How/where 1st Gen's built...

[Bluebird]

I was wondering where the engine was put in the first Gen, or what was the steps in the build process. Were the engines sent to Mexico, or installed in the USA? I've read something somewhere before but I did not remember the facts. Thanks for considering this 'off the wall' question Patrick.

 

[OKish]

well, mine says built in the us of a.

 

[pepecat]

yes reg cabs built in us club cabs in mexico

 

[tugboatphil]

My old 90 D250 was built in Canada, eh. The 93 D350 Club Cab was built in Mexico... . but it's here legally, honest!!

 

[dpuckett]

Stil doesnt answer the question of WHERE the engine was installed. Was it installed by Mexicans or Americans?



Daniel

 

[pepecat]

I don't know the answer to the original question to be sure, however to me Assembled means that the engine on up was installed in the same place. I. E. Engines were and are installed in Saltillo, MX even today-- I'm sure cummins just crates their engines to the assembly plant in mexico. Keep in mind that the notion that American made things are better than stuff made by "grease monkeys" south of the border is a generalization that is widely thought of as incorrect and ironically the opposite is true. Save me some time by searching through the 2nd and 3rd gen threads and read up how hundreds of TDR owners experienced better "fit and finish" from the exterior trim, winsheild installation (clean around the edges), and no rattles from inside the cab. I don't know if it is as much the labor is *better* as much as they really crack the whip down there and QC is always running a tight ship. The US assembled trucks for those in the know are hot potatoes and the MX assy'd ones are much more desirable. .



Another example of this happening is toyota from the early 90's some autos were made in japan and shipped over complete, and some were assembled here. The same holds true that those in the know hold no interest for a US assembled auto and the JP ones are sought after because they, after all, are what built the reputation of reliability. One that is so strong that poor US assembled examples early on did nothing to dent the image of quality and reliability of the brand as a whole.

 

[JLEONARD]

I've been to many vehicle assembly plants and the engine is always assembled into the vehicle at the assembly plant. They drive the vehicle off the line and onto the delivery trailers... hence the engine is in...



Sometimes there is no body on a vehicle... that is known as a "rolling chassis", but the engine, transmission, brakes, controls, etc. are in place. It can be driven off the line. Examples of this would be an ambulance, delivery van, motor home, dump body.

Jay





Somebody dare to clarify what they mean by "grease monkey"? That doesn't sound like terminology we should be using here.

 

[Sri Ram]

Somebody dare to clarify what they mean by "grease monkey"? That doesn't sound like terminology we should be using here.

I second that…

 

[PToombs]

Shoot, I always thought a "grease monkey" was a mechanic! Way far in the past it was probably the high school kid on the "grease rack", where they put your car to grease it in the local garage.



PS-Been there, done that, and still am!

 

[pepecat]

That IS what grease monkey means. Slang for mechanic, synonimous with "Shade Tree" "fly by night" etc...

 

[JLEONARD]

Slang for mechanic, synonimous with "Shade Tree" "fly by night"

I understand that.

But that was not the way it was used.

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

My truck was built in Mexico. I bought it new and it has never been garaged. All that being said I have never had an issue with peeling paint as I have seen with so many 1st gens - better prep work?



Bob

 

[Buffalo]

The "story" I heard, a number of years ago, was that because of the lower labor costs, they can afford to have many more "inspectors" along the assembly line & catch a lot more flaws & correct them.



My '03 was made in Mexico & the fit & finish seems to be good. In the past, I've had a Porsche 911-SC & a Mercedes-Benz 300-D. Both had great fit & finish. Even though the Dodge isn't a Porsche or Mercedes, I still can't complain about the craftsmanship.



However, the engineering of the A/C & fuel injection system, on the '03, leaves A LOT to be desired.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[pepecat]

Slang for mechanic, synonimous with "Shade Tree" "fly by night"

I understand that.

But that was not the way it was used.

yeah you're going to have to ask Dpuckett about that one.

 

[BSchindler]

I'll let you guys worry about definitions, but my truck was assembled in Mexico and has NO body rust. The frame looks like it's been submerged in salt water for decades. I know of three regular cabs(USA assembled),model year "90 to"93 that have lots of body rust, but little or no frame rust. I think it's safe to say that my truck is maintained better than most and gets everything washed, even in the winter. Maybe the fine gentlemen in this forum can explain why my frame looks like Nagasaki after the bomb.

Bob

 

[dpuckett]

Somebody dare to clarify what they mean by "grease monkey"? That doesn't sound like terminology we should be using here.

It is. I apologize- the comment was out of line and uncalled for. I have edited my first post to convey the same idea in a more friendly manner.



But, it did bring up a discussion of where the best trucks are assembled, though in my experience, the 3 club cabs I've had (southern assembled) didnt seem to hold up as well as the regular cabs I've had overall.



-DP

 

[jcarew]

92 club cab

My 92 club cab was built in Mexico and the wonderful 12valve Cummins was installed there. I had access to the computer routing describing its journey from Mexico to Mich. on a train. Picked it up at the dealer an never had to go back, pulled a variety of trailers with it for 185k then bought a 001 cab,chassis 24valve that I had made into a class C motorhome. great vehicle but the 24valve is nowhere as reliable as the 12valve, in 70k, 3 lift pumps, one big $$$ pump, two broken rocker arms, now have a Fass pump. The broken rockers had nothing to do with the fuel system. I sold the 92 12v because it was really too heavey to use as a toad about 7500lbs anyway what I ment to say was the Mexican craftmanship was excellent.

 

[JLEONARD]

We have a Jetta that was assembled in Mexico... not so great, but VW had issues during that era (1999) that are supposedly fixed now.

I think that's probably true of all of the carmaker's assembly plants... . the pendulum swings from good to bad and back again... . cost cutting... quality suffers a bit, then a push for quality but cost goes up, new people running things, yada,yada.

So goes the world.



Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the ... ... well you know.

 

[Niki]

I've owned 2 91's and a 93 that were USA, 92, 93 and 95 clubcabs that were Mexico. All of the trucks had problems characteristic to first and second gen(95) trucks, and all of them were rotten except for my 91. 5 D250(USA), that truck was low mileage and very clean, but had peeling paint on the roof. All the fit and finish was the same, not terrible, but not Toyota either. If you ask me if it has an american name on the hood it should be assembled here. I'm so tired of people bashing japanese car then hopping into their "American" car that was assembled in Mexico or Canada, and reading in the paper about more US plants closing.

 

[BSchindler]

Pepecat is mostly right

This thread is wandering a little,but here goes. I worked in the auto industry for more than forty two years. Virtually 99. 9% of the employees want to build a best quality vehicle. The hammer heads that don't really stand out. My work experience varied from assembly line work(not much fun), foundry maintenance, experimental machinist, experimental machine builder, production machine rebuilder,and machine repair. The attitude towards quality was consistant. I expect it is in any work place, I mean, the job is what's feeding the family. Management ALWAYS controls quality. If management wants quality, they'll get plenty of help. If management wants to cut corners----remember those GM diesels?

Bob