 Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80
Loquacious
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OP
Loquacious
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80 |
Working back at the GM dealer again.. what can I say, they called and offered me a desk job in a week that consisted of concrete and tile work..
Anyways... I often marvel at how good ole Generous Motors can take the simplest of processes and make it excessively complicated. Getting to the point of my post... Own a late model Camaro? A previously simple operation such as replacing a heater core has moved to a whole new level of stupid.
Basically the operation consists of removing the windshield and doors... yep, that's what they say.
So welcome to the new age of automotive folks, no wonder automotive technicians are a vanishing breed..
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,060 Likes: 6
Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,060 Likes: 6 |
I feel for ya buddy. This is the first year in 15, since I started working my own small carpentry company, that work is so slow I have to take a temporary job in the old company I worked for, sticking decals on the sides of Semi boxes. It'll get me by for a few weeks. And the bosses are friends of mine. Still...working for THE MAN! 
Fidelis et Fortis
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,268 Likes: 15
Saddle Sore
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Saddle Sore
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,268 Likes: 15 |
Good lord, how many hours of GM labor is that? Congrats to the new/old gig. Were getting the band back together 
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80
Loquacious
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OP
Loquacious
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80 |
Yeah, one of the guys asked how many times I have worked here now... 7 times in the last 35 years... apparently not getting any smarter with age.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7 |
Quote:
Yeah, one of the guys asked how many times I have worked here now... 7 times in the last 35 years... apparently not getting any smarter with age.
Maybe not, but it's good to have people who will hire you when you need it. 
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80
Loquacious
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OP
Loquacious
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80 |
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,193 Likes: 22
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,193 Likes: 22 |
I used to run Russian Jeep based 4x4 s....doubt they made it to USA.
Lada Niva....
Simple, primitive and easy to fix....put a new heater matrix in one of mine in my lunch hour outside my workplace.
I took the Road Less Travelled.
Now where the ****** am I?
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
Land Rover used to be made to be easy to fix in the bush, look what they have become.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3
Old Hand
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Old Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3 |
GM has long been the king of wrong designs. Until they started making the 6, Chevy didn't bother with a valve cover. One of the early 4's had the water jacket brazed onto the inner block casting. That got recalled, a rare event back then.
In the 40's and early 50's, Buick used batteries made with the cells end to end (long skinny and HEAVY) battery sitting on the frame inside the right front fender. You had to use a special made GM supplied lifting strap to fish them out. Acid leaks (common on old style batteries) would dissolve the frame rail.
Up until around 1950, Chevy fed oil to the rocker arms through a pipe cast through the water jacket. This would eventually rust through and start mixing oil and water in both the crankcase and cooling system. That made a gawdawful mess to try to clean out. The fix was simple enough, we would put a cap on both ends of the through tube and run a piece of tubing direct to the head like they should have done.
Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7 |
I had a 1964 Chevelle with a straight 6 and a two speed automatic. You could stand in the engine compartment and work on the engine with both feet firmly on the ground. Everything was easily accessible and easy and cheap enough to repair that a college student with no training, limited skills and basic tools could keep it running just fine. These days I just look under the hood and shudder.
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,402 Likes: 7
Loquacious
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Loquacious
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,402 Likes: 7 |
Quote:
Land Rover used to be made to be easy to fix in the bush, look what they have become.
Some years ago I had a 1979 Series III 88" SWB Landy.
Shortly after buying it the head gasket went and a mechanic friend changed it in about 1/2hr outside his workshop.
Imagine doing that job on a modern car in a day? It would take 1/2hr to even get to see the engine!!
The price of parts for them are cheap as chips too.
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"You can't believe everything you read on the internet" : William Shakespeare
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,060 Likes: 6
Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,060 Likes: 6 |
Quote:
I had a 1964 Chevelle with a straight 6 and a two speed automatic.
I owned this very same car, my first, when I was 18. I ran the hades out of that thing, super easy to work on. Last fall, I stopped at a "specialty" used car lot where they often have an old car or two. He had a 64 Chevelle with a stock 327 in it. Low miles, (34 K) and clean as a whistle. The price tag was $12,000!!!
Fidelis et Fortis
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 146
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 146 |
Remember the Vega?
All aluminum engine, even the bores, no iron sleeves.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7 |
Quote:
Remember the Vega?
All aluminum engine, even the bores, no iron sleeves.
And they started to rust while still on the showroom floors. Not GM's finest product.
