ASE Tests

[93wagonEX]

Last night was the first two of three ASE tests I am taking this spring.

A1 Engine Repair
A2 Automatic Transmissions and Transaxles
A3 Manual Drive Train and Axles.

I don't know if anyone on the boards is ASE certified or has ever taken any of the tests, but I've been studying for two weeks just about and they were some of the hardest tests I've taken in my school career.

The Manual Drive Train test wasnt so bad, considering a manual transmission is pretty straightforward...
but on the other hand, the Automatic Transmission test was damn near impossible. I felt like I was pretty ready for it and after I finished I couldn't remember one question I was sure I answered correctly. It was really tough. I just hope that i did well enough to pass.
Everyone in my automotive repair class was pretty much in agreement about both the automatics and manual tests. So that made me feel a little better.

I have one more test, Engine Repair, to take tomorrow night. I'll update this thread to let you all know how it went. I'm not worried, although maybe i should be after last nights test. haha. I've done about 5 engine overhauls in the last 8 months, and all of them are running great, so we'll see.


*UPDATE*
A1 Engine Repair was real simple.
results come in like four weeks so we'll see how i did.

[93wagonEX]

it was $107 for the three tests.

[mrhonda]

hahaha....my dealer pays for my tests, so thats pretty cool. They aren't too bad, all I have left is A2-auto trans and A6-electrical.....oh, and L1-advanced engine performance....thats gonna suck. How was auto trans? I've heard its pretty tricky.

[cb9tunerguy]

i juts got back a while ago, and my brain is pretty much kentucky fried. i had a1 and a5, tuesday i took a6and a7, my dealership pays for them also, they were $147 for the 4 of them. ASE "Ask Someone Else"

[JaK FRoSTWhiTE]

I took Automatic Trans.
It was pretty simple, well for me. I also took A/C and that one
was more difficult. Manual trans and drive wasnt bad either.

[93wagonEX]

hahaha....my dealer pays for my tests, so thats pretty cool. They aren't too bad, all I have left is A2-auto trans and A6-electrical.....oh, and L1-advanced engine performance....thats gonna suck. How was auto trans? I've heard its pretty tricky.

yeah a2 auto trans was really tricky.

[flacopower]

hey sorry for being a noob, but for these tests are there classes that you can take? i don't wanna be a mechanic, but knowing about cars sure wouldn't be a bad thing

[mrhonda]

you don't wanna mess with it all, way more involved than car knowledge, has a lot to do with money.......wanna learn about cars, get the repair manual and tear into it......really.........hands on beats anything else every time......i was given little books to study about each test......some people who are really good with cars don't pass these tests either, simply because they aren't good with tests.......a lot of people are like that.......passing the test means you temporarily retained the info too........in 3 years, who knows what you'll remember.....i just don't like them

I couldn't agree more. ASE's are just credentials....nothing more. Look at it like this; 2 people are aplying for a job as a technician, they both have about the same knowledge, skill level, and experience, but tech A is ASE certified and tech B isn't.....which one do you think will get the job? Just like what fizz said, if you want to learn about cars, buy a manual and dig in. You learn from experience. Besides, ASE tests are GM biased, meaning most of the questions are based on GM cars and alot of the questions are not even applicable to Hondas at all. I work for Honda, so alot of the material I have to study and remember for the tests doesn't even aply to the type of work that I do.

[93wagonEX]

definitely. i agree with both, fizz and mrhonda. after taking them...all it is is credentials. your real experience and knowledge is going to come from just taking it apart, figuring out how it works and fixing it. get the manuals. and just read everything you can find.