Your right Pete ones worth the salt are... trouble is not many round these days even less of them who have ever touched a spanner let alone got down under a vehicle when its all together and stuck their hand in to see if it and a socket, spanner could undo whats required.
Never had to remove the starter motor, gear box etc etc etc when it altogether
Or even a headlight globe such as on my Subaru Forester 2 service technicians/managers ex mechanics now have taken 40 mins each time to replace a globe which should by the book take 10mins. Why did it take 40mins because the battery wasn't there when they timed the work to be done which is what engineers do.
In working at a company who built the Commadore Ute Ambulance (which should never have been allowed on the road). 1st one's built to short in the ute tray for comfortable fit of the patient bed. Shocks and springs well under rated for total package load. I had phone call from smash repairers "How do we remove the fibreglass shell from the body"? The 1st 50 had been mounted so the outside shell was fitted first, bolted to the top rail, then the inner skin fitted and sikaflexed?/glued together, NO access holes to undo the mounting bolts :doh:
3 ute extentions latter and 4 set of shocks springs etc to accommodate a fully loaded with passengers and patient they pulled the pin and went to the Merc van. I could tell you the political reason the switch between Ford f series and Holden if you like.
MAN 40ft tag axle coach rear engine ZF gear box to remove the clutch companies who bough the vehicle called in the sales man and team of MAN engineers to ask "How do you remove the gear box to change a clutch"??? Leading rear axle had to be totally dropped and removed to allow the removal of the gear box. of course it had all been computer designed. gear box installed on line by overhead gantry.:roll:
Bean counters do not spec bearings nor do they spec load limits engineers do.
I will say one of the greatest feats of engineering designed (not by an engineer Uni trained) is the King Pin of a semi trailer 3"dia is all that holds on a trailer or team of trailers.
Being a wheelchair user the hassles I have had with this chair from new and alterations I have had to make for $1,000.00 outlay is disgusting. The engineer where I purchased couldn't see the fault with the foot plates swung in retraction mode hitting the break leaver and knocking it into off mode.:oo: Nor the fact the front wheels were trailing not leading in front of pivot point this had the reaction of lean forward and I'd be on the ground change the wheels easy bu then the foot plates were to short to fit.
Machines and design are in many cases not much better look at how many fellows just on this forum alone have to alter, fudge, re-build new machines to have them work some are not cheap either.