# Most disappointing car/truck . . .



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Yeah yeah, I know.

But we've all bought vehicles with high hopes to see them dashed.

So, share?

In my case it was a 1980 Lincoln Town Car, with one of those horrid VV carbs

Followed by a "Brick" that I thought would be reliable, but instead turned out to be a scam by the Vikings to diddle money out of me, instead of an honest impale 'em on the sword pillaging.

Come on, y'all, share your tales or promises made broken, etc.

Be broad, be [eek!] liberal in your application . . . .


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## stick\shift (Mar 23, 2015)

My parents had an 82 Grand Marquis with that carb and my dad said afterward he never would have bought the car if he had known about the carb - they only put it in the Mercury that one year.

Probably my worst was a 99 Buick Regal. Nice car but I had to replace the tranny and then the used one they put in started showing the same failing behavior within a month. On top of that, the climate control system was jacked up and I couldn't convince the car it was warm outside and therefore get the AC to come on to do things like clear the windshield in humid weather. It was a really fun car to drive when it worked but I was very happy to see it go in the end.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

As some of you know I live in the mountains and my driveway requires 4 wheel drive in inclement weather. I once had a 1978 Bronco that while the 4x4 worked it wasn't stout enough to guarantee it would make it up my snow covered driveway. 



My wife had a 2001 Nissan 4x4 pick up; it would go up the driveway fine but going down hill could be scary as 4 wheel low would not prevent the engine from winding up and the resulting speed was too much for down hill when the road was extra slick.


Neither vehicle were kept long.


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

I still have VV carb tools. As a auto tech, I hate the ford focus. OMG that thing is a piece of crap. Back in the day, it was the chevette. That was another piece of crap. Ford escort, oh my I could go on. And forget the jaguars. They blow up. As the customer was driving his new jag off the lot, it blew up. I know a tech there and he said it happens more than you know.:vs_cool:


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Brainbucket said:


> I still have VV carb tools. As a auto tech, I hate the ford focus. OMG that thing is a piece of crap. Back in the day, it was the chevette. That was another piece of crap. Ford escort, oh my I could go on. And forget the jaguars. They blow up. As the customer was driving his new jag off the lot, it blew up. I know a tech there and he said it happens more than you know.:vs_cool:


You were actually able to work on a VV carb? I thought they were impossible to fix.

Yeah, my brother hated Chevettes, too, he called them the HUTA (Head Up The A$$) Mobile because of its extremely bad design and engineering.

A lawyer friend of mine had one of those 1970s 12-cylinder Jags he hated to donate, so he tried to give it away, including to me. (I wanted to remain friends so I only ran screaming when I got out of earshot.)


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

DoomsDave said:


> You were actually able to work on a VV carb? I thought they were impossible to fix.
> 
> Yeah, my brother hated Chevettes, too, he called them the HUTA (Head Up The A$$) Mobile because of its extremely bad design and engineering.


Yeah, I could fix them and make it idle. You replace the slides and then you needed the pair of air plugs that plug the air passages then you set idle. What mostly happened to them was the base plate screws would back out and then it was vac leak city. And sometimes one of the screws would make it's way into engine intake and boom! After repairing a few though, I quit doing it and just replaced them.:vs_cool:


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Brainbucket said:


> Yeah, I could fix them and make it idle. You replace the slides and then you needed the pair of air plugs that plug the air passages then you set idle. What mostly happened to them was the base plate screws would back out and then it was vac leak city. And sometimes one of the screws would make it's way into engine intake and boom! After repairing a few though, I quit doing it and just replaced them.:vs_cool:


Hmm. Sounds like I did the right thing in getting rid of the Lincoln Town Car of Doom.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

I had a 83 Bronco with that VV carb, ran like crap, tried to rebuild it twice, finally sent it to the scrap yard, installed a Holly, and drove it a while, before getting rid of it. 

But the worst vehicle that I ever bought was a 73 D 150, 

Fresh graduate from High School, Dealer was offering any new graduate a deal, So I took him up on it.

The first day the passengers door fell off, Took it over to impress a girl that I was interested in, opened the door for her, the thing fell off. 

Embarrassed the heck out of me.

Took it back to dealer, they discovered that at the factory they had failed to bolt it on, all that was holding it on was temporary plastic pegs.

Took 2 weeks to get the bolts, and install them.

then a week later the hood latch failed, at highway speed, hood folded back over the cab, knocked out the windshield, , Towed to dealer, Was told that bolts were not installed at the factory.
A month later, got it back, drove it a few days more and the differential locked up skidded to a stop.

Again to the dealer it went, this time it stayed. They told me that again at the factory, they failed to add lube.

I told them to keep their truck, that I was not making anymore payments, and to go #### themselves.

Walked a block away, bought a 3 year old Ford, and was very pleased.

Learned later that that year Chrysler Motors was in a feud with the union, so the union hands were deliberately turning out trash.

ED 

To


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@de-nagorg, sounds like a nasty disappointment.

