How to become a Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist 2024

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with automobile or marine diesel engines.

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist is Also Know as

In different settings, Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist is titled as

Bus Mechanic
Diesel Mechanic
Diesel Technician (Diesel Tech)
Fleet Mechanic
General Repair Mechanic
Heavy Truck Mechanic
Service Technician
Trailer Mechanic
Transit Mechanic
Truck Mechanic

Education and Training of Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education Required for Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Degrees Related to Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Training Required for Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist in different industries are

What Do Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist do?

Use handtools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, pressure gauges, or precision instruments, as well as power tools, such as pneumatic wrenches, lathes, welding equipment, or jacks and hoists.
Inspect brake systems, steering mechanisms, wheel bearings, and other important parts to ensure that they are in proper operating condition.
Perform routine maintenance such as changing oil, checking batteries, and lubricating equipment and machinery.
Adjust and reline brakes, align wheels, tighten bolts and screws, and reassemble equipment.
Raise trucks, buses, and heavy parts or equipment using hydraulic jacks or hoists.
Test drive trucks and buses to diagnose malfunctions or to ensure that they are working properly.
Inspect, test, and listen to defective equipment to diagnose malfunctions, using test instruments such as handheld computers, motor analyzers, chassis charts, or pressure gauges.
Examine and adjust protective guards, loose bolts, and specified safety devices.
Inspect and verify dimensions and clearances of parts to ensure conformance to factory specifications.
Specialize in repairing and maintaining parts of the engine, such as fuel injection systems.
Attach test instruments to equipment, and read dials and gauges to diagnose malfunctions.
Rewire ignition systems, lights, and instrument panels.
Recondition and replace parts, pistons, bearings, gears, and valves.
Inspect, repair, and maintain automotive and mechanical equipment and machinery, such as pumps and compressors.
Disassemble and overhaul internal combustion engines, pumps, generators, transmissions, clutches, and differential units.
Rebuild gas or diesel engines.
Align front ends and suspension systems.
Operate valve-grinding machines to grind and reset valves.
Diagnose and repair vehicle heating and cooling systems.
Adjust or repair computer controlled exhaust emissions devices.
Follow green operational practices involving conservation of water or energy or reduction of solid waste.
Maintain or repair vehicles with alternative fuel systems, including biodiesel, hybrid, or compressed natural gas vehicles.
Measure vehicle emissions to determine whether they are within acceptable limits.
Install or repair accessories.
Repair or adjust seats, doors, or windows.
Dismount, mount, and repair or replace tires.

Qualities of Good Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Acetylene torches
Adjustable crescent wrenches
Adjustable widemouth pliers
Adjustable wrenches
Ball peen hammers
Battery chargers
Bearing heating ovens
Blast cleaning cabinets
Bleeder wrenches
Blow guns
Bore gauges
Boring bars
Boring tools
Box end wrenches
Brake shoe adjusting tools
Brass drifts
Brass hammers
Brazing equipment
Chain slings
Claw hammers
Cold chisels
Combination wrenches
Cross peen hammers
Cutting torches
Decelerometers
Depth gauges
Desktop computers
Detroit diesel electronic control DDEC readers
Diagonal cutting pliers
Dial calipers
Dial gauges
Drill machines
Drill presses
Dynanometers
Feeler gauges
Flare nut wrenches
Flash card readers
Forklifts
Fuel pump test stands
Gas welding equipment
Governor test stands
Grinding machines
Hacksaws
Handheld diagnostic computers
Hearing protectors
Hex keys
Hoists
Hones
Hydraulic pumps
Hydraulic rams
Impact wrenches
Injector pop testers
Inside calipers
Jacks
Lathes
Locking pliers
Metal inert gas MIG welders
Micrometers
Milling machines
Multimeters
Needlenose pliers
Open end wrenches
Outside calipers
Paint spray guns
Personal computers
Pneumatic wrenches
Portable welding equipment
Power drills
Power grinders
Power sanders
Power saws
Pressure gauges
Pry bars
Pump wrenches
Punch presses
Punch sets
Punches
Putty knives
Rat tail files
Ratchets
Reamers
Riveting tools
Safety glasses
Safety gloves
Screwdrivers
Shears
Shielded arc welding tools
Single-cut mill saw files
Sledgehammers
Slip joint pliers
Slug wrenches
Snap gauges
Snap ring pliers
Socket wrench sets
Spark plug gapping tools
Spark plug sockets
Steam cleaning equipment
Tachometers
Tape measures
Test lights
Tire pressure gauges
Torque wrenches
Tungsten inert gas TIG welding equipment
Two way radios
Utility knives
Vacuum pumps
Valve seat grinders
Vise grip pliers
Voltmeters
Water pump pliers
Welding hoods
Wheel balancers
Wire crimpers
Wire cutting tools
Wire strippers
Workshop cranes

Technology Skills required for Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist

Autodesk AutoCAD
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Computerized maintenance management system software CMMS
Cummins INSITE
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Database software
Engine diagnostic software
Fleet management software
Inventory tracking software
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Word
SAP software
Scheduling software
Shop management software
Word processing software

US Universities

How to become Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialist in 2024