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Tony Porretta · ACOFAS Master Chairman

Complete Heavy Duty Chassis Alignment Clinic

ACOFAS, The American Council Of Frame and Alignment Specialists, is proud to announce the latest Technician Training Clinic.

The focus of this clinic is the Complete Chassis Alignment on Heavy-Duty Trucks and Trailers with all Related Diagnostics

The event will be held October 6th and 7th and hosted by Mutual Wheel Company
in Milan, Illinois.

The technicians will be staying at and classroom training will be at the Stoney Creek Inn
in Moline, Illinois,

The training clinic will begin on the morning of October 6th at the hotel
with classroom discussions to familiarize the technicians with the topics
and also to give the instructors an idea of what special needs the technicians will require.

The clinic will feature hands-on training at Mutual Wheel’s facility in Milan.,
so plan to get your hands dirty...because this will be a active work class.

The technicians will be transportated from the hotel to Mutual Wheels Shop
and then be divided into groups that will go to stations for hands-on training on various topics.

All training materials and Lunch for both days will be provided by ACOFAS

The topics to be covered are:

• Inspection and adjustment of frame gauges.

• Inspection and gauging the chassis frame.

• Inspection and adjustment of tandem alignment equipment.

• Inspection and gauging of chassis tandems.

• Inspection of front-end suspension components, such as, springs and
components, king-pins, tie rod ends, drag link, steering gear, tires,
wheels, hubs. crossmembers, ride height, etc.

• Inspection and adjustment of front-end alignment gauging equipment.

• The set-up and correction of axle camber and caster on the vehicle.

• The set-up and correction of axle camber and caster off the vehicle.

• Inspection and adjustment of steering gears, setting pressures and
poppet valves. Inspection for collision or road caused damage.

• Proper wheel end inspection and maintenance. Assuring all components
are inspected prior to balancing tires.

Resetting of the Bendix ABS-6 Road Control Enhancement
Computer Feature

• Testing technician’s knowledge prior to and after training program.

Trainers Fred Badure and Howard Williams of BeeLine Co. will be assisting on the frame and alignment portion of the clinic.

Anthony Reese of Michelin North America will be instructing the wheel end clinic.

Tony Porretta of ACOFAS will be instructing the off vehicle axle
and rear axle housing straightening.

Paul Kraklio of ACOFAS will be covering inspection, diagnostics and adjustments of the power steering gear and pump system.

Bendix Trainers will be covering the theory and resetting of their
ABS-6 Road Control Enchancement Computer Feature

Various members of ACOFAS will provide insight into the inspection and adjustment procedures on the available suspensions.

Registration for this program is offered to ACOFAS members at $150.00
Associate members (SSA, NTHECC, HDDA, CVSN, & TRUCK PRIDE) $200.00
Non-Members at $ 300.00

To register for this event click here ---> http://www.acofas.com/register/ACOFAS%20Registration%20Form.pdf

For more information please contact:
Gordon Botts at 815-482-255 or e-mail: gbotts@qcofas.com
Tony Porretta at 215-416-2467 or e-mail: tporretta@acofas.com

ACOFAS.........Leading the way in Relevant Technician Training.

Tony Porretta · ACOFAS Master Chairman

ACOFAS ALIGNMENT TECHNICIAN
TRAINING CLINIC..... October 6th & 7th 2009

HOSTED BY MUTUAL WHEEL CO.
MILAN, ILLINOIS
MR. DAVE ENGSTROM
&
MR. RON STONE

TRAINING AGENDA

Tuesday October 6th 2009

7:30 A.M. All meet in Hotel lobby of the Stoney Creek Inn,
to get directed to the class meeting room.

8:00 A.M. Welcome to Mutual Wheel by David Engstrom and
Ron Stone. How old MWC is, how many stores,
How many Service shops, who owns MWC.
MWC’s affiliation with ACOFAS.

8:10 A.M. Brief discussion to group about ACOFAS, goals and
training techniques by ACOFAS Master Committee
Chairman Tony Porretta.
When and Why was ACOFAS founded.

8:30 A.M. Brief discussion by Gordon Botts as to how this
program is set, the schedule we are trying to keep
and what we intend to teach the technicians over
the two day training period.

8:45 A.M. Brief program discussions by:

Gilberto Corona, Bendix Comercial Vehicle Safety
Solutions.
Anthony Reese, Michlein North America Truck,
Howard Williams, BeeLine Company.
Tony Porretta, Porretta’s Frame & Alignment.

Overview of what each will be teaching
and request from technicians as to what special
training requests any may have.

10:00 A.M. Coffee Break

10:15 A.M. Paul Kraklio of Mutual Wheel begins program
Regarding power steering gears and pumps.

12:00 A.M. All people from hotel are transported to Mutual
Wheel for lunch and getting set for afternoon
training programs.

1:00 P.M. If we do not have a Vehicle with ABS 6 we will set up
for Gilberto Corona to do approximately 2 hour
classroom session.

3:00 P.M. Afternoon Break and divide technicians into four
training groups.

