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Navistar could face up to $2.1 Billion lawsuits over Maxxforce Engine


hwyman3

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Or they should do what Ford did: Get away as quickly as possible.

Well they do share a factory with the vans and the JV truck is about to hit showrooms. It probably be a better bet to let NS lose in the courts and GM buy up the leftover pieces after a possible BK.

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GM wants minimal exposure to cost and liability on the commercial vehicle side.

 

I seriously doubt that GM would entertain any idea of buying Navistar's carcass

to further complicate what they already have, access to vehicles..

Edited by jpd80
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If this is true this would be one of the most irresponsible cases in US manufacturing in recent history. IMO since GM is in bed with them they should buy em out and clean house in management.

 

Funny you mention that, because the senior management team that has been cleaning house at Navistar are ex. GM people.

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Well guys I have been wondering for years what the back story is on Ford's light Diesel engine programs.

 

Going all the way back to the early 6.9's that were designed to fit in the same place as a 460.

 

Why did Ford (and frankly GM and Mopar too) feel it was necessary to partner with someone else to develop relatively simple diesel engines for themselves?

 

Ford really has had a ton of experience with building diesels overseas and in the tractor works here in North America.

 

Ahh well the people that made those decisions are probably long retired so unless someone writes a book we may never know the why, and yes I can guess the economic reasons for such a scenario.

 

But the mention of MAN diesels being involved in the 6.0 design does agree with a little tidbit I heard from an avid diesel builder when he said that Navistar had a European partner.

 

So here are my questions, if MAN was truly the design originator then why did the 6.0 turn out to be fragile?

 

I'm not just talking about the EGR cooler and the coolant filter etc. I am talking about 4 stretchy bolts around the cylinders instead of 6 conventional fasteners?

 

Why were the rocker arm assemblies troublesome and moreover the roller lifters too?

 

I'm no expert but I don't think companies like MAN screw up very much, if they were indeed Navistar's partner.

 

Where was the breakdown on the 6.0 program? What role did Ford engineering play, if any, in the 6.0's design?

 

I know Ford did the "FEAD" assembly on the engine as well as some other packaging features, but did Ford, Navistar or the European partner screw up here? It seems like a cascading comedy if errors that wasn't funny at all.

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Wow I always thought MAN was avante garde in the diesel business. The 6.0 strays from tried and true diesel hard points like the ones I named.

 

MAN diesels are on the cutting edge in many aspects of the diesel market.

 

My understanding, again, is that they underestimated the difficulty of meeting NVH, weight, economy & emissions targets for an engine that would be sold in (to them) tiny pickup trucks.

 

The result was a raft of compromises and patchwork solutions (like the second fuel filter that nobody knew about which eventually clogged)

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The 6.0 being designed in Europe explains a few things that plagued those engines, one was already mentioned in that they struggled to meet US emissions. The other problem was the issue that poor quality US diesel fuel played on the fuel system and turbo veins on those engines. Supposedly the turbo and injection system were designed to run much higher quality diesel fuel than one could readily find in the US until 2007. Hence two fuel filters. The poor quality fuel would deposit carbon in the turbo veins and get stuck causing poor boost. The plugged fuel filters would result in poor fuel pressure burning up injector tips, injectors, and fuel pumps.

 

The four head bolts per cylinder and bad egr design have already been mentioned but I still cant think of a logical reason why they designed them that way. The bottom end of the 6.0 was pretty strong. Both of those issues have been resolved with aftermarket solutions. The lifter problem is interesting in that it is a common part number that every Powerstroke had as well as the 6.9 and 7.3 IDI going all the way back to the Olds 350 diesel. I called BS on that when I heard it, but the part numbers are the same all the way from the 350 to the 6.4 Powerstroke. Anyway they were too small for Powerstroke applications in my opinion. The 6.7 does not share that part number. The lifters in those are much bigger.

 

The rocker arm assemblies, as I understand, have a weird geometry that causes them to be a wear item at about 200,000 to 250,000 miles.

 

I have a 6.0 in my Excursion with well over 200,000 miles and it still runs strong. Regular maintenance goes a long way in preventing 6.0 problems.

 

It is sad to see International struggling from a historic standpoint. The DT engines were some of the greats. Its sad to watch the downward spiral, but with them consistently cutting corners and taking shortcuts I dont see how they could have expected the results to turn out any different.

 

It will be interesting to see how this pans out for them.

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Yes Bob you have done a great job explaining my point better than I.

 

I can understand the struggle to meet US emissions, NVH requirements and fuel quality tolerance but for the life of me I cannot understand how they could screw up cylinder head clamping and valve train loads.

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The 6.0 being designed in Europe explains a few things that plagued those engines, one was already mentioned in that they struggled to meet US emissions. The other problem was the issue that poor quality US diesel fuel played on the fuel system and turbo veins on those engines. Supposedly the turbo and injection system were designed to run much higher quality diesel fuel than one could readily find in the US until 2007. Hence two fuel filters. The poor quality fuel would deposit carbon in the turbo veins and get stuck causing poor boost. The plugged fuel filters would result in poor fuel pressure burning up injector tips, injectors, and fuel pumps.

 

The four head bolts per cylinder and bad egr design have already been mentioned but I still cant think of a logical reason why they designed them that way. The bottom end of the 6.0 was pretty strong. Both of those issues have been resolved with aftermarket solutions. The lifter problem is interesting in that it is a common part number that every Powerstroke had as well as the 6.9 and 7.3 IDI going all the way back to the Olds 350 diesel. I called BS on that when I heard it, but the part numbers are the same all the way from the 350 to the 6.4 Powerstroke. Anyway they were too small for Powerstroke applications in my opinion. The 6.7 does not share that part number. The lifters in those are much bigger.

 

The rocker arm assemblies, as I understand, have a weird geometry that causes them to be a wear item at about 200,000 to 250,000 miles.

 

I have a 6.0 in my Excursion with well over 200,000 miles and it still runs strong. Regular maintenance goes a long way in preventing 6.0 problems.

 

It is sad to see International struggling from a historic standpoint. The DT engines were some of the greats. Its sad to watch the downward spiral, but with them consistently cutting corners and taking shortcuts I dont see how they could have expected the results to turn out any different.

 

It will be interesting to see how this pans out for them.

Just out of curiosity-just what was the US diesel problem? -let's say from 1989 on when "premium diesel" was a specific marketing effort by most suppliers featuring additized diesel. And these additized packages were improved to comprehend the lost lubricity associated with reduced sulfur content.

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