grossly unfair to the poor. If you want a break on income taxes, then maybe we should tax capital gains on something other than ten percent. As far as the 179 deduction goes, you are correct. The issue though is that the leasing company gets to claim that. The construction company gets to pay rent and write that all off. If both are owned by the same individual you have what is usually known as a loop hole.
let's remember the rules I don't want to get Vetech63 's thread shut down
How is it fair to punish people for being successful (graduated taxes)? If one provides more than x% (I think 80) of a 'subcontractors' income they are not a subcontractor but an employee according to tax rules (I have heard). Does this or something similar apply to a leasing company that only leases to one other company? Inquiring minds want to know!
Rules on sub contractors in this state are based on control and not on amount of work. If you tell a person they have to be on a site at 8:00 AM and work till 16:00 and they can't leave, they are an employee. If you hire a sub contractor and tell them you need this job done by this date and put no other restrictions on them, they are likely a sub contractor. Leasing company is a business and can lease to anyone they wish with no restrictions that I know of in this state. The fact that they only lease to their owner's construction company should be the trigger that shows they are taking advantage of a loop hole. The issue is about paying the countries bills and not what you perceive as a penalty. Without the infrastructure provided by this country that is paid for with tax dollars, we would just be another third world hell hole. The issue is how do you spread that tax load out equally. I don't feel it's fair that multi-millionaires and billionaires are given free rein to tax breaks that none of us here will ever have access too.
If you want to look at a big hole, look at the nearly 1 trillion trade deficit last year. If that money was circulating in the US economy the multiplier effect would probably increase the gdp by 4 trillion. From federal to local, gvernments everywhere have their grubby paws out, they would have ended up with a portion of that money that traded hands. Instead, it funds other governments ability to float balloons across our country.
Time to hear about bad maintenance and poor repairs again.
It's very rare to hear of a smaller company getting gov't. assistance but not uncommon to see bigger companies get assistance. Have also seen where certain businesses will get assistance but another similar businesses don't get anything. A lot of times it's a who you know (in the gov't.) type of deal. There might be some kind of inquiry if there's a whistle blower and it's made public but even then nothing is usually done. Same thing with awarding contracts. I'd bet there's a lot of lower profile favoritism that the public never hears about. Big companies get big tax breaks smaller ones can't get as well. I remember getting a phone call asking If I thought West Edmonton Mall should get a tax break because they bring in tourists. My thinking was they also get a lot more revenue and if they want to build this huge mall they can pay the taxes on it. Rent in the mall is based on how much revenue each store brings in. Basically if a store gets busier, they get penalized by being busier. Not tax related but the new premier here put in a policy of paying $100 a month for 6 month's to help with the high prices we have now. Supposed to be for seniors, familes with kids, handicapped people and other people on gov't. programs. The cut off for family income is $180,000!!! You're not hurting much if you have a kid and make $180,000. I'm on Canada Pension disability and get a little over $1000 a month. I don't qualify because I'm not 65. What a crock, another politician trying to help out her rich friends and buy votes.
Cars so kinda ten ply but Having to stop someone from using a pry bar and hammer to install a variable valve timing solinoid.
I see you fellas have been having fun. The weather here last week was wet and icy.........this week its wet and rainy. Not much to report lately since I haven't been able to work much. I have been able to order parts for multiple things though so it will get back to normal once the weather clears.
MAY be awhile!! Cold has returned here with a Winter Weather Advisory for Th/Fr/Sat.
Not much to report other than my disappointment in my Cat dealer. I subbed them 2 rod assembly pulls (outrigger and stick) off a 420E. I thought I would have them take the pistons off, clean the parts, installed the seals and have them ready to slide back into the barrels. This would allow me to finish up 2 other pieces of equipment that was still waiting on me. I was certain this would not cost much......the seal kit price for each and an hour or 2 labor at the most...........I mean, that's what I figured I could do it for providing I had the bench to remove the piston. They charged me just under $2000.00. $665.00 in labor, a $145 for seal kit, a $100.00 cylinder bench charge, a $20.00 supply charge, and a $100.00 misc. charge...........and that is per cylinder. I know some of you work for dealers, as did I early in my career but isn't this ridiculous? Have I been away from the dealers so long that I am out of touch with costs? I just saw this as a 2-3 hour job between the 2. This crap will make using the dealers as a sub very difficult.
Good grief that's high, no wonder the local hydro shops are doing so well
Time to build a cylinder bench in the rainy weather. Add a 100 buck bench charge and the materials will be covered in no time.
The misc charges getting added to bills is ridiculous. Honest specialty shops are the way to go.
Just thought of something, could be CAT doesn't have a selection to just do the rod, so they select the entire cylinder. Would still be bad if that was the case
That same dealer used to break the nut loose, swap seals and re-torque for the cost of the seal kit. I’d even get them to break stubborn nuts loose….for free. The times they are a changin!
Labor charge is what I would expect. It's the charges that are out of line. The misc hardware charge is suppose to be a percentage of labor only. It appears they charged it against the entire job. Supply charge? Bench charge? I know you don't have time to do it but I might let your customer know that some negotiations with that service department are in order. Chances are some flunky in the service office is just doing what they were told and the higher ups would just wait to see who complained. They will adjust when the noise levels rise and the utilization rate in the shop drops.
Maybe the Cat dealer knows who the cylinders were for and their maintenance, or lack of, just needlessly spending money. It's worth questioning the charges. That's beyond ridiculous. I think it's possible who ever wrote the invoice wasn't told the cylinder rods were already removed so charged for complete cylinder rebuilds.
Here is the invoice. At least you can see the bs! What I believe they should have done is told me if they had a flat rate to do the cylinders. It would have given me the option to go another route.
I don't know any franchised dealer that flat rates anything anymore. At the same time, they didn't put down a figure for the hours charged to the job. I know there are hours in the system and that they can pull them up. I suppose I would make them do that.
Is their labour rate well over $300 or even $400/hr.? I had a hyd. shop replace seals on bare rods and they charged an hour labour each. The cylinders were for the 4 in 1 bucket so similar type of cylinders. Even if a shop polished the rods it shouldn't take hours to replace seals. I'd have thought the cylinder bench is required for the job and included in the labour charge. Maybe a slightly higher labour charge but not an extra $100 per cylinder.
Does that come with or without the vaseline?
I didn’t feel good leaving there so I’m assuming not!
WOW! I don't expect something for nothing but charges like that boil my blood. I had the opposite thing happen to me on a stubborn cylinder. Took it to a new shop for me because it was New Years Eve only shop I could find open. It was a 3 hour drive and I didn't get there till 4:00 PM. He fixed me right up in 1.5 hours @ $80.00 per hour for a total $120.00! The guy had the best bench I have ever seen, handed him $500.00 and a big THANK YOU! Wish his shop was closer I would never do them myself again!
Not much different than the medical/health care/hospital industry. Every item used or was in your room before you got there is put on the tab. But a shop charging bench time that's over the top.
Last hospital stay for me was covered insurance but I saw the bill Overnight a dinner meal and a breakfast. NO Meds taken but dressings changed, $750 overnight with meals noted as included, automatic misc charge of $200 and still charged $150 for the tape and gauze pads used, about $12 at Walgreens. Will not ever get below $1k at the hospitals. My ‘copay’ for the 45 min eye surgery was $245, I had already paid $3500 for the lens.
Got a MRI scan a few month ago on my shoulder. The scan was one price, included the technicians and the supplies in one bill. The doctor to read the scans though was another bill. The shop charging bench time? It's a question to ask now before using a shop.
Had scans for neck and shoulders done back in December, still getting odd bills for his doc, that tech and already paid the bills for MRI and CT thru Insurance.
Go to mdsave.com to get prices on medical procedures. I don't have insurance so shopping around is critical. I got a MRI for $420 and a epidural shot for $970. I called a few places and it was x2-x3 or more.
I was told yesterday that the new "lease" equipment will be pm serviced by the dealer. I don't know if that is short term or the full lease term.....but I can tell you that it didn't hurt my feelings.  They have used dealer pm service in the past, but I had a few issues with it. A lot of the time they had to be notified of when something needed serviced.......but with no one checking them regularly, the services would still run past and sometimes by a ways. I know sometimes when called for pm service, it could be a week or 2....even more in some cases, before they would get to it. I'm curious to see how this will work out moving forward. Some of the equipment had the Deere Trax and they still ran out. I also wonder if they have the personnel to keep up now days. I don't remember how the service worked back in the day. I can't remember if dealer supplied pm service was customer charged each time or was that an absorption by the dealer as part of the lease agreement? Someone enlighten me on how that is done these days. I am thinking it was done both ways depending on the type of lease it was. I haven't got any help in what equipment they have is being terminated on the leases. There is a lot of equipment in the yard currently and I have no idea if I am supposed to be servicing this stuff and making repairs or not. A call to the main super yesterday didn't reveal anything.........he didn't have the time at that moment to enlighten me. I will have to check with someone on each piece in the yard now. That will be a pain in the ass for sure and slow things up again. Just another day..........
Sounds to be becoming evasive, I would start scaling back on anything voluntarily performed. This sounds a bit concerning. All the lease services I worked for or with had specific language that if machines got too far out of service value, the client would be responsible of advanced damage charges.
The Deere dealer here charges for the telematics. The lease can be structured on a cost per hour basis with the maintenance costs factored in or the maintenance costs can be add charges. Around here the Deere dealer put the monitoring into the hands of their product support reps who whined that they didn't have time to do that and go out and meet customers and sell parts and service. That's kind of why it all fell apart some years ago. I don't know what they are doing now. In my experience the biggest problem is scheduling the PMs with the production people. They won't shut down or even let someone know when a machine is sitting and won't schedule anything outside of hours when they are going to get charged the overtime. All of them are spoiled little kids that won't give up a toy so they can prove they have power over someone else.
JDLink subscription is included in the purchase price of the machine and is good for 3 years. After that, the customer has to continue the subscription if they want to keep it. We now have a full time individual (as well as most Deere dealers now, because it is Deere mandated) who performs machine monitoring and advising customers when any codes of concern pop up (rental, lease or customer machines) or informs customers when a service is needed (rental and lease machines, or customers on the PM program). Of course this only applies to machines with a current JDLink subscription. That depends on the contract. Most of the machines leased here require the customer to be responsible for the services. Some (very few to my knowledge) are written into the agreement and we are responsible to see that they get done.
Spoke to a local wrench on this awhile back, he gets calls from JD here as they cannot cover all the client needs as to when a machine is due or ramping into severely overdue on service and gets the sub work.
I’ve got an independent mechanic friend that was fired from Deere for doing side work. He started his own business and within a year he was helping with their overflow and then had his job offered back to him at an impressive amount of money. He declined. When I first got to Texas I struck a deal with a local dealer to sub for them and they give my name to customers on equipment they don’t want to work on but generally they keep me at their shop and out of sight which is fair enough and so far it’s worked for all parties included.
Odd you mention Side work firing, happened here as well where they cannot hire back as will not go back either. And still work on same equipment. Most shops around here cannot get as much as applicants, let alone a new tech.
The dealer I used to work for had a no side work rule if it was anything they would work on but they didn’t turn away much of anything. Giant space heaters, some dudes riding lawnmower, etc. they also had gps put in the service trucks after a field tech ran over a fire hydrant in the company truck on a Sunday headed to a side job.
If there is a no side work clause, they need to pay you a lot more money for that.
Better be guaranteeing a solid 40 or some overtime if that is the way the employee wants it, too.
We never signed anything but the service manager made it very clear. Didn’t matter. We got run so hard at times that I was on overtime by lunch on Wednesday and wanted nothing to do with wrenching come Saturday.
What happens if you get injured on a side job? I can see why a dealership or large shop would frown on bigger side jobs. If they are providing full time employment with benefits and a side job(s) interferes with your job with them is a legitimate concern. As far as getting injured I think if at all possible a person would try to claim it happened at their reg. job so they could collect workers comp. Little side jobs there's not much an employer can do to stop them.
Doesn't matter if you want to or not, if they are telling you what you cannot do during your time when you are not at work, you need to be compensated for it.
Dave, THATS EXACTLY what happened at the place I worked at. The guy was doing side work and jumped off a truck and injured his knee.. then took a “slip and fall” at work.. He milked that for EVERYTHING it was worth.. even had surgery and ended up sueing them for 10K.!! AND kept his job.!! I knew the owner of the biz where he got hurt..& one day he comes in and asks, where’s David.?? I said he’s out on account of his knee.. The guy laughs and said, he’s STILL milking that.?? U know he did that at MY PLACE jumping off a truck,. don’tcha.?? I said, yep..
Everywhere I've ever been around it wasn't necessarily a case of no side work (it was known as a "foreigner" where I came from) outside of normal working hours but more of a case of "no use of company resources for side work". So no use of service truck, no use of company tooling, etc, etc.
That was where I was at in the early 80s. Boss at garage I worked made note NOT to take his accounts but anything else was open on My Time using My tooling.
That happened at a place I worked except the little boss spied it and nipped it in the bud. Guy came in to work hobbling one morning but trying to hide it, grabbed his papers and was out to the truck to begin his day. But the little boss said wait a minute, something not right you can't work like that, go home. He did it working on his own house at home. Sent him home and the company did not have to pay, he had seen that play out before. So it is not just side work that can result in this sort of thing, are you going to forbid someone fixing their own house?
There's a bunch of work comp scams out there, no side won't eliminate them. Treating you help like family will.
Yea. a guy who worked for several years in the shop as a welder where I worked. For reasons not important to this discussion lost his job there then a couple years latter did get hired by the local Cat dealer as welder who also did much of their line-bore repair work. That worked out fine till someone found out he was working weekends doing line-bore work and using the Cat dealer tools to do it. Last I knew he was running a chicken bar-b-que next to his house and doing pretty good with that!
To me it's none of their business what you do on your own time provided you aren't using their truck, tools or connections to get the work. But someone complaining about getting fired for doing side work using a company service truck has a screw loose. It's stealing from the company, no other way to put it. Their truck, tools, fuel, insurance, all the downside if something goes wrong and no upside of any money. What happens if they screw up a repair? Customer will come sue the company if their name was on the door of the truck, even if they had nothing to do with it.
Well, I'm taking the rest of this week off. I may pop in providing I have cell service where I'm going. I'm going to sleep for the first 2 days, after that I'm going to play with the wife.........ok, I'm going to TRY and play with the wife. She keeps telling me she is too old for shenanigans, but sometimes she lies LOL I better pack some dominoes, cards, and a crossword book just in case! I'll be back with many stories (fibs) of my great adventure 3 hours from home. Wish me luck!
good luck!
Likely get more sleep than anything!!!
I forgot my phone yesterday when we went fishing for a few hours. Didn’t even know what time it was. It was wonderful to be disconnected. I gotta remember to forget it more often. Have fun!
Three hours from home draw a radius and pinpoint.
With this sign for coming weather, Ms Vetech may need to invest in better running shoes!! Be locked inside with the Playful!!!
Depends if that's East or West Red sky in morning sailors take warning, red sky at night sailors delight
That would depend on which coast you are located on in the country you are in.
Sunrise This morning
That's like saying we are going to town in a blizzard for vacation out here of anything 3 hours away. Heck 3 hours away won't even get you to a somewhat large city, Billings is about 4 hours away, next biggest of anything is Bismark ND 5 hours to 6 away. As for any special places to look at, a 3 hour radius will get you looking at the same scenery as you came from.
Suspect not so much scenery but distance from normal labors.
I had a day delay, so we are leaving this morning. This extra day gave me the time to plan out my strategies of manipulation, instigation, trickery, and sleight of hand. I feel I am prepared to show my woman that I am still the boss and TV star. I'm not beyond whining and sulking providing my prowess fails to impress. Dominoes, crossword book, and cards are packed just in case. I winked at her this morning and told her to be ready for a great time. She said "Good luck!" I play Checkers, she plays Chess
I'm back! Woman got away from me too much.....but I did take 4 naps Saturday and it was Heaven! Never got to the crossword or dominoes either..............you have to be awake to play that stuff LOL My shoulders haven't hurt for the last 2 days, but I'll be back to wrecking them today and be in familiar pain territory by this evening. I did do a lot of thinking about the future and how much longer I can be as physical as I am in this business. I don't feel like I have much time left physically. I will have to start taking a more serious look at other options. Back to work!
Yeah--since my doctor visits, both shoulders, both hips, both knees are all bad and need surgery--not going to happen.
There needs to be a re-instatement of the apprentice program. The heavy stuff should be done by the young.
The heavy stuff should be done by the young and dumb. There, I fixed it for you. Joe H
You're not doing yourself any favors running yourself into the ground. The idea is to enjoy your retirement and celebrate the hard work you did in the past not ache and moan where you can barely move.
Not here in america, used like a whore.
Worked like a Rented Mule, returned saddle sore and back broke.
Revisit the offer by the construction company to hire you. Figure out what you want and need and put a presentation/offer forward. 1. Tell them you can't physically do it all. 2. You need a budget for help: Skilled mechanic, apprentice, lube tech, and laborer. 3. Tell them you can diag, track maintenance and repairs, delegate, source parts, schedule, etc. This is where your skills will be best utilized for THEM. Put together an offer. Be ready to discuss in depth. Be ready to negotiate. Be prepared to tell them how much money you will SAVE them, not COST them! With this, you could get a good take home $$ figure, health care, retirement, and vastly prolong your career by taking lots of the physical end away.
Also, if they are creating a leasing company, why not create a maintenance company as well. It can be subcontracted for the repair and maintenance of the company equipment, but the leasing company could pay them for its maintenance as well. Another layer of screw the tax man!
I think the hardest part of stepping back into a supervisory role is having patience to stay back and watch the young do it. Im told thats what i should do ,but already questioning my future in actually doing it. Hard heads are hard to fix i guess.
It's hard to have a wrench pulling shop super. They hired one here a while back, and he was always on the floor. Every time you called, no one answered the phone or company radio. He was a great mechanic, but they had to hire someone to do his back log of paperwork. When they told him he would have to do more supervising than wrenching, he decided to retire.
I was a Working Foreman Night Shift at several Shops, worked from own toolbox, tried not to get into too heavy repairs, had specific clients asked for ME Only to work equipment made it tough. Headaches, newbie dumbasses made bigger ones, could not be in ten places at once answer phones run counter and do the rest. Finally was enough and went elsewhere from each of those. Had my own gig, side work on stuff would never enter those shops, like to have killed me doing both and destroyed my Social Life in general in process. Worked on floor Days nights, odd rolling shifts, was better managed stress but not near enough money. Everything in our industry is tradeoffs, drive yourself in the dirt for paycheck and benes' or work inde and drive yourself in the dirt making more but destroying more, NO Life, spending more to gain that more. I AM paying for those days currently.
Maybe tell them you need to slow down because your body can't take it like it used to and are thinking about retiring in a few years. Would be a great time for them to hire someone who could work with you and eventually take over the maintenance and repairs. The other option is they ignore you, you decide you've had enough and quit/retire leaving them scrambling to find someone. Much better for them to use you to help find and train a new mechanic than be scrambling when a machine breaks down in the middle of a time sensitive job.
Finding a go getter to take the grunt work off your hands would probably be a great next step. Sounds like most of your jobs have a fair bit of that work so it's not like he'd be off on his own and you hoping he's ok. Finding that person though probably hard right now, unless you know of someone through the grape vine. That's how I got my first wrenching jobs, shop **tch to the older lead haha. Also have to decide if you even want an employee and all that it entails.
The older lead was a shop b*tch at one time too.
All shops would like to put the younger guys under an older person. Problems is, they won't pay for them. They will charge the customer full bore for two guys on a job and that puts the cost of the repair outside of the profit margin.
About the only shops that can afford having apprenticeships are Dealer, Lease, or Private Fleet. Dealers can write the expense partially into repairs bills and manage the remainder on costs to do business, lease company employees are a expense item at best where are not always absolutely every hour on repairs where the cost is a minimal expense in the overall picture. Private fleets apprentice programs are optimal, these companies manage employee costs in the everyday expenses column able to spread those across years as no other can. Lease or private do present obstacles in as much as repetitive type repairs or duplicate equipment limiting variety of repairs or equipment types. Dealer have their own issues as open shop techs do not yet costs and chargeable values in those presents a nearly impossible wall to pass.
Or the oilfield jobs since they are flush with money, high turnover rates and wasteful spending as if cash is going out of style.
Sounds like a great idea. The problem is I don't trust the son in this operation that controls the funds. I have seen too many times where money starts getting tight.........the short cuts start, and that is usually with the equipment, repairs, and maintenance..........and the personnel involved with that. The old man.......yeah, not an issue there and I would probably jump on a good offer. I know he wouldn't screw me over. I am hearing signs of what I am talking about as of yesterday. I was told by a super that the CFO (son) thinks I am spending too much on some of the equipment. Not one mention of it to me in any way. It's going to cost money no doubt..........hand me junk that hasn't been taken care of at all and expect full service and repairs that cost little to nothing? It's just not going to happen. I will refuse to patch and kick the cans down the road.........so I believe a "Come to Jesus" meeting is coming very shortly. I need a clear definition of what the expectations are, if it has changed from the original basis. The info from the supers I talked to yesterday is too vague.
May end up slowing as they get froggy, spend more time with other clients and they go down a rathole. You will catch some blame as they look for alternate reasons to bad management. I had a few CTJ moments over the years, ended up walking away from a few SMFH as to the Stupid just witnessed.
Seems it may be time to start paying more attention to your old customers, be sure they're still around when this circus ends. Joe H
I listen to second hand info but never believe any of it until something happens.
Correct--If listened to all the crud from drivers--I would have been living in a 6 x 6 cell with a straight jacket along time ago.
People say so many wrong things which time will bear out the truth but even if completely wrong, will just go on as if they never said it.
If there's a lot of negative talk of things like lay off's, cut backs, etc. and there are changes in the work place, it's good to pay attention because in most cases it's more than just rumors. Went through it at a few jobs and it was blatant at the last job I worked. Could see the writing on the wall. Even wanted us to help train our replacements.
That's the reason to stay independent
True--but if everyone was independent plus did every type of work--everyone would be broke. Although most are anyway.
If everyone was independent it would weed out the slackers and HNC’s. The rest would be very busy. The dealers would have to make all their money off sales instead of service which is the way it used to be before they got greedy. Service was just there to support sales in a perfect world.
It's great to have the ability to go independent if working for a particular shop goes sour.
Ford coined this phrase, sales wouldn't thrive without service. Henry knew that from the start.
I don't know about all manufacturers, but the manufacturers i am familiar with really don't want the dealer to make much money per sale. The mother ship wants to make all the money on the new sale, dealer gets service and used equipment sales for profit. I suspect dealer books are subject to manufacturer's audit.
Manufacturers don't want dealer used machinery making any money either. I was called into a meeting with some factory people who said the way I came to putting values on used equipment was costing them sales. They wanted trade values to be a loss leader for selling new iron. In essence the factory was trying to coerce the dealer to spend their own money to make a sale for the factory.
Manufacturers want to sell new machines but sometimes their thinking is backwards. You get more customers and repeat customers if the dealers give higher trade values. Cat always states they have higher resale and trade values. As long as dealers are selling the manufacturers should be happy. They get the same price on new machines regardless. Good service is important too. Takeuchi is a good machine but reading on here their service and dealer support is getting worse instead of better. Have seen it before where a manufacturer puts unrealistic sales numbers they expect from dealers and the dealer drops them. Some sales are always better than no sales. Changing dealers frequently doesn't give potential customers a warm fuzzy feeling either.
Most of them I had before Covid are down or gone completely. I know 2 died during Covid and the businesses were discontinued. I had 3 retire and those businesses were discontinued. My oil and gas customers havent done much since the new administration came in and are barely hanging on. I don't have many left that are busy. The thing I have noticed the most in the last 2-3 years..........everyone that is busy in my business is doing government work. Very small amount in the private sector. Housing in rural areas has slowed to a crawl. If this customer wasn't busy, I'd be standing in a soup line downtown. I am considering myself fortunate at this point. It seems the excitement from Monday has quelled. The problem the CFO was having stems from the fact that the Deere dealer here was paid to do pm servicing when the lease equipment was bought.............which they haven't been doing since I have been here. I guess seeing me doing the servicing when the equipment came in (through the bills) started to boil his blood. Yeah, paying for things twice would **** me off too......I get it. I am still awaiting an email from the Deere service manager on what equipment of this customer is contracted for PM service. It seems that Deere and the management here at this customer disagree on how many there actually are and the length of the PM contract. This should be good...................
As to trade-in values, i’ve seen ag dealers overvalue trade-in’s to make new sales and then the dealership is sitting on a big inventory of overpriced trades that they have to discount in order to move. I would think that doesn’t look good on the books. This was a few years ago and mostly with the largest combines. in the old days it didn’t happen much but now with the owners having multiple dealership locations, they can spread the loss around so it doesn’t look as bad. I’ve wondered if that also happens with yellow iron too
Where I used to work we didn't take trades but our sales guys had a pretty good finger on the pulse of the industry and mostly could put a buyer of a new machine in touch with with somebody looking to buy a used machine. From what heard later after we were bought out the company did take trades and ended up with used iron in camps all up and down the coast. d.d.
There was an Ag dealer here that moved into a fancy new building. There were a White dealer and maybe another less popular tractor brand but mostly sold several lines of implements. They had a yard full of used equipment. After about a year the treasury branch foreclosed on them. I was at the auction. I was talking to one of the owners who said they shouldn't have been forced into receivership considering they had $500,000 worth of equipment sitting in the yard. Most of the equipment was older tractors and stuff that needed to be refurbished that would have cost them even more to get into decent saleable condition. A lot of it was basically good for parts. The other big problem was that there aren't many farmers looking for older equipment from the 60's and early 70's that's half worn out already with parts harder to find. They didn't have much acreage size equipment that is in higher demand. Nothing ever became of the lawsuit that I'm aware. The owners were pretty delusional about what their "old junk" was worth.
Carruthers Equipment? On 156 or thereabouts?
Dealers that put all their used iron in one spot don't usually have big issues with too high of trade values. Dealers that spread the iron out over all their locations seem to put the quick sand machines at the farthest reaches to hide the mistakes. Combines became a big issue as sales reps supposedly did inspections and provided numbers that their managers rubber stamped. When the accountants finally caught on to what happened the word came down that only the appraisers could appraise ag iron, which expanded work loads tremendously. The accountants split the heads off the assets and that stuff ended up all over the company territories. There is no money whatever in fixing trades to sell in any industry right now. Industry pushed out all the managers with the experience to make the retail used market work. Those people retired or went into the auction industry.
Yes. I bought a new walk behind string trimmer at the sale. They had a new Alamo flail mower (that wasn't in the auction) I was interested in, when I was talking to the guy, but he wanted full retail for it over $4000. More than I was willing to spend. He said it would be shipped back to Alamo. Most of the equipment that they had had been sitting in the big yard on 156st for years. It was kind of an eyesore driving by it.
Finning here has set up a used equipment superstore location in Acheson but I haven't been by there yet. I'm not sure if they still have some used equipment at their previous used yard in Edmonton. It looks to be all new equipment though.
Krylon overhauls.
O/h in a can.. Craigslist rebuild..
I think the equipment is all brand new at the shop in Edmonton.
Paint makes it what it ain’t!!
Paint it blue and call it new
So many threads on this board lol “Should I buy this dozer that looks good with a fresh paint job or that one that looks rougher”. -Everybody warns against the one that is freshly painted. Two weeks later… “Hey the dozer I bought is overheating the transmission after an hour of work, what do you think is the cause?”
I call that a DuPont Tune Up.
Stirring the pot may just help you out in the long run, Get Deere off their ass to do their job, or MAYBE take you on as a Sub to get their Contracted **** done.
NOV Downhole's theory. Our mud motors from them were always junk. Half the time they showed up on site and the paint was still wet and dribbling old oil base out the bearing housing.
I had the concrete crew foreman approach me yesterday. His boss informed him that he would start doing the services on their Bobcat S770. I typically don't see the Bobcat loaders, or haven't as of yet...........I'm assuming this is a cost saving measure. He asked 100 questions about the filters, where they were located.............basically didn't know a thing about servicing this machine. I'll be telling the concrete super today that this is a horrible idea. The only filter marked is the engine oil (dated April of 2020), but the super told him to only change the engine oil and filter. I told the foremen to change ALL of them and mark the date and hours on each filter or housing. This will be good............ I got to visit with the local Deere field service manager yesterday. Several things are going on here. 1st......This customer doesn't realize that the pm agreements expire at 3 yrs/3000 hours. They only have 3 machines that currently have pm agreements in force that expire in May ( these 3 machines were 3-year leases).. The general super believes that all the lease equipment is supposed to be done during the entire length of the lease. Some of this equipment is on 5 year leases. 2nd......The service manager showed me when they had contacted the customer to do pm service, but that the customer had declined it at that time. Inconvenience? probably, but the dealer didn't contact them again, so they went Un serviced until the next scheduled interval. A time of 2 of that going on makes for some long runs between filter changes. 3rd......This customer needs an equipment manager in the worst way. Between the lack of communication, understanding what your paying for, and the absolute waste of repair funds (The Cummins engine in the Bomag recycler as 1 example)...............I'd bet huge money the waste is well over $1 mil a year. Its insanity in its finest form. 4th......F&ck it, I'm not changing what I'm doing because a few people are panicking over money. I'll wait until the CFO calls me and wants to know why this and that is going on. When I am sitting in front of him and throw down all the bulls&*t Ive come across..........I have a feeling he may be more lenient. If not, fire me and I'll move down the road with no problem. I may be getting another offer from the old man soon. LOL Its this kind of stuff that drives him crazyyyyyyyyyy
Get things in writing
Equipment manager sounds like a good retirement position for you!
I maybe cornfused but I believe it was determined earlier in this thread that talent evaluator in the entertainment business was the direction he was going…
^^ AMEN ^^ to THAT..
I have something in mind, but it would require the wife's permission.............which there isn't a chance in Hell I'll get!
Not too much to report lately.......except 4 weeks of rain once or twice a week. At least my 2 ponds are back to their proper levels after being down more than 50% from last years drought. I did notice that there are new decals on the recently purchased Komatsu equipment for the newly established leasing company. The company is called Jet-X equipment leasing.........this tells me a lot. This means that the oldest son is more than likely running this operation. He has always been a pilot and has never been in this business. This should be good.................. With so much rain lately, things have slowed to a crawl for me. I have been able to do some PM stuff out in the field somewhat. Things don't break down when they aren't working so......... I did get 2 machines repaired and spent quite a bit on them but there was broken crap everywhere on both. Once I got them done, I was told they were going to trade them off..........so I made an offer on both which was a bit above what they were given on trade value. I had both working perfectly and strong, ..............evidently too good. They informed me last week that they had decided to keep them. Dammit.......not what I was expecting...........I had both of those sold for a decent profit. I screwed myself and didn't even realize it. LOL
Bummer, but been there myself. Just sold my cruiser for less then I wanted to but its gone, new boat comes in next week
Time for an update. For the last 4 weeks there hasn't been a lot going on due to rain storms every 4-5 days. There has been a few thigs in the yard, but all of it is on the older equipment that I was told 2 months ago was going to be traded off or sold. Yeah.....that didn't happen. Some of it has gone back in the field on jobs without having anything done to them...........I was told not to spend any money on them since they were going to be gone. I have been going by there and checking in once or twice a week just to keep an idea of what was going on. About 10 days ago I noticed that their field service truck had been removed from the shop, where it has been since I started doing their crap again back in August. I found out today by word of mouth that they have hired a former Komatsu mechanic from the local dealer. Now, I haven't met the guy yet and don't know a thing about him. All I do know is what I was told today........older fella with long hair and a long beard. I had the normal super call me today about a problem with their 299D not starting and running. When I got there, the operator told me that the new guy (let's call him FKM) had spent 6 hours on it yesterday and had given up..........not a good start. Now it's mine to fix. I went by the shop and opened up the tool room. A lot of what I had organized has been disheveled and sort of tossed about. I had filters all together for 3 different machines that I hadn't got to yet..........now all of that is mixed in with another 50 old filters I am assuming were in a compartment on their field truck. Part of the filters I had set out are completely missing. My 2 30lbs. bottles of R134 and my a/c gauges are gone. I am reserving any judgement at this time. My missing equipment may or may not be something he did..........I will find out as soon as I meet the guy. In the meantime, I loaded up what equipment I had there that was mine and hauled to my home. That way there isn't any confusion on what belongs to whom. Stay tuned. From what I have already seen we may very well have another HNC on our hands. This should get interesting in a hurry.
Not sounding good
Dealer mechanics are always highly trained and qualified professionals . . .
If he used any of the jug or "Lost Them" or used any charge the Client for fat fingered materials.
That stuff is getting spendy.
That’s about a thousand dollars of refrigerant these days. I’d be PISSED.
Sounds like he was trained by Penske, they are the professionals you know.
There are lots of "Former" Komatsu dealer mechanics and there are lots of reasons for it. You need to sit down with him and talk.
Oh I will!
I think I would have a come to Jesus meeting w the ah that hired him w/o consulting u first or at the VERY LEAST introduce u 2.. I’d hit up which one I ran into FIRST.. That kinda tells me what respect they have for u.?? Here’s your new home, do with it whatever u want..& don’t pay attention to that other guy here..
The refrigerant and moving things around could easily be a honest mistake. They most likely didn’t even tell the new mechanic about the outside mechanic storing any items in their shop. Because that’s not that common. They probably just threw him the keys to the truck and showed him where the shop was and said get to it. I could see the new guy thinking the gauges and refrigerant were company property, not yours.
Well, in my 38 years of being in this business.........I ran into a FIRST today. Cat 299D.......FKM went out on this machine Tuesday for a no start. Replaced a fuel pump that I had already replaced in January (He didn't know, but I don't think he troubleshot this properly anyway) which didn't fix the problem. After 6 hours he gave up.......that is when I was called. I get there yesterday and after a few minutes I find the ECM fuse blown. I Installed another and it immediately blew......went 5 amps higher.....another blow. I have a super hard short somewhere, so I get the cab up and just as I start troubleshooting, a paver goes down across town. I have to pull off this loader, tell the job super about the paver emergency and off I go. The super says he needs the loader so I tell him I will call Cat field service and see if I can get them out since I have no idea how long I may be. It will be the following morning. Cat FS tech calls me on his way to the loader, I fill him in on what I know.......he will call me when he finds the issue. 5 hours later I have another paver go down on the job where the loader is. I get there and stop where the Cat tech is to check on the progress. He's flustered pretty good. Said he did find the short on the engine harness and now the ECM is coming on.........but the engine still will not start. No codes after he cleared all of them. He calls 2 other techs for ideas as what to check for. He does a little bit more electrical checking and the job super walks up. The job super tells both of us a different story than the operator did. The operator said the engine just died. The super said it was running when they started putting fuel in it and that's when it died. So the 3 of us are thinking they either introduced water into the fuel, or DEF.........but since FKM was there first, we couldn't determine if any water had been drained off the filters and could find no evidence of it. No evidence of DEF either. So, while the 3 of us are standing there thinking of what to do next, I told the tech that we could try a shot of ether. I mean why not.......at least we would know a few things if the engine kicked. We all agreed to try it so I removed the air cleaner lid and the primary filter. Look at this sh*&.......................... Someone stuck the freaking secondary filter in backwards choking the air off to the engine. I think all 3 of us said "***!!!????" at the same exact time. Flipped it around and the machine started right up. I can't find anyone willing to admit they pulled the filters and put this in backwards. We stood around another 15 minutes laughing our asses off about this entire scenario. All of us took remembrance pics.
Had an apprentice do that doing a service on a unit I was replacing an axle on. He looked at me when we found it and said “it slid right in. Why would they make it like that?” I just laughed and told him to slow down and make sure how things look before you go ripping.
Sorry Vetech but Oklahoma seems to have it's share of idiots. This area has it's allotment also. I see a up coming electrical issue with that tie strap near those shrink tube but connectors. Someone should have covered those butt connectors with shrink tube.
Frame that photo and hang it up on the workshop wall...........!!
Its funny you say that. I suggested to the tech that he needed to put that pic on the wall of his bosses office. The super said to make sure it had their company name on it. LOL
I would like to know how much that dumba$$ mistake cost the company. Several techs, several hours....likely several thousand dollars worth of education that the company ends up paying. Surely I do NOT miss having employees!
The owner of my company is on this same path, and it's getting costly already. I have my letter of resignation signed-I will give it to him tomorrow the 31st. Will be done on the 15th of April. No point in going any further. I know of another company in the same boat-it's all too common these days.
Was the pre filter in the stack of filters that disappeared? Sounds like there might be a stackup of issues. I hate getting thrown in the middle of things like that.
Very good thought.
I must have jinxed myself, I'm playing detective tonight now. I got told by my boss to head underground and time one of the concrete/ paste pumps. The apprentice was down there helping operators and they asked him to time it. Luckily he didn't try and time it, admitted he wasn't comfortable with timing it and passed it on. Get down there and run it, yeah it's out of time and the cylinders are jumping like there's a lot of air in the system. Attempt to time it, one of the flow controls/ throttle valves is way out compared to the normal setting, hmmm the only reason it's that far out is someone is trying to mask a problem or doesn't know how to time it though usually is a hint there's a known problem. Head out to the surface for a sandwich, a schematic, and any hints what was done to it previously. Found the schematic, ate my sandwich, can't find anything in our work orders and the operators can't find anything in their log book. There was an e-mail about a timing issue from March 16th (I went on days off that day for 2 weeks). Back underground I go to figure it out, maybe it's just that out of time, maybe it's a mechanical issue. Luckily it doesn't appear anyone has thrown the parts cannon at it and everything looks old and crusty.
Someone on that job pulled the air filter to check them I guess...........I serviced the machine less than 100 hours ago. They just didn't put it back in right, and no one told any of us that the filters had been removed.......so none of us checked that. I did get to meet FKM yesterday. Super nice fella mid 50's maybe. He USED to work for the Komatsu dealer but came from another construction outfit. Seems he was self-employed like me a few years back. His wife developed some kind of cancer and his Obamacare kept increasing until they no longer could afford it. He had to ditch self-employment so he could get on a group plan with a company so he could continue to help his wife get the care she needed. We talked about an hour, different things he was already noticing since his start on Monday. He already feels like he has made a mistake coming to this company. I told him to give it a little time.........he said he almost quit Wednesday. We made the decision to work together here and not against each other. We exchanged phone numbers so if either of us needs a hand we can call for help. I did ask about my missing stuff, he had no clue. Probably lifted before he got here and I noticed. The 2nd thing they put him on is the Bomag trench roller that was in the shop back on the first page of this thread. No one has said a thing about that machine to me since August............I'm not sure why they put him on that......maybe to see what his capabilities are? I have no clue. I have to give a great amount of respect to a man that will do whatever it takes to take care of his family.......and that he has from me. If he can adjust to the ******** here, he may make a great hand here. We will see if he can deal with it. I am not under the same rules he has to follow.
I had a call for a forklift that would not stay running one time. Checked everything, just seemed like it was starved for air. Asked what had been done and of course nobody admits anything. Looking it over again and I see a teeshirt stuffed into an opening in the ROPS. Pull it out and lo and behold I find a back up alarm screwed into the post. Talk to the operator and he told me he was sick of the alarm screaming in his ear. Well the opening in the ROPS is tied into the air filter. Easy fix, took 3 hours.
I had a phone conversation a couple of weeks ago with a gentleman somewhere on the Atlantic side of the country and employees came up. He made the comment that the employee named "I Don't Know" is the most expensive employee he has.
That reminds me of this video, wasn't me
Hadn't seen that one before.
I was supposed to start on another dozer yesterday but on my way to the job my truck lost the front right hub bearings while I was doing 70 mph on the expressway. There wasn't much shoulder room on the highway so I slowly drove it another mile to an exit and a parking lot. By the time I got there she was pretty much locked up. Wrecker costs me $510.........towed to the dealer because I loathe working on my own crap...........so I'm sure I'll be down a few days. Found out yesterday that I have early on-set diabetes. I've been wondering why I have been losing weight, peeing every 2 hours, and have this insatiable thirst for the last few months. I'm chalking all of this to another Chaos Monday. What's new!?!?!?
Double bummer
Dodge truck by any chance?
Glad the dr caught it…Take care of your health!!!!
Are you doing the punch holes in your fingers routine? The needle just bounces off some parts of mine.
Air filter Choke off reminded me of A Good Old Day. Guy complained of WEAK brakes, loadstar 1600 hydraulic, Complaint is pedal gets hard barely stops, has it towed in. So I check it all, test drive fluids, everything I could think of even to maybe rats nest or something locking pedal or wheel cylinders. NADA. Call the guy explain NADA, minimum fee and he comes down to complain. Said we just changed the Hydrovac a month ago and it just stops working usually after he loads it. We take a drive and just Fine. So he wants to whine, stops and says needs to get it home, unpacks junk he carries every day and starts stuffing under and around seat. Huge Heavy wool jacket gets balled up and stuck behind seat and I stop him., Reach in with seat folded forward, Vacuum Chamber Air Vent is Behind Under seat and I show him the problem, coat covered release air side, Booster cannot breath. Asked me when did we put that there and explained is the way ALL Internationals have ALWAYS been. He gets red faced and admits nearly every truck had driven had bad brakes because of his stuffing a coat behind seat.
At least he manned up and admitted that instead of doubling down on it being someone else's fault.
This ^^^^^^^
As a company owner with 270 full time employees, I can tell you we can't read minds. We will give you as much work as it seems you can take. Talk to the owner and be super clear about what you can do and what you can't. Tell him your diagnosis. Tell him what and work you are willing to do. Stick to your guns even if he whines. You will be surprised at how well it goes. Put your health first, you can never get that back if you lose it. Make $10k a month working 2-3 days rather than $30k working 5-6.
I found out that FKM quit 2 days ago. I've been away from there all week due to my truck being down, so I have no details yet. It's unlikely they will make another hiring attempt anytime soon. There just isn't much skilled labor out there in this field that needs work.
That didn’t last long. Suppose he saw the writing on the wall?
Likely figured out you were being paid FAR better than he was even offered and walked as had no choice.
There are lots of people who left Komatsu dealers for lots of reasons. Now there is one more who left this company and probably had lots of reasons as well.
Would FKM want to work for you as a sub contractor?
Surely he needed insurance for his wife and had put out feelers everywhere. This outfit was the one that made him a good enough offer first. Somebody else took a week longer to get back to him and he took that instead.
Well, I'm not sure fellas. I remember something he told me when I first met him and he seemed discouraged. This company has GPS on ALL their trucks and have had for a long time. He told me he got hired on a Thursday, removed the company tooling on the service truck the next day and drove it to his previous employer that next Saturday to load his own tools on the truck. He told me the main super questioned him about his locations on the next Monday. FKM told him he was loading his tooling from his previous employer.......but I could tell at that point he realized he was going to be micromanaged. During this same conversation was when he told me he almost unloaded the truck and quit the day before. Something had happened between him and the main super right before I met him, but he didn't elaborate on that, and I didn't ask. My personal opinion is BV is right. He saw really quick that this job was a mistake and he corrected it. I can't blame him to be honest. This company has had many issues in the past with company truck drivers hitting the bars, strip clubs, and a lot of personal time which is not company business. Several wrecked their trucks leaving a bar at 2 am. One hit a motorcycle at a stoplight intersection. I get it.........but it could be handled very differently but they elected to micromanage it to a fault. It would drive me insane.
The Nuke I once worked in, has started monitoring the employees to that level, Company trucks have GPS Locators, employee Badges are getting locators installed and cameras are now the 'In Thing' for all parts of the plant. Used to be Security had cameras for monitoring and used Key Card badge to access Sensitive or Emergency Required systems so that unobserved access and damage could not occur. Now cams are everywhere, Supervision and Management ONLY has Computer access to those cameras where security devices are separate and still monitored. From what have been told nearly every yard, shop, headquarters structure and switchyard of the company has both Security and Managerial forms of Cameras. Paranoia is a difficult mistress to deal with if nothing to see.
Cameras and video storage are getting cheaper all the time. It only makes sense to install them wherever you can. But the flip side of that is that things are still going to happen the way they always happened. If you use the cameras to pester employees so they can't work the same way they worked for the last 20/30/40 years and got things done safely and efficiently, they are going to chafe.
It's not the cameras that are the issue. It's how the photos and videos are perceived and how an employee is approached about it. I don't care if you put an eye in the sky over my shoulder. I will get aggravated when some geek comes in and questions how or why I do something and then tries to berate my actions from his point of view.
From my remaining ex-coworkers at the nuke, that is the problem, Over Sight trying to second guess actions, questioning every move if deliberate enough or considered taking too long. All the hands that were there as I retired are now distinctively working toward a Last Day, some for earlier than they originally intended..
Back at the dealership we had gps in the trucks. I got grilled by the safety guy one day because my truck had thrown a “harsh cornering” alarm the day before. “Huh” I replied. “ what time?”. “ oh about 12:30”. “ well, where was I?” He didn’t know. I was about 40 miles up in the woods on a logging road. I hit some rough terrain and the truck rocked, throwing the alarm. Good grief. Before you give me ****, at least make a decent case against me.
On the other hand, The factory I was at, had a roof column seriously bent. That notorious employee named "Not Me" was responsible. Then there was another morning, I came in to a forktruck immobilized in the warehouse. The driver was identified by the fork piercing the I-beam column. Shock recorders helped identify vision or mentally impaired drivers. I'll try to get a photo, of a column at the local town recycle facility. A column sheared at the base closing the facilities. Likely hit by a roll off truck. Been closed since January. The second time closed by a driver in my memory.
I use the GPS tracking to bill my jobs. If I had employees I would have in all vehicles on the road. Problem is as stated above when someone doesn't understand the problems with the job and comes preaching to the people who are really earning the revenue.
Rocky Mountain Power/Pacific Power--All vehicles have GPS and now cameras. Cameras all over each facility. Constantly monitored. You cannot have a firearm in your personal locked vehicle while on company property, no tobacco/smokes or chewing tobacco on you or in your car while on company property. This last company I work for the cab interior side of the dash cam is constantly on, if one is in the truck you are being watched at any time. Very common these days. Where the cameras with audio need to be is watching the CEO, CFO and board rooms. The guy who stole the frozen pizza most likely because he was hungry possibly gets the crap beat out of him arrested throwed in jail and we get to pay for that. Meanwhile the white collar crime that effects thousands walks. My last reply.
It goes both ways...friend has gps monitoring on his govco truck. Complaint filed, high speed erratic driving. HIs boss started in on him...bad move. STFU until you review my GPS data. He was nowhere near where he was said to be when the "grudge" complaint was filed... Ed
All these problems stem from office dwellers not doing their due diligence before going on a mission. I got yelled at over the 2 way radio once, back in the days when GPS was a data blurp blasted over the radio from a big box with screws all over it. What are you doing on Howe Ave (major street in Sacramento) they said, you are supposed to be here in the local area. They did not bother to check on the map (on their computer) that would show the Howe Ave I was on is a 1 lane gravel road with only 6 houses. They just saw Howe Ave come over the screen.
Have to laugh. Idiot here in town took car to dealer to have work done, trans slipping, engine noise. Pulled memory of ECM, had been over revving and evidently doing burnouts with the truck as wheel speeds did not match and had shut off braking control with seriously eroded rear tires. 22 years stupid and warranty VOIDED. Truck had 10,000 miles and at one time a 5 year 50,000mi warranty. Junk now, with payments.
This is exactly what happened.
Cameras are exactly why I quit Waste Management driving job. Had a gravy roll-off gig that I loved until they put cameras in the trucks "for insurance reasons" both front and rear facing. Nothing like coming back to the barn after a 12 hour day and getting called onto the carpet and asked stupid questions like why I was eating a sandwich while driving, after hitting a pothole and setting the camera off or why I was following so close after some moron pulled right into my "space cushion" and I had to hit the binders to keep from squashing his dumb ass and setting off the camera. after several months of that nonsense and several reprimands for swearing at the cameras Mr. Stinky had enough of that nonsense. The stress was making me consume twice as much beer and I couldn't stand that much peein'.
Camera's yeah we got them here, do I give a F they are there, nope. The day they call me in to question anything is the day I'm going home for the last time. Wouldn't be surprise I end up on YouTube if anything with a video titled "Angry worker throws....." or the latest of "Naked mechanic.... too damn good to fire" Yeah well when one gives me a dumb ***** detail that gets my clothes soaking wet and it's cold I don't care what camera is rolling, I'm stripping down put them out to dry in front of the heater and continue working as such. Hopefully they learned my nuts were dragging along the stick shift or other various things they are now holding cause of it
Only time I'd want camera's driving, is if someone crashed into what ever it was I was driving, to prove I didn't do it. I would think every school teacher would want a camera in the class room. If I was doing certain mechanic work for someone I'd be installing a camera nowadays, so I could verify everything I did. I did work at one place that did install them in a machine shop, we could hide from them pretty easy.
I would imagine camera's and GPS in a lot of company vehicles is because of some idiot(s) abusing the vehicles or going to places like bars instead of back and forth to the job or to get lunch or parts. Some people would be tempted to spend time in a bar or meeting with a friend if they finished a job early or made up some excuse why they had to be gone for so long. Know of a guy I think was fired because he was caught in a bar when he should have been working. Lunch is an hour at the most not 2 1/2 hours and no drinking while on company time or in a company vehicle.
Our society has become drunk on data. The cameras and GPS units are everywhere because they are cheap and readily available, not because they serve any real need. The more information we have, the more we need, we are over run with worthless, endless information. One could make a case for the idea that the more information is available the dumber people seem to get. Life certainly isn't any better now than it was in 2003.
My old dealer put the gps in the trucks because a field mechanic was using it to do side work and ran over a fire hydrant on a Sunday with the company truck. Oops.
I figure if I ever work for this company as an employee and have to deal with this GPS tracking thing......I'll request one in the CFO's office for myself to use so I can track how much he is gone.
Just check to see if the passenger in his car is a set of golf clubs.
Can see the boss at Spuds shop shutting that camera Down, TMI and Too much flashed Junk for the Office to deal with!!
Ask for stupid games win stupid prizes. Wasn't about to drive to the store for new set of clothes soaking wet, damn washer pressuring a semi and RGN in 20° temperatures soaking wet then the hose itself burst on me. Yeah I had enough by then and it was more of a suck my "d" moment, "f" this "s" I'm "p"
Just air tag it, it is the new thing now.
We have them at work but a lot of what makes it work is having people on the other end that that understand driving and don’t micromanage with it. Our regional safety manager over me doesn’t bother us over stupid **** and yes the cameras do record at all times wether they say they don’t or not but will only send a report if they are set off but footage can be pulled up anytime
Electric tape works wonders on camera's. The one on my phone has had some from day one, the screen side.
Accidentally sprayed with grease or gooey oils works well. Really torques the watchers
This stuff is great for lubing cameras and electronics
Dash cams with inside cab view--The women in HR found out it isn't a good idea to check a dash cam when driver isn't logged in {on duty}. Some don't quite shut the sleeper curtains or don't shut them at all. Nasty view of swamp ass moons amongst other things.
Surprised she admitted to seeing
It was more like the horror of it all.
Lol I walked into a rather large excavation company that hasn’t had a mechanic for two years as well but had a mechanical inclined person over looking it, sent most to dealer or had dealer come to the shop for big things, but… I’m a year in and I’m just seeing the light at the end of the tunnel
As a company owner, I agree about white collar crime completely. My suggested solution is do away with the Limited Liability Company. If owners and boards of directors and managers were personally financially liable for problems, the world would change for the better real quick.
Orwell and others could see what was coming, people laughed at their books.
People laughed at their books-yes. But back then people read books, very few read today. Book sales are way down and those that are bought are placed on a shelf to impress others. Orwell, who's that?
George Orwell: Animal Farm and 1984 ... sorry if you were kidding?
All good for folks having fun, but always looked forward to the original purpose of this thread, now it's such a tangent of who knows what happens next
All we need now is dancing girls and some card games.
About a guy working for a facked up company just like many others did.
Have you read both between golf games.
I understand your thought but if there was no way to get clear of a failed company, there would be no companies. The better thought is if those people were held as a fiduciary element in the running of either an LLC or a corporation, then they could be held responsible as a civil action possibly without killing the company.
Ooooo Girls
There is another term for LLC--- MOD EDIT
There are some really shady business owners that incorporated thinking they were fully protected against any kind of liability. Thankfully they were wrong. If there's gross negligence or certain illegal activities the owners of a business can be held personally liable and can be successfully sued.
You aren't in Kansas now. You are going to have to provide an example of that in the United States.
Yes, I have.
No need to be condescending. It doesn't have to be a shady business owner but some people think a limited company relieves them of all responsibility and liability. I'm just saying that being incorporated doesn't mean the owners are automatically off the hook from any and all liability. Not in the US but just in the last week one of the large oilsands operations, I think it was Syncrude was charged for something like not providing safe working conditions when an excavator operater drowned in the cab. He was tasked with working on a steep bank holding back a tailings pond or something like that and it gave way and the excavator was submerged and he couldn't get out. A terrible way to die. If had been a smaller limited company and the owner was the one who tasked the job to the employee knowing there was a potential for disaster or not taking precautions to protect the employee from a possible disaster you can be damn sure he could be found liable and likely sued by the family of the victim. I will look for a link to give better details. A limited company is not an automatic get out of jail (or liability) for free card.
Here's a link that shows Suncor is also facing 19 charges in the death of a dozer operator who died when breaking through ice on a tailings pond. If the same type of death's happened in the US and the company owner was the one who instructed the employee to do these jobs, they aren't protected by being incorporated. There are other types of situations where a company and/or the owner is not protected just because they are incorporated. Five charges laid against Syncrude Canada Ltd in death of oilsands worker Why the charges are another safety setback for Suncor Energy Inc www.thesafetymag.com I just found this that gives a perfect example of when an LLC doesn't protect the company owner(s). Personal Liability for Actions by LLC Co-Owners and Employees In all states, having an LLC will protect owners from personal liability for any wrongdoing committed by the co-owners or employees of an LLC during the course of business. If the LLC is found liable for the negligence or wrongdoing of its owner or employee, the LLC's money or property can be taken by creditors to satisfy a judgment against the LLC. But the LLC owners would not be personally liable for that debt. The owner or employee who committed the act might also be personally liable for his or her actions but a co-owner of the LLC who was not involved in the act or wrongdoing would not be. Example: While making a bread delivery to a local supermarket, Lloyd, an employee of the Acme Bakery, LLC, runs over and kills a brain surgeon in a crosswalk. It turns out Lloyd was driving while drunk. Acme Bakery is sued and found liable for its employee's negligent actions while on the job. All of Acme's business property, assets, money, and insurance can be used to pay the judgment awarded to the surgeon's heirs. Acme LLC's owners, however, are not personally liable for the LLC's employee's actions so their personal assets cannot be taken to pay any judgment against Acme. Personal Liability for Your Own Actions There is one extremely significant exception to the limited liability provided by LLCs. This exception exists in all states. If you form an LLC, you will remain personally liable for any wrongdoing you commit during the course of your LLC business. For example, LLC owners can be held personally liable if they: personally and directly injure someone during the course of business due to their negligence fail to deposit taxes withheld from employees' wages intentionally do something fraudulent, illegal, or reckless during the course of business that causes harm to the company or to someone else, or treat the LLC as an extension of their personal affairs, rather than as a separate legal entity. Thus, forming an LLC will not protect you against personal liability for your own negligence, malpractice, or other personal wrongdoing that you commit related to your business. If both you and your LLC are found liable for an act you commit, then the LLC's assets and your personal assets could be taken by creditors to satisfy the judgment. This is why LLCs and their owners should always have liability insurance. Example: Assume that two of the three owners of Acme Bakery LLC (from the example above), knew that their driver was drunk, but let him make deliveries anyway. They can be sued and held personally liable for negligence by the brain surgeon's heirs.
Camera's again, the most important place they should be mandatory, is any place that produces and handles any sort of food or food products, for human and animals. And have to keep the recordings for a given amount of time. Tera byte storage or what ever they have now is cheap.
In restaurants and fast food joints camera's should be mandatory. Have even heard from employee's that food has been dropped on the floor and served and other things that shouldn't happen. There was a Carl's Jr. franchise owner in Red Deer (I think) that was caught mixing something (can't remember what) but it was in a large bucket and he was putting his bare hand in up to his elbow to mix it. Just makes you cringe and he instructing other employee's to do it the same way. Thankfully an employee reported it. Amazingly he wasn't stripped of the franchise. He had take courses on proper food preparation after paying a fine and being closed for a while. Disgusting!
Both good books,but he also wrote The road to Wigan Pier, and Down and out in Paris. He must have had a crystal ball?
As for getting back to the original thread,over here in the UK we are now a few months into a recession.There’s a definite downturn in work,but not too gloomy yet.I suspect there’s worse to come,but nothing good,efficient companies won’t survive.I feel we’ve all had an unusually good economy in my area the last few years,and the downturn is kind of needed to reset things back to a level of normality.I’ve seen a totally throw away,disposable attitude taking a hold on management and now we’ll sort the men from the boys I guess. I fear Vtech will need to keep checking in on his bank balance every pay day from here on in? However,I’m positive he’s on the ball with it all
I see companies everywhere around me leased equipment payments up to there eyeballs and so on our market cant get any busier it's insane right now I turn down more work lately than we can do we will see some kind of slow down residential definitely already has and I am willing to bet since the vast majority of buissness owners have never rode a real slow down it's going to be a majorly painful for a lot With all the companys being bought out and in the last year 2 major trucking outfits closed there doors and took everything to Ritchie's they called them retirement sales but basically turned the dump truck market on its head when in a 6 month period of time 1/4 of the trucks in the local market got sold half left the state. Companys just like what vtech working for are being bought out left and right here lately and quite a few are backed by investment firms this will not end well
Dave your point your making is valid but in my experience that's not the daily bs that shady buissness Small companies get screwed and a lot can be driven out of buissness by large companies that they sub to especially in construction almost every sub tier contract I have been handed says paid when paid now. Yes i am legally due my money with in 7 days of them getting paid but when you a buissness that does 3 million a year waiting on say 300 grand plus any retention on that 600 grand job you might wait over 100 days to get paid. Now if you end up where you waiting on payment from 2 big jobs at the same time and this happens all the time to small guys you can run out of cash. At that point it no longer matters what's illegal or not your not going to have the 50 to 80 grand to fight to get your money if you cant keep your doors open this crap happens all the time you really have to know who your working for and no one is ever prosecuted even after bankruptcy
Vetech and junkyard have their work cut out for them. Hog headed high price used machines that ten years ago were struggling to be sold for part out now bringing high dollar as buyers try to avoid new junk. Repairs costing a lot but the new owners proud of their stuff. Semi tractors not three years ago being hauled off for junk now labeled as rebuilder projects asking tens of thousands for machine as I got in trade. SW a D7 mid 70s version needing full UC sell for $18500, new owner absolutely tickled had finally found a ‘Affordable’ one.
There are laws on the books to hold businesses accountable in the US, but these haven't been enforced nearly enough for thirty years at least. What prosecutor wants to risk going after a rich business where the owner can bury him in years of legal paperwork then use political power to get him fired and the case dropped? Recessions are actually wonderful... They kill all the poorly run companies like Vetech works for and make room in the market for new entrepreneurs. The US bailed out businesses in the 2008 recession and the one we should have had around 2019-2021 and so now we have a far higher percentage of bad businesses then before. We haven't seen a major new bank enter the market in the last decade because all the garbage banks got saved. I know tons of business owners that profited hugely on the PPP loans. Did you like your pandemic government check of a couple grand? I know personally one guy who got $2 million in extra profit from the government and lots of others like him. Stupid government handouts are why inflation is so high. Simple supply and demand... Print more dollars and productivity doesn't go up and dollars are worth less.
Welder Dave, you didn't cite the source of your article. MOD EDIT For all anyone knows your story could just be someones spin on what they think should happen.
Asphalt companies and Pre Cast works here are the next gobble ups. Sad to say several Old family business are being bought out by long term owners and companies built off growth as PACE and Kienstra Companies.. Saw in person six Concrete Companies and four precast go in three years, SEVEN asphalt independents sold out to PACE here leaving them as the State Go To for nearly any repave on Primary and Secondary highways. Precast works for Bell and Spigot Concrete pipe, Septic and Electrical Vault Tanks, even burial vaults have been sold off in major numbers.
John ... Saying a post is a "Fox News type of report based on nothing..." is disingenuous. Finding the source of your ire is a simple matter in the age of the internet. I found it easily.. Article was written by a lawyer on nolo.com. (An internet legal library) So it's an expert opinion. As in all opinions and anything else on the internet, YOU must do your own "due diligence". This forum is great for spreading information. (WD's post does that) turning the wrench is up to the reader. here is the article source link: www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/limited-liability-protection-llcs-a-50-state-guide.html
Thank you Hosspuller! For someone to say it's just my spin on something tells me that that person started typing trying to justify there earlier snide comment before actually looking into if it was accurate or not. Sadly this isn't the first time.
I'm not saying these were a shady business but have seen and heard about some small businesses that incorporated thinking it protected them personally from illegal practices.
I don't know about the rest of you guys but I'd like to see this get back to Vtec's adventure with his company
I'd like to see this get back to Vtec's adventure with his company Me too, best **** show going. Joe H
Same here!
A rolling stone gathers no moss--but a rolling turd gathers sticks and leaves. I should posted that under random thought.
You need to start a thought/poetry thread. We can call you "Truckfucious"
Heavy truck and equipment poetry ... I don't know whether to make popcorn or go hide under a pillow and cry ...
EDIT: better left unsaid
I know the post is going back to the original but I do have to ask others to read the two links given in full to understand that the owners and officers in both cases are not liable for the actions of the LLCs. That is the point being made earlier. My point stands, that if you want to make statements of law or anything else, particularly if you are a citizen of another country, you need to provide the source of your information. MOD EDIT
You guys just ain't got no sense of humor-too many nips of hydraulic oil.
111
Now where oh where is Bad Bob?
Give it up already. You were wrong. An LLC does not relieve the owners or officers of all possible liability. MOD EDIT
Vtech needs to show up and save this thread with a good story before it gets locked . . . If there isn't a story just make something up . . .
It isn't going to get locked, just a few that disagree at this time. Tomorrow is a new day. The thread will carry on.
You know it amazes me how companies can truly operate to this level of disfunction and keep landing work and maintaining a core labor force that can accomplish said work It is truly a mind boggling question and you know they make money at some level cause they keep finding a need to buy new things and at the moment ctech check clears
True-how can it happen with that volume of overhead.
If you are going to quote a legal "EXPERT" you might want to find one a little better than these internet ambulance chasers . Bad Bob
We need to cool down comments at this thread or I'll lock it down.
Maybe you should suspend us.
I have worked for those companies, it feels good knowing they can't fire you easily because the others that work there would not be able to step up or they never stay more than 1 year.
So, vetech, what is the next pile on the yard demanding attention?
Are you guys finished doing drugs? LOL I went in yesterday to find that FKM didn't finish what he started so, its jigsaw puzzle time. Their mechanics truck is parked in the shop, unloaded of all tooling, locked up tight, and right in the dam way of one of 2 overhead doors. They are going to have to figure something out, it is taking up the main door and the floorspace I need. I also found that the primary pressure washer is gone. For some reason it disappears at times, and I can't clean anything to work on repairs. I'm currently looking for someone that has a pressure wash service to clean equipment when their own washer is missing...........I'll just back charge them for the cost plus 20%. The shop was left in a mess......what's new. I had their 250G excavator in the yard back in October and repaired/serviced everything I could find.........it was ready to rock and roll when it left. I looked it over yesterday and wrote up a 20+ item list of broken crap and new leaks. The work never ends here. I have a Weiler paver coming in this morning with a broken conveyor drive chain and parts supposed to be here early am. Its priority at the moment. More pics to come...........
That 250G and a chain should move the service truck without any difficulties . . .
I hope someone got all the blacktop off the conveyor chain. Been there done that not fun.
Vetech needs to have moderator privileges. Then he could delete all the crap in his thread that has nothing to do with his amazing journey in his work.
Ide abuse the crap outta that lol
Me too. I would have deleted clueless' post and left the rest. Nothing against him or what he said, just my sense of humor (or lack thereof).
Did your AC equipment turn up? Joe H
OK guys the thread is back open. I for one have found it interesting to have an inside view of a large company that Vtech has provided, how they operate and maintain or in this case not maintain their iron. Now can we all just get along?
Back by popular demand. Ill try to keep up a bit better......its starting to get real busy again.
Let the games begin
An insight into the accounting and profitability of this outfit would surely help the industry If I operated close to this level of neglect I wouldn't make it but I guess if it's that big they can afford a smaller profit margin due to wasteful overhead
It's possible to run a business into the ground for awhile before it goes completely belly up and all the subs get screwed along with the suppliers. And putting a son in charge who doesn't know what he's doing but likes to spend will speed it up. Joe H
They are 100% bid work. The real problem is there isn't any competition anymore for operations of this size. There is more than enough work to go around, and when you can basically charge what you want, there is no accountability for stuff like this. All the big players operate this way, the better run ones just pay their employees more, and pay more taxes at the end of their fiscal year is all.
Oh yeah. Two scenarios that happened in my life working with my dad in the building trades, and of course these were small companies, not large conglomerates. First, a certain general contractor, he would bid cheap to get the contract award, then contact all the subs on the bid list to see if they'd adjust their price to do the work on the contract he was awarded. Didn't take long for the subs to catch on to this and not give him a bid on upcoming contracts, that shut his bizz down real quick. And second, a certain GC that was running in the red, telling subs (including my dads company) "if you do this job for me I'll pay you for the last job". Before it all went south one day, ironically enough on a job for an athletic building with the name Court South, I told the guy he was a snake in the grass and if it were up to me we'd never do another job for him. When he finally went belly up my dad's company, of which I was a party to at the time, was on the hook for about 30K. Yeah, snake in the grass.
OK.........we are back. In the other thread I mentioned this was overdue to die. My feeling at that time was that the circumstances had changed with HNC's departure so it had turned into a repair thread. I mean, that's ok but it was never my intent. I was asked by one of our mods if I would like it reopened and after some thought I decided that maybe it should continue. The last few weeks I have only been repairing down equipment in the field. This is due to the main supers of the asphalt and dirt divisions asking me to slow down the spending. Apparently the CFO had bitched about the money being spent and they started to panic..........my name was never mentioned, but I conceded. So not much has been happening while I was pondering what to do with equipment showing up at the yard that needed attention. This last Friday I sent an email to the CFO and the owner (the old man) about a list of equipment I had accumulated since August of the older equipment with hours of operation. I explained in that email that a good majority of the money being spent has been on this equipment, to keep it operating in a safe manner. I then asked 2 questions that I need answers to....... 1. Can we get rid of some of this stuff? Sell, auction, trade.......doesn't matter to me. 2. If not, should I proceed with what I have been doing? ......or do I need to make modifications and budget priorities? I then stated that without knowing what was going on it was making it difficult for me to make decisions on repairs when I am being told to watch what I spend.....or better yet, ask for approval. I need a direction. I received an email from the CFO about 2 hours latter saying "Thank You! I will get with Bob and Victor on this." Meanwhile, I have over $60K worth of work sitting in the yard with nothing getting done, and more coming in weekly. I'm feeling like all the progress it took me months to perform is quickly going out the window. I will be just as far behind as I was when I started back in August. I will have a post on the Weiler paver and a few things that FKM left unfinished tonight.
Got to have direction to have a successful mechanic be successful at your business.. I am same way where I am, plenty of broken with no direction so I clocked out early.
Do they just have too much equipment for what they do? I mean, if s*** is breaking down, they are using it. What happens then when they decide to send a bunch of stuff to auction? No more spares to keep the jobs moving. This whole thing seems to me like a company got lucky and snagged a few "windfall" projects, bought a bunch of new iron, and now are feeling the pain of maintaining a bunch of equipment on their dime (instead of warranty). This will more than likely continue to be "an interesting thread moving forward"..........
That's what they have to figure out.
