Engines everyone assumes are weak but actually arnt.

[S0 What]

Ford Pinto= eats camshafts, well yes they did but only in the first couple of years of production, it was sorted early in the life of the engine but the weakness is still trotted out when in reality they were a dam stronge engine that would miss swervices without an issue and soldier on when more delicate engine had rattled to death.
Ford 2.0 8V twincam = head gasket weak, timming chains stretch, again early engines did have H/G issues but after a couple of years mulilayer H/G sorted that and ALL timming chains stretch, over 100K change the chain, simple, they produce lots of low end power and are great on fuel, it's not unusuall to see 50 MPG on a run from a "twink" even in a car the size of a sierra.

[Gary C]

1980 Vauxhall family II engine, eats it's camshaft.

Early versions had a problem with the chill cast? technique and the lobes just wore away. Happened to mine. But once sorted, 120k miles no problem, abused very badly, oil changes when the oil filter blocks and the bypass opens (can see this on the oil pressure gauge)

[battered]

Gary C said:

1980 Vauxhall family II engine, eats it's camshaft.

Early versions had a problem with the chill cast? technique and the lobes just wore away. Happened to mine. But once sorted, 120k miles no problem, abused very badly, oil changes when the oil filter blocks and the bypass opens (can see this on the oil pressure gauge)

I'm cringing at the notion of waiting for the oil filter to block and the bypass to open before you change the oil! Mind you a mate did run his Cav 1.8 SRi until it was empty and the oil light came on. As he was near the supermarket he kept his speed down (on the A1 near Grantham, nevertheless, not idling around town) and ignored the rattles until he got to the shop. He bought 5 litres and threw the whole can in, it didn't even hit the dipstick so he bought another 5L and poured another litre or so in. It was never quite the same after that, rather smoky and down on performance. How odd.

I knew a girl at work with a rattly Astra, obviously the cam, it never seemed to give up, just clattered away and only sounded like one tappet was a mile out. She ignored it, it was only a cheap car that she traded in after a while.

[Gary C]

battered said:

Gary C said:

1980 Vauxhall family II engine, eats it's camshaft.

Early versions had a problem with the chill cast? technique and the lobes just wore away. Happened to mine. But once sorted, 120k miles no problem, abused very badly, oil changes when the oil filter blocks and the bypass opens (can see this on the oil pressure gauge)

I'm cringing at the notion of waiting for the oil filter to block and the bypass to open before you change the oil! Mind you a mate did run his Cav 1.8 SRi until it was empty and the oil light came on. As he was near the supermarket he kept his speed down (on the A1 near Grantham, nevertheless, not idling around town) and ignored the rattles until he got to the shop. He bought 5 litres and threw the whole can in, it didn't even hit the dipstick so he bought another 5L and poured another litre or so in. It was never quite the same after that, rather smoky and down on performance. How odd.

I knew a girl at work with a rattly Astra, obviously the cam, it never seemed to give up, just clattered away and only sounded like one tappet was a mile out. She ignored it, it was only a cheap car that she traded in after a while.

, it got driven so often, so many miles looking for rivers to canoed own and abused so much, but even after 6 years and 100k miles by me it still had the original exhaust !

A145XAB if only I could find it, but I believe it's long gone

[S0 What]

Gary C said:

1980 Vauxhall family II engine, eats it's camshaft.

Early versions had a problem with the chill cast? technique and the lobes just wore away. Happened to mine. But once sorted, 120k miles no problem, abused very badly, oil changes when the oil filter blocks and the bypass opens (can see this on the oil pressure gauge)

Same issue as the pinto, ford swapped to chilled casting to avoid the problem i guess GM did the same ?
To be fair allmost all new engines have issues, the manufacturers use us the buying public to find these issues (unfortunatly), my advice to anyone after a 2nd hand vehical (who'll lsiten) is allways buy near the end of a production run, not early (see ni on every issue on here for why) and not late (they tend to start using whatever they have laying about like bushes of odd sizes and superceded parts that were updated because of wear issues),, see the late J and K reg, escort cab for details, Ford used Mk3 locks (chubb not tibbie) due to having run out of Mk4 lock sets, last of the cortinas used sierra bushes on the rear axle, late sierras XR4i, was ment to be 4X4 but lack of FWD parts ment it was sold off an a "special" with only RWD but XR spec trim, i'm sure there's many more out there but fords are my "thing" .

[Sardonicus]

Frankthered said:

Bennachie said:

I actually had a Hillman Imp and Singer Chamois. The last 'Chrysler Imps' had the Sport engine in all but name; with a single carb..... and standard exhaust, instead of the twin Strombergs and tubular extractor..........

I really liked those engines....

Fair dos! I've always liked the idea of an Imp, or one of the other versions, quite like the engines too - if only the heads didn't warp!

^ The heads only warped due to over heating/abuse the K gets my vote although I agree with DV Andrews etc done correctly with the cooling mods no further issues well I never see any and I reckon I did about 15 normally just the usual oil in the coolant I try to catch em early (got a good method for cleaning all the oil residue from the system too) not done any for years now though another tough but head-gasket prone engine same as the K oil in the coolant is the psa TU engines Saxo's 206's etc the gasket just fails around the oil feed port if caught soon enough before the cooling system claggs up just head-gasket and yield bolts sort them

[deggles]

Two pages in and no-one's mentioned bore scoring and IMS failure on Porsches? You're slacking, PH! :-D

[mcford]

S0 What said:

last of the cortinas used sierra bushes on the rear axle,

Really?, which bushes?, considering that the rear axle/suspension set up of both cars are entirely different, I find it hard to believe.

[Sardonicus]

mcford said:

S0 What said:

last of the cortinas used sierra bushes on the rear axle,

Really?, which bushes?, considering that the rear axle/suspension set up of both cars are entirely different, I find it hard to believe.

Estate Cortina ones with no voids more like nothing suspension wise interchangeable from MK3/4/5 Tina to Sierra

[S0 What]

mcford said:

S0 What said:

last of the cortinas used sierra bushes on the rear axle,

Really?, which bushes?, considering that the rear axle/suspension set up of both cars are entirely different, I find it hard to believe.

Last of the line cortinas (82) used a larger front lower arm bush 2mm bigger than all the other Mk4/5s, to change them you had to change the whole rear arm for an earyer version and use the smaller bushes as non of the larger bushes were ever made available as a sperate part, the larger bush was developed for use in the sierra susspension test mules (Mk5 etsates) IE Mk5 estates with IRS fitted.

Don't get me started on void bushes changed hundreds if not thousands of the dam things, horrable set up, the south african cortina rear susspension was so much better

Edited by S0 What on Friday 23 June 02:05