mechanic mark
Lawn Pro
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2013
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I was an 18 wheeler heavy duty diesel mechanic for Ryder Truck Rental from 1979-1990. My supervisor would hand out work orders at 7am every day. He told me the tractor I would be working on had a bad steering problem. I drove the tractor down our straight away two lane blacktop & the tractor, GMC ASTRO, darted to the right suddenly. While turning the steering wheel to the left as fast as I could & also tapping the brakes feeling as if my heart was in my throat. The max speed limit was 45 on that two lane road & I probably did 25 back to the shop. I asked a helper to place a wheel scotch in front of left front wheel & watch for play when I backed up & drove forward rapidly hitting wheel scotch. Problem found, left front spring eye bushing was broken so I scotched left front wheel front & back, removed front bumper, installed heavy duty air jack to lift front of truck at frame rails, installed jack stands, removed spring with broken bushing & took to driveline shop up the street so they could R&R bushing with new bushing & I could reinstall all parts & get the driver back on the road. I know GOD was with the driver, myself, & others who were given the truck to troubleshoot but could not locate problem. I worked at the largest Ryder Shop in GA. with over 600 big rigs running out of our shop alone, 2 first shifts, 2 second shifts, & 2 third shifts open 24/7. The way I see it is GOD ALMIGHTY gave me the wisdom & knowledge to locate & resolve problem. Thanks for taking the time to read, sincerely, Mark