Ah! The "Self machining final drive" - Self Machining syndrome...a good read | VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum I never had that version of the 020 transmission, but I remember they sold a bolt kit to replace the rivets...
OTOH, the last time I bought an 020, it cost me 60$ at the yard...
FWIW I think you could rebuild it. You just needed a new housing (Bonne Chance!!!).
OTOH, the last time I bought an 020, it cost me 60$ at the yard...
FWIW I think you could rebuild it. You just needed a new housing (Bonne Chance!!!).
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I find that Toyotas are very good cars, but they are not nice cars by any means. I have a 2007 Matrix XR. I keep it for around town and Walmart parking lots to save my Malibu.
I used to use GM "B" bodies. They were pretty good on gas and handled very well. The Malibu will run rings around most cars, but a BMW is a drivers car and I love them. They handle a little better, but I don't think you can fault a GM for handling, not unless you bought it with mush suspension. I had a 1993 Buick Roadmaster wagon that I loved, 5.7 L engine that I got close to 30 mpg with. If you accelerate anything that heavy, it will burn through gas, but if you drive it reasonably the fuel economy was better than similar cars. It was way better on gas than any minivan, I know - we tried and compared a few when my wife had the bug to replace it. Guess what? She had a new respect for the wagon and we owned it for many years after. She eventually killed it after I couldn't drive for a while. Failure to maintain it. As long as you properly maintain a GM, it will treat you very well. At least things that fail on them are normal car things. I had a Taurus that under "warranty" cost me a fortune. Stuff failed that doesn't fail on other cars - everything. That was Anita's choice of car, the worst we ever had. Three transmissions under 60,000 km! Didn't like to turn corners and going straight was iffy. Total junk, my third and last Ford ever. The previous two were also lots of "fun". Yes, we maintained it. That didn't help at all and Ford warranty doesn't cover many things. GM isn't perfect, but they last, handle well and are good on gas. The way I buy them, they have good road feel and handling. Softer than a BMW, but they still stick to the road.
I used to use GM "B" bodies. They were pretty good on gas and handled very well. The Malibu will run rings around most cars, but a BMW is a drivers car and I love them. They handle a little better, but I don't think you can fault a GM for handling, not unless you bought it with mush suspension. I had a 1993 Buick Roadmaster wagon that I loved, 5.7 L engine that I got close to 30 mpg with. If you accelerate anything that heavy, it will burn through gas, but if you drive it reasonably the fuel economy was better than similar cars. It was way better on gas than any minivan, I know - we tried and compared a few when my wife had the bug to replace it. Guess what? She had a new respect for the wagon and we owned it for many years after. She eventually killed it after I couldn't drive for a while. Failure to maintain it. As long as you properly maintain a GM, it will treat you very well. At least things that fail on them are normal car things. I had a Taurus that under "warranty" cost me a fortune. Stuff failed that doesn't fail on other cars - everything. That was Anita's choice of car, the worst we ever had. Three transmissions under 60,000 km! Didn't like to turn corners and going straight was iffy. Total junk, my third and last Ford ever. The previous two were also lots of "fun". Yes, we maintained it. That didn't help at all and Ford warranty doesn't cover many things. GM isn't perfect, but they last, handle well and are good on gas. The way I buy them, they have good road feel and handling. Softer than a BMW, but they still stick to the road.
I’ve spent many, many hours trying to make a crappy car reliable, and would much rather spend a few (fun) hours making a boring, but reliable car perform like I want.
I like to mess around with suspensions and get a near perfect balance. The alignment settings are so critical to getting something that works right, along with being able to manipulate the balance of the roll couples front/rear. If you can, the roll centers can really make a difference as well, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a car that deserved that.
Finally got my house paint, stuff is pricey these days!
Now to pray that the weather holds out so I can spray it on this weekend.
I like to mess around with suspensions and get a near perfect balance. The alignment settings are so critical to getting something that works right, along with being able to manipulate the balance of the roll couples front/rear. If you can, the roll centers can really make a difference as well, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a car that deserved that.
Finally got my house paint, stuff is pricey these days!
Now to pray that the weather holds out so I can spray it on this weekend.
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My first car was a 1977 Impala with a 400 CI small block in it. It drank gas and handled like a shopping cart. Faster than my buddies Civic though 🙂
The B body found large use as a taxi and a police car. What model GM B body did you have?