Here is some pics of the Bomag recycler that has finally hit the yard. This is the one with the $50K engine overhaul. Pic 1........not sure how that happened. Pic 2 & 4........engine oil is EVERYWHERE. Pic 3.....All the hardnose bolts are missing on the right side.
Oh......... and a broken glass.
Remember that Bomag trench roller in their shop back at the first page or 2 of this thread? FKM tore it down...........now its left up to me. I haven't even found all the parts he took off. He ordered $2500 worth of parts that I haven't picked up yet because.......I cant find the remote, remote batteries, or the charger unit. This thing is stuck back in a hole. I offered to help him move it into the shop where the lighting and room was better. He declined. I deemed this as doomed back when they first started on it. A remote, battery, and charger is in excess of $6K. With the parts, and labor included the cost will exceed what it is worth. My plan is to include this with equipment that needs to be gone. Any takers?
Some mess he left me.......and this is just part of it. I had this set up with all the filters for 2 machines.......1 set on the top shelf, the other on the bottom. When they hired FKM, he unloaded their service truck and proceeded to place all this crap on this shelf. He evidently moved some of my filters, but disheveled the rest in this mess. Now I have another puzzle to sort out. Other messes were in several places in the shop but I was too discouraged to take more pics. I spent most of yesterday just trying to get this all cleaned back up and organized to some degree. I'll be finishing cleaning up the shop today. This pays me the same as turning the wrenches.
Geez......this is nice. No one knows what happened of course. I was asked last week if I could heat and straighten this fork. Yeah.......NO!! It took me quite a bit of finagling to pick up a pallet. The forklift is pretty much useless but it is still getting used.
The Weiler paver. Weiler seems to be constantly making modifications on these pavers. Honestly, most of them are bad until someone comes along with some common since at their facility and puts out an improvement that actually works. This customer has 3 P385B pavers and no 2 are alike. There is something different on each one. The newest machine now has a conveyor drive chain cover where the older 2 do not. The problem now is........the cover does not let a broken chain fall to the ground. Now it falls into the cover bottom and will wad up around the lower drive sprocket. Now this job is 3x more difficult.........and the cover serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever. I converted it back to the old style by leaving those ridiculous covers off.
Well there's a Bomag trench roller remote on the wall. And a big NO on your generous offer of one handy man special Bomag trench roller. The happiest day of my trench roller memories was when those kids loaded my one and only Bomag on a trailer and headed back to Atlanta.
Maybe that chain guard was to keep an idiot with an asphalt rake from poking the handle in there when he wanted an unscheduled break
I have rebent them cold. I wouldn't heat them. We had a 4100 manitowoc though, and just walked a track up on it. They aren't actually that terribly expensive to replace.
I like the spring in the pile you swept up. I used to work with a guy like that, when he swept up his stall all sorts of interesting bits were in the pile. Some looked kinda critical to mission but apparently not. Joe H
Forks are really pretty easy to bend. You stick a fork part way in about a 20' stick of, say 6", pipe and then drive around the yard and get the pipe to bounce. Like CO, straighten them cold. I'd guess you have something heavy enough there. Leave it on the forklift, possibly remove the other fork. Set it on a couple of blocks that evenly span the bend and set a D6 blade on it. You can block under the bend as well so you don't over bend it, remove the blocks a little at a time until its straight. A little past straight and it will be perfect after a couple of heavy lifts.
I bent a fork worse than that many years ago. I was running a Clark forklift on my first ever construction job. 20 foot length of steel pipe. Union pipefitters asked me to move the pipe for them. The rental company replaced the fork with a new one.
Rule, don't use just one fork to lift with. slide them both together. Someone likely used a strap or chain to lift something with that bent fork.
We replaced one for a set of 416-JRB forks on a loader. $1900 for one fork.
I cant straighten this fork. Its not because I don't know how........its the fact that there are too many idiots that get on it and use it for purposes its not designed for. One of those dumbasses gets it in a bind and that fork snaps off and kills someone............guess who they are coming after?......the moron that straightened it! LOL Its not worth the risk for me. The shop is cleaned up and ready for another basket case.
I was pricing a set of 6' long ones for a 8k forklift, and I thought it was $2400 for the set. Which I wouldn't want to buy new ones every week, but new ones would be better than what was on it. I was looking at buying the forklift, and it only had 40" forks, so I was figuring in a longer set with the purchase price.
The cost of repairs is always the mechanic’s fault of course, never the idiots on the controls who proclaim to be operators. And halting repairs is a great way to save money because we all know that when money is available again all it takes to catch up is a day of the mechanic waving his magic wand at the machine and it’s fixed. I swear it seems like the majority of companies are run these days by absolute fools who’s only skill is to waste money.
There was something I read a bit ago about the bureaucracy of businesses grew past the point of diminishing returns. Company owners and CEO's enjoy having many levels of management under them, they artificially add layers that accomplishes nothing. The article shows how pre 90's it wasn't unusual to be 3 or 4 layers away from the CEO/owner and now there can be a dozen or more. I think this is where the "dumb" business decisions are coming in. Disconnected from the front lines and when good information does finally make it through it's too late.
It doesn't look like I can get away from the Weiler pavers at the moment. I was texted this yesterday....... This is the newest machine purchased in 2019. Weiler had to make changes to the mounting flanges on their extension cylinders due to them being to light. That change didn't happen on production machines until late 2020. Asphalt builds up inside the extension and eventually the hydraulic pressure is pushing against the build-up and bends the rod, breaks the mounting bolts, or bends the crap out of the mounting flange. I think I already did one of these in this thread somewhere but I don't have time to look lol. Its a PITA since you have to completely disassemble the extension to gain access to the mounting bolts. The new updated cylinders have a mounting flange that is much heavier.
Sounds like the place I worked from back in the late 1960's. Back then The levels of management were, 1: local plant superintendent, 2: Manager at the state level, 3: Company President and VP at main office. Nowdays who knows how many layers there are just in the Eastern part of the country? Then go to the main office for the USA and an untold number by the time you get to the World Headquarters where every that is this week? And the same stone is dug out of the same pit in the ground and run through basically the same crushers and screens to get to the stock piles to be loaded on a customers truck and out the gate. All that overhead has to be figured into the price per ton of the stone used to build and repair the roads and such.
This ^^^^^ is now the problem with the world, the old boys club mentality, "I'll get my mate a job here" so they create a job position and then get him/her a job doing nothing and not knowing what it is they are doing, if they did have something to do. Then when someone comes looking at what they are paying for, they make up some bullshTT that will give someone at the bottom of the pile a royal headache, but they don't care, they just take a wage!
Along those lines the best quote I remember over the years was some sort of financial person (questioning our maintenance budget) asking why we needed to do maintenance when we were buying a complete fleet of new machines for the job in question..............
So the fix is a heavier extension cylinder so something else will break? Joe H
In the aviation business, we call that " the weight reduction program" If it still flies it must not be necessary.
Yes, yes you did have a similar repair earlier.
Paving equipment looks like less fun to work on than many other types of equipment. probably rates along side of skid steers and man lifts.
the gunk on the bolts is very problematic. sometimes heat is the only option, and then you wear it.
I guess there are worse things Mike. At least the asphalt comes off with a torch, or a torch and a scraper. Concrete, yeah get the air hammer out. I guess it's all in what you get used to. Gots thousands of hours with both. Paver problems with asphalt are a little more forgiving time wise. Concrete, ya got 'bout 15 minutes or drag it off the slab and put a header in. I don't miss that...
Every great mechanic has a chair to set and contemplate his next job and mechanical issues at hand. * Behold Count VeTech63's thinking chair. lol
That’s pretty sweet
That makes my back hurt....
Where do the wires hook up or do you just get strapped in like it's a torture chair and you have to suffer as long as it takes.
Not sure why my back would hurt more, the lack of padding or trying to shift it anywhere without a forklift. it does look amazing and the thought and build of it is amazing, but a cushion and wheels on the bottom like a sack truck would be nice.
That is soooo cool, wish I had one!
Well, some new developments with this company , its structure, and future plans. I'll fill this in tonight.
Awe man! that means I have to wait till tomorrow . its almost as bad as waiting for your fav tv show to come on every week.
OK. While I was changing out that bent cylinder on the paver Saturday, the main asphalt super shows up at the shop. He has been with this company 25 years and pretty much runs the whole show on that side of the company. He tells me the company has changed again.........the old CEO is out (the son-in law from California) and is back in Cali. The CFO is now the CEO (He didn't want the CEO job 3 years ago).......nothing was said about the oldest sons position so I assume its the same. Now the asphalt super is the COO and since he is standing in front of me.......I start talking. I ask what the company plans are in the future. He said they just got awarded a nice highway job and if that works out like they think it will.......they will move into doing only highway work and leave the smaller stuff behind. He then starts listing the new equipment they have on order (an additional Weiler paver, new Cat AP555, Cat milling/planer, 3 big paving rollers, etc....)...........so I ask "Are you going to trade any of this older stuff off?" Hell no, this is all in addition to what we have. So I say "Well, I'm going to be 60 years old this fall. I feel like I only have 5 more years at best before I wont be able to handle the physical part of this work. So is there a plan for repair and maintenance?" He says " I understand that. We realize that hiring quality help in this field seems impossible........what do you think we should do?" That opened my floodgates LOL I told him to give me 2 guys that have just a little experience with heavy equipment that I can train on the job. Let me be in charge of who is hired but I need the freedom to train them my way. Give me 3 years and I believe I can have them pretty proficient. At that point I would be in a position to step into a equipment managers role...........because right now you have NONE. He agrees. Then he tells me that the CEO wants to quit buying new equipment as often as they do and start keeping the older stuff. That will require money......and a lot of it. He again says they understand that and want to move forward. ******SO......Lets see what happens. I WILL NOT train someone to take my place. What I can do is train someone to compliment what I do short term. If I get to be in charge of it as a contractor I'm fine with it. Lots of details to work out if it comes to fruition.........they are going to have to do something as I cant hardly handle the workload as it is. I'm half tempted to just offer myself as a full sub, with my own employees, cover parts and equipment dealer trips.........basically be a company within a company, but I own and run it. I think $2M a year would be a good budget to start..............yeah I know, wishful thinking. Stay Tuned............you never know what happens next here.
Oh, I asked about FKM. He said that when they hired him he had admitted that he was a heavy drinker (*** hire someone like that in the first place?). They GPS'd him 3 times and he was at a bar during working hours 3 of the 4 days he worked. Good Lord...........
From the outside looking in and being an entrepreneur myself your idea of going sub is something I would consider. Companies outsource all the time. Your knowledge is what you're selling just have to figure out how to charge for it not as a W2 employee.
Would it work to sub like that where one customer is your only or most of your work? I have heard that if one customer is more than 30% of your work you start to run afoul of the subcontractor/employee laws. I really don't have any firsthand knowledge of that because I have never had any one customer that big, just interested in understanding it better.
Preface this with obviously not knowing each state law but in general if one company is outsourcing to another company there shouldn't be any employment rule violations. I think I know what you are referencing which would be on the tax side of W2 vs 1099 "employee"? A corporate structure such as a single member LLC would solve that issue in general again not knowing each states specific rules so that's a general statement. On the flip side the LLC would have to carry it's own WC and GL which may price the venture out of profitability. It all comes down to the pencil and paper.
Some new info coming tonight. Some exciting, some normal, and some sadly....personal.
Got in to late last night. The exciting.......I found out last week why the son in law (CEO) is no longer with the company. Seems he and his wife are splitting/divorce. His departure has nothing to do with that it seems his now ex-wife will be the newest member of "The Real Housewives of Orange County". Wifey owns a yoga salon there in California with current housewife Tamra went to frequently...........and is bringing her into the show. This is the Owners (Old mans) Daughter. They are not happy about this and want no part of it. In order for her to be on the show, the son in law was going to need to be there to watch his kids'...............He wants no part of the show either. The daughters name is Jennifer Pedranti. I haven't seen her since she was a little girl. Normal.......same ol same ol. Just repairing at the moment. Sad...........It looks like my wife has decided to sell her machine shop business. Her 2 daughters and their husbands haven't been happy with the progress to take things over and they felt like if they stayed together they could force moms hand. Push came to shove and after they threw fits like 5 year old's, they quit the company. Not a great outcome for anyone in this economy but they made their bed. Wife is disappointed in all of them as I am. The pettiness infighting has begun and its going personal from the kids. The entire thing could have been avoided had they been willing to listen and realize you each are an employee and there is one chief in this C-corp..........its your mom, not you. Everything is a mess right now but my woman is holding steadfast. I'm proud of her for not letting them dictate to her major decisions and she put them in her place. She is right and I support her 100%........which right now is making me the enemy too. It will pass but some irreversible damage may be some of the outcome.
Bummer but sounds like putting a toddler in time out
In-laws, outlaws and relatives in business, just never seem to work.
"As the Wrench Turns".....A soap opera that runs during happy hour....
Its the same reasons a lot of farm generational transitions don’t go well
One reason why I told my old man very early in the piece there was no way I'd ever work for him. I saw the relationship he had with his father and didn't want the same thing to happen one generation down the line. We'd always end up arguing and literally throwing 4-pound hammers at each other.
I too did not continue in the family business. For one I had no interest in it and for two he and I being so independent and hardheaded clashed repeatedly when I did work for him during summers. He fired me twice lol He was just a difficult man to get along with when under the pressure of making money. He did not have the patience and expected everybody to read his mind and have the 40 year experience level he had as a master craftsman in his field.
In reality he didn't-I know because the old man was the same way. Ones like that expect that level but really hate it at the same time. They call others morons and idiots because those people don't have the same level of workmanship, but will go up like a torch when someone has a better idea or questions why the old man does his job a certain way. His way is the only way or so they think. Life.
I had it a bit better as while I did work for the same company as my dad, even on the same property. He worked for the quarry as the working group leader and I worked for the maintenance shop as one of the wrenches, which had it's own boss at that time. So even though we both drove through the same gate in the morning and at the end of day we had separate bosses. Dad had worked for the company from sometime in the early to mid-fifties and I Started in the shop in the early seventies. Back then the company was way different that it was when I retired and most got along pretty well. If the quarry needed something the shop guys could help and vice versa.
I wish my dad would have had a family business. We always worked great together, miss him a bunch.
I would like to have a my business be family. I try to choose my words carefully and be sensitive to what others want/need to hear so as not to be that difficult boss. But I am sure I still get on peoples' nerves.
I used to refer to that attitude (fits my old man to a T) as "I have my opinion, don't confuse me with the facts". Been there, done that - many times.
Family bis is a meat grinder at times me and the old man have gone at it hard but we leave work at work the negative with most family bis is that it finds it's way into every event in the family so there is no break
Sorry to hear that, its always tough when family and money gets all tied up together, especially when it gets ugly. Sometimes its better to just rip the bandaid off and just get it all settled now, than just making nice and going along to get along- pushing the problem down the road. Either the kids can handle it, or they can't , and if they can't- its best they figure that out now, so they can go do something else. Wishing for the best for you.
I think whoever it was that said "Never go into busniess with family or friends" was spot on.
And a good neighbor requires a good fence.
In the wife's business there has been tension building over the last 2 years. She has always had her own issues of letting her emotions run rampant and undirected..........but hell, that's a woman anyway. The problem is this family cant seem to separate business from family. These adult kids thought they could group together and have enough power to make changes they wanted.......even though they could not run this business themselves. They tried to catch mom at a weak moment and get her to agree to moves she would never approve. The business has 1 chief and its mom..... period. Mom sought her father and brothers advice (father being the founder) and both told her that the business was handed to HER.....not them. They either fall in line with what you say.........or they go down the road. Things got said by these kids that were just disrespectful and abusive to their mom. Then they go as far as taking it personally by just absurd demands that have nothing to do with the business at hand. The oldest daughter and son-in-law just spewed hate and threats to no ends or bounds. I'm still in shocked at how they handled themselves............I would never in my life get to a point that I would EVER talk to my mother the way they did..............and to them its ok to do that, just makes no sense to me. I have never been involved with mom's business other than her asking me for advice on something trivial having to do with that business. I've always been an open door to the adult kids and they have come to me in the past when they get frustrated, and I have been able to advise them in a way hat helped them possibly get a resolution or maybe see things in a different light. THIS time I took a back seat, I realized no one was going to listen to reason and I was not going to involve myself with a bunch of rampant, self-serving lunatics with emotions running of a cliff. It wasn't easy watching them self-destruct to the point of completely turning their lives upside down in less than 48 hours...............But sometimes, in order to create, you must first destroy. This story will continue to some end..........
Sorry that happened VeTech. Unfortunately this sort of thing happens all too often when X amount of participants have very little skin in the game. Don't appreciate what's made available to them that they can build on in the future. Sometimes though having to learn the hard way is best and return with hat in hand, sometimes not. Clawing out a business these days is tough and not every person is cutout for it. Life lessons learned the best way-by being dumped on their ass with only themselves to blame. This day too will come to an end.
These days it needs to include Razor wire, and gun turret towers.
digger do you know my neighbor? I thought we were on good terms at one point, actually he was a new kid at the quarry where I worked at one time now he is one of the bosses. All was fine till after one of his dogs seemed to be threatening to my wife while she was walking our dog. She was a bit upset and while still shook up from that tried to tell them about it. When she felt she was almost being laughed at she decided to call authorities on them, see there is a leash law in our town and these dogs of his run free. Well it has been down hill from there and I will not fill this thread anymore about it!
Haha, we have all the ball mill turns here. It sometimes boggles my mind how little self control people have. They end up showing their true colors in the heat of the moment and they are UGLY. It's one thing to think horrible things and vent in private, it's another thing to have oral diarrhoea and come unglued.
When my dad was given an exclusive dealership he needed a partner. Started off great. They had a policy they wouldn't hire relatives. The company quickly grew to where they needed a 2nd location. My dad stayed at the original location. The partners son needed a job. I think it was divorce related. Anyway they agreed to let the son work at my dad's location. It seemed to be OK with this arrangement. Fast forward a few years and the son wants to move to the city his dad is in and still work for the company. Against my dad's objections the son is now working with his dad. A couple years later my dad had a heart attack and sold out but stayed on as a straight commission salesman. In the mean time the son of his partner was acting more and more like he was in charge of everything. I remember my dad telling me he tore a strip off the son 1 day. The son had bitched and told a customs officer off because he thought there was too long of a delay getting equipment across the Canada US border. Customs are the last people you want to **** off and my dad knew that. He told the son customs could hold the equipment even longer and make up what ever excuses they wanted. My dad is sure the son had a lot to do with his former partner calling my dad and saying the company is going in a different direction and no longer requires his services. My dad was the most well known and respected in the turf industry and let all of his customers know he was let go. He was straight commission so didn't get paid unless he sold equipment. Sales for the company dropped and the company was sold to an outfit in another province. One of the stipulations was the son kept a job as a manager for 1 year. Apparently the new owners couldn't wait to get rid of him. A few years later the new owners folded. Another company took on the line of equipment but only lasted about a year. My dad was hired by the competition and increased their sales 110% the 1st. year. He had a better than 75% market share. What's the most interesting is he used to have the same market share when he sold the other brand of equipment. That brand has never came back to the province despite being one of the biggest in the industry. Most of the reason for that has to do with hiring a relative who thought he knew everything. I respected my dad and could have easily worked with him. He was very fair and reasonable. One time a girl in university stopped in looking for a summer job. My dad didn't really need anyone but asked my sister who was about 8 at the time what she thought. I think you should hire her. My dad told the girl a receptionist would be nice and hired her on the spot. She worked out great! That's why I was so proud of my dad. His customers were more good friends than customers. I don't think he had an enemy in the world, well maybe one but he got the last laugh.
Time to send them down the road
I can't put a like on your last post, Vetech. It is just too sad of a situation for all of your family. I admire you for stepping back and staying out of it. That must have been hard to do. " I realized no one was going to listen to reason and I was not going to involve myself with a bunch of rampant, self-serving lunatics with emotions running of a cliff." That , Sir is true wisdom !
It's never good when your kids or siblings figure they are entitled and just get to take over a family business. The successful family businesses, the kids usually start off at the bottom to learn the ropes and work their way up. Some business owners won't hire relatives or at least not until they have held jobs elsewhere for several years. It is really sad in Vetech's wife's case.
Thing is, I work in a mechanical field but I am not sure I want to subject my sons/apprentices to some of the characters that inhabit that field. Rather keep them close to home for character reasons, they will not be immune to bad influences. Or at least give them the opportunity to stay with me
@Vetech63 back to the business... Get everything you talked about with the new COO in writing. It doesn't need to be a contract, just an email summarizing and then asking "Please confirm this is right?" is great. Also... Definitely never create a business that is a sole subcontractor with a single client... Nightmare territory. Just up your hourly rate. They have no choice but to pay.
Lol.. Joel, that’s how I STARTED after I retired.. Certain customers I delt with for 30 + years, wouldn’t take “No, I retired” for an answer.. I really didn’t mind because it was 2-3 pumps a month.. NOW, word got out there was a “pump guy” local.. I’m getting up and “going to work” every day..for the past 4-5 years.!!!
It can be very good to have only one customer. There was/is a company sub contractor to Syncrude that had a million dollar yearly contract to clean equipment. I remember reading about how the overburden and bitumen would get caked on the haul trucks and had to be cleaned off for inspection and repair. I can't remember but I think it said it could add 1500 to 2000 pounds to a 797.
You guys might be right. My concern there is the customer has far too much power... And if they lie and say they will pay bills then don't, you have a lot less ability to collect. Maybe I was too harsh though. I haven't done it, I have always had tons of clients.
It depends a lot on the customer and how the contract is written. I think if you had 30 day (max) terms and it started to get where you had to ask to get paid near the 30 days is when you start to look at other options. Things like if they start saying they're waiting to get paid on a big job or the big cheque coming to them is in the mail raise big red flags. Your getting paid should have nothing to do with their other dealings. They should have money set aside/arranged for paying you.
A one client buissness is risky no matter how you look at it because if they become insolvent they can take you down with them unless you can basically start over on what's in the bank. When a customer of mine exceeds 50 percent of my annual revenue I figure it's time to make some decisions but that's really only for risk purposes
Off the wife's subject for a few.................I gave this 250G a reach around yesterday. I feel differently towards it and our relationship this morning. I jobbed out the rod teardown and seal install. I'm too far behind at the moment so I have to make use of other services to keep things moving in multiple areas. Wifes front.......things have gotten quiet the last 48 hours. As soon as I know everyone is through bitching and whining..........I will talk with these kids and tell them how stupid they are.
Haha love that last line, might remind them that you and the wife don't owe them ****
What's the story with the boxes of scrap in the background.? Leftovers from HNC & TNS.?
I'm bored, what's happening? Joe H
Hello Vetech. I allways enjoy catching up with your thread for so many reasons,however I’m starting to get that cold feeling that there’s some pain coming your way with your customer.Way back in the thread I think I posted something about you getting regular payments off them,and not letting the invoices build up.Well,I’ll reiterate that again.I also see your idea as becoming a subcontractor and employing your own staff makes pretty good fiscal sense on paper,but it could be the undoing of every single thing you’ve ever worked for. The writing is on the wall,it’s only a matter of time (which could be a couple of years,or weeks). The conversation you had with your ceo or coo,or whatever he actually is,was pure and utter nonsense,in my opinion.He may aswell have spoken in Chinese for all his well intentioned ideas.It’s not going to happen.The company is clearly in disarray and there’s no way in hell would I consider getting into bed with them on anything more than what you are allready doing. As one poster said further up the thread,just charge more money for what you’re allresdy doing.They have little choice but to pay.If they give you bullit,then it’s probably doing you a favour.Bankruptcy or a take over looms.Eitherway,you will get hurt.Keep your invoices up to date so you can handle any losses when they come,and you’re not in deep with all the responsibilities of paying out employee wages etc. Sorry to be so negative mate,but this forum is good for recieving different opinions and advice.All you have to do,is to read them all and use that imfomation to form your own decisions. For what it’s worth,I’m often wrong according to my wife,and if I was any good,I’d be typing this post to you from my super yaught in the Bahamas
I've been real busy this last week between my own work and the wifes machine shop so I haven't had a lot of spare time to appear on here...........rain isn't helping matters either. Wife is moving forward by herself for the time being. She has a retired man coming in 2 weeks to school her on the Haas lathe and Esprit programming. She believes she can do better by herself and has me convinced at the moment. Nothing much different on my end..........a full yard of things and not enough time. The rain has stalled things I have to do outside and their need for their service truck to be locked inside their shop every night also has some things stalled since I cant leave them down in the shop overnight. I'm content doing what I can at the moment with no worries.
Thought you ran off to join Spud at his duck factory. Joe H
Good for your wife for wanting to keep the machine shop. Maybe in the near future you could slow down with the heavy hard work of equipment repair and help your wife with the machine shop? It could be a lot more rewarding for you and your wife.
Great idea. Spend all day working with your wife and then head home to tell Your wife all about your day. That you spent with her. what could possibly go wrong?
It sounds like he has a great relationship with his wife and would really like to see her suceed and keep the machine shop running. It is very difficult to run a business by yourself. Some good help is always appreciated. Just like Vetech could use a good assistant to help deal with his work load.
I'm with Mike on this one.
I love my wife dearly but we both agree that if we had to work together every day one of us would end up sleeping with the fishes. It’s still unclear which one of us it will be. I like coming home and talking about our day over dinner.
My wife and I work together in our business spending at least 4-5 hrs in the morning at the "office" which is in our home. The mornings are spent doing all the back office paper work from estimating/bidding to HR and finances. The afternoons are for going to the jobs and running errands. I go out to the jobs and she runs the errands. Sometimes we'll have a lunch out together. When we come home in the evening we'll have a brief catch up of the day then we'll have an adult beverage and relax on the back porch until dinner is ready. Rinse and repeat Mon - Fri. I think the key for us is keeping a busy social calendar on the weekends and taking an early Friday and Monday off every now and then when the schedule allows. We've been married for 20 yrs this year and together for 22. YMMV.
Vetech could help his wife in a similar manner. Wouldn't have to be work related 24/7. Sometimes in can be a huge relief just have someone to answer the phone when you're in the middle of something. I remember when I was in a shop with a guy and he expected me to answer the phone because he was working on a car and I was welding a cylinder head that was pre-heated and had to stay hot. No way, I have to work on this start to finish including wrapping it up so it slow cools.
I work with my wife all day every day... It's actually pretty amazing generally. She does not like to be told what to do so I have to pick my battles though haha
Yeah it can be a challenge. I think what makes ours work is a well placed "emergency" on the job that requires me to head out the door..
You may be on to something there. The husband/wife outfits I can think of are construction and trucking type outfits where the husband can be in the field if the office gets a little too "something"
Ancient Chinese secret..
My wife always says,” How can I miss you when you never go away?”
The big problem I could see working with a wife, is she would want me to do everything.
Wife working in a machine shop.....can throw parts, tooling, and tools at you when "upset". From across the shop I might add.
Or clamp him in the cnc machine and laser something off.
I traveled constantly on my job, My wife put in 21 years in as a Navy medic. We spent a lot of time apart, meeting where and when we could. After she had been retired about ten years, we landed a hospital job about 25 miles from home. which I did build. After about a year, working from home, Debby said, "maybe we can get along living together, when you retire". I finished that job, did my last job, a new hospital, 1.5 miles from our home. and retired. That was 8 years ago last January 11th. We are still happily married, although I will admit, she does occasionally say, "don't you need a road trip, I need a break?" I say yup, and it works well. I traveled alone to Alaska last fall, we fished together in the Snobear all winter, and I just road tripped to CA alone, returning last Saturday. It works!
Heavy equipment repair will pay much much better than a machine shop. A lot of machine work has been outsourced to china, so local labor is not much more valuable than china labor rates plus transportation cost. Pretty hard to outsource paver repair to china.
I just hope you are getting paid on a regular basis.
Welcome to the Forums io74!
All one has to do is take a look at Muncie Indiana and the transmission gear industry.
What happened in Indiana?
Most shops are closed
Or the Roadranger plant in Shenandoah, IA. 550,000 SF, now for rent as storage. Work all went to Mexico.
...and yet. the OP's wife's shop seems to be open and successfull..... Plenty of machine shops all around this country.
Because of Out sourcing and CNC machining try and find a real tool and die maker/machinist. When a farmer has a broken piece such as a gear on a combine he needs it now and done that night on a manual lathe. Not everyone can afford a CNC machine in their shop. Most every bearing and gear in a Eaton transmission is stamped Mexico or China, before it was U.S., Canada, UK.
Uhm...yeah. Have you poked around Meadville, pa. ? Known as the Tool & Die capital, plastic molds are big time there. Many machine shops in Erie doing production work, some doing T&D. A farmer needing something fixed don't need a T&D guy, I know many of them. And I know of local machine shops that do the fixing for these farmers. They are not the same thing. This HBM I found for my neighbor helped him with the install, he does the fixing work for the farmers. NOT a Tool & Die Shop. Nor a production machine shop.
You live in a whole different area, won't find that out here. Finding a machinist out here is tough, even one with a ton of CNC machines. Only one in this area and they do gov bid, industry bid work. They won't stop for a one piece job, if they did it would set for five days. The one main shop a friend owns is about the last, and he is going to retire in a couple of years.
And where does the OP reside ? Obviously his wife runs a machine shop, and it makes parts, and more importantly money. It's obvious to me, that you don't understand the machine shop business.
Gee thanks doug, your a swell guy. I'll remember that.
Where you're located can make a big difference on how easy or hard it is to get any type of service industry work. It doesn't make much difference what type of shop. Some shops don't want to be bothered with small one off jobs or if they fo them put them on the back burner. When I was looking at getting some drilling and threading done one shop said they could do it but would take about 2 weeks. They did mostly oilfield work and weren't very busy. Things are so slow they are now advertising that they do basic automotive servicing.
Is this what the OP's situation is ? NO.
There's 4 machine shops in my town, basically they are a welding shop with various amounts of machine work done of the side. One place has a bunch of those cnc machines, another doesn't have any cnc but a lathe and a mill. The other two are in between
I don't know if Vtech ever really posted what industry the machine shop services. There's so many different fields machine shops service in the USA. There's the production machine shops, prototype shops, mold/ tool and die shops, 1 off repair/ replacement parts shops, some industries with in house machine shops such as hydraulic and pump shops, and shops manufacturing their own product. I spent 1 1/2 years at a production CNC shop mainly servicing the motorsports industry in Indiana, 6 months at a pump rebuild shop that only did work for their rebuilds in Colorado, and was in and out of a lot of machine shops in Colorado when I was servicing compressors. The CNC end of things had a lot of small players and a lot of bigger players. Similar to the diesel/ heavy equipment repair end of things a guy would work at a CNC shop during the day, get fed up, buy a used worn out machine, put it in his garage and compete for whatever work he could get. The race to the bottom was a common term, many guys were running parts for almost no profit after materials and tooling. The cost of entry was similar to the heavy equipment side of things, you could pick up a worn out machine for $10-$20k, bring home some measurement and hand tools from your box at work, and buy tooling as the jobs came in. The likely hood of billing out at $100+ an hour with a single CNC machine wasn't good, that usually took several machines and a lot of volume. Depending on the area such as the midwest (Northern Indiana is where I was at) there was still a lot of manufacturing and guys going out on their own was still very common. For a 1 man shop with minimal cash outlay the heavy equipment repair side has much higher margins. Industries with in house machining such as hydraulics and pump shops also had higher margins as it was very hard to sub work work to still get parts made on time for a reasonable price. The machining industry has changed a lot in the last 30 years. A lot of shops have closed, guys have retired, and less and less young people have gone into the industry. The demand for quality made in USA machine work will always be there. China and other countries have taken a lot of the gravy low tolerance large quantity production work though there's work they will never be able to "take" from us. If a guy has some ambition, luck, and finds a niche he can still make a decent living making chips.
Just some clarification. Wife's machine shop was started by her father in 1963 I think. There was multiple customers for years but it has narrowed to 3 main ones. 2 of them are aircraft simulator manufacturers and the bigger one is a government defense contractor. She builds small parts mostly of aluminum, but also puts out stainless and has done titanium in the past. She has parts on the Abrahams tanks, the F35 joint strike fighters, and also parts on most all of the laser targeting systems. Her machine shop is half conventional in which she can make about anything herself on those. The CNC's is where she is struggling. She has been looking for help to hire but so is everyone else that has a machine shop.........the want ads are numerous for machinists and programmers. The problem right now is there just isn't any of those qualified people to hire. She does have a retired individual that is coming here from Ohio on the 25th to school her on her CNC mills. She has a Haas SL20 lathe that we haven't been able to figure out yet..........and no assistance on that 1 as of yet. She has been a bit discouraged as of late, but she wont give up without a major fight. I believe her worst case scenario is to dump all or most of the CNC work (which she doesn't want to do) and keep the shop open doing conventional work as much as she can. This is a business that I know very little about so help from me besides pushing a button is little to none. I feel bad for her being put in this position. The sad thing is that this business has been successful and profitable up to the point that these stupid kids quit. The lack of skilled labor in this and other fields is really starting to show its ugly face..................and it will just get worse.
Whew, Vtech shows up with candy just before the virtual fistfights break out ! ! !
No fist fights virtually or other wise.
A potential route might be to go the local tech college and recruit the best student from their CNC machining program, maybe work out an unconventional deal with them that is more attractive than what they get offered for regular employment. Might have to bribe the instructor for access lol.
Vetech, I feel much of those problems are related to what I ran into way back in the mid 1960's. Way too little respect from the education establishment in this country for trades! If you are halfway smart those in charge feel the need to pressure you into go to college and straight out fail to mention anything about trade schools where one might learn to run some of that equipment. At least that was my experience while in high school!
Small to midsize shops have work. 1 off jobs like part holding fixtures and small dies, prototype tooling can be big depending on the customer base. Specialty work like EDM , both wire and sinker can pay off also. Ed
CNC is so nice, it can pretty much run it self. I used to do probing and write macro's so the probe would go look for the part on the tombstone, then probe it for location, the part could be located at an angle (not parallel or perpendicular to axis's) and the machine would know how to adjust the program to follow that angle. Yeah cool stuff, its been a few years and now I'd be a trainee. If I had a machine shop I only have CNC for the income side, as I could run 10 of them alone, use to work at a few places that expected we run at least 3 machines at a time. The important thing is to have some one very good at deburring the parts. In the old strictly manual machine days I would dream of an automatic machine to cut pockets, (pocket ? similar to a small pond only in metal not dirt). To make some of the parts done on CNC now on a manual machine there would be more material wasted as well as time. I'd much rather drill a .010 hole on a CNC than a manual machine, and to maintain a .0003 tolerance its so much easier on CNC. Best of all no backlash in screws to worry about as long as the machine is in good condition. By the way I consider Haas the Case dozer of CNC machines, and not a fan of their control panel.
Now that Vetech has clarified that his wife's machine shop does specialized work for only a few specific customers it's easier to understand his and his wife's predicament. What good does it do to criticize what CNC machines they have? She actually owns a successful machine shop that does high precision work for billion dollar defense contractors. Something most people could only dream of. Haas are the most popular CNC in N. America so a lot of people must like them.
Just got my lathe and mill sold, one had lost the close in eyesight to see my work, reading mic’s damned near impossible and what work I was asked for was generally charity beyond my own stuff. Have three machine shops, one in town works a two to three week back log, two others thirty miles out are so overwhelmed cannot do prototypical work or repairs for other individuals. Worst yet is the trade school I went to had but ten in the machinist's course. Considerations are will discontinue that course. Already discontinued Diesel Engine Tech and minimized the auto repair side. Little to no interest.
I don't think @chidog was being super critical, just stating that Haas aren't as user friendly. I ran CNC machines for a while. Haas aren't bad, but better machines (better User Interfaces) exist. Mazak is the cream of the crop for sure in this segment. If you were trying to learn CNC quickly for production, Haas wouldn't be my first choice to learn on. Most tech schools I know have Haas because they were the low bidder on the contract. In regards to @Vetech63 and his wife, best wishes in your upcoming education. If she understands how manual machining works, it won't be too difficult to learn the CNC side. Paying Haas for an on-site instructor would be a well placed investment. Once she learns the programming and set up stuff, you can be her button pusher to crank out her parts while she sets up another machine.
colson04, thank you. What you say is correct. I've done Mazak in the past and the last control was Mori (not the real new crap now), at least Mori was close to my favorite Fanuc, Haas is popular because they are made in US and they cost less than the higher end stuff. The main thing about a CNC panel is to me I like dials and switches, or dedicated buttons, not buttons for everything like Haas has, unless they changed now. To change spindle or feed rate on a Haas you have to use buttons, very slow and cumbersome on most of the others you crank a knob, easy to find on the panel and easy to use. Haas lets you use the crank handle as a dial type feed or speed control, but its a cumbersome hunt for a button deal, you don't just grab it and crank to zero in a hurry, like on a nice control. Here are all buttons, they did a tiny bit of improvement for navigation it looks. vetech63, I'd like to see some shop pics of the machines. Does she have any horizontals? Yes they cost more but they do somethings that verticals don't do good at, any ideas what?
My comment was more related to the fact that she already has Haas machines so saying they aren't the easiest to use is kind of redundant. I hope she can learn them or find someone experienced to help her. Having contracts like she has, a lot of people/shops could only dream of. It's quite an accomplishment and would be really sad to have close up because of some ungrateful kids with no clue what it took to get where she is. The way things are I really doubt she's looking at buying more or different machines.
A little off topic but still think those reading this thread will get it:
Went out on the new machine yesterday with a FMI 18 SPN 102 fault code. Called Cat to get a definition of this code........the SIS system was down so I looked it up on google (best I could find was low mass air manifold pressure). Pulled the air filters which looked reasonably clean. Started looking over the air intake system on the pressure side and didn't find a thing. I did find an open tapped port on the intake side between the air cleaner and the turbo inlet.......since SIS was down most of the day, I couldn't find out if there is supposed to be something in this port. I still don't know as no one has called me back. Looks like it is for a restriction indicator to me. Machine has 320 hours. I also noticed the cover over the VCU is missing. I guess they watched it fall off I had them run the machine for 45 minutes while I watched......the fault cade never came back
Restriction Indicator.
Thank you Nige. I just ordered a replacement
Is the fitting still there or had that gone as well.?
Man that company has some rogue Gremlins terrorizing equipment ! I've worked for some companies in the past that had some Joe sausage head employees that couldnt help but to tear up anything they touched, At least we kept up on top of repairs and maintenance. This thread is the most entertaining of all the threads here in my opinion Thanks for sharing
German or Sweet Italian?
I’m guessing Cajun or some kind of boudin. He’s from Louisiana.
What is in the pic is all I see. I was hoping the fitting would come with the indicator..........or that the indicator has a male thread to it. I'll know today when I pick the part up.
I had this pic texted to me yesterday morning. The operator said he never saw the pin coming out......maybe so if it came out opposite the operators side. I got the cylinder pinned back up pretty quick, but 3 of the hoses were damaged and leaking so off they came. One hose was a 3/8 line running to the quick-tach valve from the bucket cylinder base end..........when I took the fitting off oil started to come out of the cylinder and carried something out with it. At first I thought it was a spring, but when I grabbed it and took a better look, it was a 1 5/8 inch drywall screw. No way that screw passed through this system to lodge there..........it HAD to be installed there. The only purpose I think it would serve is as a flow restrictor................but I have NEVER seen this. Anyone else? I didnt get a pic but I will when I go back out in a few days.........its pouring rain at the moment and the machine in back in afield over a 1/4 mile.
Some of the aftermath of HNC?
Thought it was just me yesterday...SIS wouldn't pull up anything. It showed our equipment but I couldn't get any parts information.
Just make sure you reinstall ALL the parts, you don't want to be that guy that has parts left over . . .
You can buy flow restrictors so why would you use a screw lol
and if you do have parts left over just slide them inside any pipework to hide the evidence
Got called to work on a delimber one time that had the front grab arms closing really slow. We worked on it for 2 days. It had correct pressures and we even unhooked the pressure line and ran the function but was still slow. The 3rd day I couldn’t be there. I got a pic later that day of an Allen head set screw with a pin hole drilled in it that was stuck perfectly in the fitting of the pressure line Way up on top of the machine. How it got there is a mystery. It didn’t pass through the main control valve and lodge perfectly straight in the line but someone would have had to get on a stepladder to get up high enough if it was vandalism and there’s no way they could’ve done it without spilling oil.
All kinds, brands and flavors from breakfast to supper. Even worked with some Boo Boo the fools and Can't get right types too
I posted the Part number of the indicator AND of the fitting that connects it to the air intake line for that very reason.........
I was supposed to service this machine today. Didn't happen! Good thing we haven't had rain the last few days or this would be under water. I'm not eating the travel time and mileage either.......they should have notified me. It did give me an idea about adding another column on my invoices though. I'll add that to this thread tonight..............it will make me wealthy beyond imagination.
Wifey says "Happy Memorial Day!" Still rocking the skinny jeans and cowboy boots!
Happy Memorial Day to you too. A good day to relax and rest.
Did they have to find the only mud for a 1/4 mile? Unbelievable
It's like they're testing you to finally say enough is enough. Why would anybody drive any kind of vehicle in that soupy mess??? Forget common sense, that's just stupid. Why is there a ratchet strap holding the hood down?
My thought, is machine dies and does not move Another guy conveys problem but doesn't know machine is swamped Message conveyed again and looses more info
Nothing with wheels is going to move in that slop even if it's in tip top shape.
That has strong Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend, and the boss is already on vacation, lets see if we can make it vibes lol The stupid operator fee?
The $500 mandatory cleaning fee?
They trucked in a tanker......
I didn't see a truck or a tanker stuck next to the dumper...
backed in on the dry part, dumped it with the rear spray bar and drove out.....Don't you know to doo this kind of stuff ?
Looks like they found a soft spot then made it worse
"Just add Water"....
That Deere had fuel issues as well? nice bit of bodge it fuel cap engineering.
If they didn't bring it in clean then I didn't work on it. if it was brought in dirty, I told who ever it's $600.00 for me to clean it minimum.
Lol… I know whatcha mean.. I don’t mind when a “homeowner” sends in a filthy, mud coated inj. pump.. but when a “company” sends one in like that & I KNOW they have a power washer, a steam cleaner or at the minimum, a parts washer.. I get a little hot..
It also doesn’t speak well for their contamination control either when removing fuel lines and other sensitive work. I do everything I can to wash a machine and compartments when I’m working on it to keep stuff clean.
I understand the cleaing fee. I mentioned before where I had an issue with a dealer. I took my skid steer in for the free initial service and also a small warranty issue. Both times they washed it no problem. They said the washing was a value added service they do for their customers. I had another warranty issue where they added an anti-chatter device on the lift spool and did something else I paid for. They washed the machine again. It wasn't caked in mud just dirty from normal use mostly spreading topsoil. I got the bill and there was a $120 cleaning fee! I said it wasn't that dirty and if I knew there was a cleaning fee I would have washed it before I brought in. It wouldn't have taken over an hour to wash. The service manager (probably informed by the owner) then said it's not something we always charge for so you might get charged one time but not the next. OK but tell your customers that and secondly don't add up past "supposedly free" washes and surprise your customers with an overly high cleaning charge. I should note that a few years later when this dealer was in bad shape, the owner started docking back pay for 6 month's because employee's took 15 minute coffee breaks and the employment standards minimum is 10 minutes. Who does that, we're going to deduct 10 minutes every day off your pay check going back 6 month's because we were only required to give 10 minute coffee breaks. Pretty much everybody gives 15 minute breaks but the time is set by the employer in the 1st place. You don't take money back after you've had 15 minute breaks since the beginning. When they did go under several employee's were out of 3 month's pay. Despicable employer. He had the Kubota dealership too after another stupid dealer went under. No clue how to run a business.
Tell them you will bring the skid steer back in the shop and to put the dirt back on it, you didn't authorize a cleaning.
I got charged a cleaning fee at a CAT dealer on my 287b when I brought it in. It was virtually spotless, but equipment standards, when I dropped it off. Live and learn.
0…..Complete Dumbass $500 0…..Moron $250 0…..F)(&#@g Idiot $300 0…..Trip made and didn’t accomplish anything due to lack of communication $1000 0…..Unreasonably filthy machine due to dumbassery $750 0…..2nd trip required due to idiocy $400 Check one or all that may apply. I‘ll be a millionaire in a year working for these people
He would have lost some teeth if he tried that illegal crap down here.
When a business, has a constant employee turn over, micromanages, constantly changing employee policies, doesn't hold up their side of the bargain---bad management. * There is a saying the Italian Mob would say about poor operations. It applies to any business and is right as rain. * The Fish Rots from the Head Down.
Certainly not one I was going to get charged $120 for out of the blue. I was pretty friendly with one of the mechanics who started off as an apprentice there. Really nice guy. I ran into him at the receivership auction and he told me 1st hand the crap the owner was pulling. He quit when the boss informed the employee's about cutting pay cheques going back 6 month's for 5 minutes extra coffee breaks. He also said there were several machines missing from the auction that should have been there, 3 mini excavators among them. He looked into trying to get his last 3 month's of pay but I think in the end he figured it would cost too much to have to get lawyers involved. He was glad I never paid the receiver for a concrete breaker I rented a month or so before they went under. They sent me a notice but the dates were wrong and the actual attachment I rented was wrong. I didn't rent a post hole digger. The owner's daughter was apparently looking after parts and rentals and it wasn't in her wheel house.
Are you associated with the Italian Mob? LoL
Only on certain days of the week.
You meet at the Badda Bing club?
No-the back lot at a meat packing plant.
I could always tell when there was “a meeting”.. Look for the steam coming out of the vent stack.. it was the only room in the place that was heated.. I don’t know why the feds couldn’t figure that out.??!!
Lots of rain here too. Decided to work on my shifting for the up coming CDL test instead haha. Sorry to hear about the wife's business woes. Denver had a few small specialty CNC shops for aerospace, I spoke with them before going with wrenching and the wages were terrible, not saying that's your issue, but it sure killed any interest in pursuing it in the hopes of finding a good shop. The only one I met that made money was a guy who made missile tubes in his garage. 1.5 tubes every 24 hours but he sure had a nice house with that production rate haha.
I don't know about Canada, but in the USA it is quite easy to get past due wages by putting a Mechanic's Lien against the employer. There may be a time frame limit on when it can be done.
Best thing to do is when you don't get your check don't show up for work.
I never got into everything that went down too much so don't know what kind of false promises the owner made in regards to the pay owed. The whole thing just sounded rotten.
If someone is owed 3 months of back wages, that's just as much the fault of the employee as the employer. My guys are good guys, and I hope they aren't dumb enough to keep showing up for work for 3 months, if I quit paying them.
One thing to remember-the employer is gambling on the ignorance of the employee.
I don't know what stories the owner was making up to keep the employee's working. I worked at a golf course where I had to wait a couple days for the pay cheques to clear. If the employer was saying it wasn't his fault and promising bonus's or something if the employee's stayed, might be a reason to give him the benefit of the doubt. If it was a good job for several years and no problems people might prefer to stay on instead of looking for a new job. Like I said the mechanic I knew called it quits over the coffee break fiasco. The salesman I liked left about 8 month's before everything started to go downhill. He got a job selling JD compact equipment and he's still there as far as I know. He was always paid up and on time.
Geezers, Vetech63 these tangents are a bummer, look forward to Reg stuff
When I worked construction years ago, on paydays I wore tennis shoes and carried a butterfly net.
Yeah Vetech, get these Geezers straightened out, your soap opera is low on content. lol
I do not understand this. I have never failed to pay an employee IN FULL on the promised payday. If I thought there was even a chance it would not happen, I would send them home when the money ran out (though that never happened either, though close once or twice).
Sometimes there can be legitimate reasons a pay check might be a little late. 3 month's is way too long though. That's why I'm curious what kind of BS story was told. I can't really see an employer coming up to an employee part way through the day/project and saying go home because I don't have money to pay you, especially if the work is part of a contract and there are penalties if it's not completed by the specified date. That said my former neighbor doesn't have a very good history of paying on time on some big jobs he bid. It's really bad when his son pulls up to the job in a Corvette and tells the workers their pay cheques will be late. General consensus was the son was the first one paid. I had to wait 2 or 3 month's to get paid once when I worked for him. He was kicked off a job. There was a big lawsuit that didn't involve me but it was ugly. I did eventually get paid.
i really can't wait
When I hire someone I am giving them my word that I will pay them x dollars on x day. I do not idly break my word. My problems are not my employees problems, or at least shouldn't be. It seems one should know if money will be a problem before the middle of any given day. I would rather tell that to an employee and let them decide instead of blind side them with no check on payday.
I have been negative money on payday several times in my life, so I will always make sure I have money for my employees.
Sometimes things beyond an employers control happen. Have seen where there's an issue with the banks computer system or if the company uses a different firm to issue the cheques. If it's a 1 time deal or happens very rarely but is rectified quickly I can't see employee's just quitting or employers telling the employee's to go home.
It happened to me “ONCE”.!! I got to the bank to cash my check and the teller said sorry, there’s no money in the account, I can’t cash this.. I took my hour lunch, walked back in and went straight to the floor manager and threw the check at’m & said, “I’ll be back when this check is good”.!!! He said, “hold on, don’t go anywhere.”!! He ran up the stairs to the “big boss”.. He came back down and said it was good NOW.. He said, go to the bank NOW AND DONT CLOCK OUT.. (lol)
Then you're working for the wrong people.
I was never without a cheque but 3 guys I worked with “invested“ in the company after I left trying to “buy” their jobs. We were coming into a slowdown in work and I was laid off. The company went under 6 months later and I heard that those guys lost about 4 months pay. I did have a regular 80 cheque that was missing all the OT and standby hours. Boss didn’t sign the time sheets and he got hell from the guys. One guy had a payout for banked time because he had a bill to pay and he stood at the payroll office on Monday morning until he had the extra money. Cam
That could be a possibility yes.
As a buissness owner who has had cash crunches more than once and gone without a paycheck myself for about 4 months I dont care what it would take my guys will be payed for hours worked no matter what I had to do its absolutely bull to not pay an employee no matter what circumstances there is they never signed on for risk Furthermore not paying employees what they are due says a lot about your character as an owner
I worked for a company once that ran out of money. The owner mortgaged his house again and maxed out his credit cards. We were called into the office one by one and handed an envelop with our paycheck. We endorsed the check and were paid in cash for the amount of the check. We were paid weekly, and this went on for about 6 weeks.
I can add to that-When I was leased-the book keeper screwed up my settlement check. When the owner of the brokerage got back from a trip I told him about it. He unsnapped his shirt pocket and handed me 5 grand, {when you get back this Friday the rest will be here}. Art liked to roll dice, he always carried 5.
The day is saved-Vetech is online.
Yeah, I've been busy but can check in from time to time. Hopefully things will get back to some kind of normal. I need some normalcy lol
You & Spud aren't doing your share to entertain us. He's playing with ducks & his new excavator, no more stories from the clownshow in town. Boring without you two. Joe H
Did some work for a local dairy farmer....dug the blue clay out of the freestalls so sand could be put in, wasn't fun. Bobcat & backhoe attachment. Was warned I wouldn't get paid. Finished up and ol Tub asked if I could "wait for the milk check"....uh, yup. 2 weeks later, I got paid in full. There was a reason I played along, he had a truck I wanted. Told him, call me when your done with it.....he did and I hauled it home....lol Ed
A customer came to p/u his tractor from my place yesterday.. but told me he only had 1/2 the money.. I asked him which 1/2 of the tractor he wanted to take with him.?? He looked at me like I was crazy.. he honestly thought he was going to take the machine and “get back with me “., I sent him packing with an empty trailer.. He did come back with the other 1/2 in a couple of hours.. Damn kids, ya can’t trust’m.. lol
Only ever had one 'Play Me', said was tight on cash but needed his truck to finish a job and would pay the remainder(Around 2/3 paid 1/3not), thought he was Under the Petty Theft amount and defaulted the remainder. Set a Mechanic Lien on the machine and waited, he sold it for scrap when engine went south, bank sent ME the proceeds against the lien. He had a bogus attorney file suit against my recovery, went to court where he produced the bill paid the 2/3, said was agreed upon, then my attorney presented his Signed agreement to pay the last that never arrived, his attorney noted the engine failed and tried to pin on MY negligence where dates related did not hold up(8 Mos between). I was allowed to retain the scrap money but cost me near as much in court fees. Did NOT ever release a machine before paid after that.
I had a guy who I thought was a friend stiff me for $300 when he bought my RD350LC. He later fell on it and had to replace some parts. I didn't feel sorry for him. I should have put a lien on it so it couldn't be registered until the lien was paid. I had a promissory note from him acknowledging he owed $300. Never again! I even threw in a helmet and some nice leather gloves. He probably thinks he's brilliant for pulling a fast one on me. No he's just an a-hole.
It's fare to say-40% of the public is dishonest, if that wasn't the case there wouldn't be a lawyer on every other downtown street corner.
My previous employment was as a lift engineer ( passenger elevator ) the company got stiffed by a few companies all in the space of a few months. The day my daughter was born, we walked back into the house babe in arms to a letter on the floor, cheque returned from bank no money. I made one phone call to the boss ( didn't go mad just asked what was up and what needs to be done), he came round 20min later with cash to cover the wages a huge apology the complete story about what had happened and what was needed, There was so much " deadwood" employed in the company that he couldn't just fire, so decided now was the best time to let the company fall, out of thirty employees he started a new company with 4 of us who were "his right hand men" and we had our choice of fitters mates. I received a healthy redundancy package on the Friday, and on Monday morning was employed with the new company, we then spent a month gaining entry legally to the buildings where companies hadn't paid and removed the circuit boards from the elevator control panels until paid in full there and then. It was quite interesting being a debt collector and standing there holding the piece of equipment they need while people ran about trying to find money to pay the bill.
Nice that's awesome. My friend had a drive shaft go out, 1760 style, it's rarer and about twice as much as a 1710 and I had a few laying around. He looked through them and grabbed one and tossed it on his truck. He asked how much and I said 50% retail up to $200. Retail is probably over $1000 so just give me $200. Still waiting on that $200.
I would not call that man a friend.
It will be interesting when he tries to drive off and nothing happens... because you did like the elevator guys and took the parts (driveshaft) off that weren't paid for. Yeah, he's not a friend. Just an a-hole like the guy I knew.
Would be funny to repossess the shaft
I'll add you can't even count on certified dealer service to fix your equipment. I know for a fact the Elgin distributor here in Vegas people have dropped off sweepers to repair and months later $10,000 still not working correct. The tech here is not even factory trained he learns working on equipment. Had the same issue Allison dealer here trying to get a PTO working it quit one day they wanted to build a whole new wire harness $2000. I fixed it in 5 mins with a Power Probe which I saw the tech using at the Allison dealer on my truck bought one was a ground wire came off the ground terminal in control panel. Even with factory diagnostic software it could have many issues showing various fault codes etc you still have to troubleshoot and have heard horror stories guys making huge payments in equipment sitting for months at a dealer they can't figure out.
A lot of the time dealerships do very little to train and improve their mechanics. The supervisors don’t care about improving service skills and experience and retaining the talent. They don’t see a problem with the revolving door model but then are quick to complain about the skilled labor shortage
I absolutely believe this to be true in many cases. My son went to work for a large Cat dealership with multiple locations. When he hired on, my son was on fire to learn welding, and he had been doing a lot of aluminum welding at a company that repaired refrigerated trailers. The Cat dealership promised him that they would continue to teach him welding and help him to get certified. He would spout off welding terminology that would make my head spin. Fast forward a year or two and the dealership had him cross training to do mechanic work and less and less welding. Fast forward another couple of years and he was doing no welding and basically swapping parts out on machines at the dealership. The way I saw it, it was still a great opportunity, but for him, he really wasn't into turning wrenches like I am. Needless to say, the dealership never did anything to foster his love of welding, nor would they do anything to help him get certified. My son finally left the dealership for a better job. Now he doesn't weld or turn wrenches unfortunately..
You see this from school age now. learn what we want to teach you, not what we can see you are good at, at one time teachers watched and saw what were your strong points and gently nudged you in that direction, now it's just a case of learn this or you are just thick and can't be helped. Companies now employ people in management positions who have no knowledge of the business they are in and are just competent at writing a bullsh!t resume, the people doing the interviewing will believe it as it's what they did to get their position. Companies need to reinstate promoting up through the company, so the people at the top have " been there, done that" and understand what's going off.
I text my friend and asked about it yesterday, he said he's going to pay me today.
Yes I agree. It's a shame. We are all different, learn differently, and have different interests. In my son's case he has never been interested in mechanical work. I tried many times when he was growing up to get him to work on things with me in my shop, be he just was not interested. It wasn't his thing, and that's ok. In my case, I've loved working on stuff since I was four years old and my grandfather saw that in me and fostered that. That's why I was so happy when my son had the job where he was doing the aluminum welding and laying beads I couldn't dream of doing. Then when he got the job at the Cat dealer I thought man this is going to be great he's going to learn all kinds of welding now and they told him they will get him certified too. Nope. Not only did they shift him out of welding into parts changing, but they killing his passion for welding. I continue to urge him to get a welder or two for home, but he has lots of other interests that keep him busy too.
Your son should have told them he wanted to be a mechanic and hated welding . I would love to know what is going on inside the mines of people in charge ?
Hard to say. Very short sighted for sure. He told me that there is lots of turnover in the shop and that they are hiring 18 year old kids off the street and paying them several dollars more per hour than the guys that have been there for years due to the way wages have gone up in recent years. They don't want to raise the wages of the current employees though, so the veteran guys (some of them at least) are leaving.
They should have itemized labor charges. Cat here in Henderson is $190 an hour so I guess that's around 3.5 hrs each labor. Honestly what do you expect from a stealer service department they look at you as another customer to gouge. There are a few guys in town here that rebuild cylinders some will sandblast repaint them some leave them same shape as brought in beat up scratched but they all are expensive but they let you know in advance the cost it's not prudent to give a dealer shop an open invoice charge whatever they feel even though they know you are a mechanic and know better. Dealer shops are the worst IMO take the longest and it's always a fat bill $2000 on up. I have invested heavily in expensive Milwaukee tools, diesel welders LN25 wire feeders, plasmas, compressors, heavy impacts, clone dealer level software and connection modules for the makes I have, gates hydraulic hose crimper to make hyd hoses on and on to avoid dealer service depts and their BS for my business to repair my own equipment I buy or maintain. I am not bashing dealer service departments working on heavy equipment is very labor intensive time consuming small projects turn into huge ones shops overhead tooling and labor is expensive. For example the local Elgin dealer here wanted $7000 $600 in parts the rest labor to change out 13 squeegee flights on a sweeper I have it's a nasty job I did it in 2 days $150 in parts.
What I find a little off is why a Cat dealership would offer to help someone learn more about aluminum welding. It sounds more like it was just something to entice someone to come work for them, kind of a false promise. For general welding and heavy equipment welding on steel I can see working for a Cat dealer and learning quite bit while going through an apprenticeship. Aluminum is generally a different ball game and heavy equipment doesn't typically involve much aluminum or welding of it. Aircraft work, boat building, truck box manufacturing and specialty welding would be where aluminum would be more prevalent. The Cat dealer should have stated that they don't do much with aluminum and what type of welding they typically do. It is really sad that a lot of trades schools have closed down. They claim that there aren't enough students interested in the trades. I think it's because the trades aren't promoted anymore and that trades people are looked down upon like people went into the trades because they couldn't get a job otherwise. I went to a trades schools that was often referred to as a dummy school. A lot of people don't think you need to know much to be in the trades but they are sorely wrong. It's really sad because in the past people in the trades were well respected and appreciated.
That's my fault I should have clarified that better. He wasn't hoping to go there to learn more about welding aluminum, he was hoping to go there and learn more more about welding in general, and steel specifically since that's probably 99% of what a Cat dealer would weld. He really didn't have a lot of experience welding steel when he went there, and he was hoping to get that and hoping to get the experience and knowledge to get certified. I suspect that the talk of helping him to get certified as a welder was a probably a bunch of what Judge Judy would call "puffing" to sell him on taking the job. I doubt that many Cat dealerships have a need to get their welders certified as long as they can actually do a good job welding. But I could be wrong.
I doubt there is much opportunity in welding at a Cat dealer unless it's line bore repair or maybe occasional hard facing which most Companies that own the yellow equipment have their own welders and rigs. My advice to anyone hiring at a service shop get everything in writing all promises. When I fried my 3126 ECM I went to the local Cat Dealer in Henderson before they got bought out and a popular YouTube channel Cat Tech came out I recognized him Adept Ape tested my ECM ran a printout for free. Surprised they let him run his channel and work for Cat. Don't get me started on the slobbering 350 hp JD engine I have on a ready jet hydro blast 20k mixer cleaner I brought the ECM to JD Dealer asked if they could check it they looked puzzled said no way they can test off the unit need the harness plug so I would have to lug that 17,000 lb machine to Vegas 60 miles for them to test and charge me $300 to do it.
There can be a lot of welding work at a Cat or any other brand's dealership. As far as requiring a certificate it depends more on the location than what the dealer says. In Alberta you have to be in an apprenticeship or have a journeyman ticket to be employed as a welder. Of course there are some places that don't follow this rule but most people wanting to become a welder want to get licensed. There are way more opportunities for them, especially if they want to change employers or lose their job. It's also a lot easier for a shop to stand behind their work having licensed welders and/or apprentices. Same thing with mechanics and most other trades. Would you rather have some guy that says he can weld slap the broken stick on your excavator back together or someone that has the schooling, knowledge and experience to know the proper procedures for a successful repair?
Well from a dealer standpoint you spend all this money on schooling to get someone certified in welding then they can go do pipe line line work in the field with their own Lincoln rig and make 3 times as much. So I can see the reluctance unless a signed contact or the employee has to pay the dealership back for the schooling and certification.
Well I did get my check so I'm still calling him a friend
You don't quite understand how it works. It's no different than mechanics at a dealership. Employers are invested in their employee's. The dealer may have special courses through Cat (or any manufacturer) they pay to send employee's to (factory training) but the employer doesn't pay extra to have employee's go through an apprenticeship. It's very common dealers/repair shops will advertise factory trained technicians as well as licensed tradesmen. It's also becoming more popular (here anyway) that shops will have a sticker on the door promoting the apprenticeship program. You can make really good money working at a dealership and also have a good work/life balance. Home every night, weekends optional, not having to work outside in adverse conditions, steady year round employment, etc. Not every welder wants to go pipelining and not every welder can do it. A lot of welders like doing a variety of different things and fabricating things from scratch as it utilizes all their skills. Looking at a blueprint or drawing and then laying out, cutting, fitting and welding to a finished assembly is very rewarding. The same with doing a more complex repair. Smart employers often prefer to get new apprentices because they can train them from the start so they don't develop bad habits. I've seen it on several occasions where people have greatly exagerrated their experience and enhanced their resumes to make them seem like they are gods gift to welding. Put them on the shop floor and unsurprisingly they don't come close to matching their ego's. I've found in most cases the trades people with the most experience and knowledge are usually the most humble. They don't brag about how good they are. You see how good they are after witnessing it in person or when you ask them for advice.
I'll throw up an update this weekend
Because it’s so much better to not train and develop someone and have them be a screwup or never progressing in skills and have them stay.
The constant complaint I hear by employers in construction and other industries is they spend a great deal of time, effort and training on someone to only have them quit for something better once they get the skills. Many competitors will poach the best most trained talent especially when the current employer doesn't pay more when they have the extra skills just think they will be satisfied with no raises. It's a 2 way street the employer pays the money gives the employee the time he could be working to learn and the employee puts in the effort and time to learn. IMO you as an employer are looking for a certain set of skills hire it experienced already. There is definitely a lack of skilled techs just parts changers I have bought lots of equipment that's been given up on by owners taking it to multiple shops to get fixed big money spent and have got them working repaired eventually myself.
It's not just money in my experience a pleasant work place keeps guy around weather they get offered more or not it's a quality of life factor with companies that pay good and dont have stupid corporate bs retention is much better
It's not always about money. I'd much rather make a little less and have good working conditions than work at a place where you never know what expect. It's so much nicer if everyone gets along and you're motivated to go to work every morning. I worked for one place that went through 9 guys a week on average and had an ad running all year looking for welders. The shop had a poor reputation even though they paid OK. The boss would start yelling and screaming over the simplest things, ie/ over grating that he felt should have more welds to hold it on. Pretty simple to put more welds on it, not like it was going to go anywhere and certainly no reason to go off the deep end. You show up in the morning and the 1st thought is if the boss is going to be on a rampage today.
I worked at a place like that once. If the boss showed up wearing a black shirt in the morning, then you had better try to hide all day. The guy had no people skills and no personality. A few years later I heard he had passed away. I asked if anyone attended the funeral. The guy telling me about it said the place was packed, "Everyone wanted to make sure he was really dead".
Thanks for that, you got a smile out of me today.
Missed the back story. Thompson Tractor, Yancey or another dealer?
No it's another dealer, he's up north.
Where is our update?
Gotcha. Thompson is hiring and treats their employees well. Didn't sound like them.
Wasn't Henry Ford was it?
Heck I wish he and his family lived down here close by.
C'mon Vetech, we are all awaiting a update!!!
I am ashamed to admit that when I first started my business, I was this way. I was 25 years old and had no experience managing employees and had no good mentors. I was always either afraid of going broke or angry people didn't do things the way I wanted it. I lost a lot of good employees for years until I read and trained a bunch ("Manager's Tools" podcast was great). I became very good at recruiting online though, to the point where that is now my company's strong point. I still am not the most pleasant person to work for directly, so I have someone as my company President who everyone likes and is a great people person. I'm up to 270 full time people and down to working a couple of hours a day myself at 39 years old. I am now basically Chief Cheerleader. I will say in reference to the earlier topic here that I have never missed a paycheck or payment to anyone... That fear that made me unpleasant to work with also helped me never break my word to my people. But I certainly could and should have been nicer about it.
I highly recommend reading Henry Ford's autobiographies. Tons to learn about business and also a super interesting look at American history. It's crazy there was once a day when a business could build a hydroelectric dam on a river within a year or two of having the idea and build massive factories in months. And that people used to riot over trying to get a job (instead of being paid by Uncle Sam to stay home).
It's sad the way some employers treat their employee's. There can be terrible employee's but I think for the most part everybody wants to go a good job and take pride in their work. Yelling and screaming at people just trying to do their job is isn't warranted.
Had 90 mph wind storms come through here last night and my internet is still out. Ill update when its back up. Too much work to do this by phone lol
Damn
I've read about henry and a few others.
There's nothing like hearing it straight from the horse's mouth. Most biographies are written by journalists or writers who may not really understand what it was that made the great man great. The autobiographies may not be quite as smoothly written that's what a professional writer would do, but every page there are golden nuggets of wisdom.
It's a fallacy to judge history by today's standards.... The Johnstown dam bursting was a tragedy... but by and large hydroelectric dams saved far, far more lives over the long run through vastly better quality of life. Same with Henry Ford... he had some ideas today's folks find repugnant, but before he revolutionized auto manufacturing most people were never able to get further than a few miles from where they were born in their entire lives.
Henry Ford was admirable. Made a handshake deal with Harry Ferguson to produce the 1st 3pt. hitch tractor. Henry Ford II not so much. Lost a $10 million lawsuit to Harry Ferguson that should have been a lot more. $10mil. is almost peanuts when you sell over 500,000 tractors in clear violation of patent infringement.
Well, my internet is back. Between the wife's machine shop woes and me being constantly behind in my own work...............I've been too exhausted to provide much updating. The storm that passed through here Saturday night also left some light damage I have been taking care of. Things will get back to normal soon...........I hope.
If this was normal no one would be watching. Joe H
CLICKBAIT!!!
I am going through Withdrawals now because there has been nothing new from Vetech63 .
I agree! We need updates!
Things can’t go bad forever .. He probably hit a good patch. I hope so anyway..
