Meet your Maintenance Forum Moderators: Mitsuguy and ArmyofOne
11-10-11, 06:54 PM
#1
Meet your Maintenance Forum Moderators: Mitsuguy and ArmyofOne
Hey all you Maintenance Forum readers, my name is Cody Graham.
I'll have ArmyofOne post in here as well as soon as he can.
At any rate, just wanted to say hey there and welcome to the Maintenance forum. This is a place for all makes and models (Honestly, even if its not even Lexus related), their maintenance and repairs across the board. Have a troubleshooting problem, want to know what type of fluid, or how often to change it, this is the place to come. I came to be moderator here after about 6 years and a few thousand posts here on ClubLexus. I haven't always owned a Lexus, in fact for 2 years of that time, I didn't even have a car, but I've always been passionate about Lexus and Toyota's, even though my first love of cars started with a 93 3000GT (non turbo, even). After that, I owned a number of DSM's (Eclipse/Talon's) and finally ended up with a bone stock '93 SC400. That was the car that made me join the forums. Prior to that, I'd owned a 91 LS400, and my current ride is a '01 IS300. My family has also owned a number of Lexus', including a '93 ES300, '04 ES330, and an '05 ES330.
My history with vehicles is pretty vast. I started out working on my own out of necessity. After that, I started working at Discount Tire Company. While employed there, I learned just about everything I could about tires and wheels, while at the same time building up a pretty fast Talon. After 5 years at Discount Tire, I started working for an independent repair shop, the largest in Las Vegas. I quickly learned everything I could about diagnostics, suspension, brakes and more. Was quickly promoted to management there. After some time, the wife and I moved back to San Antonio, where I went to work for Firestone Complete Auto Care, a corporate owned store. I was able to grow greatly there and became Service Manager, where I helped troubleshoot the most difficult vehicles with my lead techs. After some time there, the wife and I took a break from the real world, and we moved to St. Croix, where we both became SCUBA diving instructors and US Coast Guard boat captains. I learned, here, out of necessity, how to work on relatively large diesel engines (Caterpillar 3208 turbo, to be exact). After a few years, it was time to move back to the real world, and am now in my hometown of Sedalia, Missouri. I am back with Firestone corporate, but our stores name is Expert Tire. I am the Manager of Tire Sales here and still have an active duty in diagnosing and repairing cars.
As far as certifications, I hold two ASE's for Parts Management and Service Advisor. This spring, I will be taking 3-5 more, though I haven't decided which ones, thinking A/C, Steering & Suspension and Brakes at least... We'll see. I was a Texas Motor Vehicle Inspector, though that lapsed when I moved out of state, and I plan on becoming licensed with the state of Missouri. I am a licensed HVAC technician as well. I also hold numerous (at least 30) training certifications from Bridgestone/Firestone and Michelin/BFGoodrich.
So, at any rate, I'm here to help, and I do hope that I can. Please understand it is not possible to do everything over the internet, but I'll sure try...
-Cody Graham
mitsuguy@gmail.com
I'll have ArmyofOne post in here as well as soon as he can.
At any rate, just wanted to say hey there and welcome to the Maintenance forum. This is a place for all makes and models (Honestly, even if its not even Lexus related), their maintenance and repairs across the board. Have a troubleshooting problem, want to know what type of fluid, or how often to change it, this is the place to come. I came to be moderator here after about 6 years and a few thousand posts here on ClubLexus. I haven't always owned a Lexus, in fact for 2 years of that time, I didn't even have a car, but I've always been passionate about Lexus and Toyota's, even though my first love of cars started with a 93 3000GT (non turbo, even). After that, I owned a number of DSM's (Eclipse/Talon's) and finally ended up with a bone stock '93 SC400. That was the car that made me join the forums. Prior to that, I'd owned a 91 LS400, and my current ride is a '01 IS300. My family has also owned a number of Lexus', including a '93 ES300, '04 ES330, and an '05 ES330.
