A new rant (almost)

Yesterday, my ’01 Dodge dually diesel turned over 100k. I know, not much for a 13 yr old truck. BUT, I couldn’t help but reflect on the reliability of the old 5.9 second generation rattling Cummins engine. In its’ entire life it’s not used a bit of oil, matter of fact my ’10 5.3 Silverado uses more oil in a single oil change than this old rattler has in it’s entire life. Mechanical reliability on the old beast is to the extent that they’re going to have to bury me in it because I’m so top heavy in expenses with it, but the motor is a rock. I was joking with a friend last week that since I’ve owned this old behemoth, I’ve never gotten this far into a summer without a serious failure. Even my ’10 is waaay low on the reliability scale. Were it not for the extended warranty on it I’d have found a new home for it a long time ago. Although the mechanical failures are minimal, I seem to be jynxed with electronic glitches. A minor repair, but ranging in the category of a grand to replace. Each instance not being debilitating, but something fails and the idiot light comes on. I guess my reason for this little tirade is to ask what has happened to quality and pride of product in todays vehicles? jerr

I guess my reason for this little tirade is to ask what has happened to quality and pride of product in todays vehicles?

There isn’t any. Its all about the all mighty dollar and making as much money for investors as possible. If a consumer is willing to pay 35, 40, 45 grand for a plastic POS, why build it better??? It doesn’t matter which manufacture, they all do the same – anything to improve profits.

I’m still running an ’01 Duramax with well over 300K on it. Same as yours, doesn’t touch a drop of oil. By far the most reliable engine I have ever owned. Yet, I really would like to castrate the engineers in order to get their attention to see all the flaws they included in everything else. The body style allows water to enter between layers in the cab, the Allison tranny is manufactured to “GM Specs” which greatly reduces the thickness of the housing and other internal parts. All for the sake of saving a few bucks in manufacturing a $45K truck. Ford, Chev, Dodge….all do the exact same things. It’s just too bad that unless there is a recall, they won’t fix stupidity

While I agree that nothing is built to last you are comparing two completely different things. Diesel engines are built stronger for a reason and you pay for it upfront. I have a 2005 5.3 with 70,000 on it and it doesn’t use a drop of oil. The only thing I’ve done to it was replace an o2 censor. Having said that I don’t plan on buying a newer 5.3 because of the oil consumption.

Stan, it’s not comparing the diesel to gas engine…its everything else. Regardless of the type of horses under the hood, the rest of the wagon is built by design to be as cheap as possible. Then if there are issues…maybe they get attention in the next year model…maybe they don’t.
In contrast, I look at one of my boats – 1991 Ebtide Dyna-Trak. For the design and model year, it was one of the lightest models available, yet built like a tank. The boat has been rear-ended twice, took on a wing dam, ran through the ice in the harbors on lake MI, and 23 years of use/abuse and salt. SOLID AS A ROCK! I can’t say that for any truck that I have owned in the last 30+ years

Randy is right. I work in a tool and die shop. Been in the business for well over thirty years. We build the tooling that manufacturers use to build their end product. It just saddens me to see the way some of the things have changed in the last thirty years.
Products are NOT made to last a long time anymore, plain and simple. Technology is changing so fast that they don’t make the product to last any longer than the technology. Everybody “has to have” the latest and greatest so why invest in a longer lasting product when it becomes “obsolete” in short order? (insert sarcastic smiley)

Most of the oil loss on Silverados comes from the active fuel management. It shuts down half the cylinders when not needed and when they are shut down they cool down as well, causing the pistons to shrink creating gaps between the cylinder and piston. This causes oil blowby and loss.

Lets think back… what could possibly go wrong with truck, that has crank windows, a push/pull knob to lock the doors, an AM/FM radio, maybe AC, no cruise, no park sense, no air bags, no computers, 9 MPG, that getting to 100K was a big deal and having box sides after 8 years, was a solid truck….that rides like a lumber wagon…? Yeah, quality has gone down.

I think the definition of quality has changed in recent years in the auto industry. It use to mean longevity and reliability today it seems quality is more about fit, finish, and feel. The market is being driven by the latest and greatest thing not to build something that will last 30 years because there’s no money in something that will last.

big_g wrote:

Lets think back… what could possibly go wrong with truck, that has crank windows, a push/pull knob to lock the doors, an AM/FM radio, maybe AC, no cruise, no park sense, no air bags, no computers, 9 MPG, that getting to 100K was a big deal and having box sides after 8 years, was a solid truck….that rides like a lumber wagon…? Yeah, quality has gone down.

Distributor would get damp, gasket would warp, or the water pump would wear out. All easy access and easy fixes. Quick tune up and your back to 15 to 18 mpg. Less whistles and bells inside and real parts on the outside. I’ld be more than happy to own another truck that doesn’t have all the BS “luxury” crap and have a truck that is designed structurally to much more than minimal standards

Getting to 100K???? that was just getting them broken in unless you didn’t take care of them. Only owned 1 gasoline engine truck that didn’t see 250+K miles.

big_g wrote:

Lets think back… what could possibly go wrong with truck, that has crank windows, a push/pull knob to lock the doors, an AM/FM radio, maybe AC, no cruise, no park sense, no air bags, no computers, 9 MPG, that getting to 100K was a big deal and having box sides after 8 years, was a solid truck….that rides like a lumber wagon…? Yeah, quality has gone down.

Back in ’65, my old ’52 chev 4 dr, 215 6 cyl, poured babbet rod bearings hauled me back and fourth to college for 4 yrs. Quality, weeeeell- -no. Reliability beyond question. Where’s that today?? jerr

jerry b wrote:

Back in ’65, my old ’52 chev 4 dr, 215 6 cyl, poured babbet rod bearings hauled me back and fourth to college for 4 yrs. Quality, weeeeell- -no. Reliability beyond question. Where’s that today?? jerr

Mine was a ’53 Bel-air 2 door hardtop W a Powerglide in 1969…..
Even had a clock….That you had to wind-up every now and then

Changing a water pump or coils is a very simple task on most of today’s newer trucks. There are just fewer people that have any interest in opening their own hood. Today’s vehicles are built so you can likely walk away from a 60 mph front end hit, not like the old tanks, all that energy was absorbed by your innards and you rarely walked away from a 40 mph front end hit…. to each their own though. No if we were talking about toy trucks, I would agree, the Tonka’s I had as a kid put the ones they put out today to shame.

I guess karma kicked in for saying something about my truck. The under-sized U-joints/drive shaft went out AGAIN last night. Only took GM 3 model years to get it resolved and the Yoke changes won’t fit my truck. Oh well, I guess I should feel good about funding someones retirement program

Randy,
Your truck must be obsolete by now, buy a new one. :>) :>)

New???? then ALL my money goes to one source. If i keep repairing it I can spread the wealth

big_g wrote:

Changing a water pump or coils is a very simple task on most of today’s newer trucks. There are just fewer people that have any interest in opening their own hood. Today’s vehicles are built so you can likely walk away from a 60 mph front end hit, not like the old tanks, all that energy was absorbed by your innards and you rarely walked away from a 40 mph front end hit…. to each their own though. No if we were talking about toy trucks, I would agree, the Tonka’s I had as a kid put the ones they put out today to shame.

Honestly, I would much prefer that big brother did a little less looking out for my safety and well being and put a bit more into the product reliability end of the program. This operator safety stuff is getting a bit over the top. ‘Course for guys like Big g who buy their bread and butter with money from those of us who can’t/won’t fix our own, this is a gold mine. What’s the going shop rate now- – -$150/hr?? jerr