Just curious to see in general, how do cars that you all have owned before eventually die? I don't mean "barely running" and sold or junked, I mean "died" as in never ran again. Looking back, in the dozen or so I have owned, only one, a '74 Ford Maverick, actually had to be towed away not to run again. What eventually kills cars?
How did your car die?
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A broken timing belt on an interference engine is the kiss of death!
69 VW Bug, sucked a valve through the piston. Notorious for one cylinder not being cooled properly with the air flow and the valve just went, it was at 60,000-80,000 miles I believe.
VW bugs (in the 60s-70s were easy to rebuild but IMO high maintenance with valve adjustments every other oil change etc etc, mufflers every two years.
VW bugs (in the 60s-70s were easy to rebuild but IMO high maintenance with valve adjustments every other oil change etc etc, mufflers every two years.
Oil pump went, destroyed the bearings. 97 cavalier.
Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
A broken timing belt on an interference engine is the kiss of death!
Not if your mechanic fixes the head for free like happened in my case! Otherwise it would have been.
A broken timing belt on an interference engine is the kiss of death!
Not if your mechanic fixes the head for free like happened in my case! Otherwise it would have been.
Broken teeth on the flywheel on my 82 Plymouth Sapporo meant I could only park at the top of a hill if I wanted it to start again. Ran great otherwise but leaving it running while I went into a store became a bit weird. Traded it in on an 88 Pulsar that blew a headgasket and I didn't feel it was a good economic decision to fix it. (150K miles)
Since then I have bought new or near new cars and have had very few repairs.
Since then I have bought new or near new cars and have had very few repairs.
Trough a rod trough the block or oil pan on a 85 S-10 2.8 V6, 77 Ford F150 400 V8, and a 79 Grand Prix 301 V8. Broke the differential housing on a 85 Olds delta 88 and I'm sure there are others that I cant think of at the moment. Wow I guess I'm hard on cars.
A Chevy Corsica blew the head gasket. It ran but smoked, I donated it to Mellwood, a regional charity for mentally disabled people.
A 1964 Corvette, threw a rod. I replaced the "short block" and it eventually got stolen near Washington, DC. Never recovered.
A 1964 Corvette, threw a rod. I replaced the "short block" and it eventually got stolen near Washington, DC. Never recovered.
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92 cutlass ciera 3300, I parked it in the backyard under its own power when I got my saturn then it never ran again, had no spark. They say crank sensors are finicky on them and my skillset was not where I wanted to do that job in the mud. It also needed some modest stuff to pass a state inspection. In hindsight I should have dumped it for $300 and not said "I'm gonna fix it up someday".
97 cavalier, I killed it. Needed lots of work for inspection. Part of it was a crank sensor code. Snapped the sensor head off; its O-ring was seized in the block. Car still ran with the connector stuffed on the bare pins but of course it would probably fall off driving down the road. I pulled the steering wheel and set it up in my kid's jungle gym for him to play with. I yanked a few parts like the starter/alternator in case a co workers sunfire needed them.
97 cavalier, I killed it. Needed lots of work for inspection. Part of it was a crank sensor code. Snapped the sensor head off; its O-ring was seized in the block. Car still ran with the connector stuffed on the bare pins but of course it would probably fall off driving down the road. I pulled the steering wheel and set it up in my kid's jungle gym for him to play with. I yanked a few parts like the starter/alternator in case a co workers sunfire needed them.
I can't think of any vehicles in my family that died to the point of never running again.
My parents' old Taurus had the transmission replaced at least three times, and at least two of the failures were quite serious, as in there was a lot of noise, a lot of chunks on the dipstick, and the car wouldn't move. When the original transmission grenaded, they took it to some shady transmission shop that threw in a poorly done rebuilt trans. That transmission was trashed a short time later and the car died completely about a quarter mile from the Ford dealer. It was traded in on a new Contour there and we figured it would get sent to the junkyard. No so...a couple years later I saw the old Taurus again in a parking lot at a strip mall. Someone put another trans in it I guess. I'm sure it's finally in the junkyard now though.
