Worst engine ever?

[pabster]

Hey all,

I started thinking that it would be interesting to hear from those who work on cars what engines out there are the worst? Not just Chrysler, all makes. Have at it- tell your tales and fire away!

 

[Meep-Meep]

I particularly hated the Honda CVCC engine from the 70's. Not because of the slick technology that allowed them to run without a cat for many years but the basic core design. Here are some highlights:

The rod and main bearings were color coded, meaning each color had a specific over/under size to it probably in tenths. You would maybe have #1 rod green, #2 red and #3 and 4 brown. Why they couldn't grind a crank like everyone else is beyond me.

This engine also had oil pump issues, as in they liked to seize. How do you seize a component that its sole job is to live in oil and to move oil makes no sense but it happened. And here is the brilliant part! The oil pump ran off a gear at the center of the cam, and you would think the distributor would be off the same gear. But NOOOOOOOOOO! The distributor ran off the end of the cam. So as the oil pump started to seize a higher torque was required to turn the shaft and the softer cam gear would start to strip until the teeth were gone. But while this oil pump disaster was going on, the distributor, which takes a negligible amount of torque to turn, is quite happy lighting off each cylinder with Japanese precision. Catastrophic failure occurs shortly after the oil pump stops moving oil and the end result is you bombing down the highway at 3500 RPM with no oil pressure (because the distributor is being driven by the other cam gear) and eventually the engine spins a green, red, or blue bearing and a rod windows the block. I used to walk down the import section of the wrecking yard and count the mid 70's CVCC's with holes in the block and stripped out cam gears.

Aside from that rest of the car was OK.

 

[69roadr]

whatever engine they put in the Vega

 

[WP29440SE]

any 4 cylinder or sideways 6 GM engine

 

[Budnicks]

Ford 2.0-ltr. 4 banger 72 Pinto Engine, had nothing but problems with it... but I also won a Wednesday Night bracket race, at Sacramento Raceway while still in HS, with my Pop's 72 Pinto 2.0-ltr. 4 speed Hatchback {his business car}, running 18.50's "I think it was", that could have been part of the problem too, I use to beat the crap out of that poor thing... It was allot cheaper to drive than my 68 Charger R/T...

 

[wannadrag]

whatever engine they put in the Vega

This one looks and sounds ok to me.

[video=youtube;g7oQcaIL9xI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=g7oQcaIL9xI[/video]

 

[Budnicks]

yeah a Baldwin Motion V-8 Vega was a super car for the time, BB or SB version...

 

[wannadrag]

Back in the 80s i had a couple sb vegas,one had a 302 Z28 engine and was quite the handful,couldnt imagine one with a bb.

 

[YY1]

I'll second the gm 151.

They sure built/sold a hell of a lot of them, but they sure didn't last very long.

The ford 2.3, OTOH, seems to be quite bulletproof and still thriving in many parts of the world.

- - - Updated - - -

...and if there's such a thing as best and worst at the same time- the gm 3.8/3800.

Nearly as hard to kill as a 198/225, but seems like they lose all but 50HP as they wear out.

 

[Budnicks]

60* 2.8ltr. V-6 carberated 1981 S-10 engine, was total crap.... Vapor-locking Gutless Pig, that left me stranded a few times....

 

[Cranky]

I'll take the 3.8 BM V6 over the /6 any day!

 

[67 coronet]

4.6 northstar caddy motors.what a pos.upper oil pan gasket is built into a main stud girdle.when you pull the main bolts to change it,they pull the threads out of the block.most major rebuilders wont touch them because of this piss poor design.

 

[mopar367]

The dodge 4.7 is one of the worst in my opinion. The oil sludge problems are very bad starting at 95000 kms. I changed my oil religiously at 5000 km and still had sludge. My fuse box connections corroded too, leaving me with major electronic problems. Plus its lacking power in a 5000 lb ram truck.

