|
Well my ingersoll rand cordless impact wrench needs the nicad batteries rebuilt. 2 @ $60 each or should I just buy a new Ryobi impact wrench for $120 and keep using the batteries that I already have?
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 22:22
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 05:56 |
|
|
scuz posted:My dad was a mechanic, too. He's a preacher now and still loves working on cars, but that's probably cuz he hasn't been doing it for the last 40 years. When he was in high school and on the farm, he traded his '67 Charger for 3 heifers. The bozo he traded the car to totaled it a month later. One of my bucket list items is to find a clapped-out '67 Charger and restore it before he's too old to drive. Keep your IT job and make this your full time side-occupation if you want to work on cars. I had a similar theory for eventually finding my dad's '66 GTO that he sold when I was born and restoring it (or a replacement if it wasn't findable) for him. Then he went to the doctor last April with a backache and no other ailments and came out with two simultaneous and equally lethal liver cancers and died less than 2 months later at 69.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 22:28
|
|
|
There are a precious, rare few who can find deep personal satisfaction and enjoyment at their job that it's fun and not soul-crushing. The rest of us are stuck with jobs we wind up hating and despising to finance the things we really want to do, because those enjoyable things don't make money and can't support us. Thus is life.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 22:42
|
|
|
This is actually why I like working on cars. It's completely, utterly different than what I do for a living (medic), and I feel better and more rounded as a person when I can work daily I figure you only have one life so you may as well try a bunch of different poo poo while you're here.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 22:48
|
|
|
kastein posted:(I actually knew people who used sub7 on their own machines because it was more powerful than most other remote sys management software available at the time.) I'll echo what pretty much everyone has said, keep cars as a hobby if you want to continue enjoying it. poo poo my brother who has loved washing then detailing cars since he could walk. Then he got a job detailing, he loved it the first year or so and while he claims to still enjoys it it's pretty obvious he doesn't anymore. edit: Hell yeah, flight Thursday morning got upgraded! NitroSpazzz fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Jul 21, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 22:56
|
|
|
I always loved cars and fixing things/figuring out how stuff works, so I thought that auto-mechanic would be a perfect career choice for me. I spent 2 years and 40k dollars getting trained (another bad decision, but that's a story for another time), and then spent 6 months as a shop bitch at a British car shop before being laid off because the small shop couldn't afford to keep me on, even when they were only paying me 8.50 an hour. I didn't even try to find another mechanic job after that. It actually sapped a lot of the enjoyment that I get out of wrenching on cars, which is partly why all my cars are broken, non-running piles of poo poo now.  Don't choose your passion/hobby as a career. Terrible Robot fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Jul 21, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:09
|
|
|
Terrible Robot posted:I always loved cars and fixing things/figuring out how stuff works, so I thought that auto-mechanic would be a perfect career choice for me. I spent 2 years and 40k dollars getting trained (another bad decision, but that's a story for another time), and then spent 6 months as a shop bitch at a British car shop before being laid off because the small shop couldn't afford to keep me on, even when they were only paying me 8.50 an hour. This is why I am not a brewer, IT professional, mechanic, or employed...
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:20
|
|
|
Jesus gently caress I am in a cranky loving mood today. Doesn't help I had an all-day meeting with Transport Canada today. All I want to do is go to the gym and have a big lift, then go home and have a beer but those are both off the table because I'm doing an overnight tonight.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:39
|
|
|
Goddamnit, after playing a lot of Project CARS with the G27 I really want to go try hitting Willow Springs for real. It seems like such a fun course, especially Horse Thief Mile 
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:49
|
|
|
So the puppy I had been posting about a few weeks back that was found in a dumpster is now 7 weeks old, and still adorable as gently caress. She's my bro when I'm out in the driveway working on the cars, she won't leave my side  
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:51
|
|
|
I set my project management skills against my builder today to see what's going to hold us back, have to go careful though because I'm an engineer and therefore have no person skills  It's looking like second week in August, which is okay I suppose. Got so much poo poo to throw or donate before then. I want to get some hobby stuff out and do something creative but there's no space and I should really be packing not opening stuff up.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:53
|
|
|
Enourmo posted:Actually if you want a simple reason, just remember that 14 INCH is a career mechanic. There's the right way to do a job, the wrong way, and the flat rate way. I've basically worked for free all day today, 10 hour scheduled shift oh and no overtime because flat rate doesn't have to pay overtime.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:53
|
|
|