I think I got about 12 MPG in that car...
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Stainless steel pliers - both pointy and flat nose versions. Most of my tools are with my VW van at my brother's place 1000 km away, and I can't go there with the lockdown.
Also, 100 x IRFP240 FETs and a couple of jazz CDs.
Also, 100 x IRFP240 FETs and a couple of jazz CDs.
Wow, that was terrible gas economy even for the time. You must have been zooming around a lot.
The "B" bodies were heavy cars, so accelerating them would cost you (and it did me). I did have a '67 Cutlass (not a "B" body, rear coil springs and trailing arms 🙂 ). it turned 12.5 sec in the 1/4 with street gas and tires, interior installed. I got about 8 mi/gal running that, but it was a scary car. 450 bhp for real. With your economy, your performance was up there too. High performance = poor fuel economy, no way around that.
Having mentioned that for reference, the "B" bodies I loved were '77 Malibu, 350 cid ex-RCMP car. It was very fast and had fantastic suspension. A '91 Caprice came next after a few other cars, 305 cid. Handled really well, and then a '92 Buick Roadmaster with a 5.7 L that had a stiffer suspension and could chase Cameros and keep up to them. There is something about a land yacht that you can't shake on the highway that affects the chased driver mentally.
It freaked out many drivers of sports cars since something just doesn't add up. But driving nicely, it had overdrive and torque converter lock-up. It turned about 1,800 rpm at highway speed with a slippery body. Most of my driving was highway, but no way would I use one for city driving. That would cost too much. Yes, it would burn rubber - easily. Had full factory gauges too, white on black like they should be.
I was very skeptical about my current Malibu. It has a big 4 that will drink gas if you get spirited with it, but driving normally is pretty good on gas, and it glides very well. The suspension feels heavy, but it sticks to the road extremely well, better than you might think. I have had to do emergency lane changes a few times and it never skidded, it just followed the steering input exactly without too much drama. Accidents were avoided when passengers were sure we were going to crash, any Ford I have driven would have been in an accident in those conditions. So, they handle very well even though they feel heavy on the steering. I have come to enjoy driving it a lot. But, it's 10 years old now and will start to rust soon and I'll have to replace it. I'll be sorry to see this one go.
The "B" bodies were heavy cars, so accelerating them would cost you (and it did me). I did have a '67 Cutlass (not a "B" body, rear coil springs and trailing arms 🙂 ). it turned 12.5 sec in the 1/4 with street gas and tires, interior installed. I got about 8 mi/gal running that, but it was a scary car. 450 bhp for real. With your economy, your performance was up there too. High performance = poor fuel economy, no way around that.
Having mentioned that for reference, the "B" bodies I loved were '77 Malibu, 350 cid ex-RCMP car. It was very fast and had fantastic suspension. A '91 Caprice came next after a few other cars, 305 cid. Handled really well, and then a '92 Buick Roadmaster with a 5.7 L that had a stiffer suspension and could chase Cameros and keep up to them. There is something about a land yacht that you can't shake on the highway that affects the chased driver mentally.
It freaked out many drivers of sports cars since something just doesn't add up. But driving nicely, it had overdrive and torque converter lock-up. It turned about 1,800 rpm at highway speed with a slippery body. Most of my driving was highway, but no way would I use one for city driving. That would cost too much. Yes, it would burn rubber - easily. Had full factory gauges too, white on black like they should be.I was very skeptical about my current Malibu. It has a big 4 that will drink gas if you get spirited with it, but driving normally is pretty good on gas, and it glides very well. The suspension feels heavy, but it sticks to the road extremely well, better than you might think. I have had to do emergency lane changes a few times and it never skidded, it just followed the steering input exactly without too much drama. Accidents were avoided when passengers were sure we were going to crash, any Ford I have driven would have been in an accident in those conditions. So, they handle very well even though they feel heavy on the steering. I have come to enjoy driving it a lot. But, it's 10 years old now and will start to rust soon and I'll have to replace it. I'll be sorry to see this one go.
I spent many months taking a crappy car (1982 Dodge Charger, which is simply a 2 door OMNI, which started out in 1979 as Chrysler's clone of a VW Rabbit, complete with the crappy Rabbit engine stretched to 1.7L. After grenading (literally) the transmission in 1984, I found one of those fancy new turbocharged cars in a junkyard. This started a two year long project that resulted in a seriously fast, well handling car which I raced at autocross and drag strip events regularly. I had a bit of help from a guy named Shelby who worked for Chrysler at the time. Ah also sold me lots of parts that he guaranteed that I couldn't break.
