What's wrong with engineers now days?

[PanGasket]

My machinist was an engineer and trouble shooter for Maserati for 15 years. he told me how the engineers do it nowadays and why he quit.after being a trouble shooter for 6 years. They don't have all the engineers working together. They just tell em what they are designing and in what size space. that's it. Then the trouble shooters job is just to make sure it all works without having to scrap the entire design from engineer team x. He said no matter how much input he put in on the flaw of the designs, they didn't care and that was why he quit

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

Never priced it, How much? Its either going to get a OHV 4.0 or sent to the junk yard when it dies, depending how I feel.

Its been a good truck, 160,000 miles and the only issue was a wheel hub/bearing at 40,000 miles and that intake o ring,

Just the hard parts start at $266 and go to $546 plus shipping from Rock Auto. I haven't figured why but they list different applications for the 2 wheel drive vs the 4 wheel drive/AWD.

To change to an OHV requires the tranny also. If yours is a 4WD/AWD you will need the transfer case too. Then you have to get around any electronics/wiring/computer issues. I have a 99 OHV Explorer that just needed a transfer case and I checked out what it would take to swap the engine in and it didn't take long to figure out that it wasn't worth the hassle.

 

[stumper]

Ever change the oil in a later model Ram with a 5.7 Hemi?
The dang filter is right above the boot for the steering rack. If you don't have a rag, it soaks the boot and I'm sure eventually that would lead to a failure.
A young mechanic told me that the A/C drain in the 2002-2008 Rams is above the trans dipstick hole. In some cases, the water can get past the dipstick seal. Once water gets into the trans, it is not good.

Nope but I tried doing it "once" in my 08' Charger R/T. Front end is too low to use my ramps to drive up on. Can't get one side up high enough with a jack and getting two sides up is a real PITA. Then you have the stupid plastic "skid plate" to remove - and then the damn oil pan plug is metric...
Plugs may be easy but I take it to an oil change shop for the oil...

 

[Coronet 500]

DarTT is spot on about his Maserati machinist. My nieces husband spent months designing the new Mustang accelerator pedal assembly which I thought would be neat because he'd be right in there with what it was attached to and the function. He didn't even see what the car was going to look like or even what engines might be optioned. No contact with others on their components at all, just perameters he was to work with. Very boring and not cool at all.

 

[goldduster318]

Being an engineer myself, and working in the auto industry, I have to say that if we designed everything the old way you'd be buying a 4800lb compact car that gets half the mileage and probably isn't any cheaper or easier to fix, and costs you more money in gas.

Yes, there are some cars that are very hard to work on, I try to avoid them myself. I don't think you guys understand the kind of regulatory environment we have to operate in. Safety, Safety, Safety, CYA, make the car a rolling smartphone, make the car smarter for terrible drivers...at the end of the day they just run out of space in the car.

Right now we're being forced to meet CAFE of 54.5 MPG. This alone will drive smaller, more compact engine bays and lighter components, meaning more plastic, aluminum, etc.

Complaining about the oil pan drain plug being metric? Are you serious????? I wish they'd dump the English system in general as math/engineering is far more easy to work out and understand in metric (SI) units.

The truth of the matter is that today's cars are far more reliable than the old ones despite being much more complex. If you want an easy to work on car, buy yourself something like a new mustang, Chevrolet Cruze 1.4T (I own one), etc. The Cruze gets 3x the Duster mileage. I can put up with a lot of headaches to save multiple thousands of dollars per year in fuel.

 

[havensole]

The idea of engineers not working together isn't anything new or auto industry specific. Happens all the time nowadays. In the software world we're told what component we're to work on and maybe some idea of the overall project, but often times not. Just "I need a library that can take in X input and spit out Y after doing Z."

We also have to understand that we are the few people in the country that give a damn about working on our own cars. Most people nowadays don't care, have the time, or patience to work on a car. It is easier to take a car to a mechanic and have them figure out why that light came on. Lost art kind of thing. This is why I've been teaching my wife about a lot of things since she has a classic and it is hers to deal with when it comes to maintenance/repair. I'm more than happy to work on it, but I want her to understand what is going on so she understands when we can do it in our driveway and when we need to go to a mechanic. So far so good. Our future kids will learn the same way, but I'm thinking of buying a classic when they're like 14-15 that needs repair and have them have to fix it up before they can drive. That way they appreciate the car and what goes into fixing it. Adds a little responsibility and hopefully apprehension for when they do drive it with their idiot friends. Ha. Tangent. Sorry.

 

[dodgedifferent2]

Complaining about the oil pan drain plug being metric? Are you serious????? I wish they'd dump the English system in general as math/engineering is far more easy to work out and understand in metric (SI) units.

i am a machinist and work mainly with the imperial system. Its a matter of time till metric is the standard for of measurement. Being as there are only 2 countries in the world that use the imperial system. All auto companies will likely make everything metric in the years to come. I hate the metric system and we are metric up here in Canada.

What i hate is working on a car that is part metric and part imperial. Even tractors have started to go metric with everything.

Or engineers come up with a new fastener design. Like the torx. Can never tell what it is when upside down and reaching into an area you cannot see. Mud also loves to cram itself into these types of fasteners and good luck figuring that out.

Them stupid plastic fasteners that seem to be a one time use on many plastic parts.