wyatt513•3mo agoRising Star

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?

3 comments

3 Comments

richard_west53mo 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.

bettym892mo ago

Oh man, that's spot on. My buddy Dave used to swear he could tell what was wrong with a pump just by the sound, then he got a scope and said it was like learning a whole new language but the tune was the same.

angelacooper3mo agoMost Upvoted

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