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Good healthy carnage

Coaldust

Coaldust

Senior Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
6,095
Location
Subarctic Backwoods Trailer Park
Occupation
Big trucks is what I know. HAZMAT is what I tow.
The carelessness never ends. Just a constant stream of inexperienced, inconsequential, so called truck mechanics, gracing the dealerships today. This hub was serviced by a dealership up north and the wheels fell the F off by the time it made it to Cantwell.

Should the driver caught it before the wheels launched into the tundra? Maybe. Should’ve would’ve. Shame on the mess.


IMG_8452.jpeg
 
Truck Shop

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
25,405
Location
WWW.
Coaldust said:
The trailer looks like an iceberg with tail lights, dark, blowing snow and the road is rough. The driver didn’t notice anything at his Healy walk around/pee break, but yeah.
That would have been hard to miss.
Click to expand...
I have to add there Coaldust---just 6 weeks ago one of my old companies {brand new 2025 Cascadia's}
was on it's maiden voyage, driver just moved his stuff from old ride to the new. He left the company
yard and made it exactly 28 miles before the left drop axle {tire & wheel & hub} shot off hitting the
quarter panel of a on coming car just before Wallula Junction. The right side was still hot to the touch
when I got there 45 minutes later, {old boss called and wanted me to go look at it}. It made it
through the Hendrickson factory, Freightliner assembly plant, the Freightliner dealer that ordered it,
Penske FHWA inspection, and the company flunky that adds tire chains and is suppose to give it
a go over.
*
Five different facilities and not a one checked the drop axle hub oil levels or even filled on build.
The driver never heard a thing he said--as he was walking around with his ear buds in.
*
Everyone is in a hurry--you know time is money----the dumbest statement there is.
 
T

TVA

Senior Member
Joined
May 14, 2018
Messages
2,862
Location
USA
DMiller said:
Yea they do and yea they still Fk it up.
Click to expand...
It seems as dealerships can’t do anything correct these days.

Every mechanic I know, that worth anything, ( and there’s not much of them around), and used to work for dealers - eventually leave.

Just last Saturday, I vent to local Freightliner/Western Star dealer. After noon they were the only ones open. Needed a piece of 1/2 airline for the triple axle equipment trailer.
There was only one parts guy there. He had no slightest idea what is “1/2 inch DOT airline”, and “compression connector for it” sounded like something they say at pharmacy convention to him!
I asked him “do you only carry push-in connectors? ” - he didn’t know what I was talking about!!!

There was a pair of pigtail hoses laying on the counter, eventually conversation turned to “you mean like those”, I said “yes, but straight, not coiled”.
Still he goes “what is that VIN number”?!

Craaaap!!! They don’t know nothing without computers and VIN numbers these days!!!
And he is about 40 years old, parts guy at major truck dealer! And he have no clue what is DOT airline, and what types of connectors used with it!

Ended up scrounging for pieces of airline in my shop, found 6’ of 3/8. Went to Home Depot and bought 1/2 to 3/8 connectors, and fixed the darned trailer.

And I don’t even know what to blame the whole situation on - massive illegal drug use, or overwhelming amounts of cases of infants getting dropped on their heads!!!
 
sfrs4

sfrs4

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
878
Location
Great Britian
Occupation
parts admin
TVA said:
It seems as dealerships can’t do anything correct these days.

Every mechanic I know, that worth anything, ( and there’s not much of them around), and used to work for dealers - eventually leave.

Just last Saturday, I vent to local Freightliner/Western Star dealer. After noon they were the only ones open. Needed a piece of 1/2 airline for the triple axle equipment trailer.
There was only one parts guy there. He had no slightest idea what is “1/2 inch DOT airline”, and “compression connector for it” sounded like something they say at pharmacy convention to him!
I asked him “do you only carry push-in connectors? ” - he didn’t know what I was talking about!!!

There was a pair of pigtail hoses laying on the counter, eventually conversation turned to “you mean like those”, I said “yes, but straight, not coiled”.
Still he goes “what is that VIN number”?!

Craaaap!!! They don’t know nothing without computers and VIN numbers these days!!!
And he is about 40 years old, parts guy at major truck dealer! And he have no clue what is DOT airline, and what types of connectors used with it!

Ended up scrounging for pieces of airline in my shop, found 6’ of 3/8. Went to Home Depot and bought 1/2 to 3/8 connectors, and fixed the darned trailer.

And I don’t even know what to blame the whole situation on - massive illegal drug use, or overwhelming amounts of cases of infants getting dropped on their heads!!!
Click to expand...

