Official Gramps' Memorial Eternal OT Thread

#96,176
#96,176
AM64 said:
Read an interesting article a few days ago - think it was about GM transmissions and a kit to remove the thermostat. As I recall the thermostat was designed to keep transmission fluid above 190F (this is memory and suspect), the author said that's too high and leads to fluid damage. Also read recommendations to change oil in GM engines from 0-whatever to at least 5-20 or so. Your transmission problems may all stem from the push to keep oil and fluid viscosity extremely low as a means to improve fuel consumption. In effect we may very well be killing car drive trains and engines just because regulators are clueless and implementers are sacrificing reliability to meet foolish standards.
Click to expand...

They are definitely killing car engines due to MPG mandates. Have read several articles from different sources about it. In order to run 0 and 5wt oil in engines, things have to be machined almost perfectly every time, every part which that oil lubricates. Humans make many of these parts so that's gonna be a problem. Then, they also need never before achieved level of cleanliness after each step of machining each part. Super tight tolerances compared to even 20 years ago means that even the tiniest particles left inside things will destroy them quickly, which of course makes more particles inside the engine as a whole and damages other parts and systems.

Then theres the big changes that have been made design wise in order to meet the new mandates: cars that used to have V6s have turbo 4s. Ecoboost Mustangs are a great example. Instead of a V8, it has a turbo inline 4 but still makes 300hp. They put those in trucks now too. My son's truck has one. Turbos add not only lots more parts to tear up, they also have a shorter lifetime than regular engines due to complexity, heat, and the incredibly high RPM they spin relative to an engine itself. They are expensive too. So vehicles are now more costly and less reliable. Far more recalls for engine defects and problems even from companies you associate with dependability like Honda and Toyota. I have talked to a mechanic about it and he agreed. He said peak reliability is gone. New cars are lucky to make 100,000 miles without significant repairs/problems and those get more complex and expensive with each passing year as well.

The governments of the West have forced car manufacturers to ruin cars through their mandates. All part of the "Climate Change" grift but that discussion is for its own thread.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AM64 and allstar34
#96,177
#96,177
AM64 said:
Few days ago there was an Einstein comment and then one about the speed of sound. My mind was obliviously somewhere else and read Einstein and transferred speed of sound to speed of light. Funny thing is that the speed of sound really is complicated - anything that affects density in the medium also affects the speed of sound in the medium. I've noted some some interesting things over the years while running tests in nuclear plants - some having to do with water temperature and density. One of the most interesting was while doing pump reactor startup testing was finding that flow noise was significantly decreased when the water was pressurized and around 600F.

At Three Mile Island after the accident, we were monitoring system pressure which is actually controlled by heating and spray cooling in the pressurizer - works a lot like a thermostat so the pressure increases and decreases around the setpoint. Anyway at the highest pressure we started seeing flow noise and with time it became more prominent - showing up earlier as the pressure peaked and longer as the pressure dropped. All this time the operators were venting the system to bleed off hydrogen gas in the reactor - the gas was released by fuel melting and cladding damage. We realized that as the temperature rose the hydrogen trapped in the coolant was being completely pressurized and no longer acting as a "shock absorber" so the pressure transducers were actually beginning to respond to flow noise. With that, we were able to track the degassing process. It's always interesting to find something new and even better to figure out what's going on and how to use the information.
Click to expand...
Cool story 64. It was my posting listing all the different variables that affect the speed of sound due to density like altitude, temp, humidity, and what medium the sound was actually traveling through. It was a dumb question from the reporter. Thought Albert dismissed it gracefully.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AM64
#96,179
#96,179
AM64 said:
Read an interesting article a few days ago - think it was about GM transmissions and a kit to remove the thermostat. As I recall the thermostat was designed to keep transmission fluid above 190F (this is memory and suspect), the author said that's too high and leads to fluid damage. Also read recommendations to change oil in GM engines from 0-whatever to at least 5-20 or so. Your transmission problems may all stem from the push to keep oil and fluid viscosity extremely low as a means to improve fuel consumption. In effect we may very well be killing car drive trains and engines just because regulators are clueless and implementers are sacrificing reliability to meet foolish standards.
Click to expand...
I think you have to consider humidity and humility...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AM64, UT_Dutchman and marcusluvsvols
#96,182
#96,182
marcusluvsvols said:
They are definitely killing car engines due to MPG mandates. Have read several articles from different sources about it. In order to run 0 and 5wt oil in engines, things have to be machined almost perfectly every time, every part which that oil lubricates. Humans make many of these parts so that's gonna be a problem. Then, they also need never before achieved level of cleanliness after each step of machining each part. Super tight tolerances compared to even 20 years ago means that even the tiniest particles left inside things will destroy them quickly, which of course makes more particles inside the engine as a whole and damages other parts and systems.

Then theres the big changes that have been made design wise in order to meet the new mandates: cars that used to have V6s have turbo 4s. Ecoboost Mustangs are a great example. Instead of a V8, it has a turbo inline 4 but still makes 300hp. They put those in trucks now too. My son's truck has one. Turbos add not only lots more parts to tear up, they also have a shorter lifetime than regular engines due to complexity, heat, and the incredibly high RPM they spin relative to an engine itself. They are expensive too. So vehicles are now more costly and less reliable. Far more recalls for engine defects and problems even from companies you associate with dependability like Honda and Toyota. I have talked to a mechanic about it and he agreed. He said peak reliability is gone. New cars are lucky to make 100,000 miles without significant repairs/problems and those get more complex and expensive with each passing year as well.

