Allan et. al. should double-check facts

Posted by jdemaris on March 20, 2006 at 11:24:21 from (66.218.24.125):

In Reply to: Re: Allen in NE - How about using some accurate f posted by Allan In NE on March 20, 2006 at 07:57:47:

I also first worked - indirectly - for GM in 1968, at a Chevrolet dealership as a mechanic - but that has little to do with this. I went from there to working in several fuel-injection shops, the Ford-Mahwah production plant (for the Fairlane chassis), and several Deere dealerships. You keep casting allusions towards my direction as if my "pretense" of knowledge is based on reading secondary source material rather than hands-on experience. I don't know where you get that from - not from me - and not from any accurate information. Same goes to any of your apparent followers who seem to be mis or un-informed.
Now, before I go any further - I don't pretend to know everything that goes on behind the scenes at companies like GM or Deere. Many of people that work there do not know either. Both my wife's parents were engineers for Ford, her great-grand-dad was an engineer for Dodge, I was friends with several Deere engineers from the Syracuse headquarters, so I know a little of the corporate stuff. Also keep in mind, that when working in a repair shop, I usually only get to see the problem stuff. People did not come to us when things were going fine.
First - take Chevrolet and training. Right now, we've got a local Chevy dealer that has piles of unopened boxes of factory service tools stored in his attic. He is required to buy them, but never uses them. He hires out for diesel repairs. I go there once in awhile and borrow tools - very often using them for the first time.
The G.M. dealer we did work for was a Chevy dealer in Oneonta, New York, ca. 1978-1980, name is Country Club Chevrolet, and we did much of their diesel warranty work. Go call them and tell them it can't be true. My boss was Jim Lane, owner of Laneway Inc. - a Deere forestry, industrial and ag. dealer. We also did Roosamaster and CAV diesel injection work.
In regard to the Oldsmobile diesel program - the 350 block was enhanced and modified for diesel - and the same bellhosing bolt pattern and same bore and stroke was retained for the 260 and 350 V-8 in gas or diesel version. The early engines had MANY crankshaft failures - and I mean failure. Some were snapped clear in half. Now, the fuel injection pump failures? You mention only return line problems? I fixed many Roosamaster injection pumps, mostly with governor weight-retainer ring failure and umbrella seal failure on the pump driveshaft. GM tech. guys were pulling their hair out over it, and Roosamaster/Stanadyne was not being very helpful. We had the same pumps being used on Deere equipment and - when used on tractors - we did not have the same problems. Roosamaster claimed much of the trouble was - that the pump was industrial design with open-air engine compartments. When used in GM products, is was under a closed and insulated hood and temps got too high. True? I don't know. The material used in both the plastic retainer ring and the seals were changed several times until they finally got it to last longer. A few years later, ca. 1985 the governor ring was totally eliminated (in the DB2 pumps). On private repairs, we upgraded it on our own accord - but when doing GM warranty work, we were NOT allowed. Now, you say no head-gasket problems? That is, hands down, a load of crap - as least in this area of the Northeast. The vast majority of our warranty work was head-gasket replacement. And, what we soon discovered was - after one or two such replacements, the problem got worse. Maybe 70K miles the first time, 20K miles the second, etc. GM kept coming out with updated head-gaskets and head bolts, but to no avail. Now, some claim it was the way the engines were used. Well, perhaps sometimes - but certainly not always. My boss bought three Chevy 1/2 ton 350 diesel trucks brand new, drove them like cars, babied them, and they all had problems - and it was all highway driving. His best was his 1979. When he hit 70K miles, the heater stopped working whenever he came to a stop. That was our biggest complaint and the first early sign of head-gasket failure. No heat is a big issue around here in the winter. The 350 diesel was prone to head-gasket leakage causing an air-lock in the cooling system. So, we put new gaskets and bolts in. It went for 15K miles and did it again. We fixed it again - and he then pulled the engine and replaced it with a new one from GM. It made it to the 45K mile mark and did the same thing. He finally had a new Oldsmobile gas-engine put in and sold the truck. I can tell many such stories. Strangely though, we had buyers coming here from Florida and buying up all our "bad" 5.7 diesel engines. They claimed they held up much better down south, away from our cold air temperatures. We sold many complete running engines for $50 apiece. Until a few years ago, I had a dozen sitting out in my field.
The law-suit story you mention - about the engine swapping resulting in a Chevy engine in an Olds car, or vice-versa is a totally different thing. GM was hit with a huge class-action suit only relating to the 5.7 diesel, and they settled. Part of the solution was a new Target longblock and GM paid 80% of the bill if the problem engine had under 100K miles on it. There was some other pro-rating involved, the details I don't recall.
Now, Allan - you stated, and I quote . . . " I’ve been in more of those engines than you’ve read about in your newspaper articles." Well - how do I answer that? Maybe we do need, what you call, a p*ssing match - and that goes for your friends who seem to accept whatever you say as gospel. I cannot speak with absolute certainty on every issue that corporate GM ever did - but I CAN speak about what I've done. And I've had many 5.7s apart, as well as many Roosamaster pumps apart. How many - I don't know, but probably over 50 engines and hundreds of injection pumps. I will provide you with the dates, addresses, and contact info for every dealer and shop I worked for or with, back to the mid-60s, along with my professional and academic training, if you wish to compare your history or work experience and education with mine. I do NOT claim to be better than anyone else, but don't throw dispersions in my direction that have NO basis in reality.
I like to think this is a forum for sharing useful information and experience with fellow enthusiasts. So, if there is any specific item that I've mentioned, that you believe is wrong - then let's compare such with verified facts and not innuendo.

Replies:

• Re: Allan et. al. should double-check facts Allan In NE 12:57:33 03/20/06 (1)
  • Re: Allan et. al. should double-check facts jdemaris 17:49:56 03/20/06 (0)
• Re: Allan et. al. should double-check facts Sloroll 11:45:09 03/20/06 (0)

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