3:15 P.M. Technicians go to assigned instructors for 105
minute presentation, including question and
answer time.

5:00 P.M. RETURN TO HOTEL

6:30P.M. LEAVE HOTEL FOR RESTAURANT

REMIND ALL ATTENDEES THAT THEY MUST CHECK OUT OF THE HOTEL BEFORE LEAVING FOR MUTUAL WHEEL UNLESS THEY PLAN TO STAY AN ADDITIONAL NIGHT.

Wednesday October 7th 2009

7:30 A.M. All technicians and trainers leave hotel for Mutual Wheel Co.

8:00 – 9:45 First session
9:45 –10:00 Break and Change to next session.
10:00–11:45 Second session

11:45-12:30 Lunch
12:30- 2:15 Third Session
2:15- 2:30 Break and Change session
2:45- Forth session and time to talk to instructors.

PROGRAM TRAINERS:

Tony Porretta: Frame gauging, Frame gauge inspection and adjustment
Frame inspection, Suspension adjustment and gauging,
Tandem inspection and alignment.

150 Ton Press Axle & Housing Correction training for Tech's
that want more information on how to correct axles/housings
out of the chassis back to OEM specifications.

Howard Williams: Front end component inspection and diagnoses, Front end
Gauging, Front end correction, Axle correction.

Anthony Reese: Proper tire mounting, Inspection of Tire, Inspection
of tire, wheel, hub, studs, all wheel end components.
Gauging tire to wheel tolerances.

Paul Kraklio: Steering gear diagnostics, inspection and adjustments.
Diagnostics of power steering system.

Gilberto Corona: ABS and Crash Avoidance, awareness of systems and
how to if needed reprogram the system with the computer.

Anyone needing HELP of any kind please contact Tony Porretta
@ 215-416-2467

Leading the Way in Relevant Technician Training

Tony Porretta · ACOFAS Master Chairman

ACOFAS 2009 Fall Training..............A Great Success ! !

The location was Mutual Wheel Company, Milan, Illinois.
David Engstrom, President, and Ron Stone, Service Manager, of Mutual Wheel Company were the hosts.

The dates were October 6th and 7th, 2009.
Twenty-eight technicians arrived on Monday, October 5th from as far away as Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and New Hampshire, and as close as Cedar Rapids, Iowa. , Five instructors came from as far away as San Antonio, Texas and Philadelphia, Pa.

What were they doing? They all came together for a two-day ACOFAS Technician Training Clinic.

This was the latest ACOFAS training clinic. The focus of this training clinic was Vehicle Pull.

As the subject was approached from many directions, the technicians and guest were divided into groups. Each group spent two hours with each instructor. The stations each had a vehicle to work with and the needed equipment to demonstrate the proper repairs.

The stations and instructors included:

* Paul Kraklio of Mutual Wheel Company, Power Steering Specialist.

Paul demonstrated power steering gear inspection, maintenance, and diagnostics. He also exhibited many steering gear boxes with damaged parts that will cause steering pull.

* Anthony Reese, Field Engineer for Michelin North America.

Anthony demonstrated all of the wheel end problems that can cause wheel pull and tire wear. Every technician learned the proper way to dismount and mount a tire. They learned the proper way to install the wheel and to inspect the hub.

* Gilbert Corona, Service Engineer for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems.

Gilberto used the Bendix computer program on a test vehicle to show each technician to determine what ABS system is on the vehicle; if the system is working; what, regarding the system, needs attention; and how the repair the system. Gilberto also demonstrated how an improperly adjusted or miscalibrated system could cause a serious pull in the steering.

* Howard Williams, Instructor at the BeeLine Training School.

Howard went through the proper sequence of vehicle front-end inspection. Howard used several vehicles and explained the importance of inspecting all components that make up the front end. He demonstrated the gauging of the front end and explained how each item could cause vehicle pull.

* Tony Porretta, ACOFAS Master Committee Chairman, Porretta's Frame & Alignment , Philadelphia, Pa.

Tony has had many years experience with truck frame repair and used his experience to demonstrate to the technicians the proper way to inspect and gauge the frame and suspension. Tony explained how tandem and frame problems will cause vehicle pull. Tony also demonstrated the proper methods to straighten axle housings and steer axles in the BeeLine 150-Ton Axle Press.

This was the second time ACOFAS held a training clinic at Mutual Wheel Company. The first training class held was in the spring of 2006 and focused on Proper Alignment Techniques. The members of ACOFAS believed then that we set the bar very high for each new clinic. Since the first clinic, ACOFAS has held nine training clinics across the United States, provided training for over three hundred technicians, and has had the expertise of over thirty instructors.

We strive to assure the technicians that each ACOFAS Technician Training Clinic will help them perform better in their vocations.

ACOFAS............ Leading the way in relevant Technician Training.

AcofasAdmin · Site Administrator

Here is a link to a gallery of pictures taken during the recent training.
Click the link below and have a look.

http://acofas.com/gallery2/main.php