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Worst engines ever made.

27K views 93 replies 61 participants last post by  Harrison. 
#1 · (Edited)
Here is my list of the worst engines ever made (ill add the worst first, but after the first few they won't be in any particular order). I might have forgotten a few, but I left out some clichés on purpose (like the Caddy V8-6-4)

I appreciate additions and CSBs about bad engines :thumbup:

Worst.

1) Chevrolet Vega 140ci aluminum engine. Problems associated with not using steel liners as well as cooling problems. Timing belts weren't sturdy yet and often snapped prematurely.

2) Triumph Stag 3.0l V8. Why use the perfectly good Buick 215 when you can mesh 2 dolomite engines together? cooling, durability and timing chain problems.

3) Cadillac HT4100. fuel injected aluminum V8 with... 130 hp. And a litany of reliability problems.

4) Olds 350/4.3 diesels. Gasoline engine parts like con. rods and head bolts that aren't built to the pressures of a diesel, soured the diesel brand in the US for good. Great MPGs, though.

5) Toyota 3ZVE. Poor reliability and power for a V6 Toyota.

6) Chevrolet 200 and 229 V6s (who remembers those?) . Awful boat anchors.

7) Ford Powerstroke 6.0L.

8) Pontiac 3.4 DOHC.

9) The "renesis" RX8 engine.

10) whatever the hell was in the land rover discovery.

11) Any twin turbo BMW ;)

12) Saab 3.0 V6






Underwhelming/mediocre.

-VW 2.Slow.

-The Audi engine in the 924. I believe with the US emissions, it only made 95 HP, and it was almost twice the price of an RX7.

-Delorean PRV V6. expensive exotic with a 130 hp V6.

-GM 2.8 and 3.1 V6s.

-GM iron duke and pushrod 2.2.

-Buick 231. (125 hp)

-ford 255ci V8 (debored Windsor with 120 hp)

-Olds 260 V8 (weak 110 hp but economical and reliable)

-BMW "e" 2.7l engine. Again weak but economical

-Ford Vulcan V6.





Good performers with bad reliability.

Buick 231 turbo. For the malaise era, it had great power but having a non cooled turbo with a 2bbl carb gave it poor reliability.

Oldsmobile Quad 4. Very fast (190 hp) 4 cylinder, but not terribly reliable.

Cadillac Northstar. Great power and V8 MPG, but unreliable, especially early on.

VW/Audi 1.8t (MK4/B5-B6 generation). Especially mounted lengthwise with the shallow oil pan.

VW/Audi FSI/TSI.
 
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#7 ·
In terms of unreliability...

Whatever Jaguar engines were in the Jaguars where aftermarket kits to install a Chevrolet or Ford V8 are available.
.
I assume the XJS?



It had either a 4.2 I6 or a 5.3 V12.

In terms of underwhelming performance I will add the Oldsmobile 301 Turbo or any 5.0l V8 GM made.
Wasn't the 301 a Pontiac motor? And the last strictly Pontiac engine ever built?

True, most 305s or the olds 307 made 140-150 hp. At the very best, 190 in the L69 F bodies. But the exception is the Tuned Port injection 305 in the F bodies. It made 215-230 hp and managed a then impressive 15 and change seconds in the quarter. 0-60 in the low 7s and a top speed of 140, impressive given that it weighed 500 lbs more than an LX Fox.

It does put things in perspective how bad Cadillac had it when the Broughams 140 hp 307 was an upgrade over previous engines:laugh:.
 
#4 ·
Triumph didn't use the Rover version of the Buick 215 because even after the formation of British Leyland from the merger of Leyland and British Motor Corporation there was still fierce rivalry between competing brands and this went as far as the withholding of engineering and technical knowledge and the sharing of parts.
 
#6 ·
I disagree on Volkswagen's 2 liter engine, I think they're great. I've many over the years with no major problems ever. I just sold my 99 MK4 with 325,000 kms on the clock and it's still going strong. The friend I sold it to took it on a 3000 km road trip the week after buying it without so much as a hiccup.

