Diesel Techs and Mechanics: need some advice

[vc-onthepc]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpiderGearsMan
low pay hard work


I disagree for the last ten years ive made over 75000.00 consistantly

 

[crewchief888]

I hate working in the mud, it rained last night and all day so I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. It still beats the hell out of working in sub zero temps trying to work when your hands are numb.

Well, I just found this site it is seems to be a great site. Like one post I read not much B.S. just honest talk.


Most things are much much bigger and heavier. But on that note I must diverage and tell a story. Last year I went on a job in Port Harcourt Nigeria to swap out two 7,000 lbs pumps on a drill rig. Sounds easy enough. But the part that puts the twist in it was that the pumps were in an enclosed room. We removed the pumps by cutting a hole in the bulkhead and using 10 ton chain hoist to "walk" the pumps thru the hole we cut 20 ft away.
The reason to I tell the story is because I never had the feeling when working on cars
So stick to your guns and go for it. You will enjoy it. As with anything else in life you get out of it what you put into it!
Richard

yea i know what you mean toolfreak, it was a little chilly here this morning before the sun came up.
i had to stop a couple times and warm my fingers up on 500watt halogen light i had clamped to the side of the loader i was working on at 5:30 am

yanno oilfield, i think thats a lot of my motivation in doing what i do, the satisfaction of overcoming an obstacle, or finding that elusive problem that nobody else can. i'm a field sevice tech, not finishing a job is usually out of the question.
a friend of mine calls it the "mcguyver syndrome".

 

[Radio Flyer]

Lets hear from someone that works on 6.0 and 6.4 Powerstokes everyday! Or a 6.0 in an E-Series.

 

[Chadro]

i make a pretty good living working on const eq. but i also bust my *** in all kinds of weather doing it.
matter of fact i'm looing at a fun filled day tomorrow, rain/snow mix, and below freezing temps overnight, low 40's for a hi tomorrow.

yeah

Don't you just love living in the Midwest, it's actually been mild here in Mo.

When I go to work tomorrow morning it's supposed to be 31 feel like 20, maybe I spoke to soon. Wind has been killing us.

 

[clueless]

6.0 in a e series van,pull the front rad support off and pull motor and trans out of the vehicle then work on them... to put a belt on it it is advisable to pull the radiator on it,easier!! the f series pull the cab off it to do anything to the motor like pull the heads..

we had a e series van with a 6.0 in it. to put heads on it you basically pull the motor and trans out through the rad support and put it on stands outside the vehicle to work on it.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

....The reason to I tell the story is because I never had the feeling when working on cars that I had that day after we finished the job and ran the unit.
Not to mention in my 10 years I have worked in Nizhnevartosk Russia, Nigeria, Malabo E.G. and I am set to leave in the next few weeks to Las Palmas Spain in the Canary Islands. No auto tech can say that.
So stick to your guns and go for it. You will enjoy it. As with anything else in life you get out of it what you put into it!
Richard

yanno oilfield, i think thats a lot of my motivation in doing what i do, the satisfaction of overcoming an obstacle, or finding that elusive problem that nobody else can. i'm a field sevice tech, not finishing a job is usually out of the question.
a friend of mine calls it the "mcguyver syndrome".

I agree with you guys!

I have done jobs like replacing large pivot bushings which the manufacturer says can't be done outside of the factory. I fabricated a heavy, yet simple, puller / press assembly and did the job in our shop.
I'm in the porcess now of setting up the shop for a couple of big jobs which 99% of the other dealers just like us would ship the equipment back to the factory.....the money saved on the shipping will pay for tools in those 2 jobs.
I also do lots of conversions that most dealer would ship to the MFR to get done. Big pumps like the oilfield industry uses and industrial engines / drive setups, etc.

This kinda stuff takes more planning and patience and little bit of thinking like an engineer than what I've ever seen from the average automotive guy.

The satisfaction of meeting those challenges is a big motivator for me.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpiderGearsMan
low pay hard work


I disagree for the last ten years ive made over 75000.00 consistantly

yeah , I did too , in 1989

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

75 k isn't **** in the suburban world I live in
in 89 I made that @ 18 an hour

 

[crewchief888]

Don't you just love living in the Midwest, it's actually been mild here in Mo.

When I go to work tomorrow morning it's supposed to be 31 feel like 20, maybe I spoke to soon. Wind has been killing us.

yea i hear ya, it was sooooooooo much fun standing on top of a hill in the middle of a cornfield at 0-dark:30 this morning. then up by the lakefront with the wind blowing between the buildings, and down my asscrack was a real dream.

if the friggin wind would stop blowing, it wouldnt be too bad.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

75 k isn't **** in the suburban world I live in
in 89 I made that @ 18 an hour

Yup - these days in metro DC area 75K /yr job will get a townhouse in a neighborhood that has weekly drive by shootings......

....and to think I started this job at a whopping $14/hr in 95. Man! That took a lot of overtime to manage a decent living standard (25 -30 hrs /wk)...I don't think I ever saw the sun from my house for the first 5 or 6 years...but it has gone up steadily since then.

 

[Chadro]

Yup - these days in metro DC area 75K /yr job will get a townhouse in a neighborhood that has weekly drive by shootings......

....and to think I started this job at a whopping $14/hr in 95. Man! That took a lot of overtime to manage a decent living standard (25 -30 hrs /wk)...I don't think I ever saw the sun from my house for the first 5 or 6 years...but it has gone up steadily since then.

Yup, my Grandma bought her house brand new in the D.C. Suburbs of Maryland (Anne Arundel County) in 1962 for like $34,000. Now it appraises for around $625,000 and has been paid off since the mid 1990's. It's a bigger house but good God. My Aunts 975 sq. Ft. house cost her $270,000.

 

[kealatex]

You might think about looking at airport GSE jobs. You get to work on a little bit of everything. Where I am, the pay can be from $14 up to $30/hr

 

[Chadro]

There must still be some railroad diesel shops somewhere.

I didn't think about it but you should check into some railroads. I know Union Pacific hires Diesel Mechanic Apprentices in my area and working for the railroad is a great job. I think most are Union which usually means good pay/benefits but you may not care for Unions.