I have a new found respect and appreciation for professional vehicle technicians, especially for those that possess the ability to diagnose the source of a problem quickly and accurately.

This comes from my participation in a hands-on engine tear-down and rebuild at Peterbilt’s Training Center in Denton, TX.

I was invited by Peterbilt to participate in a training session on Paccar’s new heavy duty MX engine, which was launched in January.

The Paccar MX is in-line 6-cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder, 12.9-liter engine that comes standard with an integral engine compression brake. The engine uses selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in combination with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR).

My training session was a special condensed version of the hands-on engine training that all Peterbilt and Kenworth dealer salespeople and technicians are receiving on the new engine.

The five days of training for the technicians is designed to help them better understand the design elements and features that make the MX engine durable and reliable. The Paccar MX has a B10 engine life of 1 million miles, meaning 90 percent of the engines will reach that mileage.

During their three days of hands-on training, the truck salespeople learn how to spec an engine into a customer’s application for both fuel economy and performance.

Prior to my training, I had the opportunity to drive a variety of Peterbilt tractors with MX engines, each with different horsepower ratings and each coupled to a loaded trailer.

I found the engines had responsive feel and power. I noticed significantly reduced vibration, lower in-cab noise levels and less engine noise outside the cab.

Before getting to work on the MX engine I received an overview of the general specs and chief features of the MX engine. Key among them:

- Block and cylinder head manufactured with high-strength compacted graphite iron, a premium material that is 75 percent stronger and 20 percent lighter than conventional grey iron, resulting in superior power-to-weight performance.

- A single camshaft with no counterweight for a more simplified and 25-pound lighter design. This reduces weight and increases power for quicker acceleration and smoother overall operation.

- Fractured cap technology for connecting rods and main bearing caps. This technology virtually eliminates cap shift and results in greater strength and contributes to longer power and torque curves along a wide rpm range.

- Electrical systems designed to provide increased reliability through the use of sealed connectors and an air-cooled ECM. A fully encapsulated wiring harness mounted directly to the block to protect wiring from the elements and remove stress from connectors for a more dependable electrical system that is serviced in a non-invasive manner.

The first portion of my get-dirty training included disassembling the oil pan, oil pump, stiffener plate and main bearing. If that wasn’t challenging enough for me, it all had to be reassembled.

I am happy to report that with occasion guidance of Peterbilt service and training personnel, the engine did get put back together, although it was a couple of bolts shy. (Good thing this engine wasn’t going back into service.)

Looking over the "rebuilt" engine, one of the service trainers remarked: "I wouldn’t give up your day job."

Next was disassembly and reassembly of the valve cover, rocker assembly, high-pressure fuel system and engine brake and pump module. Here again, I managed this - with help, and again, somehow misplaced a few bolts.

I should note that all this engine work was done with a "clean" engine in an engine lab. The engine was mounted on a stand that allowed the engine to be rotated.

Consequently, there was no need to climb around or under the engine, and access to all components was effortless. I remained relatively clean.

As I was doing my engine work, I realized even more clearly just how difficult a technician’s job is, and how knowledgeable, skilled and talented technicians need to be to properly inspect, maintain and repair vehicles.

I tip my hat to all professional truck technicians.<code></code>

Managing any type of vehicle maintenance operation is a demanding and challenging task. There are all kinds of daily pressures and problems that need to be dealt with, and the unexpected always seem to occur at the most inopportune times.

There are also those shop incidents that stand out because they are odd, strange or funny.

By way of example, I recall a maintenance manager telling me about the time he sent one of his newer technicians out to the lot to bring a long-haul road tractor into the shop.

In short order, the technician ran back into the shop visibly shaken. He told the manager that there was a couple in the tractor’s sleeper, and they weren’t sleeping.

Seems the driver assigned to the tractor figured it would be a good rendezvous spot for him and his married girlfriend since the tractor would be redlined for a while.

I also heard about a group of mischievous technicians who decided to play a trick on their boss who always worked late. After learning that he didn’t believe in ghosts, they jimmy-rigged his office door with fishing line to be able to open and close it while remaining out of sight.

