Fiona's Letters TAFE Motor Mechanic Training Course for Girls Week Sixteen Hi Everyone! OK, let's pick a suitable ending for this. Press #1 for: All good things must come to an end. Or #2 for: Too much of a good thing can be bad for you. Or #3 for: Where the hell did the last 16 weeks go?! I'm pressing #4 for: All of the above. Yep - it's over. No more school, no more playing in grease, no more Itchy & Scratchy but worst of all, no more reasons to wear my steel-capped boots every day! Well, it was an interesting last week anyway. The last of our assessments were done for ignition systems and servicing and we were taken on a field trip to the NRMA depot at Rydelmere. I can't tell you the last time I rode in a white minibus but it still feels like the name of an institution should be emblazoned along each side. Even more so when we had to wear our overalls through the office areas. Any attempt at being inconspicuous went straight out the window on that one. (There's something milling around in my head about sheltered workshops or chain gangs but perhaps I shouldn't mention those). However - I digress! - it was interesting to have a look inside the NRMA roadside service vans to get an idea of the kinds of things these guys have to carry with them. Naturally, part of the job is to maintain a good personal appearance so nail polish is carried in every tool kit. You never know when your nails may need a touch up. Actually, the nail polish is used to seal up any cracks in electrical components such as distributor caps so the spark doesn't 'leak' out. It's a good temporary fix up until a new part can be put in. We were also shown the easiest ways to break into a locked vehicle using various pieces of bent fencing wire. I find it easier to use the keys myself but whatever makes your motor run................ We spent some time learning how to clean and/or change ignition points and adjust the timing for our last day on vehicle servicing. Something that will come in handy when I get myself an old car to fix up later but, since new cars now have electronic ignition, points have been done away with. However, spark plus are still popular and we did remove a set from a classmate's car. The plugs were just in need of a clean and the spark gap to be reset according to the vehicle specs before being put back in. Cleaning was done using a machine that blasts the contacts with sand, thus removing any carbon build-up. Much more efficient than trying to sandpaper them clean by hand. Most times, spark plugs are thrown away and new ones are installed since they are so cheap but, in this case, there was really nothing wrong with them and for the sake of a few minutes about $20 in parts was saved with just that simple exercise. Well, time to wind up but there will be one more newsletter after graduation on Wednesday just to let you know how we all fared. Sadly, most of our teachers won't be able to come along since they are booked for classes that day so we had to say our good-byes during the week. We'll all miss them; they've been a great bunch of people and I hope to meet up with them again. OK, have a good week and catch you again in a few days! Cheers, Fiona xx ;) Go to first page - Index - Next page

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