ShopConnection

  • Avoid the Wiper Blade Blues

    “My wiper blades streak, chatter and don’t clean the windshield anymore.” If that refrain if familiar to you, here’s a rainy-weather tip to keep your customers driving safe and not singing the “Wiper Blade Blues.”

  • Tire Safety Tips

    Tires are clearly the unsung heroes of the road, doing exactly what they were designed to do mile after mile without a lot of fanfare. Nevertheless, as tires are the buffer between the truck and the road, they take a lot of abuse running on what are often some fairly rough roads. Thus, tires are a vital maintenance point to keep the truck moving down the road safely and efficiently.

  • The Joy of a Finely-Tuned Truck

    A truck service technician is like the conductor, tuned into the truck’s performance with special knowledge about the systems on the vehicle. In fact, today’s trucks are much like a finely-tuned orchestra; when all the parts as working in unison, they are a joy to behold. However, when one component goes awry, well, things are just not so enjoyable. Learn how Truck Series can help you bring the entire thing together during the repair process.

  • Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow?

    A truck repair shop is obviously a noisy environment, with the cacophony of air tools operating, engines running, and various other sounds constantly present when servicing and repairing vehicles. Hearing loss can be a big problem for technicians, but there are many preventive measures you can take.

  • Peek-a-Boo — How Dash Cams are Helping Fleets

    Fleets are embracing the addition of these cameras for many reasons. Cameras can improve safety by helping to identify drivers who are taking risks while driving — they can detect things like distracted driving, speeding and more. The recorded events may then be used as a training tool.

  • Why is a Caterpillar Engine Arrangement Number Critical to Efficiency?

    When researching service and/or parts information for a Caterpillar engine it is very important to include the Arrangement Number(AN) along with the Engine Serial Number (ESN). The AN is a breakdown of the different components used in your specific engine. Items such as piston group, cylinder head group, fuel system group and all other components are described in detail.

  • Tips to Identify and Diagnose Transmission Failure

    Sounds associated with gears and bearings vary or disappear depending on the gear position selected and vehicle speed. From those sound clues, the technician may look at the transmission power flow charts to determine which gears and bearings are in operation when the sound occurs. Once the noise has been isolated, it may be time to pull the transmission out of the truck to take a look inside. This is when things get exciting.