While the boss worked away in his office late one evening, the technicians, from their hiding place, pulled his office door shut with a bang. Startled, the boss jumped out of his seat, quickly pulled open the door and looked around to see who had come in. “Who’s that?,” he yelled.

When no one answered, he walked around the shop to see who had come in. He soon saw that he was the only one there, and there were no open windows or doors from which a breeze might have blown the door shut.

The boss returned to his desk and had just sat down when the door closed again by itself. The boss repeated his attempt to find some one in the building.

When he didn’t find any one, he returned to his office, packed up and quickly left.

The next day at lunch, the boss mentioned what had happened to him.

Trying not to laugh, one of the technicians involved in the prank, said: “That is very strange. The only explanation I can think of is that it must have been a ghost.”

No one ever told the boss of the prank. (I hope he doesn’t read this blog.)

Have an odd, strange or funny shop incident that you’d like to share? I’d enjoy knowing about them and sharing them with the industry.

Please post a comment to this blog. Or, if you prefer, e-mail them to me directly at: david@fleetmag.com.

To be sure, the electronics systems in today’s vehicles are highly complex, containing numerous electronic control units. Experience has shown that the actual causes behind as many as 40 percent of the errors reported by vehicle electronics cannot be identified exactly.

For vehicle owners, this can mean return visits to repair shops and high repair costs, in part because the repair process relies on swapping out various system components until the problem is resolved.

A research project known as DIANA has been established in Germany to change that. It is focused on improving the analytic and diagnostic capabilities of electronic control units in motor vehicles.

Partnering in this project is car maker Audi AG, tire manufacturer Continental AG, Infineon Technologies AG and ZMD AG.

ZMD designs, supplies and markets analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for automotive, medical and industrial applications. Infineon Technologies produces devices for applications, including memory, power, microcontrollers, communications and consumer products.

The four companies are receiving assistance from a number of research organizations and universities based in Germany.

DIANA is a German acronym that translates as: end-to-end diagnostic capabilities in semiconductor components and systems for analyzing persistent and sporadic errors in automobiles.

Through to 2013, the four partnering companies will work on ways to make error detection more precise and faults easier to rectify for automakers and repair shops.

An objective of Diana’s research and development efforts is to create a basis for quicker and more efficient identification and correction of electronics faults in automobiles.

The outcomes of the DIANA project will be incorporated into automotive electronics products and, from 2015, could help to ensure that vehicles are more reliable, require fewer trips to the repair shop and can be repaired more efficiently.

Electronics just keep on getting more powerful.

I received a call the other day letting me know that Grote Industries’ Trilliant Technology Tour would be in my area and asking if I’d to attend. I figured what the heck. I’m always game for an opportunity to get out of the office.

The tour consists of a custom-designed vehicle with an inflatable mobile theater, multi-media experience, mobile work lamp comparison platform and lamps - lots of lamps.

The tour is traveling around the U.S. and Canada to demonstrate the differences between Grote’s Trilliant LED WhiteLight lamps - in particular its work lamps - and other lamps.

I couldn’t help but notice the tour vehicle upon arriving at the designated spot. It is a 2009 Ford E350 van and Knapheide utility body with eye-grabbing graphics and paint and a wide variety of lamps covering it.

I counted 100 lamps total. The 34 exterior work lamps cover the complete line of Trilliant work lamps.

I was told by Grote tour guides Paul Schumann and Thomas Koppel that the purpose of the tour is to take the company’s LED WhiteLight story to OEs, distributors, fleets and end-users in ways not possible through traditional means.

I think that like most people, I often take lighting for granted. When Schumann and Koppel demonstrated the differences between the Trilliant work lamps and incandescent and fluorescent lamps, I must say, I was surprised, and impressed.

It’s one thing to hear the sales pitch that Grote’s advanced, warm, “ergonomic” LED WhiteLights are engineered to reduce stress and provide optimum viewing comfort. It is quite another to actually experience it up close and personal.

With lighting, there is a difference between “brightly lit” and “optimally lit,” explained Schumann. Brightly lit mean well lighted. Optimally lit means providing visual comfort while reducing fatigue, stress and visual errors, plus optimizing the lighting conditions so those using the lighting can perform to the best of their visual abilities.