So you can imagine the look on the Mustang GT driver's faces when a crappy old Dodge smokes them at the drag strip, but the priceless moments were times like passing Mr. Gold Chains in a 1985 Vette at 154 MHP on an open road, or being at a friend's shop when some loudmouth was bragging about how fast his M3 was. My friend said that the ugly red Charger in the parking lot with peeling paint could smoke his M3. We squared off, and at the flash of the light the M3 pulled away, as most RWD cars did, but when I hit 7200 RPM at the top of second, putting me in the fat part of the torque curve in third, the BMW faded to the rear. He never stopped by the shop again when the red Charger was there. Usually people want to know what smoked them.
I was 19 and I have a heavy foot 😀
But no! The 400 was from 1974. That means 175 HP and a very tired TH350 transmission from a truck made sure the economy was trash LOL
The 77 Malibu was an "A" body according to Wiki...
When I was younger I wanted a 96 Impala SS. I still usually only buy a black car 🙂
If you really like your Malibu, why not have it rust proofed?
@George Nice. Now imagine if it was a VW instead? 😀
Here's a pic of my 83 GTI in 2000. We did a rally called "Rabbitation 2000" that day... That pic was pretty clear given it was a POS Panasonic VGA camera and we were going 140 km/h... That was when I had no money for form. It was all about function. The wheels were free from a scrap Honda Accord I was given when I gave that person a Hyundai Elantra for free (that I was given for free). The relay panel was for the 6 lights but only 4 can be lit at once issue. I'm pretty sure I had Koni Red and H&R springs on it, too. I like my E90 better but I still miss this car.
But no! The 400 was from 1974. That means 175 HP and a very tired TH350 transmission from a truck made sure the economy was trash LOL
The 77 Malibu was an "A" body according to Wiki...
When I was younger I wanted a 96 Impala SS. I still usually only buy a black car 🙂
If you really like your Malibu, why not have it rust proofed?
@George Nice. Now imagine if it was a VW instead? 😀
Here's a pic of my 83 GTI in 2000. We did a rally called "Rabbitation 2000" that day... That pic was pretty clear given it was a POS Panasonic VGA camera and we were going 140 km/h... That was when I had no money for form. It was all about function. The wheels were free from a scrap Honda Accord I was given when I gave that person a Hyundai Elantra for free (that I was given for free). The relay panel was for the 6 lights but only 4 can be lit at once issue. I'm pretty sure I had Koni Red and H&R springs on it, too. I like my E90 better but I still miss this car.
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One fun thing about living on Colorado is not having to buy cars as often due to rust
The family daily drivers are a 2003 Honda Civic, 2001 Honda CRV and 91 Toyota Previa van.
The 91 Previa could use some cosmetic work. Hoping to get around to it this fall.
The family daily drivers are a 2003 Honda Civic, 2001 Honda CRV and 91 Toyota Previa van.
The 91 Previa could use some cosmetic work. Hoping to get around to it this fall.
Chris, your experience is the opposite of my family. I steer anyone I know away from GM because of the troubles we had. I don't mind saying my last four vehicles have been a Ranger, Taurus, Escape and Edge. All virtually trouble free with the exception of a faulty battery in the Escape.
Hi George,
That's pretty common behavior I found.
The '67 Cutlass was a sleeper that took down even motor bikes. A big car isn't supposed to be that fast. Mustangs were very easy prey. Light cars, handled like crap with big ego drivers. They were fun to humiliate.
We once had a Hornet SC scrambler package. POS, looked like hell, but stupid fast. That would have been like your car in many ways. I bet you had so much fun in that car George!
That's pretty common behavior I found.
The '67 Cutlass was a sleeper that took down even motor bikes. A big car isn't supposed to be that fast. Mustangs were very easy prey. Light cars, handled like crap with big ego drivers. They were fun to humiliate.
We once had a Hornet SC scrambler package. POS, looked like hell, but stupid fast. That would have been like your car in many ways. I bet you had so much fun in that car George!
Hi Cal,
Yes, I know you have had extremely good luck with Ford. I am happy for you.
