Main Bearing Failure with 6.2L at 3,200 miles

[Stbentoak]

Having spent some time as a quality Engineer at one Tier one auto parts manufacturer and some time as a middle manager at another Tier one supplier, I can assure you that not ever part is inspected, but every shipment is spot checked ( say for every 1000 pieces, one gets inspected for compliance, those numbers may vary, but you get the idea).

Parts from a "Tier one" suppliers go straight to the OEM assembly lines to be built into new cars, most modern car manufactures have what they call "Just in time" parts delivery (so they don't have to warehouse anything), meaning that parts from those Tier one suppliers generally get built into new cars within a few hours (if not sooner) after arrival at the OEM assembly plant which doesn't really leave them any time to inspect anything there, so all quality control for parts/ components is really on the supplier, GM (or any other OEM really) only does the assembly part of the quality control.

So if GM get crap parts, and then bolt those crap parts together correctly, the quality issue isn't on them and they can shift that blame so their numbers are still good.

Here's one example of number shifting to look good; At the plant where I was a middle manager they would rate jobs on employee ergonomics (repetitive motions, potential for back injury, etc) as assign them a number. Corporate said "make it so no employee at your plant is working a job with a rating of "X" or higher". So, plant management fired all the employees that worked in those job with "x" or higher rating and brought in a temp agency to fill those positions, since those were employees of the temp agency and not of the company, all the poor ergonomic positions in the plant disappeared overnight. And the plant management team got a fat bonus for beating the corporate mandated deadline.
...

Believe me, I understand how it works. I was a high-volume AS-9100 parts supplier to GE Aircraft engines for years, working in the toughest of materials. If we made bad parts and they got on multiples of engines, we could have potentially been liable for at least a share of recall and tear down costs. I went to many plants and actually double checked and inspected my parts I made right on their engine assy line if they thought there was the slightest perception of error.
These tier one suppliers would do a better job if they were forced to participate in the troubles and expenses they have caused by their poor quality. They might say "well you don't have to pay for any nonconforming parts" That's rubbish as that is the easy way out. If they felt the pain all the way down the pipeline, they would do a much better job at SPC and controlling critical dimensions at the point of manufacture. Quality is ensuring processes STAY in control and verified WHILE producing. It has to be "Right 1st and fast 2nd" I preached this mantra at my business, and it paid off in hi quality at competitive cost structure.

 

[Antonm]

Believe me, I understand how it works. I was a high-volume AS-9100 parts supplier to GE Aircraft engines for years, working in the toughest of materials. If we made bad parts and they got on multiples of engines, we could have potentially been liable for at least a share of recall and tear down costs. I went to many plants and actually double checked and inspected my parts I made right on their engine assy line if they thought there was the slightest perception of error.
These tier one suppliers would do a better job if they were forced to participate in the troubles and expenses they have caused by their poor quality. They might say "well you don't have to pay for any nonconforming parts" That's rubbish as that is the easy way out. If they felt the pain all the way down the pipeline, they would do a much better job at SPC and controlling critical dimensions at the point of manufacture. Quality is ensuring processes STAY in control and verified WHILE producing. It has to be "Right 1st and fast 2nd" I preached this mantra at my business, and it paid off in hi quality at competitive cost structure.

Liability thresholds are negotiated in the contracts. If you say you want the supplier to "feel the pain" they say sure , your cost per piece just went way up. The MBA's /accountants/ lawyers ask "what can we do to get this cost per piece down", and the supplier replies with a sweetheart deal that includes a clause of limited liability for non conforming parts.

I was on both ends of that deal at the place I worked at as a quality engineer. It was tier one for all three of the big US automakers and one of the big Japanese automakers. Our "executives" would negotiate near zero liability contracts for our suppliers to lower costs, but at the same time enter deals with Ford were we would have to pay thousands of dollars for every minute one of their assembly lines went down if it was our fault to maximize profits. Yet it was somehow always the engineers fault, and never the executives, when crap product got missed and shipped out.

I used to have to attend an monthly in-person meeting in Auburn Hills Michigan at the FCA Product Quality Research Center (it was FCA at the time, I forget who owns Chrysler / Dodge now). Of course we weren't the only supplier there, and every month I got used to seeing the same guy from a different supplier there waiting to go over the "defects" found between meetings. One month dude wasn't there, next month, dude wasn't there again, I asked my FCA point of contact (who was a nice guy himself) were the guy from company "X" was. FCA rep said their contract expired and the renewal included a clause that exempted them from this monthly meeting and any corrective actions that came from it.
...

