Specialists with a keen ear: this is how they find faults in Ford engines

The car manufacturing process is quite complex and involves several stages that must be checked step by step. Any error that occurs after final assembly can cause the car to come off the line defective and lead to serious problems for the owner. One of the methods used to find out whether the engine is properly tuned is, curiously, hearing.

This check is not carried out by any complex technological device driven by an advanced computer system, but by human professionals who are able to detect any problem in the engine’s operation simply by listening. At the Almussafes plant in Valencia, the 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine producing 350 CV is built, which is fitted to the Ford Focus RS.

This team of professionals has been properly trained to detect any faulty operation in the engine. The engine is started in one of the 18 soundproofed booths that the Valencian plant has, and thanks to the ears of these workers, any noise caused by a badly positioned gear or a blocked duct can be detected.

To listen carefully they use a tool such as a stethoscope, identical to the one doctors use. This allows them to pick up any distortion in the sound and rule out manufacturing errors. And they do all this in one-minute sessions with each engine, which is all the more impressive.

If they detect a problem, the engine is set aside and checked again, so the defect can be repaired and the engine returned to perfect condition. Once repaired, it goes back through the checking team and, if it passes, it clears the inspection and is ready to be fitted to the car, whether it is the Focus or any of the other models produced at the plant.

These processes are still carried out by hand by the technicians working in the industry. A few weeks ago we discussed the decline in the use of robots in the car industry, and this kind of thing confirms that, however much technology advances, the human hand (or ear, in this case) remains essential.

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Fuente | Ford