Tom,
Interesting information. I worked there for 36 years in Sales and
Service and never heard that conclusion. It was my impression that
the design included a very difficult weld at the top of the "A" frame
where it meets the crankcase base rail. It was called the "J" weld or
"J" groove. The design at that time was a butt weld made when the
crankcase was upside down. The design was changed so that the "A"
frame top or butt end protruded through the crankcase air box so that
it could be welded and inspected more easily from both the top and
the bottom. You can see the butt end inside the air box of later
engines.
If it was only one welder that welded improperly, and it certainly
could have been, I am surprised that Engineering and Service didn't
figure that out more quickly. There was a great amount of
investigative work done once the first several failures occurred
about 1968 and the design was changed in the very early '70s. In
general, the welders that were assigned to critical crankcase welding
were the more senior and skilled. As an interesting sidelight, in
that period, EMD was the largest user of welding rod in the entire
state of Illinois!
Bill Barber
Gravois Mills, MO
On Aug 18, 2009, at 2:19 AM, CBQ@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> Re: SD 45
> Posted by: "Tom Mack" thommack@yahoo.com thommack
> Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:44 am (PDT)
>
>
>
> Interesting story about the problems with the EMD 20-645's used in
> the SD45's. Seems the problem never really was a problem with the
> design. All the cracked "A" frames were the work of one welder at
> EMD. Engines from other EMD welders never had the cracking problem,
> but you are correct - by that time the SD45's reputation had been
> tarnished.
>
> Tom Mack
> Cincinnati, OH
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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