Life Inside a Ford Factory: Squeaks & Rattles
Yesterday we described some of the inner workings of Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, which builds the Taurus and its siblings. At the end of the tour we got to see Ford’s Squeak/Rattle Test — yes, it’s really called that — which sends the cars along a final test track before they’re shipped off to dealers.
As the test’s name suggests, the track is anything but smooth. It simulates six different road surfaces, from highway expansion joints to narrow European alleyways, with a progression of cobblestones, steel cables, angle irons and more.
Test-track driver John Couwenhoven took us for a ride in a Taurus that had just rolled off the line. The drivers listen for undue squeaks and rattles in the interior, and as such are the last major line of defense against any defects. We didn’t hear any strange noises in our car, which passed the test, but it seemed like any problems would have to be pretty glaring to stick out — or the drivers would have to be uncommonly attentive. The route itself — close to 1,000 feet, Couwenhoven estimated — and 15-mph maximum speed aren’t exactly flogging conditions for any car. Still, the road surfaces were very rough, and the torsion portion (a raised hill with uneven surfaces) would put any chassis to the test, even at low speeds.
Of course, this wasn’t a full test of the Taurus’ noise levels. Presumably that happened much earlier in the design and production process at Ford’s Michigan proving grounds. This route was something of a final sendoff for each car’s 12-hour assembly process — and it seems fitting to know that by the time they arrive at dealerships, these cars have already taken their first lumps on the road.