 

[WP29440SE]

60* 2.8ltr. V-6 carberated 1981 S-10 engine, was total crap.... Vapor-locking Gutless Pig, that left me stranded a few times....

yep , I know of 3 that lost oil pressure out of no where. complete garbage

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The dodge 4.7 is one of the worst in my opinion. The oil sludge problems are very bad starting at 95000 kms. I changed my oil religiously at 5000 km and still had sludge. My fuse box connections corroded too, leaving me with major electronic problems. Plus its lacking power in a 5000 lb ram truck.

the 1998 - 2002 2.7 litre engines were complete sludge garbage engines. we had an 02 concord we got rid of 2 days after I googled 2.7 litre sludge . we got 2900 bucks trade value and 2 weeks later it locked up at 63,000 miles

 

[Moparsmitty]

Ford 2.0-ltr. 4 banger 72 Pinto Engine, had nothing but problems with it... but I also won a Wednesday Night bracket race, at Sacramento Raceway while still in HS, with my Pop's 72 Pinto 2.0-ltr. 4 speed Hatchback {his business car}, running 18.50's "I think it was", that could have been part of the problem too, I use to beat the crap out of that poor thing... It was allot cheaper to drive than my 68 Charger R/T...

I don't know about the Pinto that you had Bud, but I had a 72 Pinto hatchback back in the late 70s that I used to commute to work in Seattle. I used to drive the crap out of that thing and never had a spot of trouble with it. It had the 2.0 with a 4 speed. I heard that the 2L engines were actually made in Germany. I actually rodded the thing a little with a cam, header. and adjustable cam sprocket. It was actually fairly quick from 0 to 60. I kind of wish I still had it.

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

I don't know about the Pinto that you had Bud, but I had a 72 Pinto hatchback back in the late 70s that I used to commute to work in Seattle. I used to drive the crap out of that thing and never had a spot of trouble with it. It had the 2.0 with a 4 speed. I heard that the 2L engines were actually made in Germany. I actually rodded the thing a little with a cam, header. and adjustable cam sprocket. It was actually fairly quick from 0 to 60. I kind of wish I still had it.

I had a 73 Pinto wagon that I drove the crap out of also and it never let me down. Drove it hard for over 2 years daily, 100+ miles per day, hauling tools and materials, A/C car w/ stick, paid $500 for it in 1980 and traded it on a Toyota 4WD. That 22R engine w/ thrust washers was a POS in my opinion. Found the washers in the oil pan after clutch problems due to crank play.

 

[ws27]

I don't know about the Pinto that you had Bud, but I had a 72 Pinto hatchback back in the late 70s that I used to commute to work in Seattle. I used to drive the crap out of that thing and never had a spot of trouble with it. It had the 2.0 with a 4 speed. I heard that the 2L engines were actually made in Germany. I actually rodded the thing a little with a cam, header. and adjustable cam sprocket. It was actually fairly quick from 0 to 60. I kind of wish I still had it.

0-60 quick yeah but only with the passenger seat empty. LOL

My worst engine was 1.6L in the Ford Escort. Carbureted. Zero power. It would blow a head gasket or crack the head if you looked at it wrong. We didn't have very many neat old Mopars in the early 80s to choose from everything was rusted out.

For an engine I've never owned, most any Power Stroke. How on earth can you take a reliable Navistar engine, put it in a Ford and have that mess? Most people around here stopped buying them finally. Course, I might be a little biased with my Cummins LOL.

 

[69roadr]

i remember guys talking about not being able to open the door on the Vegas after going for a romp. they said due to the torque of the v8, that it twisted the chassis lol!

 

[Northwest]

60* 2.8ltr. V-6 carberated 1981 S-10 engine, was total crap.... Vapor-locking Gutless Pig, that left me stranded a few times....

Is that related to the 4.3 GM engire in the late 80s early 90s? Worst engine I have had. All the power of a 4 cyl and all the gas milage of a v8.

 

[wannadrag]

i remember guys talking about not being able to open the door on the Vegas after going for a romp. they said due to the torque of the v8, that it twisted the chassis lol!

I heard stories that some would break the windsheild from the flex.The better one i had did have a full home built tube frame and a really crude roll cage.Chevy should of used the iron duke like pontiac did in there version instead of that aluminum peice of crap.Oh well the vega did get a second chance at life with many drag racers.