My history with vehicles is pretty vast. I started out working on my own out of necessity. After that, I started working at Discount Tire Company. While employed there, I learned just about everything I could about tires and wheels, while at the same time building up a pretty fast Talon. After 5 years at Discount Tire, I started working for an independent repair shop, the largest in Las Vegas. I quickly learned everything I could about diagnostics, suspension, brakes and more. Was quickly promoted to management there. After some time, the wife and I moved back to San Antonio, where I went to work for Firestone Complete Auto Care, a corporate owned store. I was able to grow greatly there and became Service Manager, where I helped troubleshoot the most difficult vehicles with my lead techs. After some time there, the wife and I took a break from the real world, and we moved to St. Croix, where we both became SCUBA diving instructors and US Coast Guard boat captains. I learned, here, out of necessity, how to work on relatively large diesel engines (Caterpillar 3208 turbo, to be exact). After a few years, it was time to move back to the real world, and am now in my hometown of Sedalia, Missouri. I am back with Firestone corporate, but our stores name is Expert Tire. I am the Manager of Tire Sales here and still have an active duty in diagnosing and repairing cars.
As far as certifications, I hold two ASE's for Parts Management and Service Advisor. This spring, I will be taking 3-5 more, though I haven't decided which ones, thinking A/C, Steering & Suspension and Brakes at least... We'll see. I was a Texas Motor Vehicle Inspector, though that lapsed when I moved out of state, and I plan on becoming licensed with the state of Missouri. I am a licensed HVAC technician as well. I also hold numerous (at least 30) training certifications from Bridgestone/Firestone and Michelin/BFGoodrich.
So, at any rate, I'm here to help, and I do hope that I can. Please understand it is not possible to do everything over the internet, but I'll sure try...
-Cody Graham
mitsuguy@gmail.com
11-10-11, 07:15 PM
#2
Welcome to the new maintenance mods!
I was one of the previous maintenance forum moderators prior to my promotion to Senior. I still check in this forum often and answer questions when i get a chance, though you two are pretty quick, so ill just add content as needed.
I was one of the previous maintenance forum moderators prior to my promotion to Senior. I still check in this forum often and answer questions when i get a chance, though you two are pretty quick, so ill just add content as needed.
11-11-11, 12:18 AM
#5
Dysfunctional Veteran
Wow, I had alot written, I hit post reply and my net connection reset and I lost it all. So here goes again LOL.
My name is Joshua Morrison. I have been a member here on ClubLexus since April of 2004, and a moderator just a month or so now.
Here is a little (ok, alot) bit of background on me, both personal and professional, as well as a list of my credentials at the bottom.
My vehicle history is fairly vast as Cody's is. I have been turning wrenches since about the time I was old enough to hold one. My dad says I was "Born with a wrench in my hand and 5w-30 in my veins."
Much of what I learned initially came from my Father, an F-15 Mechanic, and then Pilot in the USAF, totalling 28 years of service. He was/still is, always restoring cars and trucks, and even a few big-rigs. When I was 12, I rebuilt my 1st engine, an old 350. When I was 14 I started apprenticing at a small local 18-wheeler and heavy equipment repair/machine shop for no pay, in Anchorage, Alaska (where I lived with my folks). By 16, I was earning a paycheck, and by 17, I was Lead Tech on shift 2 (positioned just below the shop foreman), and the small "mom and pop" operation I started with, was not so small anymore. It later became Alaska Heavy Equipment Repair and it bought up and merged with Alaska Spring and Air Brake, to become the largest "heavy shop" in the state of Alaska. Construction Equipment and 18-wheelers came (or were brought to us) from all over the state and even parts of canada to be repaired.
When I graduated high school at 18, in May of 2003, My Father was retired from the air force and got a job in Fort Worth, TX with DynCorp International, and my mother got a transfer from Raytheon to Fort Worth, TX as well, so they sold the house, we piled in 3 cars (my LS400, mom's Chrysler Concorde Limited and dad's Dodge Ram 1500 with a truck bed camber and a boat behind us) and made the LONG journey to TX.
I enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program at University of Texas-Arlington with the intent of completing my 4 year degree WITHOUT taking out any student loans. I sold my LS400 (to pay for tuition in 2003), and bought a 1990 ES250 (cheaper, or so I thought) and ended up doing ALOT of repairs on it due to lack of maintenance by the previous owners. It was that car and its problems that led me to ClubLexus in April of 2004 (where I have been content ever since). I dropped out of my spring semester classes in April of 2005 after I totaled the ES and ran out of money to pay my tuition. That's when the real adventure began.
I joined the Army on 21 April 2005 as MOS 63B1O-Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic. Over 6.5 years and 3 combat deployments, I have earned a Purple Heart, numerous certifications (including both ASE and Diesel Manufacturer's certs-see below), and a lifetime of mechanical expertise. Everywhere I go, and everyone I interact with I try to learn something from.
Certifications
-Heavy Equipment Recovery Course
-Tracked Vehicle Recovery Course (Abram's Tank Recovery
)
-US Army Welder's Course
-Automotive Reconditioning Technician
-Cummins Powerplant Technician
-International MaxxForce Powerplant Technician
-Caterpillar/Perkins Powerplant Technician
-Allison Transmission Technician
-Borg-Warner Pneumatic Transfer Cases Technician(Currently pursuing)
-Bendix Air Brakes Systems Technician
-AirResearch Forced Induction Systems Repair Cert.
-Hydraulic and Power-Take-Off Systems Repair Technician
-ASE: Engine Repair
-ASE: Automatic Transmission/Transaxle
-ASE: Manual Drivetrain and Axles
-ASE: Suspension and Steering
-ASE: Brakes
-ASE: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC-Automotive)
-ASE: Engine Performance
-Texas State 26,000lb+ CDL with Heavy-Haul/Tri-Tandems endorsement and HazMat Certification.
^All of these were certifications offered to me through the military. I have taken advantage of every one I can find, they only help you in the long run. If any of you have the opportunity to get certifications (even on the civilian side) I suggest you do it if you can afford it. If you dont pass one, keep trying until you succeed. I am going through that right now with ASE: Electrical and Electronics Systems Troubleshooting. It is kicking my behind .
My name is Joshua Morrison. I have been a member here on ClubLexus since April of 2004, and a moderator just a month or so now.
Here is a little (ok, alot) bit of background on me, both personal and professional, as well as a list of my credentials at the bottom.My vehicle history is fairly vast as Cody's is. I have been turning wrenches since about the time I was old enough to hold one. My dad says I was "Born with a wrench in my hand and 5w-30 in my veins."
Much of what I learned initially came from my Father, an F-15 Mechanic, and then Pilot in the USAF, totalling 28 years of service. He was/still is, always restoring cars and trucks, and even a few big-rigs. When I was 12, I rebuilt my 1st engine, an old 350. When I was 14 I started apprenticing at a small local 18-wheeler and heavy equipment repair/machine shop for no pay, in Anchorage, Alaska (where I lived with my folks). By 16, I was earning a paycheck, and by 17, I was Lead Tech on shift 2 (positioned just below the shop foreman), and the small "mom and pop" operation I started with, was not so small anymore. It later became Alaska Heavy Equipment Repair and it bought up and merged with Alaska Spring and Air Brake, to become the largest "heavy shop" in the state of Alaska. Construction Equipment and 18-wheelers came (or were brought to us) from all over the state and even parts of canada to be repaired.When I graduated high school at 18, in May of 2003, My Father was retired from the air force and got a job in Fort Worth, TX with DynCorp International, and my mother got a transfer from Raytheon to Fort Worth, TX as well, so they sold the house, we piled in 3 cars (my LS400, mom's Chrysler Concorde Limited and dad's Dodge Ram 1500 with a truck bed camber and a boat behind us) and made the LONG journey to TX.
I enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program at University of Texas-Arlington with the intent of completing my 4 year degree WITHOUT taking out any student loans. I sold my LS400 (to pay for tuition in 2003), and bought a 1990 ES250 (cheaper, or so I thought) and ended up doing ALOT of repairs on it due to lack of maintenance by the previous owners. It was that car and its problems that led me to ClubLexus in April of 2004 (where I have been content ever since). I dropped out of my spring semester classes in April of 2005 after I totaled the ES and ran out of money to pay my tuition. That's when the real adventure began.
