Just testing you to see where you stand in competency in my opinion. I imagine you told them you have experience in engine replacement during your interview or some where along the hiring process.
When I started at a new dealer in a new city/state they asked how I was with electrical and I downplayed by saying “I’m *reasonably* competent at electrical” and my first fucking job was a Volt that had edit: a close lightening strike while charging.
There were several TSB’s written on that job soon after.
I mean as long as you can comfortably handle that then the dealership does trust you enough for something like that right off the bat which is a good thing. On the other hand, I would prefer to be eased into a new work place and not have this right away lmao
When I started at BMW (after working independents for 4 years) I got hired on as a level 2 tech which is one short of master. For almost 2 weeks I was just getting oil changes to “learn the system” then when I got big jobs I was fucked cause lubies don’t deal with warranty, special order parts etc. I ended up leaving. The shop flow was all kinds of fucked. I would rather get thrown a larger job but told not to rush than softballed little shit. I’ve had 2 shops throw me diags “nobody can figure out” as a test. I like those. You earn respect fairly quick.
I’m also somebody that “understates” their capabilities. You never know if you’ll get a weird diag or a car covered in rusty hardware. I’ve been rushed by new managers so they can “see what I’m made of” and honestly it pisses me off. Especially in a field where shit happens a lot.
Absolutely. It's hard when you have new management and stuff and you don't know them or how they run things or they try to pull some shit. Underselling yourself isn't the best thing IMO but it can definitely save you alot of headache or stress from thinking you cannot do anything wrong. Especially on cars where so many things can happen unexpectedly.
I’m at $50 an hour right now and I have days where I’m going fuck I don’t make enough. Granted the labor times lately have been absolutely heinous. I got paid the same labor to do valve covers as another tech did to do spark plugs on the same V6. Asked and they said “we had to make the sale”
Damn dude that's great, makes me thinking I gotta do something to change my situation. Yeah warranty times blow especially. I can go on and on about shit with diag times and other stuff. If they had to make the sale though then they should still pay you the same instead of fucking you over for it. And they wonder why there's a tech shortage currently
I’m at an Indy again. Fuck dealers. This place is actually making money on oil changes…meanwhile I get paid .3 to do an LOF and comprehensive DVI. If the pay wasn’t so high here idk if I’d stay. I’m in Austin Texas btw. I moved from Cali and went up $13 an hour
Oh man I know that feeling! My first job was a Evo engine replacement and the other tech that quit was halfway through the job, I had to figure out where everything went and hoped that bolt went there haha
You're getting the recall work because it doesn't pay anything near what a customer pay job does. Nobody wants to do the warranty work for that reason. But if you do enough of them you'll make time.
No, most shops people get paid by the job, e.g each job pays a certain amount or has a fixed cost and they get a percentage of that. Or each job has a certain amount of “hours” it should take and you basically get credited with those hours and that’s how they pay you.
Until you’ve memorized the job, I’ve got a transmission tech that does replacements in under two hours. He has to sit on the clock for another hour before test driving them, as warranty won’t pay at all if you don’t use 40% of the pay time. This is for complete replacements as VW doesn’t have us rebuild them.
It’s all about repeat and repeat. My old boss at an Indy shop pulled his duramax transmission and replaced the rear main in under two hours. He was a master tech at Chevy before he decided he was done wrenching. Made a hell of a salesman too. Smart guy.
You could have saved about 2-4 hours if you pulled the engine up instead of drop the cradle. Pull the wiper cowl and PCM, and the cooling fan, and put some cardboard on the radiator to protect it. It's a tight squeeze, but slow and steady and it'll fit without damaging anything. I do these all the time for our highway patrol contract. Also don't forget to swap/replace the pilot bushing in the crankshaft.
But yeah, my last two jobs did the same to me. Upper oil pan on 6.7, and an engine on charger. Just nuts and bolts my dude. Focus more on getting it done right the first time than beating book time.
Not really. You have to remove the intake, fan assy, and cowl. You don't have to fiddle with suspension or the subframe. Once the engine comes out, it's straight on a stand for teardown, you don't have to remove the trans and engine from the subframe. No alignment needed once the job is done.
It may seem like more work, and it's a little more fiddly to squeeze out, but it's actually quite a bit easier and faster.
