Other What happened to the true 'mechanics"

[Iland Trader]

We used to call them mechanics, now we may call them technicians. Unfortunately somewhere in that name change and somewhere around the shift towards computer controlled engine management- i think 'the guy' retired.

I'm going to rant here because i feel slighted, I've felt it before with my cars, but with skis its become personal and i can tolerate it no more.Where did the true mechanics go- the guys who knew how to keep engines running, the guys who owned and drove the same stuff they worked on-knowing it front and back...in and out, the guys who listened to owners about symptoms before offering a diagnosis along with a hefty quote.

Maybe I should blame the computerization, maybe i should just blame the tech but it seems as though the mechanics of yesterday have been replaced by the 'parts changer' of today. Case in point, I had a local ski shop go through a 4 Tec couch that I did not have time for, that needed a new wear ring...poor maintenance by the owner (my father) resulted in a pump that wouldn't budge off the shaft while unbolted in place-despite persuasion with percussion and heat. $350 later the shop had cut the shaft to remove the pump. Yes, in my book it may have been necessary but it did create more work for them now.Long story short I had scoured ebay for good used or new parts but was still told afterwards that the best bet was to pull the motor, clean it up, change some parts on it, rebuild the driveline, pull the tank, and swap the fuel pump for good measure- all at nearly 3k in expense and all for 'good measure. Suddenly the repair bill to get this POS running is above the resale value of it. They showed me it started on the trailer but ran rough- pointing to the 3k quote to rectify the rough motor. This whole thing sounded off to me and I decided to water test it myself and 300' from the dock it dies and refused to so much as fart a breath of combustion again. I thumbed a tow back, fuming at the whole experience.

So imagine my frustration. Out nearly 2k already in parts and labor, being told I should have spent another 3k to repair potential problems that may or may not be...i stopped back by the shop and told them of my problems, the instant diagnosis wihtout even hearing about how the motor sounded when it died was 'you need a new main harness". This sounded so wrong on so many levels that I took to the computer. #Zero posted the manual for this ski in a master post- hats off to him for bailing me out on every PWC i own, Thanks Chris. Running basic troubleshooting I found the fuel pump was as good as new, the fuel itself was garbage and the ethanol had drawn in water from the vent. I then read somewhere online, I think PWCtogay or Greenhulk, that these 4tec 155HP motors cant get along with marginal plugs. Somewhere along my reading online i stumbled across a link for Dale Gobles, fuelinjectorman.com. For under $70 he rebuilt and shipped the 3 injectors back to me before and after test results showed big gains in the injectors efficiency, and no doubt dirty filters. I highly recommend fuelinjectorman.com for any injector. Its just soo inexpensive to have them gone though and brought back to new specs.

So here is the part we've all experienced and the crux of my rant- I started to talk to the tech about my trouble. I never once played the ' I read online..." card, I was just talking through scenarios. Far as I'm concerned what i read online is opinions that sometimes steps up to information, both good and bad. I started troubleshooting the old fashioned way, with a meter common sense. I was able to reject every theory thrown at me by the 'Master Technician", lets call that arsehole Mark. Less than $85 later I had consumed enough information from positive experiences online that I had changed the plugs for new and rebuilt the injectors.....it fired up good as new after a few priming cranks. 10 hours later and that fuel pump makes every PSI it should, the motor turn every RPM it hsould, the 'bad' harness carries voltage and continuity where it should, and the motor runs like new with clean fuel.