The Contour that replaced the Taurus had an interesting death too. It was rear ended by a Jeep Cherokee doing about 40 MPH. Initially insurance repaired the car, but my parents were not confident with the repair. We could hear knocking from the suspension, there was still damage to the wiring harness in the trunk, and nothing in the back of the car lined up or fit like it should. The insurance company finally bought the car back. It nearly caught fire in our driveway when they came to pick it up due to some of the damaged wiring. A Carfax check showed that the car was sent to an auction after that. I can't remember if the title was still clear or not. While it was a good car before the wreck, I hope the insurance company didn't just pass the car on to some unsuspecting person. The extent of the damage was enough that the car never should have been "fixed."
The Honda Civic Hybrid that replaced the Contour is currently destroying transmission #2, so we'll see how long that one can avoid the junkyard.
My parents' old Taurus had the transmission replaced at least three times, and at least two of the failures were quite serious, as in there was a lot of noise, a lot of chunks on the dipstick, and the car wouldn't move. When the original transmission grenaded, they took it to some shady transmission shop that threw in a poorly done rebuilt trans. That transmission was trashed a short time later and the car died completely about a quarter mile from the Ford dealer. It was traded in on a new Contour there and we figured it would get sent to the junkyard. No so...a couple years later I saw the old Taurus again in a parking lot at a strip mall. Someone put another trans in it I guess. I'm sure it's finally in the junkyard now though.
The Contour that replaced the Taurus had an interesting death too. It was rear ended by a Jeep Cherokee doing about 40 MPH. Initially insurance repaired the car, but my parents were not confident with the repair. We could hear knocking from the suspension, there was still damage to the wiring harness in the trunk, and nothing in the back of the car lined up or fit like it should. The insurance company finally bought the car back. It nearly caught fire in our driveway when they came to pick it up due to some of the damaged wiring. A Carfax check showed that the car was sent to an auction after that. I can't remember if the title was still clear or not. While it was a good car before the wreck, I hope the insurance company didn't just pass the car on to some unsuspecting person. The extent of the damage was enough that the car never should have been "fixed."
The Honda Civic Hybrid that replaced the Contour is currently destroying transmission #2, so we'll see how long that one can avoid the junkyard.
I never had a car die....just the repairs would cost too much for me to keep up with fixing. They were all sold to other buyers who just needed cheap transportation since the engines ran fine. I had a 1987 Grand Marquis LS, 302 V8, engine ran great but everything else needed to be either repaired, replaced or was just waiting to go.
I then bought a 1997 Toyota 4 Runner and the only items I've had to replace were the normal wear and tear items like belts, hoses, fuel filter, fluids and filters etc. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin tires and 3rd Battery so my expenses to maintain this vehicle have been very low. Very dependable transportation if you make sure to change the fluids and give it a little TLC. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
I wish American made cars, with the exception of those from the 1950's and early 1960's, were as dependable and well made as the Japanese vehicles.
I then bought a 1997 Toyota 4 Runner and the only items I've had to replace were the normal wear and tear items like belts, hoses, fuel filter, fluids and filters etc. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin tires and 3rd Battery so my expenses to maintain this vehicle have been very low. Very dependable transportation if you make sure to change the fluids and give it a little TLC. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
I wish American made cars, with the exception of those from the 1950's and early 1960's, were as dependable and well made as the Japanese vehicles.
1992 Mercedes 300D; blew all engine oil out the dipstick tube on a long upgrade. Seized turbo and spun bottom end bearing. After putting some oil in it, it ran long enough to get me off the interstate but as the cost of replacing the engine/turbo exceeded the cost of buying a nicer car, I scrapped it.
