Biggest POS engine

[oldmaninsc]

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Noticeably absent are any of the old AMC masterpieces (excluding Jeep)...anyone have any good stories about them...hmmmm?

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Ah yes, funny you should mention that. A close family member bought a purple AMC Gremlin (they sure named it right) - I think it was a 72 or 73 model year. It had about 15,000 miles on it when he bought it - had a valve job at 32,000, rebuilt trans at 35,000 and the valve cover leaked like crazy. We replaced the gasket twice and finally got a used valve cover at the junkyard and put 2 gaskets together and that sealed most of the leaks. It was a 258 ci straight six (if I remember correctly) but was totally gutless. He eventually traded it for a late 70's Nova with the Chevy 250 straight 6 that ran great and lasted for about 250,000 miles.

On the other hand, my grandfather drove Ramblers with the straight six (232 motor) for many years and loved them.

 

[norseman]

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1989 Ford 2.9L V6 in a Bronco II. It gave up the ghost at 69K, 3K oil changes with M1, all the best service and care. What a POS. I overhauled it and it went another few years before the plastic camshaft gave out.

Chris

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You got to be kiddin' me! I had a 1988 Bronco II with the 2.9L and I put 200, 000 miles on that thing with only needing a new water pump and alt. I ran in to the guy I sold it to and the thing has almost 300, 000 miles on it now (I should have keep that Bronco). That was one of the best engines I've EVER owned domestic or forigen!!! In fact I had almost no problems with that auto the whole time I owned it.

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Funny ..that 2.9 was the engine that cracked heads for no good reason. There was an unpublished 50/50 agreement with Ford on that better idea. $600 (parts on Ford). I didn't know this until I bought my coworker's 89 Ranger with the same engine. No issues with it until my son traded it in on a 00 Cherokee. He really wishes he kept it.

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Hmm....That is funny. My brother had 90 Ranger with the same 2.9 and had just as good performance with his. I asked him last night if he remembered his 90 Ranger and he replyed yep one of the best trucks he ever owned.

 

[brianl703]

It's hard to top any engine for POSness when it stinks so bad you have to turn the AC to recirc when you're stuck behind it.

 

[Volvohead]

I'll second the Ford 3.8. When it wasn't squirting out head gaskets like a play-doh press, it was pulling out motor mounts and chewing up the fragile transmissions it was paired to.

A bad engine badly applied.

And the Chrysler 2.7, while not as horrific, gets a dishonorable mention.

 

[LouDawg]

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I vote the Ford 3.8L as one of the worst engines as they had the head gasket problems from the 1980's up to 1996. The head gasket wouldn't just seep slowly on the outside like some engines, they would either leak coolant internally, blow out internally causing a misfire, or blow all your coolant out at once with no warning like my parents van did. The 96 and up versions didn't have the head gasket problem but they had intake gaskets that would leak, sometimes enough to hydrolock a cylinder and bend a rock, break a piston, etc. This problem also applied to the 4.2 V6 in the newer Ford trucks that was based on the 3.8

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I had two 3.8L's in an '89 and a '92 T-bird and was blissfully unaware of any head or other problems...ran like champs, both of them. Maybe I just got lucky...

 

[LouDawg]

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It's hard to top any engine for POSness when it stinks so bad you have to turn the AC to recirc when you're stuck behind it.

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And which engine was that?

 

[Norm Olt]

Did anyone else notice that page 4 is a reprint of page 1?

I'm a little disappointed with what are basically isolated and incidental examples of POS engines: I was looking for more of the 4-6-8, 350 GM diesel conversions, 3.8 Ford, etc.

The Caddy 4.1 V8 was really a dog, but my 90 year old Mom's '82 DeVille has 80K on it and still gets 20 around town and 27 on the freeway with nothing more than oil & filter changes...

Gosh, that was pretty incidental of me, wasn't it?

Cheers!

 

[santiago]

1972 Chevrolet Vega 2.3l engine. What a nightmare Aluminun block and cast iron heads or viceversa. Bad head gaskets Chevy fianlly reimbursed me for my overhaul expenses.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

My vote goes towards the engine in the Chevy Vega. The Aluminum-silicon alloy with etched cylinder walls was way before the technology curve (that Porsche seems to have solved).

 

[Pablo]

The Vega engine was a classic. So no one ever owned a PRV V6?

 

[sifan]

The 4-cyl engine in 1991 Honda Civic is the worst engine I ever encountered.

 

[eljefino]

Had a 1982 cadillac cimarron with the 1.8L carbureted engine and 3 speed automatic.

