A customer in Boise taught me to listen to the quiet noises

I had this guy bring in his old 7.3 Powerstroke for a rough idle. I hooked up the scanner, checked the usual stuff, and was about to tell him it was probably injector o-rings. He stopped me and said, 'Before you tear into it, come listen.' We stood by the fender in the quiet shop, and he pointed out this faint, rhythmic hiss from the valley, almost like a tiny air leak. I would have totally missed it over the engine clatter. He said he'd been a heavy equipment operator for 30 years and learned to hear the small sounds before the big ones fail. Sure enough, it was a cracked turbo up-pipe gasket, a way cheaper fix. It made me slow down on every diagnosis since. Anyone else have a moment where a customer pointed out something you almost missed?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben4861mo ago

Sounds like that guy just got lucky.

viola_butler27d ago

Lucky is putting it mildly. That guy probably used up his entire life's luck on one dumb spin of a slot machine. Good for him, I guess, but now he's doomed to a lifetime of burnt toast and red lights. Hope he's got a good therapist, because that kind of luck doesn't come free. There's always a catch with these things.

thompson.tyler1mo ago

Right? Total luck. I saw a guy win big on a scratch-off last week and it was the same thing, just pure chance. Makes you wonder how often that happens, huh?