Cheapest car I ever owned-'72 Pinto I had when I was in college in the mid '80s-bought it for TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS(!), put a timing belt on the old 2.0 OHC, had a guy make me a ignition key for it, don't think I ever even had a door key for it. Drove it to school & back for probably 6-7 months, through all kinds of snow-ran it out of oil one day. Idiot light came on, on my way to school/no oil with me, made it about another mile, threw a rod right through the side of the block, scrapyard time. Got around $25 for it!
I have never had a car die on me but I recall another guy's funny incident.
This fellow worked the same company I did. He was a supervisor and they gave him a brand new company car. At 25,000 miles the engine blew. It turned out that in all that time he never changed the oil or even checked it. He never raised the hood.
This fellow worked the same company I did. He was a supervisor and they gave him a brand new company car. At 25,000 miles the engine blew. It turned out that in all that time he never changed the oil or even checked it. He never raised the hood.
I had a 1985 Buick Regal with the 3.8L V6 (NA, not the turbo ones). Started out at 20 MPG, but eventually the engine became so worn that it was getting 10 MPG and oil was pooling in the air cleaner from the pressure in the crankcase. Oil pressure was dropping, too - apparently a common problem on these engines. Parked it one day and got a different car. Tried to run it every 3 months or so, and then one day it wouldn't start. Seemed froze up - either the starter was bad, or in fact it had just seized.
I had a 1973 Ford Grand Torino that I purchased new, and scrapped it around 1985 because of rust. The engine was still good at 135,000 miles, but it had so much rust that the floorboards and trunk were rotting through. The transmission was also pretty much done. The last 3 years we kept it as a spare car, but it rusted so much while it was mostly sitting that by the time we sold it I didn't feel it was safe to drive.
It was bought my a local farmers son to "fix up", towed back behind his barn, and never moved again. It may still be sitting there today.
It was bought my a local farmers son to "fix up", towed back behind his barn, and never moved again. It may still be sitting there today.
i will let everyone know we have a shop car here a 1983 oldsmobile custom cruiser that has the original engine 5.0 307
with 409,333 miles on it and the axle seal is leaking due to a "grooved axle" problem is i cant find that axle there were two that year and i have the big one and even the junk yards laugh when i ask them if they have that...they say we have nothing that old!
I want to keep that car it looks good for an engine shop to have a shop car with that kind of mileage
with 409,333 miles on it and the axle seal is leaking due to a "grooved axle" problem is i cant find that axle there were two that year and i have the big one and even the junk yards laugh when i ask them if they have that...they say we have nothing that old!
I want to keep that car it looks good for an engine shop to have a shop car with that kind of mileage
1986 Saab 9000 turbo.
I drove through some flooded streets - I was 19 at the time - and it mildly hydrolocked. I say mildly because I didn't notice anything until a couple days later when I was racing someone on the interstate at 130 mph when a piston suddenly cracked open, blowing all the boost into the crankcase which, in turn, blew all the oil (M1 5-30, by the way) out the dipstick tube a very dramatic, smokey flash.
That was 13 years ago and I can still see the laughing face of the other driver.
I had just installed that engine a couple of months before in my parents' driveway... Sometimes I don't miss being 19.
I drove through some flooded streets - I was 19 at the time - and it mildly hydrolocked. I say mildly because I didn't notice anything until a couple days later when I was racing someone on the interstate at 130 mph when a piston suddenly cracked open, blowing all the boost into the crankcase which, in turn, blew all the oil (M1 5-30, by the way) out the dipstick tube a very dramatic, smokey flash.
That was 13 years ago and I can still see the laughing face of the other driver.
I had just installed that engine a couple of months before in my parents' driveway... Sometimes I don't miss being 19.
1986 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z: at about 110,000 miles the temperature gauge started wildly fluctuating between hot and cold. New sending unit and thermostat didn't have any effect. (and about 5 minutes of labor...the "front" side of that engine was so easy to service) Diagnosis: cracked cylinder head. Sure enough #4 had a tiny crack between the intake and exhaust valve. Reman cylinder head was about $200.