You can't justify Johnstown by saying "Greater Good" No way, No How. You Can justify Kinzua, and all the others by "Greater good"
Believe it or not, I actually have a bit of time this morning...........so here is what's been going on. The last several weeks I have been going in with the wife to her machine shop and helping her get her day started. This is normally when I would be on here doing my thing...........hence why I feel like I have disappeared. We finally found someone a few weeks ago that can come in as a contractor when she needs and do machine and CAD programming. This has worked out well and now she is a lot more comfortable working with him. He has been a tremendous help in her keeping the operation open, although she had to make some tough choices and drop some of the work she has done for years. There was just no way for her to keep up by herself 80% of the time. Her spirits are good, and she has accepted her new future. On my end, it's been chaos as usual. The weekend storm 2-3 weeks ago caused power outages all over the area, this customer was without electricity for a week so nothing at the shop got done at all. Then last week my service truck went down with emission repairs and was down all last week, so again nothing got done with my work.......but I worked with wifey at her machine shop as best I could. The moral to this story is I'm further behind now than when I started this thread. I am still the only one doing the repair work outside of a few times I had to call the dealer out while I was down. No end in sight and let me tell you, it suckssssss. My time at her machine shop is slowing down so I believe I can start getting my end back to a more normal routine. I still feel exhausted but dam ready for some normalcy. Some new things happening with this customer lately............I will fill in those blanks later today. Right now me and wifey are making decisions about our home life and how much do we really want to be doing here with what little time we have outside of taking care of her parents here and work. There is just too much for the 2 of us to take care of now that the kids are not involved, and some sacrifices are necessary for our well-being.
Thirty5D is correct. The first step in any repair is to clean your work area.
Ut oh… I don’t like the sound of this..
Wishing you well as you make these important decisions…a lot to consider (and sounds like you have both given it serious thought)! And, as said above, a clean work area is vital
Clean underwear once a day, the older you get sometimes twice.
Read somewhere that Sylvestor Stallone wears a new pair of underwear every day. That could be interpreted more than 1 way. Here's something to ponder, why is underwear called a pair when it's only 1 garment?
How come you’re reading up on stallones underwear?
Who can afford underwear?
No one had any during the 30's, bib overalls became real popular in those days.
I was reading about something else and it was mentioned. I might have heard it on TV too. It was quite a while ago.
This customer just leased the building and property across the street from their former offices......where their shop is. They are moving the asphalt and paving maintenance side to that facility. The tire place just to the north is building a new facility which is almost done. They will be moving to it in the next month or so. There is talk about this customer buying that facility and turning it into the equipment/truck shop. At that point, they want to tear down the original facility and build new offices and parking. Seems like great ideas to me..........lets see if the plan remains the same in the near future.
Don't ask why I'm running this while I'm so far behind in my own crap lol. Since I have 8 minutes between parts runs I will try to bless this site with what knowledge I have left. It will be good to be back even though its a short time!
So can you just tap a few buttons and see what it does? Or did you get explicitly told “don’t touch anything”? Because I would have a hard time not tapping a few buttons, just because I’m that sort of inner 8 year old.
I think that may result in pictures for the carnage thread
Lol wife would have a stroke if she saw or heard me push a button.
It's simple you clamp the part down, chunk of material, then simply push the green button. And as long as its been setup and running good that is all you do. In your free time you get to do the work, deburring the part that just came off. Does that machine have a tool setter and probe?
Yes it does. I let the wife do all the set-up............I just push the start button and change out pieces of material. She doesn't trust me with anything else....................and I don't blame her one bit.
Given the right circumstances I’m sure you could learn the whole process.
It would take some time. Every number you enter into that control is very important, no mistakes allowed. A small mistake with a number, can mean a bunch of scrapped parts or even worse a scrapped and or very expensive to fix machine. Running a first part on a new program, can be a very slow and tedious job, and you better know how to read the program while your doing it. Best to first run very high and with no part the first time, to catch any surprises. Some places will run a foam part first. Tool setters and probes can make the job easy enough if done right for a 10 year old to do the job. Huge help in getting the correct numbers in the control. So her machines have the macro's turned on? Probes need that. I've never run a Haas with a probe. Mori's and Fanuc stuff only.
I'd need to be a full time student for month's or even years to learn how to program and run a CNC machine. I don't know how to do 75% of the stuff my cell. phone is capable of doing.
Start off with your own CNC plasma table.
VTech good on you for helping out the wife. That's what makes things work when you dig in when you need to.
That, or she prefers the smell of coolant on him, instead of diesel fuel.....
"Coolant" or "Lubricant"???
There are many different chemicals used in a machine shop.
Ever get back to these guys?
Think the wife retired him. Joe H
I'll be back soon fellas. Lots to talk about but I am still getting my ass handed to me daily. Hang in there!
By who? Or maybe it's whom? Joe H
Figured was NUTS Busy as is Asphalt Season!!
I figured you melted down in the heat.
I was thinking he was away at CNC school.
The 2 most difficult parts of the CNC job are dealing with metal chips, and deburring the parts. I know many that never had any CNC schooling. If everything is fixture keyed, and the machine has tool setters and probe, any one off the street could run it and set it up, with 8 hours of instruction. But someone that knows how, would need to monitor the dimensions and make adjustments for the trainee.
Okay, I agree about the deburring and chips but I could get anyone that wanted to work to do that. I know g-code and its values and offsets and a bit using solid works. Running a CNC machine and using a CNC machine are 2 totally different things. Tapping, picking, and all the different values along with the set G-codes are all valuable tools that are either taught or learned, sometimes the hard way. I have crashed a few and had to fix a few. Just dialing in a open bed vs a 4 axis on a Haas are mysterious things for some people. I have 3 sets of Accurite gauges in my box. Just replacing a drive is a service call for some and depending on your company, that could be a 2 week wait.
They may have improved a bit but to me Haas was always low end, the last Mori center I ran could be programed and set up to run very automatic, even the set-ups as long as fixtures were on location pins or? Programs auto load position offsets and probe goes from that. Preset loaded tools double checked by the tool setter etc. 4th axis positions macro calculated. Most all my programming was G code at the control. And did a low end cnc programing software at times too. Wish I had one of those machines.
I have a vf1 for sale
Vetech can't wait to hear what you've been up to if you ever get time.
And I for one, won't hold that against you.....
I went back and re-read the 1st post.. That 6 month journey has turned into a 2 year project. Lol. Hey, whatever pays the bills, right..??
The only part of the journey that matters is the upward journey of vtech Bank account cause any relationship obligations have long since been satisfied and according to the saga the company is no closer to solving a problem that they refuse to take head on and come to terms with
OK, I have a bit of time for the moment. On the wife's front things have gotten better. We found a guy that was familiar with the programming and the machine set up and operations. She is training with him as needed but she has learned a lot these last few months. She has gotten pretty efficient in what she needs to know to keep the shop running. There have been some parts she has to sacrifice due to not being able to operate the CMM and not enough knowledge on the CNC lathe. She is content on doing the simpler parts and letting go of the more complicated things................hell she wouldn't have enough time to run everything she was before the family defection anyway, so she is good with it. I still fill in when I have time which lately hasn't been much. On my front its business as usual. This construction company bought the place across the street and has now expanded the equipment yard and facilities. It hasn't affected me as of yet. The heavy workload is still there with no help in site. A lot of word about new equipment replacing some of the older stuff, but most of that has been axed now. It seems they want to stretch the machine life more and not buying expensive new equipment every few years. Yeah..........guess what that means, more f^%ing work for me........YEAAA! I have squeezed in a few other small jobs for others, but this company is still fine with me doing everything and fills most of my time....I guess the $25-40K a month isn't phasing them. The checks have still been good and consistent so there's that! There's something wrong here. You veterans will spot it right off. For those of you with less experience or horrible eyesight.......let me help you out a bit The operator kept pumping grease in the adjust cylinder and couldn't for the life of him figure out why he was having to constantly add grease. Over $5K in parts........along with new sprocket segments and bolts. The rails are smooth wore out and should have been replaced now with the upper and lower rollers. I get to do the rest of the undercarriage in a couple of months..........they just had to have this dozer on a job now. I'll try to keep up with this thread a bit better now that wifey is in better shape! Stay tuned...........
OK I'll admit I had very little experience with tracked machines over the years. Probably in around 45 years only changed chains, rollers and such a handful of times and usually it was just do what need to be done to get it out of the shop and on a trailer for someone else to deal with! So forgive me if I failed to notice that the axle and/or bearings have long since given up the ghost for a few seconds!
Pretty easy to spot slid out so far, grease had to have been flowing out around seal and yoke being broke not helping.
the hell of it is the same companies that will stroke the big monthly checks without complaint will squawk at hiring a company wrench for a decent amount of money. Wave $100-120k per year and some real good benefits at somebody good and they would be happy to take it which would be a third of your lower end rate per month. But that would be “too expensive”
Vetech63, wish I was 3 miles from her shop, I'd love to help out, CMM too.
Very true. It makes no sense to me whatsoever but that is exactly what I have seen the past 10 years. I guess there is better tax benefits to writing me off as a sub and the cost coming straight off their gross numbers. I believe what has happened is the people they have hired in the past just didn't perform well enough. Hell, they were paying HNC $75K a year salary and nothing got done.....or very little. The last guy with experience only worked a week and quit. It's a new reality they don't want to screw with and would rather just keep me as a sub. It would be very easy for them to tell me to get lost with no strings. The bad thing is I just turned 60 2 weeks ago. I don't have much time left doing the physical part of this job and there is no one on the payroll for me to train. *** are they going to do when I'm done? It would suck to attempt training someone when I'm not turning the wrenches anymore.
Same that was done when I left--open the wallet a little wider and dig a little deeper, and charge more for their services construction wise. * J.G. Wentworth-It's your company money Mr CEO-waste it the way you want.
The great part about solving that problem is you will be done and don't own that outfit so it won't be your problem They created the mess they can figure out how to clean it up
VTech if you could find a young buck to train you could keep it going and making money, and you probably could bill out his hours too.
Those are white tail-never make it, need to be a mule to make it in this business.
I be thinking vetech be thinking this kind of Buckskin! HIS own Post!!!
Ah that doe has antlers-must be trans.
But it does have a Real rack!!!
And in the meantime
Yep both of um
Are you sure!
Here is a nice rack with accessory's if your into that kinda thing but beware unlike silk scarves they could leave a mark
Vetech the boys are bored they want more adventures out of ya
We all on here have or had our afflictions Worst ever is Workaholicism!!
I got over that back in 2015!
2 point.& That's the preferred rack in most cases because you don't have to keep paying for it.
And you don't have to worry about it telling stories.
If you want to replace that rack with the latest model it's not going to ask for alimony.
Looking for an interesting way to bump this thread and then the cats in the internet tubes delivered this to me. I have so many questions.....the only thing the ad said was: 285 HP Cummings Engine. All hydraulic. Cash only. Local pick up only. 100’s other interesting items not listed. They are asking $3,500 bucks.
You probably shouldn't have posted that-Cat and Deere will start building exact copies.
WOW.!!! What’s with the little robot behind “the machine”.?? Is it a vacuum to suck up all the parts that fall off, as it goes.?? Lol That took some serious drunk brain-storming…
Where would they come up with enough back halves of jeep liberty's? You notice there is a tow ball by the "little robot" end? Is that the front or the back?
Don't see many of those with the rare Cummings option, no wonder he's asking so much. Better jump on it before it's gone. Joe H
Is that a hunting blind prepared to take care of the game warden or land owner when they catch you poaching?
That would be a High Mobeelty Travelor buryer stand!!!
If I had the money and it was a short drive I'd be all over it, engine is close to worth it
I want to go just to see the “100’s other interesting items not listed.” I can only imagine….
I can't help but wonder if that isn't one of the members here........
Lol… The next strange project is..
Thats what happens when you have too much junk lying around to go with too much spare time.
Probably some grain farmer with lots of time on his hands. Should be the subject of an article in “Farm Show” magazine. LOL. Odie
Looks like a Red Green contraption only missing duct tape
If the women don't find you handsome , they should at least find you handy...
What is this “too much spare time” that you speak of?
Didn't you know? This whole threads a sham, he's just been driving around taking photos- building a story most day's.
I am still trying to find "Spare Time". Even tried to make some once, wasted an hour I'll never get back!
Are you saying he’s the Nancy grace of field mechanics?
I'm really a Walmart greeter
So your the one that beat me out of that job!
That should provide stories just as entertaining as the clown show at the paving company. Joe H
You wouldn't last a week. LOL
Well, he’d last a couple minutes if his greeting was ‘HELLO, can i help you? F___ Off
VETECH63: “Dont worry about the Mule, Load the Wagon”!!! Great Job!!! Honky Cat
Why does that strike a cord!! Seems Dena Vu!!
Thanks Honky Cat
one of my biggest pet peeves People who put the letter G in Cummins. Its not cummings Its CUMMINS. carry on.
That’s right up there with DEUTZ.. it’s pronounced: Doits.. Not Dutes., And it’s not an “injector” pump.. It’s an “injection” pump.. Carry on..
Ze Germans!!! It is Buyer, not Bayer asprin VolksVagon as there is no 'W' sound in German A Dee Das, not Addidas shoes
"BMW" is pronounced "BMVEE" So, it is NOT a Bavarian Manure Wagon, but a Bavarian Manure Vehicle.......
Damn guess the taxes are goin up again after the county finds out I've got 3 BMWs and their all convertibles.
It'll be ok, just take the assessor for a ride in the convertible part. They belong there anyway.
I'm glad you pointed that out-used in a previous post {Cummings}. Now I was going to step on that but decided not to, I cause enough people around here to frown as it is, if I had done that I might have gotten one like reply, but because your new you gained a total of 6 likes.
But pronunciation--folks all depends on the locale you grew up in-I would not expect a Norwegian to have proper Alabama accent when talking about southern food.
Lowbed or lowboy, What about a highbed, track hoe or excavator, excavator could just be a guy with a shovel. But really it's all about abbreviations and knowing what each represent, the language has become so butchered/abbreviated---one thing is for sure though people like using abbreviations-they think it sounds smart and moves them to hot **** status because they're in the know group.
Mexican backhoe
I remember getting "crap" from a cousin in Minnesota back in the early 1960's when I was all of 11 or 12 years old when I pronounced my fathers sister's relationship to me as "my ant" cousin insisted I say A u nt! As to the Cummins/Cummings thing for several years the salesman/delivery guy from the injection repair shop we sent our Cummins pumps to had the last name of Cummings. So we sent our Cummins stuff to Cummings to get it rebuilt!
Some of ya'll need to get out more, just saying
I get out plenty-justa sayin.
I heard you don't get out as much as Spud does, and he lives on the backside of beyond.
You only posted that so alldodge could post a laugh.
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Ok Just invite Y’all or everybody for a Soda Sodie Pop Soft Drink Then can have some fries crisps toasted taters Crinkle Cuts
Spud is a jet setter no one can keep up with him.
Meanwhile back at the outhouse things are piling up.
Get it pumped or add some water and stir with boat oar, should flatten out & make more room, need to cut costs everywhere you can these days.
Its cheaper to just go after dark, who needs an outhouse anyway?
I am reading this thread and trying with all my might to not let my very British sarcasm runaway with me, so instead I'll let an amazing comedian do it for me
Just let it fly! We have mods that can do the rest lol
Yesterday I had a joystick handle replacement to do on a Deere loader. I opened the box and WAHHHLAAAA....... My very first thought was "Those lazy M&*^r F%&*ers." I even texted our resident Deere God and asked if this was a new thing or a mistake. Keep in mind I haven't removed the old one yet...........It looks pretty straight forward and simple but............you have to remove multiple panels, unbolt the joystick bracket, lay the entire thing in the cab floor, and finish the disassembly from there. Then, on this machine, the steering wheel is pulled as close to the seat as it can possibly go and is LOCKED right there..........so I hit the back of my head on that wheel so many times I lost count. The good news is I saw why this is sold like this...........you have to thread the wire harness through a hole in the joystick base plate and there is NO room for the plug. This took 2 hours to accomplish............another fine example of "Why did it take so long to do something so simple?" So, I DONT get to complain about lazy manufacturers or parts guys dammit LOL..........OH WAIT.............my UPS next day air I ordered Friday that was supposed to be here yesterday morning didn't show up and the dealer had no tracking number. OMG THOSE FREAKING PARTS GUYS!!! AHHHH.........now I feel much better!
Looks like they even crimped the connector pins on for you, assume you use the special tool to push out the old pins from the connector shell ?
That’s funny as hell!!! The sad part is it’s true I’m not only American but even in America I am from the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern US we are considered Hillbillies. To make it even worse I am a redneck that’s a hillbilly that doesn’t care to be an outsider. You would really enjoy listening to rednecks talking to each other. We have dumbed things down so much that we can’t hardly communicate with other Americans. I was born and raised in what we call the head of a holler.
yep but you boys got plenty of holes in those hollers an hills to hide thangs down here we have to dig our on holes or wait for the hogs to get hungry
Gotta love it!
Buford T wasn’t a cousin of yours by any chance was he.?
Why do you have a liebherr joystick for a Deere loader?
I know the Liebherr made/makes the JD track loaders. Perhaps this is a tracked loader he is talking about??
liebherr builds some stuff for deere. I know their big dozers and track loaders were liebherr with JD paint.
Our 304K had a Leibherr manufacturing data plate attached to the frame. Also had a joystick that resembled what @Vetech63 is working on.
Believe me it's no different here, what most of the world believes is the Queens English is hardly spoken here, the variance in dialect in such a small country is amazing to most and we have our own "hillybilly/redneck"
Cat Backhoe joysticks for the front end loader are the same way, you have to tape and fish the wire bundle down the whole joystick tube.
New plug came with it..........just push the pins in the right holes from the back.
524K Wheel loader
Same loader 1 day later. Upper radiator tank blew out. The work is endless.
I don't how that could be accomplished. Those guys are good.
Lead free America switched from copper brass radiator's with lead solder to crimp plastic with O-rings and aluminum core . Heat cycles, pressure cycles and using that plastic as mounting support always going to shorten its useful life span
Add to that Plastic does NOT expand/Contract at the rate Aluminum does. These tend to fail from that cycle.
Vetech that engine wouldn't be making a little bit of compression in cooling system would it?
Buford T wasn’t a cousin of yours by any chance was he.? Nope Nige but Enos was branch kin and I married Daisy
Pics or it didn’t happen. Daisy, not enos.
Pots to rich for me I fold " throw in cards"
That is a fantastic show. Grand Tour is also outstanding.
I wis he was but then again I say you sumbitch a lot. So maybe he is my family
new series coming soon, of Clarkson's Farm, and new Grand Tour coming soon, they've just finished filming in Botswana
Awesome! One of the best Grand Tour episodes was when they were in Italy and Richard had the Hellcat. Pure gold - "What's the lorry for? My tires."
I ordered some replacement fuel lines from Bomag for a BW211 that was pulling air into the fuel system. One line was not correct.......... They didn't crimp the fitting. Sometimes you can't trust the parts you get.........even from the manufacturer.
Wow.. definitely a 4:45 job on a Friday.!!
Last year I got a set of mower blades from JD, they forgot to sharpen one side of one of the blades. talk about vibration. LOL
One time I got a set of Replacement head bolts from CAT for a 3412, didn’t have any threads cut on them. Lmao. Or the kit kat I got once with no chocolate on it. Lol.
I was given a project yesterday........repairing a Cat AP555E S# A5D00274. The super said that when this machine is stopped during paving and waiting on another truck, the screed assist should keep the screed from settling into the mat.......and when beginning to travel forward, the assist should continue the mat without any dip or hump.....which apparently it's NOT doing. I had to have my Cat rep send me info yesterday which isn't much help yet. I told him since I am NOT an operator, I have to understand how the system is supposed to work and have the tech info to do any troubleshooting. What I did get is there is evidently some settings on the monitor that can be set (I can barely even see the display because it's so dam dark), a difference in requirements between a tamper and non tamper screed, and that its too be set while paving LOL ......and on top of that, some of the info I am getting is calling it screed assist, and other info is calling it screed counterbalance system. I'm now trying to see a screen that can't be read easily, navigate through info calling this 2 different terms, and deciding if I need to load some asphalt in this dam thing, become an operator, and lay down a mat in the parking lot.............all just to see what is supposed to not be happening. LOL Good Greif........sometimes this job sucks.
Just drag it to your driveway at home and get a free asphalt driveway put down or a cover over for current one. If it doesn't work try someone else's driveway for few bucks, rinse and repeat...
Will the screen contrast not adjust or has it just scr_wed the pooch
@Vetech63 If you want the complete instructions for the Monitor System, or anything else for that matter, PM me with an email address because the file is too large to upload here. The backlight is adjustable, apparently different settings for "lights off" and "lights on", from the Monitor.
I did get the screen corrected yesterday. If I twisted my head just right and looked at the screen from a specific point from the side............I could barely make out what was coming up. I managed to navigate to the contrast and brightness and made the adjustments.............now you can see it very clearly. Good thing too.........before I started, I priced a new OEM replacement at $4600.00, and that's an unprogrammed part. YIKES!!!!!!!! No idea how or why it was turned down so low.
Thanks Nige! I could still use something that explains in detail how the screed assist/counterbalance works in theory. I have the full electrical schematic and by what I am seeing there it looks like the dash switch puts the input to the ECU and the ECU makes the adjustments for the screed assist proportioning valve. The fact that what instructions I have state that there is settings in the monitor for adjusting this but I am finding nothing........or I don't recognize it.......I'm not sure. Maybe an operator's manual would give me the info I need? I will PM you my email addy.
Don't they have someone that runs this screed all the time? Tell the bosses you need him for a couple hours to show you how it works, or is supposed to work. I do that if I have someone unfamiliar, working on one of my more complicated cranes. Have the operator that runs it all the time there, Saves a lot of confusion.
I ran into a standstill on the Cat paver.....so back to the Bomag. I got that fuel line crimped at the hose shop, no charge! The haul truck driver told me yesterday that when they moved that machine from the job to the yard, they had pushed it onto the trailer with a dozer since it wouldn't start and run. The he told me they used the starter motor to crank the engine enough for the park brake to release to get the rear tires on the ground.......then they pulled the end of the dovetail out from under it. YIKES!!!! The machine has been sitting in the other equipment yard for over a month until someone happened to mention something about it late last week. The fuel system was full of air, but the fuel tank was half full..........not sure if they ran it out of fuel or not. The fuel lines were cracked pretty well all over so I suspected air was drawn in through one of them which is why I replaced all the fuel lines and gave the machine a filter service. I got the system bled and the engine started. I let the engine idle for about 20 minutes and everything was fine. I thought I had it perfect until I hit the switch for high idle and it sputtered and died 30 seconds later. Now I realize I have a suction leak that is only pulling air into the system at high idle............just wonderful. I ended up finding 2 things..........the bleed screw in the primary filter had been stripped out. I had to rethread it to a 1/8 pipe plug. The other was a small leak at the filter bowl water indicator switch. Rebled and now it works well and stays running. Such minor things created havoc..........that's just the way things go sometimes. It's another example of suction line leaks coming from places you wouldn't normally suspect.
Previous Hammer Hands maintenance.
While I don't wish struggles upon you, I really enjoy you sharing this stuff with us. I look forward to reading more about the big things and the little things as you share your day to day work because I learn a lot from it. I fix a lot of stuff from trailers to personal vehicles and equipment, but its not my vocation so I lack the training and hours of experience someone like you has. I easily could have misdiagnosed, or not diagnosed, something like this if it happened to something I maintain because I wouldn't know to look for suction leaks. Now, I have an idea of where to start. Just finding a bad air leak on an air operated PTO on a truck took me a couple hours because of a lack of knowledge and not knowing where to look or how to troubleshoot properly. In short, thanks for sharing.
Can relate Colson, been in and out of mechanic trade where updates and improvements come slow, these are those little incidental issues most put back into hard memory.
Well, today was "Our big Cat roller is puffing black smoke, has no power, and is choking our crew to death" day. Evidently this didn't just happen today.......it happened over a month ago and they have just kept running it. I checked it on the job.........over fueling pretty good so I had them haul it to the shop. Definitely looked like a lack of air problem since the exhaust black smoke was pretty even. This dam thing (turbo) is NOT an easy access job. I have oil in the intake housing and I could feel behind the turb for the waste gate link...........it was unhooked but no access so the turbo had to come off. The spot weld for the waste gate lever broke so the waste gate was just floating like a fairy. Since they have ran this machine like this for over a month, it created enough vacuum to suck oil past the shaft seals. Turbocharger replacement (no separate parts available from Cat.) What a pain in the ass this is to take out. Contortion yourself in multiple uncomfortable positions until your back hurts beyond belief. My hands are still cramping and most of the nuts on the mounting flange and outlet housing to the muffler are rusted solid. I had to torch most of them off. The best way to remove the turbo was to first remove the exhaust manifold and work your way down. This is the new one partially installed. Cat didn't have the manifold gasket or bolts in stock. On my "Turbo Replacement Difficulty" scale...........this is an 8.9........it sucks unless you have the hands of a 5-year-old.
Using Deere tools to remove a CAT turbo.....sacrilege....No wonder it was so difficult to remove
Done this same job, but not on a roller. If you can get underneath I think you can get three of the four with ratchet and extensions. Have you tried a Perkins dealer for the turbo parts? That’s a Perkins and the bolts and gaskets are all the same across the range, just different p/n’s.
LOL. Those Deere wrenches have done many a job, but even they said this job sucks!
You obviously haven't seen my belly. I did get my fat ass underneath it but the starter, battery cabling, and harness wiring prevents access from underneath. Removing all that stuff wasn't prudent in my simple mind. I didn't have time. Since the turbo seals were leaking, I went direct to Cat since they had it in stock. Remanned price was a bit over $1300.00 with a $650.00 core. Since before Covid the Perkins or even aftermarket prices have been comparable to OEM. The days of saving 30% or more outside of OEM have been few and far between.
More than ever obvious Enganears STILL Do not care for Mecanix!!
Just more proof that an engineer came home early and caught his wife in bed with a mechanic and needed some payback.
I've had absolutely no luck with Perkins, they keep getting different dealerships and they all charge me an arm and a leg for simple parts and not very good at looking them up.
Nice ---what's that I hear all the time--I hate working on trucks--I like it. Add rollers to the list, throw in a Japanese car or two. I'll send cat some ideas on how to make construction equipment a little tougher to work on. *
Perkins bought by CAT helped NOBODY as to Parts and pieces, and where I would rather work on a Truck than a Roller Grader or Hilift have done enough on those to realize the developers and engineers give less of a crap today than thirty to even ten years ago. Looked inside a Komatsu ONE TIME, Dozer, supposed to be "Just Like a Cat" and walked away. Was in a Truck garage when the 3406E and DDEC Detroits were the rage, the 50 and 60 series just getting started along with the Cummins N14 and M11 series. All I saw was over-engineered garbage piles that would make a One time Mil Miles and be worthless for anything beyond. EPA jumped in and made it ALL So Much Better with all that garbage emissions nonsense that does so amazingly little for the moneys involved. Should NOT EVER have been allowed to press that non legislated crap. But that is politic and cannot get into that here. DEF is derived by refining Natural Gas for Urea, DOC DPF systems are Heavy into Exotic and COSTLY metals that are tender as a barefoot schoolgirl. LoSD and ULoSD are so bogus as to be criminal as to what was required quantity wise of removal for 'Emission'. Yes trucks on the Highway Runs get phenomenal mileage and thes eDOC Systems last LONG interval but those are but 1/3 of Diesel use requiring that crap where that other 2/3 it fails routinely and expensively. As well the Illustrious Booger Patch Engas' bury the sensors and gadgets incorporated as well distribute the mechanism controls thru numerous Control Modules that have a Real Rep on fail rates. NONE of the equipment for Personal or commercial use has been engineered to do anything but attempt to force return to Dealerships for repairs in MASSIVE destructive teardowns for SLIGHT to what were once Inexpensive repairs. My 78 K100C with a 8V92 I could get BOTH hands into the dash to find a connector or bad terminal connection, that dash did self destruct as was dense hard plastic but nothing better since and packed to the max of 10# in a 5# box. Have written House and Senate Rep letters, got nice returns back and know for a fact NOT A DAMN THING will change. Once the economy fully tanks, and YES, it IS headed there, then all the nonsense can cease for those that remain in business, OR the mechanization of the US will devolve.
Nothing runs better than a fine-tuned emissions engine with every emission option available. *
That's the worst part at work. Gine for 3-4 weeks and have nothing to do after work. It burns me up knowing I'm wasting time when at home I have tons of stuff to do.
Nothing runs better than a fine-tuned emissions engine with every emission option deleted.
Nope can't do that it's against the law--nothing but a bunch of law breakers these days.
Well, there are a few things that can still be problematic....the HPCR injection systems are good when they work but a potential money pit when things go wrong or a little bit of dirt, water, or DEF gets in there. Just asking too much from the physics of everything, it's a wonder it even works at all.
I swear the emissions fell off by themselves.
In the same boating accident where I lost all my guns.
I was supposed to "just put a belt on" this Gomaco T3600 on Saturday. It's rarely just because the belt is worn out. Needless to say,......there wasn't enough parts to do the job so it didn't get finished.
It just needs a belt. They need to run today.
EXACTLY what I was told Friday.
Man, I do NOT miss that ****...
Do these twits NOT understand WATER and Pressure Wash is your Friend until that mess dries??? Worse than ready mix truck drivers.
It's the same everywhere Miller, buy them books and they just eat the pages. But in this case we don't know the history. Did the operator or foreman tell someone that the machine needed skirt board rubber on the conveyor? Vetech is outnumbered and overwhelmed, and can't see every machine everyday. Been there, done that, and sometimes you can't pull magic out of your ***. All you can do is throw your hands up and say "it's broke"....
Got the Deere 300D articulated truck at the shop today. Check this out.......... Current hours on the meter are 7894.5........YIKES!!!!
I have a lot of things written up for a parts list on this truck........and I'm not even done looking it over yet. The rod ends on the hoist cylinders are pretty much gone.
This could hit my Top 5 in "Dumbest things I have ever seen in my Career." Take a stab at what's going on here.............Go ahead! Take a wild guess!
Used conveyor belt to move a machine
They're just taking the slop out of things. Its hard not to spill your coffee when things are bouncing around. I'll also give kudo's to DR, who labels his filters with date and signs it. Too bad he hasn't worked there since 2019.
Reminds me of some motor mounts I've seen. Rubber belting is right up there with baling wire and duct tape.
Had you known there was belting in there, you woulda been able to fix the conveyor on Saturday!!
To give the last guy the benefit of doubt, the service interval on air intake filters on 300D is "as required" in a Volvo A30E it's 1000 for the outer and 2000 for the inner, so take a guess. BUT. And I tell all my customers this, never go by Manufacturer Service intervals especially if they supply "kits" no two work locations are the same, if your running in a really dusty quarry you want to changing air filters regular, If your in boggy conditions with loads of dirt and filling liquids from drums then change breathers and fluid filters more often, the best service "kit" is common sense, but I'm sure we all know that stuff left planet earth sometime around the turn of the century.
Which one? Because getting stuck on stupid started long before 2000.
My rule of thumb on servicing/pm has been learned through my own experiences. I have to throw the manufacturers recommended schedule out the window. I go by strictly hours of operation. I can't count on operators or lube truck people to do what I would be doing. Too many times they just grab a bucket and top off a hydraulic/fuel tank.... whatever it may be, without even checking to see if its clean before they start. I also can't control them removing and blowing out air filters properly. I don't chance anything I am responsible for as a contractor. I change ALL the filters at every service interval which is usually between 300-500 hours, dependent on the conditions the equipment has been running in. Its more expensive to do it my way but I know that I don't have to worry about a machine losing up-time for a filter problem, or losing an engine because numbnuts blew a hole in the air filter when blowing it out.
Your guesses were close! I have seen conveyor belting used many times in the past for numerous things. But what you are seeing in that pic is sections of an auto/truck tire. Someone used a quickie saw to cut up a radial tire into sections and stuffed them on top of each other as padding between the axle housing and the main frame. I have NOT seen that one before.
I would murder someone.
I have seen a 2 lb sugar beat used as a fuel cap before.
Operators I tell ya. Told one to top up hydraulic tank once. I caught him just about to tip the pail into the funnel. Top of pail was full of rocks and sand from being in the box of his truck. I was like DUDE! You have to clean that off first! Ok, so he does. Then he’s pouring it in and once he gets to a certain point, i hear ka-chunk! It had 1/4 a pail of ice in the bottom of the pail.
Rubber bushing suspension, page direct from Hendrickson. Didn't work worth a darn for them either.
I swear loggers throw a nice handful of dirt and chips in the hydraulic tank just on principle…and they are apparently allergic to clean, quality oil. The $30/bucket crap from tractor supply though covered in 6 inches of dirt and half full of water is the good stuff to them
Let's not brag too much about him. The hydraulic return filter in the tank I assume hasn't been replaced since 2017? LOL That spin on is the front axle breather filter. I bet it hasn't been replaced ever.
Sometimes the simplest tool on the truck is the most valuable. Without this strap wrench, that front axle filter was not accessible.
About as good a use as any for beets . . .
Sugar beets are not dinner table type.
No beets are fit for the dinner table
How can you have any pudding if you can't eat your beets...
Red beats are real good, should be a national law, beats on the plate twice a week. Those who eat their beats get a 5% reduction in operating taxes, 5% percent fuel price reduction. Those who don't their overhead and taxes go up by 25%.
If I pay you to eat my beets, can I still get the reductions?
Nope all beats to be eaten and videoed by the Beat Police.
Forget it, I'll quit paying taxes and go homeless before I eat beets.
The Beat Police have cardboard boxes and grocery carts to rent--sort of a starter kit.
Do the carboard boxes have writing on them? Because I'm going to have a lot of spare time sitting in it, and I'd like something to read while I'm there. Maybe a fridge box? With a leftover warranty paper in 5 languages? I could work on my Farsi accent.
That's reserved for the high end folks, they do offer classes in street kung fu, you will need to know that to protect your cardboard skyscraper, best thing to do is eat the beats.
Beets are eatable if soaked in pickling spices/brine for 2 weeks first.
Pickled beetroot, with cheddar cheese ( proper cheese ) and ham in a sandwich is a food from the gods.
And the ads say beets stiffen your rod and lower your blood pressure. Plus, without them how could we get those wonderful purple pickled beet eggs????
Yeah they do. One reads..... "Those who write on cardboard walls, roll their S*&t in little balls. Those who read these words of wit, eat those little balls of S$%t" Some poetry to start everyone's day!
I can eat Pickled Red Beets, can eat cooked or raw Turnips or Parsnips, wife CANNOT do the turnips or parsnips Either Way but loves Pickled red Beets. Sugar Beets when I drove out west were quite a large crop product, HUGE root crop, looked like trailer loads of Footballs.
I'm sorry for taking your thread further off-topic Vetech. Pickled baby beets or sliced pickled beets are one of my favorite foods.
I have one of those and at times has been the only one that would work
No worries my friend. This helps break up the monotony.
I'd rather have the monotony
I like to quarter them, wrap in aluminum foil with some olive oil, salt and pepper then roast on a charcoal grill. Quite tasty.
Seems counterintuitive no? Wouldn’t higher blood pressure make stiffer Rods?
More about "Blood Flow" than pressure constricted blood vessels lower flow and cause high pressure. I imagine something in beets softens or enlarges ID of blood vessels increasing flow thus reducing blood pressure. I am not a doctor but stayed at a motel 6 once.
On this forum a stay at motel 6 is all that's required, holiday inn is optional.
Vetech, what did you find with the AP55 screed problem?
Good choice dawg , we don't need to go down the wiener flow super highway, how about that screed problem?
They carted the machine off to a job before I could get it fixed. Some other equipment failures took priority over that paver, but I will get back on it soon I'm sure.
This skid loader got left at the shop last night so since I had an open area for the moment, I got it inside and started on it. Planetary failure and leaked all the lube out of it from the backside. The bushings in the track frame ended up being pretty worn so I pulled the whole thing. Cat here had all the parts, so I got those picked up this afternoon. Rebuilt OEM drive motor for $4600 and change...........new motor was over $6500.00. I checked and found some online but the savings really wasn't that much........not worth waiting for days anyway. I saw plenty of used pull offs going for over $3K Crazzzyyyyyyyyy pricing now days
Interested in just how high it will go, when 30 year old engine designs are going for 40K then add a 10K core, smart people start trying to justify the continued repairs of 30 plus year old equipment.
I keep looking at a CTL and most lean me toward the Kubota. But so far don't need to decide because buddy has one and I can use his anytime
At the moment the market for pre 2005 era parts is very strong to the point it's hard to come by some parts, people would rather keep old simple machinery running than buy new complex machines.
That's true-I have to pickup a 855 block that I had machined in Spokane on Monday. Owner of machine shop asked If I had any more rebuildable blocks, {Yes I do}. But at some point rebuilding becomes a lost cause.
I got to finish up the Gomaco curb machine today. It took 3 days to get parts UPS Red ........shocking I know. I hate doing conveyor belts by myself and my shoulders are paying for it right now. At least this wasn't one of those 100' long nightmares. Have a great weekend!
Vetech, what do you use to pull those together to get the pin in?
I have my own technique. I get one end strung where I want to do the pinning......usually the best access point on the top where I don't have to struggle. Once I have that I find a point behind that and c-clamp the belt to whatever it can reach to "hold" it there.......usually a frame or roller. Then I string the other end to overlap the secured end by using another c-clamp secured to the belt end and pulling it with rope, cable, chain.......whatever works.....then find a place behind that to secure it. Once I am there it's just a matter of manipulating the 2 "loose" ends by hand and push the cable pin though.
I always did it at either the head or tail pulley. I took my largest set of channel locks and cut a groove near the ends of the jaws with a cutoff wheel. Doesn't have to be deep, just enough to get a bite on the backside of the lace buckle. Then pull it together. May have to get a couple bites, but once together you can hold them with one hand and start the pin with the other. Now granted, most of my belt work was curb machines and wideners, and most all had the R5 lacing like you just did. Other types of lacing might require other methods. As bad as the belts could be, cleaning the rollers, pulleys, and frames was usually worse...
I told the main super that this machine was filthy and that it hadn't been getting cleaned well enough and was contributing to the issues. I guess someone got their ass chewed about it cause when I got there yesterday someone had chipped all the concrete away from everything. Saved me several hours of pre-repair clean-up
Only belts I ever got into were on the quarry conveyors for rock or the concrete plant, all sucked, multi man jobs and paid terrible. Bad for butt whipping days. The concrete companies around here have conveyor trucks, always hitting them with a acid wash back after a run, almost as bad as chipping concrete from those mechanics.
I took off a few days, left last Wednesday. Back to work today. This gem was towed into the yard right when I was leaving. TOWED being the key word.
WTH!!!
Some can break an anvil
With a crayon
Seen that kind of issue before-normally caused by {going too fast out of turn 3 going into turn 4}.
Damn.. they could have at least unloaded it..
It's hard to tell if that's poor welding or something broke really bad.
Appears to be a knee action torsion axle, bolt is still holding PARTIALLY the Right Mount, likely as I have seen the welded to frame axle bolts sheared or have been broken awhile on Left side, failure of one on Right and it popped out, there would have been PLENTY of cascading warning this was FUBAR, FOR AWHILE.
Amazing they could even drag it into the yard.
Just a little more throttle is all-it hopped around back there like a mad dog.
My guess is it came in on another trailer
My guess is Elvis dropped it from a UFO.
My guess is they hauled it in reverse
Who cares-it's there.
Broken bolts on the left side of the rear axle, front bolt on the right side. It happened about 2 miles from the shop............they just continued to tow it like you see. I guess they didn't want to wait on me, so they fixed it themselves while I was gone. At least I didn't have to screw with it LOL
We are in no rush as long as it's ready for Wednesday morning at 7:00AM!
“Truck’s on the way” the boss says “I told them it’d be ready first thing in the morning”
Ugh! Flashbacks from working at the dealer. “Hey, how much longer you got on that machine?” ” uh, all day today and some more in the morning. Why?” ” Well the lowbed is on its way. It looked like you were close so I called them. Better hurry “ and then it becomes all hands on deck to get this thing out the door. Then in 2 days it comes back or a field truck had to go correct something that got missed. And then we all played the blame game. Good times.
I love the blame game. "You said you would have that done this week." "Yeah, well my parts didn't show up on time. Go talk to the parts guy." "Well, the freight ran late. Go talk to the freight guy." "Um...the factory didn't get it ready to ship on time. Go talk to them." "Your parts department didn't get the order in on time. Go back and talk to them." "The tech didn't get the order to me in time.......go talk to him." "Oh Lord..........F%^& It." I don't miss the dealers one bit.
A few jobs the prerequisite is being able to lie at the drop of a hat. * Service writer Parts manager Equipment sales Construction job boss on site Dispatcher * All the posts above are reasons I only worked for one dealer and that lasted 3 months. One big reason I hate that type of atmosphere--The company billboard you become, hat with name, company clothes with name, everything you touch you represent that company/corporate crap---hence the corporate soldier.
Lol..!!! Funny u should mention THAT.. I ripped all the company name’s off my work uniforms.. The owner comes up to me and says, where’s the company name on your shirt.?? I said, I took’m off.. I got tired of getting beat-up after work.!! TRUE STORY..
Worked Dealer Twice, MACK in STL for two Months, Freightliner in STL for three months, ALL I could stand at Either, thought the first was just Me, proved me wrong at second. Did a Stint at One Truck Line, BAD JUJU, did a run at two different Lease Companies, made Dealer work look promising but money was good. Worked Inde and for a Independent Garage for over 10 years, My own work I did not mind, at the garage getting double standards dependent of the job and the owners friends got real old real fast but made OK money. As tired of that crap went to work for a Public Utility, when in a Emergency Scenario was always all hands on deck and paid us to do what we knew to do as Mechanics, at the job change to Nuke was a eye Opener as to Learn Fast Do Well, BE CAUTIOUS and work the job as if own it. No Accolades just Trust and appreciation to when as cards were down picked the better of us to attend to those jobs that HAD to get done knowing Would get done. Miss that work but body got tired.
It really bugs people when I use that word lie or call it out for what it is. It's a good day when you can catch the boss, super or anyone in the food chain lying their *** off.
The dealer was good for experience and training and that was about it. Never seen a group of grown men who couldn’t work together like that.
I bought some used shirts at the flea market, one has the name "Bill" and I tell people: "Bill is the man I had to kill to get this shirt".....
Never figured out why they all worked against each other. Joe H
Too many people think it's a competition rather than a common goal. Having better management that treats everyone with the same respect makes a big difference.
That's a God Honest Truth. Worst consideration at the Dealers I had the presence of mind to leave was the hard set Specialization of Mechanics, Engine or Power train or Chassis and another in Electrical . Always bichin when someone else on the floor was slow on their specialty and was given 'Their' Work. Retarded, just retarded. At the Independent garage, mechanics were allowed to say NO on some work as they were paid by job. MOST often was when RVs rolled in as the Book Times did NOT exist for certain work so the Boss made the calls as to using GM 'P' van series on GM Chassis as well Ford or Chrysler's versions of Bread Trucks for the others, School Buses were allotted time against the base series and that was insanely LOW as were always Highly Modded from the Firewall back, NOBODY wanted those jobs unless REALLY Slow. State Inspections were to be Money Makers as only paid .4 of an hour where customers would get sideways angry as failed. Guys on the floor had to be cautious as to making ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN had measurements and specs to fail. Emissions were a guaranteed income as the owners would try the canned game tricks that never worked and could only re-inspect twice against those fails where State regs then required a Garage to repair and if still failed could Waiver. As an Independent on at Site Repairs close to where I had my truck based, My time Started as I left the House, stopped when rolled BACK into my house much as a Hauler or Wrecker Service used to do. If was a Real Distance out had a Base Rate 'Service Call' time regardless traffic or weather. Once at site time started as shut the truck off or opened a side box. Paid me for Availability, What I Knew as well as What could repair with hands. Witnessed a lot of guys try to get by Just on at site hours, lost a little every call and would end up closing out.
Every shop has it's politics whether dealer or independent, from the person at the top all the way down to the janitor if there is one. Actually 99% of business is that way and even worse when run by a family. There is always a fire starter in every shop, mr. rumor mill. As far as shop personnel having a common goal with owner/dealer that goes out the window too, It's all about the money and who is getting the Gravy jobs. * There is a Dirty Phart Smeller in every shop, every job site, every business. * It has nothing to do with positive or negative, it's just the way it is the way it rolls.
The best job i ever had was the leadhand mechanic at a public works shop in a small city. I had a lot of freedom to do things my way. Only had to deal with idiot operators occasionally
What really sucks is when the foreman or shop manager plays favorites to the brown nosers and snitches who think it makes them look better by pointing out other workers honest mistakes, less experience or that they were a minute slower to do a similar job. A-holes with a lot more experience knocking the new guys or others with way less experience showing off trying to impress everybody is another peeve.
I've found those guys are too busy to bother.
We have one of those here, I make it my mission to make loud noises up the chain of command when he makes a mistake, so the bosses who love him have to admit he has done wrong and isn't perfect. I find it hilarious, he doesn't lol.
He probably has a million excuses and tries to blame his mistakes on others.
it's like you have a camera on him, he always " gives people a chance to learn" by helping him, then when something goes wrong with his job, "well X helped with that job so he must of done that bit" the office joke is that you can hear the pages flipping over in his big book of excuses as he walks in to tell us why something is wrong
Had a ex boss like that, like a Sears Catalog!
There hasn't been much to report here the last 2 weeks. I'm on an emergency only status until I get them caught up on paying me. This is NORMAL towards the end of the year, so I'm not worried about it..........just the nature of the beast. I've been helping the wife out at the machine shop running parts. I do have a funny story that happened yesterday. Me and grandma watched my youngest granddaughter overnight on Saturday. She is 3.5 years old and is getting good at a lot of words and stringing them together at this point, but 50% of the time we aren't exactly sure what she is trying to say. We take her to Walmart with us and are fortunate enough to get a parking place right in front of the main door. I strap her into the shopping cart as she likes, we get our stuff, and check out. WE get through the front door and to the truck. I leave her strapped in the cart while we unload the groceries, and she is ready to get out of the cart before we are done. She starts talking, then it gets louder, she is struggling to get the retaining strap unfastened ........we aren't paying too much attention as we continue to put the groceries up. After about the 5th time she shouts, wifey looks at me and says "Is she yelling for help?!" YEP........plain as day "HELP"...."HELP ME!" Several passer byes are staring at us as they walk by wonder *** is going on. She isn't crying...she is just yelling "HELP" and staring people down. After we finished turning 5 shades of red and laughing..........I told the wife we are lucky we aren't being arrested.
There are two types of people over concerned or under concerned/knows everything or doesn't know squat. Then there's the third type the momma that's going to make everyone else's business hers and calls child protective services.
80% of CPS cases are dismissed John Hopkins just got a judgement last week of $211 million for trying to take away a kid. They also filed sa charges from that case last Friday. John Hopkins also has another civil suit coming up about a baby they tried to take away as well.
Lawsuit. That's f'n cute. Try to take my kid, or I would assume anyone else's on here. Lawyers and judges would have precious little to do with the end result.
I say that because this seems like one of the last bastions of REAL men.
That case was extremely bad, the jury was extremely pissed at the hospital and the judgment shows it. It was also a really bad case the mom of the child committed suicide over it because of the abuse from the hospital.
I know now somebody who's daughter had a stroke at 23 and a Dr. said she was a meth head and drug addict! She was an honor student and on the university deans list. It turns out she had a rare condition that made her more susceptible to strokes and the covid vaccine may have been a contributing factor. Regardless, it's probably a good thing the Dr. said it to the girls mom and her dad wasn't there. The Dr. may have been the one needing a Dr. Like another guy said, "If a Dr. said that about my kid I probably get arrested for assault but it would be worth it."
Fact is folks there are losers/quacks in every profession. Nothing above is new news.
friend had to go to local crappy hospital because of COVID almost killing him Doc told him and his wife “oh we have a drug that will help him immediately but we aren’t going to give it to him” If my wife had been that sick and knocking on death’s door like he was and a doctor said that to me we’d be having a wall to wall “medical discussion”
I find it interesting that every town/city in the U.S. has nothing but scary hospitals and doctors less capable than the local veterinary clinic according to most U.S. citizens.
Been worked on by the Classic Veterinarian's and Duck walking Quacks over my few decades of need, know them as see them anymore and walk WELL AWAY from interactions with them. Vets essentially destroyed my Lumbar spine with antique theories on treating, Quacks make comments I can readily see thru as when My Wife's choice for backaches Chiro tries to persuade her into Holistic Meds. Not met a Bone Cracker yet that was not creating MORE Damage than relief. Wife and I had "The Talk" speech a few weeks ago, as to removal of TV from Upstairs, NO Couch in front of Downstairs, no more buying Good Foods to see them rot as she prefers Crap or Junk Foods. Doc once explained, if comes in a bag or box throw it away or do not buy unless is basic bulk as flour or oats. Wife cannot break the sugar cycle nor can she see past "I am Doin Laundry" while sitting On her butt On the Couch watching TV as the machine runs while munching 'Better for you Pretzels' as a counter to tater chips. She cried, said needs to do some serious efforts to change, proceeded to go in and watch the repeats of last weeks repeat Jeopardy shows followed by 15 year old repeat crime drama shows she is addicted to.. I had a Doc visit yesterday, essentially my annual visit, blood draw, flu shot, bp back down to 132/78, pulse at 58, temp at 97.6(My Normal), 260lbs fully dressed with a coat on which is 12lb less than a month ago. Hands and feet ice cubes but have great pulse indications so blood flow is there. Wife was pizzy over the weight loss and the general positives from the visit. She gained what I lost and has had a increase in BP/cholesterol meds dosages trying to correct.
I have a few horror stories from hospitals and some where they treated me well. When I was moved into the cancer institute it was like going into the Ritz Carlton. All the people there really cared about you and would do what ever you asked without complaint and were happy to do it. Even things like bringing some ice chips at all hours of the day and night. I couldn't have asked for better care.
On this same topic involving Dr's. I'm dealing with something right now and my health is in the balance. My oncologist faxed a message to my urologist regarding suspending a trial drug I'm on in order to bring my levels up to where I could have surgery to repair my bladder so I won't have to self catheter. The drug is working as my cancer is in full remission but I have been off of it. It's been at least a month and no response at all from the urologist. I called and talked to his assistant who transfered me to a nurse who could "apparently explain it better". Of course I could only leave a message. What's to explain? The very least they should have done is respond to the fax and let my oncologist and myself know what's going on. If the surgery can't be done let me and I'll go back on the medication. I'd much rather have to use a catheter and be in remission than have the cancer come back waiting for a response. There's no excuse for it!
Have to agree, DR's are practicing Wife's Mother died of ovarian cancer at 87. She was in pain for some time and going to a oncologist regularly. Even asked the DR if it might be her ovaries and he said no, those things are dried up. About 3 years later in the emergency room they found the cancer.
My cancer Dr. is fabulous. The urologist is very odd and can be really condescending when talking to him. He acts like we're (my other half and me) just supposed to know everything. You're the specialist. If you can't or don't want to do the surgery fine, just let me know and I'll go back on the meds. It's very unprofessional not to respond to another Dr. over a pretty simple but important health issue concerning a patient.
Update* Well, not much is happening out of the ordinary with work. Wife just had knee replacement surgery this last Wednesday and I am home with her and her parents for a while. We planned this months ahead of time knowing this is usually a slow time of year for me............and its proved right. I'll be back at it fully after the holidays. I'm on emergency call only til then. Stay tuned, I'm sure more bs is coming lol.
Best wishes for the Mrs. Merry Christmas
I agree, Best wishes for recovery on ALL fronts, and have a Merry Christmas.
Wishing the Mrs. a speedy recovery. Merry Christmas to the two of you!
I guess your wife won't be spending much time at the shop for some months now. Hope she does better than my wife with that.
So has the bum knee slowed her down enough that you can catch her? You might have a Merry Christmas after all! Really though- Merry Christmas to you, and I hope her recovery goes well.
He may not WANT to catch her!!
A fellow from the next county over told me once you know why guys in cambria county take there wives with them. I said no he said there too ugly to kiss good by!
Wife is doing better so it's time to get back to work. Company hired a fleet manager named Alan. He told me back before Christmas that the company was getting a list together of the used equipment they wanted to sell. I asked about it yesterday and they still don't have one. He asked if I would stop making repairs until the list is issued to which I replied "I can't really do that. This is crap I've heard before and nothing has happened yet, so the equipment suffers." You know, I don't want to waste the company's money repairing things that may get sold but I can't sit around and not make service/repairs on things they are keeping. Something will have to give.
Maybe ask Alan for a list of must have equipment. So those get repaired and everything falls back on him if the piece is not on the list when it's needed
Good luck with all that. May be time to shift away from the company and allow nature to takes its course. Alan evidently is earning a paycheck to sit on his hands, don’t go down that rat hole growing under he and the rest of the management.
Just keep doing the machine down repairs as needed unless you feel it’s not worth fixing. His job is to get that list together so he should be able to give you some insight as to what machines are questionable. Worst they can do is fire you!
So business as usual, just a new bunghole to look at.
Depending on what repairs are needed it seems that even the machines they want to sell would be worth fixing because they could get more money for them. Especially if the repairs are noted in the maintenance of the machine or at least the sell sheet.
This is a never-ending fallacy. You never get the price of repairs out of something when you sell. Machines that are in need of work just sell as-is. The only people who can make up some or most of the investment in repairs are dealers, and that isn't always a reality.
It could be the difference between scrap price and getting something for a machine. Say something like a skid steer that had a new hydraulic pump for the loader hyd's. Might be a 5 or $600 repair, even $1000 but the machine works. Without a working pump the price drop would be a lot more than the cost of repairs. How do you check out the rest of the machine when you can't even start it. A starter could be another example of something that's worth spending the money to fix.
Having never worked at a large company, I assumed figuring out what stays, what needs replaced, and what goes is primarily the responsibility of the fleet manager. I understand someone higher up would set his budget, but if this isn't literally his job what is?
Glad to see you back at it. Just in time for some cool weather. Get you out of that warm shop to where the real work happens...
Your job is to fix things.. they tell u not to fix anything.. Grab a magazine on your way in, in the morning and sit in a chair reading your magazine.. I think you’ll know how to answer the question of, “what r u doing”.?? U do THAT for a few days and you’ll be turning wrenches in no time..
Just twiddling your thumbs with $$$$ signs in your eyes.
Eh, there's no $500-600 dollar repair on a skid loader . . . not even in parts alone. I am pretty sure is costs $500 - $600 just for me to pull mine into the shop and wash the windows. And a pump? $6,000 - $10,000 is probably more likely . . .
Bobcat St Louis labor rate is $130/hr as of last look. Local Ford dealer is over $90. Not gonna find a reasonable repair as under $1000, anything of severe need, hyd pumps, major welding or structures replacements well over the $4-6000 range. Renter had four never flat tires installed at Bobcat, tires alone $3800, then labor and extraneous small parts the bill totaled $4900 with no P&D. KE and Pete nearby shop rates are at $210/hr. Fabic Cat $175/hr
America needs to quit Pharting around with it's need for greed. All shop labor across the country should be minimum $400 an hr including lawn mowers. Minimum for shoveling the snow from sidewalk--$250 per 25' Cheapest apartment to rent $5,000 a month utilities not included. Harbor Freight needs to raise prices by 200%. * No more messing around--get your money and get it now no more good deals, got to get that greed going and keep it going don't let that drift away.
Okayyyyyyyyy............day before yesterday I get a text message from the new fleet manager Alan asking if I can get a better buy on a complete bucket cylinder for a Deere 210G. I said I'm sure I could, but I need to see the machine and the condition the cylinder is in currently. He told me the rod was bent and the cylinder was trashed. Yesterday I got to the jobsite, find the machine with the cylinder missing.......it's already been removed. Now I know what happened. I called the Deere dealer here and got the field service manager on the phone. He told me that Alan had called them to do the repair and bawked when told the price of a new cylinder ($7500). I asked him what had happened.........the rod wasn't bent........he said the gland bolts had come loose and they ran the machine until the piston packing failed then ran it more until it trashed the entire thing. Its now a contamination failure. He sent me these pics........ We then decided that we aren't going to let them get us competing with each other over the same job. Neither of us will warranty any cylinder going on this machine without a filter cart cleaning the oil........so, I am supplying the cylinder at a savings of $2K..........Deere will do the install and filtering with replacement of the hydraulic filters. There will be no warranty, but everyone is happy in the end. It's not the way either of us do business normally but the customer put us in this position. Now I have an agreement with Deere that whoever starts the job........finishes it.........no questions asked. I'm not sure if Alan is trying to put a feather in his cap or what. I do know that I have to attempt to make him understand that we can't do things this way. As someone said above...........it's a fleet managers job BUT, I believe a fleet manager should have some kind of concept about what it takes to maintain and repair equipment and be able to use that knowledge. Funny thing is.......he is making a list of equipment to sell off and hasn't asked anything about what condition any of it is currently in. I, the guy that knows, have not been asked 1 question......not 1.
When games as this start, start backing up EVERY job quote and charge. This is looking shadier and shadier.
And this surprises you why exactly.?
Oh that's great--total destruction-Gloom despair
Nearly 30 years ago we were looking for a dozer. A large govt agency was auctioning two D7-s so we went to the inspection. One was listed as operational and the other not. The fleet mgr was a real ***. After a couple hours, a mechanic was walking by so we asked him what he knew about the dozers. He told us the dozer being represented as scrap had been through the CAT dealer and had been completely rebuilt (no paint), and that the fleet mgr had swapped the bio-s on the two dozers. He produced the dealer paperwork later to prove what he said. He really hated his boss who was apparently retireing to a ranch he'd bought in Colorado and intending to take the scrap dozer with him. The auction was a sealed bid so we bid a little high and when the bids were opened the fleet mgr went ballistic. We ended up with a really cheap D7 that has only needed minor maintenance to this day.
Some days You Eat the Bear.
At this point your shocked by this I thought this is what fleet managers do make decisions based on there opion with no information or expertise
Yet has made no such decisions.
Not for a basic gear pump to run the bucket. A starter is well under $1000. Just saying some things are worth fixing before selling a machine.
Don't know how many times I've said it on here-----prerequisite for a service writer/shop manager/ fleet manager/sales manager is being able to lie like a cheap rug. The bate & switch been going on for---well ever. For every honest guy there are three connivers, easy to see/spot one, his lips are moving but the audible verbiage is coming from his ***, his eyes are close together like a Diamond Back, and in some extreme cases he has a nose reel mounted on his chest. * One of the rottenest things I ever witnessed was working 6.9-7.3's at a dealer for about 5 months. Friday afternoon I was finishing up and saw this 88 F150 4X4 being pulled into the transmission bay first post lift. This truck had a running issue with drive train noise. Then I see a brand new 89 Bronco off the lot pulled into the second post lift. Transfer cases were swapped and the brand new Bronco went back out on the new lot.-----Fraud--about as low down as it gets. * I worked another week and loaded my stuff and left, no reason for me to be working in a sorry *** place like that. * When it comes to money involved, depending on the amount the high percentage will fold and take the low road. Self respect can be bought off at the drop of a hat.
Well, maybe in 1995 or something . . . $900 for the starter for my CTL, and I am pretty sure by the time Vtech installs it we are not going to be well under $1000 . . .
And if you were selling that skid steer without a working starter you wouldn't lose more than the cost of the starter? I bought a very desirable Red Face Lincoln welder for $600. It needed a carb and what the seller didn't know was the mag seal leaked and filled the mag with oil. I spent $800 fixing it. Seller even knew where to take it. Had they paid the $800 to fix it could have sold it for at $2500 and probably more. Several pipeliners looked at but because it didn't run never made an offer. The seller just wanted to sell it. Non running Red Faces have sold for $1000 or more. It's no different with heavy equipment. If you can't at least start it you're going to get a lot less than if it ran and could be tried out. If it's a POS might not matter as much but we're talking about machines that have some life left in them.
Well LOL......here we go yet again. Alan called me yesterday and let me know that the company is putting out another ad to hire a mechanic on payroll..........asked if I was interested. I told him it was going to be impossible to hire what they really need because of the lack of a decent shop facility and literally zero tooling available. The last 2 hires they made lasted less than 1 week...............it's going to be more of the same unless some major things change to attract that type of experienced mechanic. He was fishing for me........I could tell by the conversation. He then said that him, the company owner, and the current president would like to have a meeting with me next week. I said "Sure!" Unlikely I believe it will go anywhere but I get to give them a picture of where they SHOULD be and how far behind the curve they are. The pool of possible hires is so small, and with the current facilities, lack of tooling, and theft issue.........NO WAY anyone with heavy experience will be interested. Let's review real quick. 1. Shop is approximately 40' X 60"..........half is used as storage (concrete saws, quickie saws, tampers, a full wall truck tire rack, 2 pallets of DEF, 2 rebuilt diff's for the trucking company on pallets, 2 of the owners jet-skis on a trailer, and right now....the pressure washer on a trailer due to the freezing weather). 2. What is left in shop space has 2 overhead doors on 2 different walls. Only one area can I have something down more than 2 days. The other is the main door so equipment on the storage side can be moved in and out. Thats very little to work out of on anything major. 3. 60%+ of the equipment will not go completely into the building. That equipment has to be repaired outside or in the field, and as you know, weather conditions sometimes prevent anything getting done on those. 4. Everyone and their dog has access to the shop. Supplies and tooling disappear regularly. I have had several things of my own (light plants, shop vac, a/c vac and much more) leave the building to never be seen again. 5. Any tooling they had has been stolen or misplaced. The type of employee they really need would have to come from a dealer, an experienced self-employed, or a bigger contractor. With the above alone I think will be enough to dissuade most if not all. What they could possibly hire is someone that wants to learn, maybe. It will be interesting next week for sure.
They are deep trolling trying to find a bargain with a huge net. Sorry bub this just is not a Good Thing.
40x60 is pretty small shop, for what they have for a equipment list. What's the split between you and dealer work? You do half of it, or less? Does someone else do the trucks? Or does that go to the dealer also? Is the old man involved still? or is it all the kids now? Really, even if they hire someone, I doubt it will change your work for them. Looks like there is plenty to do. Do they have a "service" truck for the mechanic?
I do 75% Yes, but he is part timing it. Yes, but it wasn't designed well. It would work for most cases.
75 X 100
If they want to hire you shoot for the moon, who knows you may get it. Include thing like list or stolen tool replacement They have to give you power on what you want to do....etc
75 X 1000
Don't need any bigger than that, too big it turns into a place to hide broken crap. Plus you would need a golf cart to get from one end to the other and would end up obese .
I agree 75x100, with a Separation area just for that Public Access Zone, where Mechanics will remain within a Secure area.
Ide love to have a golf cart though lol
Uhh what a **** show. I interviewed with a place like that. Wages were not great especially for what they wanted, the shop sucked like this one, full of contractor tools so anyone and everyone comes in and out, unrealistic expectations on repair times, absolutely no tooling except what the mechanic brings, workers always trying to bum tools, (some of this info came from a contractor I met later about why they had no mechanics). Brought up what I saw during the interview and they said take it or leave it like they had a line of applicants. Last I heard they’d been through 2-3? mechanics in 6 months.
A 40x60 might work for the time being if just for repairs. Do you think they would build a storage building or even buy some seacans to get all the other crap out of the shop? Maybe rent some more space? The Jet Ski's should be the 1st things to go.
Agree but .... really
I bet the jet ski's are the last thing to go . . .
A local to me contractor built a nice new shop. I was over there shortly after it got finished, and the mechanic was out in the yard working on something. Shop had the owners camper and boat filling both bays.
If the owner can afford toys, he should be able to afford to upgrade his shop/storage facilities.
Nothing odd about that, typical.
My own TINY Shop is a Stored **** DISASTER.
You make more in the state of Montana working for yourself than for employer due to state taxes on wages. Maybe start a LLC and go that route.
40x60 is not big enough for the average at home gear head let alone an industrial shop. That place you describe is very similar to the out fit I worked at for 10 years with piddly pay too boot. The shop had no large bay door for many years and zero heat for the same years, in the winters when I was stuck at shop duty, when it got really cold my work days were very short, had to get out of the cold. It sounds to me they need people that have their own shops and can do some of the work. During my years of employment I couldn't stand driving to work, working with some of the other employee's, having to do the job their way, and at their shop. Every place I have worked seem to never have the right stuff to work with, and sometimes its simple stuff like bolts and washers etc., or a block of wood.
Wish my 30x48 was 40x60, would have been NICE with a 16’ inside ceiling and 14T doors.
Anything road legal that doesn't require an oversize permit will fit in a 14' high door. Still is nice to have an even bigger/wider door.
Both my buildings have 14 high doors. Shop is 30x48 with 20ft wide single door. Barn is 40x64 with two 16ft wide doors
Prefer roll up doors on my shop. Less rodent intrusion, insulated and somewhat seal at edges so stays warm or cool longer without HVAC. Requires at minimum 14-16” of clearance to get the roll curve to lay out. Extra height for that. My shop 12’4” with a 10’T roll up. Too low.
Thursday at 3 pm.....oh joyyyy
Lucky you!
Put your suit and tie on.
Don't forget to wear clean underwear.
I'm wondering if I should take my own Vaseline or let them supply the lube.
Could you count on them to remember to bring the lube?
Hell I’m kind of slow right now. If they want to spend an enormous amount of money, I’ll come up and spend a couple weeks helping out.
Lube? better make sure there's no sand around anywhere.
Don't see any reason to even think about that, they need you more then you need them
Get flavored lube in case you have to tell them to kiss your ***.
I can't wait to hear about this meeting. Should be interesting as usual.
Me Too!!
I'm going to take some pics of the shop and yard to take with me tomorrow. I will post them here this evening. Tell me if you would work under the same conditions...................and what price would it take to do so.
Just to show you some things about working conditions and space available....... The first pic is the south door....the main shop door which is in the middle of the 60 foot width of the building. The second pic is of the shop west end. Completely useless. That is a 12x12 overhead door
This is the only other overhead door, same size as the south door. The other 2 pics are of things in the way outside of that east door. Not a lot of maneuvering room. Heaven forbid I have to get something like a motor grader inside through here.
My only indoor working area that I can have a machine down for any length of time that I may need for a repair. I usually keep this area spotless.........but as you can see, its been abused in the last month......dam sure not by me. In the background you can see a small supply room. I have cleaned and organized it twice in the last 6 months. Look at the mess now due to everyone having access. I have given up on being everyone's house maid. Doesn't matter what I do, it ends up the same way. The good thing is when I clean up this mess..........I charge the same as equipment repair.
Less than 24 hours now til the big reveal. I bet the applicants are going to line up in droves to work for these people on payroll.
Haha, know your worth buddy
What, no side x sides. Alan directly or indirectly called/suggested this meeting to push his termination further down the road. There's no way to repair chaos unless you can control the source which is nearly an impossibility with operations like the one you describe. A first step would be taking over Alan's job if you can find some help, and even then, it's still a losing proposition unless the field foremen will work with you to reduce the damage. That's assuming the owner is willing to invest heavily in the shop instead of a new boat. Every time I've done something like this I've regretted it. The solution I came up with is never again without an option to buy the business. There's no other way to recover your investment.
That is 99.9% more indoors than I get to work in.
There's non relevant crap taking up at least 25% of the shop that I can see. It's probably more though. The shop is what a farm might have that has 6 or 7 machines but would still have bigger doors. Looks like a big cement pad outside. Could be a good spot to expand the shop and put in a bigger door(s). I know an auto repair shop on an acreage near my property. He had a 30x50 shop and added a 40x60 to make kind of a 90 deg. building. Other than a fairly small tool cage, that can be locked, for larger shop tools and a couple work benches, the 40x60 is the repair shop and the 30x50 is where other stuff and his toys are kept. Vehicles awaiting work or parts are moved outside but vehicles are much easier to move around than construction equipment. The shop this company has compared to the number of equipment they have is puny. They should have a shop big enough to fit 3 graders in side by side with enough room to comfortably work on them at the same time. It should also be big enough for smaller equipment to be earned on at the same time. 60x100 maybe?
