There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[OR VietVet]

Maybe a paycheck again at 71 years old:

Well, surprise surprise, does not look like I am going to go work at the shop that my friend is half owner in. It looks like they may be expanding to a bigger shop and they will want a full time line tech and I don't want that. Initially that situation was for some tech work and some advisor work, I wanted just part time. All good and no hard feelings.

BUT, today I got a notice from Indeed, from a shop owner that I had interviewed at for a full time service advisor job about 5 months ago. We had a good interview and he knew all the shops I had managed before and was aware of me in the local industry. His ad back then had stated that the pay scale was $40k to $55k a year. He asked how much I would work for and I told him that the $55k was it. He balked and I reminded him of my many years of experience and if I did not measure up after 60 days, let me go. He said he would think about it. Needless to say, after all this time and seeing the ad at Indeed go away and then come back I assumed he hired someone and they did not work out. He reached out thru Indeed and asked to see me again. I looked up his ad at Indeed and the pay scale is now $50k to $60k. I am supposed to call him some time this morning and he wants to talk to me again. I am going to stick to my $55k pay scale and see what he says. I would not be by myself. He is the owner and writes service too and has an office manager lady that helps with the flow and paperwork. I did not know before but he has added some more lifts and now has 18 bays. He even has lifts for larger commercial trucks and motorhomes. If I was going to be doing any tech work at the other shop, I wanted only part time but as a full fledged service advisor, I can do the full time.

 

[OR VietVet]

Went and spent two hours at the shop. The hours total each day is 11 to 11 1/2 easy. First in and last out. Has a mouthy tech that acts like a prima donna. The neighborhood is cluttered with homeless that sometimes roam the vehicle lot. I told him I am gonna pass.

Recent downtown park closure has moved a bunch of homeless to other areas and it is very cluttered now.

 

[OR VietVet]

As I have warned here, I am trying to spiffy up my girl's 1990 K2500 and today I took off the old side moldings. The ones that had the silver stripe at the top of the molding strip. It also had the 2500 on it just below the mirrors. The new all black moldings don't have the hole cut in them to allow for the clips to install new 2500 emblems with the 2 tabs on the back that would push in to the clips and hold in place. Gonna get two of the flat back stick on 2500 emblems and attach in the small indented area above the side molding. here are the pics of the driver's side with the old moldings gone and the old adhesive ground off with a 3M wheel in the drill. Still have to wash and rub down and clean thoroughly and install the new black moldings.

 

[OR VietVet]

Installed new all black side moldings on my girl's 1990 K2500 today:

 

[OR VietVet]

 

[the 18th letter]

Where’d you get the molding? I actually painted my chrome, on the top of molding, black to look like that but now that’s it’s chipping I might as well just replace it.

 

[OR VietVet]

Where’d you get the molding? I actually painted my chrome, on the top of molding, black to look like that but now that’s it’s chipping I might as well just replace it.

LMC Truck, out of Lenexa KS. $130 plus shipping. Get a 3M adhesive removal wheel and mount in a drill and it works real good. There is also a can of 3M spray adhesive remover for cleaning up after and then use some 91% alcohol to do a final cleaning and use the old lines to center up the new molding and the surface needs to be 70 degrees or more. Great directions come with the molding. You can get all black or with the top chrome strip. See my next post here to see what I did with the old Bowtie 2500 emblems and then remounted them. The new molding does not have the pre cut holes for the emblem mounting tabs so I double sided taped to the door. Pics are supplied. I can tell you how it was prepped.

 

[OR VietVet]

Ok, my friend cut the mounting tabs off the back of the original 2500 emblems and cut the small locating tabs off the ends. The bow tie had already fallen out of the impression it sat in and boogered up the tin foil chrome look behind it. I remounted that one on the passenger side. Used the same 3M molding double sided tape and attached in the indent on each door. Hope they meet with everyone's approval.

 

[OR VietVet]

Gonna try CERAKOTE for the front and rear bumper impact strips and the front license plate bracket.

 

[OR VietVet]

Just to let you know why I am using the OE emblems for now. To buy pairs of the stick on, they have to be shipped from China and I refuse to send my money over there and they are just under $50. To get the stateside ones, I cannot find pairs, can only find singles and they are anywhere between $55 to $70 each plus shipping. Discontinued thru GM sources and no NOS anywhere. I am gonna search high and low for some replacements. Time will tell.

 

[OR VietVet]

Sometimes you just never know when something will happen. I just got off a call with my friend that owns a shop in Junction City, Or., that I was trying to get to work part time and I was supposed to be told in March what was going to happen. Turns out I am going to be called tomorrow and likely work there on Thursday and Friday and see how it goes and hopefully continue from there.

 

[OR VietVet]

When it rains it pours. Just got a call from a shop that I had applied at 8 months ago, as a service advisor. The owner's daughter works there at times and is an auxiliary member at my American Legion. Her brother is the service manager and it is a 14 bay shop and he wants me to come in at least part time and whenever needed, full time as a service advisor. I am to meet them again at 10 am tomorrow. Better location than the other shop and this shop has 4 techs. One of the techs is a "green tech" and he wants me to help train him. That is right up my alley. It is a 5 day a week Monday thru Friday shop.

