Popular Mechanics - USA (2019-04)

@PopularMechanics _ April 2019 81

Getting Started:
There are two sure
ways to prove you
know what you’re
talking about when it
comes to automotive
service. One is the
piece of paper saying
you completed a
community or tech-
nical college program
and the other is
certification by the
National Institute for
Automotive Service
Excellence, or ASE.
I’ve known some
great technicians that
didn’t have any certifi-
cation. But these

“There’s more to working on

cars than pulling out plug

valves. It’s about doing

what you love but knowing

what you’re doing.”

Kyler Mason, 18

AUTOMOTIVE

two standards (and

they generally work

together) are coin of

the realm in today’s

auto-service world.

And there’s also a ton

of minor certifications

that you can tap into to

learn about the newest

automotive widget.

Things Mechanics

Love: A clean, well-

run, and well-lighted

shop with a plentiful

supply of Gojo.

Great Day: An

owner presents a

car with a drivability

problem that won’t

code (there’s no

stored diagnostic

trouble code). After

interviewing the

owner, taking the

car for a test drive,

and running some

basic diagnostics, the

problem turns out

to be a misreporting

mass airflow sensor

caused by nothing

more than a loose

wire. Minor repair.

Yo u ’re a h e ro.

Tough Day: The

same thing happens

but without the loose

wire. The owner wants

answers, and you can

feel the pressure to

start replacing parts,

gambling that you’ll

fix the problem by

probability. You don’t

cave to that impulse,

but tell the owner

you’ve got more

diagnostics to do.

Obscure Tool

You’ll Get to Use:

A video inspection

scope that helps

you inspect inside

door cavities, under

manifolds, behind

and under a pump

assembly.

Great Resource:

The website for ASE:

ase.com.

Thomas Yingling

AUTOMOTIVE

Nicole Conley, 18: “We had to take off tie-rod ends

one day. One bolt wouldn’t come off. Then we thought:

torch! The bolt expanded and came right off.”