Sadly, your tale of Chrysler terror is not terribly unique. I read about the infamous "sales banks" in the 1970s, in which the factories churned out cars that were later parked in giant open-air lots, where they rusted, and got abused by the sun, which the factory tried to force on dealers, which revolted. 

"Oh," I said to Dad, "_That's_ what all those cars were doing in those lots over on the West Side (of Cleveland)!"


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

Brainbucket said:


> Back in the day, it was the chevette. That was another piece of crap. Ford escort, oh my I could go on.


LOL, those two were already at the top of my list to reply about when I read your post!

2) Chevette. It was my Driver's Ed car. Thank god I didn't own it. It was the first year they came out. The motor _put out_ about the same horsepower as the air conditioner compressor on a later vehicle I owned actually _used_. I think I got it up to about 55 once, downhill with a tail wind.

1) Ford Escort. My first new car. I was a young, broke single parent; it was the best I could do. I needed a hatchback since I couldn't afford a real truck, and I was rebuilding my house.

The cast iron block had an aluminum head. When the inevitable happened, no mechanic, even the dealer who sold it to me, would touch it. Apparently the heads cracked on _all_ that model engine, and neither new nor used parts were available.

The dealer basically told me "tough luck" and even suggested it was my fault, for buying such a cheap piece of crap to begin with. Of course, that's not what his salesman had told me when he sold it to me. No help from the dealer, Ford or even the state AG's office.

I've lived less than a mile from that dealer for over 35 years. Never been back for anything. It was just a few years ago that I could even bring myself to buy another Ford - private sale, of course.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

> I still have VV carb tools.


After 30 years, I still have my Stromberg CDSE carb tools to synchronize them on the TR's.

I think the worst one we ever had was a Dodge Caliber. I hated the continuously variable transmission. I am a gear slammer, even on automatics, so that pos went away really soon.


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## Rough Rooster (Feb 7, 2015)

My absolute worst vehicle was a 1976 Chevy Silverado with the reworked 455 Olds design into a wimpy 350 diesel. Oh, it would "run a hole in the wind" but would not stay mechanically correct. Owned it 7 months and traded it with a dead engine. Never looked back, just glad for it to be gone.

Best one so far is a 2000 Chevy S10 with 225,000 miles. Fixed peripherals, but haven't opened engine. 2L 4 cyl with 5 speed manual. I just might drive that one to the grave.


RR :smile::smile:


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

Most disappointing, well I'd say the wife's chevette but then I never really expected a lot out of it. We did drive it 125k miles and sold it for almost what we gave for it. It was exciting to drive, because you were never sure you'd get home in it. Left us stranded more times than all of our other vehicles before or since combined. 

Broke the crankshaft bolt and threw the lower pulley off in Colorado, 700 miles from home. Six migrant beet workers pushed me up the exit off I-76 with their maverick. The only thing at the exit was a boarded up motel and long gone gas station and an empty road. I heard an impact wrench and found a trailer house and small mechanic shop around behind the gas station. The nice fellow loaned me a drill and easy out. I pulled the radiator and AC condenser and drilled the bolt, it screwed right out easily. The Chevy dealer in a nearby town had the pulley and bolt on the shelf! About 6 hours we were on the road again. 

Lost the lower pulley again a couple years later, but much closer to home. Broke a timing belt once or twice, changed it every 30k after that. Snapped something off in the shifter about 3 am as I was picking the wife up from work. Pulled the shifter, got it in high gear, slipped the clutch to get moving, and drove the ten miles home. Broke the camshaft in half, that was great. At least it was close enough to tow it home. 

It was cheap to fix and pretty easy to work on. Had 186k when I sold it. The guy I sold it to drove it another 60k. Last time I saw it around the lady said it was close to 300k.


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## Rough Rooster (Feb 7, 2015)

Don't get the name wrong. It is "Shove-vette". You were constantly shoving them to a repair facility. :devil3:

RR :smile::smile:


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

I really can't say I had a dog. I did have to rebuild the engine in my very first car - 66 Plymouth - in dad's driveway. He was thrilled, but I did learn a lot. I had a few that were less than thrilling, Hyundai Pony, AMC Gremlin, but for what we paid for them I suppose I got what I expected. An early 80s Toyota pickup was a mechanical rock but I swear you could hear the body rust. Back in the day before mandatory safety certificates, my main vehicle was a motorcycle so I would buy a junker for cheap to get me through the winter the sell it in the Spring. One winter I bought an old late 60s Buick landyacht for $75. One plug would foul and have to be replaced every couple of weeks. Sold in in the Spring for $100.