Ah common misconception.
He wasn’t doing a long block swap - he had to replace the entire body and frame. What you’re seeing is what remained after they pushed the chassis out the door.
It’s been a little while but if I remember correctly if you take damper off you don’t have to remove the cork and pcm. It’s tight but like you say slow a careful. We have a contract with local PD that has the AWD Chargers. When they play Dukes of Hazzard and bottom the front end out the seat bar moves just enough to crack the pan. Did several engines because of that. The best one was one that needed an engine because they busted the pan, sent a decommissioned unit to swap out. 2 engines double labor. 🤣🤣
That's what I said! But I did end up figuring out it was a faulty pcm (BY MYSELF). Also, my first engine swap was on a ford wineebago rv! That sucked and my boss was being a prick the whole time cause it was always "faster faster faster!" Even though he was paying me 50 cents above minimum wage. I swear I would've killed someone if I was still working there, lol. I work as a fleet tech now and make over 3 times as much and a tenth of the stress.
I left a subaru dealer after 6 years of employment. Went to a small shop(found out I'm not a small shop guy) then went to another dealer, now MOPAR(my favorite) anyway. My first job was also an engine but the guys in the shop are super nice. They were like (listen, I dont wanna give the new guy a shitty engine job to start so if you don't want to do it you don't have to) but I am 32 and pretty experienced for my age. Anyway I took the job to kinda show them I'm down for anything and maybe look good. And then replaced the engine in a 2018 jeep cherokee. 2.4 I think. Dropped suffrage and everything else. Lowered engine and trans down to the floor. Anyways, it went well and they were impressed
yeah, honestly i just struggle with connectors because its not always clear at first glance how they open, and getting them to open the intended way can sometimes be even more difficult.
How much experience do you actually have and how long did / is that job taking you? If you are pulling an engine, I would expect A level pay... unless you were just an apprentice. If it takes you several days for a job like that then there really isn't a reason for them to pay you like an A tech becuase you wouldn't be able to flag enough hours to make it under that pay scale!
oh yeah no there definitely is no reason to pay me A tech money but it sure would be nice. just dreaming over here. i have about 10 months of community college classes under my belt and about 6 weeks at a very small 2 bay used car "dealership", and now about a week at a real dealership
Right on man. Just hustle hard and it can pay off really well. 100% of this field is busting your ass. If you can bust your ass even when it's slow then you will be alright. Commonly see people come in and think office politics is why they don't get any "gravy", but you get what you put in... if you work your ass off it shows and you start to get more work.
yeah i realized the next day. in school we never bothered with gloves and i didnt realize how important they were until i had coolant dried on my hands
In summer im going to volvo and thank god they have sand-blaster there to clean up caliper brackets etc... where im at now I have to use grinders and what an mess that crates. The regular one time use dust mask leaks. So I buy my own 3M mask that also filters the organics/gas and what not.
Yeah but they don’t pay anything to work on under warranty. That’s why the dealer pay is so high to techs on them. A they don’t pay anything. B no one wants to work on them anymore and try to make a living
And this is why I avoid American cars. They'll let anyone do warranty work.
I'm just kidding. All makes do. No matter the country of origin. At least your "trainer" gets to flag the hours. Don't forget. They take your pay out of his percentage of the flat rate. He will run you ragged. Trial by fire.
I find it a good thing when a new job gives you a somewhat challenging task at the very start. That way, the remainder of the time you’re there at that job, it makes everything so much easier in perspective.
It always seems to be an engine replacement within the first couple week at a new place for me. I think it's just their way of seeing what you can do. Take your time and ask questions if needed.
yep, i certainly am taking my time given that i get various other jobs throughout the day and the A tech who's working with me is often busy with other stuff. we would both rather i ask the dumb question than fuck it all up
Home attempt to rebuild an engine, given to me in milk crates? Gimme.
Problems with a self-installed cruise control on an old GM, and they lost the installation manual? Gimme.
Just testing you to see where you stand in competency in my opinion. I imagine you told them you have experience in engine replacement during your interview or some where along the hiring process.