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
Couple of the worst cars that spring to mind are the vega and pinto.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3
Old Hand
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Old Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3 |
The absolute worst car I ever had was a VW 1600TL. That was designed with a rotary vibration that unscrewed the left side of the engine.
Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7 |
Quote:
Couple of the worst cars that spring to mind are the vega and pinto.
The Pinto wasn't bad, Not a single Japanese car sold in the US during 1973 had a better record in rear end collisions. Ford was just an easy target. We had a 1980 Pinto for over a decade, it always started even at 15 below, never broke down and everything worked the whole time.
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
I tow for a living and the only car I towed more was the vega.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
Actually depending on how modern you want to go there were some really bad renaults, fiats, and opels.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,720
Check Pants
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Check Pants
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,720 |
I tried to make a go with a 59 DKW (Auto Union, pre Audi) for daily transpo. Frt Whl Dr, 3 Cylinders, 4 on the tree and to top it off a 2 stroke. Whenever I took off, there was a big blue cloud, but it wasn't burning rubber. It went RING DING DING incessantly when it wasn't moving along in gear. Staying stupid, I traded the thing for a 58 Fiat 600 d Multipla, but that's a story of its own.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3
Old Hand
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Old Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3 |
DKW/Auto Union made the Bundeswer Jeep equivalent when I was in Germany. One cold snowy day, there was one following me when I was going someplace in a Willys Jeep. I had to go down the secondary highway that ran along the Neckar river, so across the bridge I slowed a bit, pulled the 4WD lever and gassed it. The Jeep pretty much rotated 90 degrees in close to its length and I went on down the highway. I glanced in the mirror just in time to see the front drive only DKW spinning down the road.
Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,193 Likes: 22
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,193 Likes: 22 |
And of course those clever Germans created the Kettenkrad.....a tracked open top ammo carrier with a motorcycle front end.
No wonder they list( bet they prefer to think if it as' coming second')
I took the Road Less Travelled.
Now where the ****** am I?
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 374
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 374 |
Yea, Vega's were a problem car, but never had a problem with Pinto's, except rust. Pretty much all cars had issues in the 70's. My slant 6 Dart always ran good but it ate ball joints every 20K miles. I had an Opel Kadet that I had to build in a plywood floor, the engine was sweet, but talk about rust. We had a guy at work whose Toyota Pickup folded in half in the parking lot, frame was just gone. Things are alot better now.
Tin Man 2
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 797 Likes: 17
3/4 Throttle
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3/4 Throttle
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 797 Likes: 17 |
Quote:
Yea, Vega's were a problem car, but never had a problem with Pinto's, except rust. Pretty much all cars had issues in the 70's. My slant 6 Dart always ran good but it ate ball joints every 20K miles. I had an Opel Kadet that I had to build in a plywood floor, the engine was sweet, but talk about rust. We had a guy at work whose Toyota Pickup folded in half in the parking lot, frame was just gone. Things are alot better now.
I had a 78 Dodge Aspen with a slant six. Loved that car, but the carb drove me nuts.
Road Rash Heals. Freckles Grow Back. Ride
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
slant 6 was the most bullet proof engine I ever saw. I ran one in a tool wagon that never had any coolant in it and leaked oil badly due to rusted oil pan.I ran that thing every day in the yard and knew when it was lunch time because the engine got so hot the starter wouldn't turn it anymore. I would go have lunch and when I came back it would start again and I would run it the rest of the day. I would run it until the oil pressure light came on due to lack of oil then throw what ever drain oil was around in it. I ran that car that way for 2 years and it was still running strong when I put it in the row. I wouldn't sell that engine to anyone due to the abuse I put it through but I never saw an engine take that much and keep running.
Pintos were junk. Old Subarus went forever too. We used to get them with 400,000 miles on them still running but rotted too bad for the road and run them for tool wagons. Those were the old pushrod engines not the far less reliable OHC they make now.
Those old Aspens (Diplomat, LeBaron, Volare, etc...) had weak trannys and differentials and the sway bar links didn't hold up either. I had a LeBaron with 318 and loved it but it had those issues too.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,629 Likes: 7 |
Back when the Yugo came out a guy I knew bought one for his wife. They were divorced within two years. Coincidence? I think not. 
We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
I just saw one of those sell with a bunch of parts cars, somewhere around 40.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,681 Likes: 1
Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,681 Likes: 1 |
Quote:
slant 6 was the most bullet proof engine I ever saw.