I'm gonna go against the grain a bit but not all the way. DO NOT become a flat rate mechanic. Period. The end. DO NOT quit your day job. Period. The end. Alright, here's where I disagree. You sound like you have a decent shop setup already. Every time you do a project on your car, ask someone who has mitchell/mostdata what the book time for it was. If you beat the book time by a significant amount, consider adding that to The List if you don't absolutely hate doing that job. When you've got a decent list going, get a bunch of quotes on those jobs from local shops. Then decide if you can be happy doing those as side jobs on evenings for ~50-75% of what the other guys charge, and start getting the word out on CL, the local automotive enthusiast groups, etc. I can knock out a 97-01 heater core change out in under 4 hours. In fact that's what it took me, the first time I ever did it. The book time is 6 hours and I've seen quotes over 900 dollars. Parts cost is $50 or so, $150 if you do the evap core and an r134a recharge at the same time like you should. I could be loving happy making 500 an evening doing those and have a line out the drat door if I had a shop built. I can do an XJ/ZJ front brake job, unit bearings, and ujoints stupid fast. Like, 15 minutes a side fast. The parts cost about $165 and I have heard of people paying $600+. Subaru clutches are super goddamn easy and fast too, like, 3-4 hours in and out on the first one I did. Do as much or as little as you want and use it to supplement your income, but not pay the bills. Specialize in the stuff you're good at, leave the ultra lovely jobs to everyone else who is trying to make a living off it and can't deny work. Done. My other thing (which I actually do instead of just running my mouth about) is I haunt the local yards like a poltergeist. ACEofsnett and I have a whole list of parts we know we can sell for bank that get pulled immediately no matter what the weather is. For example I can grab the mantrans from a ~mid 93 and later dodge 2500+ pickup with a 5.9 V8, 8.0 V10, or 5.9 I6 Cummins in like 2 hours working at a comfortable pace with him, have never paid more than 170 bucks for one and have never sold it for less than 650. The last one was 170 (plus 100 for some other stuff) and sold for 1300 within a week. That works out to 250 bucks an hour, each, to wrench on poo poo in the junkyard. If you can figure out a niche of parts you can identify and pull in the yard fast and easy that are in high demand, you can make a killing. DO NOT become a flat rate mechanic.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2015 23:59
|
|
|
BigPaddy posted:So potatoes, meat and veg then? No potatoes. A little red meat. Mostly chicken, fish, raw/cooked veggies. Basically anything white is off the menu. A lot of water. No eating after 7pm.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 00:09
|
|
|
Welp the 30k Dodge just made the most horrendous noises from the front on the way home just now. Its literally 10 miles from 30k and it feels/sounds like the left front wheel bearing just munched. It pulled left and the whole floor was vibrating as I limped it at 20mph home. Sigh. I cant investigate tonight because its pouring and the Javelin is in the shop and I wont leave that out in the rain.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 00:49
|
|
|
I'm not even a mechanic, I just deliver to shops and I know they all hate it. Too much bullshit to deal with ranging from the aforementioned book time and actual time discrepancies to dipshit managers that don't know the first thing about cars. Definitely not something I'd get into as a career. Also it's way more labor intensive than IT.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 01:43
|
|
|
The industry as a whole is heading to implode, we have critical qualified labor shortages because the companies don't want to pay for qualified technicians, so they hire someone green off the street or out of tech school like I was, promised all sorts of potential for earning serious money, then dropped in the deep end and having to buy their own tools, learn the ins and outs of every single vehicle, special tools, efficiency, holy poo poo you want me to work how hard for how much and I have to clean and close the shop without being paid for it because if it's not earning you money why should we get paid for it? Then the greenhorns flame out after about a month, and the old guard gets that much more stressed. You will discover entirely new to you categories of just how deep a hatred for all living things it is possible to feel. And then you will start shopping for Maserati Biturbos because by the time you've made it into a full time career the cycle of abuse will have fully matured and you will never be the same for it ever again. Suffering will be all that you know. Nihilism and despair your sword and shield, and your righteous fury will be the only thing getting you out of bed in the morning. INCHI DICKARI fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jul 22, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 02:06
|
|
|
That's every industry in the US actually. Why pay to train the 50 year old guy who's been with the company for 20 years and makes a lot more than entry level when you can just pick from one of the 74 trillion new college graduates of the last 3 years who don't have a job and will work for pennies and pay for his training himself because he's so appreciative to have any job at all?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 02:28
|
|
|
I'm talking to an FCA engineer right now and he claims that that news story is BS and fake, and that they are on separate CAN buses and this isn't possible. Not sure how much I believe that, but we'll see.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 02:47
|
|
|
kastein posted:I'm talking to an FCA engineer right now and he claims that that news story is BS and fake, and that they are on separate CAN buses and this isn't possible. It's Wired on one hand (which actually has been getting better in terms of publishing real articles), on the other it's FCA saving face. Also, isn't FCA on the hook for botching a poo poo load of recalls recently?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 02:54