The Trilliant work lamps shine brighter with lower energy requirements draw, noted the Grote tour guides. They provide a more uniform beam pattern and color evenness, with no dark spots.

These lamps are also engineered for longer-pasting performance. With service ratings from 30,000 to 50,000 hours, the Trilliant work lamps reduce repair and maintenance costs.

Thanks to the Grote’s most interesting Trilliant Technology Tour I know now much more about lighting.

To see if the tour will be heading your way, visit: http://grote.com/TeamTrilliant/.

Among other things, traffic congestion causes additional wear and tear on vehicles and that, in turn, increases maintenance and repairs costs. The greater the congestion, the more need for maintenance and repair.

Naturally, some areas of the nation experience greater congestion that others.

As part of the ongoing Freight Performance Measures (FPM) initiative, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Freight Management and Operations monitor freight significant highway locations.

This research uses ATRI-developed analysis methods, GPS technology, truck-specific information, sophisticated customized software applications and tools and terabytes of data from trucking operations to assess the level at which truck-based freight was affected each year by traffic congestion.

Not being a "techy" I had to look up "terabyte." It is a measure of computer storage capacity that is 2 to the 40th power, or approximately a trillion bytes (a byte is a unit of data that is eight binary digits long). The prefix tera is derived from the Greek word for monster.

From its monitoring program, ATRI and FHWA recently released the findings of their "2009 Bottleneck Analysis of 100 Freight Significant Highway Locations." The research assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion on the national highway system and produces a congestion severity ranking for each location.

Average speeds that are below free flow speeds - which is set at 55 mph - are considered to reflect congestion.

What do you think are the top five locations with the highest congestion ranking?

Heading list is I-290 at I-90/I94 in Chicago, IL, followed by I-90 at I-94 North, also in Chicago. Next is I-95 at SR-4 in Fort Lee, NJ; I-35 in Austin, TX; and I-285 at I-85 North in Atlanta, GA.

At the bottom of the ranking, places 95 to 100, are: I-459 at I-59/I-20 in Birmingham, AL; I-10 (east of the tunnel) in Mobile, AL; I-17 at I-40, Flagstaff, AZ; I-85 at I-485 West in Charlotte, NC; I-35 at I-410 South in San Antonio, TX.

You can find the complete ranking of the 100 freight significant highway bottleneck locations, along with detailed information on each of the locations, at ATRI’s website: www.atri-online.org.

While I have been using them for many, many years, I’ve never given much thought to the common commercial stick tire pressure gauges. That was until I read an article in a recent issue of “Commercial Fleet Tire Digest,” a monthly publication produced by Pressure Systems International, the manufacturer of the Meritor Tire Inflation System by PSI.

The article described how this tool functions and provided some cautions, and I thought the information was worth sharing.

The stick pressure gauge has a calibrated stick with numbers that fits inside a helical spring. When gauge is applied to the tire valve stem, pressurized air rushes in and pushes the piston to the right, explained the article. The spring pushes back and the calibrated rod (stick) moves to the right.

When pressure is released, the piston moves back to the left but the measuring stick stays in place so the measurement can be read.

“A good gauge will have been calibrated properly and the pressure numbers marked appropriately at the factory to match the spring, said Pressure Systems International. “However, even a brand new reasonably priced gauge will only be accurate to +/-3 percent. Over time, this inaccuracy increases.”

For instance, the spring constant or spring stiffness will change significantly based on the ambient temperature.

“Most pressure gauges are calibrated at a room temperature of 68 degrees F,” wrote Pressure Systems International. “If you are checking tire pressures in the middle of winter and it is 20 degrees F, the spring stiffness will increase and any readings you take may be significantly lower by several psi or more. Conversely, when you do a tire survey in Phoenix during the summer, the spring stiffness decreases and the pressure results will be higher by several psi.

Another factor affecting the accuracy of the stick tire pressure gauges is that this type of gauge gets dropped on hard surfaces and over time, the stick will not sit properly inside the spring causing additional error. There is also error associated with reading the correct number on the stick.

