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Ran into an old timer at the Mississippi River dredge last month who showed me how to spot a worn cutter head tooth just by the sound it makes
He told me to listen for a high-pitched squeal when the steel hits the sand, and I've been saving an extra hour of downtime every shift since then, has anyone else picked up tricks like that from just listening to your rig?
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kaigibson3mo ago
My old man worked the Missouri River dredges back in the 80s and he swore by listening for a dead cylinder on the engine. He could hear a miss before any gauge moved and it saved us a full day of pulling the head off to find a busted valve. I picked up the same habit on a Cat 3406 by the way the throttle response changed on a cold start. It's funny how much noise a machine makes if you actually pay attention instead of just running it.
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leo_black763mo ago
Yeah, that bit about "how much noise a machine makes if you actually pay attention" is dead on. I had a old 6.9L IDI in a 87 F-350 that I could tell if the glow plugs were cycling right just by the sound of the starter cranking over. A slow start sounded different than a bad battery, it was a lazy drag. Saved me from throwing parts at it twice when I found three glow plugs dead by the meter but the starter sound told me before I even popped the hood. My grandfather used to say a good mechanic listens first, touches second. He could stand by a running 8N Ford and tell you if a bearing was going out in the transmission just by the pitch change when you let the clutch out. That kind of ear work is getting lost now with all the computer screens.
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shanef343mo ago
Exactly, because who needs a fancy computer when your ears can do the same thing, right? My uncle could tell if a tire was low by the gravel it kicked up, which is basically the same level of wizardry. Guess our ears are the original check engine lights, huh?
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