Talking to a retired marine engineer about injector timing

I was at a swap meet in Toledo last weekend and got chatting with this old guy, Gus, who used to work on ship diesels. He said, 'On the big two-strokes, we'd set the injectors by feel and sound more than the book, because the book was written for a clean engine in a shop.' I mean, idk, it made me think about how much I rely on the spec sheet for my Duramax work. Maybe I'm missing something by not listening more. Has anyone else had a mentor push them to trust their senses over the manual sometimes?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy3915d ago

Listen to the old guys, they know things.

daniel4704d ago

Man, Gus is spot on, isn't he? My uncle was a heavy equipment mechanic, and he'd always say the book gives you a place to start, not a place to end. He showed me how a tight valve just sounds different, a kind of sharp tick you learn to hate. It makes you wonder what else we're missing by just staring at the screen.