This heap dropped in my lap in 1999.

I'll note that they only made them that way for one year. 1983 got fuel injection and a bump up to 2.0L.

This thing leaked oil everywhere. The firewall had a fantastic grime collection... in fact the sludge almost hid the steering rack! Consumption/leaking died down after a couple changes with walmart 10w40... who knows, maybe all it needed.

The carburetor was amazing junk: a couple-years old rebuilt one that replaced a "rusty inside" model. (had receipt for diagnostics.) $600 in mid-90's prices just for the part. If I sat facing uphill at a traffic light everything was fine until I hit the gas... count to three, then it'd move. Hated the car so I started doing brakestands when cross traffic got the yellow.

Thing was cursed with cooling issues. Two new thermostats were installed to cure "sticking" ones that stuck closed... every cold start would lead the gauge up to "H" then it'd suddenly, eventually release. Was always suspicious of white smoke as though I had a head gasket issue. Heater core fogged windshield; Bar's leak actually fixed this more or less.

Vacuum hoses, you want vacuum hoses? The EGR valve had a vacuum source that went to a water switch then a computer controlled solenoid and off to the valve. Charcoal canister was a spaghetti factory.

The leather interior was nice and the thing got 30 mpg on the highway with the lockup torque convertor. Once I fixed a bum ignition cap, rotor, and wires, it was fun to rev to redline... lots of drama, not much speed.

My Dad, aware of my car at the time, inheirited a 1985 Cimarron and willingly accepted it! This one had the 2.8 V6 and also leaked oil everywhere, lol.

 

[Auto-Union]

I had a '72 Gremlin with the 232. It was a great car and no engine problems. 1978 saw an Audi 2.0l in it as an mpg option.

 

[Islandvic]

1999nick said "I am very surprised that no one has mentioned two Cadillac engines: the infamous 4-6-8 V-8 gas engine, and the diesel engine converted from a Chevy 350 block. Those owners must have some interesting tales to tell."

My 1980 C-10 Silverado was originally a Diesel. GM diesels were converted 350 Oldmobile blocks.

It was a big POS.

It now has an Olds 350 gas engine. It bolted right up to the engine and trans mounts.

What's nice about those trucks is the "Hydraboost" power steering system. It's like driving an old Caddy!

 

[55Test]

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1972 Chevrolet Vega 2.3l engine. What a nightmare Aluminun block and cast iron heads or viceversa. Bad head gaskets Chevy fianlly reimbursed me for my overhaul expenses.

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34 years later??

 

[windnsea00]

I guess I've been fortunate on buying the right cars. My first car was a `94 Z28 with the LT1 engine which was def. stout. Then 4 different 3-series including 4/6 cylinders have all been fantastic.

 

[windnsea00]

I guess I've been fortunate on buying the right cars. My first car was a `94 Z28 with the LT1 engine which was def. stout. Then 4 different 3-series including 4/6 cylinders have all been fantastic.

In the past decade it doesn't seem like there are too many cases of POS engines compared to all of the examples from the 70/80's.

 

[HappyHyundai]

Oh man, I've got to tell you guys one more. Dodge Caravan 4 cylinder engines, ALL YEARS. Our family had two of them. Everytime I drive behind one, I have to turn off Fresh mode on my HVAC so I don't have to smell the burnt oil.

 

[RKBA]

I have owned many cars over the years; many of which have been, shall we say...humble.

Only one has been a Japanese brand and it had the worst engine. Isuzu 2.6 I4 in a Trooper. I loved the vehicle but that thing went through heads and head gaskets like other cars get oil changes.

Most everything else has been stellar, particularly my Ford sixes (V and L) and Jeep inliners.

I did have a Chevy truck with a swapped in Olds 403. It ran fine but it was a gutless pig that drank gas and had miles of bizzare 80s era smog paraphenalia. I never liked that engine, but it got the job done.

 

[obbop]

1975 Honda Civic with CVCC-type engine.

Ran well but at around 100,000 miles something inside broke, perhaps a valve?

Exhaust reeked and power went way down.

It's true, on a small hill near Concord CA the critter could only hit 30 mph going up and I had to drive on the shoulder as the fully-loaded semis drove past in their lower gears.

But... that REEKING exhaust!!!!!!!

It was HORRIBLE!!!! Stank badly. Actually made eyes water. At stop lights the reactions from those close-by was obvious. Windows rolled up, shouts of despair, angry looks.

I loved it!!!!!!!

Kept it running as long as I could just to be a nuisance to society.