Diesel Service Technicians and Mechanics

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Diesel Service Technicians and Mechanics










Diesel Service Technicians
and Mechanics
(O*NET 49-3031.00)
Significant Points
A career in diesel engine repair can offer relatively high wages and the challenge of skilled repair work.Opportunities are expected to be very good for people who complete formal training programs.National certification is the recognized standard of achievement for diesel service technicians and me-chanics.
Nature of the Work
Diesel-powered engines are more efficient and durable than their gasoline-burning counterparts. These powerful engines are standard in our Nations trucks, locomotives, and buses and are becoming more prevalent in light vehicles, including pas-senger vehicles, pickups, and other work trucks.
Diesel service technicians and mechanics, including bus
and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
, repair and
maintain the diesel engines that power transportation equip-ment. Some diesel technicians and mechanics also work on other heavy vehicles and mobile equipment, including bulldoz-ers, cranes, road graders, farm tractors, and combines. Other technicians repair diesel-powered passenger automobiles, light trucks, or boats. (For information on technicians and mechan-ics working primarily on gasoline-powered automobiles, heavy vehicles and mobile equipment, or boat engines, see the Hand-book
sections on automotive service technicians, heavy vehicle
and mobile equipment service technicians, and small engine mechanics.)
Increasingly, diesel technicians must be versatile to adapt to
customers needs and new technologies. It is common for tech-nicians to handle all kinds of repairs, working on a vehicles electrical system one day and doing major engine repairs the next. Diesel maintenance is becoming increasingly complex, as more electronic components are used to control the operation of an engine. For example, microprocessors now regulate and manage fuel timing, increasing the engines efficiency. Also, new emissions standards require mechanics to retrofit engines with emissions control systems, such as emission filters and cat-alysts, to comply with pollution regulations. In modern shops, diesel service technicians use hand-held or laptop computers to diagnose problems and adjust engine functions.
Technicians who work for organizations that maintain their
own vehicles spend most of their time doing preventive main-tenance. During a routine maintenance check, technicians fol-low a checklist that includes inspecting brake systems, steering mechanisms, wheel bearings, and other important parts. Fol-lowing inspection, technicians repair or adjust parts that do not work properly or remove and replace parts that cannot be fixed.
Diesel service technicians use a variety of tools in their work,
including power tools, such as pneumatic wrenches that remove bolts quickly; machine tools, such as lathes and grinding