Anyone ever want to kill an Engineer?

[TJay74]

I mean a simple project on the truck took almost 2.5 hours to change out the transmission fluid. Seems the prev owner never did it so the easy way out of removing the drain pain plug didnt work as the plug was siezed in the pan, that meant I had to drop the pan which is easier said than done.

 

Seems the engineer thought it would be an great idea to put the shift lever bracket in the way with bolts on top of the transmission pan rail that you cant get to in order to remove the bracket, so that had to be bent out of the way. Then had to bend the cat shield from the other side and still mae a huge mess on the floor.

 

Then had to remove the filter seal out of the tranmission, after 10 minutes go it out but the new one was a pain in the butt as well since GM made it a press fit and in a tight place to knock back in place. Once I got it buttoned back up opened the manual to find out the capacity, of course GM does not put that info in the manual either, just what type of fluid to use but no capacity.

 

Made for a nice leisurely Sunday, wife was not happy as she was under the truck trying to help get the pan off of the transmission without spilling anymore fluid that had to be spilt.

 

Next time I will have a new pan ready with a drain plug that works, now I have to get the power washer back out and clean the garage floor off. Once project finished but made for another project...lol

[lbkthree]

Well they have to keep the service department at the dealerships busy.....

[RyanbabZ71]

 

Watch what you say about engineers

[MikeNH]

Can't see what truck you have on my phone but the 4L60 has been this way for ages. You either carefully bend the bracket some or unbolt it. The drain plug was seized on every GM truck I tried using it on. No need to get all worked up over it. You got to take these jobs on with your thinking cap on sometimes, that's all.

 

 

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[sk]

I want to kill them all the time -- and I am one!

 

One of my pet peeves is all the engineers who are "common sense stupid". I'm not saying I don't make mistakes, but I always preach the KISS principle to the Engineers and Designers who work under me. Nothing bugs me more than making something more complex than it needs to be.

 

With that being said, there are reasons that some things are complex or are placed where you don't think they should be. And remember that in the automotive world the Designers usually decide the space envelope (shape) then Engineers have to make all the mechanical parts fit into that space so sometimes their hands are tied.

[NitroCherokee]

I've never wanted to kill one, smack them in the head yes. However I have done probably pulled 100+ of the exact trans pan you speak of. They are not bad at all. Remove the bracket, if you don't have the proper tools to get to it you shouldn't be doing the job. Wiggling around the heat shield isn't too bad either, maybe a little harder on your back in the garage though

[sw6416]

I had an EX that was one ........ does that count?

[ChevyTech77]

A quick snap on that drain plug with a shallow 6pt socket on an 1/2" drive impact gun breaks then loose nearly everytime for me.

[TJay74]

Just some things that one would think could of had been thought out a little better. one peeve for sure is that not putting the capacities in the owners manual, that is nothing but a money driver right there thinking it would force the owner to the dealer for servicing work.

 

Believe me I have a huge tool but, in this case the only socket that was not a 6pt was the 15mm for the drain pain bolt, which in turn the 12pt I had rounded an adge off. I may try to get a standard socket on it once I clean the edges of the bolt up some in the near future and try to break it free for the next go around.

[cfeiring]

How about the num nut that requires you to get a small step ladder, climb up, reach over the top of engine and pull dipstick out over the middle of the engine on my truck to check the oil.

My truck is at factory height and is stock.

Really makes checking the oil a task and not really able to be done at the fuel pump.

The transmission dipstick is not much easier.

Put the dip sticks on the side and then angle them to the outside of the engine bay vs. toward the middle of the engine bay.

Makes me want to give them a head slap (Like Gibbs does in NCIS).

I know that user maintenance is the last thing the designer / engineers think about but damn this is dumb.

[kstruckcountry]

I had an EX that was one ........ does that count?

 

 

And most of the time the engineers try to make things easy to get to, it's just usually what the company and designers need to achieve(light weight) takes priority. One of the purest forms of engineering is a tractor... and then look at how much they weigh. Oh and cost!

[chakis24]

"Engineering ... to define rudely but not inaptly, is the art of doing that well with one dollar, which any bungler can do with two after a fashion."

- Arthur Mellen Wellington -

 

trust me, the engineer probably agrees with you, but the bean counters, politicians, time schedules, budget, etc does not.

[truckofwinandawesome]

Yes, there are some BMW Suspension, Electrical and HVAC Engineers in Germany that need to be BEATEN SENSELESS With their Own Parts! (been working on a '94 530i that's been one headache after another!)

[tyhuck]

I mean a simple project on the truck took almost 2.5 hours to change out the transmission fluid. Seems the prev owner never did it so the easy way out of removing the drain pain plug didnt work as the plug was siezed in the pan, that meant I had to drop the pan which is easier said than done.

 

Seems the engineer thought it would be an great idea to put the shift lever bracket in the way with bolts on top of the transmission pan rail that you cant get to in order to remove the bracket, so that had to be bent out of the way. Then had to bend the cat shield from the other side and still mae a huge mess on the floor.

 

Then had to remove the filter seal out of the tranmission, after 10 minutes go it out but the new one was a pain in the butt as well since GM made it a press fit and in a tight place to knock back in place. Once I got it buttoned back up opened the manual to find out the capacity, of course GM does not put that info in the manual either, just what type of fluid to use but no capacity.

 

Made for a nice leisurely Sunday, wife was not happy as she was under the truck trying to help get the pan off of the transmission without spilling anymore fluid that had to be spilt.

 

Next time I will have a new pan ready with a drain plug that works, now I have to get the power washer back out and clean the garage floor off. Once project finished but made for another project...lol

 

 

 

Kill one? No. Slap the hell out of one? Probably.

 

Went through the exact same headache today. Made a huge mess on the shop floor, and didnt have any sand or kitty litter to pour on it. I guess Ill be washing the shop floor next week to.

 

I went with a Dorman brand replacement pan with a drain because mine didnt have a drain at all. Hopefully next time I change it I can drain the pan without making a mess. Then maybe dropping the pan wont be do bad.

 

I was able to get the shifter bracket off, and somehow I was miraculously able to put it back on by feel, since I was doing the change without a lift, on my back, trying not to get dripping fluid in my face. Not sure why they put it on like this. I know that my old 01 ZR2 S10 had the barcket mounted to the bottom of the pan, and 2 or 3 of the pan bolts held it on. That would be so much easier to get on and off.

[00Silverado4x4]

Years ago I had a 99 Ranger, the engine was engineered fine by one team, the truck was engineered fine by another, but the idiot that didn't let the two teams talk prior to merging that engine into that truck...That's the person I wanted to slap the .... out of and that was just doing an oil change, fortunately didn't have truck long enough for any "involved" maintenance. That could've really sucked!

 

Haven't taken on the trans fluid/filter change on this truck yet so I'll have to let you know once I attempt it.