Finally finals week

Well it is finals week... I don't have much to post about this week mainly because I have a 5 page paper due Tuesday, and I haven't really started it yet. But I find myself watching YouTube videos of 383 supercharged motors and totally procrastinating... 

Stress, stress, and more stress..

Stress, stress, and more stress...
As this semester is coming to an end, I find myself extremely stressed out. From the amount of Mythology papers, resumes, power point projects, modules, finals next week and the everyday stresses of work and life in general. Everything seems to be piling up. Not to mention the amount of bullshit I have to deal with from my fellow classmates and teachers seems to be rapidly getting greater. You know, we get lectured on a daily basis about making sure we work as a "team".. Yeah well it's easier said than done. It's really hard to work with people that like to talk bad about their other "teammates" behind their back... And one thing that really pisses me off is when your "teammate" has a problem with you because you are a female and are "slower" than them, and you apparently don't know as much as they do... Well tough shit buddy, you will have to deal with women in the field for the rest of your time being in the Auto/Diesel world.. And for some reason the boys have it in their head that the females in the class get some kind of royal treatment or something. Well we DON'T. We get points taken off for not coming to class, being late, not wearing safety glasses, sleeping in class, non academic use of cell phones and not "supporting teammates".  I got a 0 for helping another student swap transfer cases in her truck and the teachers comment was "student chose not to attend class". We get graded just the same as them. It seems that the majority of males in our class have more dick in their personality than they do in their pants..

Since when does my gender dictate what I can and can't do?
I am so fed up with the stupid ass comments about women in the field. Yes, there are women in the field, and yes you will just have to deal with-it.. I've gotten numerous comments from men saying " I don't want a girl working on my car".. Well buddy if you know everything then please work on your own shit. It's not always easy being a women in what some of you may call a mans field, sometimes it's hard and sometimes we may want to give up. Here is some advice for other women in the field :
Be tough
Be ambitious
And know exactly what you want
And if that makes you a "bitch" than so be it...

This week

This week in class, we adjusted the valves on our ISX. This week things in our team went surprisingly smooth. After looking up the adjustment procedure, we got the hang of things and moved along quite nicely. We got out engine to bar over and set the exhaust valves to .027 and the intake valves to .014.

This is us using the .014 feeler guage to set valve lash on the intake valve 

Work: 
This week at work I was given the wonderful job of figuring out why the right turn signals would not work on a 2012 Chevy Silverado. First I gathered my wiring diagram and then I checked the fuses. The fuses were good, the bulbs were also good... I then managed to get to the lights and noticed a red wire had been spliced into the turn bulb. The wires were connected by what looked to be like some kind of rtv. This truck had been in some kind of accident, and they attempted to put the wires back together. They ran a red jumper wire straight from power to the bulb. I'm not sure what was going through their head when they were trying to fix the wiring issues. 

Isx engine brake adjustment

Isx engine brake adjustment:

Step 1- Locate the marks on the outside of the vibration damper 
The set marks are A,B, and C
Set A to adjust cylinder 1 or 6
Set B to adjust cylinder 2 or 5
Set C to adjust 3 or 4 

Note: The cylinders are are numbered from the front of the engine (1-2-3-4-5-6)
The firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4 

Step 2- Remove the oil fill connector from the lower gear case cover
Insert a 3/4 inch drive ratchet and extension into the air compressor drive.
Rotate the air compressor clockwise, as viewed from the front of the engine.



Each cylinder has four rocker levers: 

• The Exhaust valve rocker lever
• The Injector rocker lever
• The Intake valve rocker lever
• The engine brake rocker lever

Note: the intake valve rocker lever is always the long lever on the valve rocker lever shaft

Step 3- Check the valve rockers on the given cylinder to see if both intake and exhaust valves are closed.

Note:  Both sets of valves are closed when the rocker levers and the brake lever are loose. If both sets are not closed, rotate the compressor drive gear one complete revolution, and align the A mark on the front damper with the pointer again. 

Step 4- Loosen the locknut on the brake lever adjusting screw, and back out the adjusting screw one turn. The insert the feeler gauge between the bottom of the engine brake piston and the top of the exhaust valve pin on the exhaust valve crosshead. The brake lever specification is 0.276 in. 

Step 5- Tighten the adjusting screw until drag on the feeler gauge is felt. Proper drag means there is no motion of the brae lever camshaft follower against the cam lobe. Hold the brake lever adjusting screw, and tighten the locknut.

Torque value: 177 in-lb 

You will then check the running clearance.

Our group has not made it this far, we are still adjusting the engine brakes. We were having some difficulties getting the engine to rotate at first, and a few of my teammates would disappear for what seemed like hours at a time. But with the help of Cummins quickserve and one other determined teammate, we have started the process of adjusting the engine brakes and are moving along rather nicely. 

progress

This week we have been adjusting the engine brakes on an isx engine ( I didn't take pictures of this).
I have mentioned the 84 a few times, but here is the progress of what we have done so far:

Y.E.S days

Here are a few pictures from this past Thursday when Kera and I had the opportunity to talk to 7th and 8th graders about the Auto/ Diesel program, as part of the Y.E.S. days. We also showed them the 2018 Freightliner and talked about the DD platform. I think the kids were more interested in the air horn than what we had to say, but that was to be expected.