Blame it on the companies, all they want is profit, not good staff, this started 15 years ago when the then through flow of school/university leavers taught in the everyone got a participation medal ideology came straight into management because they had a " degree " they are also so self confident and think no one is as good as them and everyone else is replaceable.
Vtecs thread is all the proof you need of that. people of our generation who know their worth won't stop where they're not appreciated, and this goes for all staff admin, parts guy's, mechanics etc, all get the **** end of the stick and move on, while the problem stays in management because the one and only thing they are good at is bullsh!t and blaming others.
 
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donkey doctor

donkey doctor

Senior Member
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
510
Location
Ladysmith bc canada
Occupation
retired
Our parts guys were good. It helped that we were a manufacturer so they had to know what things were so they could put together an issue when a work center on the floor wanted it. They had their book with each issue for each center that was put up on a pallet or in a large create and delivered to the floor c/w a list of what was there and notes of an shortages. Worked extremely well. When we went on a field service call the service manager did a parts list for the job to which the service tech could add extras and heaven help the parts guy if you were on top of a mountain up some inlet in the middle of the night with the wrong parts. d.d.
 
Truck Shop

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
25,405
Location
WWW.
Well ---there is always a couple/three sides to what goes on in shop/parts house.
Unfortunately there are just as many mechanics that can't explain what they are
after either--so you end up with two standing at parts counter with a huge question
mark above their heads-blind leading the blind.
If I have or had a counter man that was slightly clueless--{can you spin that monitor
around-or do you have any old paper books with show and tell}. I will gladly walk back
/down the parts aisles, lead them to the part, then explain the different varieties that
grew from the same stalk of corn. At the local NAPA store I have been asked I don't
know how many times for help to find a odd part for a customer, especially Ford parts
years back. I have even had them call me at the old shop for help trying to figure out
some odd ball obsolete air brake or air valve related part, because they knew I had
old picture parts books going back to the 70's.
If your dealing with a young guy behind the counter----be easy on them because in
many cases it's easy to intimidate them in front of other customers. And one thing
this OLD HARD ASS remembers--is being intimidated by old shop hands. It's not fun
for them feel like a idiot-no one likes it, But you will gain a friend at the parts counter
when you take the time to help them, and it makes them feel better about coming
to work trying to help others just like you. Your Teaching.
*
We were all green as a gourd at some point.
 
T

TVA

Senior Member
Joined
May 14, 2018
Messages
2,862
Location
USA
Truck Shop said:
Well ---there is always a couple/three sides to what goes on in shop/parts house.
Unfortunately there are just as many mechanics that can't explain what they are
after either--so you end up with two standing at parts counter with a huge question
mark above their heads-blind leading the blind.
If I have or had a counter man that was slightly clueless--{can you spin that monitor
around-or do you have any old paper books with show and tell}. I will gladly walk back
/down the parts aisles, lead them to the part, then explain the different varieties that
grew from the same stalk of corn. At the local NAPA store I have been asked I don't
know how many times for help to find a odd part for a customer, especially Ford parts
years back. I have even had them call me at the old shop for help trying to figure out
some odd ball obsolete air brake or air valve related part, because they knew I had
old picture parts books going back to the 70's.
If your dealing with a young guy behind the counter----be easy on them because in
many cases it's easy to intimidate them in front of other customers. And one thing
this OLD HARD ASS remembers--is being intimidated by old shop hands. It's not fun
for them feel like a idiot-no one likes it, But you will gain a friend at the parts counter
when you take the time to help them, and it makes them feel better about coming
to work trying to help others just like you. Your Teaching.
*
We were all green as a gourd at some point.
Click to expand...
Well! I do go behind the counter and stick my finger in to screen most of the times.
What I didn’t mention ( because it was not really that important) - that guy was condescending and rude from the get go!!!
And what truck dealer wouldn’t know what DOT airline is?!?! And even after him asking me about the “pig tail” hoses, and me saying “yes, like that - only straight” - what else the person wit two brain cells will need more?!?!

Are you sure you’ve read what have written?!

Should I take offence in your trying to blame me, and what exactly are you trying to blame me for ?! Being bad mechanic, or not being descriptive ore eloquent enough, for todays “less than bright” parts people?!?!
I’ll go even further: if you care - call Beard Equipment in Mobile AL, ask them is Vlad descriptive enough when he comes for parts, because I’ve been behind the counter with each one of them, sticking fingers in the screen, even going together to the section in JD parts system where you select parts by dimensions, and I’ve never had any bad attitude or anything like that, because parts is difficult to find.
And JD system is not like CAT, especially on “green” side. Where same serial number can be five different sets of parts, and I will not tell you which combination is in the machine you working on.
 
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