Holden Engine Plant Closes Today...

[csv8]

"After 80 years of manufacturing in Port Melbourne, the last V6 engine rolled off the production line at Holden's Fisherman's Bend engine factory today.
Manufacturing at the large Port Melbourne facility started in 1936, with full-scale engine building starting in 1948.

Holden has built more than 10 million engines at its Port Melbourne facility, which have been exported to every continent on the planet except Antarctica.
The large manufacturing site will be transformed into a residential zone in the coming years.
GM Holden has laid off 175 workers from its Holden Engine Operations (HEO) plant as a result of the closure, which follows another 80 job losses linked to the cessation of the local Holden Cruze manufacturing at the company's Elizabeth plant in South Australia.
The final factory closure for Holden will take place in late 2017 when the locally-built Commodore sings its swansong from the Elizabeth factory near Adelaide.
It follows the closure of the Ford Australia's manufacturing facilities on October 7, 2016 and, like Ford, Holden says it won't be leaving its workers out in the cold, workers who "have made an enormous contribution to our company and the entire Australian motoring industry," said Richard Phillips, Holden's executive director of manufacturing.
"The team was recognised just this year with the top prize as the Most Valuable Plant for Productivity across General Motors International, which reflects the pride and dedication of this team," he added.
The 175 workers left without jobs will have access to up to $3000 in approved training and various other transition services, says Holden.
Although Holden's engine plant has been shut down, it will continue to build the Commodore for another 12 months but insists that: "Appropriate numbers of V6 engines will be stockpiled to meet local Commodore production in Adelaide throughout 2017".
The General Motors-owned company released a press statement today assuring customers that 10 years' worth of "critical spare parts" have been amassed to ensure warranty and servicing needs for the Commodore.
In 2018 Holden dealerships will import a new Commodore from Europe, the rebadged and restyled version of the German-made Opel Insignia.
When Toyota joins Holden in shutting down local manufacturing in late 2017, the Australian car manufacturing industry and all the suppliers and some of the adjacent industries it supports will be no more.
Holden will retain a footprint in Australia with a significant design and engineering team and a large administration workforce and dealer network, as Holden chairman and managing director, Mark Bernhard, explained.
"While it was an emotional time to see the last engine built today, we are proud to retain a significant presence in Australia for the long-term. This includes more than 300 people in our local design and engineering workforces across our world-class design studios in Port Melbourne and the outstanding Holden Proving Ground in Lang Lang.
"This is in addition to the approximately 700 corporate staff and 10,000 people employed across our dealer network."
Bernhard has the unenviable job of presiding over the termination of Holden's local manufacturing operations and it's his job to convince the car-buying public that the company will move forward, not backward.
"We are making significant investments to ensure Holden's long-term future success," he said.
"The best way we can honour our people and their legacy is by building a bright future and that's exactly what we're doing.
"Holden is an iconic Australian brand and, with the strength of General Motors behind us, we're committed to our customers and this country for the long haul."
The final engine that rolled off the HEO in Port Melbourne has not yet been assigned to a car. It will be sent to South Australia and stockpiled for the last Aussie-made Commodores." http://www.carsales.com.au/editorial...ampaign=buffer
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[OzJavelin]

I'm not a big fan of the DOHC V6 .. but it's another sad day for Australia.

[wozman]

What are we going to use for boat anchors now????

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by wozman

What are we going to use for boat anchors now????

Just go back to using 302 Cleveland V8s. The Alloy V6 was too light anyway.

Dr Terry

[lyonsy]

the V's always gripped the ocean floor so much better then an inline 6

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by lyonsy

the V's always gripped the ocean floor so much better then an inline 6

Good riddance to Alloytec. The thing was an overrated dog from day 1, much like the VE Commodore it was meant for. Apparently it was an all new design for 2005? The Barra on the other hand was a brilliant masterpiece with very humble archaic origins that managed to get along very well even past its use-by date.

[frankie86]

Another sad day in the aussie automotive world, i'll never forget the time holden introduced the alloytec when i was working for holden at the time, and got told at the holden training college that the 3 timing chains would never stretch! garbage engine if you ask me

[Outbackjack]

These closures are the real reason there was a double dissolution election. With more closures happening over the next few months and the scheduled election smack bang in the middle would have given lots of ammunition to the opposition. It is likely the car industry would still be alive in Australia if the current opposition was still in power. Whether it was worth saving is another discussion.

[MethodX]

The Alloytec wasn't that bad... and nothing wrong with the VE.
Just another sad day.

