Appreciation post: A talk with a retired guy at the truck stop in Billings

I was grabbing coffee before a job and got talking with an old timer who used to run a fleet shop. He said, 'We used to set injector timing with a dial indicator and a steady hand, listening for the change in the engine's hum.' I've only ever used the laptop and software. It made me think, do we lose a feel for the machine when everything is just a screen and a code? How many of you still use those old school methods sometimes?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_west56d ago

Actually, a dial indicator is for setting pump timing on older mechanical diesels, not injectors. The feel for the machine is still there, it just moved to interpreting live data. That old hum is now a waveform on a scope.

angelacooper6d ago

Watch that waveform like he listened to the hum, it's the same skill with a new tool.