No longer just an oil changer

[srmitchell]

Hey guys. Talked to a lot of you at Sierrafest and how I have been working for the Jeep dealer in Eureka as a lube tech... That is finally changing.
My boss is awesome and 2 days ago I explained to him that I was totally sick of changing oil on 2500/3500 diesels all day... He suprised me and told me that I am being replaced and moved into tech status.
I believe the position will be labeled as apprentice technician, it also means I have to start buying tools. So if you know anyone who has some Snap-on air tools or the like, please let me know. I refuse to be one of those kids who goes out and drops $5000 on a set of Snap on everything- We had an apprentice tech who was from UTI, had a full set of new tools, but he sucked at his job, had no work ethic and we fired him. Haha

It will be nice to get factory training on the stuff we all like to do... I will be focusing on chassis, driveline and suspension.

To new beginnings....
Columbus

 

[the_weirdo]

Congrats. Now change my oil.

 

[GordoSmasho]

Nice man. congrats

 

[hiimmred]

congratulations Sean!

 

[srmitchell]

Congrats. Now change my oil.

Filling it with ATF

 

[Rob D]

Filling it with ATF

Might be an improvement in those cold NW winter days...

But seriously, congrats Sean. You just need to go help Tim move his shop full of tools and...

 

[srmitchell]

I think he should probably hook it up with a 1/2" drive torque wrench, 1/2" impact and an air rachet...

 

[sdspearo]

Hey Sean, way to go on the promo!

I remember you talking about the old railroad and mining history and cool places to check out up near Truckee. If you ever get a trip going, keep me in mind.

 

[XJensen]

Congrats Sean. Hard Work Pays Off, SometimeS You Just Need To voice It To Speed Up The process

 

[Cubbetm]

Congrats. Buy a GOOD set of hand tools. Snap on is what I choose. For the rest of your weekly use tools use good brand tools but not necessarily snap on. Don't buy anything Matco, just get online and find the people that actually make the tools. It'll be way cheaper but you need to pay in full vs weekly. If you do a snap on account pay your weekly payments on time for 1-2 months then hit them HARD. Double payments when you can. It'll improve your credit greatly.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Congrats!

I would go for one of the IR 2135Ti 1/2" impacts. Maybe their 3/8".
Ebay always has tons of stuff, sometimes can be had very inexpensive.
For tq wrench, definitely pick up something quality from one of the Toy trucks.
For wrenches, craftsman professional line, gear wrench, etc. is fine.
The pro sockets are fine, including impact sockets. But Snap-on, sk, etc are better.
It is always good to have backups of sockets and such as well, and this can obviously be pricey with snap-on so craftsman for 2nd/back ups are fine.
Not sure what you already have tool box/cart wise. But, I definitely recommend a nice cart.

 

[#S194]

Congrats man!

 

[blondejoncherokee]

congrats

 

[Ivan]

Congrats Sean!!!

At least now if I ever do bring my XJ in for servicing, I'll have a better idea of who the wrench-jockey is :viking:

 

[torque062]

Re: Re: No longer just an oil changer

Congrats. Buy a GOOD set of hand tools. Snap on is what I choose. For the rest of your weekly use tools use good brand tools but not necessarily snap on. Don't buy anything Matco, just get online and find the people that actually make the tools. It'll be way cheaper but you need to pay in full vs weekly. If you do a snap on account pay your weekly payments on time for 1-2 months then hit them HARD. Double payments when you can. It'll improve your credit greatly.

What do you have against Matco?

 

[Cubbetm]

It's all rebranded tools with the advantage of weekly payments. Just like bluepoint snap on tools. Its cheaper to just buy tools from other sources (knipex pliers, gearwrench wrenches, etc)

 

[Bryan C.]

Congrats, you will be hacking up some 3.6L heads in no time.

My own bit of advice is to buy quality air tools (sooner than later) and learn how to use them properly. Snap-on is my air tool of choice, for a fraction of the cost of a new tool you can have the snap on air tool stuff rebuilt. Oh, and buy the big expensive snap-on air ratchet right away that thing is a beast.


I also agree with staying away from Matco brand sockets, ratchets, and extensions. They are all overpriced rebranded Craftsman tools. The rest of their stuff is OK.

 

[831_xj]

Dude congrats that's so rad. I'm jealous.

 

[twinhauler]

Congrats buddy. Happy wrenching

 

[yossarian19]

I got my ASE certs but wasn't a good fit in my auto tech job. Here's what I learned from it:
Buy snap-on, Mac, Matco, Knipex, Irwin, Craftsman Professional / Full Polish (Ordinary "craftsman" impact sockets are great too), Gear Wrench is decent too. Buy this stuff off Ebay lightly used whenever possible.
Don't go nuts with air tools. Any time you save on a job goes *right* the F out the window the first time you break or cross thread a bolt. Speed comes from repetition and organization - not putting air tools everywhere you can fit them.
Don't be afraid to ask for help from the techs around you. Some will be dicks, others won't. Nobody wants to see you break / ruin parts or have comebacks on account of being proud, though.
Keep track of your mistakes and try to identify when / how they happened. There is precious little room for error in this profession and you need to learn from things as quick as you can.
Stay off the tool trucks if you at all can, and buy your tool box from Harbor Freight. You will never make enough to justify paying tool-truck prices & finance charges on this crap. Once you start making good money and can feel free to include tools in your "fun" budget, do whatever you want, but early on - this stuff has to pay for itself.
And, dunno if this needs to be said (but I didn't realize it) but organization is huge. Guys do things different ways but if you're like me, you need to keep a clean work space & know where each and every part, socket & quart of oil belongs. It keeps you from missing crap on the job.
Oh - and don't *ever* just hand-tighten a single bolt. Sub assemblies, everything gets started before anything is torqued. A single bolt is tightened right away - don't walk away, don't think about it, don't leave things loose.
Some of this may be redundant but I learned it all the hard way.
best of luck, have fun.
Congrats.