Jim Warman Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Following some of the threads in the 6.4 forum, I see most feel the same as I do.... what on earth will we see next? I have no idea of the age or experiences of most reading this, but I am constantly reminded of my own path to that place I bow exist..... When I first started my apprenticeship, the alternator and front wheel discs were the big, new breakthroughs in technology.... The idea of buying a rebuilt generator or rebuilt starter or what-have-you was alien.... if you needed an armature or field coils or bushings... you went to the parts counter and got them. Every shop had a growler and everyone knew how to use it. But those dang alternators... what were they thinking? And we learned and went on.... Soon, we saw electronic ignitions.... we used to fix a lot of running problems with new points and condenser.... these dang ignitions... what were they thinking? And we learned and went on.... Then came those early and crude EGR systems.... we fought back, for the most part. We didn't need to understand them if we simply disabled them... What were they thinking? And a lot of us took a big step backwards.... Feedback carbs..... electronic fuel injection.... the changes in technology are in high gear.... coming fast and coming often... What were they thinking? And a lot of us got lost in the dust.... Change... complexity... new technology... none of these are new - and we all know it. Customer demand for toys (theater dimming lights, heated seats, nav systems, DVDs).... our need for improved fuel mileage and reduced emissions.... our need to reduce our reliance on other non-renewable resources.... All of these (and more) are driving this snowballing rush to technical overload.... But we will all move forward.... that we are here, in this place, shows we a re a cut above the guy in the next stall... we have the desire to be good at what we do and the realization that we need to know about what we work on.... Until they perfect the "flux capacitor" and reduce the price on the turboencabulator (anyone get to see that one?), we are stuck with technology run amok.... I wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas, a prosperous new year and suggest that we all breathe a sigh of relief that the 6.4 isn't as complicated as it "could" have been.... Here's a version of turboencabulator I haven't seen before. http://www.zerosign.net/index.php/2006/09/22/226/ Here's the original one that I saw... http://www.moparaction.com/extra/media/A604.wmv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamageINC Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Ahh - the Good 'ol Turbo-encabulator. Just tell the customer that there's too much fuel in the system. Me - I'm a youngin'. Only 24 years old, so I've still got all sorts of wonderful stuff to learn as far as I'm concerned. Personally - I embrace all this new !@#!?$! being thrown at us. Right now I'm at a point to where I am totally comfortable with learning something 24/7 if the opportunity presents itself... which is one reason why I love my job so much. I'm sure that over time, that feeling may change, but right now, I feel a sense of pride knowing that I'm always on top of the latest/greatest technology in modern day vehicles and that I actually do a good job of diagnosing their problems when they arise. I'm not *scared* of the 6.4 in any way, I just hope for the sake of FOMOCO that all of the effort they've put into this new animal doesn't backfire if a bunch of the new ideas and additions prove to be problematic over time. On Paper, this engine sounds like it's going to be the benchmark diesel for years to come. But it HAS to be reliable, especially after the rash that the 6.0 (ESPECIALLY the early ones) left on Ford's buttcheeks. Physically I'm still young and so I have no problem jumping up on the fenders of these things and going to town, yanking cabs & replacing the heads on these mules. I'll likely be singing a different tune in another decade but as long as I stay busy and don't screw the pooch in the process, I'm more than willing to welcome all sorts of new "horrible" ideas with open arms and an even more open mind. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 While I miss my feeler gauges and dwell meter.... <SIGH> - the price of progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordTechCA Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 i still laugh at those videos. the older one a very good instructor at the training center i go to use to play that now and then. usually to get our attention and a good laugh to start the day off. ive learned alot from that instructor, he was a former tech that got into teaching and he knows his stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Jim, you must come from the ages of when osciliscopes, tach/dwell meters, and timing lights were used daily. Probably, you had already been in this business a few years when engine overhauls on Cadillac 4.1L HT4100 was part of the "regular maintenance schedule". Sadly, I got into this business thirteen years ago, when I thought ALL Ford products were the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now, I STILL love my Ford products, but I can't help wishing it would pay a little better for some (NOT all) of the warranty jobs. I haven't quite reached to the extreme that some of the guys at FRT obviously have. I even work in a union shop. And I can tell you it's no better than working at a NON-union, at least not in my opinion. Anyhow, I think I strayed off topic a little too far, so I'll throw in my two cents worth on the 6.4L. Yes I did the web course last night (it only just came out on Friday as you already know). That is one trick system there. But funny enough, with all this hype going on with these new F-series trucks, it makes me wonder what's going to happen to the E-series? There is NO WAY they are going to shoehorn TWO EGR coolers, or an exhaust system with a DOC and DPF. How many of those sensorsdo you think are going to fail regularly? Never mind all those coolers!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Mike, I can clearly remember the day.... waaayyyy back in nineteen fifty and six.... my Dad came home with this big wood box on spindly legs.... It had a dark window in one side.... I asked him what this thing was and he said "television".... "Neat", sez I.... "What's a television...?". I can remember when my Mum want back to England to visit her family (she was a "War Bride")... it took the better part of two days on a piston engined airliner. Anyway, my point is that technology is going to grow and we have to grow with it. Most of the guys I went to school with aren't on the bench any more.... unable to keep up with technology, they have mostly gone on to other endeavours. It seems like one day I was happily polarizing a generator (I can explain that for anyone that wants to know) or adjusting the choke break on a 2GC... and the next, I'm looking for a bad connector putting 2/10ths of a volt on the wrong wire - using a laptop computer (hell, we didn't even have digital watches until my teen years were gone) to fix a car... What will be the life span of the 6.4 and it's marvelous new systems? What will we see as small diesels make inroads into other product lines (how long before we have an offshoot of the Escape - a diesel/hybrid)... For nearly 40 years, it's been one learning curve after another... it's getting faster and it's not going to let up any time soon. Personally, I think the challenge is invigorating... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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