Another thread maybe me think about a motorcycle repair shop I know. Two M/C lifts side by side in a single car bay in an old service station. Maybe 14' wide with a rolling tool box on 1 wall leaving about a 12 1/2' wide work area. Just enough room to walk around the lifts let alone work on anything. Put a quad on 1 of the lifts and it overhangs giving even less room. It makes the shop you have to work in look like the Boeing assembly plant! The owners trying to sell the business and shop. I think anybody smart would see the shop is extremely inadequit.
Looks like there is enough ceiling height to replace doors with taller ones
The shop doesn't make money . . .
Neither does broken equipment. Joe H
Sure can save money. Use girl math
So as stated above the shop doesn't make money and it shows the way its treated the idea that will be pitched by most people is that if you build it they will come field of dreams style shop so dropping a million or 2 to build a great place to work out of would work but the people running this outfit cannot equate the ROI nor do they know what to build and how to set it up. The other approach is that ownership could roll up there sleeves clean up company culture and attract a well rounded group of guys and develop a maintaience program and build a working shop from the ground up Neither one will happen this company will continue to flounder around like a wounded animal until a bad contract or a recession or just a plain hemerage of cash spent keeping iron on jobs that can't run long enough to make money takes them out or ownership gets bought out by investors until then it will be buissness as usual
If they offer you 500k I’m in as your helper for 250k lol. Give me a call when you’re done there I need to hear the dirty details!!
That's because----they are type that shower in the morning.
No one cares enough to put anything away in the shop or yard. I’m not babysitting or hand holding them through their responsibilities. Management clearly doesn’t care so why would the employees. Am I close? I’d take one look and nope the **** out of there, no amount of money could entice someone who values their time unless they were desperate. I bet that person would bail as soon as most anything else came up too.
I guess it's a good thing they shower at this point
Lol.!!!! Reminds me a the one about: What’s the difference between a surgeon and a mechanic.!! A mechanic wash’s his hands BEFORE HE PEEs.!!!
U might be worrying about nuthin.. They might hand u yer walk-in papers.?? If that happens, don’t leave w/o getting paid 1st.
Having a mini-fridge and microwave is the deal maker for me Oh, wait, no coffee pot, never mind
8 hours til D-Day. I'm expecting more of the same ol same ol. I'm curious how many applicants I'll have to wade through to get to the office door. I might get beat up..........kind of like the Black Friday days of old when a store first opens. If I don't post in 24 hours, you all just know that I've been trampled to death. I'm going to miss you guys! LOL
You should start out with the first 4 hours of every day will be putting things back that employees didn't care to and cleaning up after them.
That was the theme I heard from the reginal manage for the place I worked. Deleted the rest of this post as I realize it was just a bunch of crap from a sleep deprived guy, I'll try to not do it as much in future.
Meeting postponed until 10:30 am Tuesday next week. Good thing...........I wasn't really in the mood today. Seems Alan fell ill and went home.
Stress-related.?
I wouldn't doubt it. All I know is he is an older fella and seems nice..............other than that I don't know anything about him or his qualifications. I was putting some major thought into this whole thing this morning. The pool of qualified journeyman class techs to hire from is so small here. Anything outside of that isn't what they need. The facilities, organization, and tooling aren't there to attract qualified personnel so what do you attempt to hire? They can get Joe-Blos .......maybe, but that hasn't worked in the past. I talked with the Asphalt division general super this morning. They still plan on me doing all the paving equipment repairs as usual. That can't really happen if the dirt side was to put me on fulltime...............I can't have more than one fulltime job. I believe this is going to be more about me letting them know how far they are behind the curve and what it would take to move in the right direction. Its way more than just a single hire. Leaving there after this meeting, I feel it will remain the same as it has been as far as me. I will continue doing what I have been doing and billing them accordingly. I see no other way anything else works in the company's current format.
Never to return ? Joe H
Well, this thread is over two years old now, and it seems like this drama has occurred in some form at least two or three times in that time. It's not going to change. Same show, new season . . .
Don't be messing with my soap
Same cast same context getting abused.
I think they should give me a decent budget to work with and let me do my thing. I'll hire my own people, get my own parts, and set up shop...........hmmm........$3 mil a year to start? Thats $250K a month...........perfect.
Eh, pretty sure our Hero takes care of himself pretty well . . .
What a waste of clean underwear!
Well.........its almost that time. Do you guys really want the details tonight? I'm sitting outside the building in my truck waiting on the time to go by lol
I hope yer clocking this time.?? They should be paying u seeing THEY called the meeting.. You don’t have to hand them an invoice, just add 30 minutes to each invoice.. Hope it works out in YOUR FAVOR.!!
Tonight hell, I want a parking lot update when you leave. Joe H
Just push “record” on your phone and upload it to utube.. That way we could, “leave your comments below”..
Dah, YES
Probably ended up postponed again....
I'm thinking news at 11 or party till dawn
Vetech right now . . .
He's not worried about the gun. He's horrified at the pic. in front of him. Several filthy machines needing work and no room to put them in the shop.
OK.....apparently the flu bug is running through the office, so the president and the owner were out. I met with Alan, showed pics of the shop and yard, discussed needs, and asked where they want to be heading. He has only been there since October this last year so even he didn't have the answers I was looking for. He seemed to agree with my difficulties getting things done considering the circumstances, but he did tell me they felt I had been doing great so far and had no complaints. He told me they were very serious about putting me on fulltime......I would be a working field tech/shop and field work manager type. He also said that he would like to see 2 more mechanics fulltime, but under my supervision. He also wants me to train individuals as best I can. He said also that he has had 2 applicants for their ad. 1 doesn't have enough experience, the other has just moved here from California and has some experience. He is going to give him an in person interview next week I believe. He wanted me to give him some numbers, what it would take to get me there, which I declined. I told him I needed to do a little research on my end to come up with those. I am supposed to meet with all 3 of them sometime next week. I shook his hand and went on about my business after 45 minutes or so. Now......my feelings are this. I'm not scared of the work as I've had to work hard my whole life for everything I have. I have no issue passing on my experience and knowledge to others under me. I have no issues with any of the company personnel. I have no issues with the equipment...........so in that respect I'm good. What worries me about this type of situation is the youngest son taking this company over. The old man is almost at full retirement. If this was him...............Ide do this in a heartbeat because I know I could trust him. He built the business from the ground up and understands what it takes. He has never questioned me or anything I have done for them......but he won't be calling the shots moving forward. The son is a bean counter and those types I have had difficulty with in the past. He has no idea what it takes to maintain anything. He just looks at profit, expenses, and loss. I would not feel very secure under his command. That being said, would it be worth a try? Maybe........if I can get the support I would need. I told Alan I would need 3 years to train someone to be half-ass efficient.......and the training would be wasted if they cheap shot employee raises like they have in the past. You have to take care of your employees because if you don't there is always something better out there. I had an old man I worked with for 3 years before I went self-employed at 27 yrs old. I had told him I was thinking about making the jump to self-employment, that I needed more than just a job. His words of advise to me were "If you don't try, you will never know. You can always go back to doing what you were doing before." It's something I've never forgot. Stay tuned............more coming next week.
I won't ever punch anybody's clock again. At least not if I could help it . . .
Can you be in on the interview for a potential helper(s) for yourself? You only get 1 chance at a 1st impression. Would suck if they hired someone that didn't mesh with you. As far as being an employee, it might be a lot more headaches and you'd be stuck. I'd want some things in writing and guarantees that things they say will be done actually get done. This would apply whether you were an employee or kept doing things the way you are.
They can't afford you, by yourself, not to mention trying to learn snot-nosed wannabees the trade. I think the writing is on the wall. When you give them a logical number from your standpoint, they are going to lose their collective **** right there on the floor. To be expected to maintain a fleet this size, AND spend half your time training new guys? You couldn't manage this task if you had a guy of your caliber under your supervision. When you tell them $250k per year, and a secretary, well...........
If u went full time with them, how would it impact your “other” customers.?? U know as well as I do, when something is broke, if 1 guy is busy, they keep trying until they reach someone who’s not..
Cannot say have not been in this predicament, but each has its own merits and pitfalls. My own started fine, lasted a few months turned to poo on a plate being handed back. Look at all the conditions, conditional concerns, the first is untested bean counter which tends to be bad. I had to draw my conclusions out on a pad of paper that became the tell. Once I had it all before me I walked away. Will state it again, each circumstance is different while the same, do your measures and weights, don’t cheat the numbers.
Good thoughts fellas........keep them coming. I want to make sure I have thought of every scenario and have all the possible information. It has its pros and cons for sure. I'll attempt to answer some of your questions later.......right now I'm mentally drained from the day.
That's something else BIG to consider. If the whole predicament is mentally draining you, you may have to consider giving them an ultimatum that unless things are greatly improved your time with them is limited. It's just not worth it if you're dreading what you'll find everytime you go there in the morning.
How many pieces of equipment to oversee/repair, I had 130 trailers and 65 tractors, never saw 6 figure money, I worked 6.5 days a week and after hours, if they offered 100,000--well I don't know a mechanic worth 100k----their not brain surgeons. That ought to start some pi$$in and moaning---people are getting a little to big headed about their worth.
Ultimatums sometimes don't achieve the desired result. The only way this will keep rolling down Ve's road is if he can convince the boss(es) that he's a better deal than the dealer, but that's not the only problem. What is definitely going to come into play is IF, and that's a BIG one, IF Sonny-boy is even interested in keeping this ship at sea. He may very well wake up one morning and decide to make a few calls, and by the next day he's the only one getting a paycheck. Ve could very well have kept this train on two wheels for just long enough to facilitate this. I hate typing it, but I think it's more probable than most want to believe.
Lemme ask u.. Where are your tools.?? There.?? On your truck.?? Do u plan on leaving a box THERE.?? U already stated anybody and their brother can walk in.. If ur the only one straightening up the place, what r u going to do with the “dead weight” that’s already there.?? U see how they treated your previous attempts at cleaning and organizing..!! R they gonna tell u to pound sand, and quit.?? THAT leaves u with that much more work.!!
If you’re good with the BS and looking to ease your way out of running your business might be worth the gamble. Have a buddy who ended up in a very similar position but once the leadership officially changed over the new guy wanted to make a name for himself and my buddy got his walking papers. Guy is a good mechanic and mentor too, so they lost a lot there and he had to figure out what to do. He’d planned on retiring with them.
.
Ah known as a dirty phart smeller not a smart feller.
If you’re good with the BS and looking to ease your way out of running your business might be worth the gamble. Have a buddy who ended up in a very similar position but once the leadership officially changed over the new guy wanted to make a name for himself and my buddy got his walking papers. Guy is a good mechanic and mentor too, so they lost a lot there and he had to figure out what to do. He’d planned on retiring with them.
If it's already hard to find decent mechanics in the area, Vetech has a big advantage. If he were to leave, the company could be in big trouble with no one experienced enough to fix their equipment and keep it running. That could affect their projects being completed on time. A dealer couldn't drop everything to work on their equipment. Having even a few requests fulfilled could go a long way to making sure Vetech sticks around at least a little longer. It has to be extremely frustrating for Vetech. Making him an employee might make it worse.
Have them offer the salary and benefits, don't give them a number first.
I'd agree with that but only if he wants to be an employee. Would they try to control him more as an employee and make him work when he wants time off, or dictate what he works on, etc.??
This all sounds great and wonderful to have them hire guys to work under you and you can teach them as they go along but you really need to read back over all your past posts about the terrible helpers they have had in the past. Right now it’s easy to sit and judge just how bad they are and have a laugh but just wait until you are responsible for the bad help you get and that big pile of stinky ***** runs down on your head. When you get home feeling like you have somehow failed you will soon want out and that means all the way out. This also means the end of the gravy train. Sorry. Just my 2 cents.
That's why it's best if he has some say in who's hired and is involved in the interview process.
If you have been self employed for 30 plus years why on earth would you want to go back to a w2 employee and why would you want to be under the thumb of Alan Today you could walk away from that customer and do other things and it wouldn't affect your buissness the way shutting it down to go on their payroll will They want to put you on payroll to lower there cost and be able to directly control your hours and that's not ro limit your hours it's to tell you to work all night to get it going. I have no doubt that they can hire decent help and that with time you cam train them better than most but the culture of that outfit is not going to change because management doesn't want to leave the office and develop it. I don't think at your age I would want to put on my supper man cape and stand in front of this train that is just a lot of heart ache and if you go on payroll you will probably make less than you are and not have near the options to simplify your life if they get stupider than they are
Been thinking on this since last night. Give the client a chance to make the offer, think on it a few days but do not jump just because feel owe them of is a potential to single shop work. If are Anxious enough to gain a reputable full time mechanic leave them look for that while you maintain as a spot repair tech earning the moneys are currently. Education is always hard earned but beat remembered and they sound as need that lesson. They want to argue expenses let them chase out other road techs to learn that lesson as well. If they have no business being in business let the company falter, cannot save them all.
Yes Vetech--definitely don't go back down that low life road of a W2 employee--why look at what happened to me just a low life truck mechanic filing a W2 each year. Being a employee is about as low as you can get, so take my advise stay in the 2% club.
Not at this time, unless I'm on board first before they hire someone. Oh, I'm sure that will be the case. When I have a number, I will stand by it..........non negotiable. Between dirt and asphalt.........over 150 All of the equipment and tooling would be sold to the company. That has already been stated. I could either dissolve my business........or mothball it. I brought that and other things up. I was told I could lock it down like Fort Knox. Having someone at the shop fulltime would eliminate a lot of those issues. This is pretty much the case.....at least in this area. The other advantage is they know me and what I do. It's not like I haven't been around forever anyway. Possibly, but they give me a tremendous amount of freedom as a contractor as far as how repairs are done. I've been given the impression that the scope of what I do wouldn't change.....but who really knows.
All great points guys. I just have to weigh the pros and cons and see if it somehow balances out to my advantage. I have a few very short years of continuing turning the wrenches. At some point, I have to consider where I will be at that particular time...........and consider getting out of my own business at the right time, but still be able to work past my mid-60's. This business is me, and me alone. There is no continuing it after I am done. It's about determining when that time is right, and I have the most value. I'm not getting any younger here. There are other advantages I haven't spoke of yet but could be lucrative outside of working for them. Thats where my financial future would lye moving past 65 or earlier. I still think me working as a contractor and staying off payroll would be the better way to go right now. Sell them the assets and keep me as contract labor. That would be ideal situation moving forward.
How old are you? Selling tools is probably a good idea I just feel like you will regret getting rid of them as it limits your opportunities after employment with this company. Lease them out to them so they have another reason to keep you happy
If you choose to accept an offer from them, you could have a contract term. Ask for a 2 or 3 year guaranteed term, if you want to work that much longer. Perhaps you could include a buyout clause if they decide to go in a different route. Wouldn't be bad to get paid $75k/yr for remainder of contract if they decide they don't want/need you any more.
Think of this as an opportunity to get some fresh air and breathe a little. Good pay, good benefits, not killing your body and training some kids to do good work. Only question is, will this job be there when you’re ready to retire. I found that it’s easier to just work for someone than always gunning for more. I certainly got after it for 25 years, now I’m comfortable just being told what they want and do it, go home have a nice dinner and RELAX. As long as they respect you, treat you right and no ********.
All impending BS aside, if you went on the payroll wouldn't that boost your SSI income as well? Don't know how self employment and 1099 contributions work. Always worked for The Man or on the cuff.
If they hire someone to work with you or under your supervision, it seems bizarre not to include you in the hiring process. They need you regardless if you're an employee or contractor. What do they know about repairing equipment? You and only you could tell if a potential employee could be a good fit and if their skills match what it says on their resume. You could weed out the wanna be's with the overly enhanced resumes. What happens if they hire someone who won't listen or take direction from you and just wants to do their own thing?
Don't forget if you sell your stuff you might have capital gains problems
My .0002 haven't read everything but here's what I think being in a similar situation working as a contractor with my own equipment with my main customer who then bought newer equipment than I ran and offered me a job to run it, didn't even discuss pay I declined. You are costing them too much as a contractor, they like your work but are cheap want to lower costs. That means hiring you as an employee of course they will promise you the world but everything will change especially the dynamic with you as an employee you won't be treated the same under more control. You will also not have the advantage as a business owner of tax write offs on equipment and tools on your income and get wacked $$ as a W2 employee not make nearly the same. Hard pass. And here is the funny part I told them the 3 specialty trucks they bought 2016 models for $500k will work great for 6 months then start doing a poor job as they wear and parts fail. Sure enough a year went by they called me back as a contractor and everyone of those trucks is broken and does a poor job or is completely down. This equipment is constant breakdowns I basically have always told them I am a mechanic first then a driver. Not even the local dealer can fix them he's never been factory trained let alone their service guys.
We all know that's the game that they are playing, but why would they think he would even consider going W-2? I've been floating this comment around ever since this fiddle-faddle about the higher-ups being concerned began. The notion that they even think there is a number that Ve would consider is ludicrous. They have been writing him checks for well over 5 years. They know what he is banking working as a sub. We all know what they are striving for. To lock VE in as their sole repair man, at a reduced rate of pay from what he has been billing. Yes, I know, Captain Obvious. But, their thoughts are offer to pay so much per month, quarter, whatever, and he doesn't have to worry about anything besides showing up and fixing. No more service truck to keep up, no more fuel bill, no more paperwork, on and on. But, here's the problem. What they think VE is going to be willing to accept, and what that number might actually be are probably 6 digits apart. They are NOT just buying a man, they are buying Blue Sky. A business. And businesses don't come cheap.
It's a trap and they like his work but not what it costs. Some people in management know what he makes and it's much more than they make and they are trying to significantly lower it. They will treat you differently as an employee under complete control vs a contractor that can tell them pound sand as he can get other business. I'd run.
Run from what?? The gravy train? Somehow I get the feeling that VE enjoys this place, and his part in it. Why would he still be there 6 years later? Or, is it a matter of survival? Could he really be as successful without these guys? Somehow that seems unlikely the more this saga drags on....................otherwise why so much deliberation? Probably because VE likes the drama, hmmmmmmm
Run from taking a job as an employee. He has it good now but if they work a deal he becomes an employee he can never go back to being a contractor with them if it doesn't work out or they don't keep their promises. Too each his own many variables some people shouldn't be in business for themselves and they don't like risk want a steady paycheck and some don't make good employees like playing politics and should be in business to earn what they are worth.
I came to the conclusion a long time ago that VE doesn't need this contract or any other for that matter. He likes what he does, likes the drama and makes good money on it.
And if he's going to punch a clock along with trying to beat the stupid out of newbies, he's going to get at least as much as he gets now, or more.
I think VE is mostly just frustrated with the way they do things and not having a big enough shop or a too cluttered shop to work in. He's obviously making good money off them. Being an employee could give the company a fixed amount they pay him each week/month. Not necessarily less money than he's making. I think it could depend on how the contract was written. Maybe VE could negotiate a 40 hour week (or less) and overtime after that and only for real emergencies. There's too many unknowns until he talks to them.
Will the extra headaches be worth it is the question?? That's why he really needs to be involved if they hire someone to help him.
Does the company still have a fuel and lube truck that just sits? That's where they need to start. Get someone out there doing PM and looking for problems. @Vetech63 I'm assuming the same trust issues preclude you bringing someone on? Train someone up for a few years and sell the entire business to the company when you're ready to quit.
Been nothing but bad feelings here as well. See all too much repeat concerns that I went thru decades ago, would not care to repeat them Myself again. A Great Deal of respect for those that are making it as Independent Tradesmen. I tried I failed as do roughly a third of us wrench swingers trying to make our own business. Some times just happens and runs out really good, others slog along and manage to make a great living. Others again try to enter wrong time wrong economics or economic region. Not for sissies or weak minded. Stepping back across the mark to work as someone’s employee was ego crushing but did OK, managed to find upgrade positions and stepped out of the business as remained a frustrated not making enough where spending too much on basic tooling mechanic to do as much as could in as many directions as could to make that elusive big money on a payroll that never existed. Local Inde needs help here, offered me a truck with some specialty equipment but never stated money. Finally pushed hard to see if would jump, looked straight at him and said $125/hr to 40, then double time. Then repeated do not waste my time on this. He has stopped offering, I never intended to go back to severe service work.
If the man was really that frustrated he would have either set his conditions or walked away a long time ago. That's what independant guys do.
Really vetech - is wasting his time in repair work. He should be nominated for best leading actor and director of a soap opera. * You guy's are like a bunch of women setting around in a laundry mat back in the 50's/60's discussing what's happening on the Edge of Night with a hanky in hand. * Vetech--you need to rename your thread the {Cutting Edge of Bulldozer}.
I think his allegiance to the company stems from his years working for the father. I’ve talked to him and what’s lost in posts on here vs talking in person is the humor and laughter in his voice. He knows they won’t pay him what it would take, he’s aware of how hard it is to find people. In his mind, and this is me making assumptions, if he can squeeze a strong number out of them for a couple years until he’s ready to retire that gives him a reasonably solid number to plan with. Also, if they buy him out lock stock and barrel then that headache is gone as well when the time comes. There are headaches with them or any other business regardless of 1099 or W2. One ain’t any better than the other, it’s a personal choice. He’ll have to work hard and continue dealing with the daily drama and BS either way. Hell I could be 100% wrong too, wouldn’t be the first time! lol I’m in the same boat, my biggest customer is constantly asking me how much for my shop and how much a week salary. Sure it’s a way to control some costs but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I did give him a number and it’s essentially what I make after I pay all my business related bills plus some blue sky. Also I’d probably owner carry the shop so I’d make a tidy chunk of interest as well. If I did that right I could hang it up in 10 years or so if I wanted to. Who knows!!
Also reminds me of that Andy Griffith episode to see who gossiped more
He's still making decent money and is getting close retirement. If it was 10 years ago he might have said enough is enough.
Next meeting next Tuesday at 2 pm. Just can't wait! Let's change the subject for a minute or 2...........let's play "Dumb **** moves." Just when I thought I had seen everything......something new comes along that just has you thinking "***?!" Got a call over a week ago about a Broce broom that would not start. I didn't have time to look at it at that moment, so the super put in a new battery. Next morning he called again........no start, no electric anywhere. He jumper cables it, starts and runs all day. He decided that the new battery they put in was defective, so he goes and gets another. He again has to jump start it with a new battery, runs all day again. He calls me saying "I don't think it's the alternator. It just doesn't make sense.....I'm frustrated.......when can you get here?" I go up there yesterday and find...... HMMMMM........that's a new one!
Nope--had a shop on the road install a battery in a refer unit---------------------.
Seen more than once, cannot fix No Mechanical sense without a Hammer. To the knothead.
This is exactly why need warning signs saying not to drink the antifreeze!
Sadly Yes.
Darwin didn't anticipate those signs. Joe H
Yep, nope, not commenting on this, nope ,yep ,nope. Are you as dumb as that FU*KING ROCK OVER THERE.
What a maroon.
Hey come on guys, he was just making sure there would be no corrosion in the future around the terminal.
OMG.!!! I “thought” I’ve seen it all.!!! Lol
Did he at least get the red terminal cover off?
I've heard about people doing that, now I have seen actual evidence of it
Darwin didn't realize how fast the idiot would reproduce and evolve. Ed
I have to admit to doing that one time. Put the red, the jumper (24v), and the last negative wouldn’t fit. I felt pretty stupid when I looked at it. My old boss said “ it’s only a mistake if someone else finds it”. That’s why you always test your work. Cam
I got to repair an issue that wasn't someone else's screw up yesterday......seems rare now days. Bomag BW211 D50 goes down right in the middle of a compaction run on an airport runway job. Super said it just died right there and naturally the park brake sets. They can't move it so it's an emergency. First thing I do is open the hood up and remove the battery cover. I see a new alternator has been installed very recently, and not by me. There isn't enough electrical power to start the machine, so I have to jump it. I get it started to find the alternator isn't working, so they ran the machine so low on electrical power that it finally quit. I check the battery wire on the back of the alternator to find no power............so I go back to the battery box and open up the main fuse link panel. Sure enough, the 125-amp link for that alternator feed is burned out. I don't have one on the truck for this machine that fits, but I do have one for the older machines that I modified to work. Installed it, but it fried as soon as I started the machine. I unhooked the lead from the back of the alternator and checked the lead........still grounded so I know there is a wiring problem. I started at the battery terminal ends and started working my way towards the alternator. I found it pretty quick once I knew what I was looking for...... Just a rub through on the alternator positive cable right where it goes through the mainframe. Simple fix..........everything else works as it should when there is power available. It was a nice little break from chaos
Since it was an emergency I hope you got an 8 hour day out of it.
Same old,same old again from upper management. Nothing really changes. They will survive or fail with or without Vetech.No one man is bigger than the company. I’m suprised they’re still in business and not gone bankrupt.There’s time yet though as the recession is biting more on a daily basis. They clearly have zero intrest or respect for Vetech and that’s only going to get worse as the son gets a grip and the recession grinds on. Vetech,they are just paying you lip service friend.If you’re happy with that,then that’s fine.They pay you on time,but they pay you too much (in their opinion). Just consider for a moment this………you sell your tools to them,you negotiate a 6 figure pay check (you won’t) and your new apprentices are brilliant,you get out of all the hassle of running you’re own business,and you decide it’s better to just clock on every day.Life is good? Then,you find out at 4pm on Friday night,they have gone to the wall….. Did I mention that you’ve allready spent/invested the money you got from selling your tools/livlehood? Be careful buddy. I hope things work out for you sometime in this century!!
I'd disagree that wasn't somebody else's screw up. You don't really think they tested the charging voltage after installing the new alternator, do you? Maybe that's a mid level screw up, even an "acceptable" screw up with this outfit, but it's completely a swing and a miss. Just not up to the impossibly high standards for screw ups you've set with this thread
But it does look just like Mountain Dew....
wow
Yea! heard a story from a guy who worked at our plant for a couple years about some guy he worked with who for some reason used a MD bottle to carry some antifreeze and one of the other guys in the shop grabbed it by mistake and took a good swig on hot day. Believe they had to take him to hospital for stomach pump. We had strict policy that nothing other than original contents went on to any container and any jugs used to transfer a liquid had to be labeled.
And here I was in my late teens taste-testing antifreeze while working at the service station! I was accurate enough to be within + or - 5 degrees of what the meter said. NEVER swallow the stuff, just test the amount of sweetness to determine freeze point of the solution and spit. I was taught this by a redneck co-worker from Vermont. He would go as far as tasting oils to tell if it was gear, engine, transmission, brake fluid, etc. I had enough gas in my mouth from siphoning events that I never would try the oils, just the ** solution. I don't miss that job at all. It meant dealing with the public, NOT what I do best.
A few days ago happened to read that Valerie Bertinelli had a brother who died because he drank something in a pop can on an uncles or friends farm. He was only 8 years old or so. The can had poison in it. Things like that are really tragic and probably haunt everybody that knew the kid. I put some ATF in a Gatoraide bottle but took a paint marker and wrote ATF on it. It looked like it could have been Gatoraide.
We had to place labels on any container that had anything in it that wasn’t the original and had to have MSDS information available. On a service truck, we had to print them and kept a binder in the truck. The plant guys just went to a computer. Anything I got from the wholesaler had to have an MSDS sheet on file. Just a pain in the ass to keep up. no sheet more than 2 yrs old.
I attempt to keep a few odd plastic bottles of Gear oil or Oils in general and for Glycol based materials or Non-Pressurized paints so can eyeball what is around the shop. Keep nothing NOT marked and those marked anywhere near to where someone can arbitrarily or incidentally grab and use for a incorrect function.
This oil mess ..... Machine was parked there when I got to their shop Friday. It was the result of...... ...caused by....... Resulting in........... The hose well was cram packed full of dirt. Took me an hour and a half of digging to get where I cold remove the hoses. The swivel ends were rusted so NO swivel. A lot of work to change a hose.......but its getting all new hoses since I'm in this far. That dam clamp....!!!!
The tracks are pretty much slick...........I have new ones coming in.
Can't wait for tomorrows update. Don't give in one inch!!
At least they managed to get it back to the shop, I had to do those drive hoses on mine in the mud on a jobsite a couple years ago.
Yeah, I'm having to do this outside the shop of course. My hole inside currently has a Bomag roller down.
I’m not sure if the amount of learning on this threads override the amount of stupidity. YMMV lol
Absolutely no fun
Well, It's D-Day part 2. I have determined what it would take with another option to throw out. I'll be shooting for the moon lol. Let's see what the day brings........should be interesting to say the least.
. . . we'll be right back, after these messages . . .
Well? I have no finger nails left after chewing them off in anticipation .
I can't even celebrate Valentine's Day properly, not knowing what happened at "Big Meeting part duex".
It’s probably the episode where there’s some big misunderstanding. Kinda like watching Three’s Company lol
$1 says it was postponed
Valentines card picture
Maybe Vetech got a Valentines card and a box of chocolates so everything's hunky dory... for the day.
More like a Kiss and a Promise!!
Kisses and hugs courtesy of Hershey.
I spent 45 minutes trying to get on this site this morning and finally gave up. Right now, its lagging bad enough that It's irritating me. The meeting went well. I haven't given them numbers yet as I want to go over them this weekend. Sounds like they are willing to let me run the show as a fulltime contractor. That way I can keep my company open and operating but will doing their work 40 hours a week. I will update a bit more in the morning if my computer/ HEF co-operate.
Just keep greasing those wheels. Sounds like they know they need you, and suspect the only way you keep their machinery running is if you keep operating like you always have. Biggest question is, if you can lock this gig in at a set rate schedule for whatever amount of time you feel is right, will you give them a bit of a break? To make them feel like they've won a little?
SO, in this episode of "You guys haven't given me a good soap opera name that is catchy yet lol), lets update a bit more of what was discussed this last meeting. Direction of the company ..........I point blank asked what is the future here? Marcus (CEO) said to continue to build the company, but to also streamline things to be much more efficient. In what way where it concerns the pm/repair of the equipment? He admits it's a clusterf*&k and not in respect to me. He said they spent over $1 mil last year in repair costs to the Deere dealer here alone. That is NOT me sending Deere stuff or calling them on jobs to do. That is from super's doing it with zero discretion. He asked how much could we have done in house? A lot of it providing I have the facility and tooling to do so. Since I am not aware of the things Deere did last year, I couldn't say if I could have. What would I need in reference to make things happen to change the direction? I told him SUPPORT!! I said this company still has the same shop and less tooling than when the company started with 3 pieces of equipment and as long as I have been around, there has never been any investment of significance that I have seen on the pm/repair side of the equipment. That has to change and he agreed. You have over 150 pieces now and its an impossible task currently. I could use 2 guys under me that are efficient and/or trainable starting at a decent livable pay. I told him a big problem in the past was that the company was notorious for skimping on raises. If you want me to take on training someone, I have to be able to pay them what they are worth. No more of that .50 cent raise bs every 2 years .....if they even get a raise. I want to pay them and do pay raises according to what their abilities are.......no questions asked. I explained that if you want to train someone to replace me or anyone else you better be ready to do what it takes to keep them. I told him it would take me 3 years to have someone proficient enough that I think they could handle most things on their own.........and THAT is a crash course full speed ahead. If we don't take care of them, they will bolt the company for another $1 an hour and I will be starting that 3 year cycle ALL OVER AGAIN. More to come tonight...........plenty more, but I gotta go to work. Episode 2 is coming shortly.............
As The Wrench Turn
I think one of the first things on the list of changes would be no crap in the shop that isn't needed to work on projects that earn money! No jet skis or golf carts and so on! Next would be a secure place for tools, supplies and parts that only a very select number of people have access to!
Beat me Dodge, was thinking along the lines As The Bomag Turns..
If you could hire a couple of these guys you'd have it made. #trendingreels2023 #trendingposts #trendingnow #Trends #popular #trendingvideos #trendingvideo #manufacturer #inovation #machinelearning #machinery #machines #invention #inventions #autodetailing #autorepair #automotive #auto #autosh #trendingreels2023 #trendingposts #trendingnow #Trends #popular #trendingvideos #trendingvideo #manufacturer #inovation #machinelearning #machinery #machines #invention #inventions... www.facebook.com Joe H
The Edge of Insanity.
Paving the way to insanity
Wrenching your Heart Out
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Now for the equipment discussion. I was asked about a undercarriage quote they received from Deere for a 250G excavator........was over 35K. Marcus wanted to point out that this was the type of stuff he was talking about. I didn't even know about this......again, someone else sent something to the dealer again. Why can't we do this in house? I came back with why are we doing it at all? That machine has over 11K hours, on the original engine and all power train components. Its good life is used up, well past it..........I told him that machine needed to go like I said 2 years ago. Spend 35K+, and then an engine, pump or final drive here soon? Makes no sense to me. He had this look like a lightbulb went off in his head...........told him I see this stuff constantly. Just saved them 35K when he decided I was right. Had discussion on shop and theft. That has yet to be determined but some ideas were thrown around. He then made the statement that putting me on would be greatly beneficial and could see an immediate impact on what they want to correct. Then he asked what it would take..........oh boy. Not ready for that one yet. I discussed the pros and cons of becoming an employee from my point of view, which he seemed to agree. Then I threw out that it would be more beneficial for me to stay on as a contractor, buy my assets, and me work fulltime for the company............another light bulb moment. He said he would be very interested in that and to get him numbers soon. I felt pretty good leaving the meeting........so far. Assets would be $250K.......the buyout there isn't going to be a problem. What I should charge them for 40 hours a week as a contractor, with training included, parts procurement and pick-up, managing repairs in field and shop, shop maintenance and upkeep, tooling requirements moving forward............a lot of things to contemplate. So, my question to you fellas..................if you were me, considering everything involved.........what would you think is a fair rate? I'm billing between $25K-35K a month right now as it is being self-employed.
In my opinion they are winning BIG. I have 40 years of contacts where I save tens of thousands on parts every year. I show up to broke down equipment same day or within 24 hours....in comparison of waiting on a dealer tech for up to a week or more. Also, Training isn't free except for the tech receiving it in this particular case. All things considered, me losing other customers and income...............no break.
If you look close there is antifreeze all over this with a lot of it fried on the engine over time. I was told by the lube truck guy that this has been leaking for 3 months and that he adds to the coolant system several times a week. No call about it at all.
Keep your assets, keep your independence and keep your 30k a month . . .
Vetech-----this is exactly what happened when I left only slightly reversed. In just less than a year it has come to dawn on those in power they had it as good as it gets before I retired. Nothing gets done because of oversite anymore, it's all reactionary. Here's the thing as soon as you retire that company will go back to doing business as before. Business owners just don't get there are only a few that can run a shop do the repairs and have complete understanding of what it takes to keep the ball rolling. Your headache's will increase at a time when age wise you want them to decrease, because health wise it's not good to take on more the older one gets. * Do yourself a favor--just slid on past this, keep things on the low profile, late in life to take on stress.
The question I have, if you are retiring soon, what other good alternative would there be to sell off all your assets?
Once you sell them your assets I would think your rate would have to drop a fair bit because as an independent your rate covers upkeep and replacement of your service truck and tools. Selling them your assets puts you in a make or break position. If it goes south in a year you walk away with no tools or truck so I would think that would mean full retirement unless you plan on buying all new tools and truck.
It gives him a chance to get a premium buyout on this stuff. Then work a few more years and call it done. When my uncles closed down their business 20 years ago, they couldn't belive how little they got for all of their assets when they had the big auction. Good tools in very good condition that they paid $1000s for, all sold for pennies on the dollar. All in good, used working order. They had a specialty business, and all the specialty tools to run it. The company (competitor) that "bought them out" only wanted their contracts, and none of their tools or their shop location. The shop brought a good price, but all the physical assets didn't bring much.
It would also be interesting to see the income tax breakdown from a small business to an employee situation. Here we would go from about 13% to 30 % tax bracket as an employee.
And as usual , on point, on key, it all goes to talking about money and assets and taxes. How about looking at the human/health side for a change, can any of you take just ONE frigging breath without thinking about a dollar bill?
Once it gets the tracks, it will get the engine because it's worth it, then the pumps and finals, and THEN the accountant will decide it's too unreliable so send it to auction.
Sounds about par for the course
Health issues can come out of nowhere that you have no control over. There's also the mental health aspects to consider. Do you really want to deal with all the stress and BS that isn't going to change overnight or in the next 3 month's. It may be better to keep most of your assets until you're ready to call it quits and then sell them to the company. That way you're more valuable and can get a better price for it. Everybody likes to get the highest prices on stuff they sell.
I think exactly that. Nobody's really looking at how changing the dynamic is going to change your day-to-day work experience. I wouldn't mess with it. You seem to be having fun now and posting some fun pictures and having a laugh and making a buck. It's great that the management guy is seeing a clue now and may take more advice when it comes to things like selling a worn out piece of iron. That's an incremental change for the better. I'd stay there at the incremental change level of things.
Furthermore, when a guy goes to hang up his wrenches, he's going to get pennies on the dollar. That's the way it is. Thinking you can manipulate it so you get some sort of a premium buyout is just BS. Everybody leaves a lot of money on the table when they retire and that's the way it always has been. At some point. Your time is worth far more than any money you're going to make. Time is the only thing you don't control. You're going to get your time and if you choose to spend it chasing the buck, that's on you. You hopefully that makes you happy.
Not to run down the this thread or any ones ideas, especially Vetech's. But there is a stigma within that company and many companies have the same stigma. How many of you have managed a fleet of equipment making major decisions? I spent the better part of my life doing just that. All the monetary gains look great at the start, then the years of sedentary decisions by management come to play. The whole company needs a overhaul from the top down to the labors. There are years of the thought the owner doesn't care so why should I, that includes all the drivers, operators--everyone. The worst part for Vetech is getting people to change their attitudes--of drop it and leave for the next guy. * My last employer--I spent so much time trying to change the thinking environment the first five years. If the owner doesn't back the shop managers decisions at least 90% it's a major uphill battle to get a grip on cutting expenses, and that is what this whole thing is about. If the shop manager tells the powers to be a certain employee has to go----then he has to go no ifs, ands or buts. 50% of gaining headway of a deal such as this requires full attention by the owner/s. other wise it's a futile exorcise. After doing what I did for the last company, and I started at age 46--{for my self knowing what it takes, I sure as hell wouldn't want to try it at age 61. * Good luck to you Vetech in what ever you decide.
I'd like to know exactly how this "saved" the company $35k? Do they not need a 250 anymore? It it an extra that will get 50 hours the next 5 years? Because how I see it, just peddling this machine to auction isn't really saving $35k. It might bring $85k at auction. Maybe. A new one is $250k? Maybe closer to 3? You could put ITR undercarriage on that machine for about $20k, your labor included. If they're doing oil samples, they would have a pretty good idea if there is a major hydraulic component failing, I would think.
When would he have the time to do an undercarriage with all the other carnage he has to deal with? The bigger issue is where, out in the yard hoping the weather stays decent. I can understand what he's saying. It's probably better for them to sell or trade the machine while it still runs decent instead of dumping $35K on undercarriage and then another 20-$35K in the near future repairing other things like the engine, hyd's., final drives, etc. Would be better to sell it for say $50K now rather than to spend $50K and ultimately sell it it for $25K or less when it's got really high hours on it. A new machine can be written off for several years saving on taxes. Quite a few companies replace machines, after they're paid off for 2 or 3 years, so they can get decent money for them instead of having to put a chunk of money into them to keep them running at top efficiency. It doesn't sound like this company is really struggling to stay afloat yet.
Back in the day I used to inspect heavy equipment coming off of leases for leasing companies. I created my own standard back then and carry the same today. Equipment has a shelf life of sorts where the object of the game was to get the best use out of the machine during the lease period (usually 4-5 years on average) before major component rebuilds started happening. The parameters were hours on the machine, the application & environment they worked in, and the repair and maintenance of said machine during the course of the lease. Any machine over 10K hours was an automatic candidate for a major component rebuild if there was little to no service/pm records (this 250G applies here). Equipment between 7K-10K hours would get oil samples, pin and bushing inspections, operational safety inspections, hydraulic and powertrain pressures checked to spec, overall visual condition, and engine stall speeds checked. This would determine whether the machine was in good enough condition to be sold at lease end without money being spent....or very little. Equipment with 4K-7K hours were considered prime used.........meaning they had enough value to recoop the most investment for the lease company. These machines are marketed and sold near retail value (lease companies call it Fair Market Value). Right or wrong, I apply the same to ownership of equipment. Yes, some equipment can be exceptional and be outside of those parameters if well taken care of or trashed, which is why it has to be considered on a piece-by-piece basis. This design does not consider what the leasing companies call secondary ownership.........meaning anyone outside of large, highly profitable organizations. Basically, they don't care what the little guy does with it.
I think the important thing with the unit in question is yes you could fix it up but then you can only do that machine, while selling it as a working machine and buying a new one you will still be able to put out fires.
I’ve no idea what assets you own that come to $250k,but is that your valuation or theirs? If they’ve offered you that amount,I’d seriously consider selling it,because I generally find most specialist tools etc are sold for dissapointingly less when you put them on the open market.
Out of curiosity,is there any danger of anyone from your customers company ever reading any of these posts and getting p##sed with you?
Thats useable tooling, equipment, and truck. If I went by replacement costs at today's rate it would be considerably more. Maybe, but I speak the truth about the tribulation and what is here is not an unknown to them.
Someone working there would have to know about the forum, Vetech's user name , this thread and have been following it. I think it would be unlikely since even the thread title doesn't point to a specific company or topic. An employee might agree with everything too if they did read it.
As long as it's the truth who gives a ****, too many spineless people out there.
Funny u should bring that up.. When I was getting ready to tell’m to shove it (retire) and was ranting and raving about the idiot shop “foreskin”..& management in general.. Either someone alerted him about it or more than likely, he stumbled across it.. I text him and asked him for a part that was no longer available & I knew there was some in the salvage/old pumps area.. He said SURE, no problem.. The next day I got a text from him that said, THIS is the last time I’m helping you.. don’t call, email or text me.. LOSE MY NUMBER.!! There’s nothing I can say after that.. I just text him, THANK YOU..and haven’t contacted him in years..lol
Not slander if it's the truth either. If someone who worked there saw this thread might be a wake up call as to how badly everything is run. For management could be really embarrassing.
Yeah, and Vetech was looking for some jobs when this one came along too.
I don't think they could afford to lose him right now. One of those cases where, "You want to know how much I do"? Let me go and you'll find out.
If Vtech was worried about he he wouldn't have started this thread . . .
Eaton drive motor for a Wirtgen conveyor pulled from a scrap trailer at the OKC location. It's a proprietary motor so no seal kit. Replacement only at $9500. One dirty rotten seal is all I could find wrong with it...........besides the rust created by it sitting out in the weather with no plugs on the hydraulic ports.
Have come across those kinds of things and know someone makes the seal but just how to find
Bribery
And other things
We’ve taken seals to just general supply shops or a specialty hydraulic shop, essentially measure the seal ID, OD, width, type of seal etc, and usually had good success finding something that works. Maybe not always, but worth a try at that price
yittttttttttttttttoooopASDFGHHHHHHHHHHHHKL
OILKFFHHGYTRRERWEWWWWWWQQQ
Wow, this episode has gotten bad fast . . .
Butt typing?
Secret code.
Young child or pet
Navajo if im reading that correctly……
I think he cracked up, a Conservatorship is probably in order. The HEF collective should make the decisions from now on . . .
This is what happens when you leave your computer for 2 minutes to take a poop.
I was thinking their offer made you stroke out….
Dude delete that picture, that's a big ole' honkin' can of worms to some of the fun police.
Nice paper weight. Lol
I think that picture is staged. Funny enough that what I thought happened but I thought about them taking your phone
Even she realizes the crap show you have to deal with.
That old thing IS a paperweight. No excuse for it to be still on my desk, my bad.
Had an overheating alarm going off on a 524K loader. Coolant level checked good, core was clean as a pin, IR gun verified temps were correct compared to the machine sensors. 225 degrees at the thermostat outlet and the top of the radiator tank......89 degrees at the bottom hose inlet. Fan moving into high speed as it should when I unplug it. The only thing that made in any sense was that there was little to no movement of coolant through the system. The only way to prove the theory............pull the water pump and hope you are right. This pull of the slot arm paid off.
Is that impeller plastic?
Now there's a smokin' gun. The flats on the nut were only thing moving coolant.
Along with hopes and dreams
Thermosyphon, just like many tractors of old.
A little JB Weld and let it set over night and "She'll be goood to gooo!"
I HATE ALL OF YOU!! LOL I stumbled upon this thread last night after posting a question and and answering some other posts. I was up until midnight reading.........got to Page 30........I see there are 151 pages at present. I need to do some billing this morning and then head out and look at a Pettibone..........but NO, I figure I'm going to just peak at a few more posts...........an hour later. Like getting hooked on a drug.........i guess. Vetech.......excellent content. Gets the cogs spinning looking at things from a different perspective. Lot of good replies and info. I envy you with the discipline to take pictures and then follow through with posting all of this crap. Ok......hanging up the computer now. I'll probably go into withdrawals in the truck driving down the road!!
Like pickin a booger.
So, what's happening? Joe H
I'll update tonight. I've been covered up
As an employee.?? Or independent.??
Covered up in cash?
In work
I agree, that tippy cup on the left is TOO perfect. Like our cup of coffee.
Welcome ChatGPT bot with the exclamation package! I cannot wait for more pointless paragraphs of pointless drivel.! Looking forward to you contributing aboslutely nothing to the planet. Kudos to you.!
Well, the last 2 weeks have been minimum 12-hour days. Equipment is going down on jobs all over faster than I can repair them. The parts situation has been a disaster with the Deere dealer. Ever since the manager retired and 2 of 4 parts guys quit.............I can't get ahold of anyone in parts on the phone and them responding to emails is a joke. The most experienced guy is so overwhelmed that he forgets to order things, sometimes it's my stuff. It is making things much more difficult and taking way longer than it should. Yes, I am still self-employed. I have shelved the process they want as I am too busy to have discussions at the moment.........yeah, I'm busy keeping your jobs running and don't have the time to sit and talk about sh*t. 2 things have already changed. 1st the 250G undercarriage. I was told at the last meeting that machine would be set up for getting rid of by whatever means. 3days later Alan texts me and wants to know what I would charge them to do an undercarriage job....***? I asked why we are doing this.......he said it's the owner's machine and not the company's unit. I guess that makes the hours and wear different LOL. Screw it......I'll do it and make good money on it, I will tell them "I told you so" later with a smile. 2nd is putting on a helper. I recommended an ex-employee as someone I could work with and is trainable. Alan said he would pull his app. A week later Alan shows up at the shop to see what's going on and I ask him about it. He him-hos around and says he doesn't think that would be a good hire due to how he left the company before with no notice. I called the recommended helper guy and talked to him about that situation, and also his boss at the time that is still with the company. He did tell me that he left with no notice.......bad move and I let him know it. His ex-boss verified the actions but has no problem with him returning as an employee. I asked the ex-boss to talk to Alan, said he would........nothing but crickets since then. I personally don't punish young people for a mistake. I quit jobs with no notice when I was young and learned from it. It just pisses me off that 1 mistake is keeping this guy from getting a job right now......anywhere. Needless to say.....I'm currently discouraged. I keep getting asked to give them numbers for a buyout. I'll give you some numbers alright.....F^&* it.....$500K buyout and 50K a month. How's them numbers for ya?!
Don't listen to anything that I say, as my give a crap has crapped out. When he started making excuses on your chosen helper, I would have several large wrenches in the air landing around *Allen* like a !@#%^^ mortar barrage. Bottom line get me help, and if they are not as good as the guy you won't let me have, don't come back to tell me in person.
Things might change after you retire...... Might as well just keep on keeping on and look someone to buy you out when you retire. Might be nice to find a you buck but It might be easier to to win the lottery
So basically everything they were going to promise you that won't be an issue has become an issue within 2 weeks Don't sign on to them boys they are not worth your piece if you hire out they will push you harder than now because you won't be independent anymore Charge accordingly and walk away the only one that will look out for you is you they don't have your interest in mind the way they run that outfit they don't even have the outfits interest in mind
It would appear they are stalling or giving you lip service? Maybe you need to have an "emergency" and can't make it in for a couple days... until they get their **** together.
Ok, so after reading the last few pages a few times over, it's a no brainer, the only way you make them even half listen is to go all the way to the top. " Sorry I won't be selling out to you, as for the last month all they have done is prove what a ***** show the management is" and explain about the track job and the helper and other lip service they have shown, you will continue to work as a subby and charges are going up next month, also there will be a trainee working with you that will be billed as well, then take on the ex employee to work with you as a subby to you so nothing to cover employee wise. If the main man doesn't shake the tree hard enough after that, then as Welder Dave says, maybe it's time for a family emergency for a month and let them struggle to sort everything see if they realise what's going off around them. and from what you said about the Deere dealer, now is the time to do it for maximum impact.
This has already crossed my mind. All great points. I was told the potential hire to their field truck is supposed to come by the shop sometime today. He wanted to see the shop facility (very smart on his part) before making any commitment. I hope I am there when he is, providing it happens at all today. I'll fill this in if it happens. In this chapter of "back to stupidity", the concrete crew foreman drug out a Diamond Core Cut 190 saw last week that doesn't run...........only has 82 hours since new. I managed to quickly figure out that the engine is locked up lol. Seems there was a lot of water in the fuel and while sitting in storage for over a year, the water managed to rust out and contaminate the entire fuel system, so everything from the shut off valve (plugged solid) to the fuel pump (plugged solid) and the carb (plugged solid) is pretty much junk. From what I can tell, the fuel shut off valve was never shut off when last used. Over time, not only did the fuel lines and fittings rust, the carb float stuck open after the fuel in it evaporated and the entire contents of the fuel tank leaked (yes, there was an inline filter) into one of the cylinders, through the rings, and into the oil pan, which was over 1 gallon overfull. It's a mess..........a new replacement saw is over $15K. I got the fuel tank cleaned, the fittings replaced, and a new fuel filter done. Pulled the spark plugs (2-cylinder Honda engine) and filled the cylinders with ATF. 2 days later the engine will now roll over. Replaced the battery, spun the engine over until the ATF was expelled. I just picked up the new carb and fuel pump yesterday..........that's what I am doing this morning. I'll get a few pics this morning so you guys can share in my enjoyment LOL
And I just checked my February numbers since its March 1st. I billed them $34200.00 in repair work last month.
How quickly do they pay? Huge difference between billing and collecting.
Just think how much more it would have been if u weren’t sitting in the office listening to the blow-hards..?? If a new machine is 15k.. If u bill them 10k, in reality, u saved them 5k.. lol
Left with out a notice--depends on the situation. Yes giving notice should be done, but remember folks a boss can fire at a moments for any reason and not have to explain it either. Two way street.
Last place worked at before I pulled the plug, gave them 2 months notice to get the fleet winter ready and maybe hire someone. Younger guy who basically ran shop worked days, generally nothing to do (most of the trucks out on the road) but paperwork and schmoozing with salesmen who popped in all day did something stupid that he thought was funny. When I voiced my displeasure things got a little heated and he told me if I didn't like it I could leave. Without missing a beat looked at him and said ' yeah I can can't I" Big **** eatin" grin on my face, locked my box and walked out the door. Look on his face was priceless.
Wife was given a merit raise not even half of the change of the Cost of Living. Then they asked her what her retirement age would be. "5 years" she replied. They asked the wrong question. The right question is "when are you leaving". They will know exactly 30 days before that and not a minute sooner. That raise did not purchase any loyalty!
I still get a knot in my stomach when I remember being asked “you don’t like working here anymore, do you” We both knew the answer to that, but I really wasn’t ready for it. Things turned out OK in the end. there have been many changes at the plant, and I live in sight and sound of the yard. I do miss it.
I love reading “quitting” stories.!!! When I got ready to go, the shop was really slow.. I was coming in at 10:00, going to lunch for an hour and on most days leaving at 3:00.!! I had a job that had been there waiting on parts for a month.. The parts were coming from Japan on a slow boat.. I decided that once THAT JOB was done, so was I.. & relayed that to the shop foreskin, verbatim.. The parts came in the very next day., lol.. I held true to my word.. I finished the job, gathered my tools and loaded them up and that was it.. I really didn’t think it was gonna be THAT QUICK THO.. lol
You just needed to say it so the part would arrive. I am there but that is for my own thread.
The last part is a lot like me I actually built my house on land we bought from the company. Unfortunately my next door neighbor is now one of the local bosses at the quarry and we have had some problems what with him having his chicken coup about ten feet over on to the land I take care of for a family member. Also him letting his dogs run free and acting aggressive toward my wife when she is walking our dog on leash on our property. Last I knew there were only two people who are still there that I worked with over the years. Actually I worked with their dad from the first day with the company in 1968!
The Ag company I worked for before my last employer and retired from {sort of} had a new general manager, hired about three years before I left. Self impressed, narcissistic, egotistical piece of excrement he was. It took three years for the septic tank to boil over. He came up to the shop screaming the {Cogs Worth Cogs of Spacely Sprockets}-------- Flakester Your Fired! I knew this coming for weeks, had every thing already for a quick move. {Your Never Going to Work in This Town Again--crap started spewing forth}. I asked him If I could use the forklift to load my tool boxes-{Go Ahead but Make it Quick}. So I forked up the main chest with two side boxes and the top box, drove out the gate- down the street 3/4 of a block and set them down in Tate Transportations shop, drove back, parked the lift and said---I already have a new job, go to work tomorrow. His face was so red I thought he might need CPR in a minute--won't get it from me. Didn't mean to side track your thread Vetech. *
Not going to side track this thread, many have tried but none have succeeded
The rest of the story-Cenex CHS bought out that Ag company and **** canned him. He went from a General Manager to-------as several people told me--wearing a orange apron working at Home Depot.
Wasn't trying, don't want to try.
Heck the place I was working at up to three weeks ago was giving me red flags left and right but the paycheck cashed. Three weeks ago Tuesday I told them the rig I was running was going to sit till the brakes were fixed, I was fired on the Friday. The brakes were never fixed.
Sounds like you have a similar predicament to me. You want to be a good neighbor but the neighbor seems to think his dogs can go wherever they want. In my case on the road chasing vehicles coming to my MX track. It's not the dogs fault but they are a real problem. The other problem is the neighbor acts like the road police taking pics. of vehicles he "thinks" are speeding and calling the cops to report them. Of course pics. are useless but how would he feel if I had 2 dozen or more people complain to the county about his dogs on the road?? I'm thinking about going to the county and explaining my predicament. I've heard from someone who has relatives in the area that my neighbor has complained about my track. The track was there12 years before he moved there. I don't want it to become a Hatfields vs the McCoys type deal where's trying to get me shut down and finding anything and everything to complain about. I'm hoping to get a lot busier with the oval track as well. I don't know the best thing to do without having the neighbor absolutely hate me. I'm not going to call him everytime I expect a bunch of people out. I'm open to suggestions? In a way I guess it's relative to Vetech's situation. When is enough, enough and you put your foot down!
Usually, 2-3 weeks on average. Sometimes they will hit 30 days.
Isn't this little saw cute! I feel like I am doing lifesaving surgery on a puppy. The throttle cable evidently broke at some point in the past, so they wired it wide open. Travel speed cable is also broke. Ignore that oil you see. That was what I couldn't catch from spinning the engine over to get the ATF out. I installed the replacement carb and fuel pump. She fired right up but smoked like a freight train for the first 10 minutes. I could tell it had a stuck piston ring so I revved it twice and let it idle for 30 minutes. The ring freed up and now its running like a sewing machine. Smoke cleared up thank goodness! I'll have about $3K in this once I'm done. It pays the same to work on repairs of little equipment as a Cat D11........it's just the lifting and muscle is much less
glad it was productive. I hate dumping a bunch of time into something that is ultimately "dead, Jim".
Doesn't anybody ever report that machines need something fixed? It really is a gong show if someone can't even say a saw needs a $10 or $15 throttle cable. Almost could have put a new engine in the saw for similar money.
The guy running it (who's the low man on the totem pole) probably told someone higher up........and then that got forgotten......because it doesn't affect the foreman or super........so WHO CARES!! It's just the guy running the saw that needs to deal with it. I've run into that many times. Some super or foreman tells me about a problem that needs to fixed. I will go out of my way to find the last guy who ran it and get his/ her input. That is usually a much bigger and better picture. And usually its "I told so and so all about those problems..........." I think we all know how it goes...........
Having been both sides of the fence I will tell you why. If you report it is broken they might take it away and never bring it back. You will lose production on your job and somebody will breathe down your neck or you will lose hours. So you keep running it for "one more job".
I can see tying up the throttle to finish a job but when the job is finished replace the throttle cable.
Without a clear operational structure that company will never get better there maintenance operation is similar to a small mom and pop outfit fix it when it's broke A place like that needs 2 good wrenches in the shop and 2 really good field guys plus 2 lube guys for as spread out as they seem and all that needs organized by a individual that has superior ability to manage outside there understanding or has 20 years of wrenching themselves Short of that it's always going to be an emergency operation for maintenance
Around here we call it a Fire Station.
It's called a M*A*S*H unit for equipment, a high percentage operate like that these days because it has become a business model--because the owners/managers are only interested the Green. * I've worked those types-& I'm allot like Hawkeye Pierce. *
You don't let the bastards win!
Not a lot to report but, I saw the potential hire a couple of days ago..........I say saw because I didn't actually meet the guy. Him and Alan came in the shop while I was working on a broom, they stayed in there about 2 minutes, and bullsh&^ted outside for 45 minutes. I never was introduced to him...seemed strange. I know you can't count on first impressions, but I have the feeling it could be another HNC situation. 5'9" maybe, 250 lbs. minimum, and hair/beard white as the driven snow. I have no idea what his age is, but I can tell you I look 20 years younger LOL. I guess we will see if he hires on soon or not. The old man called me yesterday, wants to fly me to South Florida tomorrow to look at a piece of asphalt equipment he wants to buy. Similar to the Wirtgen I pulled the conveyor drive motor off of. I will know today if I am heading south or not.
Taking the red eye on Monday. The itinerary looks to make it a 20-hour day. UGH
Paid by the hour
Overtime!
Let's hope.... i t is not the flight from hell!
Inspection Report The link above is what I am going to look at. Look through the pics and tell me what you see.
I see something I don’t ever want to work on
Looks good! I don't know what I'm looking at
I see a flat sided roller all gooped up with asphalt. Don't know a thing about such things, but all the asphalt goop looks joyous . . .
Run. Away.
Vetech. Job. Security. Independent. Wealth. Cash. Those. Checks.
There was one just like that here working a runway job at the airport, it seemed they worked on it allot.
I don't think I've ever read where someone enjoyed working on anything to do asphalt equipment. I think it's in the same category as landfill equipment. Do you have to heat up the stuck on asphalt to remove it so you can work on the machine?
I worked on one ONCE.. I had to stand in the hopper to reach the leaking inj pump.. The job looked simple enough, probably take me an hour.. By the time I was done, the soles of my shoes were MELTED.!!!
Yes on the heat. Torch and scrapers. Sometimes an air hammer. Everything is a pain, BUT, nothing compared to concrete paving machines. EVERYTHING on those is air hammer...
I see a lot of potential problems. 1st. It looks like it has been working in the salt environment of Florida its entire life. 2nd. I see a LOT of rust forming. 3rd. I was supposed to go to the job where it was working and observe the operation. Now it is down with some type of electrical problem. I'm wondering how much of the electrical system has been hacked. I saw 2 primary feed wires coming off the batteries in one pic.........not good. Could be for extra lighting but I doubt it. I'll be opening ALL the electrical panels looking for corrosion...........I have a feeling I won't give this machine my blessing but we will see. The company is sending the operator with me. They are asking $230K for this machine.
See any wire nuts ? Hacked up wiring harness, rusty, salt environment......I'll bet after you get home, it will soon show up to the shop, the boss ignoring what you advised. Reason ? he invested in a plane ticket (and hotel) for you and the operator, won't want to do this 3-5 more times looking for a good one.
I think the asking price is 200K high. Now if it was a late model 2500 maybe, a 1000 no way.
I had the pleasure of running and repairing a Roadtec Grinder for a couple of years, when they first started. Had a Cat 3406 in it and was overpowered vs the Cat 350 grinder I had run. Had plenty of torque but man you could rip that drum up quick. Friggin waste of 2 years of my life working 75 hours a week. Was so good at welding by the time I got done, I could run 5/32” 7018 using high heat for welding on carbide teeth bases, all positions like it was nothing. Finnaly quit when machine started up while I was underneath it welding, for like the third time, with the key off. Wrapped the lead around the drum and almost killed me. They sent out an engineer that told me it was impossible. Just loaded up my tools and drove truck back to the shop and left it. POS.
Did you disconnect the battery before welding? Have always heard to disconnect the battery to avoid frying electrical or electronic equipment but never because it could start the engine. That's got to be scary as hell!
Funny u should mention that Dave.. I get pumps all the time, **, Perkins mostly with the wound gov spring that’s completely fried and stretched out, due to welding on the machine w/o disconnecting the battery.. I always ask the customer if they’ve been welding on the machine..?? The look on their faces is priceless.. & the answer is always the same, “How the he!! did you know?”.. The only thing I can figure out is, the current traveled thru the electric shut off solenoid.??
My dump truck that was a former plow truck with all kinds of electronics has stickers all over warning to disconnect both battery cables before welding. When I worked at a place that built winch trucks, the new trucks had stickers to also disconnect the ECM's.
What does the fried spring do/cause ? Joe H
It greatly reduces the governor max rpm.. you’d be lucky to get far from low idle..
Good you asked that--How many times I've heard it won't make any diff--I know the circuits ecms in a refer unit don't like it. Always disconnect.
I had a welder unhook battery cables on my pickup when he was welding on it and he gave me a weird look like he never does that. I just told him old truck hard to get parts
I worked for a county road dept for 50 years. The first 16 years I worked in the Engineering division - 30 =/- employees (BSCE 1972 Michigan Tech). I spent the next 10 years managing the Maintenance Division - the big boss just appointed me, never asked me . There I had 125 employees. I got the reputation for being for being hands on. There wasn't a job that I hadn't worked along side with the employees. Drove snow plow a time or 2 (Put one in the ditch ) I did a lot of listening and wasn't afraid "fix things". Anyways after the 10 years, I voluntarily went back to the Engineering Division. There I didn't suggest change for the sake of change but to make things run smoother, more efficient. One day my boss walked in with a 50 year+ old, 30 inch high antique bronze fire extinguisher and antique fireman's helmet and said here you go, you're pretty good at putting fires out around here, employees, citizens, and even a few politicians.
This reminds me that I need to make some handles and weld them onto the batteries cover on the grader. Not necessarily for welding but if I needed to boost it, the cover is a real pain to remove. It's made out of 1/8" plate and is a tight fit over the attached battery box. There's not much to grab onto and you need a big screwdriver or prybar to get it off. It's not as much of a pain to put back on but still a bit of a pain. Maybe I can tweak it a bit with a BFH.
I was taught that where the welding will occur and where the ground is attached is the most important. If you are going to do boom welding and attach the ground to a grouser pad, it will arc through every bearing and pin to make the connection. I always attach the ground on whatever I am welding if possible, or something right nearby. I will also disconnect a battery master switch if the machine is equipped with one. This may not be the proper way, but I have never lost an ECM/VCU/TCU. Maybe one of you should start a thread about this very subject.............I'm sure I could learn something from it.
You can’t reasonably disconnect the battery for that. You weld on one every day you run it. You are always in a state of evolution, replacing bases and wear bars. It has a battery disconnect for the engine but this is the grinding drum. Yes disconnect was tripped but that doesn’t mean much on a diesel with hot cylinders. You are also underneath it with the hood up and stanchions jacked up in the back.
Yes, have to ground directly to the drum as you don’t want to arc through the drum bearings. I generally disconnect the batteries on most things I weld but certain things are just not plausible and as long as you keep your ground good and local, it’s not usually a problem but when it is, it sucks.
You said it happened 3 times. Seems like after the 1st time you'd go to the trouble to disconnect the batteries. I have heard of electrical problems from welding even when the ground is attached right where the welding is taking place. Even a hot engine needs the starter to turn it over. On a machine that can kill you, it would seem the only way to be safe is to disconnect the batteries.
Yes, you want to have an electrical path of least resistance. However if your ground isn't absolutely perfect weird things can happen. Same thing if the electrode sticks on you. I think it could be similar to parasitic loss. Everything looks good and you can't find anything wrong yet the battery is draining over time. Usually you won't have problems but if you're welding on a machine worth 10's of thousands of $$$$$, why take the risk. It would be interesting to do some tests welding a couple feet away from a battery and welding 10 feet away. Might need some very sensitive voltage and amperage test equipment. Especially with stick welding, there can be quick voltage spikes when striking and establishing the arc. Can that voltage spike affect the electrics I'm not sure. If you went to the extreme end of things, would you do some air arcing on a machine without disconnecting the batteries? That's close to a direct short and definitely a major voltage and amperage spike when you strike an arc. Then the question arises, when do you disconnect the battery and/or other electronic components? If you need to gouge you disconnect but if you're just welding a little bracket with a 3/32" 7018 it's not worth the trouble to disconnect? I don't know all the answers but if welding on a machine could cause major electrical problems and put the machine out of commission is it worth the risk to not disconnect the battery and sensitive electronics?? Some will say it is but there are others who have found out the hard way it's not worth the risk. Most batteries can be disconnected in less than 5 minutes so I think there's also a laziness factor in some cases.
On standby generators, we always switched off the charger before disconnecting the battery. The arc from the charger can wipe out the newer electronics( from a few Cummins field service techs). I would imagine that welding could possibly cause problems with the electronic. It would be a prudent to spend 5 minutes disconnecting the battery as opposed to the time and cost of figuring out a problem if one occurs. Cam
Yep, recently went through a mess of issues replacing a MQ (Thomson) controller because the charger wasn't shut off before swapping batteries. Old style dumb charger that went to full output with the batteries pulled.
Thomson used to be a great local company, need a part, call Naresh(?) (tech guy in the back) and he would have what you needed ready by the time you got there or walk you through the setup as he was completing it. Learned a lot. By the time I retired, it was jumping through hoops to get anything out of them in less than several days. The technology has changed so much over 30 yrs, from voltage sensing relays to cards with pots to IC’s and control boards.
Complete waste of time on the Florida trip. Way overpriced for the condition. On to the next project.
I wouldn't say a complete waste of time. They were considering paying well over $200K for it. If they have that kind of money shouldn't be hard for them to invest in a larger shop and/or some decent help for you. They can't claim they they can't afford it.
Well . . . it doesn't necessarily quite work like that, but anyway . . .
Shop is not seen as a money making activity. Shop is a cost that annoys them, they don't see it as a necessary expense that saves them money. Joe H
If they can afford over $200k they can afford to hire a helper for Vetech for a lot less less than half of that, maybe a 1/4 of it . They can't claim they're strapped for cash. They can't make any money if their equipment is down and takes 2 or more weeks to fix because Vetech is overwhelmed with all the other abused and neglected equipment.
This reminds me of the time the owners called a company wide meeting, (35 of us) to tell us we had a very very bad year and there wouldn’t be any profit sharing.!! The very next day, the owners BOTH drove up in BRAND NEW F-150’s LOADED with every option available.!!!
I worked with a guy who was a manager at a large steel supplier. They had a big lay off apparently because of a poor economy and lower sales. He had to lay off several long term employee's and some with only a few month's. He wasn't laid off but quit because right after the lay off the general manager figured they needed a larger plasma table or something. I forget exactly what it was but they already had a perfectly fine one and it wasn't even fully utilized. It was about a $250,000 piece of equipment that wasn't really needed. The GM just wanted it. His conscience wouldn't allow him to continue working there if they could afford $250K for a machine they didn't need after he had to lay off about a dozen workers. He took a big pay cut but had no regrets. He was a really nice guy too.
No, that's not how it works . . . as though they have a drawer full of envelopes of cash. At any rate, if they don't want to hire a helper for Vtech, they don't have to. Simple. It's their business, they can do as they like with their money. If their equipment goes down and it takes two weeks to fix it, that is their problem. If they "got their act together", at least in a way that made the internet happy, they wouldn't need Vtech anyway. Then what?
From what I have seen if they don't do stuff that makes no sense they won't last anytime?? The problem is they will make it someone else's problem.