The article concluded by noting: “Utilizing a master air gauge check station is the best way to verify stick gauges for accuracy. But you need to be aware that even a master gauge is only accurate to +/- 2 percent.”

There is an overabundance of products on the market that make various claims about improving fuel economy by simply adding this or that to the tank or the fuel system or somewhere else on the vehicle. The question is: Do these products work?

That uncertainty, along with addressing some common vehicle service myths, was the subject of the "Mythbusters: The Snake Oil Saga" session conducted during the NAFA Fleet Management Association 2010 Institute & Expo (I&E) that took place in Detroit, MI, last month.

NAFA is a not-for-profit, individual membership professional society serving the needs of members who manage fleets of automobiles, SUVs, trucks, vans and a wide range of specialized mobile equipment for organizations across the globe. The I&E is the association’s annual meeting that brings together fleet industry professionals from across North America for four days of education, trade show experience and networking.

Sgt. William R. Hunt, Jr., fleet and logistics manager for the Windsor Police Service in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, presented the results of testing and research he did with the help of noted engineers and scientists in North America.

The project involved three cars and 60,000 on-road test miles and considered a variety of commonly available products and their claims. Here are the highlights of the findings:

- Full synthetic motor oil will increase fuel economy. Hunt’s testing found that this was not the case, although synthetic oils did help engines run cleaner.

- Oil and fuel additives will increase fuel mileage. No so, but such additives did help extend engine life by reducing carbon deposits.

- Aftermarket performance type air filters increase fuel mileage. The testing also dispelled this claim. However, because such filters are designed not for normal driving but for use with "working" engines, they did show some fuel economy improvement in vehicles pulling heavy loads or, in the case of law enforcement vehicles, when in pursuits.

- Aftermarket fuel line catalysts will increase fuel mileage. No change in fuel economy was found from using fuel line catalysts.

- Old spark plugs will drastically reduce fuel economy. They did not. According to Hunt, onboard diagnostic systems compensate to provide the anticipated fuel economy.

- A dirty or partially plugged air filter will drastically reduce fuel economy. No. Here again, the OBD systems compensate for air flow restriction.

- Improper tire pressure will substantially reduce fuel economy. Yes. As part of the testing, tire pressure was reduced from 32 psi to 22 psi. This resulted in a 16.3 percent decrease in fuel economy.

- Is nitrogen cost-effective in optimizing fuel economy in fleets? No. While no testing was done, Hunt said the research found that nitrogen inflation would have no benefit to most fleets for several reasons. Key among them is that it is next to impossible to purge tires and get 98 percent nitrogen content - the percentage required for maximum benefit.

I had an opportunity to visit with veteran truck industry sales professional Lee T. Wittmann and talk about used trucks. Wittmann is owner of T Q M Company, a Beech Mountain, NC-based company that promotes transportation and construction equipment for dealers and owner/users.

One the matters I asked him about was: Why are some fleets able to get considerably more value out of their trades than others? “Reputation,” he told me.

“There are fleets that actually have groups of buyers waiting patiently for their trucks to be taken out of service,” said Wittmann. “The main reasons for this keen interest is the desirability of specifications, an outstanding maintenance program and, most importantly, the willingness to stand behind the equipment after the sale is made.”

As you would expect, it takes time to develop a reputation for good used equipment, and catchy slogans will have little effect. “The good news is that while a fleet is challenging its drivers and maintenance staff to a higher level of expectation, the fleet will see a marked improvement to its operating costs,” Wittmann said.

An area of attention overlooked at times during vehicle acquisition is paint and graphics, he noted. “Elaborate and eye-catching paint jobs are not only costly to install, but result in additional depreciation because they aren’t as appealing to a second user.

“If you’re in a business that caters to the public, the advertising value may be well worth the expense. If your operation is of no interest to the general public, one paint color and modest lettering would be better as a used vehicle easily de-identified has a higher value.”

Standard colors also have an effect on the desirability of a used truck. The feeling among used truck dealers is green is the most difficult color to sell, while white, black and red are the most popular.

“Specifications are also a key to a successful used truck sale because resale values are typically driven by popularity and appeal of specific components or component packages,” said Wittmann. “Truck make also comes into play. Generally speaking, the most popular make in a particular type operation will also be the most desirable in the aftermarket.”

