Visited F-150 assembly plant in Dearborn

[Explorer_PL]

Hi all -

just for entertainment.
Earlier this month, we made another summer road trip with the kids. One of the goals for this year for my son and myself was to visit any truck assembly plant. Somehow only Ford is offering it in this part of the country.
We had a dilemma what car to take to make that 1500 mile trip going from NY through Niagara Falls, cut west thru Canada and come back to US in Detroit , and then drive back home. We thought about wife's low miles Murano but it's not that spacious. Usually we would rent a Tahoe or Suburban - but $ 1000 for 5 days was steep. The vote was unanimous for our old 06 Explorer. Even though I try to maintain it, I had some worries because the miles are up there.
Actually, in the middle of the trip, this took place:

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At this point I attempted to upload a picture of my odometer reading 250,000.00 from Photobucket, but that would cost me $ 399.99 a year - that sucks, what do we do ?
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The whole tour is composed of 5 stops. Small movie theater with the history of Henry Ford, and the Rouge factory, the show of how F 150 was designed and is being made, then you actually tour the assembly plant by walking on an elevated walkway over the workers.
It's pretty amazing how technology progressed and how much of automation and robotics is being used. They make one F150 a minute.I was watching a robot installing the front windshield and the back window in one seamless move under 1 minute. Normally, it would take 2 men few minutes if not more.
The whole thing is pretty amazing, and very educational.
And those trucks are gorgeus.
Even my wife and daughter who are nor really fans of PU trucks had to admit, that they are pretty pieces of machinery.

And the Explorer made it all the way around with no issues
Now, getting closer to 252k already....

 

[Explorer_PL]

Now pictures, from Imgur - thanks Naiko.

 

[tripplec]

I was looking at the info on newer Explorers and the 3.5L some use ( others use a 4 cylinder). No way would I opt for a 4 in an SUV w/AWD LOL.

Seems from some sites the new generation had problems in that change. Unclear what and when it was any good. 4x4 info was non existent. More looking I figure on its viability.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Cool trip Explorer_PL! We just celebrated 100 years of Ford trucks this year in Carlisle. The new F150s are nice but crazy expensive. Also, I hope my Explorer eventually makes it up there with yours!

 

[michael loibl]

My 2006 thankfully performed flawlessly on it's recent 1,800 mile loop from north jersey to the south west side of South Carolina with stops in Dunn, NC. I was nervous, but it was worth it

 

[tripplec]

My 2006 thankfully performed flawlessly on it's recent 1,800 mile loop from north jersey to the south west side of South Carolina with stops in Dunn, NC. I was nervous, but it was worth it

Why nervous, I have driven older vehicles I had long runs many times. I look after them myself so I know whats what and oil changed religiously with Wix filter. I never concerned about the engine nor tranny in bigger SUV. They are far more robust than little run abouts or CVT's. If you don't overheat them and/or also have a tranny cooler. You can drive anywhere all day long.

 

[michael loibl]

Nervous by nature perhaps! I bought this truck new 11 years ago and it has been maintained quite well, but there is never any guarantees with mechanical parts.
Granted, minor problems can be delt with easily, such as bad starter, alternator, cracked thermostat housing, etc without loosing more than a few hours or maybe 1day.
My main concern would be a malfunction that couldn't be resolved quickly or inexpensively such as trans failure, radiator crack, water pump, fuel pump. Anything like that would likely ruin our trip, cost way more to fix than if I was doing myself at home or at a familiar shop. Also, it would probably mean having to rent a car to get the family home and then going back to get our car when it was fixed.
Maybe it's just that I work in the towing and auto repair business and all I see is people who didn't make it to work or school or daycare... Sitting on the side of the road with a kid or two, unpleasant and unsafe.
And I'm not just talking about old POS cars, I pick up plenty of less than 5 year old cars. The lowest mileage car I ever picked up many years ago was a first generation Audi TT that had 14 miles on it!
He litterally had just picked it up new from the local dealer and was headed home. Made it about 10 miles, then it crapped out and was a crank no start (yes it had gas). I know it's rare, but it happens.
Kind of like what investment company's say about various stocks "past performance is no guarantee of future results"

 

[Explorer_PL]

Tripplec -
You can change oil every 1000 miles and you can still break down any moment. My thoughts were exactly as Michael's when I was taking this trip. I know my truck back and forth, and work on it every few weeks but that does not guarantee anything. The last thing on this trip I wanted would be to be on the side of the road with wife and 2 kids, waiting for a tow truck and finding a shop who would not to want to rip me off only because I have NY plates and am 700 miles away from home. My biggest worries were the fuel pump or the starter - without those 2 you can's start or go. The rest of things I replaced in the past few months or years.

 

[D Hook]

If you happen to run into the guy that designed the 4.0 with one of the timing chains at the rear of the engine, could you give him a kick in the shins for all of us please?

 

[tripplec]

The use of timing chains over a belt is key when I am looking at another vehicle in the engine. But it needs to have been engineers no to fail. Guides breaking and coming apart is horrible. Knowone wants to open their engines up for maintenance and with such a tight fit on many belt equipped timed engines it make it very expensive as they are usually spec'd to be changed around a 100k or 150k. Most used vehicles would not have had it done. Hence a chain is the way to go.

From what I have read on the newer 3.5L in the Explorers its big step backwards in design and transverse mounted headaches added. For a big vehicle inline should have been maintained.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

Take the Rainbow Bridge to QEW, to 403, to 401, to the Ambassador Bridge?

 

[PotatoExplorer]

If you happen to run into the guy that designed the 4.0 with one of the timing chains at the rear of the engine, could you give him a kick in the shins for all of us please?

I second this... also find the guy who thought it was a good idea to use plastic guides for the timing chains and give him a kick in the shins. It probably was the same guy.

 

[thebrakeman]

We're in the Detroit suburbs. The Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village is a popular place to visit around here. I've never done the Rouge Tour myself, having been in plenty of automotive plants over the years as a braking engineer, although if I have to visit, it's because there is a problem...). But the tour has become a popular field trip for school kids, which my daughter and wife really enjoyed last year.

Glad you had a good time!

 

[D Hook]

The use of timing chains over a belt is key when I am looking at another vehicle in the engine. But it needs to have been engineers no to fail. Guides breaking and coming apart is horrible. Knowone wants to open their engines up for maintenance and with such a tight fit on many belt equipped timed engines it make it very expensive as they are usually spec'd to be changed around a 100k or 150k. Most used vehicles would not have had it done. Hence a chain is the way to go.

From what I have read on the newer 3.5L in the Explorers its big step backwards in design and transverse mounted headaches added. For a big vehicle inline should have been maintained.

Wouldn't want to have a belt, that's for sure! Having owned German cars that used belts on interference motors, as well as Hondas, I've seen first hand the carnage they cause. Especially belts that are also driving the water pump, as well as the cam shaft(s). Water pump seizes and everything goes bang.

But just can't help but wonder why a chain on the backside of the engine couldn't have been avoided somehow. My Lincoln Mark VIII has two timing chains on the 32v engine and both are up front. I'm sure there was a good reason for putting one chain on the backside but I can't think of it myself.