Well, yes, it will become Vtech's problem. He will bill them accordingly to solve the problem.
It seems the company officials are confused, at least they were yesterday. Alan texts me (I hate texting really but it seems his favorite way to communicate) asking about the machine me and the operator declined. After the 3rd text I just called him. He wants to know why we had made that decision and that they needed something yesterday. I said besides the current condition, there is zero local manufacturers/dealer support for Roadtech. The mechanic there informed us that he had a parts order for a 2021 machine that was going on 2 months without being completed. It's NOT a good fit in my opinion. That isn't going to change. The machine we DID like for condition/operation was a 2021 model, less than 800 hours, and has the bugs worked out of it and job ready. They (ALTA Eq) priced it at $480K. Alan doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know how to look for used equipment, that I can tell. I feel like I'm being asked to do a fleet managers job by helping them look for a material transfer machine.
Yup....it's on a lowboy now, winging it's way to your shop.......
Set up a price for managing only, no wrenches turned, so you can make a little more off them because they don't know how to do their job
This is all typical of a business that size this day and age with a business sense to match. * Kind of like my 24 year old cat that chews on electrical chords--acting like he's a certified electrician.
Lol.. put a line item on the next invoice: Doing Alan’s Job.. See if that goes over like a fart in church.!! Lol.. You know, the way they think about it is, We gave him a free vacation day.. and paid for his ticket.. They don’t see it as “work”..
If it causes the pastor pause--you did good.
I billed them for my time...........just like I was repairing something. I'm not doing **** for free here lol
No free ****!
I think they need Vetech more than anything else but Vetech has options. He's close to retiring, has other potential customers he could go to, could decide to just sell them his tools and retire or go and help his wife. It doesn't have to be his problem. What would they do without Vetech? There is only so much BS anyone will put up with. What if Vetech said he NEEDS a helper or he won't be able to work on any equipment that involves tight quarters and requires him to be a contortionist. Some jobs you need a helper and some jobs need a younger more flexible body to do them. This isn't a slight on Vetech but just the way it is. Vetech doesn't want to be all crippled up in his retirement because he had to do the work of a 25 or 30 year old. I've met a few guys that regretted trying to keep up with the young guys. Some of it's ego but you can't stop the body from getting beat up if you're trying to work at the same pace you did 25 years ago. I'd hazard a guess that things could be even worse than Vetech is describing.
This whole thing cracks me up there are over 150 pages of insanity with no end in site but the story remains the same If the new ownership is not qualified then why should anyone they hire be qualified that would go against the culture that's been established What this really is an example of is how much money there really is in the road business and how many big corporations can charge more and make less simply due to being a dumb ass I never realized the world was run by eddie hasscle type people
eddie hasscle's are the epitome of business culture, common as the nose on your face.
Was thinking about this post from Dave today. Excavating company I do work for has Mack GU7 dump trucks. They've had the trucks for 6 years now?? I've worked for with them for more than 10. New driver hired a few weeks ago asked me to check out the steering on his truck. Said it won't turn left for crap........but it turns right just fine. This was last week. Talked to a couple of the other guys.....and then the owner. "Oh yeah, it's always been like that..........ever since we got the trucks.......just 66 though." Looked at it today. The steering stop was jacked way out on the left side, right side was fine. Set the stop to the correct depth, sent the driver down to the pit to make some donuts. Big beaming smile........very happy. Said to the owner, why didn't you guys mention this to me?? Response......I figured you knew......you just get used to it. LOL I said to him, and some of the other drivers........Listen, I don't drive them. I FIX THEM!! If you don't tell me what's going on, I can't correct the problem. 8 years of crappy turning, 5 minutes to measure, turn the stop in.........FIXED. They just got used to making huge turns on that one truck.........still laughing about it now as I type.
Even under the 100 miles as the crow flies not required to fill a log but still required to fill out a trip inspection---a good driver would have noted that everyday till fixed. When I operate the tow truck for the company it doesn't matter over or under the 100 mile range I still fill out a vehicle inspection form-if over 100 I fill out a log and a trip envelope with all mileages in each state for fuel tax purpose in case of audit. If I cross a scale {which is always the bypass lane} I still have legal paper work.
I think that's pretty common; it's always been like like so we just live with it (or we do something to compensate for it). Sometimes it's not a big deal but other times it's royal PIA. I need to double clutch my Topkick water truck in 3rd gear only. I discovered it when I drove the truck to my property. I rarely need 3rd gear off road but it's not a big enough deal that I need to get it fixed. 2nd gear would be more of a problem if you weren't going fast enough or going up a hill.
Any time I have to drive a different truck it’s 2 weeks getting stuff fixed that other drivers won’t write up.
Not to jack your thread Vetech. * If the owner want's to drive junk that's one thing, a hired driver totally another. People keep gripping about the work force-in this case don't expect a good driver when you find one to drive crap. * Just this afternoon, right after lunch I had to run up to the old shop. Les Schwab was there installing a set of drive tires, they waved me over to look at the right rear drive/wheel end soaked in oil {been that way awhile, air disc was covered}. Just then the owner/boss walks in with the driver, {Mike do you think it will make it to American Falls?}. That's 455 miles. Chris you already know the answer {it's out of service}. Constantly pushing the limit just like the rest of the Eddy Hasscle's. Asking a driver-inadvertently to see if it will happen.
No offense but I can see no one ever being able to jack the thread
It shouldn't be up to the driver or the owner. It should be up to if it's legal and what's a worst case scenario if something goes wrong. Three weeks into my job at the mall I was put in a difficult situation. They took out an elevator in the office tower and wanted to weld beams in to support a new concrete floor. The then welding supervisor wouldn't do it until he had a signed and approved engineers drawing. It was a very reasonable request. They didn't have one so he refused stating he could lose his structural welding license. They were really ticked off at him. Then they asked me if I thought their idea would be strong enough. That wasn't the issue and I told them that. I agreed with the other welder it needs a stamped engineered drawing. Then they said if strength isn't a concern would I weld it. In hindsight I should have known it was just an inkling of what was to come. I welded it and the other welder helped me. He knew I was in a tough position having just been hired. After that they made his life so miserable that he resigned from the welding supervisor position. That's how I became the welding supervisor. I had more experience but it's not the way you want to get promoted. I didn't get paid anymore. Several month's later they wanted to be CWB certified. Ridiculous, that's who regulates structural welding and welder testing to get your structural license. To be certified they have to have a CWB supervisor on staff. They wanted me to study so I could pass all the theory tests to become a CWB supervisor. I asked how much of a raise I'd get? You won't get a raise but you'll have another ticket under your belt. I looked at the binder of all the stuff that will be on the tests. I talked to some other people and they said usually a foreman gets 5-7% more pay and a CWB supervisor 2 to 4% on top of that. I wasn't getting anything extra so there was no incentive at all for me to even take the tests.
Nothing new to report except a failure on my service truck. I took it to the Dodge dealer a month ago to get it serviced. They serviced the truck and did a recall replacement of all the wheel studs while it was there. Friday about noon I heard what sounded like an explosion behind my truck and the right rear corner went wonkie................I'm dong about 30 mph leaving a stop light. I didn't find a single wheel stud. It looks like the wheel nuts came loose at some point but I had washed the truck a week before and didn't notice anything. The truck never drove strange or made any noises.....just BOOM! When this happened, the outer tire passed me on the right and hit a truck right in the side behind the rear door crossing traffic........then rolled into the center median to lie down. A wonderful afternoon.
Wow, glad no one was hurt. They must of forgot to torque the nuts
Should have thrown the torque wrench and gave it a few more ugga dugga's. I'm sure it says in the fine print that the wheels were to be retightened after 100 miles. But someone I know hates trucks and refuses to work on them....
When I do track pads or truck wheel studs, I use the 'German Torque Standard'. GERMAN TORQUE STANDARD DEFINED: GOOD'EN TIGHT, also known as alot of UGGA DUGGA'S!!
Work probably came with the tail light warranty
Seems to be a common failure on the Ram 5500 trucks the feed mill has here. Replace with studs from the Navistar dealer for the same size truck and end of problems. Must be a different metallurgy or heat treat, but the Navistar parts hold up. Their mechanic uses the Ram nuts though because the washer part is bugger (more support ?)
Wheel stud recall----a recall on parts that are mundane compared to the rest of the vehicle.
Yep, dealer recall ruined a vacation to Gattlinburg TN for wife’s car. She took it in for service before the road trip, Toyota Rav 4 and oh, while it’s here let’s do recall on front axle wheel seals. Wouldn’t you know, tech screwed up one of the seals and tranny was leaking. Didn’t find out till Dollywood and then it was add tranny fluid in through breather tube as it’s a sealed transmission. Took it to a dealer in Gatlinburg and they said it would take a week. No way, daughter’s graduation was in middle TN in 2 days. Terrible ride home. Dealer recall= some tech needs some work.
I'm sure it was driver error, Eh.
We all know what took place----Vetech was coming out of turn two a little to fast feathering the brake then side stepped it passing a competitors service truck, they were both after the same parts at Cat and they only had one.
I went back to the scene of the crime today and used my extensive forensic abilities to look for wheel studs and nuts. I found 1 and that was it........ The nuts definitely came loose. The dealer as of now is covering everything including my $600 wrecker bill, the truck repair, and the other victims truck repair. Just as it should be in this case.
did you wear a lab coat--a white lab coat?
Did you have the little light that showed explosive bodily fluids?
^ You 2 can kiss my white buttocks! LOL
probably more like raspberry red.
You back side has been hanging out so long you sure it's still white
How long do you suppose you were riding with one stud?
Until it broke
How are the studs held in place? Most I've seen are similar to bolts and pressed in tight in fine splined holes. Some are threaded in though. Wondering if the nuts were tight but the studs weren't installed properly and came loose after driving a bit?
all the way to the crash.
The company made a hiring proposal to the possible new hire last week..............he passed LOL. They wasted a month coaxing this guy, no other applicants but they will keep trying. Just like I expected......there is NO ONE to hire under the current circumstances. I believe my value just shot through the roof
You should try to hire that guy or at least see what it takes
Tell them you need to re-tire. Or at least time to deal with your stud issues.
Told my woman this break down is telling me I should start my own stud service. She just rolled her eyes and walked off
I like this girl!
Needs updates. Missing my drama fix.
Vtech is busy posting over on this thread.........no time for the thread he started!! Safety BS Perhaps the solution is not a resistor but a clothespin on the sensor...Unfortunately it’s not as easy as that. The sensor is moulded into the foam of the seat base cushion when it’s manufactured. Without cutting the cushion apart there is no access to it. Believe me the first one we failed we... HeavyEquipmentForums
Vtech, your not alone. Mack GU dump truck.....had a leaf replaced a month before. This happened about a month ago. Wiped out the rims, the hub, brakes, drum..........makes one wonder if he got the u bolts tight. Vtech.........does your STUD SERVICE cover the Northeast??
A new mechanic hire showed up at the shop yesterday..........I knew nothing about it. He is around 40 and rather large and out of shape.....every bit of 350+. More later today
I'm going to be nationwide if my woman lets me.
Probably related to the owners ?
I bet he talks a good game.
Thats the guy for your seat switch problem
It barely covers his house
AW **** its on now
Grabbing popcorn and getting comfy on the couch to watch the Vtech vs. cfherman show!!! Anybody want a drink while I'm up??
Lol it's just a joke, I wanted to say it the first time was mentioned.
LOL.........No, no.......we need to hype the drama!! Add a little spice and excitement to the thread!! Delete that post!! Throw some more barbs out!! It was just getting good!! LOL Get some witty banter going between us!! I dont wanna talk to you no more you empty headed animal foot trough water! I'll fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and you father smelt of eldiberry!!!! Is there someone else up there we can talk to? NO! Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time! -Monty Python Holy Grail (French man at a Castle)
As said stud service you are obligated to service whatever requests stud service.
If you do the stud service, do you get to keep one of the tires as a fee?
holy crap, is it still winter where y'all are at?
View attachment KIMG0903.JPG Yes Sir!
Lol.. it’s 84* today.!! I’m in shorts and a T-shirt.. The wind is blowing 13 mph.. Nice day to fly a kite.!!
Hatches are battened down, lines doubled..........Nor'easter expected shortly here in Cow Hampshire. Expecting a trace - 12+ inches of snow (god and mother nature only know how much we will get). Those weather people.........they can be pretty useless.......building hype over what turns out to be nothing. This one........we'll get a decent amount of the white fluffy stuff. Yesterday it was sunny and 60F. A couple of weeks ago, the wife asked me when i was going to take the tire chains and snow blower off the tractor..........I told her when winter is done. Almost took them off last week..........neighbor borrowed my tractor to put hay out for his cows. Ran the tractor down the road to his house.........he didn't want to take them off...........I'm glad he didn't. I HATE PUTTING THOSE THINGS ON!!
Warmest part of today Here, 64 at 6am, been dropping all day, forecaster noted MIGHT get Snow here Thursday AM. Damnit!!!
Yep. He's gonna show Vtech how to wrench, and he's likely assured the bosses that as well. Lots of guys like that out there. Vtech is going to have his work cut out managing this situation.
My thoughts exactly, the owner thinks he can; 1. save money 2. have the mechanic at beck & call 3. tell mechanic exactly what to do & not do, so save even more money. 4. with NO backtalk. BUT....these are just my thoughts, mechanic might be a great person.
Now that I have a minute.............. Talked with new guy (LMM I will call him) for a bit. When Alan introduced me to him, he referred to him as a new hire. I took that as being on company payroll. No........he's on through a temp service. Worked for the Deere dealer here for a few years and then the city government here in Tulsa. LMM gave me some info about his experience in equipment and made the statement that he has never been deep into any components (engine, trans, diff, ect.....). Single with no kids and living with his brother that has been a year out of a 25-year prison sentence. No job when sent here. I decided to call his Deere boss and ask his opinion. He told me he was a good guy, a good B class mechanic. He didn't specialize in anything, but was kind of a general all around, little of everything type. He did decent work and seemed to be thorough. His opinion was he would be good help at this company. His drawback is that he is slow and won't win any races in repairing anything. Alan has him going into the company field truck right now. Not something I would do but it's not my call. His tooling looks to be basic for what his experience is and seems to fit. Alan sent him out Tuesday on a hydraulic leak on a Sakai roller........he was gone all day but apparently replaced a leaking hose. I had no involvement. Alan sent him out on a 524K that wouldn't start. Starting was never an issue..........it has a front axle coming out and has the outer bearing exposed. He texted me that the machine was going to need a new axle and that Deere was having trouble finding the parts. Sent me some pics and I told him I would have it picked up and brought to the shop for the repair. He texted me back and said it was no big deal to do a field repair, that they (Deere dealer) had done them in the field all the time. I dropped any involvement with this immediately. This is not something I would do in the field. This is a city street job and there is no guaranty parts will show up on time and will be right. I don't like having machines tore down in the field unless there is no other option or it's a very short-term repair. It's difficult to keep children away from broken machinery in a neighborhood, and the machine can end up vandalized. My last text to him was "YOU make the call. It's your job to do". My thoughts are, if he is slow, he is going to be overwhelmed in no time. I have 2 jobs I have already started that I will finish once the parts arrive. I will then be going back to a ON CALL mode and won't be spending my time there like I have been. I am going to leave him on his own and see what he is made of. It's time to sink or swim. By the way, I found out yesterday that Alan's previous job before coming to this company as fleet manager, was 20 years as a mall manager...........yeah, a SHOPPING MALL manager. It shows badly.........and he is LMM's boss. Good grief.....stay tuned! Am I being fair?......or am I being a prick?
LMM??
I think you’re being fair. At least the guy seems to be honest about his abilities and isn’t trying to run you off. I see him getting tired and frustrated when he gets overwhelmed and he will the be as you stated “ temporary “. As far as a mall manager becoming an equipment manager I don’t think he will ever really get it as long as he doesn’t understand the repair process. LMM. Loves M&Ms
NOT THE A HOLE!! Your calling it as you see it. I equate being a mechanic as also being a life guard with some customers. You see their strengths and weaknesses. You can only advise them to stay out of the deep end.........but there they go.......right in over their head. And then you go out and save them. I say my peace......if they want to listen, fine. If not then my 'Give a Crap' goes downhill and I stop being so quick fixing stupid. I'd broach the subject of LMM with someone higher up than Alan. Speak your piece, see what happens. But I think, based on your comments; your give a crap has gone down hill. As for the hose taking all day on the roller...........I was working on a 725 rock truck last year. Took all day to replace 2 hoses. Seemed like everything was in the way. Lying on top of the engine/ trans in between the cab.....not fun. Move 4-6 hoses to get one out and replaced. Picking out old brittle o rings to replace them in places my hands barely fit..........you know the game. OK............you MUST SHARE what LMM stands for!! Inquiring minds want to know!! I noticed it was around 70F yesterday in Oklahoma. I'm standing down today getting ready for a Nor'easter to come through NH. Expecting 12+ inches of snow. Honestly can't complain......we haven't had winter........no snow.......lots of rain. Now that your stepping back.........you can dedicate more time to getting 'VTECHS STUD SERVICE' up and running!! VTech's stud service -copyright protected Good luck brother!! Keep us posted.
John Deere dealership & working for a city ? Why did he leave these jobs ?
Would be trusting your instincts on this, does not sound promising.
LMM=Large Master Mechanic
Was thinking Large Maybe Mechanic!!
Low money mechanic. Your wanting to move it out of the street seems professional to me. Paid 100$ to move kids car into garage due to sloped driveway. Twice come to think about it. Hope you force the move if you get involved. You have earned the right to be a prick. Thier decision making has more in common with name that tune.
WINNER!!!
All the company sees is the cost to move the equipment, not the extra time or concerns from field repair. Allen doesn’t know anything to know better and LMM is used to shop work I’m guessing, going to take him even longer with his repairs. I don’t blame you for getting some distance from this.
LMM = Lego multum molestia
I'd give him a chance. He may not be the best but he could be better than nothing. Hopefully he's trainable. When he was described as slow, who was that compared to, a mechanic with 10 or more years experience? Speed comes with experience and from what I've seen very few are fast and accurate. I think quality is more important than if it takes a little longer. Some people seem to be really fast but they're taking short cuts and often missing things. I mentioned in the past a welder who seemed way faster than anybody else. He was only faster because he was only doing 2 pass welds when the blueprints specified 3 passes. It's a good thing the customer didn't have a 3rd party inspector come in. Some major oil companies had very picky inspectors come in. Some skids even required X-rays on the main cross member welds.
You’ve gotta right to be skeptical.. If he’s from a temp service, they don’t have to pay any benefits.. I guess that’s 1 way to save money.. I wonder if he has a DL to drive a service truck..?? As long as he’s not under your feet.. let it ride.. Do u think he’ll tell whoever is sending him out on these jobs, that he doesn’t know how to do something.?? I guess we’ll find out in time.. My personal thought.. does anyone know of a GOOD diesel mechanic that works thru a temp service.??
Slow and a job well done is better than nothing
I was not judging LMM
There could be a few reasons he's with temp. service. After what they originally thought was encephalitis a temp. service was recommended to help me get back into the workforce after about a year. I needed something pretty low stress. I did get on with a welding supply but the manager was intimidated by me because he thought he knew everything but didn't. Coming up to my 3 month probation he said I was quite knowledgeable but they weren't going to keep me. It was actually a relief. It's never good when you have to wonder what mood the boss will be in and try to avoid him as much as possible. The LMM getting a favorable reference from the JD dealer is worth giving him a chance. If you can set up some basic guidelines like to call you if something is over his head or he needs assistance could be beneficial. Also that jobs like the axle are best to bring back to the shop. Even if he can do most of the basic maintenance and simpler repairs free's up your time.
I would have walked from this company a long long time ago
I think Vetech is looking at his options but in the mean time still making good money. If all of a sudden they cut his funding, he might just say by by.
Easy to be a keyboard quarterback. I've been on this board before Vtech joined, and the money he's made from this company is nothing to shrug off. None of us know what his financial situation is, or should. If/when he decides to cut and run, we might know, or we might not. Doesn't really matter.
It could also be a bit of comedy for Vetech. Frustrating but comical at the same time. He is making really good money and runs his own show for the most part.
Idk if u know it or not, but it’s ILLEGAL to give a bad reference from a prior employer.. One way to get around that is ASK the prior employer if he would re-hire him again.. It’s a simple yes or no question w/o talking bad about the employee..(illegal) AND speaks volumes.!!
Beans & Weenies--hat bill turned to the side so doesn't collide with plate. * Could be a ok person I don't know---But more than likely he is nervous as a whore in church around Vetech--because I would imagine Vetech is well known in that neck of the woods.
There's 150 pieces of equipment in their inventory, if I remember right. They spent over a million with the JD dealer last year alone. There's plenty of work for Vetch, the new guy, and honestly they could hire 2 more and still need the dealer to do work for them. Its no doubt that its a rollicking rolling dumpster fire of adventure, but there's 150 pieces of equipment, and that paving equipment is dirty and nasty and trying in 15 different ways to vibrate itself to pieces. With that much iron, its always going to be tough to keep up. Which is easy to see with some of the date's between service's that some of the machines have had. The new guy could run himself ragged just trying to do PM, oil changes and inspections, basically giving each machine a good going over, and just changing some hoses here and there. If the new guy does 2 machines a day of PM work, he barely sees each machine twice a year. I don't think Vtech has to worry about having enough work to do for this company, and he certainly isn't expected to be the new guy's boss. I think the new guy probably knows that vtech does a bunch of their work, and he is likely just trying to avoid stepping on anyone's toes. I enjoy reading about it, just because it helps me to know I'm not the only one that can't keep up.
It's all about quantity not quality.
I know all about that unfortunately. I was wrongfully dismissed back in 1990. This was just before the freedom of information and privacy act came into effect. Actually happened on Halloween! I had a job trial all lined up at a specialty welding filler metals shop. It was through another place that helps people get back in the workforce. Friday before I'm supposed show up on Monday get a call not to show up, the deal is off. I was supposed to be tried out for 10 days and if they liked me I'd have a job. I asked why and never got a straight answer. When I went to see the woman working with me all she said is I might not want to put down the company I was wrongfully dismissed from. I was suing them but they were a large well known shop and I worked there for quite a while. I told my lawyer and of course he was told the company had not said anything negative about me. Total BS. Had the privacy act been in place at the time I might have had recourse through the gov't. Now about all a previous employer can say without a signed release from a former employer is that you did work there for a certain length of time. The JD dealer saying the LMM is worth a chance is a much better reference than sorry, all I can say is he worked here from this time to this time. Depending on how the conversation went Vetech could have got a feeling if the JD dealer was talking positively or negatively about the LMM. If the LMM had a serious issue, I think it would have been hinted at or just no response. I think any help Vetech could get would be welcomed as long as the new guy understood Vetech was basically in charge of repairs and maintenance.
Is that a SC law?
I would think it's pretty standard but don't know if it covers all states. It covers all provinces and territories in Canada.
Not a law here in FL that I am aware of, and in my (not so) humble opinion, a stupid one. As a former employer all I would have to say is: There is a law against me saying anything bad about *Joe* so I obviously can't say anything at all.
On our side of the Pond you cannot legally give a person a bad reference. You CAN, however, decline to provide a reference for said person when requested. This of course confirms to the organisation requesting the reference that you don’t have a good word to say about Joe.
It's not a stupid law. I was black balled for about 6 years trying to get a welding job. I was let go for questioning why I wasn't getting the journeyman welding rate after coming back after breaking my collar bone. A few weeks before I came back the company had a meeting where the pay levels were standardized. The lead hand told me to mention that I was a journeyman. I talked to the foreman and he said he has nothing to do with wages. A newly appointed plant manager came out and said we'll give $.50 and go from there. I was getting $13.50 which was the 3rd year apprentice rate. $.50 put me at $14.00 which was still $1.00 less than journeyman rate $15/hr. 3rd year rate is 90% of journeyman rate. There were several coworkers who said I was getting screwed. One guy even said I was the hardest working guy in the skid area. The older Polish guy, who lost most of his relatives in concentration camps, ran the roller and always requested I help him roll and tack the shells. He had a lot of pull. One of the nicest guys I ever worked with said he would testify in court the J rate was set at $15/hr. He thinks they were mad because I got injured when they were really busy. They added another overhead crane and everybody complained the control was too big but they said get used to it. The Polish guy came back from holidays and said it was too big. 2 days later it had a smaller control like the other cranes. I mostly worked on large oil and gas processing plant skids up to 20,000lbs. and up to 20'x80' in size. Also worked on heaters and tanks and fire tubes. Less than 3 month's after I was let go I ended up in the hospital with what they suspected was encephalitis. Years later I found out it wasn't encephalitis and they don't know what I had. I was in the hospital for 5 weeks and unable to work for about a year. I had to have a low stress job going back to the work force. I know the stress from losing my job for asking to be paid fairly was a major contributor to my going into the hospital. The legal student assigned to me said it was a pretty open and shut case before I went into the hospital. By the time I was out I couldn't get ahold of her. She was going to do up a statement of claim and decide what court to file it in. Many years later she became the premier of Alberta. She ended doing nothing except the firm wanted $800+ for services rendered. I went to another lawyer who said he wouldn't take my case unless he felt I had a good chance of winning. I think he was paid off or something because after filing a claim for 6 figures since I ended up in the hospital so soon after being terminated he completely changed his tune. At one point he said I should accept $1000. I ended up with $2000 because I persisted but my life was ruined for over 6 years. I got a skid steer and did some landscaping for the head engineer of welding shop. He was very impressed and asked about my background. I told him my story and he asked if I'd like to get back to welding. He told me to go and talk to the foreman. I got a job on the night shift. My 2nd shift I got complimented on my welds and the night shift manager said that doesn't happen very often. The foreman said I was too good of a welder not to have my B pressure ticket. He set up a time at the boilers branch for me to take the test. I wasn't ready but got lucky and passed on the 1st attempt. I had my passion for welding again. If an employer was mad you left or they wanted to retaliate against you for any reason they could say what ever they wanted when asked for a reference. Now in order to get a reference you have to sign a consent form allowing a former employer to give you an honest reference. Most will give a reference letter so you can decide to use it or not. Decent employers won't hold a grudge and try to hold good workers back. Sure wish I would have had a relative or good friend that was an employment lawyer. I went through a really dark period that might not have been nearly as bad had the privacy act been in place a few years earlier.
Vetech,did I read you said the new chap was fresh out of a 25 year stretch in prison?
I think it was his brother who got out of prison.
I think you’re spot on, let him fly and see if he plummets or soars….
The JD dealership might have labelled the worker as "Slow" because he didn't make the book rate ?
No surprise whatsoever that my opinion aligns with yours, as it does most of the time when employee discussion comes up. If John C. still came around we'd have to read half a Bible's length post detailing why employer's are all a bunch of assho!es and employees are always getting screwed 6 ways to Sunday by the boss. Obviously, refusing to give a reference speaks pretty loudly, but not quite as loud as "So and so was a complete tool. Only showed up on-time about half the time, had a huge mouth that never stopped talking, and wrecked more stuff than he fixed. I wouldn't hire him back if he was the last prospective employee in the country." And the truly sad thing is, that description fits more ex-employees than anyone wants to believe.
^Pretty much spot on here with my thinking at the moment. He has already stated that he doesn't want to step on anyone's toes. He is definitely nervous......who wouldn't be.
The employer, employee description is a age old battle. There is no perfect/saint employee and there is no perfect/saint employer. Just some employees & employers are better than others. This is/was and always will be a two way street.
You maybe can teach a slow man to be good. You will never teach a fast man to be good.
I always tend to go with my first impression when giving someone a name that I work with. That name can change as I get to know them and their abilities. I haven't seen him do anything yet........so "Mechanic" isn't one of the words. "Master" isn't in there either. LMM stands for "Large Mexican Man" because that was my first impression. Under his circumstances of being a temp hired person, I have to do things a certain way with him. He has to work under temp status for 480 hours before the company can hire him.....or not. I'm not trying to be a prick to the guy, but I have to know what he's got to bring to the table, and I don't have a lot of time here. Call it baptism by fire if you want but I need to know that he can multitask, be dependable, and handle being overwhelmed......because that's how it is here. I can't start him off slow and baby him, there is no time for that. He is going to get his chance to shine as I have no problem with that. I, as far as I know, am NOT his boss. We just work together, and I am there to advise if asked. I'm going to pull for the guy and hope it works out because I dam sure need the help. I just need to know if he will be the right fit and not a liability.
I was told several times I had a name for everyone--always based of first impression, their stride/walk/ gate, how the body parts were assembled on their head, {one ear lower than other} things like that. And once others stood and examined said person it would be followed by a yeah. * Guy who sold/delivered bulk oil---Was, OPHS--one percenter hot ****. Walks with the stride and swagger of {I'm A Big Guy, A Big F---ing Guy}. Funny thing is anyone who knows him agrees with the OPHS stamp.
I disagree. It is suppressing free speech. That is never good. If you don't support someone's right to speak freely when you disagree with them, you do not support anyone's right to freely express themselves.
He managed to get here on time about 1/2 of his shifts, and loved to grace us with his opinion ON EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME! I would argue in court that this^^^^ was a good reference. Now someone else gets to judge what is good and bad as far as describing someone else's tendencies?
There went the neighborhood.
Sounds like he will be easy to get along with. I'd say help him when you can IF he asks. Otherwise, sit back and watch the show.
I don't think it's illegal to give a bad reference (at least here) it's just asking for trouble. We typically just go with the worked these dates, made this amount of money and is or is not available for re-hire. Most places are so desperate for employees they do not even care if you say an employee is not eligible for re-hire. They would hire a demon if it filled a spot for a few weeks.
There should be a law like no job or no business or no paying taxes NO F*CKING VOTE then all the political cocc succers would quit making it where they could survive because then they wouldnt be getting that vote [scratch that] buying that vote with our tax money
There is a certain segment of employee's that are always alert for a way to be offended by the boss. They almost always think they are far better than they actually are as well. Maybe always, actually . . .
A lot of so called fast guys think it's a race and are trying to impress someone. Sadly it's usually themself but the quality of the job suffers and often has be redone or fixed. Some employee's are really terrible but so are some bosses and companies. Most employee's just want to make a decent living and have a little respect from their employer. People change jobs for various reason's. What does a company gain by giving a bad reference to someone who no longer works for them? It's not uncommon for employee's and employers to clash. Giving a bad reference because you clashed with an employee or just in spite benefits no one. I'm talking about average employee's who overall are good workers, not the best and not the worst. As an example, what if Vetech decided he had enough and left that company. Then later decided he'd rather just work as an employee for someone else. That employer calls the company Vetech worked at and they give him a bad reference because he left them scrambling to find another mechanic. It was their own fault he left but they are mad at him. Does Vetech deserve a bad reference because the company is mad at him for leaving? Consider an employee in a similar situation but had only worked for a company a year or 2. He decides to look for another job. Does he deserve a bad reference just because he chose to leave that company? I think that's one of the reasons they have privacy acts so employers can't just give a bad reference. It's not a stupid law at all. In the past good workers could have real trouble getting another job because of a personality conflict or a spiteful employer. Good employers wouldn't want to hold people back if there were better options for them but not all employers look at it the same way.
In any employee/employer situation the possibility of personality clash is constant. There are so many variables it's damn near impossible to list them all, especially this day and age with all the political views--which we won't get into. I think a huge issue in the work place is all the useless drama generated by personality clash created {sometimes} by social media. * A employer doesn't hire a employee to be a friend and employee doesn't hire on to be the bosses friend. Not going to each others house for dinner either. Both need to keep the drama in a box. As long as both understand their positions, and keep confrontational conversation on the back burner things generally go well.
If I were to call a former employer for a reference on someone I was considering for hire I would take it all with a grain of salt if everything reported was the end of the world bad. When 'investigating' a potential hire, it is the same as any other investigation. one must weigh all the available information. Once again I will say: Any restriction on free speech is bad. Here in the USA, our founding documents specifically deny that power to the government.
No keyboard quarterback here, just merely stated what I would have done with a company that can't get it together let alone seemingly work against you. I never referred to money as income or debts owed by another person. No need for panties to get wadded up over internet conversation.
No wadding going on. Just pointing out why would he leave when they are funneling him mass quantities of cash? If he was a W2 employee, absolutely. But, until the juice isn't worth the squeeze, carry on with the battle.
Just to clear the discussion on what can and cannot be disclosed when calling previous employers, federal law basically has the same requirements as non discriminatory rules. Federal regulation reads as follows: Employment References It is illegal for an employer to give a negative or false employment reference (or refuse to give a reference) because of a person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/prohibited-emp...negative,), disability or genetic information . Individual states have different requirements. Here is a site that not only lists the requirements for each state but also the state statutes. State Laws on References and Statements By Former Employers Many states regulate what an employer may say about a former employee—for example, when giving a reference to a prospective employer. Does your state make employer www.nolo.com
Libel & slander are not protected.
And I see Another attempt to derail the thread, and another attempt will fail once again
Not every employer takes references with a grain of salt. The privacy act protects the employer too. If the employer were to blurt out confidential info. on a former employee could get them in a lot of trouble. There was case years ago where an ex of an employee was stalking him. They called his former employer who blurted out where he went to work. Some employers would give negative reviews in an attempt to keep the person from getting a job. A reference letter or a signed release is more likely to get a positive reference. Just being able to call up any former employee could open a can of worms. There are many circumstances a former employer could give a negative reference that isn't deserved. In Vetech's case with such poor maintenance on machines, what if an employee was told to keep running a machine that clearly had an issue and the machine had a catastrophic failure. The foreman or boss reams the employee out blaming them for the failure. The employee quits over it and applies elsewhere. The new potential employer calls the former employer and they're still blaming the employee for something that wasn't his fault and give the most negative reference they can. Does the employ deserve to not get hired because of it? It's easy to say it's a stupid law if you've never been denied a job because of an employer with a grudge. Can't give a reference is 1 thing. Saying everything possible to prevent a former employee from getting another job is another thing. There can also be good reasons an ex employee doesn't want certain former employers to be called for a reference. An example could be the employee was accused of stealing something and is totally innocent. The former employer doesn't believe it so tells prospective employer's he's a thief. I've always preferred to show a prospective employer what I can do with a weld test or knowledge test. One welding supply had a 3 page test to see how much product knowledge I had. They put me in a room thinking it would take a while to complete. I said I can do it right in front of you. I was done in about 6 minutes and told them they didn't leave enough space to give the full answer on some questions. They said it usually takes people 20-25 minutes to complete. Then I discovered one of their salesmen was someone I knew. He barely knew the difference between Mig and flux-core. Never got the job but about 6 month's later they completely stopped selling welding supplies. It was really strange, their sales were tanking because their outside sales people and sales manager lacked knowledge but they had a 3 page knowledge test for counter sales people. It's like the guy Vetech referred to that used to be a mall manager. Doesn't have a clue about heavy equipment or fixing and maintaining it but somehow that's what he's in charge of.
If I had a deal like that, I’d ride that sumbitch right into an early retirement.
Or get the thread shut down
I dont wanna talk to you no more you empty headed animal foot trough water! I'll fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and you father smelt of eldiberry!!!! Is there someone else up there we can talk to? NO! Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time! -Monty Python Holy Grail (French man at a Castle) Just throwing that out there as a way to lighten the convo..........not directed AT ANYONE in particular. I think we're getting way off topic.........BUT the subject of references is defenately elightening. I have always been taught, when in the position of management; if you wouldn't hire the guy back.......that's what you say "Would not hire them back." Thats it. And explain WHY you can't elaborate.......because it's illegal........that was in Mass.
And must be proved in a court of law as false statements to qualify.
The topic of this thread is "interesting". Pretty hard to get off topic there . . .
Once again, free speech, and more importantly the fact that the government has NO RIGHT OR POWER to infringe on my right to say what I want, trumps any single case of a wrong being committed. "Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas." Stop focusing on small minds and see the greater good!
Agreed - even if it's not illegal, it's just good business to give the basics regardless of the circumstances.
I am a big proponent of Free Speech and its restriction on government. However can we tone it down a notch or two in this thread?
Hate to continue but you have to know they are false, if you have good reason to think what your saying is true it is not defamation.
V tech where does one find a temp agency with an LMM that can mechanic I think I need one of those cause I only have a OAH (one armed houlagan) as a mechanic cause I can't ever put the phone down when under something an LMM would be a massive improvement
As was stated in Ahart's thread, if an employer says something false not carrying if it's false could land them in trouble. Some bad employers will want to punish some employee's as much as they can when their employment ends. The best policy is if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything but the time the person worked there. No need to elaborate any more than that. The employee is no longer with you so why do you care where they go.
What if an employer told a prospective employer a former worker was a drunk just to make it almost impossible for that employee to get another job and there was no basis at all for it? Reminds me of the National Enquirer getting sued big time for saying Carol Burnett was drunk. She doesn't drink. Free speech doesn't trump false statements.
Dave, I am not trying to pick on you. Please do not take this personally. I am an employer. I am also a landlord. When I give references, I do so as I hope to get them in return. I am not the landlord that tells the next one that my tenant is perfect so I can dump my problem on them. I am not the former employer that wants my 'competition' to fail and recommend a loser to affect that. I tell the truth. I expect the same in return. I do not need to lie. I won't lie by omission either. Can you tell me a lie of omission is better than a lie about a person's actual performance? P.S. Sorry CM, I tried to stay out.
If one guy rode his tricycle tire over someone else's toe, no child should ever be able to ride a tricycle again...
And, an apology to Vtech. Your story/experience/thread is far more entertaining than what I have to offer.
I'm just saying an employer can't say whatever they want and not have repercussions. Some employers say things out of spite.
Enough already with the employee/employer side track of this thread. Maybe move it to Personnel ?
Looks like you guys have been having fun! LOL I'm staying out of the reference scenario. Got to visit with LMM a bit more yesterday. He is feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I told him to not get discouraged and hang in there. I also told him.............oh, you aint seen nothing yet! Seems to me he doesn't want to say no to any of Alans requests, but you can't be at 5 places at one time. Welcome to my world!
Tell him one step at a time baby And you might tell him to tell alanthat while he's still new he has to do one job at a time otherwise might be afraid of messing something up, when he gets off of Tim status until full-time status he will be better situated to doing emergency jobs and then getting back to where he was.
No need to apologize to me or any other mod that tries to keep the Forum decorum. We have one of these when things get really out of hand - If anyone wants to argue employer/employee issues not pertaining to Vtech's thread, then start you own thread so it won't derail this one. Thanks in advance.
OMG!!! LMM....*** have you done. The machine is not even in the shop or torn down for inspection yet. Management is going to have a fit Monday.....yikes
Looks expensive.
Looks shiny........
Just install----and move on.
Jeepers, makes me think of the sound of a incoming bomb
And this is why there is such a disconnect in this company's operation. One place (Deere or LMM) decides that an entire housing swap is the best path forward to get the machine up and running, but at a sickening price point. Vetech's approach is more sensible, and probably considerably cheaper from a parts perspective, but his labor bill and the time to get said parts is going to be substantially larger. I don't see this saga ending anytime soon. These operations have always been more willing to send armored truckloads of cash to a dealer for repair than pay for it done in-house.
That's a pretty penny any guesses I say 25 grand
LMM just hit the......... Now I wanna see pics of the original unit. Better be broken in half. Now........on the plus side. The brakes will be new!!
Wonder what the 're-stocking fee' would be if you decide to send it back?? $2500-5000??
I gotta ask.........did you come in on a Saturday to get some stuff done?? To work without interuption and distraction?? Unencumbered by distractions and questions? To enjoy the solitude and quiet?? Or did you find this on Friday??
Ah, the Parts Cannon!
I'm not sure about that. This is the epitome of the culture that all these OEMs have been pushing for. All they want is for people to be swapping these large "components" instead of repairing said components because that allows the OEM to capture the revenue from rebuilding at the corporate level, instead of the local one.
These things happen--because I don't know what's in there and don't want to know so I'll just replace the whole thing.
Dealership repair, get it in and get it out and on to the next one. Early 70s I worked for a Jag dealer, warranty transmission repairs were overhaul tranny, now just replace it and ship it. And LMM has no idea what's hiding in there as he's never seen one apart. Replace it, flag the ticket and move on. Joe H
Yup---that's a fact. When I worked for a Ford dealer for a very short time in late 80's they had a new hire for drive train. Unless it was really simple it would get a OEM reman. The service manager asked me if I would assist him on a C-6 rebuild he had never done one.
Was their a time crunch on that machine. Is it good used painted, rebuilt exchange. Dont even say, surly he didnt, did he order a new assembly
Did anybody at any time even tell him what the cost was on that assembly? Maybe he has no concept.
At least you have parts for the next one
Ok.........so LMM needed to get part number, price, and availability from JD. Since LMM is hired from a "Temp" service ( still can't get over that one.........he needed to kick this up the chain to get approval. So he hit up the MM (Alan......the Mall Manager) for approval.......and MM said to LMM "yah.......go ahead and get it." I wonder if the cost was communicated to MM....must have been. Did anyone above MM give approval for said shiny new piece?? So many questions........ So 10-15 years ago, my brother owned a dredging business here in New England. He was working in CT. He had called me up to come "help your brother out". Couldn't find help......competent help that is. I went down........one day he hands me a blank check. Run over to NY and pick up 2 big cylinders that he had rebuilt at a hydraulics company he found down there. Never had done buisness with them. I go down, pickup the cylinders, give them the check.......it was around $12k for both. Come back give him the slip..........he goes BALLISTIC!! I guess up in Boston, the reseal of the cylinders would have been around $2k each. He's all over me like it's my fault. I asked him........did you get a quote from these guys? Did they update you on any changes to said quote?? Extra-ordinary conditions?? (NO, No, and no) And why the HELL would you go to NY if you have a business in MA that you've done work with, have a relationship with, and they give you good pricing?? Dude, get off my ass............I'm the delivery boy. This is the same guy who was buying 5G jugs of engine oil and hydraulic oil for a PC650 that was leaking like a sieve on the barge. I set him up with my lubricant supplier so he could buy 55G drums, told him to put a pump and reel system in the container on the barge to simplify grease, oil, etc. We don't talk anymore........LOL. He's out of business.
That’s what I was thinking Monkey.. somebody had to know it..?? NO temp in their right mind would/could order something that expensive w/o prior approval.. Imagine how easy V’s life could be if he was allowed to replace assemblies..??
He's be replaced by a parts monkey that could R&R parts. Guess til it's fixed, lots of those guys are available. Joe H
Here is what I know as fact on this. Alan called LMM to go look at this loader in the field.......FACT. I don't hear anything from LMM til the next day when he tells me this machine needs a new axle........FACT. I tell him it needs to come to the shop.......FACT. He tells me Deere is having trouble finding the parts.......FACT. LMM tells me Alan and the General super has to authorize his parts purchases.......Fact. I drive in this morning and find a new rebuild complete diff assembly.....Fact. The machine is still in the field and not at the yard or shop.....Fact. LMM told me it is not tore down.....Fact. LMM told me early in the week that he had never been into major components but would like to learn.....FACT. IF someone authorized this purchase then they are a complete idiot. I won't know until Monday morning. I called Deere while I was standing there staring at this axle. The parts guy that helped with looking it up was the one answering the phone. He told me that Deere has never looked at the machine and that LMM is the one that told them it needed a complete axle. He also said he didn't know that LMM was not authorized to make those type of purchases but assumed since it was this company thy needed it now. No one from the company has talked with them..........all LMM. All I know is I'm irritated at the complete stupidity here. I'm just dumbfounded! Someone is going to look like a complete moron when this machine shows up at the shop and I point out that it has a problem on one side and that at this point in time......replacing the entire axle is just stupid unless the entire thing is trashed. We don't have Xray vision. We know little to nothing about what the actual problem is and whether it can be repaired. I may be wrong but I think LMM did this on his own. Alan or the general super have no clue what is involved here. If either authorized this purchase it would surprise me......they have checked with me on EVERY single major thing up to this. I will get the details on Monday.
WOW..!!
The LMM should have consulted with someone BUT if he was just thrown into the fire with no direction or guidance on how to proceed with repairs it's not entirely all his fault. Maybe he was just told to get the machine running? This is the exact reason Vetech should be his immediate supervisor and has the final say on how to proceed with repairs. LMM may have thought it was the best or easiest way to fix a machine in the field.
My old employer really didn't/doesn't know much mechanical wise. Even though I had authority to buy 300 tires at a whack didn't negate me from telling him what's going on. Because I had to keep in mind accounts receivable does fluctuate and sometimes revenue can get tight.
Vetech I'd just stay away from that one and let the chips fall. It will either work out or not.
MM (alan) + LMM = HNC!!! Vtech, I can truly empathize what your going through today. I've showed up on a Saturday to get **** done, unencumbered by distractions and people pulling me in different directions. I can relate to this......I believe that was your goal......make some progress........alone and undisturbed. And then you find this........kinda takes the wind right out of your sales. Then you talk with JD parts guy who was involved with this and get the unfiltered version from their end (nice find, btw). Good luck.......don't let this ruin your weekend!! Hey.......you didn't happen to stop at the liquor store on the way home, did you?? I'd bet you did!!
Not having Vetech involved is the companies fault not the LMM's. They don't seem to have a clue about maintenance and repairs.
That's why they're called Temporary Agencies ? Joe H
Well it may not end up being cost effective, but the guy is clearly expeditious. Lmao
He could have ordered a new machine and just swapped the key over.
There's a reasonable chance you're going to show up to work one day and find out he's your new boss.
Hell of a mechanic, he fixed everything!
I think someone confused axle shaft and axle group during the order process.
This last Friday I had decided to help the wife with some of her machine work. Screw the other company...needed a break, LMM can handle it right? It was just me and my youngest granddaughter that wants to always be by my side. All day play between part runs. We played some hide and seek, just doing kid stuff. Do you know how distracting it is when you are running a mill and their is a young one spinning around in a chair and flopping around on the floor right next to you? I didn't care, was a fantastic day! Wish I had many more of them. I'd rather do this fulltime than repair equipment.
I bet the wife would you hire you on the spot. Full time machinist and day care center? Win-win for her. Lol My dad has retired from building and now picks up my kids every day from school. He watches them until my wife or I get out of work. For not being a 'kid person', he has found a lot of enjoyment in being around the grandkids and spending time with them. And the kids think he's pretty cool too.
Time well spent!
If I’d have known grandkids would be so much fun I’d have had them first. So the saying goes. We are lucky to have our grandkids close to us. I get to teach them all kinds of silly things and then send them home! So I can rest.
Well, if it absolutely, positively must be ready for Monday afternoon, he did the right thing… after all, it’s not his money…
The place I work part time got sold out. They won't take over till July . Its been up to me to decide what to do and spend I don't like it much but its worked. They have already hired a guy to run the place where the shop is . This could be a good thing I don't mind ordering parts that we have to have but sometimes I think what should I do like one of the trucks needs a new floor mat and its close to a grand from the dealer? One of the walk behind trenchers needs new rims the dealer wants $500.00. I may be able to find some used ones for almost free but I will have to drive around looking ? If I have someone to ask and its up to him that will be good. I am not afraid to lose this job but I guess I care too much .
I can send you mine if you’re interested. I’m sure it would be a big relief both for me and for their parents.
U wanna talk about living grandkids.!! My wife’s niece and her hubby (25 yr old) decided to move down South from NYC.. She’s a school teacher and he worked a ground crew fueling airplanes.. BOTH now have jobs..& bought a house..but haven’t moved yet. The wife’s sister and hubby couldn’t stand the thought of not watching the babies grow up (3) that they came down on a visit and bought a friggin house.!! SO NOW, the whole clan is gonna be here.!! U wanna talk about “apron strings”..
Visiting at my grandmas house--{Get your carcass out of the kitchen!}
How many time have you heard: That's not how we did it up north?
Oh yeah.. he’s a real hard head.. (loud mouth) I can see him not having a good time..
Back to the JD axle "repair" one of the jokes used at the shop was: "Just jack up the radiator cap and roll a new loader under it!"
What happened.?? Or is this an after hours meeting.??
I’ll tell you what happened. Vetech shows up and makes one post and then the forum posts 3 pages of speculation before he returns.
Every time . . .
Vetech needs some comedy in his life too with all the stupidity going on. Otherwise he might go insane.
Opinions-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
It's called cliff hangers........and all soaps have them. I was called out 1st thing yesterday morning on this Roadtech machine they just bought that seems to be a POS at the moment. I haven't talked with anyone on the axle bs yet as I was gone all day. You guys just try to keep your panties from bunching up LOL I should be on the axle case today and will report tonight.
This crowd? most probably don't wear any.
So they did buy the Roadtech after all......
Nope, not a soap. NO SEX and CHEATING,,,,, not yet anyway
Soap, gotta have people in a coma in hospital bed. And amnesia. Lots of that. Joe H
Does my ‘old age’ memory qualify as amnesia?
No. Old timers ain't the same. You have to recover and remember everything. And the sex Hatch mentioned above is somehow done with their clothes on. Joe H
Guess they saved some money by not having VTech inspect the new machine, good thinking. Easier to just buy it and then check it over. Joe H
Oh just have LMM order a few new assemblies for it.
I disagree. It sounds like someone is getting f$#d
Someone somewhere is always getting f@$%D, no surprise there. It's the world we live in going all the way back. There were no guns then, it's where the term knife in the back started, and most was probably committed with a spear.----people.
But are they getting kissed
They wanted to be in the asphalt business.
It’s increasingly getting to the point where for lots of the smaller size equipment for Cat that it’s quicker and maybe cheaper or at worst a wash cost wise to change the whole axle.
I fix a bunch of the Deere axles. for me it’s usually wheel bearings or the brake housing cracks and chews up the planetaries.
Must be chinese parts, just has to be.
So, can I ask what the majority of the axles are on, what oil is used, and how often is it changed?
“Chewed- up” is right.!!
One of them is a 544k loader and the rest have been in H and L series skidders. Oil is hy-gard and it’s regularly changed when the axle breaks and there’s no other option. Maintenance is not only not very high on the list, it usually doesn’t make the list.
Typical logger (and old farmers) fashion.
Agreed. As much as I try, I cannot sell maintenance to anyone in this area but when a machine goes down they want me yesterday.
Ok, I got to visit with Alan yesterday. The axle was his call and not LMM. I asked why and he said it was because of time. Our Deere dealer told him that a lot of the parts were either unavailable or weeks out (That wasn't checked because there was never a breakdown of the axle and a parts list made to even check availability) I also told him because of the age of the machine that it was likely aftermarket or used parts would be available.........he just kind of shrugged his shoulders at that. His call.............HIS responsibility. If I am asked about it from upper management I will tell them the same thing. The Deere parts manager seemed excited to have sold them a $21K axle when I asked about it the other day. They may have steering Alan into that purchase.
Gee, I wonder why lol. For the last couple years, you have chewed a big hole in the revenue from the shop of that dealer, of course they are going to be excited to get that sale.
V keep your head on a swivel AL is gona get in to deep one day and when management starts asking questions he is gona be looking for someone to throw under the milling machine
Oh the indignation, cruelty & horror of it all.
And the beat goes on........
And no one is shocked, amazed or sending thoughts of hope, this time next year it's just a work order buried under a stack on the desk of despair, all to end up round filed to make a permanent end to the past poor decisions.
Sounds as though you've done a few turns on this boulevard of broken dreams.
If you only knew..........
This is a quote from one of the old Andy Griffith shows. The "elixir salesman" used it while talking about the Indians.
Stay at it for 49 years, one will see that the rug is constantly lifted in the main office and a broom is kept handy. And no one knows what I've seen, they just think they do.
Don't ask....
But but but but I have to ask!
I see a broken hub, definitely needs a new axle
Let me ask u.. Do they pay their bills on time or is it strung along until a current job gets paid and then everyone gets caught up..?? (until next time)
I thought this loader axle was the new guy's problem? Don't you have other broken stuff to fix?
Sooo..........Big market down there for oil sampling?? ROFLMAO I think its amazing sometimes when you explain WHAT oil sampling is, HOW oil sampling works, and THE BENFITS to oil sampling............most of my customers in construction get it...........and then a few, who have mutilple high dollar excavators, loaders, dozer............they look and talk to you like your selling 'Snake Oil'.
Made it to the shop I guess ? Joe H
These you sample---oil is changed, with maintenance problems are found. *
Are you going to try to get them to waive the 30% restocking charge........??
Those, my friend; are PURE DESTRUCTION to this highly tuned form of perfection called my aging body!!LOL Besides............Vtech doesn't want me to get my panties in a bunch........and those will DEFINITELY cause my panties to bunch after they hit my hips and thighs. LOL
It had to come back to the shop to get replaced anyway?
Anyone else besides me think truck shop should write a full fleged book about a career as a mechanic I would sit down and read that Besides if vtech tried to write a book after 2 pages it would turn into a book about why boobies are good
What you got against boobies?
I'd agree with that book
Boobies are good. But this guy thinks there are better things, can't think what that could be though.
That book could have been written with one sentence {If it has t!ts or tires sooner or later there will be trouble}. Only hard bound ever written with one page and no forward or post review.
You left out "tracks".........
All depends on a persons life style--those are optional.
Not a thing higly agree boobies make the world a better place
They can be enjoyable too.
Shortest book ever written.
I've never has a problem getting paid. Average time is 2-3 weeks. Well, after I saw how he was proceeding with this I realized he has never done this before. Intervening was a safety protocol. At my request. LMM brought the loader into the shop without cleaning it. It had mud and grease 6 inches deep on top of the axle bolts. Nope, I'm not breaking a machine down like that..........clean it up. He then asked me if I thought the shop transmission jack would hold the weight of the axle assembly. I said NO it won't and that's a good way to get hurt. Alan shows up to see what's going on and decides I need to take the lead......good idea because the way LMM planned this he was going to lose a foot or a hand and bleed to death on the shop floor. We used the machine hydraulics to set it up for removal and used the forklift for the tire and axle removal. Afterwards, LMM says he would have never thought of that. It was pretty simple when you have 40+ years of experience..........he got a good lesson session. He also has a 333G loader in the shop. I didn't know what was going on with it, but he started it yesterday morning and within 10 seconds the engine went to the moon.....it dam near didn't shut down at all..........filled the shop with heavy smoke. I asked him *** was that!? He said he thought the engine was running on DEF fluid..................NO, that's coolant your smelling, not DEF. I had to explain that if the engine is running away, something has to be entering the combustion chamber to override the governor controls. Coolant is entering the engine and mixing with the fuel spray and not completely burning................so the engine is continuing to run on it. He had this look on his face like he was embarrassed. I don't plan on getting involved with this one. He can call the Deere dealer and have them diagnose the issue.......or crater the engine.
On another note......The wife's kids that quit on her almost a year ago have continued their silence to us.........still being denied seeing the grandkids. I noticed the oldest daughter this last Saturday doing her first yard mow of this season (actually MY riding mower but I left it for her and her younger sister to use, being the nice guy). I noticed she didn't finish the yard and hasn't since, and her sister hasn't mowed as of yet. Both of these girls are anal about the grass........so I KNOW the mower has broken down and hasn't been fixed. It's unlikely they can fix it, so they are in a quandary.......and they dam sure aren't going to call dad to fix it like I used to do. They quit answering texts months ago, so I have no way to communicate with them. I put this in their mailboxes this morning. OK, I might be rubbing it in a bit, but sometimes a bit of humor goes a long way!
I need a translator. I'm sure the guys will have 20 posts on what this means. LMAO
Please mow sheeper grass, sheeper taking time and money I don't know what the sheep r means That's a huge bummer vt, I hope that works out for you guys sooner rather than later
Please mow your grass, you're tanking (losing) {time & money?}
....or purchase some sheep to mow the grass.
Shoulda just staked a sheep to the lawn in the middle of the night. At least the munchkins woulda dug it. If the cops caught you in the act they'd just figure you were out on a date.
they'd just figure you were out on a date. Maybe that's what the Boobie book guy had in mind for better? Joe H
There aren’t many jobs that get simpler on construction equipment than pulling the front axle on a loader. The fact that he didn’t know how to do it is a real concern.
Maybe you should treat him a bit like Jethro Clampitt from the Beverly Hillbillies. "Not too much up top and good at lifting heavy weights". If the possibility exists could you maybe use him to do loads of grunt stuff working under clear & detailed instructions and not giving him the option for independent thought. I dunno.?
Most shops have one of those hanging on the wall in the tool room.
How, by the collar of his coveralls.?
Probably by the ears.
Musta been something in the air..?? I started my rider up the other day and that baby TOOK OFF.!! I’ve seen and been around DIESELS that “run-away” but never a gasoline engine.. I liked to never got that sucker shut down before it ventilated the block.!!
Sometimes education is expensive........... How old did you say LMM is?? Guess you need to get a bottle of ammonia and a jug of antifreeze...........blindfold him and open the jugs. This is what DEF smells like in the exhaust ...............and THIS is what antifreeze smells like!! Hell.........have him taste both too!! Might as well get all the senses involved........since he has none.
I'm confused? It started with boobies and then went to not much on top. Seems like some people with not much on top pay a lot of money to have a lot on top. It's not all about the bass. It's about the trebble too.
My gas golf cart would run backwards sometimes, strangest thing you would hop off it and it would roll forward a foot or too, kick off running backwards and go backwards 6" or a little more.
I recall seeing an old manual transmission Euclid do that when driver stalled it going up a hill loaded. Lucky someone near by knew to kill it then restart before any major damage was done. Do recall it pushed some of the oil out of the oil bath air filter!
It said.......... Please mow your grass. You're tanking our property value. Don't make me get my little granddaughter on here to translate for y'all
Then there should not be "any" sheep in the pic because..................... There is no sheep in grass and none before tanking Also no Grand kid info You need your Grand kid to teach you pic unary
sheep = ewe
Ah no
I'm sorry to hear that. Its one thing to not get along at business, but letting it bleed into whether your wife can see her grandchildren, that's a whole different kettle of fish. That's terribly disappointing, and I hope they can turn a corner, what excuse can they possibly give those kids, for not seeing grandma? Sorry.
Click here. What do you do for a living?
LMM's slowness is catching up with him. It is taking wayy too long to get this stuff done. I'm not sure if its low confidence or just his nature yet....or a combination of both. A couple of the job supers have already complained to Alan, and I noticed Alan was a bit snippy with him yesterday when he came in the shop. LMM is trying to drink from a firehose here............and that won't get any better as things are piling up in a hurry. Wifey says I shouldn't be helping him and let him tread water.....Alan says the same thing (although he asked me to assist on this loader project). I'm doing my best to let him lead his own jobs but DAM, its painful to watch.
Sounds like the kind of guy who would fit into a big shop with a bunch of guys . . .
I Keeping the grandchildren away from grandparents is a common tactic now, especially over minor differences like this.
Hopefully still sending cards for birthdays and other occasions and they would get to grandkids…keeping your end open
UGH ... experience here on the getting **** upon end.... Hopefully they will wise up and not keep using their children as leverage.
That’s a sad situation..
"where there is a will, there is a way".......
LMM is not good for my OCD. He dropped grease on the floor from the loader, then kept stepping in it and now it's EVERYWHERE on the floor. YIKES!!! He works extremely dirty..........I may have to quit lol. A tech from Deere dealer showed up Friday to look at the runaway engine in the skid loader. I asked him if he knew LMM.......he said he was a lube tech and had never seen him mechanic on anything. HMMM.....interesting. It shows badly
All I can do think f now is that story of the lube tech that drilled through a cylinder wall
Wow did they go for the greatest cost savings over using you..... They wanted cheap, sounds like they got cheap. Honestly, I do wonder if the owner did want to simply hire a lube guy to take some of the mundane work off your shoulders. But lower management thought LMM could do anything, saving a bunch of money over your rates, and they would look real good to the owner ?
I worked with a guy like that 50 years ago, his stall had a coat of ATF & anti freeze at all times. Walk like a duck territory, when he was done with a job the only sign it's had been worked on were his fingerprints were everywhere. Joe H
I always walk looking where my feet land so I never step in things like that. If anyone gets this reference I'll be surprised. I walk like move find item
So now the L stands for Lying Nice. Wouldn’t suprise me if Deere had fired him.
I left the loader Friday late afternoon. LMM was supposed to finish it up Saturday. All that was left was to tighten the axle bolts, add diff fluid, make the hoses connection (5-6), install the front tires, and refill the rear diff with fluid. 3 hours or less for me. I'm curious if he got it done and how long it took him. I will know this morning........I'm also interested in how the shop was left.
Prediction- he does everything but fill it and sends it back out. “I thought you filled it!” Alternative prediction- fills it but only tightens the wheel bolts with a battery 1/2 gun and a tire falls off this week lol
You shouldnt say that around V . You know he hasnt had good luck lately with keeping his wheels on. Might give him bad dreams. Howd that song go, wheels on the truck go round and round ,round and round
I was thinking more of this line:
Aw thats a gooodone
***....its still here and the shop is a wreck.....pretty much what I was expecting. He is in Alan's office right now. Telling Alan this would be ready this morning was a bad move. Oh, by the way, I think I know where the grease all over everything is coming from. This is the bumper of the company service truck. LMM is in way over his head here.
Looks like he hit a deer...backing up....
It must have got run over here
Need to get rid of that f@#king slug before he really screws something up. There's no excuse for leaving that kinda mess. Pure laziness, useless POS. I'm getting pissed off and don't even work there.
ARE YOU ***** KIDDING ME? Just shoot that POS and put him out of his misery!
***.. could have happened in the parking lot to get grease everywhere..!! He’s up there now tell him he had a family emergency that HAD TO be taken care of and that’s why he didn’t get it done.
Good thing LMM works for a temp agency........
When a person starts that crap they know their not long for the job and their just riding and milking it for all its worth.
It astounds me that someone could walk past that, KNOWING they should clean it up.. if for nothing else, BECAUSE YOU MADE THE MESS.!!
THATS a quick way to get fired tho.. He’s use to sitting on his fat azz collecting a check and decided that’s where he wants to be..
Go get Allan and walk him down to the NEW grease pit.. Let’m get some red grease in his fancy Oxfords..
MAKE HIM clean it up before he packs his tools.!!! I would HAVE TO REFUSE to clean that up.!! If nobody else, how about Allan..?? He’s the cause of all this nonsense..
What was the dressed weight on the deer ? looks like he gutted it right there....
What was even trying to get accomplished in those pictures? only think I can think of is he's trying to load a grease gun and doesn't know how
Talk about ropy intestines
I hope there was a grease pump involved in that somehow. I can't imagine how you could do that with tubes. And he was a lube tech, so that should be one thing he knows. In his defense, I'm sure he was told that getting the loader out the door was the only priority.
Wonder what he looked like when he was done ? Joe H
My wife has been around heavy equipment, and me as a mechanic 43 years now. I just showed her these pics. Her words, not mine, "just get rid of him. He can't do the job and someone is going to get hurt bad, or worse." "There is NO excuse for that."
Haha
I want a picture of the seat in the service truck. Joe H
Man, I've had it already. I told this guy to clean up that shop before he went anywhere.............what does he do? 1 hour after I told him, he leaves in the truck. After telling me he would clean up.......this is what I found when he left. He didn't do anything. I'm done with him............only took 2 weeks. I'm sorry but there is just NO excuse for this. I will NOT clean up after a 44-year-old supposed mechanic. I'm not his mother. He has been setting my OCD off for the last 2 weeks and I am getting irate at this point...........it's just not worth it to me. So...........I will NO longer do shop work here. If he wants to trash the place, go right ahead. I refuse to work in it. I am back on strictly field work and that is only if he isn't involved with me in any way. I'll be cordial but outside of that I'm done. This is just disrespectful to me and the company and unacceptable.
Those are the intestines.........right?? Maybe he's going to use those for saugage casing?? My WIFE LOVES IT when I come home with grease smooshed into the tread of my boots........this is why I have BOOT brushes fore and aft at the house.
So this is beyond the scope of Pig Pens ability?? 2 day operation.....1 day to split it, burn out the upper pin. 2nd day to put new bearings, races, and put it back together (no line boring).
That's got to be a pretty small shop that the loader barely clears the door. The only time I've seen a mess of grease like that is at the trailer shop. They have a lever action greaser for doing wheel bearings so the handle and immediate area gets grease on it. It's confined to the 1 area though and they clean it up so it doesn't track through the whole shop. Who ever does the greasing wears gloves and throws them out when they're finished. It is kind of unfathomable that someone would leave a pile of grease like that on a truck they drive. I'm not sure if someone that leaves a mess like that could ever smarten up. It certainly doesn't show any pride in your work or respect to your employer or other employee's/workers like Vetech. It makes you look like you just don't care. No excuse for it either and you said he's 44? Yikes!
I figured it out. The LMM thought you open a tube of grease like it's Pillsbury crescent rolls. I wonder if he has some developmental issues or a partial disability? Most people would clean up a mess like that. A lot of blame also has to go to Alan or whoever else hired him. Vetech definitely should have been involved in the interview and hiring process. I can see Vetech saying f%$#! it and just packing up and leaving in the very near future if things don't make a drastic improvement.
Wonder what he could do with a can of ?
Or KY lube...
Don't forget the steering wheel and cabinet handles on the truck......those will be covered too!!LOL
Shooooot, at $200/hr VeTech can clean it up and take his time to do it thoroughly.
NOOOOO! Don't let him near that!
Am I missing it or was he working under that boom with no supports? And even if he was not at that point working on it why was the boom left up and unsupported? Looks like there is some blocking available right next to the machine.
My my my----the anger of the audience, tomatoes, rotten eggs & dirty diapers being thrown at poor LMM. As HEF members chase the Frankenstein Monster {LMM} across the roof tops. * Nothing shocking here---this same scenario played out in just about every type of business workplace across the country many, many times today. * Now you know why I worked 7 days a week---it takes less energy and less stress not having to deal with people. * Oh if your not going to use those wood blocks--I need some for the tow truck. *
BING!! This right here!!LOL Sometimes, though; we must suffer with 'the people' to get the job done........because we can't do it by ourselves.
Cousin scored free burn barrel from the bone yard and decided to power wash said barrel before burning to reduce the smoke and smell because his honey didn't like it. Turns out it was a never seize barrel we all know the rest of that story, think his honey even got some on her nether regions. Another good story involves a cat I got a job as a casual in the shop at CF, one of the dip$hits on the dock poked a hole in a drum of Levi's indigo ink for coloring jeans. Trailer was parked in the wash/steam bay to contain the spill. My buddy came in on the midnight shift and had to wash a truck for PM, decided to steam out the trailer first......poor feller looked like a smurf for at least a month, shaved off a pretty impressive goatee as well to lessen the smurfness. Got laughed at so bad he quit coming back.
I don't, I didn't, I won't. Oh I left out I don't have to because I'm retired.
He was just giving the speedy dry time to work.. lay off..(lol) This train wreck is just to dam good to look away from.. I feel for ya.. I’ve got a story just like it but I don’t wanna hijack the thread.. And besides, it’ll trigger some bad thoughts..
Don't they sell that in a spray can these days ?.......
Vetech it amazes me looking back a bit, that with the company continuing to hire people like LMM and Paul Blart the mall manager that not too long ago you were giving even one second of thought to going on payroll with these clowns. Especially with the father’s involvement in the company winding down. No way. If anything hire on a helper or two under your company and at your direction.
I’d given the benefit of the doubt to your new helper LMM.I’d allready figured he was a potential steady plodder at best,but that may have suited you Vtech. Clearly I was very wrong,that mess he left behind,especially when you asked him to clear it up,tells a much deeper story about the man,his personality,his capabilities and his potential to cause serious accidents. I was wrong about him. He’s dangerous.
Too funny.
Good thing you guys don't come around my shop, I'd be fired in a heart beat. I've always got a mess of oil, antifreeze and oil dri. I try, but I'm a pig. I will say this place has helped, in that I feel shame over my situation at times, and do better about cleaning up. But I guarantee my bench right now, is covered in cardboard boxes and disassembled parts.
