Hit 100 engine rebuilds last week and it caught me off guard

I was going through my work log last Friday night, tallying up jobs from the past few years. The number 100 popped up for completed engine rebuilds, and I had to double check because it didn't feel real. I started doing them mostly on old Cummins ISX motors for a fleet out in Elmira, maybe two or three a year at first. That number just built up slowly with local farm trucks and dump trucks bringing me their tired engines. Has anyone else had a milestone like that sneak up on them where you look back and realize you've done more work than you thought?

3 comments

3 Comments

gracethomas16d ago

You keep a work log for every single job? How do you find the time to do that without going crazy? I lost count somewhere around forty something and just started throwing receipts in a shoebox. That number sneaks up fast because it's never just the rebuild, it's the ten hours of diagnosing the original problem and all the little stuff you find while it's apart. A hundred is a hell of a lot of short blocks and head gaskets though, especially on ISX motors with those damn ceramic liners. You probably saved those farmers a fortune compared to what a dealer would charge for a crate engine.

pat_roberts5516d ago

Well shoot, that shoebox method works fine for tax time but you'd lose your shirt if you ever had to warranty a job. I keep a spiral notebook in my toolbox, takes maybe two minutes per job to jot down the date, parts, and hours. Saves my hide when a farmer calls six months later claiming I didn't replace something.

cameron_hernandez6916d ago

Gosh, you know what, I used to think that kind of record keeping was overkill. I was the shoebox guy for years, just throwing everything in there and hoping for the best come tax time. But you're absolutely right about the warranty side of things. I had a situation last year where a guy swore I never replaced his injector pump, and without any notes it was my word against his. That was a painful lesson. I'm starting to see how a simple notebook would stop that headache cold.