I don't really think those same disgrunteled workers were involved in producing the first 6.0L engines. The quality problems with the early 6.0's were caused by management, with the injector problems that should have been solved a year ago, but for management's reluctance to pay Caterpillar a royalty for the tungston carbide coating process on the plunger and barrel. That is the bad news. The good news is that Ford was aware of the problems and refused to accept the engines until the problems were solved. They even sent a crew of their own engineers to the plant where the injectors are made in an effort to help get things going. I wish they'd do the same at the Indianapolis plant. We have the potential to do some really good things if it weren't for those morons that run this place standing around in the way all the time.
Also, this is an entirely new assembly process. Every 4 or 5 assembly jobs there is a testing device to check if the assembly operations have been performed correctly. All this information is down loaded into an RF chip imbedded into the pallet that the engine is riding on, and the system's computer won't let the engine pass the testing point until it passes the test. All this is going to make it VERY difficult to misbuild an engine either accidently or on purpose.
Additionally, not all those last 7.3L engines were built on our Indy assembly line. Some were built with outside minimun wage help, directed by the same morons who screwed everything up at our plant. I am told those engines were a disaster when they came through our paint and trim process.
I believe firmly in the "actions speak louder than words" axiom. Management keeps telling us that we are all a team but I don't see any evidence of it.

 

>Management keeps telling us that we are all a team
>but I don't see any evidence of it.

I understand your frustration Joe. The contract that I work under is set to expire March 31, 2003. The economy is bad now and I am not betting on a great contract this time around.
I am sitting here looking at an invoice for a 03 F251 4X4 CC King Ranch with the new 6.0L Powerstroke. My 01 7.3L is looking really good after reviewing your post. I hope that Navistar labor can understand that we are depending on them for quality work that has been demonstrated in the past. Your 7.3L PS is a wonderful engine, I truly hope the 6.0L will be even better.


International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Local 745
Dallas, Texas

 

Everybody seems to be getting back to normal around here and you are right, the 6.0L engine is going to be the best engine we've built yet. And engineering has some ideas for future years that will make it even better.

 

Test drove 6.0 yesterday, BIG difference. New engine quieter and quicker.Trans a bit strange, Upshifts smooth and quick, dwn shifts hard. Pulling into dealer on slowdown felt like it shifted from 4th to low range 4WD, kinda threw me.Will wait awhile for this one, have as much a concern about trans as engine.LILGUY

 

This same engine has already seen road service for the past year in other International trucks. It is 'not' new to the road. Now if there are minor changes when built for Ford I can't say for sure. Sure it's new and if you can wait I would, but on the other hand if it's a choice of a 7.3 or the 6.0 I would have to say go with the 6.0L for sure.

This is an advanced technology diesel and is where everyone is going - 6.0L that is.

 

I heard about those hard shifts and since the transmission is controlled by the computer it is a problem with the computer flashing. The dealer can re-flash the computer to resolve the issue (that is what I heard).