Looking at averages, the value drop for Ford cars is dizzying. This is an accurate gauge of car quality. With the car lot doing the numbers is does, and seeing the repairs on the cars, Ford is one you want to buy and get rid of after a few years. If you do that you should be okay. No way would they last a decade on average. Not without a ridiculous amount of repairs on stupid things. Ford trucks still rust like crazy with Dodge coming up close behind.
No vehicle is perfect, GMs have their issues too. But at least you can fix them and they will last. GM is also up front about recalls and does fix their problems. Other brands treat recalls as a secret. I've owned over 25 cars over the years, and normally have older ones 'cause I keep them if they don't hurt me. Some are older play toys. The three Fords I have owned were each complete disasters as cars. The Taurus wagon lasted 2 years I think. Maybe less. It was less than a year old when I got it.
You have to go on averages, and the value after 5 years is a great indicator of quality. I'm not going to pick Fords apart beyond what I have said. I am really happy that your cars have been good ones Cal, but that is atypical. If you cycle them within 5 years, maybe that is why you've had such good luck.
Yes, I know you have had extremely good luck with Ford. I am happy for you.
Looking at averages, the value drop for Ford cars is dizzying. This is an accurate gauge of car quality. With the car lot doing the numbers is does, and seeing the repairs on the cars, Ford is one you want to buy and get rid of after a few years. If you do that you should be okay. No way would they last a decade on average. Not without a ridiculous amount of repairs on stupid things. Ford trucks still rust like crazy with Dodge coming up close behind.
No vehicle is perfect, GMs have their issues too. But at least you can fix them and they will last. GM is also up front about recalls and does fix their problems. Other brands treat recalls as a secret. I've owned over 25 cars over the years, and normally have older ones 'cause I keep them if they don't hurt me. Some are older play toys. The three Fords I have owned were each complete disasters as cars. The Taurus wagon lasted 2 years I think. Maybe less. It was less than a year old when I got it.
You have to go on averages, and the value after 5 years is a great indicator of quality. I'm not going to pick Fords apart beyond what I have said. I am really happy that your cars have been good ones Cal, but that is atypical. If you cycle them within 5 years, maybe that is why you've had such good luck.
We tend to keep cars for 10-15 years, or longer. Our best work vehicles (biological field studies, often in remote places), have been Toyota pickups (current is 2013) and FJ Cruisers (current is 2014). For personal use, we have a 2011 JCW Mini that is stupid quick and sticky, but has had several parts and safety recalls, and required a new clutch after only 36,000 miles. And no, neither of us rides, slips, or abuses the clutch. Besides a 1998 Volvo GLT we had, the Mini has been the most expensive car to fix and maintain. It's tons of fun to drive, which is the main reason we keep it.
For fun, personal cars, I've never owned an American vehicle. My parents' various American cars were absolute crap (Chevy, American Motors, Chrysler, Ford, etc.), which left a bad taste in my mouth early on, so I've owned British, European and Japanese cars my entire 48-year driving career to date. Having said that, none of them are practical, or in some cases, even safe! But they are fun to drive (Lotus Elans, Alfa GTVs). Believe me, I know I buck the trend, particularly in the US, but I like my quirky Brit/Italian sports cars.
In our area we now have younger drivers with 5-600 hp new American muscle cars who think every residential street is a race track or skid pad. Mufflers? We don't need 'em. Open pipes and we don't care who it affects. Crash into the cars and houses in a neighborhood? Who cares - buy another car. Almost kill pedestrians? Almost, right? It's epidemic here now. None of our sports cars would survive a 15 mph tap from one of these big, heavy vehicles now.
For fun, personal cars, I've never owned an American vehicle. My parents' various American cars were absolute crap (Chevy, American Motors, Chrysler, Ford, etc.), which left a bad taste in my mouth early on, so I've owned British, European and Japanese cars my entire 48-year driving career to date. Having said that, none of them are practical, or in some cases, even safe! But they are fun to drive (Lotus Elans, Alfa GTVs). Believe me, I know I buck the trend, particularly in the US, but I like my quirky Brit/Italian sports cars.
In our area we now have younger drivers with 5-600 hp new American muscle cars who think every residential street is a race track or skid pad. Mufflers? We don't need 'em. Open pipes and we don't care who it affects. Crash into the cars and houses in a neighborhood? Who cares - buy another car. Almost kill pedestrians? Almost, right? It's epidemic here now. None of our sports cars would survive a 15 mph tap from one of these big, heavy vehicles now.