|
|
|
kastein posted:I'm talking to an FCA engineer right now and he claims that that news story is BS and fake, and that they are on separate CAN buses and this isn't possible. Guess we'll wait till DEFCON
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 03:03
|
|
|
rndmnmbr posted:There are a precious, rare few who can find deep personal satisfaction and enjoyment at their job that it's fun and not soul-crushing. Truth. I absolutely love baking and pastry arts on the professional level. On a -good- day, it pays $10 an hour. Max. So I am a computer janitor that bakes crazy stuff in my spare time for my friends. My knees hate me much less, and I have health insurance and PTO.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 03:37
|
|
|
Phone posted:It's Wired on one hand (which actually has been getting better in terms of publishing real articles), on the other it's FCA saving face. yeah who loving knows. Could be BS dickwaving on both sides for all I know.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 03:44
|
|
|
A buddy of mine is a former service tech. He was barely clearing what I do per week and was working 10 hours more each pay period. So he quit back in March and took a month off to sort out his life. He just finished his first month at loving ALDI where he's making 17.50 an hour as the morning shift manager.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 04:14
|
|
|
Phone posted:It's Wired on one hand (which actually has been getting better in terms of publishing real articles), on the other it's FCA saving face. The one guy I've got arguing against it insists that it's impossible to possibly find these IP addresses without already having physical access to the vehicle. He also used the idea that it's okay to have console vulnerabilities unpatched because the servers are physically secured. Same way it's okay to leave CAN vulnerabilities because the radio isn't supposed to be able to be owned  If this was false, FCA would be all over the media denouncing this. Remember their first response to the NHTSA on the ZJ recall? If Sergio was willing to tell the feds to pound sand, the only way a couple hackers scare him is with a legit fear.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 04:21
|
|
|
I love/hate fixing trucks, and really half the hatred is my sadbrains talking and the other half is an inherent hatred I'd hold for my job no matter what my job was because "it's work". The money's pretty good (less annually than I made doing tires but a fuckton less hours) and there's still 2 raises between my current wage and journeyman rate. The conditions are better than in most of the other positions I've held. For all the similarities between an automotive service tech and a heavy equipment tech it's basically a whole different universe though. Flat rate techs don't exist because companies have actually universally accepted that a job can easily go sideways to the point where a half day job can take a week. Back injuries and the like are less common because a lot more poo poo is heavy enough to justify a crane/jack/second pair of hands. Safety is a lot higher up the list of priorities with HD too. And you've got a lot more choice in where you work, things like in-house fleet shops and service trucks aren't an option as an automotive guy (ok well the latter is possible if you work for Ferrari or Maybach), not to mention that with the ticket I'm working on I can go fix dozers, cranes, airport GSE, marine diesels, you name it. And trucks are different enough from cars that for the most part it doesn't feel like a grind keeping the automotive stuff as a hobby.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 04:26
|
|
|
Feel like I got a bit accomplished today. Saw my new doctor. Appointment at 8:00.... office manager shows up at 8:10, doctor walks in at 9:00. Seems like a typical doctor's office. My blood pressure was far higher than I expected - 172/109.  Doctor has doubled my dose of Lisinopril to 40mg; when I got home I took another 20mg (on top of the 20mg I had this morning, so 40mg total today, i.e. my new prescribed dose), and holy poo poo, that sapped the energy right out of me. Dr had blood drawn, and if (a) my kidneys aren't too trashed and (b) the extra Lisinopril doesn't bring down the blood pressure, she's going to double the beta blocker. One of her nurses couldn't hit a vein if it was hanging in front of her (though my veins are a bitch). Second nurse nailed it on the first try (and pretty drat painless, especially given the location), but it was in the hand, they were out of the smaller needles, and the vein wound up blowing out (that's when poo poo started hurting, but she'd already gotten enough blood when that happened). The rest of my veins are too scarred from the hospital visit to really use anytime soon.New doctor's office has an online patient portal - I can already see what tests the doctor has ordered. I can also see that they entered one of my meds wrong (dosage + frequency), though I have 3 weeks left of that med, and go back in 2 weeks to review the bloodwork. I'm sure there's going to be some OHHOLYSHIT about my liver levels, since I've been sober for less than a week (BAC at the hospital was over 0.30, and I felt almost sober.. nuff said). I'll probably be able to even see the lab results before the return visit. Went to talk to one of the outpatient programs recommended by the hospital I was in. Did an intake assessment, turns out two of the three meetings a week are at the same time as my classes were, so no tweaking my work schedule except for 1 day a week (though the ADA does cover seeking treatment for alcoholism and substance abuse anyway). They asked if I wanted to attend tonight's session, I said sure. I'm already over my out of pocket for the year on my insurance (or will be once the hospital submits their claim), so hopefully I won't have to pay my deductible every time I show up (24 sessions x $35/ea = ow).
