Depends on who you talk to if its a failure. 15

[enginesrus]

This could be a fun topic here. Its about engineering regression, you know where something was designed nicely in the older days, then basically ruined in modern days.
I'll start out with something simple like filler locations, for gas and oil tanks on gasoline powered chain saws. In some of the beginning examples you simply set the saw down in its normal set position and could add the fuel mix and bar oil. Now many newer overly plasticized models you need to flip them on their sides to add the fluids. So if there is a slight leak from the cap, then of course the fluid leaks easily out.

 

[SnTMan]

Oldspeak: Legacy - something of great value passed from one generation to the next.

Newspeak: Legacy - some inherited piece of crap we don't wanna support

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[enginesrus]

A huge engineering failure is creating a wonderful system that can save many lives, but then making said system so cost prohibitive that very few can afford such. I'm talking some great inventions that could make aviation, especially general aviation so much safer than now.

Other engineering failures are regression based. Things learned in the old days and either forgotten or ignored in modern days, that end up causing unnecessary problems and failures, essentially no excuse for them.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

NT was the first proper network architecture proper OS.

It was great. I think I still have my msce certs somewhere for it. Two of us Unix types went down to the testing centre and did the whole lot in one day.

Which was a bit of a shock for the windoze side of things. They had to give us admin rights after that. Some of them had been doing a subject a month for a year.

I always liked NetWare even the 4.11. The print server setup was brilliant you could have 100 q's. Unix, mainframe, pc, Mac all pumping through a 386 with a 500 mb disk and it never broke sweat or the spooler stall and need reset. Doing a y2k roll out I found one with an up time of over 5 years. In fact it was a bit of a hunt to find it. Eventually found in the back of a cleaning cupboard with the power cable hardwired into the mains. Had 2000 users hanging off it for printing.

Had to be replaced by a quad proc dell enterprise server with collosal raid disks and multiple network cards.

The windose boys said it was better.... While they were resetting printer spools.

 

[TugboatEng]

For more background on the NT4.0 computers, the company was Firepower and they wanted to take advantage of the RISC hardware on the Motorola processors. This was silicon valley stuff and the company was very much adjacent to outfits like Silicon Graphics. They understood the benefits of the CPU Apple was running but did not like the limited programs available.

I will say that my most developed thought at this time was to leave a Firepower sticker (startups always had lots of stickers) with sticky side up secretly on someone's chair. That really appealed to me at the time.

 

[enginesrus]

1.5L Ecoboost the latest demonstration of an engineering failure, and its costing with all the short block replacements at low miles.

 

[BrianPetersen]

The 1.5 Ecoboost (4 cylinder) seems to be a head-gasket-blower. Looks like there is a lawsuit concerning that, but then, there is a lawsuit in the USA concerning everything, so that probably doesn't mean much.

My sister had an Escape with the 1.6 Ecoboost (same engine design) for several years, and it was fine. She replaced that with a Subaru ... not exactly an upgrade concerning the propensity to blow head gaskets!

 

[TugboatEng]

The water cooled boxer design is inherently flawed. With two cylinders opposing each other, the thermal expansion has nowhere to go. It has to be managed in the head gasket and this causes wear of the sealing surfaces. At least air cooled designs have the cylinder in a jug which can grow away from the engine.

 

[enginesrus]

The older Subaru's had almost zero problems with head gaskets, that is 1993 vintage, I have some experience with them. But then back to my, "the old timers had it figured out" statement. If all those out fits would strive to do it right, head gasket failures would be rare. Doing it right may cost a small amount more though, its just way cheaper (yeah joking) to send a new short block to a dealer and pay a tech 14 or more hours to replace it all. There is a huge problem these days in the manufacturing of engines, from the very small to the large.

 

[SwinnyGG]

What's the actual failure rate of head gaskets on 1.5 L eco boost engines, or any Subaru boxer since 1993?

I'm betting you don't know.

 

[Lou Scannon]

The Mfrs know (at least a lower bound), but won't disclose it unless forced to by discovery.

"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Do any of you know about Renault Tce engine's?

Going to be getting a Dacia with the 1ltr turbo LPG in it

 

[CWB1]

1.5L Dragon is nearly a decade and millions of units old. Good lil engine.

Usually lawsuits and media attention in the light-duty market start at a few hundred failures, and are often comical when logic is actually applied. I have seen a few legitimately major, pricy issues in other classes but being an OE engine guy has made me deaf to most of the market complaints in light-duty bc they're ridiculous.

 

[SwinnyGG]

Oh, look! Facts in an enginesrus engineer bashing thread. Weird.

 

[BrianPetersen]

The Chrysler Pentastar V6 in my van is subject to complaints about the "Pentastar tick" - a roller follower in one of the rocker arms breaks its bearing leading to excessive valve clearance and a fairly prominent ticking noise. I've heard the odd Pentastar-powered vehicle on the road making that noise!

If mine does that, my first stop will be the dealer, not the lawyer's office. New rocker arm is a $20-ish part. Pain in the tail to replace, but not the end of the world.

 

[enginesrus]

Facts, just look up all the various law suits on the many, engine problems, across the many, manufactures. Bashing ? No just pointing out a problem.

 

[BrianPetersen]

The existence of a lawsuit is not indicative of the magnitude or frequency of a problem, particularly in lawsuit-happy USA.

 

[LionelHutz]

You missed seriousness of the problem. The number of frivolous lawsuits that happen in the USA is ridiculous.

 

[CWB1]

The crazy bit to me is the number of folks stateside with law degrees that never practiced, a JD isn't cheap yet I can think of a half-dozen folks that I know personally who earned one as an alternative to a MBA or for bragging/resume purposes otherwise.

Interestingly enough, automotive attitudes swing both ways. ~15 years ago GM famously polled owners' opinions of dual-branded GM & Toyota vehicles, finding that owners of the Toyota branded vehicles believed theirs were fairly high quality whereas the same vehicle with a GM badge had low quality reviews. Attitudes also vary a lot depending on whether issues are considered maintenance or repair. I've lost count of the folks who've defended expensive 75k-mile timing belt changes while knocking known once/lifetime repairs that are easily planned and cost less.

 

[IRstuff]

The number of frivolous lawsuits that happen in the USA is ridiculous.

That is a myth promulgated by corporations seeking to minimize legitimate lawsuits

https://centerjd.org/faq#n1351[/URL]]But aren’t people running to court all the time and filing frivolous lawsuits in hopes of winning a “jackpot”?
No. Contrary to popular myth, few injured Americans file lawsuits. The latest Rand Institute for Civil Justice analysis of how many injured people file lawsuits found that only 10 percent of injured Americans even file a claim for compensation, which includes informal demands and insurance claims. Only two percent file lawsuits. Medical malpractice cases are even more expensive and difficult to pursue. Even Victor Schwartz of the American Tort Reform Association has said, “It is ‘rare or unusual’ for a plaintiff lawyer to bring a frivolous malpractice suit because they are too expensive to bring.” (Mark A. Hofmann, “White House open to medical liability changes,” Business Insurance, January 30, 2011.) From 1999 to 2008, while there was a 63 percent increase in contract litigation (businesses suing consumers or other businesses), tort filings fell by 25 percent, according to the National Center for State Courts.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[TugboatEng]

If only people would understand that non-profits have similar agendas to corporations and are just as responsible for the promulgation of myths...