The fleet at one of my postings in the early 80s included a Dodge Ramcharger 4x4 and a Jeep Cherokee. The Ramcharger was a piece of noisy, bouncing, wandering garbage on the highway. The Cherokee was pretty well managed and would climb trees back in bush, but it seems every time you took it out something would break, fall off or stop working; small stuff like rolling down the tailgate window never to see it again or driving along and have the needle of the gas gauge fall off. It didn't matter to us - get it fixed and submit the bill, but if I owned it I would have been mightily peeved.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

IMO Jeep makes the best stock 4x4 but their quality control and/or use of quality parts is lacking. I owned my previous Jeep for 13 yrs and I was always replacing one sensor or another if not something else, nothing major but always little things. My 2010 jk has also had issues that a low mileage well maintained vehicle shouldn't have.


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## carmusic (Oct 11, 2011)

ford escort 1986 with carburator, car didn't pass 70k miles, fuel economy was about 15mpg (it has been checked and it was normal) !!! changed for a 1991 mx6 and fuel economy was 26mpg with a bigger motor and heavier car
my brother worse car was an asuna sunfire 1993, good motor but terrific auto transmission, car was salvaged after less than 10 years of life (holes everywhere, bad transmission,...)


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## Mystriss (Dec 26, 2018)

The second eldest son got a Ford Focus he despises. It is a major POS that's got nothing at all going for it - not enough space, not enough gas mileage, not enough go power. All around trash vehicle.

I've apparently been spoiled in that I've only had one lemon in my life though; and it was a known error when we bought it (it's the 2.5L on the older Subaru's, like 1990 through 2000 or something, they have weak head seals that go out at around 150k.) I still wouldn't be without a Subaru up here though, best car ever for the weather.

Anyway, I'll have to go the other direction; best vehicles, which is most of em apparently.

I had a 1979 Chevy 2wd as my first truck (yes, in Alaska) that went forever, got it in 1989 and blew a rod on the highway in 1991-92 (totally my fault,) we fixed that and I drove it with zero problems until 1999 when I needed room for a car seat. Bought a brand new 2000 Chevy S10 Blazer and had that until 2003 when we needed to tow stuff. That's when I got my personal favorite thus far; 2000 Durango SLT. I loved basically everything about it... A couple/few years ago my husband sold it without discussion :vs_mad: and put a bow on a 2009 Chevy Trailblazer that I'm just "alright" with. There are no dogs under that hood which makes me the sad, I miss the "woof" when I go to get on the highway, I miss my Infinity speakers too. :crying:

I've spent the past five or so years trying to get my hands on a 2007-08 Subaru Tribeca (with the flying V grill) in decent shape. We're talking about finding one in the lower 48 and driving it back up next year on vacation.


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## Calson (Jan 23, 2019)

Worst car by far was a 2001 Mercedes CLK that had to have the entire wiring system replaced after a month and the keylock for the ignition fell behind the dash for a $600 repair, and power rear window cover failed and valve cover leaks and struts replaced at 40K miles and dashboard instruments failed as the engineers had glued the ribbon wiring to the clusters and the visor mirror covers broke so the light would stay on all the time, and the very worst problem was then I started the car and it would not shift out of park. 

It turned out that this was a problem with the Mercedes linkage that went back more than a decade and was never fixed. The car had to be jacked up and put on wheels so it could be backed out the garage and then winched up onto a platform tow truck. No warning and suddenly the car could not be driven or pushed or even towed. 

On the other side are the Toyota trucks and cars that with over a million miles driven have never needed anything more than scheduled maintenance to keep them running and the day each was sold everything worked perfectly, even with the 4WD pickups that had a lot of off road miles.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

lenaitch said:


> I really can't say I had a dog. I did have to rebuild the engine in my very first car - 66 Plymouth - in dad's driveway. He was thrilled, but I did learn a lot. I had a few that were less than thrilling, Hyundai Pony, AMC Gremlin, but for what we paid for them I suppose I got what I expected. An early 80s Toyota pickup was a mechanical rock but I swear you could hear the body rust. Back in the day before mandatory safety certificates, my main vehicle was a motorcycle so I would buy a junker for cheap to get me through the winter the sell it in the Spring. One winter I bought an old late 60s Buick landyacht for $75. One plug would foul and have to be replaced every couple of weeks. Sold in in the Spring for $100.
> 
> 
> The fleet at one of my postings in the early 80s included a Dodge Ramcharger 4x4 and a Jeep Cherokee. The Ramcharger was a piece of noisy, bouncing, wandering garbage on the highway. The Cherokee was pretty well managed and would climb trees back in bush, but it seems every time you took it out something would break, fall off or stop working; small stuff like rolling down the tailgate window never to see it again or driving along and have the needle of the gas gauge fall off. It didn't matter to us - get it fixed and submit the bill, but if I owned it I would have been mightily peeved.


That cracked me up about the needle falling off the gas gauge, lol, I thought only stuff like that happened to me. Years back I was taking my sister to work in the old 52 Plymouth. Made the corner at the light at the busiest intersection in Memphis and hear a pretty good thud, looked back and saw my blame generator laying in the street. lol

My worst of all time was a 72 K5 Blazer with a blame converted diesel engine in it. After the fifth motor and third transmission and the final straw, the wiring harness burned up I junked it. All the motors and trans is a pretty good story though, just unbelievable. One, ok 2 of the motors and 1 trans was my own stupid fault but the rest wasn't.