So I'm left wondering, what happened to the true mechanics, the guys who listened to the owners or even bothered to ride/drive the vehicles they worked on after. This Master Sea Doo tech in my book is a parts changing monkey. He does not listen to anything not in the books, he does not carry any used "good, known parts" and hes unwilling to diagnose a problem- changing expensive parts is the only answer I guess, shame i don't get a refund when hes wrong. I guess my point is that with some technical ability (of which I claim to have more of than time these days) any motor or ski can be diagnosed as just another machine). This guy was ready throw away the entire machine instead of finding the few minor problems. I take a serious issue with this. I feel that with my experience I can decipher the BS i read here form the truly good experiences posted online-a machine is just parts after all...if we know how the parts go together and what they do- there is no mystery. So i applaud the few good techs still out there and the garage techs that figure it out with a little help from others' expe" Screw riences. i think my story, though way too longwinded illustrates this. I can still here that jagoff naggin at me " I told you man, you need a new harness, plus all the other stufff"...Screw you Mark and your BS repair bill. I know I could be better at that job then he/they are, i relied on them to help me out b/c my profession & family gets in the way of free time...why try and screw me over with incompetence. This is something they could have done, but I truly dont think they knew where to start beyond the plugs- do they even care enough to know that someone can rebuild the injectors for them, or is a new injector the only way?

there is my rant....I like troubleshooting the hard way...it gets results, why must they insist on just changing parts blindly and without cause, Why extort customers out of $100+ to program a DESS key, a 5 minute trick- it all seems like such a ripoff . I know the answer has to do with technology evolving and the sharing of shop manuals, but when did we loose the man with brain who could use a multi meter...and replace him a monkey named Mark and call him a Master Technician. I applaud the wealth of good knowledge here on the X alone, a few of you guys really make it easy for the rest of us.

Anyone else feel like I do on this?

 

[JAKESPEED]

Absolutely that's why my garage and time is full. I refuse to take my stuff to a shop/ zoo because that's all that is left is the so called monkeys/ techs. I'm old school with just enough knowledge/ common sense and mechanical ability to get most of it done. Just like you said Glorified parts changer. Heck most of em diagnose by replacing anyways. It's not their dime. So the answer to your question is absolutely

 

[snowxr]

The old style mechanic went away when the dealers started selling multiple brands and hundreds of individual models. Too many new designs are introduced every year. They can't work on any one model enough to be an expert anymore. They need to rely on the books, and be a jack of all trades - master of none.

 

[LegDragger64]

You have to be your own mechanic and tuner .

 

[OptimaRacing]

Most are 9-5'ers punching a clock. I know from first hand experience dealing with "powersports techs". Their not all bad but there are some real dildos out there that's for sure.

I've found gone is the guy that does is his job in general lol. I can't believe how much ineptness and incompetency I experience on a weekly basis. It's truly troubling. On a positive note, I'm glad you got the couch going and didn't completely flip out on the place!

 

[94SJrider]

I just got done with the wyotech program and we are instructed that we replace before rebuilding just cause the overseas parts are that much cheaper.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[snowxr]

I just got done with the wyotech program and we are instructed that we replace before rebuilding just cause the overseas parts are that much cheaper.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Overseas parts? Nearly all our powersports toys have been oerseas products for over 30yrs!! Long live the parts replacer, lol.

 

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Three years ago I temporarily (for 2-1/2 years) left my job as a Tool & Die Maker of 21 years to help start a Transmission Repair Shop with my Brother, prior to that he was the head Transmission Builder at the shop he was working at and has been in the Automotive Repair Trade since the 1980's. Luckily both of us were taught by our Father and then our Step-Father not only to diagnose and work on Vehicles but even to fix and improve things around the house using basic things like an electrical multi-meter, chain saw, post-hole digger, drill, sawzall, circular saw, and on and on. On top of both of us being involved in different types of racing we've been involved in Motorsports and Powersports including 3 & 4 wheel ATV's, on and off-road motorcycles, jet-ski's, snowmobiles, on and off road 4x4 trucks, and musclecars and sports cars (including vehicles in excess of 1000 Horsepower).