The only time a 2.0 had ever left me stranded was when the water pump grenaded at around the 320.000 mark on above mentioned Jetta. New pump, t-belt and tensioner later it was good to go. I wish I still had it as a back up car :thumbup:
 
#9 ·
My mistake.
 
#17 ·
I understand the Renesis being disliked... but show me the similar vintage Wankel competitor it compares poorly against.:p

And if cost to maintain and repair put an engine on one of these bad lists, then maybe you should just list the German engines NOT on the list.
 
#19 ·
Can we put the ticking time-bomb 5.4 3 valve Fords on this list? Just about every 100k+ mile ford truck with the 5.4 is ticking (cam phasers, or something) and needs a tuneup, but no one wants to do it.

Chris
 
#21 ·
Corvette Z06 .... didn't they have a habit of blowing up, eating valves or over heating or something?

60s and 70s GM small block cars and trucks ate camshafts and the plastic coated timing gears would lose their teeth and allow the chain to jump and then bend all the valves.

Ford Pinto 2.3L was gutless power wise and would eat timing belt teeth with their little tiny crank pulley... you never knew when it was going to die.

90s Ford Escorts ate timing belts regularly.

Probably already mentioned was that Cadillac V4-6-8 piece of crap from the 80s. :eek:

Toyota's MKII MR2 ... the non turbo engine was fine up to about 5,000 rpm and then it hit a brick wall .... just made noise and didn't pull anymore.

Porsche 2.7L engines had cylinder head stud problems among other things :(
 
#84 ·
Corvette Z06 .... didn't they have a habit of blowing up, eating valves or over heating or something?
The LS7 could drop exhaust valves since it was a hallow 2 piece design, I replaced them two weeks after getting it for like a total of $300 or $400 in parts, valves themselves were about $180. Aside from that, the engine is gods gift to motorheads. 427 Small Block. *homer drool*

:beer:

I was 9 when GT2 launched, and I've been in love with the V6 Ti since lol. I was so stoked when it came out on Assetto Corsa, sounds and looks fantastic in-game. I also have to agree, 80's/90's Touring cars were the best.
I would play GT and GT2 for hours upon hours on school nights, the last one I played was GT4 and then got uninterested as I picked up Forza for the 360. I still love that 155!
 
#22 ·
WV water cooled boxer they put in the Vanagon - They should have never made this engine.

Pressured by the EPA and having no other van for the booming US minivan market, they were forced to remove the jugs and throw jackets around liners and hosed up one of the more complicated water-cooling systems I have ever seen. Coolant flush can take all day, and bleeding the system requires you to put the front up on ramps to get all the air to the radiator bleed screw.



Even if you flush the coolant every-other year, the heads can still eventually pit under the jacket gasket, and you'll end up having to recondition them eventually.



It's a shame, since otherwise the engine is durable and pretty reliable. I believe the bottom end is the strongest boxer VW ever made. Hell, even some guys take one of these blocks and cut the jackets off and put jugs back on for a frankenstein engine they call "Oxyboxer."
 
#28 ·
#26 · (Edited)
GM iron duke and pushrod 2.2.


Underwhelming? I can attest to that. Had the 2.2L 118HP 4-cylinder engine in my first car. 1995 Chevy S-10.

fan bearings decided to give up one day on the highway. Head gasket job twice in 85,000 miles.

I still think to this day that the first time it got done it was done incorrectly by the shop as something was stuck in the thermostat keeping it open. Maybe something was dropped when they replaced the head gasket :D

Did have a lot of fun in that little truck though.
 
#36 ·
5) Toyota 3ZVE. Poor reliability and power for a V6 Toyota.
It's 3VZ-E, which too bad for whatever reason Toyota gave it a single overhead camshaft head design.

the DOHC 3VZ-FE on the Camry was a good engine and didn't have the head gasket issue of the SOHC version.
 
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