I hate a useless person
Maybe I'm too old fashioned for these younger people now days. Maybe I expect too much from them. Maybe I am too OCD for most people's taste. Maybe I've turned into one of them old curmudgeons like TS . I was raised that how you do your work is a reflection of you. Do a great job to the best of your ability and leave the job as clean.........or cleaner than when you found it. Pick up after yourself in respect for the next person that may need that space. Listen to those with more experience and keep your mouth shut and learn. Don't put something off that you can accomplish right now. I thought I might be a decent trainer in this field someday. Now, I'm not sure I could handle it with these young people. I'm afraid they would have me seeking a building to jump from.
V thats exactly what they need but there is no accountability anymore so they dont have to do **** if they dont want to and just like your problem child they will keep getting a check from somebody and survive to spread their way another day.
Did they actually give this yahoo a company service truck to drive.?!!! He!!, u did even get that perk.. As long as he has wheels, you’ll never get rid of him.. seen it too many times..
Growing up, my family owned a pile driving and dock building business. My brother and I have always been mechanicly inclined........go carts, mini bikes, tearing apart engines and figuring it out. I think at 13 or 14 we were using the tractor trailers as go carts. Summer breaks from school were spent at the office out in the yard. Scrubbing boiler tubes out, scraping and painting the booms and the cabs on the cranes, painting the pile driving leads. We had my uncles and my surrogate 'uncles' watching over us. I remember telling one of my 'surrogate' uncles I wanted to learn how to run a crane. He went and grabbed a 5G pail of grease with a grease pump. He pointed to one of the cranes........it was a Lima 803.........go find all the grease fittings and grease it. When your done come back and I'll show all the ones you missed. I learned a TON from those guys. They took the time to teach me how to do it. Sometimes I'd get a SMACK upside the back of my head when I screwed up. And I definitely wanted to learn.........and gave them the respect they deserved. I went off to college for civil engineering, the company went out of business from family fighting. I've worked for 3 heavy highway companies as an engineer. 1st company went bankrupt, other 2 I was laid off. After that I went into business for myself doing what I could BY MYSELF.........turning wrenches and fixing heavy equipment. My uncles and my father taking the time to show me, teach me, is how I got to here. The damn shame of it is, we can't just download the lifetime of info people learned over the journey of their lifetime. It's up to us to learn what we want. We're all born into the world knowing the same thing......nothing. There are people out there that want to learn, to do it better, want to improve. Where are they?? I have no idea...........I'm looking myself. I just know that alot of people took the time to teach me.........so try not to give up Vtech. I'm sure you have a few people who you remember taking the time to teach you.
I'll be learning till the day I die, and I'm looking for a job too
What some people don’t realize that a lot of employees nowadays have fetal alcohol syndrome and their brains are not ‘wired’ like a normal person’s. They can be hard to work with and train and get into trouble. There’s only so much you can do with them.
I thought I read where he’s 40 years old.??
So we should allow them to mess up, screw up, and injure others with a free pass ?
* Just take him him out and thump him around--he can't be getting any passes from this crowd.
I’m not saying that, just avoid hiring them for certain jobs other than janitors or something similar. They don’t seem to understand consequences. We used to have a neighbor kid like that
My $0.02 (or $5 in B**enomics) : This assinine rule of "No child left behind" and a "participation trophy" society has put us in a steep rate of social decline. My wife, as an elementary school teacher, can NOT fail any students, no matter how little work that they perform. These kids that refuse to apply themselves are pushed along to the next grade regardless of their performance. Unruly students get treated with kid gloves and don't suffer any negative consequences for poor behavior. The result is a society of ignorant, lazy people with no work ethic that become dependents of the system to provide their needs. Just like the courts of justice these days, there are no consequences for poor judgement, no reasonable punishments and no consequences. And each year, it gets worse as the coddled generation produces the next generation of useless crybabies. Now, is there any real wonder why businesses can't find qualified help and standards keep sliding downhill? Everything starts with education. Destroy that and you can destroy a country in a few generations. Who would have thought that Idiocracy was the foretelling of our future? Sadly, we are well on our way.
That's what I said--Neighbaah!
Treemuncher for President.!!
Well thanks alot 56 next time im setting in the bathroom and I go to flush ill wonder is this thing gona blow up
I didn't realize there were also psychologist on here tooo. So many hats to wear!
The same people are running businesses!
Many people actually thrive and excel with rules and structure as long as the rules don't change all the time to support a pre-ordained outcome. The problem is that our society punishes and discourages it these days instead of rewarding it.
Been saying this for years, we all thought it was a parody film, turns out it was documentary left by a time traveller to try to stop it from happening...We failed.
I believe a lot of you would be good trainers. For a truly interested person. I’m getting a little experience with one who is not. It is painful.
For all the indignation and outrage, the subject of this week's episode represents about 70% of the personnel at the big factory shops; Ford, GM, Cat, whatever . . .
No kidding. Same here.
For all the indignation and outrage, the subject of this week's episode represents about 70% of the personnel at the big factory shops; Ford, GM, Cat, whatever . . . Hey, somebody has to spend their 20 years putting left rear wheels on Buicks as they come down the line. It ain't me and it's no one here, but there is a place for those people. Joe H
I thought there was no politics
? Joe H
Not yours
Last year I had a CAT 725 rock truck throw a pushrod. Engine had been put in a little over a year ago. Less than 1000H on the engine. CERTIFIED CAT REMAN. Took the head off.........ALL OF THE PISTON WERE PUT IN BACKWARDS. The relief for the valve clearance was 180 out. One valve had completely broken off, the rest were all bent up. Warranty for the CERTIFIED CAT engine was 1 year. CAT didn't want to hear it. Not their problem. Went to court........judgement against CAT. The IDIOT who put the pistons in, at CAT; is who is responsible. Probably somebody who got participation trophies in everything they did. MORE SMACKS UPSIDE THE HEAD ARE NEEDED. Not paying attention......WHACK!!........THAT grabs your attention. I have been on the receiving end of those quite a few times in my youth. Made me pay attention and correct my actions. I believe the psychologists call that NEGATIVE RE-INFORCEMENT. Tis but illegal in these fair times....so sad.
I got plenty of that growing up . . .
Question--which are more effective a up or down motion on the side of the head.
Depends on your targets position relative to you........ I always seemed to catch them from behind when I was unaware of said 'Impending Smack Upside dah Head'.
Oh ok, all has to do with the hood.
Personally, I find electro stimulus the fastest, safest method of negative reinforcement learning/teaching currently available. Wear a shock collar and you get to learnin' really fast! Most crybabies don't like the hard core approach but I do. Fast & efficient results. I still have nightmares about my mother's kitchen spatula and the paddleball board - both learned me quick. It was good for me - I've never been in any trouble with the law, I was taught proper manners and I do my best to be kind and considerate to others. I've never been a cost to society, just a payer.
That is known of.
Not understanding has no place in the workplace were even walking in the wrong place at the wrong time can get you or someone else killed. Even the Janitor need to be alert.
This is pretty much my opinion also. I needed a day or more off from this place, so I worked with the wife at her machine shop yesterday. LMM calls me around 11 am. I didn't answer since I was busy figuring he would leave a message. He did about the lube truck having an issue. About an hour later, I called the lube truck guy directly and questioned him. What he needed was no big deal, but I did ask if the shop had been cleaned up yet. He told me NO it hasn't. What a shocker............... I then texted LMM (he doesn't seem to have a problem texting) and told him if he needed anything to text me instead of calling as I'm working around loud machinery. He tries calling yet again at 5 pm. I ignored the call, and he left no message. This was a simple instruction that he couldn't follow. He has zero respect for others and it's something I can't tolerate in any form. I blame Alan more than anyone.............he doesn't know how to do anything but organize paperwork. He has turned out to be just another bad hire of many this company has done in the past. Bad hires make more bad hires. I'm not going to coddle either of them and will let the cards lye where they fall. Someone will get hurt or killed..........and its NOT going to be me!.
Vetech don't allow no coddling around here, asphalt company don't care what Vetech don't allow their going to coddle LMM anyhow, Vetech don't allow no coddling around here. * Hee Haw.
. . . Suspenseful music plays . . .
I’m still trying to figure out how this happened, aside from leaving it this way when you leave for the day. This looks like sticking your hands in a barrel of grease and trying to coat the entire length of that hose with it. While touching everything around you at the same time. Strange, very strange.
One of the problems around here is that all those marginal employees went to work in the oilpatch when they would take anybody with a pulse. Then the downturn came and they were the first to be laid off. Now they refuse to take a job that pays less, and are either still unemployed, living on unemployment insurance, living on disability ins, or living on the streets and doing drugs
I’m thinking it was an automatic grease gun..?? And he couldn’t get it to shut off.??
I’m not a tattletale but.. I would have to go get “somebody” who gives a hoot and walk them down to the mess.. cuz it seems he’s not taking “the hint” from you..
I think the exposure on here is doing pretty good.....send him a linky to this. And stand ready for a barrage of "yabutts" from LLM....
What I see is that the hose was laying in the back of the service truck when the grease barrel tipped over and the lid came off while going down the road.
When I see a disaster like that I think of calling the foreman and telling him the situation. Then ask him to send over the fellow on the top of his **** list.
Years ago, when I was in the management training program for a large corporation, I was sent to a week-long seminar for 'soft skills'. There was value in what the seminar taught, but one of the biggest things I gleaned came from a VP that came and lectured our group one afternoon. He said " A's hire A's, B's hire C's". People that are at the top of their respective discipline, want to work with the best in that discipline. They want their recruits to be as good, or better, than they are because of the value they will bring to the company for everyone. The 'B' grade employees fear candidates that are better than they are as they are afraid of being replaced, thus leading them to hire candidates that they think rank below themselves in abilities, skill, etc. I have heard this from a few other sources since then, and I agree with it. Poor management and poor recruiting efforts leads to poor quality new hires.
I'm going to write that down
Incompetence is everywhere, and it seems to be encouraged and cultivated. Colson, Nice post........ I keep a list of quotes in One Note ............that post was copied and saved there!! "Fools multiply when wise men are silent" -Nelson Mandela. I have seen the multiplication of fools because everyone claim that you don't need to address a fool.
Then there is the guy with no skill and admits it. * Years ago the shop I was working in was looking to hire, 6 came in to ask/interview. 5 of them were busy taking up there skills--which caused some skepticism. The 6th I'll call him Casey--that was his name, was majoring in chemistry at CWU. He was up front---{About all I know is how to gap a spark plug and change it}---{Honesty} That is the #1 requirement with me for hiring----A person can have the greatest A personality and is not truthful, truthfulness is everything in my book. Being able to have trust in a employee is golden, the rest comes along. I told Casey to show Monday morning. * Casey's math ability & reading retention was tops. Yes he didn't know squat about much mechanical, he was taking a year off from school because of money. He was putting himself through college. Casey was without a frigging doubt the best new hire decision I ever made in my entire life. He didn't know crap--but he said so upfront---that says allot.
Must have been full auto and not semi. lol
The worst guys out there are the ones that already know everything. You can't teach somebody that already knows it all.
Runaway grease gun..........chamber got too hot and was cooking off the rounds w/o firing pin. Had to break the belt!! (Man......that brings back some memories from long ago)
Not sure if the company ever gets a visit from EPA or OSHA though many places Ive worked and worked in including refineries would have an absolute meltdown over that kind of mess. Not to mention if it were just left there like roadkill. EPA nightmare, OSHA nightmare, Company safety nerd nightmare, Work comp case waiting to happen and not to mention that the company is a reflection of the mess in the picture. Not sure I've ever worked anywhere this would be a non issue for more than a few minutes. Wait I just told a fib, There is a large as in the worlds largest scrap company that purchased several yards all around Louisiana and I must say those places are all complete environmental disasters. You could likely produce a few million barrels of oil a year from each yard. Had to un-deck a crane in a area among other work like boom and lead repair so for the hot work area we had to use a hoe to dig out some of the ground material that was a fire hazard. Got real curious when told not to dig too deep because we would hit oil. That was no joke or BS, my curiosity led me to dig down about three feet past the fluff material on the ground and the ground was leaking oil filling the hole. If LMM is willing to move a bit farther south he could work for this company and not only fit in he would be able to make stupid large messes and no one would give a second look
Yeah, that's much better than the countless numbers of people who exaggerate their resumes and then can't/don't live up to their own hype. Who gets hired does tell a lot about the person doing the hiring. There's a lot of them that love the brown nosers. I was always pretty honest on my resume and listed the type of projects I worked on. I was also more than willing to do a job test to show what I could do. Some of the places that help people write their resumes are doing a mis-service to their clients too. If you can't do what you claim could mean your new employment is short lived. As far as cleaning up nobody is over qualified. It shows initiative if you clean things up even if it wasn't your mess. I'd normally say if you're not busy and help someone or clean up is usually a good thing... unless you're helping a guy in a union you're not part of. God forbid you help a union guy. Some stuff is just ridiculous.
To add to what Colson put, it gets worse when poor management can't deal with underperforming staff so the easiest way to remove the problem from their area is to promote them away to be someone else's problem. hence they will then end up in a management position way above their ability
I couldn't agree more!!!!! I tell my guys "if you don't know something that's fine I'll teach you But don't tell me you know something and then screw it up." There's nothing worse than coming behind someone that had no clue and trying to straighten out what they did and find the original problem.
Sure you can ---you can show them the door.
It's not just honesty about what they are doing directly at work, it's about showing up on time. Many factors involved.
I texted the lube truck driver yesterday afternoon and asked if the shop had been cleaned up yet. He sent this to me..... He said NO and it might be a little worse.  I told him to clean this up Monday morning right after the loader left the building. Still nothing. The lube truck driver said several employees had complained to him about the grease outside everywhere...........it is getting driven through, and it is transferring to their truck floorboards via their boots. I told him they need to complain to LMM and Alan. To those of you wondering how the grease explosion happened..............it doesn't matter how it happened. What matters is what happened afterward. I have knocked over numerous buckets of fluid, had hydraulic hoses spray, grease gun failures, in my career. It was never left like this for someone else to clean up. When it happened to me, I cleaned up my mess to the point where you couldn't tell it even happened. This is just sloppiness, plain and simple. He works like this also. Last week I helped remove the right boom cylinder rod for a rod pull reseal. I already knew this guy didn't know much........but the fact that he started to put the boom stop on the cylinder that we were getting ready to tear down just confirmed it. I didn't trust him to install the seals correctly, so I did that myself. I prepped the cylinder for reinstall..............he grabbed the cylinder rod with his filthy hands, one being between the gland and the rod, .........which I could see grit residue on it, then he pushed the rod all the way into the barrel to the gland and started tightening it. I said "That rod needs to be clean when you go in with it. That greasy grit will get into the hydraulic system and cause other problems, much less score the seals I just put in it." There is no telling what he has been doing in the field. I believe Alan, since he has no clue about service or repair, thinks this is normal. OMG..........things will be a mess soon. I'll get to start all over again..........If I feel like it.
LMM = large Messy Man.
This so true. We plowed a huge mall. 42 acres of parking lot. We used 4x4 dumps with wings and 4 to 8 yard payloaders with 18" push boxes. The most experienced operators were a pain in my butt. We had a system and they always had a better way or just did what even they wanted. One of the best drivers I had was my neighbor that had never driven a dump truck. He only knew what we taught him.
I have a big bias against large/obese people, always lazy and never want to do the job correctly. Alan just doesn't care, I'm sure you seen your work enough to know that it can be clean. I hate to see this guy as a loop tech even how much is getting in the grease fittings and compared to out of the grease fittings
If we were to give LMM the benefit of the doubt, he could be leaving the Absorb-All on the floor in advance of his next spill so that it's ready to go for the next job. And those buckets and cribbing are heavy and will surely be needed again some day near the next spill. Planning ahead I say. lol L- Left M-More M-Messes
I complain about it too but it probably paid my house off and I’ll bet it will send my kids to college.
Ive got it,,,, he was siphoning grease.
Dam it! don't write things like that while I'm trying to eat a snack of peanuts! I almost choked on the last one!
Damn k hope your going to be ok might be able to get LMM to come by and give ya one of them there hinelick maneuvers lmao. Take care I gotta get back to work
That's good to know:
Gentlemen........and I use that term loosely!! LOL I come seeking your assistance and guidance with a DEF problem. If you could please take a look at a thread that I started here: Mack MP8 DEF system not building pressure 2016 Mack GU713 truck with Mack MP8 engine. SCR fault coming on. DEF pump not able to build pressure. 180,000M on the truck. When this first started a month ago I ran some tests. I have Mack PTT, the licensed version through Mack. The line set coming off the DEF tank going to the pump has... HeavyEquipmentForums Hopefully one of you will have some epiphanies. Any you may have would greatly be appreciated!! Thank you and have a great weekend!!
Well.........I can't delete my cry for help. All set, I figured it out.........thank you!! Have a great weekend!!
Isn't that how it always goes? Finally break down and ask for help and figure it out while the phone is ringing...
I went in this morning to grab some things. The mess is expanding. This is still here. The back of the service truck......where is the stuff that was in the bed? all over the parking area. Right in the MIDDLE of the parking lot.........where there are multiple trucks and trailers daily. This was apparently left for the weekend.
He's just getting it cleaned up.
Aftermath of a suicide bomber ? Joe H
His manifesto is coming soon... if certain demands and conditions are not met there will continue to be gobs of unexplained grease everywhere the eye can see. Only problem he forgot to consider is if he gets the boot. That poses another problem though. Who gets tasked with cleaning it up? No way Vetech is!
I keep forgetting that V isn’t on the payroll.. he’s a “sub”.. Otherwise I would take the keys to the truck and tell him not to do a ** thing until this mess is cleaned up, TO MY SATISFACTION.!!! Hand him a BOX of rags and a scraper and a case of brake cleaner..
Tell Alan he needs to clean it up.
LARGE MESSY MAN "LMM"= sub from temp agency..........right?? Or has that status changed?? Please say he's STILL a sub from the temp agency and not hired permanently....... PLEASE!!! VTech?? Also, did you dare to brave the dark and dirty shop for a gander at the conditions in there?? Inquiring minds want to know......
....Entrails.....
VTECH is the glue holding the mechanical mess together. THEY know it. VTECH doesn't NEED THEM, THEY NEED VTECH. So why should Vtech stick around if the Large Messy Moron is driving him nuts?? Well, relationship with the owner is all I can think of. Vtech is a hired gun. Actually, we're all hired guns. I'm a hired gun........but I have a bunch of customers. I'm not employed by 1 or 2. This gives me Free Will should a customer p*ss me off..............or one of their employees really p*ss me off. I can leave them........I have others to fall back on. I also realize I am NOT THE ONLY WRENCH TURNER AROUND.........I have a hard won reputation for being good at what I do and responsive to peoples needs. And, thusly; my reputation gets spread through word of mouth and people continue to call seeeking my services. Just as Vtech has this reputation as well. I think I would have a conversation or send an email .......with pictures.......to Alan and the owner outlining the mess and the liablility of the mess LMM is leaving behind and how it is negatively effecting your desire to work there............in other words "FU and LMM. I'm not working in a pig stye with the pig who created it!! Pigpen can clean up the messes he creates!!"..........and exit stage left, right or center. Also.........how many different names can we come up with using LMM?? Challenge to the crowd!!
Screw it, I'm not worried about it. I have plenty of other things that keep me busy. This isn't happening. I have already pulled out to let these 2 idiots destroy as much as possible. I'm back on call "as needed". If this is acceptable to those in power, then I can choose whether to be a part of it or not.......I choose NOT. I'm saying FU without saying a word.
So Vetech when they call you with a bunch of broken stuff that needs fixing last week, what will you do? Would you consider having a conversation with the father and son where instead of them buying your equipment and/or putting you on payroll, maybe you take on a roll of fleet management and repair for them? Would that be something you would be interested in? As you have eluded to in past posts, you are starting to get older. Could you expand your own business by a person or two and train those people the way you want to. As you get people trained the way you want, perhaps you would move more into the management portion of the business as the body wears out and let the younger wrenches handle the physically demanding work. I see that as a win for you, a win for the guys who would learn from your knowledge and the win for the paving company if they could be wise enough to see it. In the mean time you would also take on the duties of Alan the Mall Manager so he can go run a mall somewhere and worry about stripping and waxing floors. Just a thought, not that I would trust the paving company to make the right decisions.
I think lmm has killed any idea of VTech going on the payroll
What’s the cut-off date to clean up the grease/oil dri mess..??
Waiting for it to evaporate. Patience my son. Joe H
Or a slip & fall accident to bring in the lawyers.....
Doing a little late night reading, and think I just woke up the whole house laughing. First part got me chuckling, Second part belly laughing with shoulder bounce
I spent the day with wifey at the machine shop yesterday. She felt I needed some stress-free work, so she put me on her band saw cutting up material. I was able to put my feet up and push a couple of buttons........all I was missing was a beer in my hand. I dam near went to sleep. I did get to slap this a few times when it walked by..... She mumbled something about sexual harassment...........whatever lol. I said, "I own that, just like my truck, my tractor, my tools, and my dog." The look on her face was priceless.
You didn't stack up a bundle to cut at the same time ?
Yeah, I thought that too, but she wouldn't let me.
Rutt Roh....she wanted to keep you busy.....not get the job done quickly. In some shops I see a cheap buzzbox next to the saw, a quick bead is run down the bundle to hold them together at the left end. By the looks of that CR you were cutting, that saw could have run 2 stacks of 5 easily, making 10 parts every time the saw cut.
You should have reminded her of your stud service
It order to do stack cutting you need have to have multiple lengths of material. If you're doing smaller production it doesn't make sense to have an excess amount of material. I think Vetech's wife was just giving him something to do to keep himself busy so he wasn't bothering her.
Ohhh my.........light fuse, get away!! Use ONLY under adult supervision. My wife doesn't let me play in their shop........I can only show up to work on the Freightliner!!LOL They do CNC mill working and custom cabinetry.
Really ? and you know exactly what Vtech was cutting sir ? Maybe you caught a glimpse of the print or cut sheet ? Ever cut a bar in half to do stack cutting ?
This thread is about Vetech's work situation not about how to increase production in his wife's specialty machine shop. Did you see where he needs enough pieces to warrant stack cutting? Vetech even mentioned his wife didn't want him stack cutting before you kept going on about it. Your question works both ways. All Vetech showed was using the bandsaw to help his wife out. That's it! No need to go into any more detail than that.
Easy there now . . .
Let's get back to the Large Mess & the grease adventure. Joe H
No need for you either.....
figure a Hazmat team has been dispatched as of yet ? has anyone checked the news wire ?
At my calculations, that mess has been there for 10 days.!! I can’t believe that nobody has grabbed him and had a “come to Jesus” meeting with him.. It’s ridiculous.!! Anybody wanna put a couple dollars on him quitting before he cleans up the mess.?? I’m torn between him quitting, or staying because he has a company truck to drive.. I’ve seen THAT to many times..
If thats what the service truck looks like with all that grease in the back, whats the inside of the cab look like?
Remember the photo of the large, greasy, bearded driver with the beagle in the cab? Probably the same but substitute with a chihuahua.
Does this mean we now have Taco Bell wrappers in the grease with greasy little paw prints every where
Aw **** Ive got it V track that **** thru the office, you let those women get that on their shoes thell light a fire under somebody's ass. Just dont get caught..
"Heere lizard, lizard, lizard"
following
STALKER!! STALKER!! STRANGER DANGER!!
Since I could actually get here this morning I can give an update of sorts. Things I've heard through the grapevine......... 1. Another new hire is supposed to start tomorrow. I know nothing about it of course. 2. Both outdoor off road fuel tanks were empty for days last week..........I've never seen that before. 3. The general super isn't impressed with LMM and doesn't feel like anything is progressing. 4. The shop has been semi-cleaned but have no idea if LMM did that or someone else. 5. A long time (over 12 years) employee of the asphalt side of the company has left (quit). 6. A major job (the one that they justified the purchase of the Roadtech material shuttle) was cancelled altogether. Seems ODOT didn't want this company on their job for some reason. 7. The core axle from the loader is still sitting outside the shop and hasn't been returned for core credit. 8. Others have complained about LMM's sloppiness. 9. All rental equipment was returned and nothing is being rented.
Looks like the fit is about to hit the shan. Duck for cover mate.
Just for $hits & giggles call the oil co. and see if you can place a order for some oil. Might be their on COD now.
Yeah your decision to hire on that company has been made very easy. Chances are the company is fine but these are huge red flags
Chances are they went broke 6 months ago and still don't realize that there broke just being the bank going down and want to stop the draw down
Your right, now the bank is the boss and the first thing they said to do is to reduce expenses, now they are turning things up
I'm having withdrawl symptoms here......
Me too, LMM must have screwed something up that's worth an update ? Joe H
Maybe that axle he ordered pushed them into the red
I haven't been by there. The lube truck driver called me Friday and said that the newest hire for the shop was a 20-year asphalt truck driver. talked with him a few minutes and he admitted he knew less about equipment and repair than LMM does. I'll be by there wednesday.....I'll find out more I'm sure.
So your still chained to the saw ?
That means LMM will be his boss.. So now we know how the grease will get cleaned up..
No No No! They hired the asphalt truck driver because the piles of grease everywhere won't bother him. It will just be the same **** he's used to but a different colour.
keep up the good work Vetech,and always make sure your on the Ken side of things. LOL
And now we have came full circle back to the stump
V.. if you’re not there, who’s supposed to be “training” these people.?? Wasn’t THAT the purpose of all those meetings?? Other than them trying to hire you.. I thought that was the conclusion at the end..?? They hire a couple of goons and u train them and in a few years u cut ties..
Lmm doesn't need training, after all he did that axle swap just fine and was able to lube the yard
All under the keen watchful eye of Big AL The Mall Guy. Smooth as silk.
"Tribologist"....
Ok, time for an update. I haven't been at that construction company since my previous posting above.......until yesterday. I managed to get the completed rail assemblies under the 250G and finished that job. This was the last job I had that wasn't completed for them. While there, LMM has broken the eye off a angle cylinder on a Deere 650J (no idea how it happened and didn't ask). He said he couldn't get the piston off the rod because the rod kept turning in the vice. He said he had ordered a new rod and had tried everything he could think of to get the piston retaining bolt out to no avail. Him and the new guy (TBD) had welded lines down the length of the rod.......I guess to solve the rod rotation problem. I asked how long he had been screwing with it..........a day and a half. I asked why they didn't just weld the old head back on the rod and use the rod head to hold it. The look on their face made me realize that it never dawned on them. I said that should have been a 20 minute job.........10 minutes to try and get it off with an impact or cheater pipe.......10 minutes to cut the bolt head off with a torch if the impact didn't work. He then asked me if he should cut the piston off and order a new one! F&*% ME......I just said to cut the bolt head off and save the piston for crying out loud. I walked off and left it up to the bozos. Enough about LMM and TBD. One long time super caught me at the track job. He said him and others have been complaining to Alan about things not getting fixed and the time equipment is down. He also informed me that the bozos broke that rod end trying to reseal the cylinder. He said they had denied it at first, but admitted they did break it. He believes this experiment is almost over. Then the asphalt super calls me about a paver having issues. 1st time I have heard from them in 5 weeks. He informs me that Alan has no control over the asphalt side of this company and as far as they were concerned, I would be continuing to do the service and repair work for them. He said he didn't want LMM and TBD touching his equipment. The locks on the shop and supply room were changed a week or so ago. The lube guy told me that Alan requested the lock change. TBD ( I hadn't met this guy yet at this point) told the lube guy that the change was because of me. LOL......not sure what that means exactly..........but since Alan hasn't dispatched me in over a month on anything I have to assume he is locking me out. Doesn't hurt my feelings.......but LMM and TBD told him that if they gave out the new combination to anyone, Alan said he would pull the A/C out of the shop LOL. Lube guy said LMM has about had his fill with Alan. Then, today the general super calls me.........haven't heard from him in over a month. He said he has had it with Alan, LMM, and TBD. Nothing is getting done and it's taking forever to do the simplest things. He tells me he is going to contact the CEO and get permission to override Alans control to allow me to get back to what I was doing. He felt it wouldn't be a problem. Not sure about where things may go from here. I do feel like Alan has been doing everything he can to shut me out. More than likely because of me questioning him when LMM started on decisions about equipment repairs and spending. I also told him LMM wasn't the guy after the first week. Seems he doesnt want to be questioned by someone
Daaaamn..
Sounds like Alan is running some sort of game, maybe LMM and TBD are kicking back a few dollars each week eh ? Maybe he keeps them at a "job" and they don't get hassled by a parole officer or something along those lines ?
I am just a dumb farmer, but how is business supposed to complete jobs with broke down equipment?
BUT, Alan's been great for the bottom line... ... says, the CEO???
Obviously I'm half a world away, but I gotta ask. Is this a unique situation or is this where we as a society are headed? I may have lived under a rock, but I've certainly never come across anything like it, most companies/businesses have at least a few idiots floating around, but not usually in a position of authority where they can do whats occuring in this instance.
Running away from this dumpster fire has worked in your favor
I have to feel bad for anybody who might be using this outfit for a project! Also I'm just guessing that their MIGHT be some good people working for this outfit who are going to be hurt bad when things go from bad to worse.
So the job security is piling up by the day when they do call you back raise your rates 10 or 15vpercent then you will almost make Alan half truthful when he calls you a scoundrel for gouging him cause that feller ain't painted a straight line since he got hired and everyone knows the amount of damage being done by incompetence and a lack of decisions is only going to bring the situation back to critical mass
It’s not heading there it’s already there. If I didn’t know better I’d swear this is a government agency. Unfortunately incompetence and laziness is now prevalent
I can’t wait for that phone call.!! “Um, V.?? This is Paul Blart.. When u get about 6 months FREE, can u give me a call?”
The way I see it is habitual bullschiters will throw anyone and everyone under the bus before admitting doing wrong, and it's normally the good people who don't see it coming ( because they see the good in people) that get thrown first. I think the Supers that understand what is happening and what is coming need to make others in the company aware of what is round the corner so they can get their hatches battened down for the storm that's coming, Leave Alan, LMM and TBD out there to weather it on their own. Luckily and stupidly for them they have shut you out for the last month, so they can't even use you as a scapegoat.
Ohhhh wait a second....... so they put a lock on to keep you out, they're lining you up for something! you need to make sure you know where and when you were over the last month, why else lock you out?
mid west mafia money laundering and Vs the hired gun they no longer need and he knows to much so lmm came up to take care of him ,,,,,, with a grease gun
I was thinking about that too. Anyone want to take bets on whether someone is blaming V for missing tools/equipment and the place being in disarray???
Or worse still, what happened to the exchange core axle? did it ever get returned?
With what was described earlier as far as his relationship with the owner, I doubt he has anything to worry about.
Um. Nobody is locking this guy out. He’s the only one that knows what the Fook is going on there and the only one that knows how to repair anything! Plus, if they did try that he could just send them this thread as proof he did nothing wrong.
Refresh my memory what was this about?
From V’s update last Tuesday- “The locks on the shop and supply room were changed a week or so ago. The lube guy told me that Alan requested the lock change. TBD ( I hadn't met this guy yet at this point) told the lube guy that the change was because of me. LOL......not sure what that means exactly..........but since Alan hasn't dispatched me in over a month on anything I have to assume he is locking me out. Doesn't hurt my feelings.......but LMM and TBD told him that if they gave out the new combination to anyone, Alan said he would pull the A/C out of the shop LOL. Lube guy said LMM has about had his fill with Alan.”
Hey V.. do u have all your tools and equipment out of that yard.? R u staying busy w/o that THAT company.?? Is the pay AND headaches better or worse NOT being at their becon call.?? A lot of times the headaches out way the pay and u just gotta walk away..
At a minimum he's pulling stud duty at his wife's shop
Nothing to update. I could actually get on this site so I figured I would at least say HI! I haven't been contributing much on any of the repair threads so sorry about that. I guess I don't want to help someone by starting off then not knowing when I can get back on this site to continue. I will update here if anything changes on my end.
Yes, the access to this site is irritating at the least.
Well, I got a call from Alan today. I didn't answer it but he left a message about a Cat roller being down. I texted him (his favorite form of communication) and asked what machine and where and what the issue was. He didn't know anything, so I called the super. 1st off.....this is a paving roller, not part of the dirt side. Super said LMM had been working on it since last week..........some type of drive problem. He had replaced the FNR joystick, park brake switch, and who knows what else. He said it was fixed and left it. Super said it was never fixed and LMM came back and screwed with it some more. I asked what was the current situation and he said there were panels off and stuff hanging from wires. LMM tried to call me last Friday, but I ignored the call. It was over this I bet, and he wanted to pick my brain. I asked the super why he didn't call me directly. He said he was told that he was supposed to go through Alan so the company could use their own mechanics. No problem here, except the other 2 asphalt supers are going around Alan and contacting me directly. I let the #2 super know that the #3 super doesn't know he can contact me directly......he said he would take care of that. So, to make a long story short, I texted Alan and declined to go bail LMM out. I have a long-standing policy of NOT going behind another mechanics repair attempts. That crap has got me into trouble before and I just won't do it. I told him to call Cat. I figure LMM threw a few thousand in parts at this and couldn't fix it and Alan thought he would just have me bail him out. NOPE! I'm sure it will cause a fuss but I don't give a S$%t. lol Keep on firing that parts cannon at this stuff............I'll sit back and watch the fireworks show.
Took the pic on one of our projects last week. Another large contractor's pipe crew putting in a new chain tire store. I am certain the owners and upper level management are from the same family Vtech. JRB QC loader bucket on a kommie wheel loader. I saw this immediately as I was taking Lucy for a walk across the lot. How anyone else didn't notice this is beyond me. In one day drop deck lowboy came and delivered a small DW ride on trencher. Then another different lowboy dropped off the wheel loader and rock box with the bucket above. Then even another different lowboy came and picked up their D5K. Outfit owns a couple of quarries, asphalt plants, paving spreads, trucking spreads and site work division. I guess there is just that much money out there if the company is large enough.
Good call, you need to play this very close to the chest so you don't get pulled down Alan lmm or *** (can't remember the name of the guy you didn't meet or whoever) Good keep commutation in text form, people can't deny what they said in text.
Lol.. see post #3,564.!!! I almost nailed it..
Threads like this prove why **** is so dam expensive the amount of waste is criminal and no one especially ownership cares
That looks like a poor design. Where the ears stick out for the holes would be better to have a taper down to the narrower part. It also looks the ears behind the holes have been pounded. Could be poor steel too. I saw a Komatsu loader with a long crack in the main loader frame for the lift arms.
You’ve said so much in just one sentence. I totally agree.
Wait is he talking about the government or this company, or both?
The govt specs for these jobs require that only huge corporations are allowed to bid on them. So you are guaranteed to get a huge money wasting corp to win the bid.
Yep. No small company will be able to bond a $50M or more project without having substantial financial resources. Smaller companies can bond it but the rates are so high it pushes them high on the bid.
It's not possible these ass clowns make it through a week without screwing something up, where's our news ? Joe H
He’s staying away until called.. & then… answers after the 3rd or 4th call..
You've got to have patience to set that hook hard enough to reel in the fish.
I moved anything I owned out of there week 2 LMM was there. I am staying busy somewhat........but it definitely hurts the bottom line. Being self-employed, I learned a long time ago to be prepared for downturns, so I keep funds held back. Everything I own is paid for so you would be surprised how far I can make money stretch if I have to. Oh, it's being F%&*ed up by the day. The problem is they have a fleet manager with no experience in this field...........so its normal to him. I hear the supers are highly stressed and unhappy with the situation. I'm still doing paving equipment work but the weather hasn't been conducive lately to getting a lot of paving done so the repairs are stretched out quite a bit. Yes, this pretty much nails it.
V- How much control and/or interest does the father still have in the business? Sure seems like he's letting the son (or was it sons I can't remember now) run it into the ground. I doubt the father grew the business as big as it is making the kinds of decisions you've chronicled. Does he just not care anymore, or is the son(s) just in control and the father can't do anything about it? If I was the dad and I built up a company over the years, I'd be pissed to see my son running it into the ground. With everything working against small businesses these days, stupidity and laziness at the top is one thing you can take control of and change if you want to stay in business. If you care and have focus that is. If I still had any involvement in the company I'd want to hire V as a fleet management and repair employee or contractor (contractor I think is safer and better for V) as I've said in the past.
If you do well on the saw, I heard next week you'll graduate up to drill press.....
And if you go above and beyond on your quotas maybe ya get rewarded . Just remember tho it takes three atta boys or is it ten to make up for one oh ****
Definitely 10 attaboys but maybe 15 due to inflation
So, have we reached Chapter 11 territory yet ? Withdrawals here................. Joe H
I am happy for VeTech that he has no updates, but I also agree that we need more of the 'daytime drama' entertainment.
"need" ah no "want" yes
There is nothing new to report since my last post. I’m still working at the machine shop and my service truck sits idle for this company. The longer this goes on, the less likely I will return under most circumstances. My shoulder issues are healing up and I’m not dying in the heat. Being away from this permanently may be what the doctor ordered. If anything new comes up then I’ll let you guys know.
Knew that boss of yours had you chained to a machine. Your stress level has probably also gone down exponentially. A big ole' kiss my dupa to that joint. The finish line is in sight, why put up with that crap.
Sad thing is there are probably "some" good hard working people in the lower levels of that outfit that will end up paying with their jobs because of the total mismanagement of the upper levels of the company.
The good hard working men (and women) will pick themselves up and grow. Hard times make strong men. The weaker ones will do what the weaker ones do.
There is such a shortage of both skilled and unskilled labor in that area, that anyone who wants to work will have a job the next day. Especially if they are good at whatever they do.
Hope so! Somewhat unrelated but the place I retired from in 2016 after working there since 1968, I never recalled them having advertised for help in all those years. Now the last two or three years they have had a 8'X10' sign hanging on the fence next to the entrance. Also the superintendent who was there for a few years before and after I retired quit to go back to running crane for a local company, said he got tired of lack of support from corporate level.
I think this company is finally realizing that they are spending too much money and basically blaming Vetech because repair costs are out of hand. Maybe they/Alan were expecting Vetech to just tell the LMM how to fix things and they wouldn't have pay him as much since he wouldn't actually be doing the repairs? Locking him out of the shop makes no sense. It sounds like things are so lax that nobody really cares if something needs fixing but it becomes an emergency if a machine goes down on a job. Maybe they are taking on too many projects and it doesn't allow them to have time for regular maintenance and repairs. It's hard to turn down money but sometimes you have too. It reminds me of Bucyrus Erie declining to bid on the NASA transporters that they had originally designed. They had such a backlog of orders that building the transporters would have cost them millions. Build them would have taken too much of their resources away from other jobs. They had so much backlog that they doubled their production facilities in 1974.
Noooooo....we need our daily dose. How about "As the machine shop turns" ?
Well, I stopped by their shop yesterday. I was supposed to start on a paving machine repair, but I didn't. The company was supposed to get me paid up this last week, and as of 230 pm yesterday it hadn't happened. I called the office, and they said it would be next week...........fine, but I'm not repairing anything until then. I called the paving super and told him it wasn't happening and that the machine would have to go out as is if he wanted to use it Monday. He, of course, asked why..............and I had no problem telling him. Can't work for free, nor can I when my operating capital is being held. He made a call to the office, called me back within 10 minutes........had a $20K check ready in 30 minutes for me to pick up. Funny how things work huh. Now I have 10 hours of repair work to do tomorrow so the machine can go out Monday. Since I was there Friday morning, I got to talk to several employees there. Man, moral is in the gutter. I talked to LMM first. He complained about Alan constantly being up his ass over everything. Too much work still and a yard full of broke down equipment. He even complained about his helper they hired. Said he doesn't know anything and isn't much help. Then I got to talk with the helper (PAH). He proceeded to bitch about LMM.........sloppiness, being gone for hours a day on simple stuff, not cleaning up after himself, and sitting at a desk that is now in the shop for hours a day. He says the same thing.......very little is getting done. It shows badly. He also complained about Alan and agrees he knows nothing about heavy equipment and repair. He bitched about the state of the service truck, which is a mess, all the parts that have been bought that are sitting around for the last 2 months, and the state of the shop and supply room............which I had organized and cleaned right before LMM showed up. Both of their attitudes are bad. They both made comments about finding different jobs. Lube truck guy was next. He told me there is a lot of supers just pissed off. Equipment isn't getting repaired and what does get a fix takes way too long. He said everyone is recognizing Alan as the main problem. It's a classic case of the blind leading the blind. It's his opinion that they will be calling me real soon......LOL. If they do, the first thing I will make perfectly clear.........I will take no orders from Alan. In the meantime, I will continue to watch the chaos from afar.
Thanks for the post, the DT's where getting bad
Thanks for the update V I know many of us have been missing this and check in hoping for the updates on this thread. It’s like a slow motion chain reaction crash that you’re watching from a distance and unfortunately the people involved just don’t have the perspective to avoid it.
Like a football team.. When the team is doing poorly, they don’t fire the players, they fire the coaches/managers.!! Feel free to use that when talking to the OWNER.. cuz it’s coming.. lol
So they hired a helper for LMM and now LMM acts like a foreman or supervisor? Seems like it might have been better if they paid more to get one good helper for you with much more experience working on equipment. It's also pretty clear Alan is in way over his head and the wrong person to be in charge of repairs. If overall moral is poor will just make things worse if that's even possible. No wonder nobody gives a damn. It sounds like some of the super's do though but that could be because all the pressure is on them to get the jobs done. Something needs to change really soon. Bye bye Alan seems the best option to start.
Be careful of the wording about not taking orders from Alan, don't be too blunt it might make you put to blame when obviously it's not. Maybe say that when the supers tell you what's wrong or what needs to be done it's much simpler and you already know how the company operates so going through Alan just slows everything down.
The balloon is going up into the sky. At least you are well aware of it Vtech. Tread carefully buddy
Guess we're done with this ? Did the 10 hours work get done or it's still waiting for you ? Joe
Maybe he's too busy fixing all their junk to post.
Well, I was banned so I couldn't do anything. Now that I'm back I can update this weekend. Seems the company may be changing their tune since the last 3 days they have pushed some big money repairs my way.
Cannot believe I missed this entire Running **** Show postings since April!!! DAMN!!! Still Making Popcorn as the Suspense is KILLING Me!!!
Now you got some reading material for the reading room to keep you occuppied!! LOL
This last Tuesday I got a call from the general super. I haven't heard a word from anyone for a while so I was surprised. I could definitely hear the frustration in his voice as he requested my help with 3 rollers, so I accepted. The first was the Sakai that someone had started, and it immediately shot oil from under the hood. Seems LMM took of the vibrator drive valve from the pump and left the machine sitting there for a few days. I called LMM about the valve and why it was removed. He stated that he had a new valve to install but he was home sick..........it was removed and to be replaced hoping to correct the vibrator issue it was having. I go get the new valve from him and install it with new bolts (he had cut the bolt heads to remove it)...........and of course it wasn't the problem. The system won't work without electrical power which it had none. I had it picked up and hauled to the yard. Roller 2 was a Bomag BW211.........vibrator sluggish and slow. LMM told me he had changed a vibrator motor hose and that the vibratory started acting up right after. I started it and set the vibe on high amp.........I could hear the motor bypassing fluid. I pulled the back of the motor off and sure enough.........the valve plate and rotating group are trashed. I assume when he changed the hose that he knocked a chuck of dirt in the port. That machine I also sent to the yard..........going to be a $8K repair by the time this one is done. The 3rd was another Bomag BW21. Would drive fine on flat hard ground but on an incline or soft material it would stall. Come to find out, it wasn't stalling...........I could hear the rear diff gearing grinding. This will be a huge repair cost. I did see where it looked like the rear diff was leaking oil so at the moment, I am assuming it is out of oil....for a while now. It is at the yard waiting on me to get to it. They also want 2 700K dozers gone over and repair whatever they need as the are NOT going to be sold now. I'm currently installing 2 track groups on the first one. Lots of expensive work...........and the wife's machine shop is buried with work. It's going to be a long few weeks ahead.
.......and they have had the newest mechanic doing nothing but installing Samsara GPS locators on all the equipment. This is how that is being done....... This is the 3rd one I have seen installed like this .
Careful with that track work, its all heavy. And not really august in oklahoma type work. Its been pretty nice weather here, but I think we are going to pay for that later. I also hear, you don't want to load the old tracks on double axle car trailers.
Company work is always hilarious, you would think these guys get paid by the hour and have all day so they would do the best work they can but no they do the cheapest fastest work so they can sit in the office.
Don't you have duct tape in Oklahoma ?
Aren’t they “supposed to be” mounted inside.??
Looks to be a quality install job in a location free from high heat, minimal vibration and difficult for thieves to find/disable. What a sturdy mounting job! There is no pride in performance by the masses these days.
Couldn't even bother to pull the zip ties tight.
I fixed that trailer and use it often! Haha
I believe the zip ties being loose is for vibration dampening, but not cutting them off is pure sacrilege!!!!
Which is worse? Not cutting the ends off or cutting them and leaving sharp edges?
Duct tape, they shudda used duct tape. Joe H
Maybe they're some kind of special anti-theft anti-cut zip ties?
I looked up Samsara products and no where have I been able to find how to install. The unit in pic I believe is a a powered unit so it has internal Lithium Ion bat for tracking. Samsara appears to be designed for shipping (trucks/trailers). My guess is someone sold the owner on a wiz bang tracking system that is not to good for pavement equipment
Do they have that many rollers that they need to keep track of where they are and on what job.?? I thought the foreman was in charge of that.?
Need to cut and leave the sharp edges. Hairy mechanics can shave arm hair. Mix a little blood in the water.
LMM needs sent somewhere Else. Danger to anything mechanical.
What did Jerry Clower say in a joke, "James Lewis get away from that wheel barrow, you know you don't know nothing about machinery"
Lmm could mess up changing a tube of grease
If you have to cut the ziptie tails, use a razor knife and trim them flush. Anyone who leaves that 1/4 inch tail sticking out does not care about the next guy who comes along. I hate that guy.
Got my OCD kicking in looking at that picture.
I have a pair of knipex flush cuts. They do great. Idk how they do it….dont ask me how I know this but he darn careful when you use them to trim fingernails!!
I bet all the dealers and parts suppliers LOVE the LMM! Heck, maybe he gets kickbacks too.
Heck, I just use my zip tie gun. Panduit GS2B. Edit: autocrap is .........
I have a cauterizing tool that was given to me when I got snipped 20 years ago and it works excellent for melting the sharp ends into the head of the zip tie. Haven‘t bleed from a sharp zip tie end for awhile. Keep it in my toolbag and actually bought another one for my toolbox for 15 bucks off of Amazon. Also use it to melt insulation on wires, when splicing.
I've given more blood to Peterbilt, Volvo and Freightliner than I ever gave to the Red Cross. Damn zip tie monster.
Another vibratory system failure on a Sakai roller this time. Lmm changed out leaking hoses for the vibrator system and evidently knocked more dirt in the hose or ports. This time it trashed the motor and the pump. Deere dealer did the last one (Bomag) since they beat me to it........heard the bill was over $7K. They aren't so lucky this time, probably double that. Seems he likes to use silicon on ORFS fittings also. Big NO NO! Nope...........I don't feel sorry for them LOL
How do you not know about orfs fittings? He knows jack about repairs, I could do a better job
Wait...........say that again!! Let me see if I understand this correctly..........LMM puts RTV on an ORFS fitting??!! Is that it?? He ran outta O rings and said RTV will work just as good?? Or he added the RTV to the new Oring........ Holy crap.............WOW!!
Why can't some people just see how it was and simply put it back that way?
Dang! lmm has the special skills to overcome all obstacles.
Should install a Zerk into the o-ring groove to simply pump in the blue goo after assembly......
Is he using silicone o-rings or gasket maker?
I think I said at the early part of this when he first got hired, he’s gonna ride it out until he can collect unemployment.. He’s not there to “fix” anything.!!
YES !
LMM just doesn't know any better. He was never a service tech.....he was a lube tech......and only for less than 2 years at that. He has a boss with zero experience in this field throwing him at everything whether he knows anything about it or not. This is ALL on Alan. It's time to pay the piper at this point. I have quoted a total of just over $80K in repair work on 4 different majors.............one of which I just finished. Nothing like this was happening when I was there. Now it is a constant. And they thought I was too expensive!?
Probably was leaking and instead of replacing the or ring he had a better idea
Ok........but, but, but........part of me thinks 'There's a first time for everything.' And there is alot I haven't done yet.......but with critical thinking and logic......you can get it done.......might not be the quickest, since its my first time, but I can get it done....correctly...the first time. HOWEVER............HOLY ****!! RTV on a ORFS??!! I think I knew at 10 or 12 how to change a hose and put new o rings in...........never once have I EVER been tempted to put RTV in there. Ohhh St. V Tech, you are far more patient man than I!! I humbly bow to your tolerance and patience and ask that you teach me your ways!!
Here......hold my beer.........I got an idea.........watch this!!
I was working for a guy when the orfs was leaking right off the hydraulic pump, he wanted to wrap it up with Teflon tape and I said that wouldn't work it's a o ring seal. It worked lol probably still on there like that.
I sent Alan and the main super my repair quotes on Monday. I got an email from Alan yesterday saying that he is waiting on the CEO to get back with him. The CEO has to be wondering "*** is going on!?" I bet there will be a lot of questions to be answered.
That, or Alan is trying to figure out how to spin this to cover his 6
I don't think Alan or LMM have anything to worry about. From the looks of things, they are running this entire world....
I wonder if you should have sent the Owner/old man a copy, so he could make the decision to step back in, or put the company up for sale before there is little left to sell.........
YES!!!
What a ***** show! The blind leading the blind and no one else notices it, especially the CEO?
10-4 Good Buddy
Weiler paver issues............I'm getting to where I hate working on these dam things. Yet another extension cylinder failure due to a design problem. Asphalt infiltrates the inner outrigger box. When the buildup is high enough, the extension tries to crunch the asphalt while attempting to extend. I have done 10+ of these on 3 machines. Weiler says it's from lack of clean-up........but you have to tear this down completely to gain access. No one is going to do hours of teardown to clean this after every job. Weiler needs to do some re-engineering.
What happened to the $80K worth of work you were waiting on word from the CEO ? Or is this part of it? Joe H
I don’t pretend to know how it works, but is there a way to bolt a scrubber/scraper to it.?
Yes, and maybe get out the plasma cutter and add some "drain holes" ?
They haven’t made decisions on those yet. This is additional.
There isn’t a good quick fix for this. The back side of both beams have to remain open for the fixed frame area so the extension can move in and out. A scraper wouldn’t be big enough to help because of this. Cutting drain holes won’t work either as the augers while operating would push asphalt into the area even further. My thoughts are to use a heavier cylinder that won’t bend under stress……or to relocate the cylinder outside on top of the beam. It would cost some money to make the modifications but would be well worth it.
Could the operators spray some diesel or kerosene in there somehow to help soften the asphalt at the end of each day? Or would that just make it more of a mess?
I was thinking of that too but then thought you don't want to have diesel or another liquid dripping all over. If it was going to end up in the new asphalt wouldn't be too bad. Maybe diesel or kerosene could be sprayed in the area to clean things before the cylinder was activated? A good garden sprayer could be used.
Give LMM the sprayer, see if he can handle it. Good job for him.
No no no. You thought the grease was bad, imagine him with a sprayer that can shoot a greasy liquid 5 feet!
Exactly. Joe H
And some matches maybe ? Joe H
Good to see the thread is progressing as usual Vetech.
Maybe Marvel or DC would be interested in this?? Vetech could become a super hero in his weekly battles with the greased nincompoop and his sidekick slick.
There seems to be nothing that is manufactured these days that does not need "re engineering" All these stupid manufactures never go into the field and ask the operators and mechanics, "what could we do to improve our products" never ever.
I've been asked a time or two. But they make you jump through a bunch of hoops filling out forms and logging into portals. Or else they will email you a survey with multiple choice seems to designed to tell them what they wanted to hear. Waste of time and nothing ever happens
I'd want the engineering team in person.
Good luck moving them out of their offices, locked behind calculators and design qualifications that will prove you incorrect no matter how bad the math they use. Had one of the Engas’ at the nuke actually look at his own designed nonsense, stated that aint right and tried to concoct a value of someone else must have changed his theoretical values. Ended up entire mess got scrapped and he designed the next cobbled mass of grief then retired.
Never have figured out on machines that have no real necessity of light weight or duty engas’ have to make it proportionately self destructive light to prove they can. Then will argue the operator is abusing the mechanism as fails.
Engineers are not mechanics & mechanics are not engineers---Both spend their time thinking they are. In this do all know all world with Youtube University to guide everyone as they venture into the unknown thriving to do everything including the impossible just to prove to themselves they too are a know it all. Best thing--is everyone have a shop with every tool available to complete every task to save the almighty buck, it would be great because everyone would be in business for themselves and no one making a dime.
In the old day they were. Not now though, mostly kids behind computers, that never worked on anything, I know some of them. Engineer is also a very broad term as well.
My experience as an engineer was that we were given strict constraints from above for whatever we were working on. These constraints were a mixture of marketing saying people want this and accountants saying we have to get close and make it really cheap. Priority on cheap. I saw some great ideas get scrapped due to initial build cost. Also, re-engineering doesn't happen as often as it should because it costs more money. Save the good ideas, release them on the next model when we are re-tooling the plant, unless those good ideas are too expensive, then we scrap the good idea. Also, you can get an engineering degree with a 2.0 GPA (C average). I saw people do it. It takes a monumental effort to get a 4.0 in a college of engineering. Those people were a different breed. Usually had amazing memory recall.
One of my biggest gripes is no feedback from the field on something I design. Years after I sent something out, I meet the user, and he ripped me up one side and down another, complained how bad it was, why would I ever do such things etc..... I said "You saw my name on the drawing, why didn't you ring me up ?" Unlike many engineers & designers, I do try to look out for the user, and am always wanting feedback. Some users go a bit overboard though and don't understand the pressures I'm under from upper management. Seem to think I can just make everything just for them, not seeing the big picture. I don't want to walk into a shop using my stuff, and find a leetle voodoo doll with my name on it....
Remember these things when you go to your dentist and his or her brother who cleans septic tanks filled in for them that day. * I knew a top engineer with KW from 1937 to 1974, he never picked up a wrench. * His main job was designing the earlier version of these.
One of the better mechanical engineers I worked with grew up in a gravel business. The practical things he knew showed in his engineering work. he tried to made stuff serviceable and discussed things with the trades to make it better. The problem we have as trades with a lot of engineers is that the engineers are limited to the scope of the work assigned. The management says you can only spend x amount and can only look at y process. Their hands are tied by that. We tried to stretch the scope within the budget but it was not always possible. Cam
What looks good on paper doesn't always work good in reality. It would be good if the engineers had to work with the people who use the stuff they design. Then they could see first hand the issues with their designs. Things like location of oil drains or access to different components could be improved if the engineers could see it first hand.
The engineering students I knew that graduated at 3.8-4.0 terrified me. They could quote textbooks verbatim, but I don't think there was an original thought between them.
My partner used to be in charge of staffing at an extended care facility. She did the screening interview for prospective new hires. There were some that knew all the "key" words and all about the facility but ask them a random question about they would do in a certain situation and it was the deer in the headlights look. If it wasn't on paper they couldn't think for themselves. People who enhance their resume are the same way. Doing it on paper doesn't count. Put them on the shop floor and they can't live up to their own hype.
Well there is another side to view, If it wasn't for ill designs there just wouldn't be enough crud in this world for blue collars to bitch about. Mechanics are just like truck drivers, constantly unsatisfied with the contents and adult proof packaging of there Little Debbie snacks. You guys didn't know--------Snap On pay's out some good incentives to engineers to keep designing stuff that requires a whole new set of special tools. Making the same old bread sack clip just doesn't get it unless your Floyd Paxton of Yakima Wa. who invented it and the twist tie, netting him 1/2 cent each for everyone made.
My brother is an engineer, can weld if you don't look at it to close and rebuilds around 4 engines a year
Done as a hobby which doesn't classify as a mechanic.
Anything can be engineered but when the bean counters get the final say, then things tend to get re-engineered and not always for the better
Which helps keep the armatures from working on it, what ever it is. If everything was easy everyone would be doing it.
The experts that have to work on the stuff can have a few choice words for the engineers too. I recall a thread concerning zero tail swing excavators being nothing but a pain to repair. Sometimes you wish certain machines didn't exist. Then you wouldn't have to work on them and curse at them.
There was plenty of poorly engineered junk "back in the old days" too . . .
Working the "Polishers" one day at the Nuke. Were large Water softener filters of around 400cu ft of resins each, 7 units six on service one in regen or standby. Well the Company that built them was OOB, so a New Company that bought their facilities and copyrights/patents came in and replaced our Analog Controls System with a Computerized Digital. Was acting Ignorant as were performing Testing and Enga was standing behind me at the controls. So the process was not aligning correctly, enga says, flip the valve to "Not In Auto" and see if can bump it as did on Analog, moved control to NIA, system shuts that unit down, so he says put back in Auto, click and return to Auto, ALL the valves on the Vessel went Closed!!! I Hear "Oh We FKD", then asked me to attempt to reset that vessel so went to Single Vessel Reset, ALL Six Online Vessels went to Standby, I hear "Oh We Weally Weally Fkd Now", Bill could not pronounce his Rs, as a Real Live Elmer Fudd, I was all but cracking up at that point. Had a Enga Installation Guru from Germany, he came down from our offices spaces, looked at system thru a Secondary PC, Loads of Expletives in German, I DO Know a Few Great Grandmother used. His take, the System Designer made it so HAD to allow any screw ups to run until bed exhausted, then reset. He noted THAT Was COMING OUT!!!! Control Room was ON the Phone to that control point.
From the stories I hear coming out of the local nuke plant in ohio, everything is done very slowly and carefully. Sounds different where you worked.
Most all is done procedurally at a Nuke, problem was we were attempting to establish that procedure. Polisher use on the Condensate system is not an absolute essential, is used to clean built up deposits in the flow in the system just prior to shutdowns or immediately as startup to catch debris or rust that breaks free from being dry. Gotta love New stuff!
PWR or BWR ?
Westinghouse PWR The Unit at Davis Besse in OH is B&W, same as TMI, Perry was a GE BWR. BWR is a totally odd animal.
Yes, perry is the one just west of me, forgot the name. Shippensport was just south of my parents hometown. My boss was a navy nuke.
Besse showed the Alloy 600 Inconel weld concerns on the reactor head penetrations. Dissimilar Metals safe end welds of Inconel to Carbon steel.
Had to go to a BWR on a Junket, Always in Protective Clothing as so much ‘Potentially Contaminated’, not a fun visit.
Ha ha ha, that is a never ending problem. Most everything now is junk, especially in the automobile world. The real junk started when things that were made from metal started being made from plastic.
In my previous job as a passenger elevator fitter, I had a run in with the design team on a new product they released. The rear of the cabin had a nice hand rail fitted to it with " hidden fittings " so basically it was bolted on through the back of the cabin from the outside, now this on its own would be fine in an oversize shaft, but as is always the case, the shafts are as small as possible so there is more building space outside so there was 2-3" between the back of the cabin and the wall. so it was impossible to physically get the bolts in from 5 feet above the hole, when questioned about it, the design engineer who designed this part could not understand the problem saying he could do it fine at there test facility in the factory, and his manager said the same. I ended up going to the factory to see A, what they were doing or B, what I was doing wrong. When I got there we walked up to the factory test area an elevator shaft made up of a steel box frame with steel mesh to fill the sides so they could see what was going on inside the shaft, he walked up to the frame, pushed his hand through the mesh and touched the bolt head " what's so hard about that " he jubilantly exclaimed. It took me a minute to stop myself from completely loosing my ****, then fetched over a sheet of ply wood, and placed it in front of the mesh..... " do it now" he looked confused for a second, then the realisation of what I was doing dawned on him, he walked off saying he needed to be in a meeting and would talk to me later, I explained it was ok as I had a meeting with the MD in twenty min and was sure we would be talking later.
The Enga’s really hate having their Arse handed back to them on a plate.
So, vetech, what is the Current game afoot??
He's too busy making money to waste time here. LLM is supplying a constant stream of gravy, VT is lapping it up. Joe H
Alan told me 10 days ago that he is waiting on the ceo to make the decision to repair the rollers by my quotes or not. So now I have another trying to make a decision on something he knows nothing about. Its business as usual. Still no word as they continue to rent
Renting would be cheaper for them
How much would you charge to rent something to those clowns ? Joe H
If the rental outfit was in the know, the damage deposit would be astronomical!
And yet, here you are.......slumming with us low life wrench turners!! Ohhh my, how the mighty have fallen!! (sarcasm and humor in that statement)
I am not sure abuse is an issue. It appears to be somewhat a lack of regular maintenance and most certainly poor quality attempts at repair. Neither of those would be a responsibility for rental equipment.
I would bet they abuse equipment the same as anyone else, I also bet they fix it about the same as anyone else, they are really lucky when vt is fixing stuff and save a bunch of money. It's insane they don't realize that.
It obvious why they wanted to bring him on full-time..
A renter is responsible for damage to equipment. They're also required to do basic maintenance if it's a long term rental. That's why they have to give a damage deposit. Based on everything I've read in this thread, it's pretty obvious no one at this company gives a damn about the equipment except Vetech. If the rental outfit knew this, it would be in their best interests to increase the damage deposit. Rental outfits can refuse to rent to certain people too.
Just tell them to call United Rentals, nobody there cares either . . .
The Big 2 - UR and Sunbelt buy new equipment at a discounted fleet rate, optimize the rental billing, do the absolute basic maintenance to keep it running, then send it to Iron Planet right before it needs major repairs from all the abuse the renters subjected it to. It has to be a profitable business model or they wouldn't be the big 2.
The cost of rental damage here, is directly proportional to the amount of equipment that particular customer rents. Salesmen got more horsepower than the shop billing does. So unless its catastrophic, total destruction of the equipment, burned to the ground type damage, there's usually no charge. The bent handrails and cut tires get swept under the rug.
Might depend on how new or beat up the rented machine is when it's rented out.
Well............I have been awarded my quotes..........all of them. Looks like it going to be busy for a while!
Just in time for cooler weather. You're probably all soft from working in that air conditioned machine shop. You better ease yourself into working for a living.
All kidding aside, good for you, we've been a little slow the last week or two. Some of my customers are slow.
With LMM to assist you'll have them back in action in no time. Or maybe he'll be the outside guy creating more work for you. Either way, he's critical to mission. Joe H
Seeing the same here. ITB's have shrank to school buildings/additions and other gov't funded projects.
I'm hearing the same here. Since we have an election coming up really quick, people don't want to start anything not knowing if the funding will be there in a few months. I can't say I blame them for being safe than sorry.
I had to explain today how the braking system worked on a Cat 416 backhoe so LMM and the helper could troubleshoot it. The wet brake system inside the axles is beyond their comprehension. This may be another job I end up doing soon.
"Yabutt where are the zerc's ? There's got to be some zerc's there" When all you have is a grease gun.......
Wish you were closer, I need my 416 backhoe cylinders rebuilt and I just don't want to do it
I was slow too but it was my doing.. I was putting off customers on account of the hurricane, expecting to get flooded in.. Some waited until they heard from me and I guess others couldn’t wait a couple of days.. It’s starting to pick back up again, thankfully.. I thought I was gonna have to apply for the Walmart Greeter position.. Glad you’re back at it V.!!
Slow here in UK too. Been slowing down since October 22. Many of the contractors here are really feeling the squeeze now
Unfortunately all the grease was used to rust proof the service truck and collect dust like an air cleaner.
Here is a bit of recent history on this 416 backhoe. It was taken to the shop about 2 months ago to have some misc. work done. The main thing was that it didn't have any brakes. I wasn't going by there much while it was there, so I didn't see what was going on with it. This machine stays at the trucking yard and is not used on jobsites.........they use it as a forklift/ drive clean-up/ small loads......etc.. The trucking super called a month ago and asked if I was working on this machine to which replied NOPE! He asked if I knew anything about what they were doing as he felt it had been over at the shop wayyy too long..........I told him no and told him to call Alan. Forward to 3 days ago, I'm at the yard repairing one of their Weiler pavers when the trucking super pulls up to my truck. Another month has gone by since I had last talked to him..........he again asks me if I know what's going on with this backhoe. I told him all I had seen them working on was resealing a boom cylinder and something was said about the engine not shutting off right. He starts bitching about the machine being over there for 2 months and nothing has been done. I just shrugged my shoulders and said. "Well, I'm too expensive so I don't know what to tell you." He says he is going to call Alan to which I said that wasn't going to do any good. He asked who I would call about it, and I told him the general super. I was at their shop the last 2 days doing a drum bearing job when this backhoe is pulled into the shop. I asked what had been done to it........1 cylinder reseal and that's it. It sat in the shop for the first month when the reseal was done then it was pulled out of the shop and parked outside for the second month. So again, nothing has really been done. This is when I was asked by the new guy how the brake system worked. LMM was standing nearby and was privy to what was said. I explained how to troubleshoot the system in detail......to both of them. I could tell they weren't getting it, at all. I explained 3 times how to troubleshoot the master cylinders, look for leakage in the system, drain the rear diff and operate the brake pedals and check for leakage at the diff drain.........I think my 4-year-old granddaughter could have done it by my explanation. Nope....still aren't getting it. They don't understand how to drop the diff to get the axle assemblies off. I'm still working on the roller so I tell them to put fluid in the master reservoir, get the air out of the system by pumping the brakes and see if you can get a pedal...........which he does. Tell them to drain the dam diff and leave the plug out. Now get in the seat, hold pressure on your pedal, and see if fluid starts coming out of the diff drain....which it does almost immediately. Then they ask me what that means..........LOL. I just said your pulling the axles housing and walked off. Needless to say, I have zero confidence they can pull this off.
Apart yes, together probably not. Fixed, never. Joe H
SSSSHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh..... LMM will start putting it in the shopvac.....
I have kept up with this thread, have read all the posts. I still don't know what it is, exactly, that Alan does! What does he manage if no repair work actually gets done? Certainly he isn't there just to keep track of the 2 yahoos.
He's the 3rd yahoo... like the 3 stooges.
Pivot Man.
Too much bad ju-ju, I can feel your blood pressure going up through the google tube. Owhmm, owhmm, deep breaths my brother...
At least some job security, LMM and Alan should manage to keep a Short, LONG List of screwed up repairs for you to complete for them!!!
What is ju-ju?
Bwaana, white man have bad ju-ju..
That still doesn't explain.
Google it..
Carefully!
Came back as--Mad Dog 20-20.
close enough
A person or thing infused with magical properties..
Also known as a unicorn lol
Some say a person infused with MD 20-20 could do some magical things up to a point.
There was a time in my youth I resembled that remark.
I can only say yack ack to Mad Dog.
Yack now, but when you were 18 ? My draft card said I was 21, Ripple was the cream of the vinyard. Joe H
I went to see if there was any room in their shop today for a roller i need to repair. Thats a big nope. LMM at his best
What a f#$%@g mess
Went from zero to destroyed in 4 months ?
How's the supply room, ohh wait you don't have keys anymore
That's a theft protection system, no way anyone could find something to steal! And if they tried they would be so coated with grease and trash it would be easy to spot them!
If it would do any good.. go get Allen and tell’m it’s either you work there or he does.!! And outta couriosity, ask him if he’s saving the company ANY money by keeping this fat sob employed..??
You just caught him in the middle of a project. Quit picking on him, or he'll call HR on you.
Tell Allen ? Naw. Got to set that hook good.
I see what the root of the problem is. They're stuck on straight polarity! No wonder everything is so messed up if everything they do is opposite what it should be.
The newest mechanic is supposed to know how to weld. That trailer in the pic above was what he was welding on this morning. Evidently the trailer came off the hitch because it wasn't secured to the ball properly. It has bends and cracks in the frame. He had to leave ....so naturally I was curious about the welds he was doing. YIKES!!!!..........I mean TRIPLE YIKES!!!!! No way I'd pull this trailer with a mini ANYTHING on it.
A little flappy wheel work and some poof bomb and no one will ever know.
Wow! That’s a lawsuit waiting to hatch. And isnt that axle supposed to back for a core?
HOLY CRAP, so glad I'm done having to deal with that caliber of HOLY CRAP....