At our shop I saw males come in that had absolutely no idea how to do even the most basic of things on their vehicles - not even how to change a tire or their engine oil. We were constantly blown away at how many males had absolutely no comprehension what-so-ever on what we were showing them when we showed them their transmission all taken a part and would try and explain how something works and what failed - they would just stand there with this blank look on their face and nod. Same with transmissions that were brought to us by some other automotive repair mechanics, some of these so-called 'mechanics' were fixing things purely by luck. I don't know how many times we had people call us up and say "I just had my vehicles transmission repaired by 'XYZ' and it's having a problem, they said you guys are the ones who actually rebuilt the trans and that I needed to come and see you" (yet we were never contacted by the other shop ahead of time). We get the vehicle to our shop to find out basic things were screwed up by the other 'mechanics', things like not putting enough fluid in the trans (common), pinching the cooler lines closed during trans installation, not replacing a restricted or plugged trans cooler, or having bad leaks because they sheared the front or rear seal, don't have the dip stick tube installed properly, or the cooler lines are loose.

I know this is going to sound harsh and I'm guessing I'll get flamed for it, but I'm going to say it anyways, a major contributor to the very situation of males lacking knowledge (both customers and mechanics) is the lack of actual MEN in society anymore - I didn't say males, I said MEN. A huge majority of single Mothers are bring up their Son's to be 'nice guys' in retribution for having chosen 'not nice guys' in their own lives. An extremely common side effect of that situation is the lack of a solid male role model in their son's lives during the very crucial years from birth thru the end of High School, a male role model not only teaching him right and wrong and what it is to be a MAN, but also teaching him things like working on vehicles and diagnosing problems, repairing things around the house, etc. How many single Mothers teach their son's any of this? The tragic side effect of all of this is what's been called the 'Feminization of Males', a sad situation over-taking so many males today. I look at the situation of my Brother and myself, I know we would have never been exposed to the life we were had we been brought up excusively by our Mother without an actual MAN in our lives (in our case it was not only our Father, but also our Step Father).

I absolutely agree that many so called 'mechanics' lack massively in the trouble shooting department, but I also believe that may be more of a result of an increasing lack of MEN in the industry leading to a requirement by the automotive industry to create computer systems that can diagnose many problems by themselves. So in the end is it the lack of mechanics who were actually brought up by MEN, or the need for advanced trouble shooting systems - which came first?

 

[Joker]

I totally agree with gsxr. Me just graduating from high school I see a lot of males and no real men. My dad was a true mechanic before he became a millwright. He has taught me how to diagnose problems and rebuild things correctly without swapping parts and hoping it fixes the problem. Personally I would never go to a "shop" to get my stuff worked on because one my dad could help me if I'm not sure on it and two who wants to pay Curious George $70 an hour to do something my 9 year old brother could do and do better.

My $.02

 

[LeftysRule22]

I took my parents STX-12F in for service recently because it wasnt running. Im at college still and dont have the time to take care of it myself. The tech called me and said there was water in the tank and thats why it wouldnt run. I though, hmm - odd since the gas was fresh and the cap seal was still good - but whatever go ahead and flush the system. So they did, said it was tested and fixed, and i picked it up. I dropped it in the water and it still did not run. Took it back, they flushed it again, said it was good to go, and i picked it up. Took it home, still didnt run ($500 later).

At this point I figured I was going to have to take care of it myself so I did my usual stuff - battery check, new plugs, new oil, and fresh gas (3rd new tank at this point). Dropped it in, fired up and ran perfect. Sigh...

Im 22, and I rarely ever meet anyone my age who knows what a wrench is. My last roommate had 12 neatly arranged pillows on his bed.

Something I run into a lot is people my age who think they know a lot about engines, can tell you anything you want to know about them, will read you the brochure from memory, tell you exactly how fast something will go, engine code names, etc...But put a wrench in their hand and they look clueless. Ask them the proper procedure for engine reassembly and they become speechless. Hell, some dont even know which way to turn the wrench....

 

[94SJrider]

Overseas parts? Nearly all our powersports toys have been oerseas products for over 30yrs!! Long live the parts replacer, lol.

My bad I really was talking about automotive. But with the way chepo parts are manufactured I would imagine it would be the same for the watercraft repair shops. its all about the $$$, It will cost the shop way less to pay for the employee to change a part then to go about rebuilding it. When any shop says its going to take lets say 4 hrs to fix a problem, thats just by the book. In actuality the mechanic can prolly do it in 2-3 hrs and moves on to another car/watercraft. Not to mention with today's technology that is going into the watercrafts it would take some pretty expensive equipment to go in depth to figure out a problem with the engine. The only thing being "rebuilt" now a days again referencing to automotive are engine, transmissions, and rear ends/transaxles, and even those are starting to be replaced over rebuilt.

