Overheard a kid at a truck stop in Nebraska say his dad's Cummins sounded like a sewing machine

Made me realize how much we take the sound of a healthy engine for granted until somebody points it out, anyone else ever had a customer describe something simple that made you hear your own work differently?

2 comments

2 Comments

miamitchell22d ago

I think about that kid with his dad's Cummins too, but I actually hear those sounds different now after 20 years behind the wheel. That sewing machine sound also reminds me of a 6.7 that had a cracked exhaust manifold, so it's not always a good thing in my book. Quiet could mean something is about to break or the engine is just running smooth, you never really know until you pop the hood. @west.henry probably has heard plenty of those happy idles, but I've seen too many quiet ones hide a ticking time bomb under the valve cover. The noise is just part of the story, not the whole picture.

west.henry22d ago

17 years turning wrenches and I still catch myself smiling at a quiet idle just like that kid.