Charge accordingly take lots of coffee breaks and smile all the way to the bank at this rate these guys might stay in buissness long enough for you to make it to retirement maybe
Again----Mechanic/Welder in many cases means not good at either one. For instance, I can weld mig-tig or run stick real well, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm a expert welder. Too many classifications put to too many job titles. But rather than look like a fool turning out messes like that-it's best to admit when it's not your forte'. I have passed tests for pipe twice--but I'm no journeyman welder. Welding is like playing pool--to be real good your probably doing it for a living. Some of my work below--I'm still not a welder. *
It's becoming a constant in so many threads now. Don't have an ego, if you don't have the ability to do something, have enough moral strength to say so. Or if you do have a go, again have the brains and balls to critique your work and if it's not good enough then take ownership and get it done properly. I reckon any decent person would respect that and probably teach you if you show the desire to learn.
I think LLM is one of the unteachable, he should be working in a restaurant or car wash maybe. Joe H
I think my daughter could do better, and she's 7
Well--as long he isn't playing chef in the restaurant your going to dine at.
Grinder and paint make me the welder I ain’t!!
Truck shop's welds are actually pretty decent looking welds. It's not the fault of the welding machine for the %$#@! on that trailer. Wrong polarity is the least of the problem. Beads of silicon made to look like welds might actually be stronger. That crap might be the worst I've ever seen of what can be done with a good machine and a totally unqualified moron.
YIKES!!!!..........I mean TRIPLE YIKES!!!!! No way I'd pull this trailer with a mini ANYTHING on it. My cat makes better turds than that!!!!!!!! That is a *** right there.
I've seen blind guys with a bad seeing eye dog do better than that... Ed
Right now, it looks like they are going to let me do the major work. Everything is a major for these 2 guys ..but that's another story. What I have done this week.......... They didn't know this 700K had a bad idler. I noticed a loose track when I went to start on a roller. I contacted Alan by text, he asked for a quote which I gave, and he approved it within 30 minutes. I picked up the new idler, started about 10 am and finished by 2 pm. Made dam good money and a 1 day turn around.
Ask him if he could use a helmet next time .....
I went out on an overheating roller yesterday. Broken fan belt....no big deal as this machine is relatively new and I found no misalignment of loose/dragging pulleys. After getting the belt and cover on, I started the machine as I always test my work. I noticed the rear drum was hopping as I was moving which it isn't supposed to do...and I saw where the main frame was rubbing on the drum. The rubber drive mounts were broken (4 out of 6). They never noticed it I guess.......but this was hopping like a mofo so I don't know how you couldn't notice. Again, Alan asked me to fix it. Took me about an hour to replace them and have it out the door. Made dam good money yet again. I did get started on the Sakai roller pump and motor but forgot to take pics. I have 2 rollers down that I am starting on today. Both electrical issues that LMM and TNG have been throwing parts at.
I’m hoping to learn something here. What was wrong with the idler? Was it a bearing issue or is the shoulder worn down too much? Others may see it right away but to my novice eye I don’t. Thanks.
They probably DID notice it.. but what were their options.?? Keep working OR take it in and have Manny, Moe and Jack stand there and stare at it for 2 weeks.. Believe me, they know how good they got it.. Clock in, drink coffee and kick rocks for 8 hours while u come in and do all the work.. You’re a good dude V.!!
Someone needs a derp helment....
What would an Idealarc similar to Vetech’s shop go for?
Clean and in good shape, it ought to bring $500 or more, especially if a decent set of leads went with it.
I was thinking more than twice that. Good to know as I know a shop that has one and doesn’t get used.
Depends a lot on location. With good cables $750 wouldn't be a bad deal. I sold an equivalent Miller with cables for $900cad. I got a bunch of flack saying it was an old dinosaur and too big and cumbersome. However one of these old dinosaurs is likely to last another 50 years or more. Can't say the same for a small inverter. If you want a bulletproof single phase machine you can't beat an Idealarc 250 or Miller Dialarc 250.
I need to check if they are willing to part with it. Thanks.
You can’t really see it from the pic but the idler shaft and bushings were shot. Really noticable when it was still in the rail
Don't discount the Lincoln Grey larger ones. They are the big brother to the idealarc doghouse, and have much the same characteristics. 90% of them are AC/DC and those are single phase. Most assume 3-phase so they sell cheap. If DC only, these are ussually 3 phase, I have seen a few of them, but maybe only 10% of all of them out there.
Tell the lube coaters to save all the parts they replace, so you have a good stock of good used replacement parts
The idler itself looks pretty good. Can just the shaft and bushings be replaced or is the insides of the idler buggered up, maybe not cost effective to fix?
T He Idealarc TM series are good welders but very power hungry and not very suited to putting on an undercarriage to roll around the shop. An Idealarc 250 is 350lbs. A TM 300 is probably at least double the weight and 3 times the size. If you had a spot in the shop/garage for one they usually sell for peanuts.
Parts is parts. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=825249076257870 Joe H
Dang that looks like hammered dog crap. I’ve known bull riders dead and alive that can weld better than that. Get the X-ray tech out it’s ready for X-ray
It was f&*%$#d. By the time I buy parts and at my labor rate..........I can replace it at the same or cheaper cost.
and that Idealarc is a smoothe welder. I enjoy using that one.
So the grape fest wasn’t the welders fault?
No he just needs paint
Probably the one good machine they can't destroy. Idealarcs have a well deserved reputation. Much like SA200's.
I wouldn’t bet LMM’s lunch on it.
I was told yesterday that LMM has been sent home 4 times so far for sleeping in his truck on the job. Ill bet he's been doing that more often than he's been caught. Alan continues to save him evidently.
He's probably been coming in punching in on the time clock and taking a crap on company time to save on toilet paper too.
WOW.!!! Just plain WOW.!! What happened to 3 strikes and you’re out.??!!! Wonder if he’s drinking on the job too.??
We should change his handle from Lmm to lol!
Man that company is just unbelievable, they really don't deserve to stay in business. What a shame...
He can't do too much damage while he's sleeping. Joe H
I don't know--coin flip which is worse a napper or a time clock crapper, I guess it could be worse, a napper because he's worn out from being a crapper.
His new name is Crapper Napper. Wonder if he's related to or knows someone higher up in the company? Maybe Alan doesn't want to look like an idiot for having to let him go since he hired him.
LCN
Lost crapper napper ?
Large Crapper Napper
Thing is a guy like that might be a rapper too, which translates to-----------------.
The name could catch on based on the names of other rappers and musicians.
Need an update, something must have gone wrong in 2 weeks. Joe H
Everything is fine---I Love Juicy {I mean Lucy} is on in the afternoons.
Is that what LMM naps to?
Don't know---I don't do soaps, only stop in here to see which have been here watching with their hair up in curlers.
I just now have parts showing up for these 3 quote jobs. I'll get some pics and check in on the 3 stooges real soon.
LMM must have silicone disease. It seems I see a lot of this taking something he has been into apart again. This servo cap has metal eaten away at the perimeter oring. I guess silicone was the fix. NOT. I installed a new cap kit, but noticed when I pulled it from the box, the stop screw was in the cap backwards. I wonder if a novice would have noticed it.
Guess it would depend if they were using a manual
Started on this yesterday. Setting up for dropping the rear diff. Took me about 3 hours from start to having the old diff on the ground. The pinion bearings are completely gone, and the ring gear is s&*t. This is the replacement getting ready to go up. This went really well, better than I expected up until it was time to stab the drive motor. I fought that thing for 3 hours. The splines are so straight and trying to manipulate that heavy drive motor with 2 bad shoulders was kicking my ass. After 3 hours of trying different things, I could hardly raise my arms up. I ended up leaving it to finish Monday. I'll have to get some metric line up bolts to assist me. I remember a time that drive motor weight would have been nothing. Man. things sure do change when you get older. I was on the pain killers last night so I could get some sleep.
Same ole s$%t on the 3 stooges. I walked into their shop last week to find the newest guy watching a Youtube video on assembling the Cat axle. It seems he couldn't remember how he took the axles off and apart to do the brakes. The shop had been cleaned up pretty well......just because the owner had a new insurance person coming that day to do an inspection. Both him and LMM continue to tell me how worthless the other is..........and they both bitch about Alan. Same ol same ol.
I never heard of that diagnosis before, but I have sure seen the symptoms. I hate RTV . . .
I prefer Indian Head on both sides of gasket and every gasket. And wave goodbye.
I have never come across Indian Head nor know anybody that uses it, but I use High Tack for the same purpose and I suspect it is nearly the same formula. Also the OD of pressed or driven in seals, there is one common seal I do where the rubber coating of the outside of the steel seal body will tear unless lubed and high tack seems to be a good lube and also sealer. It gives me a good feeling to see a tiny bead of sealant squeeze out both sides of the gasket and know it is good and sealed.
Indian Head --- That brings back memories. It was widely used in the 1950's and 60's. It was shellac and had a heavy consistency. It is still available to purchase.
I think the high tack (Permatex) is recommended for aircraft use.
515 is my go to. A thin smear is all it takes to get that lovely bead that squeezes out around the joint. I always get upset when i touch the bead and it is not consistent anymore
A joke----I don't use I-H, I hate I-H, & I don't use high or low tack of any kind, but I do use the Right Stuff in gray and just a thin film.
Permatex Aviation Form-a-gasket when I can get it. I think they are phasing it out. Volatile solvent ? Local NAPA store used to have it, but the last time I wanted some, they had to bring it in from a store halfway across the country. It’s a little messy, but you don’t have to worry about leaks. CAT gasket cement is/was the real deal, but I haven’t had access to that for a long time. The Right Stuff. Isn’t that just a silicone sealer on Steroids?
+1 for Indian Head, I still use it but can never seem to get to use the whole bottle. After awhile, it gets welded shut and ruin the bottle opening it. Works great on one side, if you ever intend to take apart and re use gasket. Lol
I use a few different flavours depending on the application and whether it is difficult to access or time consuming to repair if it leaks
Red RTV on both sides of a head gasket, so it doesn't leak . . .
I looked into it a little more, IH is an old fashioned version, High Tack is slightly higher temp that is about the only difference. I used to use silicone to coat gaskets but I felt it could make them slippery and squeeze out it some cases so I switched to High Tack. Also it is useful for its name, if the gasket is vertical and wants to fall off you can glue it before you mount it where it goes.
I hang them on a couple of long bolts with the heads cut off. Silicone is stupid slipper. It's great for o rings on engine cylinder liners. Gotta be very frugal with it so it doesn't contaminate the cooling system.
This morning I spent 4.5 hours disassembling a BC III oil cooler, which are normally a pain in the ass. Because most all have never been touched in 40 years. Bolts froze in aluminum & cast steel housings. But the gasket material is fossilized to all mating areas. I used a very thin layer of the Right Stuff on main cooler bundle gaskets. I've never had leaks. It's all how you plan and execute assembly. Years ago when high tack came out it wasn't bad on cast but aluminum--getting it removed was time consuming without damaging gasket surfaces. All I used on drive axle third members is the Right Stuff Napa brand--I didn't have leaks. The comment I made above about Indian Head--A friend bought a old 51 Ford pickup with a flat head V8, someone used I-H on both sides of head gaskets, he removed the cylinder head nuts and hit the key to separate.
The best thing to do is make sure items are flat to begin with.
Another week of my life gone by, where are you? Joe H
Not much to report at the moment. I finished the Bomag up and it's been billed. I found out yesterday that my drive motor for the Sakai roller has been delayed for delivery to October 25. I'm looking at starting on their 700K next week to fill in the blanks. I have some paving machine work to do but the manufacturer didn't have the parts available. Those may be here late this week. It seems it's that time of year the everyone is letting their inventories deplete to avoid inventory taxes. I deal with this crap every year. My wife has had a CNC mill down for 6 Weeks now. Haas has been out 3 times and is blaming the vector drive as the problem. It was pulled and sent out for rebuild, got it back.......same dam problem with a spindle following error and overload error. Hass and the rebuilder are pointing fingers at each other while we are getting further behind while they argue. She has already spent over $5K to no avail. I have been there 2 of the 3 times Haas has been, and I don't feel like they are troubleshooting this problem thoroughly enough. Seems I am going to have to troubleshoot this myself. Wish me luck.
Oooohhh... Good luck on that. I had to work on a old Mazak QT18 many a moon ago.... Spindle mitsy drive went out.
We had a problem like that on a VF3 and after screwing with it for a month, I suggested to replace the main drive cable and that fixed it. They even had an oscilliscope hooked up for a week, blaming power fluctuation, even though I had installed a power conditioner. Haas can be difficult to deal with unless you have 30 machines. Never mind the 10 day lead time.
How about the Di-lithium Crystal, or maybe the Flux Capacitor?
Next time you ring up Haas, tell them to not forget the fries next time they come out.
Well, after my own troubleshooting, the problem with the CNC mill isn't the Vector Drive. The same 237 spindle following error came up after I switch the vector drive from a good machine. I informed Haas here and the service manager said he was glad I did that and that it can be eliminated as a source of the problem. This just confirms to me that the first thing they find not working correctly they deem the culprit without troubleshooting any further. We are now getting ready to complete 7 weeks of downtime to get to this point........very frustrating to say the least. I get to go out on the construction companies 700K today. The main general super called me late yesterday. Apparently LLM stripped the engine oil filter base of its threads doing a service. He wants me to go get a pic of the damage and send it to his private email with an explanation of what caused it. What caused it is dumbassery and ignorance. Pics later today.
"And Gene, where do I submit billable hours ?"
How do you strip the threads on a filter base? Most filters aren't a really tight thread to begin with. Once started they thread on very easily by hand. If the filter doesn't thread on easily you don't force it. Idiot must have used a filter wrench pretty aggressively to strip the threads. I don't think I'd trust him to put fuel in a machine let alone do any service on them. I can see it in an up coming post... The air filter was really dirty so I just left it off so the engine isn't starving for air.
Impact plus a filter socket
JB weld will fix it!
I was wondering the same thing. How does that happen unintentionally???
Swetatiwari did it, he gets around.
Not any more. He gone..........
I didn't get to look at this 700K problem yesterday. I got there and LMM had the filter on and the machine running. He did take a pic which he shared with me, but it's not a real good pic. The pic is in a format that I can't figure out how to attach here so no pic. There were 3 threads left on the filter head. He said he cleaned it up, used a lot of silicone, and ran the filter on the threads that were left. He was getting ready to send it out on a job until I told him he wasn't. If that filter pops off you just lost a $40K engine, not worth the risk. He agreed, then proceeded to tell me again that he doesn't have the experience he needs to make those calls. I believe some of it is just common sense which I don't think he has much of. I told him to stop using silicone, it isn't a fix. Should I just have kept my mouth shut?
***?! Hahaha!!
Look forward to seeing those threads?
Silicon on a filter base sounds like a really good idea.
Silicone!! on an oil filter! Arrrgh
Yes, if your goal is to get him removed. No if you still want him around.
With LMM's reputation as to what I've read on this thread, I can only imagine how much silicone made it through the oil gallery? Silicone is slick, right? Maybe the bearings now have a "silicone rebuild"!!!
Well, he said he used a ‘lot’ so one might assume some of it went somewhere. If he only used it on the rubber ring, maybe the filter caught some of it. It will be interesting to cut the filter apart to see and also some could have ended up in the bypass valve wherever it is- likely in the oil filter base. That would be the best case scenario. If he ran it right after installing maybe the silicone didn’t have time to cure and it mixed with the oil? Although not likely
Yes V you did the right thing. No matter what that was the right thing.
He needs to be told no more silicone or he's fired
He needs to be told no more silicone or he's fired Fixed it for you. Joe H
Why is everyone assuming that this is the first machine he has done this to and that there already isn't a ticking time bomb on there hands
I don't think anyone has assumed that
Plenty of LMM bombs have already exploded in their faces. He continues to dodge injury. The guy has 50 lives I guess.
I’ve had to remove filters with a metal strap wrench and a 3 foot breaker bar I’ve also had that fail and had to resort to removing the adapter and using a chisel and hammer to remove the filters the only mystery is how they get it tight without crushing the filter, which crumples like a beer can when you put any removal force on it.
Forum rules prevent me from expressing my opinion
I took off an oil filter with a 24" pipe wrench because we didn't have any sort of filter wrench, my hand was putting a new filter on and proceeded to use the 24 to tighten the filter. People these days don't know a thing.
He ruined all the threads on the filter base but 3?? That's just plain stupid and there's no excuse for it. He had to have been reefing on it with substantial torque right from start. Does it take a destroyed $40K engine for Alan or whoever to realize LMM is just costing them money and making things worse? It seems he's graduated from grease to silicone. At least silicone will cure so it doesn't get all over everything.
Hell, he asked me if the aluminum threads would rot away. I said that was nothing I had ever seen on these filter heads.
Next thing you know he'll be brazing filters on.
Only once would be my guess, see all the fire and smoke
If the filter was put on a little tight without putting some oil on the gasket can make them extremely difficult to remove. It's like they get baked on and repeated heating and cooling makes them tighter and tighter over time. Years ago I remember my neighbor driving a large screwdriver through an oil filter in order to get it off. I always make sure to be generous lubing the rubber gasket. A stuck filter in an awkward position can be a real PIA.
Smoke, grease, silicone... it's all the same for LMM. He's too blind to see when it's excessive.
You think he knows how to braze?
I'm not sure he knows how to do anything the right way.
Pork chops.
Maybe??
Better hope LMM never finds the red loctite bottle...... Ed
Used silicone on the filter? I'd have beaten him repeatedly upside the head with the closest prybar or hammer.
Silicone on a filter. Sounds like the actions of a 16yo first year apprentice who works for an abusive foreman who just f-cked up and is too scared to say anything as they will get screamed at for cross threading the filter. But a adult, that is unforgivable.
I'd bet he cross threaded it and kept tightening. Not sure how anyone could cross thread an oil filter, but LMM could.
oiuyhfwz 3oiuyt76 Sis took over again.
Is she teaching LMM how to fill out repair records?
I’ve not worked on any newer equipment but i assume the oil filter housing is aluminum with a steel threaded nipple for the oil filter or did some bean counter decide to cast the nipple out of aluminum with the filter base as one piece and machine it all as one piece? Nowadays it wouldn’t surprise me
I trust that girl over lmm on anything
I service plenty of stuff with an aluminum filter stud, and the fun thing is, it likes to try and cross thread also because the aluminum is soft, it gives the steel filter threads a chance to bite in. Of course you have to recognize that and back off and retry, but I can see a determined knucklehead cranking it down instead.
I work a bit with my 11 year old son and while he is pretty good at most things, the lack of arm and hand strength is quite surprising. I have to go behind him on every oil filter and make it tight. He is pretty large though, and I'm sure in a few years he will be stripping threads and breaking bolts with the best of them.
Once, when I was 15, I had a stuck oil filter on a Chevy Z28 and I had watched my dad do the screwdriver trick. No one told me not to do it 1” from the base of the oil filter. Thank whoever, that the engine had an oil filter adapter plate that could be replaced when some idiot cracked the nipple off driving a screwdriver through it. Lol
I think LMM has a cousin north of the M-D line.....dug into some trailer trailer wiring of his today. we have: 1. a regular electrical box. 2. wire nuts 3. wire nuts with tape (WooHoo !) 4. crimped connectors with heat shrink (double bonus points) 5. scotch locs, multiples inline.....Ugh I hate scotch locs......
Depending on the trailer manufacturer that could be a factory installation.
Just got the welded on box removed, no paint underneath on the frame......
I've been working on a list of names of people that have worked on stuff before us....My friend started it all off with: 1. Barbaric Bob 2. Primitive Pete I've added: 3. Wally the wanna be welder 4. Hot wrench Harry
Yep, straight from the factory with the Scotch Loks and all . . .
Those involved in creating the scotch loc should be drawn & quartered...... Ed
So, who made the trailer?
As should anyone who uses wire nuts in that application...........
I'll look at the tag today and report back later.
Just redid a boat trailer for a guy, "truck keeps blowing fuses with boat attached". Fairly new trailer, scotch locs at every connection, replaced all that nonsense. Newer boat owner, I asked if he or his kid unplugged harness before submerging trailer to launch boat. Deer in the headlights look from both of them. Probably won't blow any more fuses.
The named scotch loc terminal came from and was introduced by none other than U-Haul. It was originally for quick connecting a flat four wire trail plug to a vehicle that had no hitch and wiring, U-Haul rented the whole system. Been around since early 70's. --It was never meant to be used for permanent installation.
IIRC theirs had a bullet connector in them so their trailer could plug in basically a wire at a time? My dad rented a trailer from them when I was a kid and that’s how they did the wiring. Wasn’t even a plug it was four wires plugged into their electrical guillotine.
I have never done that and I never have issues.
It would blow out the old incandescent bulbs for one thing. They were hot and the cold water would crack them.
U-Haul sold the flat plug as a permanent for next rental--the clamp on hitch could be bought also. Anywho it was a U-Haul idea that made U-Haul some money, and a quick scab-in electrical connection.
Aside from the hot bulbs blowing out, water gets into the "sealed" tail or marker sockets and shorts circuit, or just 4 pin connector under water will do same job. Oarwhat just because that Beaver Island boat launch is ice free doesn't mean you can take your ship ice fishing.
I hate when I get water in the taillights, knowing it’s going to be a problem later on.
Sounds like a enema of sorts.
Not much to report at the moment. I did get the second quote job done on the Sakai roller Monday. I'll be starting on the older 700K job next week. The rest of this week the wife is teaching me machinist stuff.
"This is a lathe, it can kill you....don't touch it"....
Carefull......Vtech will be adding a Fanuc controller to the paving machine soon.....
Title just came back from Harrisburg, "Better Way" brand of trailer....I'd hate to see "O.K. way" Oh wait, that's "Appalachian" brand....bottom of the barrel....
It's been quiet since my last post. I have all but 1 quote job completed and will start the last next week. Outside of that I haven't been on any repairs for these people for almost 2 months. Wifey's machine shop has kept me moving. She is so far behind right now it's pathetic................still yet, the broken-down mill is still broken down. Haas still can't figure it out. I am considering part time retirement from this business at the end of the year. I may just put myself into doing quote jobs only and getting away from the daily operations. I haven't made up my mind yet, but I will by the end of this year.
V good luck with your decision making, I said a prayer for you. That’s a big decision to make. With regard to Alan and LMM I’m sure they are creating all kinds of yet to be discovered carnage and waste.
Alan probably hires an outside mechanic that doesn't report the failed repairs to fix those
I'm guessing you did try here? Haas Haas CNC machine and control discussions www.practicalmachinist.com
Have made those decisions, not easy and not quick. Good Luck on a Right Choices decision.
I think you might be a lot happier just doing quote jobs. It doesn't appear anything has improved in the last year or so but instead has got worse. It's not your job to fix and you certainly don't need the aggravation or the continual BS.
A little LUBE here a little LUBE there
They must have hired some other outside mechanic to replace you. Those knuckleheads can't do the work you were doing. Probably a blessing in disguise for you. Good luck with what ever you decide.
Do they pave year round ?
It was a lot more than a little in the pics. I saw.
WD I didnt see those picks of Alan and LMM but I do hope your vision is not impaired after you seen um lolololol
Just blue collar Diddys.
Diddy on the time clock fo sho
The back of the service truck and the shop floor were covered in grease.
Another short update. Alan cancelled my last quote job on the 700K dozer about 3 weeks ago. The old man (owner) called me yesterday and asked why nothing had been done on it. I told him it was cancelled..........he quickly said it wasn't cancelled and to get it done. LOL About 30 minutes later Alan texts me and wants to know when I can get started on it. Alan again called me yesterday about another dozer down about 2 hours away. He needed me to go down there first thing this morning. I declined.......already am scheduled on other things. Could I have changed things around to go............yeah, but I'm not putting them in front of anyone else. I hear it's a nightmare there.....yeah I bet it is!! I'm actually enjoying this machine shop work. My shoulders aren't aching every night and the back pain has been minor. Still haven't made a firm decision on whether to continue this business of mine after Jan. 1st. I'm just coasting for the time being. The fact that the old man called tells me something. The only time he is involved in that business anymore is when things are ****. From what I have seen and heard, that is exactly the case. Guess we will see what happens soon!
With what you have said about your wife's work and now your body i would definitely put that on priority, I would still definitely catch jobs on your mechanic business and keep it going but you should decide on a number of hours a week wrenching to pay the wrenching company bills to make it worth it and stick to it. Then list the company for sale and coast till then. You could even do something stupid and find a young buck to train and have him do nearly everything and raise your rates to compensate. There's plenty of options to not hang it up.
Shouldnt that be 6 * instead of 4 * or is it not that bad ,,,, yet
Why did Alan cancel your 700K job? Does he think you're making too much?? On top of that he wants you drop everything and go out to another job 2 hours away. I suspect he's trying to cover his own *** because he has no clue how to fix anything let alone do his job with any level of competence.
Maybe so, but he's still there and getting paid. Joe H
Once Alan had the estimate he knew what to tell the other guys to fix/replace?
He was probably saving that money for his year end bonus… Now that’s shot to h3ll..!!
Then the company lubers probably botched it and made it worse
How do you get the stink of Trim-sol/coolant off every night ?
The worst stuff to get off is Tap Magic, that why as much as I love tig welding, I hate hand tapping aluminum.
Mine was "Cool Tool ll" that stuff left a funk all over, that you could not wash off. Ingredients said something about natural, everyone thinks "natural" is great. I like "Anchor Lube" with the light minty smell, washes off easily, gives nice shiny threads.
Wife uses some bio-coolant. I can't member the name of it at the moment but there is little smell and washes off with plain water. $1900.00 a barrel if I remember right.........YIKES!! I'm working there by myself for a few days so she can take care of her parents. What she doesn't realize is leaving me there running the CNC mill with a 24 pack of Michelob in the fridge...........and I'm unsupervised. lol
Are you able to make your own programs ?
@Vetech63 Can you put the meaning of the people abbreviations you use in your signature? Something like a Who's Who of the doofuses you work with. Trying to find out who LMM is in a 200 page thread can be difficult.
Large Mexican Man
Insert " Workdays were made for Michelob" jingle here.
LMM was just one example. There were many more if you read this thread from the beginning.
Dont yall reckon that part of the reason Allen has the red as$ at V is because he is privy to whats going on here. You would think that some time he would have searched for specks. or repair info and came across HEF and possibly found his way to this thread after say a problem with a grinder or paving machine. Just a thought. PTP Pass The Popcorn
Hey @HATCHEQUIP I see where your coming from, but I think you may be crediting Allen and the other 2 with far more intelligence than they are capable of using.
You would be surprised at how little info people can find on their own, or maybe you wouldn't.
That is the million dollar question!
Or he thought Vetech was making too much $$$.
Dam, I barely remember them. HNC = Has No Clue TNH = The New Hire lol.... how many were there?
LMAO....Oh hell no. Here's the thing with this woman of mine........she has to be GOD here. If I start learning all of this, then she is going to start thinking she isn't needed anymore and that's not good....for ME! She is quite competitive and when I do something better than she does it can get comical. She seems fine with keeping me a simple grunt here, able to push buttons, deburr parts, the simple stuff. I'm good with it. It's like 22 years ago when we first moved in together. She set the vacuum cleaner in the living room and left it there. 2 hours later she asked me why I hadn't vacuumed the room. I said "I don't know what that is!? I thought it was an alien." When I turned it on, I jumped back to the couch and rolled up in a ball. The look on her face was priceless, and I didn't end up doing woman's work that day LOL One thing I learned many years ago about women.............If you work together, eventually they think you can do everything, which leads to unrealistic expectations. I'm a dumbass with plenty of things.
Smart Man
Unfortunately too many and the way things are going there's bound to be more.
I always tell SWMBO that either she can tell me what she wants done, or how to do it, but not both.......!!
Sometimes you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Need to be able to read minds sometimes.
Ok now my imaginations running wild , I'm coming up with all kinds of different **** for those letters
S.O.P. "If you do a job poorly enough, you don't get asked to do it again."
Way back in the day when me and wifey were still young enough to go out on the town, we tended to hit a local bar we favored. After I had a few drinks, I would start singing "BOORRNNNNN FREEEEEEE....AS FREE AS THE WIND BLOWWWSSSSSSSSS............." It used to crack everyone up within earshot of us. I'm still here at the shop, and currently on my one and only beer for the day. I'm thinking she needs a blood pressure check......so I'm getting ready to text "BOORRRNNNNNNNNN FREEEEEEEEEE" to her. The ensuing text messages should be entertaining .........maybe enough for me to post later!
Have you seen the new Burger King BFD commercials? Big Flame-grilled Deal. Yeah, that's what everyone thinks BFD stand for... not!
She Who Must Be Obeyed.
Ah..... the kitty cat imitation! Works "some" of the time.
SWMBO??
Vetech,the more time you spend away from that cluster bomb of a place and the toxic environment that it’s become,the more you’re going to kick yourself that you didn’t go sooner.Your mind is starting to accept that you don’t need it,and it’s also raised the possibility that you are happy to survive financially without the need to slog your guts out in this industry period. The longer you stay away,the less likely you’ll want to return to the toolbox. If your wife can keep the printing game going,you can hang out there in between doing little,indoor jobs on the side. It’s time to partially retire mate.
On a different note,I thought the cluster bomb place would have imploded by now and you’d have lost a few dollars in unpaid invoices. I’m glad I was wrong about that,but it’s still a major worry if you’re going to continue doing jobs for them,albeit on a smaller scale. The less work you do for them,the less likely they will pay you on time.
See Shimmy’s post up above.
Ah right….good old Rumpole
That brings back memories........
I have done the same thing but get caught when she gets in trouble, especially on the computer and I take care of the issues, even though I claim, I’m not a computer guy but honestly, how hard is it to google the information, then fix the problem. Very rarely does my wife ask for help in her work but when she does, there’s always a part of me that thinks I’m getting scammed.
As my Indian friend would always say - Bindair Dundat. T'ain't hard is it.?
If you are standing on concrete make sure to get mats where you stand. Duckboards last long but are pricy. May have to go through a few different rubber mats to find one compatable with the coolant.
I have/had a problem standing on concrete.. until I found a STALL MAT @tractor supply.. I think I got the 3/4” mat.. A complete nite and day situation.. best purchase I made in a long time..
Went out early yesterday morning to start on the 700K. Its always nice to have to jump start something before you can do anything. I did both sides of this machine at the same time. The left side yoke assembly had been "painted in place". Someone must have pulled a fast one on somebody. I'm sure it's the original piece. I got both done in a day. All I have left is servicing the machine.......................well, this didn't have the covers over the grease cylinder fittings and both sides were packed like concrete so I'll get those on too. All in a day's work, I guess.
Should have known that, I think that's a category. That or we married sisters
V as much work as you've done for these folks and they make you jump thru all these hoops for a couple of track adjusters????? Aint good Cap.
Any man who thinks he has had the last word in an argument with a woman is dead wrong. It was simply the first word in the next argument.
If a man speaks in the forest and there's not a woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
That thing is rusty like it's been sitting for 10 years. That old 7G of mine has been sitting now for 2 years and looks nothing close to that.
The huge hole in that door panel on the hoe is a nice touch, they hire some quality stick monkeys lol
I thought that too. That dozer is too new to have been stood that long. Money getting burned everywhere
8370 hours on that dozer by the meter. It’s been sitting in the yard over a year now. It actually still runs and operates well…..just needs more tlc than they approved me to give.
That’s normal for these people now. If this was an hourly job……fine, I get paid for it. I had enough built in my quote that I got well paid for jumping this dozer off. I declined another daily job Alan called me on yesterday so the pressure must be increasing.
Keep going, take the good paying stuff and settle in to the good life working with your wife.
Yep and I bet Allen doesnt let ya sleep with him
Yes - the answer is always YES
Field service manager at Deere dealer informed me today that LMM was fired this last Monday. That explains why all the calls from Alan every day this week. I’m sure I will get details when I go to finish up the dozer job in the morning.
At least something went the right way
If the OP want's to leave the nice heated machine shop, and go back to crawling under machinery in the winter.....
What could be better than that?
Waiting until spring?
Exactly. They can have all the indoor work they want. I like being outdoors.
Funny thing Alan the mall manager doesn’t call you to say hey we’re getting rid of LMM and I may have a lot more work for you. Nope, just treat you like a mushroom, keep the lights off and keep shoveling the crap your way. Modern management at its finest.
I'm not sure what to make of it yet. I knew after the first week that LMM wasn't going to work out for what they really needed.........took them 8 months to figure that out? The other mechanic, when I talked to him 2 months ago, made the statement that he had about enough and was ready to quit then. His problem was with LMM and Alan both. I'm sure he will spill the beans on what's happened to the best of his knowledge when I arrive there later this morning. When the old man called me, I knew something was up. Last time he came out of "retirement" the company was a mess. The fact that so much equipment was in the yard the last 2 months says a lot.........along with a couple of employees saying they were really slow. That hasn't been the case with them.......rarely. Asphalt super called me yesterday about 2 of 3 pavers down. He said they had been working on one for days to repair some valve control hydraulic leak, and the other broke a hydraulic conveyor motor. He asked if I could get right on one of them so they could pave today......I told him I was busy and couldn't get to it until Friday. He sounded deflated..............I bet the paving company is way behind and now the lack of speedy repairs is costing them money. I'll update this evening..........
Are you suspecting it's more planning related than less opportunity?
Going into town for some lumber today, looks like I'm gonna need more popcorn too.
Oh it’s always fun when the consequences of one’s own actions arrive.
That's not calm, cool and collected that dumbass was buried in his twitter oblivion.
If only they had hired you as an equipment manager as you talked about a while back they would be in a lot better shape right now. I’m not sure how that would affect your stress level though. I think I’d get frustrated with the lack of planning in the rest of the company.
LMM has left many a mess at this place and every jobsite. I finished the dozer job this morning, then went to one of the paving machines on the other side of town. What I wasn't told was that LMM had been working on this paver. There was parts and bolts strewn everywhere, and some of what I needed couldn't be found. He also took off many panels and brackets because he didn't know how to install the conveyor chain. I'll post pics soon. I was told the other mechanic working in the shop has quit also. This was told to me by the lube truck driver. When I asked Alan about him, he told me he was taking time off until Monday. I didn't get the details I was looking for due to his absence. The lube truck driver did show me a video that he took on a Saturday morning of LMM..........asleep in the field truck when he was on duty. I've heard this has happened quite a bit. The field truck is a complete disaster. Tools, parts, and trash piled halfway to the headliner. Alan informed me that he is looking for another mechanic. I told him good luck.........nothing has changed on the job market since you hired the last one............so be ready for more LMM's.
They probably should stop hiring guys that can't make it a year on a job
Yabutt ! They saved money over hiring Vetech on full time.....
Charge’m extra for any job that isn’t intact when u get to it.!! It takes a lot of extra time to figure out what they did, what they were trying to do..and where the heLL are all the parts..(nuts,bolts)..and what they broke and what they lost..
Those should be 1/2 price jobs. The disassembly was 1/2 the work
Anyone want to bet on if Alan will be expecting Vetech to take on a whole lot more work with LMM gone as well as another mechanic? How to tell a good mechanic from a hack is everything will be organized when taken apart so if the original mechanic got sick or something, another mechanic would be able to make sense out of it.
We got a rubber mat made to put underneath a treadmill or other exercise equipment that would work good on concrete. It's 1/2" thick about 3' wide and 5 or 6' long. Sold the treadmill so I use it as mat on the gravel floor in my pole shed when I have to work on something. It just fits between the tracks on the track loader. Can roll it up when not needed and is easy to clean with the pressure washer.
At least the company is consistent------A person can skip 50 pages go to the currant and it's still the same--should make 301.
Vetech only taking on selective jobs is good for his blood pressure and sanity. Not that it's going happen but this company would be really stupid to not ask Vetech to be involved in hiring another mechanic or even a helper. He should have been involved when the useless LMM was hired.
At V's age less stress is a better option. My farmer friend Dwight {ex Cat mechanic of 23 years} may have found this out the hard way. He went back to farming some years back--and kept taking on more and more trying to farm 3,500 acres by himself {with help from his son}. This Monday the stress got to him--he passed out and hit the floor in the shop. He was just released with a pacemaker at 55 years old. After my back surgery at 57 I changed my path so I could make 68 where I am now---taking on other peoples nightmares has no value, instead it robs you of your body's value the older you get, the money means nothing.
If the company patriarch doesn't wise up and fire Alan as well, nothing will improve as he is clearly way outside of his area of expertise. Perhaps having Alan strip, wax and buff the office floors would be more in his wheelhouse.
I think they have to realize Vetech isn't going to stay around forever to save the day. They should be realizing he's already taking on less. The best thing they could do is ask him, even pay him extra as a consultant, to help them find someone who at least has some experience as a HD mechanic. If they don't, they will be in real trouble when Vetech decides enough is enough. That could be tomorrow or next week! If they actually found someone worthwhile Vetech might be more inclined to help break that person in. They hire another LMM and Vetech exists out the back door at the same time. Getting rid of Alan would be a step in the right direction too. He's pretty useless and hired the LMM if I recall. They head honcho can't be that blind can he... maybe?
Which drives them further away from using the OP as his price per hour goes up. And it looks like this company holds that figure above all else.
Well, they are paying more. This should have been a 4-hour job at most. Because of what LMM did and how he approached it, it's now a 10-hour job. Also, I have to finish another customers job today, so I cant get back to this paver until Saturday. I started charging time X's 1.5 months ago for weekends and after-hours work. Thats $240 an hour at my current rate.
How this company stays in business is beyond belief. Is the owner(s) too clueless to release how much money they're pi$$ing away?
It must be really, really profitable!
It must be was really, really profitable!
Could be really profitable if we just went back to the crop of mechanics and operators and managers and other professionals that existed 10-20 years ago
Fixed it for you...
They charge a lot
Companies have 100% created the bed they now have to sleep in by treating them as disposable As far as mechanics goes it takes a very long time to develop one from zero skills. We’re talking a process of an apprenticeship lasting years. The same goes for operators.
Well that's is outstanding-- and a start in the right direction. In posts 4,022 & 4,025 the term/ /name/description {mechanic} was used instead of that disgusting term created by vocational schools {technician}. Apprenticeship and Journeyman----you learned on the job from the old guys, a system that works well, even today. Plus it gives the old guys fun activity by hazing the **** out of the young guy.
You can add estimators to this list. My cousin hasn't been out of work in 30 years, a very talented operator who was coerced into being a PM about ten years ago. He's had plenty of offers but stayed with his present employer for the last 15 years. They're out of work now so he went back to operating. There's work, but the old estimators are gone and the new crop is young with no experience bidding heavy civil, so there's no new jobs on the books. The rest of the story is, now that he's idle, his kids convinced him to go to the doctor and have his neck problem checked out. The doctor tells him, I bet your right arm goes numb and as he lists off a number of other problems. Yep, yep, been living with that for years. Next the doctor says, so when did you break your neck. Apparently he was operating a scraper twenty years ago, hit his head on the ROPS, and lived with the pain until it went away. I know, bad idea, but these kinds of guys were the backbone of this industry and now they are far and few between. Hard to make money without them.
Hey, that's how I learned. Still passing it on.
That's why I wear a hat! With a hat, the blood doesn't readily show from all the things that you bump your head on!
LMM's work he left me. He took the engine air cleaner off and apart, then just laid the pieces on the ground. As you can tell by the leaves, the wind has been blowing pretty steady to these parts were full of dirt and leaves. He didn't bother to put a rag or a cover in the turbo intake. He left the access door open, so this had dirt in it too. The fuel level sender is unplugged and the tank cover removed. I think he was getting ready to pull the fuel tank. Not even necessary for this job. Part of the cover and bolts laying on the top there. This lid was lying on the ground. I picked up what bolts and washers I could find (not all of them of course). I set the lid there so I could get a better pic. I've been told there is numerous crap like this torn down all over town. FUN TIMES!
The good thing is that it's not your problem if you don't want to try and sort it out.
And that is one of the reasons I keep a metal detector (full size) and a wand metal detector (pinpointer) on my service truck at all times. Lose a tool or part in tall grass or mulch chips, easy to find if it hits the ground. One of these might help find missing parts that get scattered. The pinpointer will work better close to a machine than a large coil machine will. Many years ago I lost the fuel cap off of my Leibherr PR751 dozer after the fuel guy did not put it back on. By the time that I realized what the diesel smell was, and that the cap was gone, I had already pushed 2-6 foot of fill in. Rather than spend hundreds on a rare fuel cap, I invested in a metal detector that I could use again and again. I located about 4 different hits and I found it on the second location with the excavator. It was buried over 3 foot deep yet I still had a good signal. The metal detectors have been a wise investment for me.
Look at this poor miserable bugger and what he's working on--after the photo was taken he probably went out back of the shop and suck started a 38. Reminds me of me. There's enough chokers hanging on the wall he could have used one and a bucket. *
I think you need to seek some professional help if you actually mean any of this.
I think he's busting my Detroit balls. LOL
Mine too haha.
That doesn’t look anything like a 60 series. Were there detroits before that?
Definitely wasn't any hearing
He's not even high performance yet--he needs dual hearing aids, twice pipes for his ears. I quit working on those things years ago---and I'm not high performance, I can still hear.
I don't get the guys that love loud vehicles, especially the guys with hopped up diesel trucks. Maybe it's to hide the sound of the huge mud tires?? I really like how quiet my F150 is on the highway. Nice to be able to listen to the radio like you were sitting in your living room.
The neighborhood behind my house (dead end street) must be a deed restricted community. Apparently you are not allowed to own a muffler if you live down there.
Now the other mechanic is gone, apparently sometime last week. I was told Alan would be gone shortly……let’s see if that’s the case.
Things might actually improve. You could throw them a real curveball and say you've decided to retire. LoL
Won't matter who comes and who goes that outfit won't change until the kids that took it over get fired quit or wise up and i don't think door number 3 is going to happen there are hundreds of outfits like that in today's market and they continue to survive because everyone else there size including the gc they are workingbfor is as incompetent as they are and they all raise there prices to stay in buissness Most of today's management didn't build the outfit there running and have never survived a full on recession so here we are
Yes, that will continue till these companies all need to actually start working to survive. For some reason, we have about a 30 or 40 year window, where most people that actually worked and bled to build things, or fix things have either disappeared or retired. The normal transition period between learning and becoming proficient in most fields has crashed and I foresee a wobbly future going forward.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” ― G. Michael Hopf, Those Who Remain
You dont appreciate it if you dont work for it __My Parents
Best of the statements above. * Arrogance, ego, narcissism are the three biggest enemies of a successful business----or just a life. Anyone who gives a idiot--{their direct family} a free pass to wealth and success only to have the same persons crash it with dire consequences--------------------------is the real idiot. Dynastic wealth is gone on for years {about 5,000}, it's the same in todays end of 2024. Small town business guys give their businesses to their small town children, who were bought many extravagant items while growing up to marry the senior class cheerleader, then merge the business and wealth only to have it go to pot a few years down the road. * "{hard times creates weak men"---because they have the tendency of giving their children way too much because of that Saying--{I just want my kids to have better than I had}. They might think of themselves as big tough harry chested hard types--no 90% will baby their kids. * Best thing a parent can do is at the end of senior graduation---hand the kids a bus ticket and break their dinner plate and wave adios as the smoke from the detroit powered bus swirls as it speeds away.
It’s all how you raise them. My children are a good example. My daughter works her tail off for everything she has. She’s a junior at University of Arkansas working on an engineering degree. She’s an RA, works for one of the biggest GC’s around during breaks etc. Why is she this way? I was around and firm with her growing up. She saw me work, I taught her the value of a dollar. Enter my middle. He’s 14, was still in diapers when his mom and I split. (I’ll save y’all that story lol) My mom and his mom spoiled him and I just tried to maintain peace. The result, he’s not real sharp on what things cost or how to work for them. I will say the last couple years he’s been a lot better. I’ve quit traveling and he’s living with me most of the time. Covid and school really set him back. My youngest spends most of the time with his mom. That’s another story I’ll save you. He’s 10 and has a long way to go. He’s been through a lot but that family seems to think you can solve hurt feelings with $ and objects. I fear life might be harder for him. I’ve also seen it with my dad and how he treats my sister and I. Grew up farming, pop was born in 1908 so he saw hard times. My dad (1944) grew up learning you didn’t spend what wasn’t absolutely necessary. In turn he wanted to do for his kids what his dad wouldn’t or couldn’t. For whatever reason it didn’t affect me as much as my sister. The best results I’ve seen are the family companies that start their kids at the bottom and allow them the opportunity to earn their way into running it someday. I understand the legacy idea and all that. If I ever have anything worth talking about I sure hope I’m not around to see it run into the ground, assuming that’s what happens.
I grew up working and by 16 had journeyman skill at backhoes and excavators at 16 i was offered a minimum wage job by a family friend i had no desire to change from being an operator to a shop boy dad fired me it was 10 years before I went back to work for dad What I have accomplished now wouldn't have been possible with out being sent down the road
Junkyard, I feel a lot of us parents spare our kids hardship, this includes things like driving on interstate, we have to stop doing that and expose to things our kids might fail at. It's a crazy revelation I had a few months ago when my 16 year old daughter and I went to pick up her new car and she had to drive it a few hours on interstate, as a kid I made that journey a hundred times already. Set them up to succeed or fail while it doesn't matter which way it goes.
Of all the “RICH” kids I grew up with. The ones that were totally spoiled, had all the great new toys, stuff like the new and fancy guns, bikes, 3-wheelers, quads, dirt bikes, gear, anything that cost more money than my family could afford. The only ones that turned out worth a crap, were the ones that their parents made them work in either the family business or somewhere else, to come up with the money to buy the stuff. All the ones with parents that just bought their kids expensive toys to show off, all died of OD’s or alcohol or suicide unfortunately. Honestly, the richer their parents were, the more screwed up they were.
Agreed. That was hard with my 14 year old. Had to take a step back and let him learn some lessons. My mom was pretty good about that with me. I never got anything for zero work. The work wasn’t always commensurate with the reward but it taught me if I wanted something I had to work for it. They spoiled my sister. Through hard work and fiscal responsibility both my parents are now wealthy and were doing well when my sister was still at home. I also struggled with trying to protect my daughter in similar ways and finally had to let her sink or swim on her own. By golly she’s a heckuva a swimmer! Lol
Some family businesses work good but it's a small minority. It's best if the kids have to go out and work for someone else for a few years before they go to work in the family business. It's kind of the same with inheritance money. Hold it back until the kids are 25 or so so they have to learn how to support themselves instead of just being handed a chunk of money or a senior position in the business. What I think is a real sad story is with my partners sister's family. Their oldest child is autistic and 99.9% of the focus (of everything) is on her. I could see it the first time I met them. The younger son was/is pretty much neglected. Fast forward a few years and they inherited the dads father's business where the dad worked. They kept the business open for a few years after the father died but then closed it. The father was fairly wealthy so they all got a good inheritance. The son had tried a few jobs but they never lasted. He has low self esteem and confidence and I'm sure it's because he was always second or tenth fiddle. Now that he inherited a big chunk of money, he has no incentive to get a job or try to be a productive member of society. For the most part it's not his fault though and his parents are to blame. They were so busy doing everything for the daughter, and still are, they didn't and still don't notice their other kid was suffering from their lack of direction and guidance. Neglect is kind of like a silent form of abuse. Sadly it will probably affect him his whole life but he doesn't know the real reasons why he has such low self esteem. Getting the inheritance just makes it worse. I feel sorry for him but unfortunately have to bite my tongue. I'd be the bad guy just for pointing out the obvious.
My .02, You can either protect them or PREPARE them but you can not do both at the same time.
You need to guide them and not neglect them.
You need to teach them how to succeed, not show them.
That's part of guiding them. Letting them have a big inheritance before they've been out in the big world is just enabling them to be lazy and play video games all day.
I need a translator...... That is definitely LMM's writing. This is on a roller with an antifreeze leak.
This is nice. How many dead wires/wiring do you see?
Is the last word spelt “echale”.? It’s a bit hard to read.
Ok I’ll play. Here‘s my guess.
Vetech so are you back working for them?
No comprende dumbass.
"If this light illuminates, add anti-freeze"
What is the arrowed warning light for.?
Real classy writing the note with a permanent paint marker on the dash.....
Easier than fixing the leak. Joe H
I'm gonna guess low coolant.
You have got to be kidding me!! So instead of fixing the leak, he wrote a warning on the dash......pointing to the other warning........to put antifreeze in the radiator if that light comes on. LMAO.....just when I thought Ide had seen all the dumbassery that could possibly be.
Dumbassery} a new one in the annuals of hef.
I prefer shithousery……
Geezers had to look up the English meaning. Started thinking it had something to do with legs until then (hosiery)
LMM must have been getting annoyed at all the complaints of repairs not being done.
Maybe LMM thought writing in a different language would give him job security? Dumbassery should be submitted as a new word for 2025. It's getting more common all the time.
Did he at least draw the arrow to the correct idiot light?
Correct,I totally agree. It’s the new way……
would someone decipher that “note” for the rest of us..
See Jimbo’s post further up the page.
I'm only doing what is assigned to me. I'm not doing what I did before.......which was just roll in one machine after another.
I wonder if Old Doug could fill in as your helper ?
Assigned by Alan ? Joe H
If you had a machine that wouldn't engage the starter and called a tech out for the problem..........would this have been an acceptable repair for you? A lot of that loose wiring was for starter engagement......through a standard toggle switch. Just off to the right of this panel was a 7/16 NC bolt he had tried to ream into a metric thread insert. He twisted on the bolt so hard that it ripped the insert from the dash. There were only 2 screws of 6 holding the panel down.
Uh-oh, wait until Truck Shop sees you used the T word . . .
I would love a job were I was the helper not the Brains . I don't mind washing parts cleaning machines changing parts . I just don't like the thinking stress part of mechanic work. To bad I don't live closer to some of you guys.
I would have mounted it into the dash at least
Let's see- Turd, Trouble, Tough,------
Hey at least he used a switch, could have written in mexican to just touch wires together.
spanish.
LMM not LSM
Suprised he didn’t use a household light switch
Home Depot wouldn't deliver a light switch to the shop, and the parts store didn't have one in stock . . .
Lol … What a dolt.!!!
You guys still think M stands for mechanic?
Little Mexican Menace
Gosh--you guys are really being tough on your fellow technician.
I have NEVER made that claim for meself..... LOL
I'll vote Moron Joe H
Looks like a Mexican repair to me. As a friend (who is a great mechanic) says: "don't make to much fun of the Mexican mechanical ability. They can fix about anything with the junk in the back of the truck so that it will finish the job today. It may take an entire component to repair tomorrow, or it may never run again. But it will finish the job today."
The stuff you can buy in Mexico is not what you see here. I was in an auto parts way the hell down there somewhere and there was a water pump body on the shelf. Not a water pump, just the casting. Can't even buy a kit here, in Mexico every piece can be had. Joe H
I work with in the oil field with plenty of Mexicans I can confirm this first hand
I like to refer to these things as “Spanishing it up” or “that’s how it’s done in my country”. At least he put in a switch and didn’t write directions on the dash this time….
LMM = Large Mexican Man, so YES....He is Mexican! LOL That switch was done because there was a lack of knowledge and troubleshooting skills. That truck he was driving is fully equipped to do proper troubleshooting and a proper repair. Put on top of that laziness and you have the perfect storm for this type if crap. This is something there just isn't a proper excuse for. To get something through the day is one thing......I have done things to accomplish that myself for a customer in dire need. It's something completely different to do that....and leave it as a proper repair.
Man, you guys are demanding. The poor guy did a temporary repair when he told the operator about the light verbally to get through the day, then he made the repair permanent by installing a sign for the operator to read. What was he supposed to do, find the coolant leak and repair it ? ? ?
Who speaks and writes in Spanish.
I find in company positions the type of work done is the easiest and fastest so you can go back to sitting, contractors have a name and customers to answer too and can/will try their best to do the job. The company people should be doing the best repairs since they have the most time to spend on it.
Spring-bone, I was making a funny. Do you really think that needed clarification? There are between 7-10 dialects of Spanish recognized around the planet, so Mexican is a relevant reference anyway.
In this day and age yes. Dialects have to do with language in this case Spanish. Mexican refers to a person from Mexico. But I realize there was a idea that popped up a few years back that became a popular way to address ideas know as {alternate facts}. So in this case it's {that feller is speak'in Mexican}. we'll go with that.
Had mechanic several years ago that was from mexico and the boy was damn good. Told me a outfit he worked for down there only had 1 starter and and 1 set of batteries and every morning they went around all the cat pans and dozers and fired them off. Said that was just the way it was.
People take allot for granted with what they have now. Sometimes having not much to work with makes---more out of you.
Sometimes people with a limited budget have to come up with ways to make things work too.
I had an employee like that. He could get equipment to finish the day with bubble gum. Problem was when I told him to fix it correctly, he still used bubble gum.
No doubt. Lived 2 years in Costa Rica and my Spanish was decent. Drove to Panama and had a very hard time understanding them. Flew to Guatemala and could converse, not as well as in CR but get by. Mexican slang - can't understand a word. Sometimes out in a store I'll overhear Central Americans talking and I can pick up most of the conversation. Get a bunch of Mexicans on the job and I can't understand a word as their slang is almost another language. However it's not as bad as Chinese. Talk about dialects.
Correct--over 25 and roughly 10 common. Although what makes it complicated is the amount of characters-over 50,000--but about 20,000 common. To be able to read a newspaper and be somewhat literate it takes in the neighborhood of 2 to 3,000. Fluent 6 to 8,000, my brother has a level of 7,000. It's funny going to Costco with him in the Seattle area, he overhears allot of interesting conversations taking place, then he will inject something and they just stop stare and quickly push their cart in opposite direction, only very rarely will they converse with him.
Back to do something with nothing- several years ago I was asked to reseal a cylinder on an old international front end loader. I had the owners helper giving me a hand. Removed the rod, clamped the eye in my vise and could not get the nut loose. 1” impact, heat, breaker bar with a cheater. No bueno senor. I was ready to give up and take it somewhere when the helper asked if I had a chisel and a hammer. Of course I did. He smacked the corner of the nut with the chisel and holy s***! it turned. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. He smiled and said “I’ve done so much with so little for so long, it was worth a try”. I think about that often. I can’t explain it, I just report it.
There should be a list of all the unorthodox ways people have used to do something that was challenging.
Ahhhh This would mean a possibility that someone that should read it, did read it Ahhhh, no
Hammer and chisel---not on spindle nuts---one thing that pi$$ed me to no end was someone using a hammer/chisel on steer or drive axle bearing nuts. Don't know how many I've found through the years on drives that the locking nut spun off whipped around on the axle till threads were non existent. The only good thing is when that happens the wheel seal starts gushing.
It would be an interesting read and some things might be remembered. Could be a good reference to keep around.
I'm pretty sure I posted on this thread somewhere about a 210G that had cratered the bucket cylinder and contaminated the hydraulic system. Should have been about a year ago I think..........I had found them a cylinder replacement, but the Deere dealer here had already started the job, so I let them have it. I got a call late Friday about this machine, super slow and weak hydraulics. I reminded the super that called....Yeah, I told Alan and someone else that was a contaminated machine back when the repair was done, and that machine should be gotten rid of. Obviously, they just kept using it. I'll bet the farm the contaminants have run through the system now and the entire system is trash at this point. I'm going to look at it tomorrow ......it will cost more to repair than it's worth now. SMH.... some people just don't listen.
Sometimes you don't have the socket or the money to purchase it. It's not the right way to do it but, I've done it many times with no issues.
What type of farm?
I knew this would be readdressed with that response. The trouble with saying {I've done it with no issues, lends speculation to a rookie that it is a ok method}. * Setting in dentist chair---suddenly you see a hammer & chisel looming in the hands of the dentist, along with his/her statement {This tooth takes a special tool for recapping I don't have, Hold still now and I'll just shear that right out of there}. * I don't care about the reply's----Don't have the right spindle socket? Go borrow one, or buy one. But going at it like a cave man carving a new wheel--NOT. You can't tighten the outer nut to spec with a chisel.
Just caught up on this, not seen the level of Jury Rigging as this since days LONG Ago at the Quarries, those old boys were a hard set to follow as to baling wire, 'Needs a new Wire', and the infamous Hammer and Chisel method on near to ANY system on those yards. The No brakes Eucs were really special, Vise grips on broken lines or tubes, gallon jugs of brake fluid EVERYWHERE. Felt so third World even back then. Hauled deck set junkers to Mex Line in the late seventies, watched as they were dragged across the line, frames torched, No grinding Butt Welded frames on other side, runaway Driptroits and either still in gear to run over other stuff or smoking grenades in a matter of moments. Fun Memories.
^^^^^ Also, a pipe wrench is not a socket either . . .
I beg to differ, it takes several uses to turn a hex into a round
The only other tool you will need to cobb anything with the best Mexican is a crescent wrench . . .
That has double use for some----a poor mans micrometer.
Crescent Hammer, Rigid Hammer, Straight bit Pry Bars
Cresent wrench, adjustable wrench, come on, everybody knows that those are Arkansas all sixteenths...
Can't bad mouth them too much, there is a whole group on here that swear by a cresent and have a 16"er hanging from their belt along with some keys that don't open any doors.
I couldn't find the image, I like the one that shows all types of tools and calls them a hammer, then shows a hammer and calls it lost
But what about the metric version? I don’t want to toot my own horn but I carry both standard and metric adjustable wrenches on my truck.
Swedish nut lathe
Glad you said that--great for rounding off things off, creates hate & discontent for the next guy.
Here’s another, hammer a couple of threads flat. Poor man’s Locktite. lol
On the wife's home front, the CNC Haas mill still isn't fixed. Haas determined there was something wrong with the boards, so they were pulled and sent in for repair a few weeks ago. Got them back and reinstalled.........same problem, except now some of the software is missing from the boards. Got that corrected from a different tech outside of the Haas dealer but still has the spindle overload error. The last Haas tech came out about 2 weeks ago and I feel like he has given up on this. He didn't even finish hooking things up. He left the board cover off, a lot of grounds unattached, and a bracketed item laying loose on the floor of the cabinet. My last call to the tech was a week ago when I asked him to come by yet again to attempt to figure this problem out. His reply was I needed to call the people that did the boards. SO, I said F&^% it........I finished assembling what the factory tech didn't do. I left the back of the machine open and set up a 36" shop fan blowing in the back. Guess what.........................the machine has run the last 3 days with no errors or issues. It seems something is getting hot and causing the error..........just like I told them I thought it was 4 months ago. Wifey has spent over 6K doing what these people keep telling her to do, and there is another big bill coming from the Hass dealer for multiple trips out that has been stacking up. A big fight over the bill is coming!
Can you shoot the cabinet with a FLIR gun and see a hot spot ?
Do you have a firefighter buddy? We have the best TICs.
No doubt on the Heat Signature spotters, as well there is nearly ALWAYS a cooling fan or set(s) of fans in installs as these. Saw that at the electronics installed at the nuke on fixed in place machinery, Microprocessor Chips do NOT like heat.
Stuck in a perpetual cycle of cleaning up somebody else's B/S no matter which front you're on. Now you can add CNC fixer to your resume'. Atta boy.
Should be a forum where can you find out if that machine is prone to this ? Might be a cabinet cooler is in order, if the packaging was done wrong.
This just may earn you a good Christmas this year.
Wonker builds Haas in their spare time in between the buns. *
And maybe some special "consideration" from the boss.
Exactly what I was hinting at.
i'm thinking LMM has to be involved here somehow, have you found any mysterious hand written notes or arrows on the cabinets also check the floor for grease marks and stains, especially the cabinet handles and access points
That brings back memories. I recall a number of years back while living in Africa we had a TV (solid state electrics, it wasn't that long ago.!) that would not work unless there was a desk fan blowing across the back of it. It worked for years like that and when we left we sold it complete with the fan.!
Your wife shouldn't be paying for multiple visits when nothing was solved. Perhaps the hours you spent figuring out how to put things back together should be deducted from the bill. It's bizarre there isn't a cooling fan. Much smaller and less complicated electronics even have cooling fans. Glad you got it fixed.
An IR gun will show hot components but unless you have a background, you don’t know what is OK and what is not. Best advice (beyond what you are doing) is look for discolouration on the boards from overheating. The boards should not show heating Unless there is a large resister.
Would a bad ground possibly cause excess heat and you putting it back tight fixed the problem? Still, running the big fan is a simple solution that won't break the bank.
The black item on the door, Cooling fan? Would look into a series of fans and or a larger more CFM unit to replace that if is a fan. Also there will need to be a Intake Air grill with filtration for being in a oily atmosphere condition, placed on a regular maintenance schedule. Photo of that door and back of electronics region? Not to get anyone fired but a copy of the photo showing loose fasteners and whatever left laying about the cabinet floor as well as the not connected wiring to the Haas Rep would be in due order to get a billing correction started.
Already prepared for that my friend.
Having worked with a few Haas Tech’s, there are good ones and really great ones and there are ones that that should be paying you. Unfortunately, Haas is a kinda mafia and their network is like none other. You can get cheaper machines that do exactly the same thing but have no dealer support at all. There are territories and you own the area, so no competition. We have had a few problems that were fixed by luck, we have had a couple that had the engineers out, staying in a hotel for a week, trying to fix it. We pleaded with management to buy a different brand but they looked into it. There were no other options.
I think you can work your way thru it using the FLIR, as you suggested, braking resistors and other power components do get hot, and are made for it. It could be such that the cabinet layout put heat generating components too close (or under) sensitive stuff.
This isn’t rocket science, Haas has 500 of the same machines, if not thousands running all over the world. It’s not likely to be a design or engineering problem, more than likely to be a component failure that is overlooked or unusual. We had a similar issue with a VF-2 for 5 months and they finally fixed it but I believe it was a spindle drive cord failure that was somehow degraded inside the cable housing, we didn’t make a payment on the machine for the 5 months it was down.
It seems Vtech has launched his own tool line. He's been pretty quiet about it. Shows you his integrity, not trying to take advantage of his friends by trying to sell them his stuff. Look out Snap-On, Mac, Matco, etc! Here's hoping it works out.
I think the little bugger on the box looks just like him, they left the horns off though.
I got inside their shop today for the first time in months. I wish I hadn't......
UGH
The office chair is a nice touch. The used filters piled up on the containment skid is great....the fire extinguisher is so close you can't grab it to fight the fire....of course if the thing explodes from the heat, it will put out the fire...
Mess yes, but floor is cleaner than I'd have expected. The waste oil area is what I'd have thought the whole place would look like. And LLM never touched that circular saw. Joe H
Damn
That's a typical Merican shop, extremely well organized, and oh so clean. Build race motors there.
You been sneaking to my shop and taking pictures? Wait- even I wouldn't triangle rig that poor chain, so its not my place. I need to restart my shop clean up from 2016....
Just never understood the purpose of having a tool box and not putting tools away. I realize I am a neat freak and I will put tools away while I am working on stuff, thinking I won’t need that particular tool again, only to have to go get it out of the box again, a few minutes later but I know exactly where that tool is. I have gotten better though and try to lay out tools as I’m working on things and put them away, when the whole job is done One of the best things I have, is a rolling, adjustable height doctors exam table and it’s so handy, I’m keeping my eye out for another one. I just tape cardboard to the top, to keep it ready for parts. If I was running that shop, I’d be screaming at people and my blood pressure would be way over 200.
It's not as bad as it's been in the past
Yeah I thought it was rather clean considering, I bet it was trashed and someone cleaned up before you saw ut
On the CNC mill front..........I guess the Haas tech's overlook stuff too sometimes? I started looking at this machine yesterday thinking about why more air flow is fixing the issue. I started to look at the cooling fan, which is working fine. I could feel air coming from it and realized it is pulling outside air into the electronics/ control system compartment. Then, out of nowhere, a thought just popped into my mind..........does that have a filter? Surely the Hass guys checked that....right? Its sooo simple. It can't be that simple, can it? We have spent over 7K on this thing since the end of July. Rebuilding this component and that component at the Haas teams requests. There is NO WAY this is the problem......since day 1!? I think MR DMiller even mentioned this a few days ago............and it just didn't click in my brain until yesterday. It can't be.............a simple maintenance item? No .Can't be.
Low and behold...........a nice 25X20x2 air filter behind this cover. I have no idea when it was changed last...........but it is definitely plugged. Go ahead and start the beatings coming my way. I nominate myself for "Dumbass of the year!"
That’s what makes you and all the other mechanics, true mechanics. You can look at a situation that has nothing to do with your expertise and assess a situation and come up with a reasonable solution for the problem.
Can tell how nasty it is, even without the cover off. lol
Bad news is, they are going to blame lack of maintenance and still insist on full payment of the bill.
Wondering out loud what the operating manual of the machine says regarding preventive maintenance and even if that filter is included.?
I don't know what's wrong with my excavator I bought a year ago, it's smoking real hard out the exhaust. * Cascadia hvac systems have two filters one outside of cab and a recirculating inside. No one ever changes the inside cab filter----just packed full, easy to miss just like that CNC--how many on here would even think it has a filter? How many refrigerators in kitchens run constantly because the coils at floor level are packed with dirt, human and pet hair causing a electric bill to climb? Out of sight out of mind.
Hind site is 20/20.. but I had the same thing happen w a Bosch test stand.. They had 2 small fans blowing “in” & nothing out.. Replaced with bigger fans, 1 in and 1 out creating a flow across the boards.. Hope u got it V.. I like the idea of looking at the maintenance info, just to see w your own eyes if the filter is mentioned.. U KNOW what they’re gonna say:.. Hmmm, yours is the first we’ve heard of THIS.. (bs)
Nice how they even give you a replacement calendar on the tag on the door . Right below where it says replace every 2 years.
Wonder if there a tech outline they are supposed to follow when troubleshooting?
Factory technical conferences were always good for that. The plan would be hatched in the bar in the evening prior to the technical group we wanted to nail appearing the following day. Imagine this - a Starter, a Set-up Man, and a Closer. After the presentation the session is thrown open to questions from the floor. The Starter gets the mike and asks a question. (standard) Response from the group on stage: "We've never heard of that before". Setup Man gets the mike - "Sorry that's not right. I advised you of this by email on [date]." Cue consternation on stage........ Closer gets the mike - "I can confirm that because I also emailed you on [date] about exactly the same thing." Result: Pandemonium in the auditorium as 100+ delegates all **** themsleves laughing......
Here is Pandelerium!!
Am i looking at it wrong or is that a huge filter for a teeniny fan??
Yah, I remembered the fans on the back of the Haas as 3 times that size for all the boards and stuff. I don’t think the newer ones have all the individual drives like the old ones. The worst is cleaning out the chip trays, when running aluminum. The old aluminum chips stink from rotting.
Cleaning out the coolant tank after running grey cast iron is the worst. Something about the cast causes a bacterial growth in the organic based coolant that just becomes a slimey, foul mess. My first job out of high school was for a CNC shop and I spent a lot of time cleaning coolant tanks that summer as a newbie with zero experience. We had a Mazak horizontal mill that would run connecting rods for a pump company for about a week every month. I always had to clean that tank out when that job finished as the stench would foul the entire shop if left to stew for too long.
Did you use a "Yellow bellied sump sucker"?
Looks like how my cow-orkers leave a shop This is usually the point where I start throwing tools and buckets across the shop and cursing everybody.
Old POS home made vacuum set up to remove the liquid and then a pile of rags and some kind of green cleaner/cleanser to remove the slime.
So I have a boom lift that I bought at an auction and like everything I get it needs fixing up. I'm finally getting around to working on it, and I swear if I didn't know better I would bet a dozen tacos that LMM worked on this thing prior to ending up at the paving company. Not only is the wiring on the thing all butchered up, but I found this little gem yesterday. This MAP sensor with the back missing off of it and snotty goop coming out was wrapped with old brittle electrical tape and then wrapped up with more tape onto the wiring looms. I'm sure the $30 exspense for a new GM MAP sensor was too much to invest in this machine. With work like this I can't understand why it hasn't been running well. lol And then today I was working my way through more wiring mayhem and discovered this- As you can see from the pic these switches are used to manually change engine speed when at the engine bay. Why are these disconnected from the controller I wondered. Well I take one of my cheap meters and check the switches figuring that one or both must be bad and the LMM Tech School graduate must have been too cheap or lazy to swap them out. Nope the switches are fine, but one was wired normally open and other normally closed, instead of both being wired normally open. I know the controller works because I can change speeds from the platform. This is the work of LMM I tell ya.....