I had a slant6 in my first car. 71 lime green Plymouth Duster. Good engine. They used that motor in everything from snow cats to marine applications. But you did have to keep oil in them Ian. 
"Catching a yellow jacket in your shirt at seventy miles per hour can double your vocabulary" Author unknown
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,464 Likes: 1
Loquacious
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Loquacious
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,464 Likes: 1 |
The Slant 6 became my go-to engine for pizza delivery vehicles back in the seventies. I think I bought every used Dodge Dart I could find and for a while, I probably kept more than a dozen of them in service. I tried the Duster, but with teenagers behind the wheel, that body style had a tendency to roll over.  When I heard that #5 rod knocking, I knew the engine only had another month of life left in it and I'd go on the hunt for a replacement. I never did find the '69 440 Dart that I wanted for myself.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,028 Likes: 8
New Tires
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New Tires
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,028 Likes: 8 |
I've mentioned before, the first car I bought new was a 1973 Pinto, yes F me. Didn't buy an american car for twenty years after that PS. Best cars I've ever owned were a 93 Jeep Cherokee straight six and several late 70s BMW 320Is.
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
H. L. Mencken
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 374
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 374 |
I never heard of Trany problems in old Mopars, The Torque Flite automatics were bullet proof. Combine that with the slant 6 and it would run forever. The straight 6 in older Jeeps was a tuff one also, then again the ole Chevy Stove Bolt 6 was great too; I'm seeing a pattern here. I think that basicly the old 6's didn't have enough power to break anything because of the poor fuel delivery from a single carb. Once Port Fuel injection came along a straight 6 made good power, just like the multi carb European 6's.
Tin Man 2
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
Being in the automotive business I see what breaks and what doesn't and mopar transmissions sold 3 to 1 at least against Ford or GM. These were the ones used in the late 70s and 80s. That stupid flex plate instead of a flywheel also tended to break.Then later the caravan line trannys fail on a regular basis.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 874
3/4 Throttle
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3/4 Throttle
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 874 |
Nothing was as bad as the 80's GM 700R4 trannys they were junk.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
I wouldn't say nothing was as bad but they are right up there, the tranny used in the caravan line is the worst I have ever seen followed closely by the one used in the honda odessey recently.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,402 Likes: 7
Loquacious
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Loquacious
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,402 Likes: 7 |
So often you hear people says "X had rubbish transmissions", "Y? oh yeah, the doodad ALWAYS goes on them" etc.
Haven't manufacturers been making cars long enough now to cherry pick the best way to make a transmission, the best way to make a suspension work, the best way to treat the body against corrosion?
I know they have built-in obsolescence for a reason, so you have to keep going back but if someone makes a reliable car, surely more people will buy them.
Obviously I'm living in a fantasy world.
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"You can't believe everything you read on the internet" : William Shakespeare
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
I often wondered that about transmissions myself. The 700R was an early OD so it was a change, same with that caravan tranny, they were early electronic solenoid trannys.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80
Loquacious
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OP
Loquacious
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,072 Likes: 80 |
Once you get the good reaction carrier in the 700 r4's they were good solid transmissions... last of the pressure valve shift (cable adjustable) trannys for GM.
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 374
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 374 |
We routinely get cars in my bump shop with 200k on them and they are still nice cars. Twenty years ago it was a rarity. IMHO any part that makes it to 100k has done it's job, Strangely enough Electronics are the most failure prone part on modern cars.
Tin Man 2
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,186 Likes: 55 |
Quote:
We routinely get cars in my bump shop with 200k on them and they are still nice cars. Twenty years ago it was a rarity. IMHO any part that makes it to 100k has done it's job, Strangely enough Electronics are the most failure prone part on modern cars.
I have to agree with that.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: Modern mechanical marvels
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 688
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 688 |
We have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 256,000 miles 4wd 4.0L straight-6 and the only recurring irritating problem is the 42RE transmission. Specifically the governor pressure solenoid and pressure sensor which fail about every 3 years, annoying but not the worst. I wonder how many shops sell entire transmissions to people when this part fails though. The 42re trans was a distant descendant of the good old 904 Chrysler transmission with an overdrive and electronics added which was a real bandaid approach.
2011 Triumph America (10/2011 to 07/2014)
2012 Harley Davidson 1200C Sportster
2014 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
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