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Remember when you could actually see the whole engine?
Last week I was working on a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia and had to pull the whole front end just to get to a sensor... it took 3 hours. Three years ago on a similar job with an older International, I could reach right in and swap it in maybe 20 minutes. The tech is better, sure, but sometimes I miss the simple access. Anyone else feel like we're becoming more like body techs than mechanics?
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the_nora27d ago
You mentioned pulling the front end for three hours, but that's just part of the trade now. Newer trucks have way fewer sensor failures overall, so you're doing that job less often. The older Internationals were simpler, but they also broke down more on the road. It's a trade-off, not necessarily a step backwards.
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grace_kelly4527d ago
Ever think about what happens when a sensor does fail on the road now? It's not like the old days where you could maybe rig something to get to the next stop. With all the computer stuff, a simple sensor can shut the whole rig down right where it sits, which is way worse than a roadside fix on an older model. So yeah, @averyc94 has a point about the time sink, but the bigger headache is the total lack of workarounds. Doesn't that just move the breakdown from the shoulder to a total standstill?
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