Loose Nuts and Dipsticks

Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!  So now that the suspense is over, let me start from the beginning.

8 a.m. yesterday, I walked into the mechanic’s shop, half expecting to be turned away.  To my relief, manager K smiled and waved me in.  After briefly introducing me to everyone, he left me on the shop floor and went on to greet customers.

Louis, a mechanic who’s worked there for almost twenty years, gave me my first task — fetch the correct oil and air filters for a 2001 Toyota Sienna, which involved looking them up from a thick catalog and getting the parts from the supply room.  After that, I became his unofficial apprentice/assistant.  3/8 torque wrench?  Here we go.  Axle pin?  No problem.  I felt like a nurse in an operating room, especially when Sam, who is in charge of diagnostics, showed me a pair of stethoscopes that are used to listen to the car’s internal noises.  He had me put them on while he moved the probe over the fuel injector.  He mimicked the type of noise I should be hearing versus the noise that would bode trouble.  As an uninformed car owner, I’ve always been mystified by how a good mechanic can tell what’s wrong with a car simply by listening to the noise it makes.  A stethoscope extends that diagnostic ability by allowing you to hear noises that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to isolate with your ears.

Aside from my assistant work, the crowning achievement for this dare is to do a complete oil change.  I had paid special attention to all the steps whenever such a job came in.  I thought I would have to beg for permission to do one, but instead, Louis practically shoved me over to a car barely two hours into my apprenticeship.  My first — a 2004 Subaru Forester.  I was beyond excited as I pulled the car into the bay.  After cranking it up onto the lift, I loosened the drain plug on the oil pan.  I wasn’t able to pull the plug off as adeptly as Louis did, and got engine oil all over my gloves.  But I got it done without spilling anything outside the drip pan.  With the oil filter, I struggled a bit getting it off but with the aid of a specialty tool called an oil filter wrench that fitted like a cup over the bottom of the filter, I was able to pry the thing loose, pictured below.

Next, I put four and half quarts of oil into the engine.  Checked the oil level with the dipstick.  Oh, so grown up!  Then, I checked the tire pressure and got all four tires to where they needed to be, topped off the windshield fluid and, finally, printed out a reminder sticker and slapped it on the inside upper left corner of the windshield.  Voila!  It was done!  I bet no one at the shop had ever been so giddy over an oil change as I was.

While I was working, one of the customers did do a double take when he saw me working under the car.  I guess you don’t see that many female Asian auto mechanics.  I did my best to look nonchalant and that I knew what I was doing, partly so I don’t get the shop in any trouble, but I must admit that I couldn’t help gloating inwardly as I lived out this super-tool-chick fantasy.

Throughout the day, we chatted as we worked.  As a car owner, I have only been on the consumer side of car services, so I was curious to hear things from the other perspective.  Manager K said dealing with customers is the toughest part of his job.  He showed me the computer system where they tracked every customer and every car that comes into the shop.  Every time they give a quote, it is recorded in the system.  He showed me a customer with seven quotes but no actual work history.  That’s a red flag.  The next time that customer comes in, they would politely stall and then send him on his way.  The lesson there, be thoughtful as you engage your mechanic, lest you be blacklisted.

The day flew by fast.  In contrast to the office jobs I’ve had, it was refreshing to be on your feet, radio blasting, moving about and working with your hands in the semi-open air.  There is a comfortable rhythm to the place and the work felt rather meditative.  The guys there seemed light-hearted and joked around with one another.  I was told though that on a really busy day, people can get stressed and occasionally short tempered.  But for the most part, all seven of the them get along pretty well.

It’s no wonder they have so many positive Yelp reviews.  They like their job and it showed.  Sam, the diagnostics mechanic, told me that after 30 years working on cars, he still loves what he does and that he is happy 90% of the time.  When I asked him what he plans to do after he retires, he smiled and looked into the space as if seeing the picture and said restoring antique cars.  As I’ve gotten older and have been on the hiring side of some personal services (baby sitters, lawyer, strippers, just kidding), I’ve come to see what a pleasure it is to deal with someone who is both talented at what she does and loves it.  As a service provider myself, I feel re-inspired to deliver that kind of experience to others, whether it’s on the recruiting side or on the career coaching side.

During the whole day, I was super alert and exercised an utmost level of caution and judgment with everything I did.  I wanted to make sure that I didn’t chop off a finger, mine or anyone else’s.  Honestly, I was more concerned about not causing any trouble and disappointing their hospitality than for my personal safety.

As the day wrapped up and I was ready to say goodbye, manager K jokingly told me that if career coaching doesn’t work out, I have a job at the shop lined up.  I was touched by how trusting they were and how much responsibility they gave me.  They really put a lot on the line and were very generous with their time.  I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.  Today, I thought about my new colleagues and actually missed working there.  Since they are right in my neighborhood, I’m sure I will be seeing them plenty!

 

Links to related posts:

• Part 1: Jiffy Noob