Auto Technician Class: Final Semester!

First day of school photo. I forgot to smile, but check out the classroom!

Last week kicked off my final semester of Auto Technician classes at York Technical College here in Rock Hill SC. With only three classes to go in this semester, I'm looking forward to Steering Suspension and Alignment, Manual Transmissions, Electronic Fuel Systems, and learning a ton more with plenty of hands on experience.  For this semester I've also received some scholarships from South Carolina that covers almost all my fees. If you're interested in going to school, even as a retiree, I'll bet your state has various scholarships or free tuition for senior citizens too. 

The Hunter Hammerhead balancing machine. Makes a great Christmas present!

Funny sticker on a truck in the shop. 

During the first week we studied a chapter in our textbook on Wheels and Tires. Besides reading the chapter, and doing homework, quizzes and a test, we had time to get into the shop and work on real cars. We've already been removing tires, putting on new tires, balancing wheels, and checking all the air pressures too. In week two we'll move on to wheel alignment. 

Getting a wheel on the balancer.

Most of the students in this program range from 18-22 years old or so, with some being older and some still in high school. For a high school student to be dual enrolled in finishing high school and getting a head start on an Associates Degree with employable skills, this seems like a pretty good deal to me. Certainly I'll agree that every person in the world doesn't need to go get a 4 year degree, so the Tech schools play a valuable role in providing training. Not everyone wants to be an auto tech I guess, so our school has plenty of other programs available too. Coming up in January a new program to certify auto students on Electric vehicles will start too. 

Cutting some stick-on wheel weights. Other weights get hammered on to the rim. 
We've learned to operate the balancer, and to remove and attach wheel weights. 

One car we worked on was a Mercedes. Front wheels were making a noise, and I found a nail in one of them. 

We went over what all these numbers and letters mean. 
275 is tread width in millimeters.
55 is the aspect ration, basically a percentage of the width to tell you sidewall height.
R means radial tire.
20 is tire diameter in inches. 
117 is the load index, 2,833 pounds
V is a speed rating, in this case 149mph.

The format for my classes has been five days a week, three hours per day, with some reading and homework part of the time, with plenty of time in the shop. For Electrical class we used some cool training equipment, and got certified on the Snap-On Digital Multi-Meter. In Air Conditioning class we tested to earn another certification to be qualified in the use of AC machines and purchase refrigerant. One other bonus of this type of course work is that the 2 year program can count as 1 year of working in the industry, which is important to meet the requirements to start taking the ASE technician certifications. 

Dismounted and mounted all 4 tires on this truck, balanced the wheels, and put them all back on the truck. 

Wheels removed from a Mercury Mariner, with new tires stacked up to go on these wheels.
You can probably see the 2nd tire from the bottom is chalked RF for Right Front, and has bald tread. If you've never heard of a Mercury Mariner, think Ford Escape.

Four new tires coming up.