 

[OR VietVet]

My interview this morning, for service advisor, went ok, except for the money and the fact that there is a homeless encampment on the backside of the building and in the parking lot there was an old Dakota with the bed full of trash, nasty looking tarp stretched over all of it and tarps across the side windows and w/s and trash on the ground all around it. Turns out that right across the street is a Lane Co. homeless help building full of them and they roam all over the area. The pay was $18 an hour plus 2% of the tickets that I would handle. His son is the main guy and I would be a back up. He wanted me to move my tools there and help train the green techs. 5 techs there and not one of them is ASE certified in anything. Not moving my tools where the homeless encampment is in the back.

The one job I been wanting starts tomorrow in the shop owned by my friend where I would be there just part time, for cash, and wrench a little and help sell work.

 

[OR VietVet]

Once I got home from the interview and talked to my girl about why I was not taking the job and she was happy and then told me to quit moping around and do something on her truck or my Tahoe. Yesterday I did the door drip rail seals on her truck and I had the Dorman exhaust manifold clamp for the driver's side rear, of Tahoe, and decided to do it. It was a bit of a PITA. Took me 1.5 hours on my back while it was on jack stands. Removed the firewall heat shield and disconnected the front driveshaft and moved out of the way. Still very tight quarters. The lower bolt at back of head is easiest to get to while having the bolt in the bracket hole and finding the threaded hole while holding bolt and bracket with one hand. The top hole has less room but is easier to swing the bracket in to position and find the hole and get a couple threads started. Then you just hold your tongue right and thread bolts in with tips of fingers because there is not enough room to hold your palm back and reach with fingers to thread easier. I tightened down till the bracket was snug and then threaded in the bolt that goes in to threaded hole and ends up pushing the manifold tight. Then I used ratcheting wrenches and again held the tongue right and tightened all down but you really have no room for leverage to tighten very much. I then got an offset long wrench and was able to tighten down quite tight. The bracket bolts are 14mm, the firewall heat shield is 10mm and the 4 bolts at the driveshaft are 11mm. Only damaged the right hand in two places and most of this was done blind because you cannot see past your arm and hand.

 

[OR VietVet]

First day turning wrenches in the shop in Junction City, Or. The 2006 F150 4x4 5.4 engine is being replaced and the transmission rebuilt with a new torque converter. I started at 10 am and stopped at 1 pm. Bagged and tagged the fasteners as I tore down and will be doing a cleanup on components that will be reused. Look at the flapper plates for the intake. I shot pics of all 4 on d/s and the other 4 looked the same. We are getting a new intake and actuator for the plates. This is getting many new parts as we go: Throttle body, radiator, fan blade and clutch, injectors, plugs, ignition coils are less than 6 months old-I installed them a while back for a misfire code, all mounts, belt, tensioner, idler, water pump, new reman FORD engine, oxygen sensors, a/c condenser, trans cooler, knock sensors, cam and crank sensors, receiver drier, hoses, accumulator, flushed a/c system, new transmission cooler lines, temp sender and sensor, MAF, purge valve, fuel filter, fuel pressure sensor and I am sure I have forgotten some things....Plus, he did some training with me on the shop management program and writing tickets the way they want and working on entering info in computer and finalizing tickets and billing out. Seems like will work great but I am just playing it by ear for now.

 

[OR VietVet]

Going back to the shop in JC, Oregon on Thursday and Friday. Talked to the other owner/tech today and he said that as soon as we are on the bottom of the downhill side of the engine and transmission swap on the F150, we will be sitting down with the other owner of the shop and working out a schedule and how pay will work. They know I just want cash and only part time. The tech at the shop said it is ok with him for me to use his tools when I am there. He knows that if I move my tools to the shop, I will for the right set up, then that would mean more money. I can work with it whatever way we go.

Turns out that just being patient and turning down the service advisor jobs at the two other shops, was the right thing to do. Old as I am, I would have probably ended up listening to too much of customer's not taking care of their own vehicles and telling someone to "EFFFFF OFF" and walking out.

 

[OR VietVet]

Back to work on the 2006 F150 engine and transmission swap today. Worked from 9:30 to 2:30. Removed: ignition coils, tensioner, thermostat housing/crossover housing, wiper arms and upper cowling, engine bay engine power control module and bracket, radiator, both heater hoses from the heater core tubes, finished removing harness connections for engine and a/c compressor, drained a/c system, had to hand wrench 6 mounting bolts for the a/c compressor and p/s pump-no room, rear ground strap and coolant tube mount stud at back of engine, hood coming off tomorrow and unhooking the motor mounts, pulling new engine out of Ford engine crate pod and mounting on engine stand and setting the old engine in the pod after exhaust manifold removal. Then parts swap and new parts installed that can be done ahead of time. Will clean out engine bay and prep for new engine install. Sorry, no pics today of all this but will get them in the morning when I get there.

 

[OR VietVet]

Ok, the 2006 F150 is completely ready to have the engine jerked out. motor mounts undone, harnesses bungy corded back out of the way, flexplate off, oil dipstick pulled out, a/c accumulator removed and compressor is completely out, the condenser is out but I have no pic of that, battery and tray removed and then we discovered that the engine picker does not have a long enough arm to get the new engine out of the shipping pod so we can mount to the engine stand. Gy in a business next door has a fork lift but was not there. Some day next week, will get new engine out and mounted to engine stand and pull old engine and drop in the engine pod for core return. I will swap the exhaust manifolds over and whatever other parts I can install on the stand and then the fork lift will be back to drop the new engine in. I cut my middle knuckle on my left hand first thing this morning.

 

[OR VietVet]

 

[89Suburban]

Good job buddy!