 

[jetskiking]

The worst part is when you take it to them and tell them whats wrong. I took my truck in and told them the EGR ports needed cleaned (No time to do it myself). Went back to pick it up and they said. "Its not your EGR , your getting a cylinder misfire code". I said what do you think is causing the code? "we are not sure might try new plugs and wires". If they were not so stupid, they would have noticed the new plugs and wires and understood that the clogged EGR ports were causing the misfire code.

 

[jetskiking]

My bad I really was talking about automotive. But with the way chepo parts are manufactured I would imagine it would be the same for the watercraft repair shops. its all about the $$$, It will cost the shop way less to pay for the employee to change a part then to go about rebuilding it. When any shop says its going to take lets say 4 hrs to fix a problem, thats just by the book. In actuality the mechanic can prolly do it in 2-3 hrs and moves on to another car/watercraft. Not to mention with today's technology that is going into the watercrafts it would take some pretty expensive equipment to go in depth to figure out a problem with the engine. The only thing being "rebuilt" now a days again referencing to automotive are engine, transmissions, and rear ends/transaxles, and even those are starting to be replaced over rebuilt.

I think when people refer to "Parts Changers" they are talking about people that cannot diagnose problems correctly. They change parts until the problem is fixed which can get costly to the customer. Just like my example above, if I didn't already know what the problem was, they would have gotten me for plugs and wires, probably a coil pack and injectors and whatever parts they replaced trying to figure out the problem. It was a cylinder misfire code which is a generic code. It takes a little knowledge from there to figure out the problem, not just throwing parts at it.

 

[kevbo]

The old style mechanic went away when the dealers started selling multiple brands and hundreds of individual models. Too many new designs are introduced every year. They can't work on any one model enough to be an expert anymore. They need to rely on the books, and be a jack of all trades - master of none.

The job is not too bad as long as you can specialize in one area or brand, that is how a mechanic makes more money for less effort. It is stressful having an endless stream of new problems to solve for a fixed amount of money. The fact that owners dont like paying for something intangible like maintenance forces the mechanic to become a shark. It doesnt take very long for the smart mechanics to find an easier and more lucrative way to make a living.

 

[Iland Trader]

Sounds like everyone whos replied here has had the general experience. snowxr makes the obvious point clear- too many variations on models to be experts and GSXR Racer Mike makes the best point of all- where have all the men gone? i get the feeling the majority of guys on here do their own work and experience that sense of pride in having accomplished something they would have otherwise had to pay a 'professional' to do. Its a true shame that so much basic knowledge has been lost just in the latest generation. A multimeter is such a valuable tool and it apparently is not well understood how to use it in even its most basic capacity.

For me its still frustrating, i can hear him drolling on in my head "you need a new harness...". It just struck me as well lets start at the top and start eliminating things by throwing expensive parts at it. Glad i'm not the only one who feels an obligation to pass some of this basic knowledge to my own kids. When i was in college in my jumbo apartment complex i worked on my streetbike and those of my friends in the garage i rented there...all the young kids would gravitate daily to the garage to ask questions and just be around cool machines torn down to look at all the parts...i hope some of that stuck with them, they seemed to get it. we need more men, real men. John Wayne MF'ers

 

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

The loss of knowledge is a HUGE concern in the Tool & Die trade, when 'free trade' collapsed much of manufacturing in the USA in the 90's many highly skilled tradesmen who ended up jobless vowed never to return to manufacturing. Now we're faced with another massive loss of knowledge yet again, roughly 1/3 of all Tool & Die Makers are from the Baby Boom Generation and have begun retiring already. Adding insult to injury many High School 'Shop' programs (metal working, automotive, etc) have been cancelled over the years due to this massive push to get everyone to go to College instead of going into 'hands-on' trades that can pay very well. Now that US manufacturing is going nuts (because of foreign costs rising rapidly) the manufacturing industry and the Government are realizing we're in trouble and desperately need more people, yet what's being seen is a total lack of interest by the younger generation to enter into the manufacturing trade. The tragedy here is that the Baby Boomers have all this knowledge that could be passed on to apprentices, but there's a lack of new apprentices to absorb that knowledge. Once that knowledge gained from experience is gone, it's gone.

