A Little Something About Reliability

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by MotorMedic, Aug 30, 2003.

  1. MotorMedic

    MotorMedic Guest

    Bet all of you guys never leave home without your cell phone, right?
    Pity us poor folk who don't have one.

    That's because your're going to need it sooner or later to summon help
    when your Daimler-(Chrysler) cashes in. Can't really tell what's
    going to give out first. There are so many gremlins lurking under the
    hood. Will it be the in-tank fuel pump? The Power Module?
    Hall-effect? Wiring harness? The Logic Unit? Pentium IV Transmission?
    Take your pick from a hundred systems/subsystem malfunctions that can
    stop your car dead in its tracks.

    Do you think you are a good enough mechanic to make a field repair and
    get going again? Try replacing the fuel pump buried in the gas tank.
    Even if you had the part and a bucket full of tools, do you think you
    could drop the tank and do it on the road? How about the old lady,
    just in case you aren't along for the ride? Most amateurs couldn't
    even diagnose the fuel pump as a failure mode simply because its just
    one of a hundred failures that would mimic fuel pump failure.

    An on the road fuel pump replacement is going to cost you $400
    minimum, depending on how far the tow. You will lose about half a day
    if your're lucky. When that happens think about this: Had DC put in a
    dual fuel pump system it would have cost them $40 or less when the car
    was built. You would not have suffered a breakdown when the pump
    quit; only a warning indication from your check engine light. Just
    keep driving until you can get the failed pump fixed. Lot better than
    a breakdown in the middle of nowhere, right?

    Take something simple like a fuel filter. A plugged filter will
    overload the pump and burn it out. The solution is to change out the
    pump according to factory recommendations, right? Yes and No. One
    bad load of fuel can clog a filter, so going by strict mileage is no
    good. Why didn't DC make the filter a screw on into a die cast
    housing for ease of R & R? With no hoses to cut off or pry off, there
    is no chance of leakage after changin the filter. A pressure
    differential switch mounted to the fuel filter housing would provide
    warning when the filter is clogged (pressure drop across the filter
    triggers the warning system). How much do you think this first class
    redesign of the fuel filter would cost? Maybe $10 on a new car. Two
    engineers at the drafting board for eight hours could make this
    happen. Imagine that, after 100 years, a major reliability
    improvement in a single day!

    So far,I have tamed two major gremlins for $50. Not much on a $40,000
    Pacifica, is it? I estimate I could do all one hundred twenty-seven
    gremlins for $4000, about 10%. Actually, it would cost zero because
    you would recover it all on resale. Ever wonder why cars depreciate
    so much and aircraft don't? Now you know: Its in the engineering.
     
    MotorMedic, Aug 30, 2003
    #1
  2. MotorMedic

    Bill Putney Guest

    What the hell was that!?

    Bill Putney
    (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
    address with "x")
     
    Bill Putney, Aug 30, 2003
    #2
  3. MotorMedic

    RPhillips47 Guest

    Charlene Blake reincarnated!!!
     
    RPhillips47, Aug 30, 2003
    #3
  4. MotorMedic

    Loose Cannon Guest

    Good points MotorMedic! thanx for posting them.
    Yeah, the automakers could go a long way to providing more reliability and
    lower cost of maintenance if they wanted to. But, why make cars that last a
    long time only to kill your future sales?
    As long as new car buyers are dazzled by goo-gaa's, we will have cars
    designed to sell and not to provide economical transportation.
    I am surprised that the insurance companies have not come down on the auto
    manufacturers for some of their recent designs. Those stupid cartoon
    looking lights on the newer cars immediately come to mind. How much do they
    cost to replace when damaged compared to the old sealed beam headlights and
    the old taillights?
    It's bloody ridiculous!
     
    Loose Cannon, Aug 31, 2003
    #4
  5. In NYC it's common to see Nissan's and other rice burners driving around
    with no headlights in them, not just the bulbs, the entire assembly,
    because the thieves steal them.
     
    psycho_pastrami, Sep 1, 2003
    #5
  6. Why would the insurance companies care about the cost of replacement
    parts? They don't pay for them, you and I do.

    Matt
     
    Matthew S. Whiting, Sep 1, 2003
    #6
  7. MotorMedic

    Steve Guest

    I see the long-lost Stupid Mechanic has a new name.
     
    Steve, Sep 2, 2003
    #7
  8. On my Omni GLH-T, yes, I could do a field repair. Jack up the car, pull the
    right rear wheel, disconnet the wires and hoses to the unit. Then twist the
    ring and pull the assembly out. Only difficult part would be if you had
    a full tank.
     
    Alex Rodriguez, Sep 5, 2003
    #8
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