Lets generate a list of bad engines to avoid.

My list includes Fords with internal water pumps. Those being 3.5, 3.5 Ecoboost and the 3.7. Second is Fords 2.7 which has a oil submerged rubber cogged belt which drives the oil pump.
How often do those water pumps fail?

As for the list are we talking NEW? "out there now" - most are decent. But I suspect any and all Hyundai/KIA engine. Sorry.
 
I think the owners of the old IDI 6.9L engines, as well as the 7.3L PSD (T444E) engines, would disagree.
Yes, my dad bought one later in life, and it was quite used at that point. He didn't really even use it often, but he had it for probably 20 years - well its still there, my dad has passed on. It always started and he had zero issues.
 
Personal opinion, but I would never own anything with the cylinder deactivation technology on it. And I don't care who makes it (e.g., GM AFM, Honda VCM, Chrysler MDS, Toyota DFM, etc.). It is a problem waiting to happen in any application. The industry should have learned their lesson in the '80s from Cadillac's foibles with the HT V8-6-4 and Northstar motors.
 
My list includes Fords with internal water pumps. Those being 3.5, 3.5 Ecoboost and the 3.7. Second is Fords 2.7 which has a oil submerged rubber cogged belt which drives the oil pump.

First, there are 2.7's with no oil belt. Second, better add the 5.0 to the list as it has one too...
 
How about the Ford Triton 4.6, 5.4 and 6.8 liter engines with the inadequate aluminum threads that result in ejection of their spark plugs? A whole cottage industry has emerged to repair those damaged cylinder heads, including the creation of unique tools designed to repair the threads with HeliCoils/TimeSerts without having to remove the heads from the block. Other than this glaring flaw, they are generally OK engines.
Also, depending on the version:
Roller follower failure
Broken timing guides
Dropped exhaust valve seats
Valve stem seal leaks
Head gasket leaks
Intake manifold leaks
Exhaust manifold leaks
Worn cam phasers.

On the plus side, the water pumps hold up well and are easy to change!
 
Personal opinion, but I would never own anything with the cylinder deactivation technology on it. And I don't care who makes it (e.g., GM AFM, Honda VCM, Chrysler MDS, Toyota DFM, etc.). It is a problem waiting to happen in any application. The industry should have learned their lesson in the '80s from Cadillac's foibles with the HT V8-6-4 and Northstar motors.
And yet MDS hasn't been a problem for FCA? The lifter failures started after VCT was added, the pre-VCT engines (that had MDS) didn't have lifter failure and the lifter issue itself (in both FCA and GM applications) often occurs on non-MDS/AFM/DFM lifters. Same failure model as Ford has with the 7.3L.
 
And yet MDS hasn't been a problem for FCA? The lifter failures started after VCT was added, the pre-VCT engines (that had MDS) didn't have lifter failure and the lifter issue itself (in both FCA and GM applications) often occurs on non-MDS/AFM/DFM lifters. Same failure model as Ford has with the 7.3L.
As Clinebarger just posted - non DFM …
it’s the thin oil brother !!! 👹 👺 👿
 
As Clinebarger just posted - non DFM …
it’s the thin oil brother !!! 👹 👺 👿
Yup, was thinking of exactly that example when I wrote it, lol. And that's common. Correlation is not causation and the desire to toss deactivation under the bus for issues it didn't cause, is strong.

Now, Honda's issue with their V6 in the Odyssey with only the rear bank that gets deactivated and becomes varnish city, that's an actual issue with the implementation of the tech.
 
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As Clinebarger just posted - non DFM …
it’s the thin oil brother !!! 👹 👺 👿
I hold Clinebarger's posts as 100% fact based upon my experience but I remember so many people thought AE Hass's thin oil posting much more than opinion
 
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