Spent $180 on a bore scope and it paid for itself in one job

I was always the guy who said you can diagnose a diesel just by listening and feeling. Thought borescopes were for guys who didn't trust their ears. Then I had a 6.7 Powerstroke with a miss that had me chasing my tail for two days. Checked everything from injectors to compression, still couldn't find it. Borrowed a buddy's scope and found a scored cylinder wall in about 10 minutes. That one find saved me from pulling the head for no reason. Now I keep a cheap scope in my box. Anyone else have a tool they poo-pooed until it actually saved them time and money?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylorshah1mo ago

Man, I was exactly like you. I thought my ears were basically a diagnostic computer and a scope was just a crutch for new guys. Then I blew a Saturday on a Cummins that had a weird rattle I swore was a loose injector. Spent hours swapping parts and getting nowhere. Broke down and bought a cheap scope off Amazon and found a tiny crack in the piston skirt within five minutes. Felt pretty dumb standing there holding a tool that just showed me exactly how wrong my ears were. Now that stupid little camera is my favorite tool and my ears are just for listening to music in the shop.

luna_wright1mo ago

My buddy Rick had the exact same wake up call last spring. He spent two whole Saturdays chasing a knock in an old Ford 6.0, convinced it was the oil pump, so he dropped the pan and checked everything. Finally he borrowed a scope from my other friend, shoved it through the glow plug hole, and there was scoring all over the cylinder wall from a cracked ring. He just stood there staring at his phone screen like it personally insulted his manhood. Now he brings that thing to every job and calls it his third eye. His ears still work fine but only for calling out bad music on the shop radio.