The governments of the West have forced car manufacturers to ruin cars through their mandates. All part of the "Climate Change" grift but that discussion is for its own thread.
Click to expand...
GM is trash, I just never realized that because I only sold new vehicles. The active fuel management system destroys the camshaft and lifters. The truck was sent to the dealership with the wrong transmission fluid and cause early wear and tear to the components. The torque converter is straight trash and falls apart around 60k miles. Many problems with air conditioner condensers. it just goes on and on.

They are pricing these vehicles where the average buyer can't afford them anymore anyways. I'll never buy another after my 2019 Sierra kicks the bucket.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AM64 and marcusluvsvols
#96,183
#96,183
allstar34 said:
GM is trash, I just never realized that because I only sold new vehicles. The active fuel management system destroys the camshaft and lifters. The truck was sent to the dealership with the wrong transmission fluid and cause early wear and tear to the components. The torque converter is straight trash and falls apart around 60k miles. Many problems with air conditioner condensers. it just goes on and on.

They are pricing these vehicles where the average buyer can't afford them anymore anyways. I'll never buy another after my 2019 Sierra kicks the bucket.
Click to expand...

Well on the bright side you shouldn't have too long before that happens. GM might be one of the worst car manufacturers around these days.

I'm praying for my 2016 Nissan to finally go tits up so I can get another Tacoma.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carl Pickens, AM64 and marcusluvsvols
#96,191
#96,191
DinkinFlicka said:
Well on the bright side you shouldn't have too long before that happens. GM might be one of the worst car manufacturers around these days.

I'm praying for my 2016 Nissan to finally go tits up so I can get another Tacoma.
Click to expand...
Brotha, I just paid 14k to replace it all :D it did happen.
Then 3 weeks later I get hit by someone with no insurance
 
  • Like
Reactions: marcusluvsvols and AM64
#96,194
#96,194
StarRaider said:
I think you have to consider humidity and humility...
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Do you tempt Mother Nature by barging in with a blunt nose or maybe show some compassion and thread the needle with a pointy one?

My brother always gets a chuckle out of one incident when he was doing a post maintenance check flight on an F-106 at Tyndall one Saturday morning. He unintentionally went supersonic over Panama City and tried to mitigate it by turning and getting out over the Gulf. One of his neighbors said "That was you?" and said he knew it was going to be bad when he saw the curtains pull in and then puff back out. My brother said one of the company engineers later told him that the sonic boom from an F-106 radiates out from the wing tips, so he basically pointed the boom down and dragged it around Panama City. He also told me the only jet he ever flew that actually seemed to slow down when you pulled back on the throttles was the F-4 - the F-106 just wanted to keep running, so slowing it quickly was easier said than done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: StarRaider and marcusluvsvols
#96,196
#96,196
DinkinFlicka said:
Well on the bright side you shouldn't have too long before that happens. GM might be one of the worst car manufacturers around these days.

I'm praying for my 2016 Nissan to finally go tits up so I can get another Tacoma.
Click to expand...

They even messed up the reliability on the Tacomas too. I dont remember the years but make sure to Google that too. Had a huge recall on them. Some type of engine problem recall due to the crap I was talking about. Honda is in the same boat. The turbo 4 that they use as base engine in the new civics and accords both...1.5L. They have had problems too and had class action suits/recalls. I would hate to think how bad some of the American made turbo engines are if Toyota and Honda cant build bulletproof engines anymore. Crazy times man. This is what happens though when MPG mandates cause design changes.

Edit: I know you like older stuff too Dink. Not just new. Fwiw, the Nissan Frontiers still come with the same bulletproof V6 they have had forever or a really good big 4banger that's NA. That V6 drinks gas though. Was in my daughter's Xterra and they get about 18mpg. I credit Nissan for not replacing their solid V6 they've used forever with a turbo4 like everyone else.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AM64
#96,197
#96,197
marcusluvsvols said:
They even messed up the reliability on the Tacomas too. I dont remember the years but make sure to Google that too. Had a huge recall on them. Some type of engine problem recall due to the crap I was talking about. Honda is in the same boat. The turbo 4 that they use as base engine in the new civics and accords both...1.5L. They have had problems too and had class action suits/recalls. I would hate to think how bad some of the American made turbo engines are if Toyota and Honda cant build bulletproof engines anymore. Crazy times man. This is what happens though when MPG mandates cause design changes.
Click to expand...

It may not be everywhere, but I've always found a tremendous amount of friction between engineers and management. You have a gung ho bunch of clowns pushing do more with less etc and a bunch of guys trying to tell them that the rules of physics have the last say in how it all works. If you look at regulatory bodies, it's probably even worse - they are made up chiefly of lawyers and starry eyed "scientists" out to "save the world" without a clue as to how the world works. Nothing is simple, and you can't look at it as isolated parts because every move affects the whole; a lot of people just can't seem to absorb that.

The closest I've seen to the business world understanding feedback and control and system dynamics would be the classical economic supply and demand curves. The very same curves that would tell anyone even half intelligent that extreme automation and AI can't work - no workers means no income to buy products. The extreme concentration of wealth among a smaller group is precisely what has led to the fall of numerous civilizations - and heads rolling. History is a bit too important to forget or to never have understood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: StarRaider and marcusluvsvols
#96,200
#96,200

Attachments

  • IMG_9854.jpeg
    IMG_9854.jpeg
    280.2 KB · Views: 6
  • Like
Reactions: marcusluvsvols, UT_Dutchman, JOEY’S ALL VOL !!! and 1 other person
New Posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

Advertisement



Back
Top