Those #+%^ engineers!

[paulsharvey]

A lot of the repairs being kinda crazy, is what components and groups of components are installed first at factory. Everything that goes on, can come off, but it certainly takes time/money/effort.

The sealed components, honestly, they probably have fewer engine failures with "lifetime" oil in a lawn mower (homeowner grade), then when it had a drain plug to vibrate loose, threads to leak, ect. Kinda like sealed u-joints; on average, they last way longer than greaseable, cause nobody is greasing them anyways.

 

[jjeff]

Any u joint I replace usually has to be special ordered cuz I insist on greaseable u joints. Never once had a greaseable u joint fail. Like you said though nobody greased them except for a few folks like me. Iwas happy to see GMC still had greaseable ball joints and tye rods til at least 2018. Unsure on my new 2026 1/2 ton though. It doesn't even have a transmission dipstick unfortunately.

 

[otlski]

Having worked as an engineer in a defense industry, I know something about this. The problem wasn't the design, it was the inflexible standards and the procurement process. If an item needed 4 bolts we had to require full material certification and traceability. Eventually we made some progress in being able to buy larger quantities to maintain in stock but many things are one of a kind.

Just retired from 40 plus years in the defense industry - also making many one of a kind type things.

What KennyG has posted is the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Kenny mentioned just one of perhaps several hundred mandatory requirements added on over the past decades. These requirements permeate not just the supply chain, but quality, HR, facility, IT (especially), security, export, all aspects of manufacturing. Every function, every department, each have ten to twenty boilerplate provisions embedded into military contracts. Many have been for the good, many have absolutely no value to the product or process; all of them add to the cost of doing business.

Companies that can navigate and comply have a decided advantage over those that might have to take exceptions. These successful companies in turn, charge not just to cover the increased cost of doing business, but also for being the ones who can comply.

The high cost of these military goods are mainly the government's fault for enabling it to happen.

 

[IH3444]

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

Any u joint I replace usually has to be special ordered cuz I insist on greaseable u joints. Never once had a greaseable u joint fail. Like you said though nobody greased them except for a few folks like me. Iwas happy to see GMC still had greaseable ball joints and tye rods til at least 2018. Unsure on my new 2026 1/2 ton though. It doesn't even have a transmission dipstick unfortunately.

I've had several trucks and SUVs with non-greaseable u-joints, ball joints, and tie rod ends. I kept each of them for a bit over 200K miles and never had any of those components wear out. I was skeptical when I got my first truck without grease zerks but they've all been fine.

 

[NUTTERDW]

DFM - Design For Manufacturing

Blame the bean counters running things and pushing for the absolute lowest manufacturing costs

View attachment 4579563

To change a headlamp in my Ford F350 you have remove the grill.

 

[NUTTERDW]

I've had several trucks and SUVs with non-greaseable u-joints, ball joints, and tie rod ends. I kept each of them for a bit over 200K miles and never had any of those components wear out. I was skeptical when I got my first truck without grease zerks but they've all been fine.

On the other side of that I have a Ford F350 that I had to replace the entire front drive shaft at75 thousand miles because the u joints were shot. It had a constant velocity joint and a regular u-joint and I could replace the entire shaft cheaper than paying someone to replace the joints.

 

[deserteagle71]

On the other side of that I have a Ford F350 that I had to replace the entire front drive shaft at75 thousand miles because the u joints were shot. It had a constant velocity joint and a regular u-joint and I could replace the entire shaft cheaper than paying someone to replace the joints.

WHY???
Sounds to me like the front drivetrain had to be always turning to wear out the front end components. Far as I know all heavy duty Ford pickups have locking hubs on them. Were the ones on your truck always locked in?

Just curious. I'm old and have driven 4x4 vehicles all my life - some with hundreds of thousands of miles on them and I NEVER had to replace front driveline u joints because the vehicle was rarely in 4x4.

 

[KennyG]

Properly designed permanently lubed U-joints will last a long time. I had 4WD Dakota that had the rear U-joint fail at about 50K. They apparently didn't adjust the differential angle for the higher suspension so the joint ran at too high an angle. The replacement greasable joint lasted well.

 

[dadohead]

I was one of those pinhead tractor engineers for 30 years 8<) Here are some points to ponder:

• The MBA's coming out of universities today (that are running these companies) are all taught the same thing: "EVERYTHING is an appliance"
• Build it to last 10 years (Marketing gives you the life goals/model)
• The "new" model should solve all the old assembly line, dealer, and customer problems while lowering costs
• "Here's the launch date... don't miss it!"

Cost, quality, and schedule are your guiding principles. Every group starts at the same time: powertrain, structures, electrical, hydraulics, cab, attachments, manufacturing (methods), field service, etc... all working on the same shared computer model.

It's like 10 of us are all standing around a clean sheet of paper with Sharpies and then asked to draw a tractor at the same time. Alot of it is space claims... "Hey! I need that spot for the battery!" "Sorry, changing the air management on this for better cooling." "Yeah... we'll see about that!" After some months when things are shaking out, Field Service isn't too upset about servicing that one thing IF you're solving 3 old problems.

Dumb things sometimes happen... can't deny. Please know what comes out at the end is a team thing.... a compromise. At least it should be.