The worst car I ever owned as a Mercury Sable I think that was what it was. Wheel axle and all fell off, the car was 6 month old and the head went south, had to let the car sit for 6 month as parts for it weren't even on the market yet.

Our best ever so far is our 2000 Nissan Altima and our 1990 Toyota 4X4 that is one tough little truck. When we bought this one, I didn't want a new truck, I wanted this one, still got it after 18 years, still in great shape and no rust at all.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Disappointing? 2015 Lexus NX200t.
It had, beyond sort of pretty two tome interior, RAV4 legacy all over it. Felt like a tin can. There was very little luxury feel to it. Gizmos and better finish could not substitute. Wife's RX does have much better feel to it. Didn't make it for long in my garage. 8 months, I believe.


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## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

I'll second or third the Ford Escort. Mine was a 1986 GT. Although I did enjoy the car it had serious character-building reliability issues.

First it refused to run on anything but 91 octane or else you'd get engine knocking. This is 108 HP, so super high-performance.

Second was the ignition module. After this failure left me stranded the 3rd time, I started keeping those in stock so I could do a roadside repairs. Failed 6 times while I owned it.

Third is the timing belt would fail anywhere after 25-40k miles. it was supposed to be an interference engine but this failure was never catastrophic; 3, maybe 4, belts in it's life.

Forth was the A/C quit after about 4 years and then that turned into a money pit until ultimately I stopped getting it fixed.

At about 135k, the head gasket started leaking antifreeze to the outside. I knew the car didn't have much life left so I started using the leak-stop elixir.

Finally the engine just gave up at 149k in a huge trail of oil burning smoke.

With that said, I had lots of fun in this car, met my wife while I had this car, and it had a killer aftermarket sound system.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Clutchcargo said:


> I'll second or third the Ford Escort. Mine was a 1986 GT. Although I did enjoy the car it had serious character-building reliability issues.
> 
> First it refused to run on anything but 91 octane or else you'd get engine knocking. This is 108 HP, so super high-performance.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a reprise of those awful "brainboxes" from Fords in the 1970s, including Lincolns. They were easy enough to replace, but they'd go bad in mid-stream, sometimes in the middle of the freeway hence Ford being "Found On Road Dead."


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Donno about GT, but Escort, being rebadged Mazda, was heck of reliable car from what I saw in community.


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

My worst car by far was a 2006 Saturn ION3. It was your basic Econobox. I bought it brand new and I swear the damn thing was possessed.

I was rear-ended on the highway. A car was coming onto the highway and speeding up to merge but I was slowing down due to heavier traffic ahead. A decent amount of damage was done to my car. 

Shortly after I got my car back from the shop, I was driving on a different highway. The weather was clear, I wasn't speeding too much. When all of a sudden, I caught a bit of ice on the far left side of the road. Due to its skinny tires, It slid across three lanes of the highway and when I got to the right side, I hit a snowbank and my car flipped over. 

I just flipped over, I didn't roll over or anything. Just a simple flip. I wasn't able to get out by myself though and I was hanging upside down. I remember calling my boss saying I wasn't going to be into work the next day as I was hanging upside down in my car. 

The EMS came and got me out, and they transported me to the ED. I guess I went downhill a bit in the ambulance because they turned on the lights and sirens and sped way up. 

I was hoping they were going to total the devil spawn of a car but they didn't. Although, by the time they got into it, it ended up costing a lot more than they thought. Almost half the cost of a new vehicle. 

Something else happened in the devil spawn and I got rid of it and I traded it in on a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer. 

The best cars I have ever had are:
1987 Jeep Grand Cherokee. My brother gave it to me when I was down on my luck. I only spent $600 on it for new tires. I had it for several years and put 125K miles on it. 

1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee With the 4.0 Liter straight 6. I loved that thing. I put 80K miles on it in 3 years and would have put a lot more on it except that it decided to mate with a Prius when we fell asleep at the wheel on the way back from MN after trying to do one more thing. 

2011 Ford F-150 XL Super Cab. With the 5.0L Coyote engine. We bought it 2016 for $9500 with 150K miles on it. We now have 230K miles on "Shven" and it is still going strong. 

After received my settlement for my work/comp Brain Injury, I bought my wife a 2018 Jeep Cherokee. The limited model with all the things I wanted on it. We test drove it with 8 miles on it. Drove it home with 32 miles on it and as of this afternoon it has 35K miles on it. We bought the lifetime warranty for it as we expect to have it for a long time. We have winter tires on it's own set of times and Summer Tires on the original rims.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I'm on my 2nd Jeep and while they make the best stock 4x4s IMO they could be built better. My 1990 cherokee was always needing sensors and my 2010 jk has had the calipers replaced on 3 wheels, plastic bushings replaced on the 4 wheel drive shift cable, differential oil leaks and burns a little oil - all at less than 75k miles.


