When reviewing Engine Mechanical repair procedures in the Service Information, technicians will find instructions divided into Repair Instructions – On Vehicle and Repair Instructions – Off Vehicle. As a result, it’s necessary to jump to other links in some procedures in order to review all related repair information. Of course, this takes additional time and may lead some technicians to miss critical information.
Beginning with the 2020 model year, various Engine Mechanical repair procedures will be combined so that replacement instructions will include all information necessary to complete a repair, reducing the need to link between procedures and create a better user experience.
Current Organization
Currently, the Engine Mechanical On Vehicle and Off Vehicle repair instructions in the Service Information include different procedures with unique information based on each repair and how it’s performed.
The Off Vehicle procedures are written based on the engine assembly. These procedures are not vehicle specific. In addition, they often contain procedures that are duplicated in other Service Information sections, such as Engine Controls.
The On Vehicle procedures are vehicle specific, but they link to Off Vehicle procedures for component details and specifications.
New Strategy
Since technicians are more likely to conduct repairs on a vehicle as opposed to repairing an engine on a stand, the new Service Information organizational strategy being implemented focuses on procedures that are completed on the vehicle.
New repair procedures will be complete with all related instructions and specifications necessary for the repair. They will also include the repair procedures that can only be done off-vehicle.
In addition, for components or assemblies that can be broken down and rebuilt, new Overhaul instructions will be created in the Service Information that will combine and replace the current Disassemble and Assemble procedures.
An example of the new strategy can be found in the Crankshaft Rear Oil Seal Housing Replacement instructions for the Cadillac CT6. With the new format, the installation procedure features all technical instructions in one document, including installing the crankshaft rear oil seal housing to the engine block using the EN-51766 installation tool, along with all torque specifications. (Fig. 10)
Fig. 10
In the old format, users had to select a link to view the separate instructions for installing the crankshaft rear oil seal housing that is part of the repair procedure. (Fig. 11)
Fig. 11
Moving Forward
Coming soon, users will notice that the Engine Mechanical subsections have changed from Repair Instructions – On Vehicle and Repair Instructions – Off Vehicle to simply Repair Instructions. There will not be separate On Vehicle or Off Vehicle designations. (Fig. 12) However, for a period of time while new content is being developed, the On Vehicle and Off Vehicle sections will coexist with the new Repair Instructions sections.
Fig. 12
The new Repair Instructions sections will include complete information when making engine mechanical repairs.
Look for these changes in a variety of Engine Mechanical sections for the 2020 model year. Additional sections will continue to be updated throughout the 2021 model year.
– Thanks to Rick Peterson and Kevin Jakobiak