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 04:29
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:A buddy of mine is a former service tech. He was barely clearing what I do per week and was working 10 hours more each pay period. So he quit back in March and took a month off to sort out his life. He just finished his first month at loving ALDI where he's making 17.50 an hour as the morning shift manager. Grocery store managers actually do make a decent wage; however, they also work like 60 hours a week so that becomes moot since they're salaried. e: being a shift manager (i.e. - no real responsibilities outside of the schedule) and working 40 hours a week isn't too bad; 36400 gross/yr isn't great, but it's workable.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 04:43
|
|
|
Phone posted:Grocery store managers actually do make a decent wage; however, they also work like 60 hours a week so that becomes moot since they're salaried. He was specifically looking for a non salaried gig. And he get some basic health coverage (no dental). And Sunday-Monday off. They're opening two more stores here and he's been bugging me to drop off a resume but for the most part my current gig isn't too bad.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 05:01
|
|
|
That sad moment where a Z I've known about for years come up for sale and you miss it, only to reappear a couple of weeks later with the new owner parting it out.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 05:54
|
|
|
You know you use the right mechanic when you call the shop to find that the staff has gone on summer vacation to do a 12 hour endurance race at Motegi (which is across the Pacific ocean from the shop)
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 06:03
|
|
|
Geirskogul posted:THE TIME IS AT HAND! Crap, this is what I get for not checking the thread for a couple days Don't suppose you're getting any more?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 06:08
|
|
|
Ether Frenzy posted:That's every industry in the US actually. Why pay to train the 50 year old guy who's been with the company for 20 years and makes a lot more than entry level when you can just pick from one of the 74 trillion new college graduates of the last 3 years who don't have a job and will work for pennies and pay for his training himself because he's so appreciative to have any job at all? This again and again. But this is why work is work. If it wasn't work, they'd call it happy fun jerk off time. Even a guy who loves his job hates it here and there. I've learned to hate my job but yell at managers that have no clue... It gives me a cheap thrill. So I get all my yelling and blood boiling done at work and on happy at home.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 06:11
|
|
|
blk posted:You know you use the right mechanic when you call the shop to find that the staff has gone on summer vacation to do a 12 hour endurance race at Motegi (which is across the Pacific ocean from the shop) The mechanic that's near me takes off time (i.e. closes the shop since it's just him and his brother usually) to go to Bonneville. Where he has accumulated 7 world records so far in cars made in that shop. I used to have any work I wasn't comfortable with on my old race car done there because he understood, made things work right, and was very fair on pricing. He welded a great custom exhaust on that car which had almost no ground clearance. There used to be a Youtube video of him crashing at about 275mph a few years back, but I can't find it now. He apparently welds good cages too, because he walked away from that. Injured, but walking.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 06:39
|
|
|
mafoose posted:That sad moment where a Z I've known about for years come up for sale and you miss it, only to reappear a couple of weeks later with the new owner parting it out. Sucks ... it wasn't a bright red one with rust and a ghetto turbo swap, was it? 
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 07:58
|
|
|
Ragnarok the Red posted:Crap, this is what I get for not checking the thread for a couple days Unfortunately, no. I had to smuggle 30 of them by hand from guantanamo back here. Of course, "smuggle" means "get questioned by TSA as to why I have 30 bottle openers, then let go when I said I had a lot of alcoholic friends," but still.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 07:59
|
|
|
Send a picture to china and you can have 10,000 on your doorstep in a week made out of genuine metal-like substance.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 08:40
|
|
|
Whenever people ask me why I didn't become a mechanic I tell them that it's fun to work on your own car but when you have to work on someone's 1989 Chevy Celebrity everyday it's not really that fun.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 09:30
|
|
|
kastein posted:Sucks Nope! Completely straight 240z, white, high end suspension, and an fj20 with a custom intake and exhaust manifold. I think it dyno'd 400ish a few years ago. E: oh snap I just realized what you were referring to... It's late, y'all are waking up to go to work and I'm barely walking in my front door.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 09:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 05:56 |
|
|
One of the ballasts in the light above my desk is going out...fucker is flickering like crazy and driving me insane. I was the only one here for a bit so I flipped them on/off again a bunch to see if I could make it blow but no luck. Lets see how long it take for me to get a massive headache from the flickering. Another flight upgraded for my trip, this one on the return leg. Tomorrow morning head to Omaha to race at Raceway Park of the Midlands (Mid America Motorplex), tempted to swing in to the hospital there where they did my transplant and see if I can run into any of the doctors in the cafeteria. Might just get in touch with the one that smokes cigars. Anyone in the Omaha area?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2015 12:41
|
|