This is the inside of the 2018 Freightliner.

Here are some students from Caldwell listening to us talk 

about the Freightliner. 

And here is a picture of Kera and I stepping back as the

students were listening to Mr. Nutter

talk about the program. 

Kera and I trying to

stay warm while we waited for

the students to show up. 

Wiring Diagrams

Why is it important to know how to read a wiring diagram? 

In my opinion it is extremely important to understand how to read and utilize wiring diagrams in todays industry. Understanding how to utilize a wiring diagram can greatly reduce time spent troubleshooting and tracing down wires. In todays industry, understanding wiring diagrams is pretty much a necessity. In todays workplace, you probably won't make it very far without some kind of knowledge about wiring diagrams and electronics.

At work, I install all of our "blow and go's." They are a fairly easy system to install. On the "blow and go" , you have two black wires that are for the starter, a red wire that is 12 volt constant, green wire for ignition, and a black for ground. So after finding the wiring diagram for the vehicle you are working on, you the start to take the vehicle apart. I recently had an install for a F150. So I find the ignition switch harness to start to splice my wires in.

With the help of this wiring diagram, I know what color the starter wire is, the ignition wire, and the 12 volt constant. This wiring diagram not only tells you what color the wires are, it also tells you what plug and pin number the wire goes to. I honestly never knew how helpful wiring diagrams could be until I was thrown into doing installs. The 12 volt constant wire is located @ the BCM. Well on this particular truck, the BCM is located in the passenger side kick panel. I knew that there had to be a wire located in the ignition switch harness that ran to the BCM so I looked at another wiring diagram. Instead of running my wire clear to the passenger side, I was able to cut the red/green wire at the ignition switch that was the 12 volt constant wire coming from the BCM.

So, in conclusion knowing how to read a wiring diagram helped me to solve the problem sooner!

Broken parts

At work this past week, we had a Chevy avalanche come in for a brake line leak. So, after flaring a new line and putting it on the truck, it was time to bleed the brakes. No big deal, right? Well I couldn't get the bleeder to brake loose. So one of my co-workers decided he was going to try. So, after beating a socket onto the bleeder, he then attempts to crack it loose using a ratchet. Until, he brakes it off... Great! The customer came in for something simple and ended up having to have a new caliper bought for his truck... I understand that things happen, but when you think you know everything because you are a " strong male" things tend to break.

Back to the Jetta..
I have had the Jetta at the house now for about a month now. I don't have the money to put a new motor in it yet. But I find myself looking at it, and trying to decide what I want to do with it. I thought about getting the head checked and putting new valves in it. In the process of the timing belt coming off, the valves made contact with the pistons. I was looking at the high pressure fuel pump and noticed that the cam follower had worn out causing the cam to rub on the plunger on the fuel pump. And with a little bit of research, the cam follower should be checked every 10-20,000 miles. Well I'm assuming that this had not been done. Here are a few pictures of the hpfp and cam follower. 

 

     

It takes all kinds..

In the majority of my classes, we get put into groups of people that we have to work with for the rest of the semester. Since college is supposed to prepare us for the "real world " we get the opportunity to work with all different kinds of people. People who actually want to learn, and those who don't. People who are genuine, and those that are a**holes. People who have knowledge and those who don't know "anything". People who lift you up, and those that bring you down. People who don't look at you any differently based on your gender, and those who think you will never make it because you are a female or even in some cases just a "stupid" male that doesn't know anything. In the past few semesters, I have had team members that have been all of the above in one way or another... 

In my Diesel engine maintenance class, we have been learning about Kysor vs Horton fan clutches. The truck we are working on has a Kysor fan clutch. We could not get our fan clutch to disengage. We applied air to it, and it still would not turn. With the Kysor type fan clutch, in the event of air pressure failure, the fan clutch remains engaged which prevents the engine from overheating. There are four people including myself in our group. It is extremely hard for four people to be working on something, you typically end up with one or two people standing around doing nothing. So, with the help of one of my team members, we got the fan clutch off the truck and tore apart (I did not take any pictures of that). 

This is the only picture I got of the fan clutch assembly. 

This is a Kysor On/Off Diagnostic Guide that one of our teachers gave us to maybe help diagnose the problem. 

injector removal

This week we removed the injectors in a series 60.

Thermostat removal

This week in Diesel engine tune-up, our group finished a thermostat removal and replacement on our Freightliner. We checked the thermostat to make sure it was working properly. It was pretty cool to watch the the hoses collapse under the pressure of the vacuum while we filled the system with coolant. 