When the Falcon engine is basically an updated xk motor ffs.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by MethodX

The Alloytec wasn't that bad... and nothing wrong with the VE.
Just another sad day.

When the Falcon engine is basically an updated xk motor ffs.

Yes and GM spent a billions developing the HFV6, including building new plants to assemble it, and yet little old Ford Australia spent a pittance creating the DOHC inline six and matched, and exceeded it.

Sad for the workers, but that engine was one of the worst engines in modern history.

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Yes and GM spent a billions developing the HFV6, including building new plants to assemble it, and yet little old Ford Australia spent a pittance creating the DOHC inline six and matched, and exceeded it.

Sad for the workers, but that engine was one of the worst engines in modern history.

How can it be the worst? I don't remember it having inherent problems.


The older falcon motors had head gasket probs, the engine is huge and weighs a tonne.

[pmacc]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Yes and GM spent a billions developing the HFV6, including building new plants to assemble it, and yet little old Ford Australia spent a pittance creating the DOHC inline six and matched, and exceeded it.

Sad for the workers, but that engine was one of the worst engines in modern history.

Was never going to match up well to the torque monsters that Geelong spat out but it did the job for the majority of products that Holden dropped it into. Anyway another one bites the dust.

[blackf6]

Good. No more mang mang.

[DamoAu]

Whether the motor WA a pig or not, this is a sad day for all Australians who proudly bought Australian made to give another aussie a job... when ford announced their closure I had to consider that maybe one day I would end up buying a Holden... then they followed suit and then Toyota....

Unfortunately ford started the tall of our industry closing down... then that idiot in parliament baited Holden to make a decision... What happens when you bait someone? Well we all know now...

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Davehoos]

The Alloytec wasn't that bad...

Been a dreadfull product only just fit for purpose-A used car dealer nightmare and far from the worst in recent times.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Yes and GM spent a billions developing the HFV6, including building new plants to assemble it, and yet little old Ford Australia spent a pittance creating the DOHC inline six and matched, and exceeded it.

Sad for the workers, but that engine was one of the worst engines in modern history.

+1 the HFV6 proves that you can't polish a **** but you can indeed roll it in glitter, they stretch timing chains often, the 3.8L Ecotec was a much more reliable engine even though its thrashy and sounds like its going to throw a leg out of bed when you take it past 3000 RPM

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

+1 the HFV6 proves that you can't polish a **** but you can indeed roll it in glitter, they stretch timing chains often, the 3.8L Ecotec was a much more reliable engine even though its thrashy and sounds like its going to throw a leg out of bed when you take it past 3000 RPM

A guy I work with has a vf sv6, bought it at auction a while back was a qld health car apparently. He's done at least half a dozen oil changes and flushes and it's still sludging the oil within a few thousand kays. It actually goes and drives quite well but he's knows the engine is gonna grenade soon.

[DRU842]

Is it really an engine plant if you import the blocks & heads?

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by DRU842

Is it really an engine plant if you import the blocks & heads?

Blocks and heads are made in Casting plants.

Engines are Assembled in Engine Plants.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by MethodX

How can it be the worst? I don't remember it having inherent problems.


The older falcon motors had head gasket probs, the engine is huge and weighs a tonne.

So why don't you compare apples with apples I've seen many a mighty 202 with the top off a piston ...give me a early falcon any day

[Joe5619]

Its's such a shame we had to lose the whole industry in Australia.. As much as I hate Trump, he does have some (just some) good ideas. If only we had a few more people in government trying to protect out industries instead of all these free trade agreements.

[commodorenutt]

The USA were protecting themselves many years before Trump came on the scene.

Their protection strategies have seen BMW, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda (Acura) and numerous others build plants in the USA, often in regional areas (eg the BMW plant in Spartanburg SC) where the local community had benefitted many times over from the jobs & flow-on effects of that growth.

We actually had a company in South Australia who were one of the best, consistent, high-quality CNC machining mobs, who were exporting automotive OEM parts to the USA. They OEM couldn't source an equivalent within the USA at the same price point.
The US government stepped in with a subsidy to bring that work back onto US soil, so they could buy American, at no additional cost to the OEM. Australia loses out, and our politicians bleat on about FTAs - it's hardly an FTA when one side is spending up big on subsidies to tilt the playing field their way.

[Franco Cozzo]

The problem is politicians and voters here can't see further away than the 3 year election term.

Its always about now instead of the future.

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by MethodX

How can it be the worst? I don't remember it having inherent problems.


The older falcon motors had head gasket probs, the engine is huge and weighs a tonne.

