Chapter 8, Maintenance Worker

Su Cheng straightened up, revealing an innocent expression as he said, "I noticed that the screws on the base were loose, so I tightened them."

How did you come up with something better than a straight line

When an expert makes a move, one can immediately tell the outcome. Old Wu carefully verified it once again, then stood up and remarked, "University students are quite impressive, studying mechanical engineering?"

A mechanic with 20 years of experience like him can tell whether a screw is loose or tight with just a turn of the wrench, which is more effective than any testing equipment. In the Shengli Oilfield, with tens of thousands of oil extraction machines, there are inspection tasks for thousands of machines each week and maintenance tasks for hundreds of machines, all carried out by such skilled workers using their hands.

Old Wu lowered the oil surface and asked, "What do you think of this gear?"

Old Wu didn't care where Su Cheng learned his skills. With hands smeared in engine oil, he slapped Su Cheng on the shoulder and laughed, saying: "Our team has struck gold; we've got a great worker here."

The conditions of the oil extraction team rely entirely on shouting for communication. The voice of the maintenance worker, Old Wu, is at least equivalent to two counterfeit mobile phones playing "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" simultaneously, with a transmission distance exceeding 100 meters

In order to improve the high liquid level of the diagram book

I see that you are all busy, so I just wandered around the edge of the kneeling machine, feeling idle. Su Cheng spoke casually. His checking of the alignment was indeed a subconscious action, but the cultivation of such behavior had undergone systematic training and education

Old Wu called out to Su Cheng, saying: "Come, let us go check the gearbox together"

Old Wu's apprentice, Xiao Hei, chuckled twice and said, "It was also me who poured it."

The screws on the base, some say they are too tight. Lao Wu, who was overly anxious just now, approached and said in a calmer tone: "You tightened it too much; the donkey's head is moving up and down. Over time, won't it loosen the other screws? If the screws come loose and the donkey's head falls off, that would be a serious problem"

Su Cheng widened his eyes: "Did you lose it?"

In the large box, lubricating oil and crude oil are mixed together, and beneath them, there are faintly visible scraps of cloth, sand, and bricks

"How could there be bricks?" Su Cheng was immediately thrown into confusion

Xiao Hei immediately went to check and indeed found the loose component, exclaiming in surprise: "How did you know that, just like in the illustrations?"

"No, I've seen a bit of it." Su Cheng smiled. After finishing his internship, he went to look for a job, and then he found himself transported to this era, holding a wrench, which felt quite familiar.

"Little Su is a university student." Dou Wanshan wiped his face and went back down into the well

Old Wu did not think much and said, "It has some style."

Su City shrugged, unsure of how to explain. This method of maintenance has actually become quite common; for instance, telecommunications network engineers can guide users to resolve issues over the phone. When applied to factory equipment, a video conference can save several plane tickets.

Dou Wanshan involuntarily glanced at Old Wu

He said, pulling a wrench from his waist, he stepped forward and placed it on the screw, twisting and loosening it repeatedly, only to let out a "huh" sound.

What puzzled Lao Wu was that he clearly saw Su Cheng tightening the screws, yet when he took over, the tightness of the screws was just right. So, he tightened them again and then loosened them.

What is the matter with the scraps of cloth and the crude oil inside? Su Cheng took a stick and stirred it a couple of times in the gearbox, along with the diagrams and books. It is no wonder that the Liang-style oil pump is easy to maintain; the gears operate in such an environment, working for over a decade. What was once a good oil bath lubrication has now turned into a Gobi bath.

The 1980s marked the onset of the rampant emergence of oil thieves. Throughout the Bohai Bay area, there were numerous local oil thieves as well as outsiders. Lubricating oil was a precious commodity; if sold in stores, one pound of lubricating oil was equivalent to two pounds of vegetable oil. With tens of thousands of oil extraction machines in the oil fields, stealing was not a difficult task. When lubricating oil mixed with crude oil, it would lose its market value, although the gearboxes would suffer some wear as a result, this was significantly less than the damage caused by the theft of oil. Lubricating oil was a precious commodity; if sold in stores, one pound of lubricating oil was equivalent to two pounds of vegetable oil. With tens of thousands of oil extraction machines in the oil fields, stealing was not a difficult task. When lubricating oil mixed with crude oil, it would lose its market value, although the gearboxes would suffer some wear as a result, this was significantly less than the damage caused by the theft of oil.

Su Cheng chuckled honestly, saying: "I just compared it to the reference line and found it was off, so I made an adjustment."

Old Wu shook his head with emotion and said, "I have been at the well station for 20 years, and I didn't think about going to check the line just now"

Su City is also unsure whether there is a systematic maintenance manual available now, so it uses excuses as a substitute

It seems that the shaft has become misaligned. Since there are no broken teeth, it should be that the fastening components between the intermediate shaft's driven wheel and the shaft have loosened. Su Cheng did not conduct any actual measurements, but rather made his judgment entirely based on theoretical knowledge from books

The university student can repair machines; he just noticed that the base was loose. Old Wu's apprentice is only 17 years old, lively in temperament, and every day he looks forward to something happening, so now he can hardly contain himself.

In formal maintenance manuals for oil extraction machinery, ancient products such as beam pumping units have long been thoroughly studied. For any part that exhibits issues, there are corresponding inspection items. For instance, if the pumping unit vibrates, one should check for impact loads, connection screws, or whether the chassis or foundation is suspended. In 1987, certain state-owned enterprises may have had such research findings, but they were largely utilized within their own small circles. When it comes to the grassroots level, ultimately, it relies on the experienced judgment of seasoned workers.

Su Cheng reminisced about the knowledge he had acquired, yet his gaze was fixed on the axis

As he spoke, he opened the oil reservoir of the gearbox and took out the contents inside

What happened? Captain Dou Wanshan climbed out from the well upon hearing the shout

This is a situation where the oil level is insufficient. Throw something into the tank to raise the liquid level. Last time, Xiao Hei happened to pick up two bricks..." Lao Wu said this very casually

Even when the machine is stationary, one can still discern that the base is loose. The veteran workers present immediately recognized the key issue.

Old Wu had been paying attention to him, and at this moment, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he said, "Xiao Su, why don't you share your thoughts"

"Fear of theft." Xiao Hei spoke very plainly

The latter nodded slightly and said, "I saw him go around in a circle, put the wrench on the screw, and only then did he shout a word."

They are not actually highly skilled; rather, they excel at following standard procedures

Isn't this just nonsense

Mature products should have comprehensive maintenance guidelines, analyzing all possibilities based on appearances and then conducting exclusionary filtering. However, during this period, China did not prioritize individual efficiency and lacked the resources to invest time in employee training. The master-apprentice model often produces highly skilled and insightful advanced workers, but the process can be quite time-consuming

There is no wear or fracture, nor any pitting or peeling on the tooth surface... "Little Black" responded with a strange "Hmm," and said: "That's odd; the gear is fine, but why isn't the gearbox functioning smoothly?"