Average minds

"Average minds give up when they fail..
                 Champions fail until they achieve"

This is something that took me quite a bit longer than it should have to come to terms with... I think to some extent we all have a fear of failure.... But I've noticed that all who are great have failed several times before they achieved. You have to get this in your head, or giving up is always going to be the route you end up taking. To achieve you must understand and accept that there will be failure and pain and probably some doubt, but once you understand that these are all part of the process you will truly be unstoppable in the path to your dreams. Often times we get so caught up in fear of failing that we don't even begin trying..


This week:

We had the chance to meet Lisa Kelly!

Teamwork

Having a job in the "real world" is more than just turning wrenches. It's the people you meet, the long days, and hours to make sure that a job gets done. It's the countless times of lack of sleep thinking about ways to improve. It's the people you work with, the relationships you build. For any of us to say that we don't need anyone; we are lying to ourselves. 
Even if you work by yourself on a vehicle, the name on the side of that building is your team! A foolish man thinks he is irreplaceable, but a wise man knows he can't do it all on his own. No matter how good you are, or think you are; there is always someone out there that is more knowledgeable than you. 
So a few things to remember: you are only as good as you want to be, you are replaceable, and always do the job with nothing but excellence!

"Teamwork makes the dream work" 

Reflection:
This week we had an S10 come in the shop that wouldn't run. This particular vehicle had recently had a fuel pump put in it by the customer. So after getting the truck into the shop, I raise it into the air and look to see if any of the wires had got smashed in the process. Well I had noticed that the fuel tank straps were still rusted so I  knew that they hadn't taken the fuel tank off to do the fuel pump. After I had got to looking, I realized that there were no bolts holding the truck bed on. So the customer had taken the bed off of the truck to replace the fuel pump and forgot to put the bolts back in the bed. That is one of those moments that make you scratch your head and think what the h***. So with the help of my coworker, we moved the bed back far enough to access the fuel pump. I then discovered that the customer had not connected the wires. With the help of wiring diagrams, I figured out which wire went to what. After connecting the wires, and making sure to have a good ground, the truck still wasn't running properly. Come to find out, the customer had put the wrong fuel pump in it and in the process of doing so, they bent the float as well. There were two different options for a fuel pump for this truck. One being for a flex-fuel and the other for a non flex-fuel. The truck is a non flex-fuel.... This was definitely a learning experience and it opened my eyes to simple mistakes such as forgetting the bed bolts and how it could have cost someone their life....

Another year..

And so another year begins...
As my summer has drawn to end, I'm not super thrilled about going back to school; but on the bright side I will still be working in the shop two days a week. This summer has been filled with a lot of learning experiences...

We had a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta come in the shop needing a timing belt. I have never really messed with Volkswagen before, so this was definitely a learning process. In an interference engine, it is never good when a timing belt comes off. An interference engine is one that has insufficient clearance between the valves and pistons. If the timing belt comes off it usually results in catastrophic engine damage. I'm not sure if all Volkswagen engines are this way, but in this engine the cams have notches in them allowing you to turn them and take the head bolts out. In the process of the timing belt coming off, the valves hit the top of the pistons... So the guy who brought the car in decided it wasn't worth fixing.. So I bought the car off of him and I plan on putting a 
motor in it. 

Missing parts

This week in our class we are trying to get our engine put back together. When disassembling our engine, we put the bolts in bags and labeled them so that we knew what went where. Well somehow within the past 16 weeks, half of our bolts have came up missing. We are currently putting the gear housing back together. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of this. 

A few things from work:

1. Replaced a starter on a Chevy Impala
2. Fan speed control resistor on a Ford Focus
3. Steering column on a F150 

Family Fun!

It is extremely important to stay organized and clean in the industry. Not only in the in shop, but on the road as well. It is easy to get caught up in life, but never skip out on an opportunity to spend time with your family! This week we washed and waxed dad's truck! 

 

"real world"

I hear people talk about the "real world" all the time. well in the "real world", crap happens!

 Last week I had just got done replacing the water pump on a BMW (the blue liquid on the floor is coolant). This particular car does not have a dipstick. We were going to drain the oil in to a bucket to see how much oil the vehicle had in it. Not thinking anything about it, Eric had the car running for close to a half an hour, and the proceeded to drain the oil... his container ended up overflowing, and I tried to put the drain plug back into the oil pan, but the oil was way to hot. So lesson leaned, make sure that you know how much oil the vehicle you are working on holds.

My turn: 
So apparently one mess just wasn't enough.. I was draining all of our used oil into the drum we have outside when an air bubble in the hose caused the spout to fly out and spray oil all over the place, I had oil in my hair, all over my clothes, and not to mention it was all over the side of the building and the cement wall behind the drum.

Capstone

For my project I'm going to write about my future goals. As of now, I am a student at Washington State Community College and I am currently working at Schafer Auto Center in Marietta Ohio.

The average Automotive Technician makes around $39,000 a year, and the average Diesel Technician makes around $45,000 a year. Depending on your skills, those numbers could greatly increase. Eventually, I would like to get a job being a diesel technician. I honestly don't have my life completely planned out. My immediate goals would be finishing school, and learning everything that I can while working at Schafer's. 

Today at work I replaced the drivers side sway bar end link on a 2008 Chevy Silverado.