Oil consumption and timing chain problems were very common, particularly on the earlier ones (ie. VZ). My sister had to spend a heap on her VZ due to these timing chain issues. Our work Rodeo had an Alloytec as well and did 2 engines. #1 ran out of oil while #2 put the timing chain through the rocker cover. It's not a great engine. While it does suck for the Australian motor industry and all the people losing their jobs, the engine itself won't be missed in the same way the Barra will be.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by MethodX

How can it be the worst? I don't remember it having inherent problems.


The older falcon motors had head gasket probs, the engine is huge and weighs a tonne.

As others have mentioned, there have been many inherent problems with the HFV6, more than a modern era 4.0 DOHC.

I suppose my main point was that despite a seemingly unlimited development budget the thing was just as much a boat anchor as the engine that it replaced. Thinking back to when the engine debuted for GM in 2003, they proudly boasted about benchmarking V6 engines from Honda and Nissan. What happened?

As for older Falcon six's having problems, I was comparing two engines from a similar era. Not a 2004-2017 engine to something built from another era.

[XR6_power]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

The problem is politicians and voters here can't see further away than the 3 year election term.

Its always about now instead of the future.

Too right! Short sightedness is a disease that has run rampant in modern society.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

, I was comparing two engines from a similar era. Not a 2004-2017 engine to something built from another era.

AFAIK the Alloytec ran from 2004 to 2009. The 2009 to current SIDI V6 engine is a very different beast. As different as an AU engine is to a BA.

Most Alloytec dramas that I've seen can be traced back to using the incorrect oil or allowing the engine to overheat (failed radiator or whatever). I have 2 Alloytec V6s in the family (a VZ Berlina & a VE Sportwagon), both with well over 200,000 km on the odo, but have been serviced correctly & have not suffered any such trauma.

Most of the genuinely 'stretched' timing chains occurred early in the piece (VZ). With VEs the chains wasn't actually stretched that much, the ECU parameters were too tight & re-flash fixed most of them. This was also a common issue with Toyota Klugers, along with some Hondas, Mazdas & Nissans.

I'm not saying that the Alloytec was a 'great motor' but they are not as bad as made out.

Dr Terry

[au2000]

My mechanic, massive holden fan won't go near a alloytec motor for nothing, sold his ve and went back to a vy,
Admittedly if not serviced every 10,000 they fail, he's done engine replacements on cars from 60,000 to 200,ooo on vy and ve commodores

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by au2000

My mechanic, massive holden fan won't go near a alloytec motor for nothing, sold his ve and went back to a vy,
Admittedly if not serviced every 10,000 they fail, he's done engine replacements on cars from 60,000 to 200,ooo on vy and ve commodores

One of our customers VE Commodores spat its timing chains at 52,000KM and a heap of others have varied from 50-200K on the clock, usually they run like crap and might throw an engine code in regards to bank 1/2 camshaft position sensor.


But on the other hand, hardly any issues with the V8s aside from the AFM models dropping lifters.

If you're after VE/VF Commodore my advice is V8 only, not a bad problem to have

[commodorenutt]

You're right about the V8 - that's why I'm hanging on to our 6.0L VE - it's pre-AFM, and had no issues in 150,000km so far. Had an early AFM one on the fleet at work and it did the lifters. Young mechanic only got 15 out before morning tea. Forgot about the 16th, which dropped onto the sump's cast tray. Put it all back together and first crank it ventilated the block....took them a week to get a replacement, and wouldn't admit to it until they had to tell the assigned driver he needed to get the engine number changed on the rego papers.

Most of the suspect ones would have been sorted out by now - just like the issues with the early Gen3 5.7L.

Had a VE Alloytec for 4 years & 200,000km - services kept up, and no mechanical issues in that time, and it was driven hard. The only thing ever done under warranty was the front swaybar links. Short-driven cars are more prone to coking up in the PCV cavities, and this is what contributes to the sludge issues, which then further restrict it all internally.

But it's like all motors - you only hear about the bad ones. For every timing chain issue there's 100 more out there with no issues at all.

I've had 3 heads on my 2011 FG. Does that make the Barra a bad motor?,
I had a lot more stuff on the FG fixed under warranty than any other new car I've ever had. Is the FG a bad car? Do I hold a narrow view based on experience with 1 of each and criticise how bad all FGs must be because of it?

As for the Barra having no issues during the Alloytec era, it's not that long since the E-series were having major issues with head gasket/warping/cracking issues, and the V6 in the Commodores at the time were trouble free...... but people have short & selective memories.