DIM0104C – Diesel Engine Technician is a 300-hour Postsecondary Adult Vocational (PSAV) course carrying zero credit hours. It is an Occupational Completion Point within Florida's Diesel Systems Technician program, building on the preceding coursework.
The course covers the diesel engine itself — diagnosis, disassembly, measurement, repair, and reassembly. Where the electrical course addresses the systems that control the engine, this one addresses the mechanical assembly they control.
Content covers general engine diagnosis — identifying whether a symptom originates in the engine at all, and if so where; cylinder head and valve train diagnosis and repair including valve adjustment and injector timing; engine block service including cylinder measurement, liners, pistons, rings, bearings, and crankshaft; lubrication systems; cooling systems; air induction and exhaust systems including turbochargers, charge air coolers, and aftertreatment; fuel systems from tank to injector; electronic fuel management; and engine brakes.
Precision measurement is a defining skill. Diesel engine work runs to thousandths of an inch, and students learn micrometers, dial indicators, dial bore gauges, and plastigage, along with the discipline of consulting manufacturer specifications rather than working from memory. Correct torque procedure — sequence, staged values, and torque-to-yield fasteners — receives similar emphasis, because getting it wrong destroys expensive components.
Aftertreatment systems — diesel particulate filters, selective catalytic reduction, diesel exhaust fluid, and exhaust gas recirculation — are now a major share of diesel service work and of the diagnostic problems technicians face.
The course is offered at approximately 17 Florida institutions, predominantly district technical colleges: Daytona State, Eastern Florida State's technical programs, First Coast Technical College, Hillsborough, Indian River State, Immokalee Technical College, Lorenzo Walker Technical College, Lively Technical College, Miami Lakes Educational Center, Manatee Technical College, North Florida Technical College, Orange Technical College, Pensacola State, Pinellas Technical College, Radford M. Locklin Technical College, Ridge Technical College, and Withlacoochee Technical College.
Florida employers include freight and logistics operations along the I-4 and I-95 corridors, port operations in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, and Port Everglades, county transit and school district fleets in every county, equipment dealers, and the marine industry on both coasts.
Florida's Diesel Systems Technician program (FLDOE program number I470605) is a PSAV certificate built as stacked Occupational Completion Points, each separately employable, so a student who exits partway still leaves with a credential. The DIM courses are 300-hour blocks organized by vehicle system:
Each component carries zero credit hours and is measured in clock hours. FLDOE requires an average grade of 80% to earn an occupational completion point or certificate of completion — a higher bar than most academic coursework.
Program completion is not certification. The industry credential is ASE Medium/Heavy Truck certification; T2 Diesel Engines corresponds to this course. ASE requires documented work experience in addition to passing the examination, so students typically test after entering employment. Manufacturer-specific training programs — Cummins, Caterpillar, Detroit — are also valued and are usually employer-provided.
Entry is by progression: students complete the preceding OCPs in the diesel sequence, typically including DIM0102 Diesel Electrical and Electronics Technician, before this course. Modern engine diagnosis depends on electronic controls, so the electrical content is genuinely prerequisite rather than merely sequential. Program admission typically requires a TABE basic skills assessment plus safety orientation and student-supplied PPE.
This is clock-hour CTE and does not carry college credit or transfer as general education. Some Florida colleges award articulated credit toward an A.S. in Automotive or Engineering Technology for completion plus industry certification, under local agreements rather than statewide SCNS equivalency.
Diesel particulate filters, selective catalytic reduction, and EGR systems were added to meet emissions regulation, and they generate a substantial and growing share of service work and customer complaints. They are also where diagnosis is hardest, because a fault in one system frequently presents as a symptom in another. Students should expect this content to matter more in employment than its share of course time suggests.
Engine work is unforgiving of approximation. A bearing clearance out of specification by a few thousandths, or a head bolt torqued out of sequence, produces a failure that returns weeks later at the shop's expense. Instructors emphasize measuring rather than assuming, and consulting specifications rather than working from memory, because that discipline is what separates technicians who are trusted with major work from those who are not.
The work is physically demanding — heavy components, awkward positions, hot and dirty conditions, and Florida shops are hot. Technicians also supply their own hand tools, which is a significant and ongoing investment. Prospective students should weigh both realistically.
Generated August 31, 2026 · Updated August 31, 2026