I joined the Army on 21 April 2005 as MOS 63B1O-Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic. Over 6.5 years and 3 combat deployments, I have earned a Purple Heart, numerous certifications (including both ASE and Diesel Manufacturer's certs-see below), and a lifetime of mechanical expertise. Everywhere I go, and everyone I interact with I try to learn something from.
Certifications
-Heavy Equipment Recovery Course
-Tracked Vehicle Recovery Course (Abram's Tank Recovery
)-US Army Welder's Course
-Automotive Reconditioning Technician
-Cummins Powerplant Technician
-International MaxxForce Powerplant Technician
-Caterpillar/Perkins Powerplant Technician
-Allison Transmission Technician
-Borg-Warner Pneumatic Transfer Cases Technician(Currently pursuing)
-Bendix Air Brakes Systems Technician
-AirResearch Forced Induction Systems Repair Cert.
-Hydraulic and Power-Take-Off Systems Repair Technician
-ASE: Engine Repair
-ASE: Automatic Transmission/Transaxle
-ASE: Manual Drivetrain and Axles
-ASE: Suspension and Steering
-ASE: Brakes
-ASE: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC-Automotive)
-ASE: Engine Performance
-Texas State 26,000lb+ CDL with Heavy-Haul/Tri-Tandems endorsement and HazMat Certification.
^All of these were certifications offered to me through the military. I have taken advantage of every one I can find, they only help you in the long run. If any of you have the opportunity to get certifications (even on the civilian side) I suggest you do it if you can afford it. If you dont pass one, keep trying until you succeed. I am going through that right now with ASE: Electrical and Electronics Systems Troubleshooting. It is kicking my behind
.
Last edited by ArmyofOne; 11-13-11 at 07:49 AM.
11-13-11, 08:55 PM
#7
Ah, one more thing I guess I missed out on... My history on messageboards...
The first messageboard I was a member of wasn't even a messageboard at all... it was a mailing list. It originally started as a few hundred members on a remailer - it was based on the 3000GT and Stealth platform. I later was involved in the naming and beginning of what is now 3si.org. I was member #0101, and that was because I picked my number... had I taken the next consecutive number, it would have been like #0033... As the original mailing list became more widespread, a somewhat elite group split off to become Team3S and I was a member of that as well. This was all in 1996-1997. I remained active on the list until it became obsolete when it was replaced by the online messageboard - I was a little resistant to change at the time and stayed with Team3S and the remailer for quite some time. Back then, I went by m3kgtguy, but when I moved to San Antonio and had that name on the TexasRacingScene.com message board and started going to meets a couple nights a week, m3kgtguy was just too hard to say, so it turned into Mitsuguy... That was 2002. Anyone that has my name on a site, chances are I had it first! I even have some articles still on the Team3S website that I wrote in like 1998ish...
The first messageboard I was a member of wasn't even a messageboard at all... it was a mailing list. It originally started as a few hundred members on a remailer - it was based on the 3000GT and Stealth platform. I later was involved in the naming and beginning of what is now 3si.org. I was member #0101, and that was because I picked my number... had I taken the next consecutive number, it would have been like #0033... As the original mailing list became more widespread, a somewhat elite group split off to become Team3S and I was a member of that as well. This was all in 1996-1997. I remained active on the list until it became obsolete when it was replaced by the online messageboard - I was a little resistant to change at the time and stayed with Team3S and the remailer for quite some time. Back then, I went by m3kgtguy, but when I moved to San Antonio and had that name on the TexasRacingScene.com message board and started going to meets a couple nights a week, m3kgtguy was just too hard to say, so it turned into Mitsuguy... That was 2002. Anyone that has my name on a site, chances are I had it first! I even have some articles still on the Team3S website that I wrote in like 1998ish...
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11-17-11, 04:28 PM
#8
Lexus Champion
Congrats to Cody and Josh. You guys bring in a lot of knowledge into the maintenance forum with good attitude that will benefit all the CL members. This is probably the best maintenance mods team with Ryan,Cody and Josh ..thank you for your contribution and helping out the members.
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