Engineering flaws

[Todd B]

I did not want to high jack Marks TODD build thread so I thought I would start my own. Talking about engineering flaws, I rented a JLG lift for a month few months and they have the exhaust blowing at the operator. It’s not only noisy, it’s annoying as hell with the smoke blowing towards you.  I looked at it and took out three bolts and rotated it. It’s only being held by two of the three bolts but now it blows away from the operator. What were they thinking??  

[48Dodger]

Its a rental unit, right? Maybe a routine maintenance deal led to a new exhaust being mounted incorrectly? Seems if it can be attached in multiple positions, that's the design flaw.

 

After reviewing some manuals on online, seem all of them have the exhaust angled 45 or 90 degrees of the operator.  

 

48D  

Edited November 28, 2019 by 48Dodger
did some online reading.

[Todd B]

No, this has three bolts, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. It only fits one way properly. I turned it and it is only hung by two of the three bolts now.  

[Todd B]

JLG 460SJ model

[DJ194950]

What motor does it have.

Are talking of exhaust pointing at operator when using ground controls?

[Todd B]

It’s had to tell by the photo but the exhaust points towards operator when they’re in the basket. It’s very loud and the fumes head right towards the operator. Stupid design. 

[Todd B]

After I turned it, it made a world of difference in the noise level and the fumes.  

[DJ194950]

Weird that it is in that position.

 

I have worked on 100's of this model a few years back and every one had the exhaust pointed towards the left side (from basket) over the plastic side cover though that lowed area as seen in the picture (the slot) cannot tell which way the exhaust is pointed in that picture for sure.

If it is blowing any black smoke out of the exhaust and has the 3 cyl. Deutz motor it is blowing the head gasket (usually #1 cyl.-oil cooled motor.)

Almost all had a 3 cylinder Deutz oil cooled diesel motor, a few with Ford 4 cyl. gas. Other brand motors were available but I never saw one on the west coast.

 

Oh well, just put back as received when done with it? ?

Edited November 29, 2019 by DJ194950

[JBNeal]

I've worked with several engineers who didn't care about details, they only were interested in big picture stuff, and when their work would hit the production area, I would eventually get the call to fix their screwups, getting an earful from production at the same time...management allowed this reactive approach to continue because they were under pressure from sales dept + upper mgmt to get product out for invoicing, so it was a challenge to be proactive with limited resources and even less talent to work with...

 

and there was always the cost associated with fixing designs and documentation...one of the OEMs I worked for sold a kit that could be installed at the factory or out in the field, and a typo on a part # on the material list included 2 machine screws that were not needed...bottom line, to remove those 2 screws (that cost pennies) from the list, would cost the company about $500, whereas if they kept issuing those useless screws for every order cost about $25 annually...I lost track of how many instances where I would be tracking down problems like this, finding solutions to the problem, doing a cost analysis of the fix vs status quo, having the paperwork ready to go just in case the fix was green lit, and being told by mgmt to put the change on hold indefinitely due to costs...there would be the rare occasion that I would be told that some of my work would see the light of day on the next redesign, that was the only way mgmt could justify the expense