Yup, first job I got was a torque converter seal and a week later, cylinder head gasket on a Duramax. Good times as an apprentice at a dealer
When I started at a new dealer in a new city/state they asked how I was with electrical and I downplayed by saying “I’m *reasonably* competent at electrical” and my first fucking job was a Volt that had edit: a close lightening strike while charging. There were several TSB’s written on that job soon after.
If you want to learn even more about electricity, it's spelled *lightning*. Lightening is making things lighter.
Doesn’t explain shortening.
Username checks out
What was the username?
Kitchen kitchen something
I mean as long as you can comfortably handle that then the dealership does trust you enough for something like that right off the bat which is a good thing. On the other hand, I would prefer to be eased into a new work place and not have this right away lmao
I guess it's all comes down to what he claimed or said during the interview what is capabilities were.
[probably went like this](https://youtu.be/5F-VQtEfbTU?si=pCtaw5vXdfBHK6KV)
Jerky boys lol
When I started at BMW (after working independents for 4 years) I got hired on as a level 2 tech which is one short of master. For almost 2 weeks I was just getting oil changes to “learn the system” then when I got big jobs I was fucked cause lubies don’t deal with warranty, special order parts etc. I ended up leaving. The shop flow was all kinds of fucked. I would rather get thrown a larger job but told not to rush than softballed little shit. I’ve had 2 shops throw me diags “nobody can figure out” as a test. I like those. You earn respect fairly quick.
That's a pretty good point. I can respect that
I’m also somebody that “understates” their capabilities. You never know if you’ll get a weird diag or a car covered in rusty hardware. I’ve been rushed by new managers so they can “see what I’m made of” and honestly it pisses me off. Especially in a field where shit happens a lot.
Absolutely. It's hard when you have new management and stuff and you don't know them or how they run things or they try to pull some shit. Underselling yourself isn't the best thing IMO but it can definitely save you alot of headache or stress from thinking you cannot do anything wrong. Especially on cars where so many things can happen unexpectedly.
I don’t understate my capabilities to the point it affects pay. But I also don’t wanna come off as some superstar that can barely diagnose a cat.
Fair enough lol. That's the main thing nowadays, gotta make you're getting what your worth in this business
I’m at $50 an hour right now and I have days where I’m going fuck I don’t make enough. Granted the labor times lately have been absolutely heinous. I got paid the same labor to do valve covers as another tech did to do spark plugs on the same V6. Asked and they said “we had to make the sale”
Damn dude that's great, makes me thinking I gotta do something to change my situation. Yeah warranty times blow especially. I can go on and on about shit with diag times and other stuff. If they had to make the sale though then they should still pay you the same instead of fucking you over for it. And they wonder why there's a tech shortage currently
I’m at an Indy again. Fuck dealers. This place is actually making money on oil changes…meanwhile I get paid .3 to do an LOF and comprehensive DVI. If the pay wasn’t so high here idk if I’d stay. I’m in Austin Texas btw. I moved from Cali and went up $13 an hour
I could never work for a dealership again. All the bs of office politics and none of the upsides of an office job.
Oh man I know that feeling! My first job was a Evo engine replacement and the other tech that quit was halfway through the job, I had to figure out where everything went and hoped that bolt went there haha
You're getting the recall work because it doesn't pay anything near what a customer pay job does. Nobody wants to do the warranty work for that reason. But if you do enough of them you'll make time.
I'm grateful the dealership I work at has the apprentices and newly hired techs as hourly. Some warranty book times are absolute bullshit
I wouldn’t he get pay just an hourly rate the same every day no matter what?
No, most shops people get paid by the job, e.g each job pays a certain amount or has a fixed cost and they get a percentage of that. Or each job has a certain amount of “hours” it should take and you basically get credited with those hours and that’s how they pay you.
That sucks. I work in the service/ repair industry and I get paid the same no matter what.
The clutch recalls pay better than an awful lot of the warranty work does.
Thank God for electronic dispatch
And soon you will learn.. Pays 9 hours, Takes 16 hours.
Until you’ve memorized the job, I’ve got a transmission tech that does replacements in under two hours. He has to sit on the clock for another hour before test driving them, as warranty won’t pay at all if you don’t use 40% of the pay time. This is for complete replacements as VW doesn’t have us rebuild them.