Turbocharger was noisy after that. Like a circular saw running under my hood. Located an Dodge 600's turbo at a wrecking yard.
At about 120,000 the engine began to knock. Like someone beating on the side of the block with a ball peen hammer. Faced with the possibility of having to tear it all apart again for a shortblock and tired of dealing with having a black car with T-Tops and a black leather interior and no A/C in Texas I let it go for $500 towards a 1984 RX-7 with only 60,000 easy miles. Still had the factory tires on it. Plenty of tread.(no hard acceleration or cornering)
I had the RX-7 long enough to put new RWLtires on it, Change all the belts, plugs, and fluids, and have a rotary shop go through the carburetor and work the secondaries. Man that was a sharp little screamer
The RX-7 was stolen. I got a call from the police that said they had located the car. Went to the impound yard and found the rear shell of the car. No engine, no transmission, no hood, no doors, no glass, no interior, no rear end....nothing but the dash and uni-body. Completely stripped.
Turbocharger was noisy after that. Like a circular saw running under my hood. Located an Dodge 600's turbo at a wrecking yard.
At about 120,000 the engine began to knock. Like someone beating on the side of the block with a ball peen hammer. Faced with the possibility of having to tear it all apart again for a shortblock and tired of dealing with having a black car with T-Tops and a black leather interior and no A/C in Texas I let it go for $500 towards a 1984 RX-7 with only 60,000 easy miles. Still had the factory tires on it. Plenty of tread.(no hard acceleration or cornering)
I had the RX-7 long enough to put new RWLtires on it, Change all the belts, plugs, and fluids, and have a rotary shop go through the carburetor and work the secondaries. Man that was a sharp little screamer
The RX-7 was stolen. I got a call from the police that said they had located the car. Went to the impound yard and found the rear shell of the car. No engine, no transmission, no hood, no doors, no glass, no interior, no rear end....nothing but the dash and uni-body. Completely stripped.
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Originally Posted By: mongo161
I never had a car die....just the repairs would cost too much for me to keep up with fixing. They were all sold to other buyers who just needed cheap transportation since the engines ran fine. I had a 1987 Grand Marquis LS, 302 V8, engine ran great but everything else needed to be either repaired, replaced or was just waiting to go.
I then bought a 1997 Toyota 4 Runner and the only items I've had to replace were the normal wear and tear items like belts, hoses, fuel filter, fluids and filters etc. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin tires and 3rd Battery so my expenses to maintain this vehicle have been very low. Very dependable transportation if you make sure to change the fluids and give it a little TLC. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
I wish American made cars, with the exception of those from the 1950's and early 1960's, were as dependable and well made as the Japanese vehicles.
Odd you say that. My '89 Towncar is still going (same platform as your Grand Marquis) with nary more than routine maintenance its entire life.
Back to the theme of the thread:
Not my car, but my buddy had a hopped-up Camaro that tried to push #1 rod and piston through the side of the block at 80Mph. It never moved under its own power again.
I never had a car die....just the repairs would cost too much for me to keep up with fixing. They were all sold to other buyers who just needed cheap transportation since the engines ran fine. I had a 1987 Grand Marquis LS, 302 V8, engine ran great but everything else needed to be either repaired, replaced or was just waiting to go.
I then bought a 1997 Toyota 4 Runner and the only items I've had to replace were the normal wear and tear items like belts, hoses, fuel filter, fluids and filters etc. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin tires and 3rd Battery so my expenses to maintain this vehicle have been very low. Very dependable transportation if you make sure to change the fluids and give it a little TLC. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
I wish American made cars, with the exception of those from the 1950's and early 1960's, were as dependable and well made as the Japanese vehicles.
Odd you say that. My '89 Towncar is still going (same platform as your Grand Marquis) with nary more than routine maintenance its entire life.
Back to the theme of the thread:
Not my car, but my buddy had a hopped-up Camaro that tried to push #1 rod and piston through the side of the block at 80Mph. It never moved under its own power again.
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