But yet no one has any specious angst towards Ford or Lehman; neither whom support their product.
That's true to a degree. Ford of England doesn't make the Dorset engine anymore (the base engine for the FL120) but because that engine was used so widely in industrial and agricultural applications, parts still seem to be fairly easy to find. And the auxiliary stuff-- coolant pumps, fuel lift pumps, injectors, injection pipes, fuel injection pump components, rings, bearings, seals, etc.--- must still be made by vendors as getting new ones seems to be a snap.
As to the Lehman stuff, that could be a little tougher. For example the raw water pump coupler is not available anymore anywhere. So when it breaks---- which its designer, Bob Smith, says it eventually will, the only recourse is to change to a different, currently made pump (Johnson). And I understand the Lehman water cooled exhaust manifold is no longer available as a new part (as opposed to salvaging one off another engine). However Bob told me it should last "forever" since its coolant cooled, not raw water cooled.
And today's American Diesel is the re-incarnation of Lehman in a manner of speaking. Bob Smith was an engineer for Lehman and designed many of the marinization components for the FL engines. Today he and his son Brian continue to provide support for these engines in terms of parts, service, and assistance/advice.
I think one difference between the Volvo engines and the Ford Lehmans is that Ford made a bazilliion Dorset engines over a fairly long period of time and they're all the same. And Leman made, installed, or sold a huge number of their marinization kits for that engine. And
they're all the same. So the parts pool is pretty extensive at least for now.
Thanks for that info. My wife and I have been speculating why there would be a big tower out in the middle of "nowhere."