I heard a couple of days ago that there has been no hires for mechanics. I also was told that they DID hire another manager…..under Alan. His title is VP of fleet maintenance. So….now there is 2 managers managing nothing. You can’t make this **** up. I’ll be going there tomorrow on another paver problem so I’m sure I’ll meet the fleet vp. I’ll have a new name for him tomorrow night.
The new guy will take Alan's place after he's been brought up to speed. They can't fire the only connection to the fleet they currently have. Hopefully this new guy will be able to handle what Alan hasn't been able to grasp.
What does alan know that can't be figured out in an afternoon
Well that just can’t be, every company knows they just grow on trees all over the place.
Probably not much, but I'm sure there are things related to the business end that would be a trainwreck to try and learn a new guy. I'm sure there's a computer system, vendor list, etc. that needs to be figured out.
DBM1 & DBM2--simple.
New guy= Alan’s b!tch..= AB They hired another mngr because Alan’s to busy doing WHAT.?? Lol
Just think of all the money that the company is paying Alan and NOW another mngr WITH A TITLE.. that they could be spending on a GOOD FULL TIME MECHANIC.!!
There is a slight chance the new fleet maintenance manager is being hired to see how bad Alan really is and potentially replace him. Maybe Alan's boss is starting to wise up. If nothing else we can at least hope the new guy has a clue and see's what the big problem is.
Poop in one hand wish in the other clap three times and see what end up with is what that sounds like with the AB.
Depends if Alan got to be part of the interviews and hiring decision. Old saying that A's hire A's, B's hire C's. Alan is not an 'A' quality employee, so if he had a say in the selection, he would select someone that he wouldn't see as a threat to take over his position. Someone that is great at what they do, and a great employee overall, will select someone they see as their equivalent and complement because they want to work with the best.
Next in “As the machine turns” Alan, which is my name, is arrested for embezzlement of company funds and Lori, my ex wife’s name, is seen at the local tavern, cavorting with the owner and an affair in imminent. LOFL.
Providing I meet the guy today............Ide like to know what his experience is. I'm under the impression that he has never turned wrench on equipment. I was told he knows equipment better than Alan. What exactly does it all mean? Hopefully I will have some answers today.
Sounds a Numbers Boy, Accounting or Bean Counter, good luck.
He probably managed the segways at a mall
Alan might be hiring his replacement, and then Alan moves UP !
The inept always fails upward
Look at the bright side can he be any worse as far as your concerned
The Kiss of Death!!
Good thing I stocked up on popcorn.
NO doubt there!
Still no update... Either it went really bad and V lost all words to describe how his day was or nothing to report not having met the new allen
Well, my first impression isn't good. The guy didn't really talk much even when I asked questions. He had this smug (better than thou) airness about him. Tall guy, maybe in his mid 40's or so. Dude just acted like I was bothering him, and he didn't have time for me. Really odd but I know the type. My name for this guy is SDS. One of the supers there told me that most everyone has already had an issue with his smugness. Maybe it's his personality, nerves...........or he's just a prick? My mind can be changed.....I'll give it some time. 2 supers are already done with him, and he hasn't been there 3 weeks yet. They believe he is there to take Alan's place. According to them, he is really swinging his dick around. Time will tell if I'm interested in working at all with him or this company anymore.
SmugDumbShit ?
Called it.
Smug DipShit
Not ever cared for Holier than the ones on deck the longest by a Newbie, not walked the walk or bent the bolts. Time may tell but suspect writing on the wall is OBVIOUS Enough. Reason I left the Nuke as retiree was a SDS Boss that I worked with as a Entry level Transfer in, we both received the same testing and applied same level of quals to entry to Operations, he remained smug all the way thru his Operator to Reactor Operator and finally in a Step Up to First Line Mgmt and left the Hall. He always asked me pertinent questions as to when I ran the BU Diesels or performed surveillance procedures he was uncomfortable with that I seem to always get hung with, then would take credit for personal contact of the process and finding new problems I had found. I quit elaborating to him early on due to that, he did take that personal as had No Laurel Wreaths from not really understanding. Always tried to get under my skin where the Neck Surgery was final chance, he was told to get me off Sick Leave any way possible, I explained when he tried was NOT Physician Released and his Comment "I Do NOT Care, you're to report back to work" was the final act and was REPEATED in Email to HIS boss as I went on Vaca Time and filed Retirement. He was side slip transferred into Maintenance Mgmt and soon after Resigned to go to Dubai as a Contractor rep. Been fired there now that I have learned.
That same SOB issued me the Nickname I carried for my service years at the nuke of Cooter(Dukes of hazard Type), Was having problems with his Vette as we were Plant Helpers, stumble and poor economy, had several OTHERS worked on it not ever curing. Over my shoulder noted that had a Rockchucker Quadrajunk on it several years old, needed a Main Body replacement as Primary Jets Pockets were leaking, he scoffed and called me with "OK Cooter" What would you know about Quality GM Engines(Was driving a Ford Exploder then). Looked at straight on and explained the nuances of a Spread Bore Quadrajet and the aspects of fails I had seen over 23 years, he again scoffed later I heard had bought a Replacement NEW Quadrajet Carb and cured the problem. His BROTHER, the Super Marine Mechanic that came to the Nuke that was not so great a wrench did his Carb Replacement, explained had not actually ever noted these leaked at the Jet Wells as his brother(My Boss) had found out, not ever let on and Not ever thanked.
I read it as Smug Dick Swinger from the clues given.
Same Dam **** But whatever his name is sounds like just another kok $lurper, should fit right in with the rest of the pivot circle
Some of you were close! I went with SDS = Sh*T don't stink.
Sounds like a great candidate for a special procedure I call WTTF Wrench To The Face
Here's another that may apply, Small *ick Syndrome.
You might just tell them you want no drama and have the supers call you directly. That would probably make drama lol
Light a fire, see what direction it runs. As noted speak directly to supers until their boss yells STOP, contact this SDS, and set up HIS basis whatever that can attune to and hold him to a Borne Cross to deliver Approvals per His Own Requirements or Instructions. And Or BACK AWAY until the Entire operation drops into a crapper, and they call with Mass Emergent Work, require pay on a Case by Case basis or not performed. This has the required definition of Dumpster Fire all over it.
The finest steel is forged in the fire of a dumpster……
Is Profit to be made in Chaos, Tony Randall
Alan has been terminated as of last Wednesday. Not sure what’s going on moving forward but I have a paver to repair so i will find out something?
Without going back through the thread to find dates, how long did his employment last?
Too long. Joe H
That didn’t take to long.. U think it had anything to do with the paving super bending the owners ear about equipment being down..& not being able to finish a job on time.?? Do whatcha can but don’t put yer self out. I think I’d make’m make a list from hot to not jobs.. Naturally you’ll have to give’m time frames.. this job will take “x” amount of time, AFTER I get the parts..on and on..& no cutting in line.!! They made the list and have to stick to it.. Good luck
Maybe the new guy is much better than he first appeared?? Was brought in to see what the big problem was but couldn't be obvious. Kind of like an efficiency expert. Knew someone that did that for a large groceries distributor. If he showed up basically meant some people were getting the boot. In this case it's time to celebrate that Alan is gone.
Hired Oct. of 23, started fulltime fleet management April of 24.
However...."Alan 2.0" don't sound any better....when is the dispersal auction scheduled ?
Most companies have a 90 day probation period.. I wonder if that’s what the big boss used to **** can him.?? Whoops, my math is off.. lol
Shoot Mike your going to have to start taking off both shoes
Ill probably have to contend with that remark the next time around
Can't allow math in this thread lol
I wasn't able to lock down the new fleet manager (SDS) for any kind of chat. I guess it's a good thing he isn't staying in his office much. I did meet the new mechanic on his 3rd day. He seems to be ok and friendly, but I didn't get to talk with him more than 5 minutes. He told me him and SDS came from the windmill farm operations and had been doing that the last 2 years. The company was in the process of loading out 4 pieces of equipment that they finally decided to trade off. These 4 were on the list of equipment I gave them over 2 years ago.............at least its progress in the right direction. I'm not sure yet where I stand yet again........that won't be cleared up until I get to visit with SDS. If I am going to be phased out again, it will be time for me to retire I believe. I'm getting too old to be bringing in new customers and build back a base that I won't be able to carry for long. I'll update later when I have more info. I need a name for the new guy which I haven't decided on yet.
How about CYA. lol Or Later Gator. Go work with your wife.
Fixed it up for you....
If nothing directly stands out, that's probably a good thing. Maybe they finally found someone they can put on the payroll that can actually take care of things.
But you know those wind farms are just like paving machines
Like the wheels on the bus
These are the days of our lives.
I've always thought that this saga/soap opera was "As The Wrench Turns"
As the bolt twists off haha
How about the old an sleepless Dam I gotta go pee again
As the bolt breaks
Did u keep a copy of the machines from 2 years ago.?? U can use that as an ice breaker.. If they start fixing things, make’m give u a list of machines and what order they want’m fixed and to what extent..using YOUR LIST as a guide.. Hell, they might just give YOUR LIST to the FNG and let him run with it..& call u when there’s a “fire”.. I HOPE it works out in your favor, whatever that might be.
More like "Gimmee another beer" Ed
That’s what we need in this thread, a little Al Buddy. Oh wait, we already have that.
this may have already been posted in these 213 pages, but here goes: Nicknames for workmates in Australia Wicket keeper - puts on gloves and stands back Harvey Norman - 3 years no interest Sensor light - only works when someone walks by Noodles - thinks all jobs take 2 minutes Blister - appears after the hard work is complete Showbag - full of **** Lantern - not very bright and has to be carried Deck chair - always folds under pressure Perth - 3 hours behind everyone else G-spot - you can never find this guy Ranger - holds everyone up Wheelbarrow - only works when he's pushed Limo - carries about 8 people Cordless - charges all night but only works about 2 hours. again, my apologies if this has already been posted, but after reading the first rather entertaining pages, I thought this ought to be posted for posterity.
Pretty good laugh this morning for myself!!
SOB. Son Of the Boss.
You You missed Jethro - Not too much up top but good at lifting heavy weights (normally assigned to GET changing) Think Beverly Hillbillies
Born full head of hair and mouth full of teeth!
We had 'Aubrey' and his brother to handle him at one site, Reminded me of the I am Larry this is brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl, Do not remember Brother's name, he would lead Aubrey around like a pet mule, lad was a tad soft in the mental faculties, Brother would look at a piece of something and have Aubrey 'Get that' and sit it on a truck or on a pallet. Looked at a stack of 36" manhole Covers, Aubrey one in each hand set them on a pallet on a Semi Flatbed from Grade. Stacked six that way. Flipped a pair of Mounted on Steel 19.5 22.5 tires onto a flatbed one handed for each.
If you liked your hand, do not offer it to him when meeting the first time. I've met a couple guys like that. They make most men look like soft-ass pencil pushers.
The day he stuck two fingers in the slot on a 160# lid and flipped it off the manhole ring was enough convincing for me.
Did he like rabbits?
Lol.. I worked with a guy just like that.. you pityed the guy that had to work behind him.. Even loosening a vise behind him took a hammer and cheater bar.!! We used to say he was “special”.. cuz u know what they say about the “special kids”, they don’t know their own strength..
Bam Bam. Doesn't know his own strength.
Nothing to report. I finished the last open service order I had for this customer today. I'm assuming, as Alan did, that I will be phased out again. I talked with the concrete foreman today; his opinion was that this new guy isn't going to work out. He has evidently pissed off quite a few already. I never could nail him down to visit...........he evidently isn't much of a talker unless he is barking orders to someone. I have heard that 3 employees have already threatened to quit over his attitude and blunt directness. In the meantime, I'm going to mothball the truck for now and dedicate 100% to the wife's machine shop. She had her most profitable year this last year............just me and her putting out the work. I will come back and update this when and if something decent happens. Until then........................
When ya got slave labor its amazing how much profit can be had
I am glad to here that I was not the only guy that worked at a gong show in my life. If I ever felt down I had to remind myself that some of these poor folks were completely lost and still survived. You will also even if moth balled. They may have to call again yet. Simon C
This really surprises me since the company decision makers have such a stellar hiring record as documented over the last 214 pages of this thread.
Send that truck up here and I’ll put it to work.
So far as I can remember that weight lifted off my back as two DD 110 series injectors fell to a dirt floor and I walked away. Amazing feeling that day.
You might be in a good position to raise your rates even if just for the BS factor you have to deal with. They will need you back to fix things and who else can they get?? They might "assume" you'll be there to the rescue too. The ball is really in your court the way I see it. Not a bad situation to be in. You could retire and just help your wife or only take on the jobs you wanted provided they pay you for your troubles.
He will sell you the truck lol Ya you should definitely raise the rates, make it worth it to come out
Obviously, you have work, with your wife. Personally, my shadow would never cross their doorstep again. Unless you don’t like working with your wife. I have left jobs before and after some reflection, you wonder how you ever got out of there alive. That sounded like one of those places.
$150K for the truck, equipment and all the tooling onboard. I hate snow lol
No Truck and Tolling Sales now until we see the Complete Implosion of this well-run company. Afterall, what would I do without being able to hear about this equipment maintenance nightmare.
Well now. You have my attention.
If I sell everything..........it would be $250K. I'm considering all of it to be honest. I bet I have $30K worth of service manuals when bought new. All my press equipment is priceless........would cost over $40K to replace that stuff new. I'm in no hurry, but I'm going to pull the trigger soon I believe. The wife's machine shop had its best year in 2023. That is a LOT easier on my old body. I'd like to stick with it at this point. I have some Detroit special tooling ...........TS will run all over everyone to grab that stuff lol
Can you hang a snowplow on front to sweeten the deal ?
That price sure went up quick . . .
I think the $150 was just for the truck and normal tooling on it, the $250 would be for all the other tools not normally on the truck.
Cheap at current costs.
Yall stay away! Okies only.
You better get over there quickly before the price goes to $350k
Never know with him! Might even work out a payment plan! Lmao
Perhaps a complete listing of all the tools and equipment would give a better idea if it's a good deal or not? It might be difficult though and Vetech would shed some tears over how much he's spent on tools and other stuff over the years especially stuff that was hardly used or only needed once or twice. I think everybody has bought stuff on impulse only to be kicking themselves later because they didn't really need it and would rather the money back.
Actually not a bad idea My buddy started and sold his hvac business twice making money each time. Worked for the guy he sold it to as part of the deal. They never bought his name just trucks and equipment. Over time it started going a direction he didn't want to go so he moved and started again. This time his business was doing really good and one of his employees wanted to buy the business but did not have the funds. So papers we're drawn up so he would pay so much down, and would pay him his full salary plus benefits (union) for 10 years, but he would no longer work. So he gets a early 10 year retirement with pay and after 10 he woukd then Actually retire. It's been 2.5 years and he loves it. Go figure he was offered a job to oversee hvac installs for new v ery large apartment complex. So his job is to sit in air condition trailer and be there to answer questions. Tells me he is making twice what he was making.
Working on a similar deal now for my shop property. My largest client has grown a lot and came to me end of year asking if I knew how much he paid me for 2024. I did, and he said I can pay you $xx an hour and buy the property for less a year. Would you want to sell? I said yep and I’ll carry it. So we’ve been hashing out that deal. Hope to have it done by April.
Are you carrying the note on the property? Meaning holding the loan for the buyer while he pays you an hourly wage?
It's only a good idea if it's done as strictly a business deal with all the proper legal work done and the buyer fully aware if he misses payments will lose everything. There are many stories of "friends" getting into deals like this that went South. It's not the sellers responsibility to cover the buyer or accept late payments. If the buyer is legit can be a great idea and save a lot of hassle trying to find another buyer.
Potentially yes. The property sale is one deal, employment is a separate one. Property will be done all proper, contact etc. Our lawyers will review yada yada. It’s not my first rodeo for stuff like this.
Nice. Been the mortgagee on a few deals. Hope this works out well for you.
Thanks. My mom did it on her office building some years ago so I had a rough idea of how it goes. I’m young enough that interest sounds kinda nice for topping off my retirement.
Interest is nice even if you're closer to retirement.
Interest is always nice as long as you're the one getting it and not paying it.
I have always said, if you could have 3 paid off houses before you retire, you could do anything. I have 2, working on the third.
You won’t go wrong with property
In years past I would 100% agree with that statement now you had better be prepared for those taxes. Here in GA. some counties think you have oil and gold on that piece of undeveloped property. Some counties in particular needs the Musk treatment as to what goes in and what comes out.
Then there's the capital gains taxes that can wipe out any profit.
Depends on the deal. The personal home exemption is $250K for individual and $500K for married filing jointly. Then there is long term capital gains on non-homestead and commercial properties. Then there are 1031 exchanges for like kind property investments where income tax can be deferred. 1031's can be complicated however this provision in the US tax code is the main reason why apartment complex's change owners so often.
Need to be fully aware of all the rules before jumping in.
All good points that have been raised. I’m talking about properties I’ve bought when I was building my business up in the 90’s though. All have been very long term investments with very little,if any profit during the time. However,the equity gained in that period is excellent,and now the rents paid to me are free from mortgages and loans.The results are high taxation but I accept that. As for capital gains,again I accept the tax bills,but it is what it is. Property ownership is very profitable if you’re in it for the long run.
Welp VTech looks like the end of an era and a business. Bet my employer will be chomping at the bit to snag that business void.
Yes, it's looking that way isn't it. A couple of small jobs I'm working on but nothing to write home about. The machine shop..........that is an entirely different story.
Are you doing celect jobs for disorganized place or just done with them?
I haven’t done a thing for them in over a month
Have they asked or you just told them you've had enough? Don't think they'll last long unless they have deep pockets to pay dealers to do all the major repairs.
Sadly this thread has dropped off as of late and I frankly miss the entertainment. I thought I'd share another piece of what certainly has to be some of LMM's work prior to going to the paving company. I found this while working on my boom lift today. I always thought these were called "butt connectors" or "butt splices" because you were supposed to butt the wires head to head in the connector prior to crimping. I see I've been mistaken all along, but if you do use three of them as wire nuts, why do you butt the wires into one of them????
Ran out of wire nuts
That's a prototype for electrical test ports.
Yes the red electrical tape it was wrapped with helped me to find the test port rather quickly. lol
The wires were to small to use it correctly ....
Some just should not ever be allowed around electrical work.
funny part is... how many trailers have you had to rewire that used butt connectors similar to this - two or three in one side crimped to a single in the other? I figure they just never heard of solder or understood that corrosion, while slow, is an ever present process.
A Lot. As well the Run a New Wire cause the wire was bad crowd, opened up a number of electrical fault issues where the previous hacks did not ever Remove any potential problem and routed another wire around it yet the problem persisted. Butt splices no heat shrink or even tape, scotch locks by the box load, the infamous half twist and ball of some form of antiquated electrical tape, another half twist and a household wire nut no tape or maybe silicone just hanging out there, new component installed crushed the feed wire under it so just cut the wire and left dangle. Is amazing some of the Sch!t on the roads the non electricians shovel out there. Years ago the Bull Rack types add a Hundred lamps to a trailer, no concept of amperage costs, blow fuses, cook auto reset breakers, burn wires in two at bad connections, set fires. Fun times,NOT!
I guess I could continue this thread with my machine shop F-UPS. I scraped 12 parts yesterday because I read a dial caliper wrong. LOL Wife told me "Your no machinist..........yet"
Tell her once you get trained up she probably will be ready to close the joint.
Who uses dial calipers anymore? While I can read them, digital ones can be had for a reasonable cost. I still have a Multitoyo with case that cost almost half a paycheck 30 years ago. Then when I was working as a machinist, I had to buy the same set but waterproof as the coolant kept screwing up the battery in my old set.
Sounds like she's pretty happy with you so far, so maybe she wont fire you --------yet
Working with the wife in a machine shop. If that’s not a precision test of a marriage I don’t know what is…..or would that be an accurate test lol.
Ok here's one for you V. The other day I was working on repairing my old Lowes concrete mixer that I've been nursing along for years. One of the seals went bad and leaked all the gearbox oil out through the motor, so I had the whole thing torn apart. I was working on ordering two new seals and replacing a bearing that was starting to head south, but using the numbers on the old parts and measuring them with one of my two Harbor Freight (yes I know) digital calipers did not match the measurements I was finding on the new parts when I was going to order the new parts. Finally after about an hour of wasted time trying to find parts that matched the dimensions I was measuring, I decided to try to verify the measurements I was getting using an older dial caliper I have. Yep you guessed it the digital caliper was giving me way wrong measurements every time. What's weird is the measurements were the same every time, just way wrong. I then tried the second HF cheap caliper I have and it's still working fine for the moment. No wasted parts, just a bunch of wasted time...
I thought about that too, but the green wire seemed to work fine and they are all the same gauge.
Hmmm, I wonder if the missus has a “pet name” she uses on the machinist forum to describe her assistant.
As an apprentice doing re-work, I fixed many parts that were 42"-48" diameter held within +/-.002....only they were .050 too large. Right on the money except that pesky .050". Batches of qty (6) I did at a time. Had to dial them in on the 4 jaw within about .0005 TIR, and carefully re-cut that very small alignment fit. Why .050" off ? Production was using vernier calipers and they missed that Leetle line.
Maybe an optivisor would help? I have one.
Good luck! Its hard to repair when you have zero background.
PHA - Perpetually Horny Apprentice . . .
Acoals thats just to good, Ill have to say if that shoe fits hes gota wear it.
Did she take it out of your wages or make you prepare your own supper?
Maybe In Trade Out??
She has dig She has ones that I use on 90% of everything. This particular part was over 6 inches and she didn't have a digital for that. Thats where my brain stayed in digital mode and didnt switch to dial mode. I believe it's MORON.
I told her I needed some notes months ago since I couldn't remember the steps to do certain things on the CNC mill. Now there is notes EVERYWHERE. I pretty sure she is paranoid about me crashing one of her machines. This is comical, even to me LOL Note how she not only describes the button, but also added the color of it just to make sure I didn't screw it up LOL. I scrapped 3 formed cans today............just isn't my week I guess.
Do you use the self checkout isles at grocery store?
I personally can not stand HAAS controls. Only the some years ago FANUC and Mori. For checking parts that are too long, with a probe that will take care of that. Many times I had to use the KH-80 Horizontal machining center as a CMM, for the inspection department, it had fanuc 21 I think, and reneshaw inspection plus software. Loved that machine except the 4th was not it was just a 1 degree index table, did not like that.
Damn good avocados those haas.
You did fix the machine Haas couldn't. That has to be worth something. Haas should pay you for all the machines that could have been fixed your way.
I don’t see any words of affirmation on those notes. No little hearts or motivational anecdotes lol.
I like the check tool length. Is that for your tool? I think you should have her check that out often! Just to be sure it's ok.
Mitutoyo made an 8" dial caliper that was easy to misread. The end of the moveable jaw is the normal place to read the .1 dimension, but the correct edge is .2 further right. Was this your mistake?
This woman is ALL business here. lol I suggested that once...........I got an eyeroll. I've been doing measuring for weeks with the digital. I had to make a dozen parts over the digitals range, so I broke out the 10" dial calipers. I needed 6.250 in length, but I looked at the dial at .025 and didn't realize that wasn't right (needed to be on .050) until it was too late. I measured 6.225 and cut everything under spec.
You should see the notes err pages of instructions my wife leaves with whoever is keeping our dog for a long weekend.
Ok vtech have to measure, find a post it note, and post the measurement now
It's for when you replace a tool. If she's "all business" she may have the rapid plane set to really, really close to the part surface....
Whatever you do, watch your offsets on the tools.
O.k. turn in your card.....Just HOW do you mess up reading a dial caliper ? When I started we only could afford Verniers, using a Dial model was like heaven.
Whatever happened to folding rules?
Does she 1st part check you?
When shes there….yes. She wasn’t there when I did my f up
WHOOPS!! She take your keys away?
I resisted a digital, afraid the batteries would be dead whenever I needed it, or too fragile. So I used a dial. They don't like bouncing around in the truck either, even though I keep them in their case in the cab. So last time I bought a vernier. Problem is, my eyes can't discern the vernier marks any more.
I can't ever find my reading glasses, so I'm committed to simply taking pictures of things with my phone, and blowing them up.
Sherlock Holmes. *
and so is the OP's calipers whilst standing in front of the mill ?
Some verniers came with a small magnifier attached.
Ok, why the name change?
A few of us want change....
I so fit that comment!!
LOL….that’s what your wife said
They used to be called verniers back in the day and for some reason, around when the came out with digital ones, everyone started calling them calipers. Who knows.
They are all Calipers, whether Vernier, Dial, or digital. Vernier is simply a measuring display method, used on a few different tools other than just calipers. Calling Vernier Calipers "Verniers" is just a slang term, and leads to cornfusion.
Very nears.
There are also calipers with no numerical readings on them at all, and actually very handy for hard to get to places. Vernier is the term for the scale system on the calipers. Digital is best for someone that has a difficult time figuring what the other types of scales or dials are reading. All these various measuring scales or systems are also used on other precision measuring tools, not just on calipers. Especially on height gauges, also some of them use micrometer dials as well.
Yes Crescent has been making them for years--also aids in use as hammer and sure to remove wanted hide, great for rounding off things that are a little too square. many uses. You can tell when you've arrived at a professional machine shop/factory, there will be a peg board near the lathes with various sizes of Crescents to check any job. *
My first calipers were vernier type.....kept people from borrowing them. Ed
^^^^^those calipers above--mainly for blueprint/drafting/drawing. Way to delicate for machine work. A ham handed machinist/mechanic would dismantle them and use for O-Ring picks.
I have my great G-Dads machinist wood tool box with calipers and items just like those shown by Marcus, they haven't been taken apart
I was joking.
When you are joking, you have to be wearing a clown suit.
clown suit
*
These are what I was talking about, no numerical readings at all.
I have always heard those called dividers. I have several large ones for both internal and external that I use for measuring undercarriage wear.The one on the far right is most definitely for drafting. Comes with free pencil and all.
Standard equipment for drafting. Antique side. *
THE PHOTO IS IN THE ATTACHMENT THAT MARCUS POSTED In the photo above, first thingy would be to scribe a circle on metal or as a divider, not for paper. Number 2 thingy is for measuring ID (inside diameter) Number 3 thingy is for measuring OD (outside diameter) Number 4 thingy looks like its for scribe ing a line using the outside surface of the part. or measuring from a line or point to the edge of part. The 2 middle thingys are calipers. They are used by making contact with said part and then measuring said contact points on the calipers with another measuring device. Takes great feel and patients to use them accurately.
I've done a fair amount of drafting in my time and never used the first thingy either. Or the other two for that matter.
I took drafting for two years in high school, used all of those examples of drafting equipment above. But I also found it rather boring, because of the natural ability to create incredibly close to scale freehand drawings without all of the math involved to center piece to paper. Way more fun to do it this way. Although this is a rather gawdy drawing of mine, a few to many new england farkles. Sorry for the derail V. *
Being able to draw like that is a natural talent you are born with. I don't think you could teach someone how to draw like that unless they already had it in their genes.
Yeah that drawing shows in the genes, and what you love. And wow, what talent.
Don't be giving TS the big head. There isn't enough room on this forum for 2 of them. TPG reigns supreme here!
What no bumper poles
I'm pretty far down in the heap, i like it down there more elbow room and we all know less gassy. Nah no flags or flashing lights---it's a real truck, covered in dingbats. Just a little too much bling, in case a person wasn't sure it's a Mack it says so five times from the front, I was surprised it didn't have the mud flaps hanging from the front bumper for high speed reverse maneuvers. If it had it would have said Mack seven times. A personal I did seven plus years ago that I got stiffed on.
And here's the funny part about my high school drafting classes, the teacher knew I was free handing drawings both years, even held them up in front of classmates to try to shame me. But he always gave me a C+ for effort and said those were great free hand forgeries and upon measuring against perfect drafted drawings extremely close.
Hey TS, how long does it take to draw something like that? Is it a couple hours or a couple days? Looks good. So i take it you do custom drawings for hire? In retirement are you one of those that sits in a park painting portraits for whom ever walks by
My drawings are pen & ink, can't hurry, can't erase ink. That one about 30 hours IIRC. I don't do much of anything like that anymore, slight shake has developed in my hands, not that it's noticeable but enough to cause a issue. The only thing I draw no matter where I'm setting is flies.
Sounds like you need a 20 something to come bathe you at the home then That really is impressive but I could definitely see how shaking will throw a wrench into the equation. I remember I believe it was your B model Mack topic when you posted several of your drawings.
this is the drafting I’m more familiar with
How about 1964 then? Out of the front five, three are Dodge, one Merc, one Ford no Chevy's. *
1964 was a bit before my time but that 43 car looks pretty sharp. I appreciate watching videos and reading about all the early innovations that shaped NASCAR. Interesting stuff and very clever people
I was born in mid 50's so anything before that is a bit before my time. It's kind of like some that's 75 calling another that's 65 a youngster. When someone said that in conversation I would say {well my mom is 96 so what does that make you at only 75}.
I’m a 1980 model. People still call me a youngster. Sure doesn’t feel like it some days. A typical conversation goes like this- me “man, my shoulder hurts today “ somebody else “ wait until you get to be my age” me “um, you’re like 2 years older than me” them “YOU KNOW NOTHING OF PAIN!!!!” me “okie dokie then”
I used to think it made you cool or a hard guy to get hurt and keep going. Now, I’ve lost my get up and go attitude, well mostly. Actually left a job 3/4 finished yesterday at 4:30, I had had enough. 10 years ago, I would have never left, until it was done.
Kid at work was kidding around with me, explained I had many more years and miles than he where he stated 'You gotta be at least Fifty', told him add almost two decades, he is 27.
Now look what you did, you drug Oklahoma into it with that okie-dokie, which is a special dance. Oklahoma Okie Dokie Dance, OODD for short.
You get a DAHS on that one Dis"a"cerning Head Shake Tilt head slightly to one side, close eyes, breath out a sigh while shaking head side to side
I have had that same conversation and I am only an 89 model. I tell the boss at least once a week I am retiring soon because I feel old enough I should be able to.
I have a hired man who is a bit younger than me, always jumping up so I don't have to do some heavy thing, come on man, I am not that old yet, I can still lift heavy objects.
You did hire him.......
Sounds good to me--it's a reaction, it's all about the reaction.
Well if I last 5 more days I'll hit the big 75!
Might want to slow down a bit to "coast" to the big 75...not "Hit it Head on".
The Far Side---50% never got it.
I met Gary Larson at a book signing, very funny fellow. Went to college at Washington State- University. * But cartoons like the one above, got him in hot water later on. Which was too bad.
The one above is one of my favorites. Met several architects and engineers that would fit the bill of that cartoon above.
A guy I went to school with drew far side before Larson came on the scene. I would draw the technical stuff, he drew the people figures, then both of us would collaborate on the cloud/bubble. I went to a book signing with him, he stayed in touch with Larson as time went by. But the public began to look at him as insensitive, which he wasn't at all. He had some George Carlin brain matter.
Gary Larson is and George Carlin was two very intelligently funny individuals. "Why do we park in a drive way and drive on a parkway" - RIP George.
"Why is it if it's your things it's stuff but if it's somebody else's things it's ****."
“Why is it if they are driving faster than you they are a lunatic, and if they drive slower than you they are a moron?” used to have a George Carlin t-shirt. his picture on the front and on the back it said- Simon says go **** yourself
Absolutely the best of Larson, in my opinion. I went to school with a bunch of these guys that excelled at mathematical and theoretical principles but were unable to deal with real world applications. Just because you graduated with a degree does not mean you can apply the concepts in actual usage. I often struggled with high end mathematics but never hands-on applications of theories.
There is a simple answer George--The entire world population is either lunatics or morons. Because when it's slick roads everyone says----{It's not me I'm worried about it's the other guy}. {And the other guy is saying the same thing back} all driving along pointing fingers at fellow lunatics and morons.
Will forever remember the Engas and Supervision or those so much more Mental Masters than I that could NOT Keep Shoes Tied. Always watching me as I would remove and replace a boot then Tie the laces, not touch them again until had to remove that boot. One even asked for direction, showed him THREE Times, he could not remember where would go back to old habits and they would fall loose or away in minutes.
An inclined plane wrapped helically about a vertical axis, What am I describing??
I get a daily ”Larson fix“ on line. https://www.thefarside.com/
On this site everyone will assume that is a rhetorical question.
Sounds like a screw.
And I’ll tell you something else, my well scrubbed friends. You don’t need always need a shower every day. Did you know that? It’s overkill, Unless you work out or work outdoors or for some reason come in intimate contact with huge amounts of filth and garbage every day, you don’t always need a shower. All you really need is to wash the four key areas- armpit, *******, crotch and teeth. Got that? The hookers bath. Armpits, *******, crotch and teeth. In fact, you can save yourself a whole lot of time if you simply use the same brush on all four areas! RIP George.
Good Job Joe H, I will buy you a beer next time I am in Utah. This can also be used to describe a person or their actions.
I thought it was trick question.
Hey! I didn't F&^% anything up this week! Yay!!!!! I did run some parts on the CNC lathe a few days ago. When the part off tool ran, there was a little titty on the back of the part that will have to be removed. I asked wifey how that is done because the part is only .154 long so I didn't see how that could be chucked up. She replied, "well how do you think it could be done?". I could tell she was doing that smartass thing where she is getting ready to explain how smart she is. I held one part to my lips........she said "*** are you doing?" I told her they were titties, and I was going to suck them off. She turned and walked away.........no smartass comment from the peanut gallery that time!
Well on reading the start of the post I thought you might get some extra curricular activities this weekend but after finishing the post you might as well play with your parts and listen to the song ity bitty titties
How big is the titty? I myself prefer just a handful but some people or nationalities differ. For years I have been telling my wife she had big titties, she always said no. Well her and her daughter finally went to the bra store and lo and behold she’s a D and her daughter is an F. Lol Other than that you would do it by hand with a die grinder or those nifty carbide inner or outter deburing tool. lol
Nothing at all from the paving company? They still in business? Joe H
Nope, no word at all. It don’t hurt my feelings either…..still in business as far as I know
More than a mouthful is only grope squeaky toys and a waste. Never saw necessity of huge mammaries other than calf feeders.
Necessity no. Fun, hell yeah.
Big question---are those played with the same way down under as up here over the top? Or is there some special {Wanka} that goes on?
I reckon a shirt full of fun is appreciated regardless of international borders. Similarly, there is no right or wrong way to play with your toys.
They will stay in business too, worst ones always do
I wouldn't say too loud Steinem might hear it and snip the other toys.
Well as long as you're not sucking on your new tires trying get rid of all the little nibs...
Just always remember fellas lefty loosy righty tighty even if your down under, never leave um loose.
I have ALWAYS preferred Emersum.
I found this thread back on the 8th page, so I guess I better update before its lost in oblivion. I believe I have mentioned that my wife's parents live with us......they are both 93 and have been with us for over 4 years now. Their health has been in a steady decline, and we have home healthcare that comes in twice a week. On Sunday, July 6, my father-in-law made it to the breakfast table at 730 am like normal, all of a sudden, he said he couldn't breathe and before me and my wife could get him back to his bed where his oxygen station was.........he was gone. He passed while I was struggling to get him back in his bed from his wheelchair. There was a brief moment when my wife had left the room to call the emergency home health line where he was in his wheelchair with me behind him. He was almost completely unconscious, barely breathing, and unable to talk. I had my hand on top of his head holding his head up because he couldn't. There was an eerie silence for a moment.... then he reached up and tapped my hand twice and in a perfectly clear voice said "I gotta go!" It didn't even sound like his voice that I have always recognized....it was like a different person was talking. Man......it still breaks me up just thinking about it. I told him that we would take care of his wife until her time comes and not to worry about her. He passed maybe 30 seconds later. Me and my wife have been preparing for this since they moved in and both her parents have given us a few scares in the past 4 years. Both have taken falls several times and injured themselves in the process. Both have fought kidney and bladder infections, and her mom survived Covid. No matter how much you prepare..............it still caught us off-guard. We had always hoped that both will pass in their sleep.....with her father I believe we got the second-best outcome. He was home with us, around people that loved and cared about him, and he wasn't hooked up to multiple machines in a hospital struggling. My wife is still struggling with it but is improving daily. This experience just proves to me even more that there IS life after death. Be sure to look in on your elderly family and friends often. Any one of them can be gone in a short moment. On a sad note, my wife's daughters and their families that abandoned us 2 years ago made NO efforts to see their grandparents in the last 2 years, even though I told them they should by text message 2 years ago. They took out their anger at us on them also.....because they lived and associated with us, I guess. My wife's brother notified both of her daughters by text message about their grandfathers passing. The oldest replied "Thank You." and the youngest daughter didn't reply at all. Neither family inquired about the funeral arrangements at all................neither family showed up at the funeral. Those 2 families have become unrecognizable to us.........to us, it's an unforgivable sin. You can't get into Heaven with malice in your heart. We will have to forgive them someday............it will be the toughest thing I have ever done in my life. More coming on the work front and things I'm prepping for.................
so sorry for your family's loss.
Well, that hurt to read. Im glad you were there for him. Rekindled my faith in humanity. ( A little)
Well that's a bummer Vetech! 93 is a good run and you are your wife should feel real proud of taking care of her parents for so long. I really hope now that my last words are "I gotta go!"
Sad that your wife's kids can't reconcile whatever differences caused the schism. Family can be a strange and nasty word at times... that's for sure. I really appreciated reading that, my thought was that his Spirit talked to you, not the body. the Spirit of the body is powerful, no matter the state of the body itself. I will not go any further into my belief system here, no issue! Anyway, good on you for taking care of your wife's parents, wow!
Sorry to hear about that Vetech. My condolences to you and your wife.
Sad to hear. You and your wife gave him 4 great years and I'm sure he and his wife greatly appreciated it.
So sorry for you and your family's loss. Lost my Mom to cancer 6 years ago. At the end she had a moment of clarity where she was able to have her last lucid conversation with my sister and I. Life passes quickly and all one can ask at the end is to be there with the ones who love you.
My condolences, this helped me when mine passed:
Sorry for your loss. Well done.
So sorry for you both on all counts. Younger brother living that with his daughter and son? He remarried a FOURTH time as their mother was second in line, neither will speak to gim at all.
You played the hand you were given, and it seems you played it well V, sorry for the loss.
So sorry for your loss my friend. My thoughts and prayers are with the two of you.
Sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss, hope those old good memories come flowing back soon
Was tough to hear, I’m sure tougher to live. You are a good man. Sorry to hear about the family issues. Family may be blood but sure can suck sometimes. Let’s you know who is selfish or not.
Family. Can’t live with ‘em. Can’t kill ‘em…..
On my Workfront....the machine shop has been doing well except the last month has been slow. I think the tariff wars have started to affect us. Some work has started to trickle in though so I'm not too worried about it yet. I never have heard from this customer since my last job, in April I think. Good thing too, I'm not sure my health issues would allow me to continue to work like I did before anyways. Last month I put together a bathroom vanity cabinet for my daughter.....no problem. 2 days later out of nowhere my sciatic nerve from my lower back down my right leg all the way to my toes flared up. It was so bad I could hardly walk and extremely painful. I tried every over-the-counter painkiller you could imagine and nothing helped. I suffered for 2 weeks lying on a heating pad and eating meds like candy, unable to do anything. Finally, as much as I hated to, went to the doc and got steroids and muscle relaxer meds for it. The last 2 weeks have been better but now I may have some permanent damage..........the outer part of my right calf and my 3 outer toes remain numb. Time will tell I guess, but at least I can walk around some with a noticeable limp.......better than nothing. I have done a couple of small jobs but nothing to really speak of...........even those wear me out now. I've also dropped a crap load of weight to the tune of 48 pounds in the last 10 months. I'm currently at 208 lbs........haven't been that light since I was 40 years old. I haven't changed a thing, still the same eating habits and even less exercise than when I was turning wrenches fulltime. I'm attributing this to the "old man" conversion due to age. I have also felt extremely weak and tire much more easily. Between all of this I haven't had the energy or well-being to start unloading my truck, tools, and equipment. I've decided to stay out of the business permanently as my best days I feel are behind me at this point. I'll be getting things ready to sell off when I get back from a few days out of town. I plan on staying in this forum and spreading what knowledge I have......I seem to be of sound mind still LOL. Thank You all for your condolences.......it means a lot!~
Have you tried an inversion device ?
you should not be feeling weak and losing weight like that. My Dad is 83 soon to be 84, and yeah, he gets to sleep around 10pm or so latest... sometimes falls asleep watching TV. But man, that guy is up at 7am, and out working - weeding the garden or cutting branches off fallen trees, getting them to the sawmill, and making boards or rebuilding some car or another. Dad doesn't like the word relax as he seems to see 'relaxation' and 'lazy' as synonyms. Any time I go down there, he's up on the roof cleaning out the chimney, under a car, using the riding lawnmower to make everything look good, pruning trees, grafting cherry plants, changing the oil on something, welding/fixing the furnace - getting it ready for winter. My point is - I think this kind of behavior is normal. Sudden weight loss and energy loss are NOT part of aging. Either get it checked out, or start looking into natural energy boosters. you look like you have a nice place out in the country, do you grow an eat from your own garden? that is a very beneficial thing - control of your own food. Beets in particular are good for both men and women as they age. Again, you should not be suddenly losing weight like the guy in Thinner. You should not have a sudden loss in energy. You get those symptoms from a variety of physical diseases, yes... but ALSO you get those symptoms from feeling like you are no longer needed. It's a form of depression, and I've know several men who died within a year of their retirement. It boiled down to - they didn't know what to do anymore and felt like they had no place anymore - no need for them to be around, so they soon weren't. If this is happening to you, look that problem square in the face and tell it to eff off. Honestly, I do hope it's a mental issue more than a physical one! But the mind can manifest problems in the body. So, be honest with yourself, determine if there's an actual issue or not, and do something about it. I'm not giving advice on anything other than - find the source of the issue an fix it. You are the machine to be fixed this time.
Get a MRI and a shot, I was out 3 months in 2022 from a pinched nerve and that got me going, you probably are not that far along it might help too.
I used a Teeter Hang-up inversion for awhile before 2014, it helped some, but a herniated disc is another story. I had two between L2/L3, L3/L4 and the other lumbar discs just worn out. Which imagining will tell the story. * Weight loss and energy loss--have you thought about COPD.
Yes that weight loss is the scarier part, my stenosis is back at L4/L5 and L5 to Sacrum, arthritic so nothing can do to reduce/eliminate anymore, even direct inject steroids is only months relief and causes more damage as dries out. I waited far too long to seek help. Do not wait it out as will not get better!
It lasted on me about as long as the local anesthetic lasted for injection, 1 hour. Everyone is different though.
Initial last time was about worthless at L5/S1, did not make it out the door and was still bad. Bad to this day. L4/L5 lasted three months but when came back had a vengeance to it.
A good chiropractor can help a bunch, as well as the inversion deal. Been there done that in my 30's and 40's. With a disk nerve deal while bouncing around on a D8, the pain was worth it back then.
Yes, good to get checked out. There are some medical conditions that aren't obvious that can cause aggressive weight loss and/or fatigue. I started getting back aches that got progressively worse in a fairly short period. Went to the ER 4 times and it was treated as a muscle issue. Finally my family Dr. said my blood work was all over the place and told me to go the hospital right away and he would let them know I'm coming. They did a more extensive blood test and said my calcium levels were off the chart! I had multiple myeloma which is a cancer of the bone marrow. It doesn't show up in x-rays. I had extreme fatigue and it got worse after I had a stem cell transplant. I lost a lot of weight after the transplant and it took 2 years to recover. Just in the last 4 month's or so I've lost some of weight I had gained back. It seems like I don't have an appetite and can't eat much. Also wanted to mention that everybody is different. Just because some people can be really active and do a lot of physical activity in their senior years doesn't mean everybody can. People have died trying to be as physical as they were 10 or even 5 years earlier. You have to find the balance that works for you and know when you've reached your limit. It's not a contest and you don't have to try and keep up with your neighbor or someone else that seems to be in better physical shape. On the other hand you don't want to be a couch potatoes. Your body will tell you what you're capable of. Listen to it and if something seems off get it checked it out early. There are many stories of people putting off getting things checked out and when they finally do it's too late. Early diagnosis doesn't apply to just cancer.
Yeah I have congenital spinal stenosis and a bulged disk at l5/s1, and I think the stenosis helps me by showing problems sooner than most people, and why I think the shot worked because my back is not that bad actually.
Very important to get checked out before just going to a chiropractor. There were a few on this forum telling me to go to a chiropractor for my back pain. That would have been a huge mistake and potentially put me in a wheel chair. I ended up having compression fractures in 10 of my verterbrea. They were not apparent in early x-rays. That's why the ER Dr's. were treating it as muscle related. They were wrong too!
Last Chiro that even posed a serious eye to problem not wallet took X-rays, decided not clear enough, ordered MRI and as such raised hands stated Not touching your back with any form of therapy, will do no good and likely damage further. Not been to one since.
The trouble with sciatica is prolonged it can cause enough nerve damage all the way down legs. If it starts effecting the groin area that's serious stuff. Unfortunately for me anyways after surgery and ever since which is ten years ago now my feet feel as though extremely hot and half way up legs. Nerve damage that can't be cured. So I walk around feeling like my feet are in very hot water all the time. But like I said above every case of back issues is different and everyone reacts differently. I can say in my case the surgery was a success for the fact I can walk and do things with very little discomfort in my back.
Sometimes chiropractors can help but I've been to one a couple times in the past and didn't notice any difference. I liked the massage tool he used though. It had a deep kneading action that seemed to do more than the message after.
That's great you're still able to do things! My back aches a lot just walking around for longer periods and is worse if I have to bend or twist when fixing something but I'll take that over not being able to do much. I'm glad that my back doesn't ache when I'm driving. It's actually nice getting in my truck to drive home after it has been aching. I don't have much strength though. Picking up a jerry can or pail of oil is a bit of a struggle. I don't like when I have to carry a water bottle for the cooler. I'd rather have 2 smaller bottles. The water bottles are damn heavy for me.
My damage started 1977, since then had just dealt with as the Veterinarians that treated me told me no way to repair. Almost expected them to hand me a Colt 45 long colt to shoot the damaged horse. Since went to Columbia Ortho after several BAD episodes of Recommended guaranteed aid from Chiros that damn near permanently crippled me the Doc at CoMO thought could help. Right leg been numb along outside patch around 4” wide, butt cheek to ankle, outer three toes always dead, big toe at times would go to sleep for weeks and hip would flare where if stood from sitting felt like someone removing my appendix entering from Left shoulder blade. Doc got in and found arthritis nasty, cleaned forty years of bad heal stenosis where woke up could feel my sheet against my leg and could feel some of outer toes, then all hell broke loose, right SI joint no longer flare at times, was and remained angered at new found sensations. Only prospect was another doc to pin and fuse the joint, insurer was NOT buying so dealt with that up to today. Stenosis is creeping back, second toe lost feeling at end and outer three having sensation losses at varied times, outside of right leg returning to numb but thankfully SI joint retreating some. Still look as have spinal scoliosis as cannot stand straight and STILL get more done than the children at work with good backs.
V, I am slow on reading posts. So sad to read of your father in law passing. I know it’s tough on you both. Older folks teach us and you had a great teacher. You and Mrs. V have done an amazing job taking care of her parents. Tough to see them go. I love his last words with you. God’s peace on each of you.
V- tech, sorry to hear about the difficult time you have and are going through. My mom passed in 2021 after 9 years of Alzheimers, bad way to go. Have read a lot about it and is called Diabetes 3 and now some specialists are saying that some allergy meds such as Bennedryl are increasing the percentage to get it. Hard to know what is the absolute truth on these things, but we usually find out 30 years later. Keep your chin up as a positive thought can go a long way. Simon C
Vetech please get checked out that much weight loss is very concerning. Everyone I know is getting fatter with age including me!! It sucks.
Sorry for your loss! Being there when he passed can make you really stop and reevaluate your own life. With your health issue it makes you realize just how quickly things can change and almost makes you feel like your body is letting you down. We all look at the other guys having problems and say that will never happen to me , and then it does! My back has started giving me grief to the point where I have to make some tough decisions about continuing work as I know it. It sucks because I thought I would decide when to quit on my own time.
Some jobs are more physically demanding than people thought especially when they are young and in good shape. These types of jobs dictate when you can stop working more than you deciding when it's time to call it quits. A lot of trades are physically demanding and hard on your body after doing them for years. They can be very rewarding though. I knew a guy that did surveying work for years and could barely walk. He blamed it on walking on a lot of rough and uneven ground. I think it's common for a lot of long time truckers to have problems with their backs and walking. That's where air ride seats and air bag suspension helps. Just getting in and out of trucks is hard on the body especially in cabovers. People don't realize that how you enter and exit trucks or equipment can make a big difference on your body. Even getting in my pick up is a careful process now. I can't just hop in and out like I used to. I also can't jump off the track getting off the Cat. There is a step on the track frames for a reason. Just little things like that it pays off doing.
Try getting in a Jeep at close to 70. Size 14 shoes and bad Back to go with that!!
Or any low center of gravity car. * Mechanics in general work in many contorted positions, or stuck leaning over for long periods of time. Combined with walking on concrete which shock loads the joints It's no wonder most are frame fatigued by 55. Joints never really get a chance to decompress for hours at a time. Most don't really relax when sleeping, not until several hours have passed.
yep.. this is why i'm putting a wood floor in my shop. everyone tells me I need concrete, but all my older friends have shot knees and hips. I'm used to laying on the ground, a wood floor and roof will be one hell of an upgrade, and I might just skip out on the bad knees later... I hope.
Welding is the same thing. Even just standing there roll welding pipe takes a toll and some welders get carpal tunnel just from twisting their wrist side to side holding a Mig gun. They make more ergonomic guns but they only help so much. Lots of bending and kneeling and contorting your body as well. Somebody once said welding is heavy hard work. It is as are most trades.
What have found most recently is controls in Track or Wheeled loaders, Single 'Swivel Stick' to multiple levers close together, or Pistol Grip joy sticks with multiple switches, hands/wrists/forearms are beat to tingling at end of the day.
I believe concrete floor is what did my bad, working on the dirt for 18 years and a month on concrete to repower my pulling unit and I was done. I saw a video of a blacksmith that had gravel floor for his workshop and concrete where he stored things
I take all our house rugs that get thrown out and flip them upside down in my shop. Not to mention big Chewy boxes and big Amazon boxes get broken down and stood up in a corner for use on the floor.
Big thick cardboard feels like a “foot bath” after standing on concrete all day.!!
Had a friend come over the other day and asked, what’s up with all the cardboard all over the floor? During the winter, I will put cardboard under the wife’s car, to soak up the water. I have to do this because some ******* coated the garage floor with Siloxicane 3 years ago and the water still beads up on the floor and water puddles take forever to evaporate. When the cardboard gets too soaked, I just throw it in the dumpster or just burn it, if doing a burn pile.
Machining work can really take a toll on legs hips, stuck in one spot, sometimes hours on end. I hated resizing con rods, the old Sunnen machines with a foot feed, standing like a stork.
A lot of machine shops have wooden platforms to stand on or anti-fatigue mats. Of course on the big machines it's not possible. I've got a book on the Bucyrus Erie history. It has a pic. of a radial arm drill with a 12' arm and 34" column. It's huge! The operator is standing at least 4' off the ground on the giant piece he is drilling.
21 years walking Steel Grates, Steel Bar Straight Vertical rung ladders, Concrete floors between or plate steel decking. Nuke World. That after the 22 full years of beating myself as a Red headed Step Child wrenching for a living, that I not really gave up.
If you’re really serious about doing something about it, Tractor Supply has “stall mats” in various thicknesses.. I got the 3/4” mat for my shop.!! Oh, what a beautiful thing.!!!
Yes, those are great. I also used to put them in the bed of all of my work pickups. Keeps stuff from sliding around, and protects the bed.
Sorry i havent been by here lately but my most sincere condolences to you and the family. I know it is painful dealing with the other family members but you just have to accept that they will never be happy. Have dealt with very similar situations in my family and all you can do is keep them in your prayers that some day they will see the light of God and it is on them to make peace with him. I know it is tough to do with family but you have to remember that their sins are not your burden.
Unfortunately, they will regret it, sooner or later and will have to come to terms with the fact that when their family needed them, they were nowhere to be found.
Thanks fellas. I'll be gone off the internet for a while. Too many family issues that currently need my full attention. I'll get back soon I hope
Well, here I am 2 days after my 62nd birthday. Right before my previous post, my wife hit me with the bombshell of shutting down the machine shop and selling everything off. It came completely out of left field and caught me off guard. No notice, no discussion......no nothing. This business had its best year last year doing 500K with just me and her working part time here for the most part. She contacted her customers and informed them of this decision over a month ago. She has also contacted an auction company to start getting things ready here shortly. This business is hers and hers alone so she can do what she wants, but dam! This just seems like a big waste to me. Its left me with no income at all the last 2 months. I've been trying to find a job in my field but have been running into the "age" issue, so nothing has really panned out as of yet. I can't be without an income at 62 and was not prepared to be retired this early. I've briefly checked in here a time or 2 but have been off the internet outside of filling out employment apps. I have to say......yeah, I've missed this place! I'm still not sure what's going to happen, but I do know I'm NOT attending this auction and watch 60 years of equipment and tooling go for pennies on the dollar. The thought of it makes me sick. I'm currently trying to sell off some of my own business assets but its slow going. I'll live through all of this chaos but it's tough to watch the ball drop.
Dang that is a boom shell Is she going to retire or do something else?
I've been through an auction of my stuff. Its very painful to watch all your bones get picked over by the vultures, and watch things sell for well well below market value. It is the quick/easy way to liquidate a business, but not the most pleasant.
What about an instructor position with a local heavy equipment dealership?
If LLM can get a job you can get one
Wow,that’s some decision she’s made there. But it’s done by the looks of it. Perhaps the right sort of job will come along for you now that you have no work and worry about making the decision to leave that last bunch of idiots. I wish you luck sir.
That's not worthy of a like button, it causes unseen stress.
Lots of thoughts with none worthy of sharing. Hang tight. You will land on your feet in no time. The only odd thing is, you can’t say ‘I was looking for a job when I found this one’ because this job found you! And at a good time. Sorry for the added stress but sure enjoy your conversations…4 years and running.
Man that sucks, cannot help from here but sure wish could.
Are you next on the trade in list? Joe H
I'm sorry for you going through this. I'm sure her difficulty with the kids and the business, had a impact on her decision making process. Family and business is never easy. Best wishes for you and her figuring out what you want to do.
you’re hired! I don’t care if you are older than dirt. I’ve got plenty of work to keep us all busy. The commute may be a b**** though.
Hell with the kids being like they are and selling the business down to Mike L
Did your wife give reasons for her decision and did she consider selling the business to maybe a larger machine shop? If it brought in $500K last year is fairly substantial for 2 people. Would possibly get better than auction prices for the equipment plus extra for the business and customer lists. Might get another $100K plus to make up for lower prices on the equipment. Customers would be happy to have someone take over their jobs instead of trying to find another shop.
Buy the shop and business from her. Not to mention the customers.
I think he'd probably still need her if he bought the business. He doesn't know how to run/set up all the machine tools I don't think. Would be good if he could convince his wife to hang onto it for a few more years or until he finds a suitable job.
She’s made her decision. That should probably stand.
Might be open to discussion???
I'm too old to start any business, but if I was going to do machine work. I would only do hard metal, no aluminum and such, and only larger parts. And only on a horizontal machine. That way the job won't be hours of standing etc etc. Running small job shops and running soft metals and vertical machines no thanks. I like the cell centers that run themselves. And check the parts them selves. Sounds like the shop was doing the wrong kind of work and wrong kind of machines. Just like a big bulldozer the machine is suppose to do the hard work. Standing and diddling with small parts is a lot of work. I would not want any baby sitting high tolerance work that a probe could not handle. Yes occasional bore gauge or mic on the parts, but not very important with self inspection on the machine.
How can you say the shop was doing the wrong kind of work with the wrong kind of machines? You don't know what they were making or very much about the business. Two people making $500K is a pretty good business in my books.
You guys are NOT helping me get vetech on my payroll! Now get with my program.
I'm sure the hassle and also the reminder that the kids don't work there tool a toll, she wants out now and on to something else. Hopefully they have everything paid for and can be Walmart greeters if they want too.
Please help with the math. Back before the big 2008 deal the shop I worked at had the actual bid price on the work orders. The one not very large machining center I ran did about $3000. on my 6.5 hour shift. And no it did not do the probe self check and such. The parts were aluminum so minimal tooling costs. So if that one machine averaged that 3k per night, then what is the yearly intake on it? That is one machine in the shop. I at times also ran 2 machines. If they took some of the 500k and invested in the right machine and got the right work for it, they could more than quadruple the income on one machine. But yeah have to slowly aquire some of the required tooling. Easy aluminum is a money maker as it does not wear out the tools fast, and parts come off fast. Personally I like the slow cutting stuff, like nitronic, 321, inconel, titanium etc. With the right machine and work, they can turn it on and close the door and act like they retired and be making $, just don't run it super fast like some of the machines are capable of. Do the self inspection and run tool management and if a tool breaks or messes up, then the machine auto stops and doesn't just make a ton of scrap, you know like one bad employee can.
Throw in a L.L.Bean wardrobe.
Guys, guys, I was totally joking about the buying of a business from your wife. Think about that for a minute. How do you think you would make out? Be much like getting divorced. Lol
I’m trying to interest him, not turn him into a tofu eating, sweater and boat shoe wearing yuppie.
I've got a small job to do. It's attempting to fix my fancy Coo-Coo clock that quit working 3 years ago. This may take a brain surgeon......it's a Black forest German model. I'll post pics as I go LOL
What a time to run out of popcorn.
If your any good at carburetors you can fix a clock!
Think of the split of the marriage assets, your business sold for 500k, I'm 500k in debt!
When you get done with that, can I send you mine? My mother bought it for me 20 years ago and it doesn’t coo coo anymore.
YIKES! I don't think my heavy equipment tooling is going to be any.use here. Im using bifocals just so I can see.
Might have to double up them bifocals
Looks like the float levels are a little high. I think the guy who designed it worked for John Deere, looks to be farm machinery with all the gears, sprockets & chains.
I think yoou need to pressure wash the guts of that thing first! All that dust & grime is hiding the problems within....
All that "fur" inside there, it's more like a biological clock. Tick, Tock.
Even Without Readers can see the Dirt. My Dad had one, biggest issues with these is Chain Link oversizing from rewinds, will fail to feed forward.
Oh, I see the problem. Its in the red area, I marked it with a arrow.
May need fixed like the piano i fixed with the 312b!
They make these neato electronic mechanisms and are pretty cheap to buy!
Take it to a combine mechanic.
The problem was found! I don't know how it got there but I found a single 8 inch long hair wrapped around the flyweight shaft right at the drive gear. There is only one person in this house that has grey hair that long and its not me or the pets. Wifey sheds hair worse than the pets do, at least she still grows it back! Through some fancy manipulation wrapped with a sense of humor, she came in with her brother and started digging this hair out. I stood there with a beer in hand and a grin on my face. I let THEM fix it, but took all the credit for the troubleshooting mastery I possess. She even cleaned the dust bunnies out of it with her own tweezers lol.
Another job well done!
Maybe they're called coo coo clocks because they make you go coo coo when you have to fix them.
Leave it to the machinists!!
Is the machine shop all sold and closed?
Auction is Oct. 28th. Her biggest customer is in a panic mode because they can't find anyone to build their welded protection cans.
Dam I was hoping she changed her mind.
Hard to understand how she could keep you out of the loop but she probably knew what your reaction would be. I'm guessing the fallout with the kids hurt her more than she let on and selling the business is her way of moving on. She probably assumed that the kids would take over and keep the business going in the family as she did.
There is no way with your experience that there isn't a company out there that couldnt use your guidance as an equipment manager or supervisor.
Tracey Road bought out Highway Equipment here in Pa. The local dealership is coming back to life.
Is she hot?
Did she ever consider selling the business with all the equipment and the customer list? Seems like it might have been a good/better option to get more money and keep the customers happy.
That always sounds good in theory, but rarely works in the real world. Any buyer/ business that can afford to buy them out, can just buy more equipment and expand in house. The bigger guys don't want the whole thing. Anyone small can't afford it, so then it's either all borrowed money, or the previous owner has to carry the debt. Typically the business can't afford to repay interest and principal on the borrowed money, and also turn a profit ( the old owner typically started small and builds over time). If the old owner has to carry the debt, why sell? You still have all the risk, but now no control. So I find that it rarely works to sell as a going business. The buyers that have the money, don't really need the business, and the small guys can't afford to buy it. So sellers/ people wanting to retire - call the auction house and get it gone. The scenarios that I'm familiar with a buyout that works, are: a couple employees familiar with the business buy the owner out, some large companies become "employee owned" which stock transfers, bankers, and typically a board running the company, often with former owners being on the board. Old owners ease themselves out, and can get their equity out of the business. the owner takes a partner and sells out to the partner over 5 plus years.
Uhm..... Tracey Road In Pittsburgh, PA | Tracey Road Equipment Tracey Road is excited to further expand our reach into the state of Pennsylvania! Tracey Road in Pittsburgh is now open! www.traceyroad.com
This exactly
Exactly why my dad’s business just died instead of getting sold when he died unexpectedly,
Well she is stacys mum
Is she hot? Easy Buckwheat, that’s how fires get started!
I think it depends on how fast a person wants out. A niche business with rather exclusive customers can be sold if the seller isn't in a particular hurry. Other times the business owner doesn't want the hassle and just wants to retire or move on. There are companies that specialize in marketing businesses for sale.
She had planned on retiring at 65 for years now. Originally, it was to be handed down to her daughters and their families (not handed down but sold) but since the blow up 2.5 years ago they haven't made amends. The equipment is older equipment; the conventional stuff is quite old and doesn't have much value. The CNCs are old by today's standards but work well. It's a niche market, and even though it has been profitable, the attraction for other companies to buy is just not there. It makes me sick knowing that everything will be sold at .10 on the dollar, but it is what it is. My business was no different really. The tooling I have is mostly exclusive to the heavy equipment repair business. Unless someone that was in the business wanted the tooling, it has no value to anyone else. Same with my service truck........yeah, it costs $150K to put the same truck together now, but all people see is a 2018 service truck with 182K miles on it. Don't get me wrong. It's very discouraging but again, it is what it is and that's not going to change.
I can't like that post but, it's reality. good luck with the auction.
You got a link to the auction?
The original owner {my old employer} of Tate Transportation got lucky when he sold. He had the now owner waiting for it for a couple of years and sold out for 14 million.
Ill post 1 when I see it
Sad days as Look to dissolve history behind self.
Much truth to that-- In this vocation for the good ones spending time to get working & looking good was always fraught with the idea that it was repaired to be abused and soon forgotten unfortunately. But for the one who did it, hopefully good memories.
I tried to sell my small construction business three years ago through a broker. They had me jumping through hoops and wasted a bunch of my time. Got down to the last go around with a buyer and when it came time to set a closing date he backed out. Fast forward to next week and all my equipment is at Ritchie Brothers in Nashville for sale. 6 excavators, 1 bulldozer, 3 CTL, 1 Tri Axle dump truck, 2 KUV vans, Ram 5500 service truck, 1 telehandler,1 compact artic dump trick, misc trailers. Sold all my inventory to a competitor who also took half of my employees and I found other jobs for the rest of my crew. It is a relief to finally actually retire. Neighbor behind me made me an offer on my farm so we are going to work it out. All my cows went to the sale barn 2 weeks ago. We are down to 2 goats and 2 LSG dogs and one horse. I see a personal property auction in our new future.
Hope you have something lined up to buy with that money so it does go to taxes
House in Lower Alabama
I've spent the last few days unloading the tooling off my truck. I have both of these toolboxes loaded with everything that would fit in them and the stuff on top is there because I couldn't fit it in the drawers. 90 % of this tooling is used of course, 10% still new and never used. I didn't bother to clean up the tooling, straight from the truck to the box. I figure, if bought new, all this stuff would be over $40K spent. I'm thinking about just including it in the wife's auction. It's unlikely to bring much I know, but it would be done and over with and I can move past it. Trying to EBAY this stuff would take way too much of my time and could take forever if I'm lucky. Apparently, this auction is online only, which we didn't know about until this morning. I'm going to call the auction people tomorrow and see if I can add it and whether it would have a reserve I could set or be absolute. You can sign up for the auction at www.bidspotter.com . For those of you that are local, you can view everything on site on Monday Oct. 27th from 10AM to 5PM. Look for the K&K sale. I may include my spare Miller 225 welding machine too. I had it repaired and never used it after the repair; it's been sitting in her shop the last 6 years. Needs a battery and probably some carb work since it's been sitting and fresh gasoline. Ill add a pic of it later.
My experience with online auctions has been usually a month before the auction is the cutoff.
K&K sale do you have a link the search didnt show it
Visible on/after 10/27
I believe that this is a link for the auction: ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR | duckwall-auctions www.duckwallauctions.com
18% buyer fee. Fackin crooks.
I saw that. No in person bidding, so they are just taking some pictures and dealing with the registering and payments. I generally don't bid at any auctions with over a 10% buyers premium. And even at 10%, it better be something I really need, I'm not as likely to take a flier on something. In the auctioneers defense- maybe they are only getting 10% and the rest may be going to the online "bidspotter" as their fee. All that said, I don't think I would list your truck tooling on the online auction @Vetech63 , I think you will be disappointed in what it brings. I would wait until you are finished with her auction, and deal with all the flakes on facebook marketplace. Sell it out a piece at a time. I hope her auction goes well, I bet there's a lot of high dollar tooling, that's kind of just glossed over in the ad. From my experience of helping guys go through a retirement auction- the key is not to pay attention to what individual items bring, but to just look at the total return on the sale. Some stuff will bring more than you think, some things you won't be happy about, but that's the nature of a auction.
Maybe post up a list of your tooling? I could use some stuff, maybe others also . . .
Yeah when this flake sells his worn out stuff--he knows which flakes to watch out for--never trust the middle aged clean cuts. lol
Honestly I would slowly eBay your tooling, think of it as steady long term income
Cash out sales only, with Ebay you get to keep track of all sales & any sales tax if sold in a state requiring it, plus deal with shipping & packaging. * In my case I sell through wife's ebay nick nack store. Sold a 440 Dodge truck oil pan in perfect condition--the listing only lasted 30 minutes.
Good ol' LA. Baldwin County?
What part of Oklahoma, Vetech?
Best wishes on the success of the auction, I know it has to be stressful for both of you.
I wish there was a place that had weekly or monthly consignment auctions around me. We will have to have one to clean up dads stuff but i have some stuff i would take to a auction if i could. When i really got into the farm clean up i realized that a guy should not buy anything unless he is going to use it or really needs it. I like tools and most of my life worked at a shop during the day were i needed my own tools and at night i worked on my own stuff so i needed tools at home so i have several of every thing. I really hadnt had time in the last 10 years to REALLY look my stuff over. In the last week or so i got to looking in a storage trailer i have a lot of tools. Wrenches ratchets sockets, and other hand tools i have several vicegrips that are still in there packages . I am going to try to get all my tools together in the shop and decide what to keep or get rid of. The only good thing if some thing happen to me tools would be easy for my family to sell.
Southwest of Tulsa about 30 miles
Shoot I'll have to send an auction link over to my friend at a machine shop, he might look. I told him about your sale but I thought you were way father away
I noticed their are a couple of other machine shops in your area. At least, according to google maps. Hopefully, between them and the folks out of Tulsa , bidding will go well.
I'm afraid to ask. How did the auction go?
They called her yesterday around 3 pm. They said everything sold.....total was just over $70K. Pretty much what was expected. They have til November 7th to get everything out.
Kind of sad to here.
Oiy !