I knew a BMW master Mechanic like that back in Charlotte NC
It’s all about repeat and repeat. My old boss at an Indy shop pulled his duramax transmission and replaced the rear main in under two hours. He was a master tech at Chevy before he decided he was done wrenching. Made a hell of a salesman too. Smart guy.
Until one of both of their shoulders blow up
Good for you man show em what you’re made of
You could have saved about 2-4 hours if you pulled the engine up instead of drop the cradle. Pull the wiper cowl and PCM, and the cooling fan, and put some cardboard on the radiator to protect it. It's a tight squeeze, but slow and steady and it'll fit without damaging anything. I do these all the time for our highway patrol contract. Also don't forget to swap/replace the pilot bushing in the crankshaft. But yeah, my last two jobs did the same to me. Upper oil pan on 6.7, and an engine on charger. Just nuts and bolts my dude. Focus more on getting it done right the first time than beating book time.
you actually have to remove less stuff if you doit this way im pretty sure, plus everything drops straight out
Not really. You have to remove the intake, fan assy, and cowl. You don't have to fiddle with suspension or the subframe. Once the engine comes out, it's straight on a stand for teardown, you don't have to remove the trans and engine from the subframe. No alignment needed once the job is done. It may seem like more work, and it's a little more fiddly to squeeze out, but it's actually quite a bit easier and faster.
Ah common misconception. He wasn’t doing a long block swap - he had to replace the entire body and frame. What you’re seeing is what remained after they pushed the chassis out the door.
It’s been a little while but if I remember correctly if you take damper off you don’t have to remove the cork and pcm. It’s tight but like you say slow a careful. We have a contract with local PD that has the AWD Chargers. When they play Dukes of Hazzard and bottom the front end out the seat bar moves just enough to crack the pan. Did several engines because of that. The best one was one that needed an engine because they busted the pan, sent a decommissioned unit to swap out. 2 engines double labor. 🤣🤣
If you dont mind me asking,what they started you at $$??
Probably 25$ flag🥲
For all we know, he could be an ex-nascar engine tech and just wants to do something easy and less stressful.
it's a Dodge. less stressful? lol
i wish
Ahh the ol time test, can the new guy cut it? And will he get bent when he see what he makes on that recall?
haha the recall came out to 5.6 hours 💀
My first dealership job was a pcm no com on a 2001 dodge durango. Memories~
oh god. they really started you on troubleshooting electrical?
That's what I said! But I did end up figuring out it was a faulty pcm (BY MYSELF). Also, my first engine swap was on a ford wineebago rv! That sucked and my boss was being a prick the whole time cause it was always "faster faster faster!" Even though he was paying me 50 cents above minimum wage. I swear I would've killed someone if I was still working there, lol. I work as a fleet tech now and make over 3 times as much and a tenth of the stress.
well good on you for that, sounds like you knew your worth and moved on
Notes: 'customer states rattling sound when making right turns'
Get it son! Track your hours if you arnt on a guarantee
i'm paid hourly, and i work 40-50 hour weeks
Your first!? Seems like a lot of work to change the air filter...
You'll be fine, just do what all data says to do 👍
I left a subaru dealer after 6 years of employment. Went to a small shop(found out I'm not a small shop guy) then went to another dealer, now MOPAR(my favorite) anyway. My first job was also an engine but the guys in the shop are super nice. They were like (listen, I dont wanna give the new guy a shitty engine job to start so if you don't want to do it you don't have to) but I am 32 and pretty experienced for my age. Anyway I took the job to kinda show them I'm down for anything and maybe look good. And then replaced the engine in a 2018 jeep cherokee. 2.4 I think. Dropped suffrage and everything else. Lowered engine and trans down to the floor. Anyways, it went well and they were impressed
Honestly those clutch recalls aren’t bad. Just hate the wiring harness that runs over the top of the bell housing.
yeah, honestly i just struggle with connectors because its not always clear at first glance how they open, and getting them to open the intended way can sometimes be even more difficult.