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## polarzak (Dec 1, 2008)

chandler48 said:


> After 30 years, I still have my Stromberg CDSE carb tools to synchronize them on the TR's.
> 
> really soon.



I still have my Stromberg tools also. Had two TR7s. One for the road and one for parts. Could say it was the worse car I had but too much fun to drive to demean it. 



Worst car: Chevy Vega.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

polarzak said:


> I still have my Stromberg tools also. Had two TR7s. One for the road and one for parts. Could say it was the worse car I had but too much fun to drive to demean it.
> 
> 
> 
> Worst car: Chevy Vega.


Those Vile Vegas were made at the infamous now-closed Lordstown GM Plant.

Friend had one; his nickname was "Weed" (for his love of same) and we called the car the "Weedmobile"; it was even a dark weedy-looking dark green. I recall it had an aluminum (!!!!!!!) engine block that cracked. Or maybe it was some other part that shouldn't have been made of aluminum. :vs_mad:

I wish we could make nice small cars in the US instead of the VVs. Oh well.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

LOL... easily the 1987 IROZ Z Camaro with 350 L98 motor that I bought new. The question should be "what didn't fail?" The answer would be shorter that way. A partial list of failures:

-alternator at 30,000 miles... before anyone even had rebuilts
-transmission TV cable broke or jammed.. came out of a convenience store and would not go in gear - towed
- low temp electric radiator fan wire harness installed through the BLADES of the secondary high temp radiator fan. First time I ran the AC the car started overheating - I spliced and rerouted the wires.
-total auto transmission failure at 35,000 miles, coming back from a long weekend, just parked it at the dealer. Car would only move about 10 mph at that point. Replaced under warranty
-spun connecting rod bearing at 45,000 miles while on a road trip to Florida... on a Sunday. Oil pressure went to zero but it still ran. I drove it back to MD like that, buddies following, engine replaced under warranty
-Distributor reluctor coil lost some of it's field strength, car stalled intermittently
-Radiator plastic end tank seal blew out

Some other stuff I forget. Eventually everything got sorted and I sold it for a decent price in 1994 with 120,000 miles on the clock.


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## polarzak (Dec 1, 2008)

DoomsDave said:


> Those Vile Vegas were made at the infamous now-closed Lordstown GM Plant.
> 
> Friend had one; his nickname was "Weed" (for his love of same) and we called the car the "Weedmobile"; it was even a dark weedy-looking dark green. I recall it had an aluminum (!!!!!!!) engine block that cracked. Or maybe it was some other part that shouldn't have been made of aluminum. :vs_mad:
> 
> I wish we could make nice small cars in the US instead of the VVs. Oh well.



Yes, an aluminum block with steel ringed pistons going up and down, and in about 15 to 20k (or less) the bore wore so much you got no power and lots of oil burning. The engine had to be bored out and steel sleeves put in. There are lots of modern aluminum engines but they come from the factory with steel sleeves. Not only the engine, the whole car was junk. Funny, but mine was green too.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

A girl at our high school's family had a Vega as their second car. Best thing I can say about it... ONLY good thing I can say about it... is that it was a pretty blue color.



polarzak said:


> Yes, an aluminum block with steel ringed pistons going up and down, and in about 15 to 20k (or less) the bore wore so much you got no power and lots of oil burning. The engine had to be bored out and steel sleeves put in. There are lots of modern aluminum engines but they come from the factory with steel sleeves. Not only the engine, the whole car was junk. Funny, but mine was green too.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

polarzak said:


> Yes, an aluminum block with steel ringed pistons going up and down, and in about 15 to 20k (or less) the bore wore so much you got no power and lots of oil burning. The engine had to be bored out and steel sleeves put in. There are lots of modern aluminum engines but they come from the factory with steel sleeves. Not only the engine, the whole car was junk. Funny, but mine was green too.



My first wife had a green vega when I met her. It was a nice looking car and drove well ..... providing you didn't turn the air on which took more power than that 4 cylinder had to offer. We took it on a trip once to see her mother because my truck had a bald tire. What I spent on oil would have bought a used tire!


A friend of mine almost got killed in a vega at the drag strip.... but it had a 396 and the throttle hung up.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

That goes in the "what were they thinking" category. Or maybe someone pigheaded had the final say on that detail and didn't properly peer review it.

Interesting that Ford is apparently having some similar issues with the latest generation of the 5.0 V8, at least in the F150 version, available the last couple of years. I was sort of shopping (now back on hold) so did a good bit of research and it seems Ford is doing some sort of spray in cylinder lining instead of sleeves on the 5.0. Many of these motors are bad oil burners. Either the coating isn't going on true, or it is breaking down, I don't know. But I know I wouldn't buy one... not even with Ed's money.




polarzak said:


> Yes, an aluminum block with steel ringed pistons going up and down, and in about 15 to 20k (or less) the bore wore so much you got no power and lots of oil burning. The engine had to be bored out and steel sleeves put in. /quote]


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

raylo32 said:


> LOL... easily the 1987 IROZ Z Camaro with 350 L98 motor that I bought new. The question should be "what didn't fail?" The answer would be shorter that way. A partial list of failures:
> 
> -alternator at 30,000 miles... before anyone even had rebuilts
> -transmission TV cable broke or jammed.. came out of a convenience store and would not go in gear - towed
> ...



