Rebuilding an engine on a Class 8 truck is a costly procedure. Depending on how extensive the repairs are, the parts alone can range from fifteen hundred to fifteen thousand dollars. One option for reducing the cost of an engine overhaul rebuild is to reuse the pistons. The pistons are typically the single most expensive part in a rebuild kit. Taking them out can make the kit affordable for nearly everyone’s budget.
Continue reading Reusing Pistons to Save Money: The Benefits and DrawbacksCategory: Blog – All HHP Blog Articles
The Pros and Cons of Aftermarket Diesel Engine Parts
Here at Highway and Heavy Parts we sell aftermarket diesel parts. An aftermarket part is any part not sourced through the trucks manufacturer. One of the questions that we get asked nearly every day is if the diesel parts we sell are as good as the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer).
Continue reading The Pros and Cons of Aftermarket Diesel Engine PartsCamshafts: Replace or Not to Replace?
So, you have 1,000,000 plus miles on your engine and you’ve decided it’s time for a rebuild. Some parts you know you have to replace but others you aren’t so sure about. Fuel injectors, oil coolers, oil pumps, and oh, what about the harmonic damper? Our staff gets questions on these parts all the time, but one item that doesn’t get nearly as much attention is the camshaft, and it should. A high mileage camshaft needs to receive just as much care as any other “standard” replaceable part during the rebuild process, but it is often overlooked. Most people assume that if the camshaft isn’t flaking, pitted or ground right down, it can be put back into use without any further inspection or maintenance. However, in many instances a camshaft can be worn well past its reuse limit without any obvious visual signs of wear and tear. The old, “I ran my fingernail across it and it didn’t snag” routine just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Continue reading Camshafts: Replace or Not to Replace?Rebuild Cylinder Head vs Remanufactured Cylinder Head
When the cylinder head in your diesel engine reaches the end of its useful life, you have an important decision to make, and you only have two options. We’ll take a look at both of these options so that when you’re faced with this dilemma, you’ll know exactly what to do.
Continue reading Rebuild Cylinder Head vs Remanufactured Cylinder HeadAccelerate Growth for your Diesel Repair Shop
In today’s economy, growing your business is essential to staying in business. If you don’t find ways to create steady, sustainable business growth, increasing expenses, declining profits, shrinking market share, and pricing competition will run your repair shop out of business.
Continue reading Accelerate Growth for your Diesel Repair ShopCommon Turbo Problems & Failures
Are you worried that your diesel engine turbocharger isn’t functioning as well as it should? Do you know what to look for?
Continue reading Common Turbo Problems & FailuresFREE WHITE PAPER – How to Maximize Your Diesel Repair Shop Profits
At Highway & Heavy Parts, we believe that knowledge is the key to making good decisions for your business. Because of this, we strive to continually provide our diesel repair shop customers and industry associates with useful, educational information that may help them improve their business.
Continue reading FREE WHITE PAPER – How to Maximize Your Diesel Repair Shop ProfitsMake More Money by Reinvesting in your Diesel Repair Shop
To reduce the risk of failure and ensure the success of your diesel repair shop, you must take measures to continually increase the net worth of your business. This requires reinvesting time and money into the people and processes that run your repair shop in order to achieve the best return on your investment and grow the business.
Continue reading Make More Money by Reinvesting in your Diesel Repair ShopControlling Overhead Costs to Increase your Diesel Repair Shop Profits
Overhead costs are the expenses associated with running your diesel repair shop that are not directly attributed to a sale or a repair order, such as rent, insurance, utilities, office staff, etc. Overhead is identified on your Profit & Loss statement as a summary of these expenses. The cost of overhead should be no more than 10% of your sales. Any increase in overhead expenses takes away from your profits, unless your sales increase as well.
Continue reading Controlling Overhead Costs to Increase your Diesel Repair Shop ProfitsImprove your Shop Culture to Recruit Talented Diesel Repair Technicians
When it comes to recruiting new, talented employees, we could all learn a thing or two from college athletic coaches. Every year, there is only a limited number of prospective, star athletes graduating from high school that have the talent to compete at the collegiate level. Each of these exceptional student-athletes are simultaneously sought after by numerous college coaches. The competition for recruiting these athletes is fierce. So what does it take for a coach to land a top recruiting candidate?
Continue reading Improve your Shop Culture to Recruit Talented Diesel Repair TechniciansManaging Labor to Maximize Your Diesel Repair Shop Profits
Managing labor to maximize profits can be challenging for any diesel repair shop owner. There are many aspects of labor that need to be scrutinized in order to get the most out of it. From recruiting, to training, to efficiency, to compensation, these components all have an impact on your bottom line. The question is, how do you know what that impact is? The only way to find out is to thoroughly analyze each aspect of your labor to determine how well it is performing toward achieving your overall financial goals. For a typical diesel repair shop, labor should account for 30% of total sales. In this article we will provide some insight into managing your labor to get the best results for your repair shop.
Continue reading Managing Labor to Maximize Your Diesel Repair Shop ProfitsHow to Increase Profits in your Diesel Repair Shop Parts Department
Your parts department plays an important role in generating profits for your diesel repair shop. A typical diesel repair shop should keep the cost of parts at or below 25% of sales. Making adequate profit margins on parts and having the right parts on hand is critical to long-term profitability. Balancing these two components to ensure speedy service and customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of your parts department. They need to make a fair profit on parts sales, minimize repair cycle time, and give your customers a good reason to keep coming back. This may sound like a big responsibility for your parts department to assume, but their performance plays a key role in the overall profitability of your shop.
Continue reading How to Increase Profits in your Diesel Repair Shop Parts Department
