Kia Ce-ed won’t start reliably

[Trevorleach]

Plant lorry or heavy equipment fitter maybe?

Everyone has a mate or a mate of a mate who’s an amateur mechanic. Can be a race to the bottom.

At least with heavy stuff you’re working for people who are forced to do it properly. It’s also good skills to transfer with - abroad, offshore or whatever.

Good luck to him anyhow.

On the heavy stuff (trucks/plant) you wont find many people doing private jobs on the side, car mechanics on the other hand!
Get into cars if you cannot get into trucks, get a couple of years experience and one of the truck shops will give you a go guaranteed, trucks will pay 10k a year more.

 

[Keithmac]

Plant lorry or heavy equipment fitter maybe?

Everyone has a mate or a mate of a mate who’s an amateur mechanic. Can be a race to the bottom.

At least with heavy stuff you’re working for people who are forced to do it properly. It’s also good skills to transfer with - abroad, offshore or whatever.

Good luck to him anyhow.

Motorcycles for me, seems a dying breed..

My lad wanted to carry on at our spot on a Motorcycle Apprenticeship but they've made it that difficult he's going on to cars (at least for a couple of years).

 

[James1979]

Motorcycles for me, seems a dying breed..

My lad wanted to carry on at our spot on a Motorcycle Apprenticeship but they've made it that difficult he's going on to cars (at least for a couple of years).

It is so hard to get a dealer trained proper bike mechanic now. Most of them are people who learnt as they went since they were teenagers.

I tried to get in at a Honda dealer for training when I wanted to do lighter work but there was nothing doing.

Again it’s a battle between earning pro money and mates who’ll tinker for beer money.

 

[stuvy]

I've been reasonably lucky but can see exactly where you are coming from.

My lad is sorting his apprenticeship out now and I do wonder if I should have steered him down a different route but he loves being on the tools.

Normally around year 20 to 25 it starts getting less enjoyable I've found!.

Machining

He will earn twice as much as a mechanic once qualified

won’t have to buy his own tools

will go to work clean and come home clean

Plus when at a machine shop they all have better cars than the lads I worked with and for as a mechanic

 

[stuvy]

On the heavy stuff (trucks/plant) you wont find many people doing private jobs on the side, car mechanics on the other hand!
Get into cars if you cannot get into trucks, get a couple of years experience and one of the truck shops will give you a go guaranteed, trucks will pay 10k a year more.

Yep two diesel fitters I know are on 50 plus a year and one of them is 25 years old

 

[James1979]

won’t have to buy his own tools

That’s the bit I never understood! Lads who brag about how much they got violated on the snap on van.

You’re spending thousands a year to make someone else money. I hate using other peoples tools but really!! Having to buy special this and special that at strap on prices is a bit rich.

 

[stuvy]

That’s the bit I never understood! Lads who brag about how much they got violated on the snap on van.

You’re spending thousands a year to make someone else money. I hate using other peoples tools but really!! Having to buy special this and special that at strap on prices is a bit rich.

Iv got this and three other top chests and two boxes full of tools

It’s my retirement to myself when I no longer need them

I totally agree with you as you don’t turn up to a warehouse with your own pallet truck or forklift

We had a shared workshop box with dealer specific tools and our own personal boxes

Trouble is I had more tools and even my old boss would want to borrow them

 

[m_c]

Motorcycles for me, seems a dying breed..

My lad wanted to carry on at our spot on a Motorcycle Apprenticeship but they've made it that difficult he's going on to cars (at least for a couple of years).

The issue with Motorcycle Apprentices, is there is far more apprentices than there are jobs.
When I was at college, the topic came up one day with one of the lecturer's, and he said the motorcycle classes were always full every year, yet by his count in their catchment area, there were only 5 motorcycle garages big enough to employee more than just a couple people.

 

[Keithmac]

The issue with Motorcycle Apprentices, is there is far more apprentices than there are jobs.
When I was at college, the topic came up one day with one of the lecturer's, and he said the motorcycle classes were always full every year, yet by his count in their catchment area, there were only 5 motorcycle garages big enough to employee more than just a couple people.

It's gone the other way now, my lad could have walked straight out of school into a job at ours but we couldn't find a way to get him trained.

I was amazed really.

 

[Trevorleach]

That’s the bit I never understood! Lads who brag about how much they got violated on the snap on van.

You’re spending thousands a year to make someone else money. I hate using other peoples tools but really!! Having to buy special this and special that at strap on prices is a bit rich.

That is one of the best bits about working on trucks and plant anything over 25 mm spanner or socket size comes down to the company
So apart from the generic hand air and cordless power tools you do not actually need any special or model specific tools

 

[Keithmac]

I've probably got £30k in tools by now, not much comes up that I think I need.

If there's a specific tool for 1 job the shop buys it, along with diagnostics kit etc.

Last expensive thing I bought was a Snap-On Tech-angle digital torque wrench and some Milwaukee power tools but to be honest I enjoy using quality kit.

It is a bit odd mind, like the checkout person at Tesco having to buy their own till!.