My friend (Steve) that ran the shop (medical electronics repair) was building his 80's hot at the same time I was building the Charger. He had an older Scirocco that he was stuffing a 16V engine from a later year VW into. Granted his build did look like something that could have come from the factory, and mine looked like something straight out of the Junkyard, I was sure that my collection of used parts would be faster than his.
As usual when motorheads talked cars that were not yet running, there was lots of smack talk, and talk of a big race, "showdown." This was the mid 80's just before the "sport compact" FWD tuner fad that came and went. Neither of us had a Japanese car, but I heard more than my share of "you should have built a VW" talk from Steve and his German car friends. .
One day he was at my house when I was doing an early test run to iron out some issues when I turned up the turbo boost a bit farther than the factory ECU would allow. He decided to come along with me on my ride. A quick trip down an empty road with me fighting spinning front tires ended all the smack talk, and the big showdown never happened. Steve never took his car to the track, but mine turned high 13's with the exhaust system in place after sitting for about an hour with a bag of ice in the intercooler. I got a couple mid 13 second time slips, and one low 13's with literally smoking hot tires on a cold Florida evening, just above freezing with the exhaust system disconnected at the turbo downpipe.
The same car could bump into the 7200 RPM rev limiter in 5th gear with the right size tires (154 MPH), which were ironically an optional size for a VW Scirocco. Drag strip action used 3 gears and larger tires. The faster Mustang GT's usually ran mid to low 14's at around 100 MPH through the lights. I lost time spinning the front wheels at the start, so I needed about 105 to beat a Mustang. On a cold day with no exhaust I could hit the rev limiter in 3rd as I passed through the traps, which was almost 110 MPH. Using smaller tires and 4th gear lost ground.
Note, that by the time I was getting these numbers I was on my third and final engine rebuild. I had a builder of a street legal race car, the Consulier, build my bottom end and port my heads to withstand as much boost as I could stuff into it. The engine could tear up the stock transaxle in about a year due to case flex. I learned how to rebuild them too. I think I did 4 or 5 rebuilds, and went through at least 3 cases, even with some external "girdles" from Shelby. That got me a real scary ride in a Consulier GTP, which also used a Chrysler 2.2L turbo motor.
The Mosler Consulier GTP Is America's Forgotten Supercar
In 1989, the Consulier GTP looked promising to Warren Mosler | Hagerty Media
Hey Chris,
That may very well be the case.
Hanh's 2015 Escape has only 60K kms. on it and she will receive my 2018 Edge with 30K kms. when I step up to something a little larger for towing the trailer. Right now it has only 30K as there has been very little driving for things other than work.
As far as holding it's value, I do look these things up on the depreciation charts and as far as the Escape and Edge go, they're not bad at all. Not like some that sink like stones. I've had what I think is decent luck with the trade-ins and I always like to buy as close to the end of the year as possible.
Reliability is not Ford's strong suit it's true but of the top 10 model recalls, Ford is not among them. Here are the stats for the past five years.
General Motors
Recalls: 213
Vehicles affected: 54,942,962
Ford
Recalls: 209
Vehicles affected: 24,892,471
Chrysler
Recalls: 208
Vehicles affected: 40,726,068
Mercedes-Benz
Recalls: 117
Vehicles affected: 3,150,014
Volkswagen
Recalls: 109
Vehicles affected: 6,510,514
Sometimes old facts die hard, that's all I'm really saying.
Recalls are not necessarily 1:1 with reliability. I once had a Toyota that had a recall as there was moist behind the front light glass. Quite a few recalls are to prevent incidents (that have not happened yet). Some brands with already a tainted reputation try to avoid recalls as the Black Plague while others are fast with recalls to protect their reputation.
Judging very young cars with low mileage with regards to reliability is a bit like the people on amazon stating the product they bought is excellent and reliable after only 1 day of use 😀 It is also better with cars to take into account if the failure results in a total stop or that the car still can be used. Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai/Kia rarely break down in a total stop.
Judging very young cars with low mileage with regards to reliability is a bit like the people on amazon stating the product they bought is excellent and reliable after only 1 day of use 😀 It is also better with cars to take into account if the failure results in a total stop or that the car still can be used. Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai/Kia rarely break down in a total stop.
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Can't argue with any of that J-P but it certainly won't stop me from including relevant facts when other ideas, that I am in disagreement with, are being bandied around.