Worst Engines-

[Geraint Lloyd]

Sent from some obscure location by I-Phone


On 8-Jan-09, at 17:06, "Louis-Alain Richard" <larichard at plguide.com>  
wrote:

> Absolute NAC, but absolute joy to read ! The story about the Olds  
> made my
> day : what a catastrophic chain of events...
>
> http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0408phr_worst_automobile_engines/i
> ndex.html
>
>
> Some extracts :
>
> Cadillac HT 4100
>
> (...) Another problem were soft camshaft cores that would wear to  
> such an
> extent that the valves would hardly open. Amazingly, the engine  
> would sit
> and idle at 400 rpm in drive as smooth as silk with the only driver
> complaint being a lack of power. After disassembly and inspection of  
> the
> camshaft, one would never believe that an engine could idle so  
> nicely with
> round lobes!
>
>
>
> Chrysler 2.2 liter
>
> (...) Though a mechanically sound design, the 2.2 suffered from day  
> one with
> a poor carburetor and distributor. The progressive two-barrel
> feedback-Holley carburetor was responsible for stalling, surging,  
> rough
> running and general poor driveability that no one--even the best
> mechanic--could ever seem to cure. In addition, the distributor was  
> plagued
> from extreme cost-cutting steps and the shaft-support bushing would  
> wear to
> such an extent that the rotor would hit the distributor cap and  
> break off,
> leaving the motorist stranded. Excessive cylinder-to-cylinder timing
> variations came standard with every 2.2 Chrysler in the early days.
>
> The non-crossflow cylinder head design made the engine easy to  
> package in
> almost every Chrysler body style but deemed the powerplant dated  
> before it
> even had a chance to stall for the first time.
>
>
> Oldsmobile Diesel
>
>
> (...) The engine suffered from the lack of a water/fuel separator  
> and drain
> in the fuel system. Any moisture or dirt that would get into the
> high-pressure Roosa Master injection pump would cause some of the  
> parts to
> hang up. This could have occurred for only a second, but that was  
> enough
> time of an incorrect fuel inject cycle that would allow cylinder  
> pressure to
> peak and overcome head bolt tension or break down the head gasket. The
> driver may have only sensed a slight shudder but the damage was  
> already
> done. The injured head gasket would then let coolant seep into the  
> cylinder
> and since there is little quench volume in a diesel, the  
> incompressibility
> of a liquid was a theory very quickly reinforced. Something had to  
> give and
> it often was a piston, connecting rod or crankshaft but it spelled  
> disaster
> either way.
>
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