 

[Marky Dissod]

...At the plant where I was a middle manager they would rate jobs on employee ergonomics (repetitive motions, potential for back injury, etc) and assign them a number.
Corporate said "make it so no employee at your plant is working a job with a rating of "X" or higher".
So, plant management fired all the employees that worked in those job with "x" or higher rating and brought in a temp agency to fill those positions,
since those were employees of the temp agency and not of the company, all the poor ergonomic positions in the plant disappeared overnight.
And the plant management team got a fat bonus for beating the corporate mandated deadline.
...

Do you know Tyler Durden?

 

[Antonm]

Do you know Tyler Durden?

According to a Google search that’s the character Brad Pitt played in the movie Fight Club.

I’ve seen that movie, but it was a LONG time ago now, guess I don’t remember enough about the movie to understand the joke / get the movie reference.
…

 

[Marky Dissod]

According to a Google search that’s the character Brad Pitt played in the movie Fight Club.
I’ve seen that movie, but it was a LONG time ago now, guess I don’t remember enough about the movie to understand the joke / get the movie reference.

... At the plant where I was a middle manager they would rate jobs on employee ergonomics (repetitive motions, potential for back injury, etc) and assign them a number.
Corporate said "make it so no employee at your plant is working a job with a rating of "X" or higher".
So, plant management fired all the employees that worked in those job with "x" or higher rating and brought in a temp agency to fill those positions,
since those were employees of the temp agency and not of the company, all the poor ergonomic positions in the plant disappeared overnight.
And the plant management team got a fat bonus for beating the corporate mandated deadline.

Do you know Tyler Durden? Asking because the above sounded (to me) eerily similar to
Tyler Durden explaining his job as a 'recall coordinator'.
His job was to apply The Formula - should we initiate a recall?:
"Take
the number of vehicles in the field - A
multiply by
the probable rate of failure - B
then multiply (A*B) by
the average out-of-court settlement - C
(A*B)*C = X
"If 'X' is less than the cost of a recall ... WE DON'T DO ONE."

 

[Antonm]

lol, I remember that now, that was Edward Norton's character (that according to google was unnamed and credited as "the narrator" in the film). I'd bet there is at least a grain of truth in that movie speech though.

Some movies actually do have a hint of truth hidden in them sometimes, like you ever see the Leo DiCaprio film "The Wolf of Wall Street", it actually did a decent job explaining how the stock market works,,,you know when Margot Robbie wasn't distracting everyone with her,,,,assets.
...

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

Having spent some time as a quality Engineer at one Tier one auto parts manufacturer and some time as a middle manager at another Tier one supplier, I can assure you that not every part is inspected, but every shipment is spot checked ( say for every 1000 pieces, one gets inspected for compliance, those numbers may vary, but you get the idea).

Parts from "Tier one" suppliers go straight to the OEM assembly lines to be built into new cars, most modern car manufactures have what they call "Just in time" parts delivery (so they don't have to warehouse anything), meaning that parts from those Tier one suppliers generally get built into new cars within a few hours (if not sooner) after arrival at the OEM assembly plant which doesn't really leave them any time to inspect anything there, so all quality control for parts/ components is really on the supplier, GM (or any other OEM really) only does the assembly part of the quality control.

So if GM get crap parts, and then bolt those crap parts together correctly, the quality issue isn't on them and they can shift that blame so their numbers are still good.

Here's one example of number shifting to look good; At the plant where I was a middle manager they would rate jobs on employee ergonomics (repetitive motions, potential for back injury, etc) as assign them a number. Corporate said "make it so no employee at your plant is working a job with a rating of "X" or higher". So, plant management fired all the employees that worked in those job with "x" or higher rating and brought in a temp agency to fill those positions, since those were employees of the temp agency and not of the company, all the poor ergonomic positions in the plant disappeared overnight. And the plant management team got a fat bonus for beating the corporate mandated deadline.
...

Except, in the case of engines, I am not sure how much of it is made by GM vs suppliers.
Guessing the cast block, heads, crank, and maybe pistons and rods are made by GM, bt the latter two could be from one of the suppliers, have heard Federal Mogul does make soem pistons.
The bearings, rings, not so sure...probably not GM made.

I know the V8's are asembled at Towanda and maybe Mexico, but don't know exactly where they cast the blocks and heads.

I agree many parts are JIT, for sure...it is the way of the world these days.