The thing I love about my job as a Tool & Die Maker is that I do true trouble shooting & problem solving for a living and I'm surrounded by others who's job's rely on being able to do the same thing - it's awesome having conversations at work with other Tool Makers & Tool Designers who are all on the same page. That's what I also love about Road Racing motorcycles or going with my Brother when he brings his 1000 horsepower Camaro to the Drag Strip, being surrounded by lots of hands-on Racers who are generally smart, work on their own stuff, help each other out, and have knowledgeable conversations about racing. I think most Powersports have a higher than normal amount of people involved with them that are knowledgeable about how they work or are willing and eager to learn.

When I'm in a situation where someone truly wants to learn about something that I can help them with I do my best to make sure and help them out. I personally find it very annoying when I cross path's with 'femanized males' who have no clue how anything works, nor any desire to learn!

 

[SuperJETT]

There is nothing more frustrating to me than taking something apart, figuring out what's wrong/broken, and not being able to buy just the broken part because it's part of an assembly that costs a ton.

My Mom still tells the story of how I took apart some Mickey Mouse pop-up piano (like a Jack in the Box) toy when I was 9 or 10 so that I could figure out how it worked.

 

[Iland Trader]

When I'm in a situation where someone truly wants to learn about something that I can help them with I do my best to make sure and help them out. I personally find it very annoying when I cross path's with 'femanized males' who have no clue how anything works, nor any desire to learn!

I can think of at least 10 men I know socially or professionally, all 35+, all smart successful people, most of them have families -that don't own anything more than a small screwdriver set and a hammer. i cant imagine it, not even a basic set of handtools, I carry more tools with me in my daily driver and use them more often than they do. I guess the only upside to this is they keep a lot of people employed. Junk breaks at my home constantly, if i had to call someone out to do everything for me (at a $150 call out charge minimum average) i dont think i could feed the family or keep up a hobby like this.

If anyone wants to check out another very cool forum visit Garage Journal. Theres no sissy men on there either and some wicked cool stuff.

 

[Joker]

Today's youth are lazier than a bear in hibernation. I know a dozen kids out of my graduating class (430) that work in a labor intensive job. Most people want to make money doing nothing and scrape by by the hair on their sack. When I get asked by a lot of kids my age what I do for a job now and I tell them I'm a mason laborer (I have to explain it first because 90% of them don't even know what a mason is) and then they say man that's a hard job I could never do it. Well maybe if they applied themselves they could do anything and get out of the governments cycle of producing robot minded kids. On another note like GSXR said about him helping eager leathers. My best friend is a very hands on guy and when I got into jet skis he wanted to learn how they worked so now when I'm tearing down engines or what not I drag him along so he can question me death. I wish there were more people that are eager and/or willing to work.

 

[davy87nj]

I've worked in an artic cat dealer before and will never work on 'pleasure' vehicles again, for a living. All the techs there used improper diagnostics and if what they changed didnt work it was on the the next part, charging the customer accordingly.
I work as an automotive/ diesel tech, graduated UTI. Im a firm believer in actually finding the problem rather than trying to throw something at it real quick(even tho I have done that before). Personally it brings me satifaction to know my knowledge figured this problem out. With out that little bit of satisfaction there would be no way in hell id still be working in this trade. I dont work flat rate anymore or in dealers. I work for a fleet and i learn alot and have some more time to do things the right way. Paying flat rate and getting things dont the right way the first time is a contridiction.

someone up there said that the vehicles or skis change so often it makes it hard to become and expert, and that is a true statement right there.