There must have been some point in time when auto parts makers decided that making a part serviceable wasn't cost effective. An example of this is a starter motor. My '56 Cub farm tractor had a serviceable starter motor, a rebuild kit was a few bucks and it took less than an hour to get an original, non-working motor working like brand new. Because of this ability to fix and repair cheaply, I see similar tractors in use almost monthly. No one would rebuild a modern starter motor though.
Iron block engines that power our cars are completely rebuildable. The cylinders can be re-bored in 0.010" increments five times. Ford now uses a plasma spray to line the aluminum block in the GT 500, and sees this as the future of engine technology. I assume that this will make rebuilding very expensive, requiring installation of a steel sleeve.
FWD cars that I've had have been time-consuming and expensive to fix. To replace the timing belt on my '81 Ford Escort I have to remove engine mount bolts and raise it partially out of the car. My wife's last car, a Ford 500 AWD, had to have an AC compressor replaced and I saw no way to do that without removing the engine/ transaxle assembly along with the driveshaft to the rear. I traded it in- it will be my last FWD car.
Iron block engines that power our cars are completely rebuildable. The cylinders can be re-bored in 0.010" increments five times. Ford now uses a plasma spray to line the aluminum block in the GT 500, and sees this as the future of engine technology. I assume that this will make rebuilding very expensive, requiring installation of a steel sleeve.
FWD cars that I've had have been time-consuming and expensive to fix. To replace the timing belt on my '81 Ford Escort I have to remove engine mount bolts and raise it partially out of the car. My wife's last car, a Ford 500 AWD, had to have an AC compressor replaced and I saw no way to do that without removing the engine/ transaxle assembly along with the driveshaft to the rear. I traded it in- it will be my last FWD car.
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