The ability to offer a used truck with a transferable new and extended transferrable warranty “will certainly add to the value of a used truck,” he added. So will “aftermarket” used truck warranties.

“The successful disposal of used and surplus trucks requires as much attention as any other aspect of the operation,” concluded Wittmann before he had to run off. “It cannot be left to chance or considered a week or two prior to the arrival of the replacement trucks. Only through serious effort and planning will vehicle disposal add to the company’s bottom line.”

It’s been a good many years since I’ve attended the NTEA’s Work Truck Show, and I don’t recall it being as large and busy as it was this year. The show had numerous worthwhile sessions and workshops, and row after row after row of exhibits and displays.

The event started off rather poorly and painfully for me. My spiffy new dress shoes rubbed large sores on the back of my feet. So raw did these spots become that I became a regular visitor to the convention center’s first aid station.

Buts thanks to lots of ointment, gauze and tape, I was able to maneuver - albeit every so slowly and awkwardly, the entire show.

In his convention address, NTEA president Andy Outcalt, president of Meyer Products and Swenson Spreader, noted: “Today’s business environment has presented more unique challenges than any other time in history. Unprecedented declines in industry sales, business bankruptcies, government bailouts and the credit crisis have all made this a most historic year.”

The mood among attendees was generally upbeat. The consensus was that the truck industry is on the slow road to recovery. When and how strong the recovery will be was one prediction no one was willing to make.

Along with the latest in trucks and equipment on display, there was a lot of advanced vehicle technology, as well as the latest in green initiatives.

One of the show opportunities I took advantage of was the green truck ride-and-drive. I got behind the wheel of vehicles powered by a Bosch Rexroth hydraulic drive system, all-electric (battery) drive system, Eaton parallel electric hybrid drive system, Cummins Westport CNG fuel system, Odyne Plug-in electric hydraulic (parallel) drive system and compressed natural gas using the Baker Evotek fuel system.

I was pleasantly surprised with how the vehicles responded - adequate power and quite operation, among other things.

I didn’t get a chance to “get under the hood” of the vehicles, though as the line of people waiting to drive was long, so I couldn’t check out serviceability features and issues.

I’d like to hear from those of you who have worked on green vehicle power systems. What have been your experiences - good and bad?

In researching the article, “Vehicle Acquisition and Disposal” - the cover story for the March issue of Fleet Maintenance Magazine, I had some communications with two recent graduates of the Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) program from the NAFA Fleet Management Association.

There were: Larry Anstee, fleet management, facilities development and operations department, Palm Beach County, FL, and Charles W. Stang, state fleet administrator, department of administrative services, general services division, for the state of Ohio.

The CAFM program covers the essential core competencies of fleet management.
Asset management is but one of the eight disciplines that comprise the program.

The others disciplines are fleet information management, maintenance management, professional development and vehicle fuel management, business management, financial management and risk management.

Stang and Anstee both said the program was challenging, comprehensive and very worthwhile.

With regard to the asset management curriculum, Anstee said it made him more “well rounded to the various avenues available to acquire vehicles as compared to our current procedures, and provided a lot of good information about leasing. It has also promoted more out of the box thinking to several procedures we do on a daily basis.”

“Through the training, you’re reminded that there is always more than one way to accomplish your mission,” said Stang. “With changing economic conditions and work environments, we need to be able to react quickly to be successful tomorrow. Education and training is what gives you the tools to make those changes.”

The two said they took away from the training additional knowledge, plus many new ideas to help them perform their jobs better and find further opportunities for savings and operational efficiencies within their organizations.

In addition to the CAFM program, NAFA also holds Fleet Management Seminars (FMS) for those new to the industry (5 years or less of experience) and Advanced Fleet Management Seminars (AFMS) for professionals interested in intense, upper-level instruction. NAFA’s annual Institute & Expo (I&E) offers more than 60 hours of fleet training and education for beginners to expert fleet managers.

NAFA’s next Institute & Expo take place April 24-27 in Detroit, MI.

For more information on NAFA and its educational offerings, visit www.NAFA.org.