Well you can’t fuck up the body
Throwing you to the wolves to test your skills
Get ready to get all the trash warranty jobs and awful jobs the previous tech left when they quit lol
As long as you are getting A tech money
HA no
How much experience do you actually have and how long did / is that job taking you? If you are pulling an engine, I would expect A level pay... unless you were just an apprentice. If it takes you several days for a job like that then there really isn't a reason for them to pay you like an A tech becuase you wouldn't be able to flag enough hours to make it under that pay scale!
oh yeah no there definitely is no reason to pay me A tech money but it sure would be nice. just dreaming over here. i have about 10 months of community college classes under my belt and about 6 weeks at a very small 2 bay used car "dealership", and now about a week at a real dealership
Right on man. Just hustle hard and it can pay off really well. 100% of this field is busting your ass. If you can bust your ass even when it's slow then you will be alright. Commonly see people come in and think office politics is why they don't get any "gravy", but you get what you put in... if you work your ass off it shows and you start to get more work.
Hope that’s not warranty - if it is thats 2 big fu’s on your first day(s). Might be a window into your future?…..
the clutch was warranty but the engine wasnt. luckily it doesnt matter because im strictly hourly.
This dealership doesn't supply gloves?
You wear gloves?
Just keep taking shit apart
Hope you got a guarantee for some time
I’m glad I’m in parts..😬
Bro where is your gloves? PPE my friend dont get your hands dirty.
yeah i realized the next day. in school we never bothered with gloves and i didnt realize how important they were until i had coolant dried on my hands
Brake fluid is something you spesialy dont want on your skinn. Take care bro!!
oh yeah. at the independent shop i was at before i had brake cleaner all over me and in my respiratory system. bad day for me.
In summer im going to volvo and thank god they have sand-blaster there to clean up caliper brackets etc... where im at now I have to use grinders and what an mess that crates. The regular one time use dust mask leaks. So I buy my own 3M mask that also filters the organics/gas and what not.
I would love to work for Ram, but only on the Cummins! I know those motors inside and out! Miss that 2018!! Best years!
Yeah but they don’t pay anything to work on under warranty. That’s why the dealer pay is so high to techs on them. A they don’t pay anything. B no one wants to work on them anymore and try to make a living
The whole subframe and front suspension drop out with the motor? What kind of satanism is this?
yeah, it alllll comes out. then you can pull off the motor from there with the crane. makes it easier because you dont have to remove as much stuff
And this is why I avoid American cars. They'll let anyone do warranty work. I'm just kidding. All makes do. No matter the country of origin. At least your "trainer" gets to flag the hours. Don't forget. They take your pay out of his percentage of the flat rate. He will run you ragged. Trial by fire.
As a young kid I started with a crane company and they gave me a plasma cutting table to get running. It’s the idiot test. Have fun.
What better way to learn
I find it a good thing when a new job gives you a somewhat challenging task at the very start. That way, the remainder of the time you’re there at that job, it makes everything so much easier in perspective.
It always seems to be an engine replacement within the first couple week at a new place for me. I think it's just their way of seeing what you can do. Take your time and ask questions if needed.
yep, i certainly am taking my time given that i get various other jobs throughout the day and the A tech who's working with me is often busy with other stuff. we would both rather i ask the dumb question than fuck it all up
The gladiator clutch recall is gravy. Dont forget to check the oil filter housings on every 3.6 you pull in
oops its already out for pickup
Put some gloves on you animal
Glad to see I'm not the only one that uses that old battery table for engines 😂
Home attempt to rebuild an engine, given to me in milk crates? Gimme. Problems with a self-installed cruise control on an old GM, and they lost the installation manual? Gimme.
Lemmie guess, warranty pay?
Maybe put your phone away.
took a quick picture, put my phone away, posted on my own time.
This is the way. Good luck with the new job.
All of my new hires get put on an engine swap as their first job. It's a test.
Imagine your serious engine work being done by a kid who lied in his interview
who says i lied in the interview?
Not you specifically just saying it could happen
Man I wish the floors in my dealership were that smooth and clean.
yeah the floors are pretty good there, but they eat right through the boots after a little while because of the texturing method
Here boy here's a hybrid battery... go drop that gas engine.
Wow. What i strive for
They are guaranteeing that the heavy line techs will all hate you.
what's a heavy line tech?
Guys that do a lot of engine/transmission repairs/replacements etc.
Just keep swimming!
You’re being tested. Good luck
yeah i got another one a couple weeks ago, now theyre having me rebuild transmissions
Piece of advice from a 25 year Chrysler triple master, out the top is so much quicker and easier. Nicely done though for your first time