Still one of my favorite cars though. I just love that body style.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

And those hatchbacks were incredibly versatile. That trip to Florida I carried a bicycle, SCUBA diving gear, camping gear, cooler, and suitcase back there.

I made one fatal mistake the day I bought it. They had 2 identical cars except one was red and one was blue. I test drove the blue one but changed my mind and bought the red one. Anyone who has seen the movie "Used Cars" (if you haven't go watch it!) knows that red cars are bad luck.

Oh, I just remembered another major issue I had with it. The car had bad valve guides and seals from new. Cold starts would always produce a cloud of blue smoke. They fixed that at about 10,000 miles under warranty. That car had to have been put together on a Friday evening.... maybe when they were headed out on strike or something. And the engine had to have also been assembled on another Friday evening. Same thing for the transmission.



Windows on Wash said:


> Still one of my favorite cars though. I just love that body style.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

raylo32 said:


> And those hatchbacks were incredibly versatile. That trip to Florida I carried a bicycle, SCUBA diving gear, camping gear, cooler, and suitcase back there.
> 
> I made one fatal mistake the day I bought it. They had 2 identical cars except one was red and one was blue. I test drove the blue one but changed my mind and bought the red one. Anyone who has seen the movie "Used Cars" (if you haven't go watch it!) knows that red cars are bad luck.
> 
> Oh, I just remembered another major issue I had with it. The car had bad valve guides and seals from new. Cold starts would always produce a cloud of blue smoke. They fixed that at about 10,000 miles under warranty. That car had to have been put together on a Friday evening.... maybe when they were headed out on strike or something. And the engine had to have also been assembled on another Friday evening. Same thing for the transmission.


Hmm. Red cars get ticketed a lot more often, at least in the daytime, since they're easier to spot.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

raylo32 said:


> That goes in the "what were they thinking" category. Or maybe someone pigheaded had the final say on that detail and didn't properly peer review it.
> 
> Interesting that Ford is apparently having some similar issues with the latest generation of the 5.0 V8, at least in the F150 version, available the last couple of years. I was sort of shopping (now back on hold) so did a good bit of research and it seems Ford is doing some sort of spray in cylinder lining instead of sleeves on the 5.0. Many of these motors are bad oil burners. Either the coating isn't going on true, or it is breaking down, I don't know. But I know I wouldn't buy one... not even with Ed's money.
> 
> ...


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

de-nagorg said:


> raylo32 said:
> 
> 
> > That goes in the "what were they thinking" category. Or maybe someone pigheaded had the final say on that detail and didn't properly peer review it.
> ...


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Coyote=good. The changes were made about 2016-2017 but I am not sure which model year was the first with the new version that had the new manufacturing process, exactly.



ktownskier said:


> de-nagorg said:
> 
> 
> > My 2011 F-150 with the 5.0 liter Coyote engine has over 230 K miles on it, and like me, it doesn't smoke.
> ...


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

You caught that, did you? Damn!



de-nagorg said:


> raylo32 said:
> 
> 
> > But I know I wouldn't buy one... not even with Ed's money.
> ...


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

raylo32 said:


> You caught that, did you? Damn!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

That EcoBoost is a great motor too. Ford really hit it out of the park with that re-design. 



Make no mistake, there is a reason that the F-150 is the number one seller in the country. I just can't believe how darn expensive they are.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Windows on Wash said:


> That EcoBoost is a great motor too. Ford really hit it out of the park with that re-design.
> 
> 
> 
> Make no mistake, there is a reason that the F-150 is the number one seller in the country. I just can't believe how darn expensive they are.


How about the older, less expensive ones? Chevy S10 has its good points, but the truck itself is a bit cheesy, though the drive train appears reliable.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Windows on Wash said:


> That EcoBoost is a great motor too. Ford really hit it out of the park with that re-design.
> 
> 
> 
> Make no mistake, there is a reason that the F-150 is the number one seller in the country. I just can't believe how darn expensive they are.


 Ain't that a true fact. 

Looked last week at the local dealer, (curiosity, not seriously), At 75,000 to 85,000, for a bare bones stock, no frills base F-150. :vs_whistle:

Glad that I got a deal on a 09 Explorer, in "16" .

I should be set for the rest of my lifetime.



ED


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

I wouldn't mess with the smaller trucks to be honest. There isn't much benefit there. If you go really older, the 3.8L V6 from Chevy was good, but I would stay with one of the newer LS platform motors and the 5.3L has proven to be a beast. 