 

[bert]

I've had to buy a lot of my own tools, as I do full restoration I not only need all the mechanics hand tools, but bodywork prep tools, painting tools and then finishing tools. I'm scared to even add up what I now own.

I have enough I could open my own business without the massive outlay.

I see a mechanic only needs their hand tools and everything else should be supplied by the garage. Any business expecting them to buy more is taking the ****

 

[GRW]

My workplace is like this - the director started out as a Mech fitter so the mindset is that staff have their own tools (apart from big specialist gear).
The mechanical lads have a small fortune in spanners, guns etc for working on the engines.
My kit is a lot smaller and not exotic - but I dare say if I added up the money spent on spanners, screwdrivers battery tools, meters, testers, clamps and what-not, it'd surprise me.
It's a daft system.

 

[Trevorleach]

I've probably got £30k in tools by now, not much comes up that I think I need.

If there's a specific tool for 1 job the shop buys it, along with diagnostics kit etc.

Last expensive thing I bought was a Snap-On Tech-angle digital torque wrench and some Milwaukee power tools but to be honest I enjoy using quality kit.

It is a bit odd mind, like the checkout person at Tesco having to buy their own till!.

Took some scanias to be registered in Holland 20 odd years ago, all the mechs had the exact same toolboxes, turns out the garage supplied everything!
Local scania shop told me they had some mechs come over from Sweden who were moat annoyed that all the UK guys had snap on toolboxes etc and they only had plain jane ones, they soon changed their minds when they found out the mechs over here had to buy their own!

You say 30k, bet if you checked current prices you can probably add 50 percent to that.
Snap on 24mm 1/2 drive impact wobble 70 plus vat, 5 years ago I paid 100 for the whole set of 6/7 sockets.

 

[m_c]

It's gone the other way now, my lad could have walked straight out of school into a job at ours but we couldn't find a way to get him trained.

I was amazed really.

I'm guessing that's probably due to the lack of training providers now.
I was luck in that I went to one of the then top two vehicle tech colleges in the UK, but how many local colleges still have vehicle technology departments, let alone ones that include motorcyles?

It's interesting being at various manufacturer's and more independent training places.
The independent's just can't compete with manufacturer's in terms of having the latest technology available, and the manufacturer's admit they subsidise training in order to keep costs realistic.

I was lucky in that the college I went to provided apprentice training for a few major manufacturers, so they always had a reasonable mix of vehicles.
It was nothing to a manufacturer to loan or donate a few vehicles to the college to ensure apprentices had suitable vehicles to work on, but for an independent, vehicles are a huge cost, especially if you want to keep to newer vehicles.

 

[Keithmac]

@Trevorleach yeh you are probably right there, I priced up a pair of Lineman pliers for home not long back and they were £100 iirc, I'm sure my older set were £50 ish way back!.

Sometimes they have some decent deals on, bought a £400 set of spanners I'd had my eye on for £250.

My lad uses Halfords Pro / Advanced kit and they are a good quality tool. I've bought him a set of Snap-on screwdrivers and screwdriver bit ratchets though as they are worth the money imho and just make the job easier.

He uses my flex head 3/8th fine pitch long ratchet all the time so will wait for one to come up on special offer, it's basically a cross between a ratchet and breaker bar.

@m_c I was told "there was no money in motorcycle training" so that's why there's no support, luckily our local college does automotive courses.

 

[Trevorleach]

@Trevorleach yeh you are probably right there, I priced up a pair of Lineman pliers for home not long back and they were £100 iirc, I'm sure my older set were £50 ish way back!.

Sometimes they have some decent deals on, bought a £400 set of spanners I'd had my eye on for £250.

My lad uses Halfords Pro / Advanced kit and they are a good quality tool. I've bought him a set of Snap-on screwdrivers and screwdriver bit ratchets though as they are worth the money imho and just make the job easier.

He uses my flex head 3/8th fine pitch long ratchet all the time so will wait for one to come up on special offer, it's basically a cross between a ratchet and breaker bar.

@m_c I was told "there was no money in motorcycle training" so that's why there's no support, luckily our local college does automotive courses.

Snap on screwdrivers are the best, have to be the hard handled type and orange as well!
They stopped the hard handle models for a long time, was really pleased when it came back, and on other stuff like pry bars/torx drivers etc.

 

[James1979]

Snap on screwdrivers are the best, have to be the hard handled type and orange as well!
They stopped the hard handle models for a long time, was really pleased when it came back, and on other stuff like pry bars/torx drivers etc.

And other useful kit…

I had some hard orange screwdrivers back from the 90s. Got nicked. They were hit through so you could shock the fixing before you tried to turn it. Had a spanner hex under the handle if I remember right.

I should probably replace them

 

[Trevorleach]

And other useful kit…

View attachment 385787

I had some hard orange screwdrivers back from the 90s. Got nicked. They were hit through so you could shock the fixing before you tried to turn it. Had a spanner hex under the handle if I remember right.

I should probably replace them

I have the same soft handles on some torx driver sitting in one of my drawers, I cannot stand them so I never use them!

But the ice cream scoop actually looks good.

 

[badabec]

Is it starting reliably yet? What was wrong?