Stay way away from any of the Ford 3V stuff.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

The current Ford Ecoboosts seem to be great motors and get decent MPG for big trucks. The first gen 3.5 Ecoboost however had timing chain failures (there's that timing chain theme again) but latest gen has fixed that.

I'd stay away from older Chevy S-10s. I had one, a 1994. It was OK but had its issues and less than stellar build. Maybe if you find a real cream puff but I believe you'll find most older ones will be ragged out. IMO if you go small it needs to be a Tacoma but you won't see anything decent in the $3k range.

I also love the Chevy V-8s although the latest have complications like AFM and DFM. But my 2016 6.2 in the Corvette is a beast and reliable so far.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Did you see where the new Vette is going to land price wise and what the performance numbers are looking like.....INSANE


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

It really isn't that bad, Ed. You can get an XLT with towing package and "luxury" package 302a that has most of the stuff you want but don't need (Nav, remote start, etc) for "only" about 50k MSRP. But around here this time of year dealers give discounts of 20% or more off MSRP. Some of the big dealers have 400-500 of them to pick from. I'd have one now but some other guy bought the one I found with the color and equipment I wanted. I have looked some more and found some good ones but the bug has sort of left me because I love my Tacoma and I don't have anything big to tow just yet.



de-nagorg said:


> Ain't that a true fact.
> 
> Looked last week at the local dealer, (curiosity, not seriously), At 75,000 to 85,000, for a bare bones stock, no frills base F-150. :vs_whistle:
> 
> ...


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Believe it or not the new C8 is supposed to come in only about $5 more than the C7 although early adopters will pay at least MSRP. Performance should be great... but storage, not so much. The current one is so versatile with the rear hatch area and that will be mostly gone. Also new one has a DSG with manual paddles and auto mode only, no traditional stick shift manual. So I see myself hanging on to what I have for now.

And as usual the performance will get really crazy in a year or 3 when Chevy releases the Z06, GS and/or ZR-1 versions. Speculation now has the Z06 coming in at 720 HP or so, up from the base 495. I can't even use my measly 465, at least without going to jail.




Windows on Wash said:


> Did you see where the new Vette is going to land price wise and what the performance numbers are looking like.....INSANE


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

There is talk of a ZR1 option that will be pushed 1000 HP. With the mid engine mount, this thing is going to launch like a catapult.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Indeed, that will be nuts. There are plenty of guys modding their C7s up to and above that power level but traction is always an issue. I enjoy this all vicariously on the Corvette forum, whilst I enjoy my bone stock car and keep my warranty.




Windows on Wash said:


> There is talk of a ZR1 option that will be pushed 1000 HP. With the mid engine mount, this thing is going to launch like a catapult.


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## al_dvil (Aug 2, 2019)

Bought a new '99 Jetta that burned oil from the day I bought it. The dealer put me on an oil consumption monitoring plan and determined that it was burning a quart every 1200 miles and it is only considered a problem if it burns a quart in under 1000 miles. Can't understand how this company is the #1 selling car.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

al_dvil said:


> Bought a new '99 Jetta that burned oil from the day I bought it. The dealer put me on an oil consumption monitoring plan and determined that it was burning a quart every 1200 miles and it is only considered a problem if it burns a quart in under 1000 miles. Can't understand how this company is the #1 selling car.



That is when, I would have been siphoning another pint out before returning to have it checked by them. :devil3:

Yeah , I'm a mean " beat their tricks" kind of guy. 


ED


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

If I had such a bad oil burner I might be tempted to do this. I wonder if that would work for the beer consumption test my doctor has me on? Well, the opposite... putting some beer back in the container. ;-)




de-nagorg said:


> That is when, I would have been siphoning another pint out before returning to have it checked by them. :devil3:
> 
> Yeah , I'm a mean " beat their tricks" kind of guy.
> 
> ...


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)




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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

Probably my old 1965 Dodge truck as it never would really go fast for me. I guess because whoever put the straight line six cylinder engine it at the factory, installed it leaning way over to one side.


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## keep_hope_alive (Jul 26, 2019)

1985-ish cavalier wagon. Paid off a guy's title loan for $300 in 1998. Was filthy and had damage on every panel. Used it for band equipment for 3 months. Motor mounts broke, motor was slapping around, and I scrapped it. Waste of time.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Gregsoldtruck79 said:


> Probably my old 1965 Dodge truck as it never would really go fast for me. I guess because whoever put the straight line six cylinder engine it at the factory, installed it leaning way over to one side.



I always thought the slant 6 was half of a V-12 :biggrin2:


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

mark sr said:


> I always thought the slant 6 was half of a V-12 :biggrin2:


There was a guy here that took a 350 Chevy V8, and removed the works for the right side, re-timed it, and put it in a dirt track racer, as a "slant 4" , it ran very well. 


ED


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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

Glad to see that everyone knows I was just jesting about my old 1965 Dodge PU truck engine. The old Dodge/Mopar slant six engines were one of the toughest and reliable six cylinder engines ever built IMO.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Greg, What is the reasoning behind the removal of the picture from the first post, then replacing it back in a later post. 

Playing " now you see it, now you don't?"

Is that an actual picture of it, or a "stock" from another website.?

Nice color, and looks well cared for.


ED


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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

Yes Ed, that's the real pics of when I had the truck back in the 80's, its way gone now. Someone else did the fancy work on it, and I made a trade for it on a car lot. 

I remove my personal pics/sketches from DIY after a while because I would just as soon not have people recognize my identity. Simply by them recognizing pics of my personal belongings, or something I posted in or about my residence. 

Plus any pic posted on DIY is public, meaning it can end up on Bing images pages which can even further, make one vulnerable for ID recognition by the pic/ID recognition/association. 

I have already removed my profile info on DIY because while I was on another site a while back, a ex- coworker-recognized me. Just from a post I made about a task that I posted about, at a facility that I worked on years ago. Without me even naming the facility. 

So my apologies to you Ed for playing pic roulette on DIY, but its just going to have to be the way I roll, from now on.


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## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

Worst for me was a 1993 GMC Jimmy, ordered it new.

I had a 1985 GMC S15, that I also bought new. Great truck, so we ordered it's new brother.

A month after the 1993 went out of warranty the front brake calipers rusted tight and the freeze plug between the transmission and the engine started leaking. I took it back to the dealer that I bought it from and they said sorry about your luck, to the point of being snarky.

I traded the GM product that day on a new Toyota Tacoma, and have been a loyal Toyota buyer ever since.

GM sucks

My current Tacoma has 175,000 miles. Still has the original clutch and brakes. Other than routine fluid / filter changes and tires it has been a maintenance free vehicle.


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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

I had a 1988 Chevy S10 Blazer with 4.3 Liter that was a good vehicle. But it had an Achilles Heel I found out. One afternoon I drove it the 14 miles home from work. Just as I pulled in to our driveway, the dashboards idiot red "oil" light comes on.

I checked the oil and the dipstick was dry. WHUUT ? I look under the engine and oil is still dripping on the concrete and the side of the block is drenched with oil. The S10 had the fender mounted "remote" oil filter on it. 

The metal adapter plate that was bolted to the engine block by the oil pan with the remote filter's hose hooked to it, had blown the gasket right out from under the mounting plate=one toasted, fine little 4.3 engine. :vs_mad:


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

My 1994 S10 4.3 had a similar issue with its remote oil filter except it was one of the hoses that blew at one of the swages. I was driving up I-270 here, a major commuting route... in rush hour... in a snowstorm. Oil pressure went to zero. There was nothing for me to do, no place to pull off, so I just kept going... slowly because of heavy traffic... another 8 miles to my GF's house. Next day I got under, oil everywhere except on the dipstick. Replaced the hose and filled it with oil and it was fine. I have no idea how that motor kept going. I traded it a few years later still running fine... except for the slight miss at idle due to the crappy spider fuel injection.



Gregsoldtruck79 said:


> I had a 1988 Chevy S10 Blazer with 4.3 Liter that was a good vehicle. But it had an Achilles Heel I found out. One afternoon I drove it the 14 miles home from work. Just as I pulled in to our driveway, the dashboards idiot red "oil" light comes on.
> 
> I checked the oil and the dipstick was dry. WHUUT ? I look under the engine and oil is still dripping on the concrete and the side of the block is drenched with oil. The S10 had the fender mounted "remote" oil filter on it.
> 
> The metal adapter plate that was bolted to the engine block by the oil pan with the remote filter's hose hooked to it, had blown the gasket right out from under the mounting plate=one toasted, fine little 4.3 engine. :vs_mad:


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

raylo32 said:


> My 1994 S10 4.3 had a similar issue with its remote oil filter except it was one of the hoses that blew at one of the swages. I was driving up I-270 here, a major commuting route... in rush hour... in a snowstorm. Oil pressure went to zero. There was nothing for me to do, no place to pull off, so I just kept going... slowly because of heavy traffic... another 8 miles to my GF's house. Next day I got under, oil everywhere except on the dipstick. Replaced the hose and filled it with oil and it was fine. I have no idea how that motor kept going. I traded it a few years later still running fine... except for the slight miss at idle due to the crappy spider fuel injection.



Free rustproofing!


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## keep_hope_alive (Jul 26, 2019)

My dad bought a 1998 S10 Blazer (2dr 2.8L) off the showroom floor. He detail cleaned it every weekend for most it's life. Had rustproofing done. didn't matter, still totally rusted out by 150k mi. The 2.8L was terrible, couldn't maintain speed up a hill and had a rear main seal leak after 100k mi. But, it never stopped running. The 4WD system was flawless. I sold it for $300 in 2003 to a guy for a work truck, told him to plan on a quart of oil a day... or rebuild the motor.


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