Cars friendly to the home mechanic

CAR magazine in the UK recently did an article on how this car is under-appreciated in the US. A buddy of mine has 3 in his family (him, his brother, and his dad) and likes them. They just aren't appealing to me. Emanuel

Not only that, but parts availability can be a problem if you're taking a long trip and there isn't a dealer in the area. (Ever try to get a fuel pump for your Borgward out in the middle of nowhere?)

Those little foreign jobs do have an edge in gas mileage, but given the cost and availability of parts and service you have to wonder if you're getting real economy overall.

Well, the cars from the 70's can be a real PITA with the 50,000 vacuum lines you're likely to encounter. Special fun if the previous owner had the car painted and they painted over the routing diagram.

My $.02 - just open the hood and have a look around at the car you might want to buy... if you think it's gonna suck to work on it, keep looking. Except... there's at least one part on every car that's friggin' impossible to get off.

Ray

Helped a friend do a timing belt on his 98 Acura CL. What a production. First problem - the factory torque on the pulley was like 500 ft-lbs. We bought and returned two impacts after mine failed to budge it. They were supposed to be able to remove it - no dice. The local Crappy Tire did it with a 3/4" monster gun... All in all, what a production for a regular maintenace item. Probably woulda been quicker to just pull the whole engine out.

Ray (just a DIYer...)

Very interesting comment. Considering that at least a couple of people on this topic have said that foreign cars (such as 4 cylinder Honda and Toyotas) generally aren't more difficult to work on than their domestic counterparts, then why do you think there will be an issue of availability of service for such cars?

I've also heard this too elsewhere, that there are many mechanics who don't want to work on foreign cars. If these 4 cylinder Hondas or Toyotas are so easy to work on as purported on this ng, then how come some mechanics wouldn't want to touch them?

thanks

How about the domestic brands like ford and chevy with 4 cylinders, or are they actually more packed that the foreign cars you've mentioned?

Its not that bad. It just feels like it.

Trust me, it's actually not faster to pull the whole engine out..

They readily come off with 1/2" SnapOn/Mac Impact Wrenches. Harbor Freight stuff frequently won't cut it. Lock the cams, use a pulley holder, they come right off with any good quality impact w/ sufficiently air supply.

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The Nissan 4s are not necessarily easy to work on.. Lots of vacuum lines going every which way.. The 2.4L in the Altima is not fun if you have to pull the head.. Its hard to get at the bolts attaching the intake to the block. The Civic and Corolla are somewhat easier.

The Ford Zetec isn't bad. I think it may be used in the Focus... It was used in the Contour. As for GM.. The Cavalier generally has sufficient clearance too.

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My experience has been that most parts houses (just about anywhere in the continental US) can get me anything I want within a day or so.

There is no issue. I can go into any Napa and get nearly any basic component I need for a Honda or Toyota. If I need a head for my Honda and I'm in the middle of nowhere, the service station will simply have to order it from the nearest dealer and it'll be there in the morning

-- courtesy of FedEx/UPS. Part availability is mostly a non-issue.

I know of NO mechanics that blindly turn down imports. Some don't have the OBD-II scanner software updates for certain brands -- but they all have AllData/Mitchell and metric sockets. Anyone can replace an alternator for you..

The other reason a mechanic wouldn't want to touch a car ... Like say a Nissan Sentra from around 1987? Is that they have lots of possible issues that can take HOURS to diagnose and fix. Feedback carburetor on that car can be hours of fun..

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Wouldn't it be safer to get a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord instead of a Taurus, assuming that they were in the same condition? You don't even need the V-6 for adequate power with an Accord or Camry. Toyotas aren't that bad to work on, but I've heard that Hondas often have some things that are very hard to fix but fortunately those things rarely break.

I think that it's a myth that parts for foreign cars cost more or are harder to get because in my case I've found that Ford is one of the worst for parts. My dealer, one of the biggest in the state, usually had to order parts (really inconvenient for warranty repairs -- had to make two trips each time), while the Toyota and Nissan dealers always had even odd items in stock. And the prices were cheaper, too, like $20 for a Ford trans. pan gasket, $8 for a Toyota's, or $8 for an sensor connector repair kit from Nissan (in stock) vs. $30 for Ford's (had to order).

R wrote in rec.autos.tech

That I don't know. I do know that the car does not warm up all the way in cooler weather, so I was going to change out the thermostat.

Tysteel40 wrote in rec.autos.tech

I know that back in the days of yore, when knights slew dragons and detroit built most of the cars, most mechanics did not have metric wrenches, nor did they have the manuals, or other special tools to work on them. There were, and still are, mechanics who specialize in cars from one country. That probably is partly to ease the parts crunch, and partly to be good at fixing pretty much the same thing. For instance, changing the timing belt on a Honda is a bit time consuming, especially if you don't do it very often. Any mechanic can do it, and for that matter, apparently most shade tree mechanics can do it. But it is, from the looks of it, a pain in the butt. And almost all cars have some kind of special setup, tool requirement, or something that requires some special skill set. However, changing plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor on a 4 cylinder Honda is as easy, if not easier, than doing the same on a 4 cylinder Chrysler product. I had to replace a radio in a Plymouth Mini van once, took me longer than it did to R and R the radio in the Honda I owned.

Tysteel40 wrote in rec.autos.tech

I only worked on one domestic 4 banger, and it was possibly a bit harder than the Honda I owned. But no a lot. Of course, the newer the car, the less work that will be needed. And with modern ignition systems, the parts that need replacing don't need it very often. Although changing oil can be more difficult with front wheel drive cars. The location of the drain plug means that you have to jack up the car right where you need to slide under the car. But, I would guess that in almost all cases the 4 cylinder engines will all be pretty easy to work on.

I would say that the most difficult cars to work on were those from the late 70s to the early 90s. By about 1993, automakers were beginning to pay attention to serviceability again, and emissions controls were no longer such a tangled maze of vacuum hoses. I think cars from then to now are actually MUCH EASIER to work on than those from about 1977 to

1991. Nowhere near as easy as 1930 thru 1970, but definitely better than the 80s. Some brands are still annoying to work on (some GM models, all Hondas, some Toyotas) but in general its getting better. Want to see a maintenance horror? Look at an '85 Cadillac or Honda. Want to see something amazingly easy to work on? Look at a Chrysler LH car from 1993 to now.

Not from where I sit, although I'd pick a Chrysler LH series or Buick/Pontiac front-drive sedan over the Taurus. With Ford, the Crown Vic beats the Taurus hands down, but its too bland for most people.

I see. Most home mechanics have a big ass compressor and a SnapOn Impact wrench right beside the plasma cutters. ;)

And the mofo is on TIGHT. Without an impact it's not possible to get it off...

But that's why I stick with GM's. Not 'cause they're better but because I'm starting to know the "tricks" - I can take almost any 80's GM dash apart with a phillips and two sockets (7 and 10mm.)

Ray

No, plasma cutters are completely optional!! Although they really shouldn't be for certain 1980s GM vehicles.

But a good quality impact and air compressor (2 Stage -- REAL 5 HP) + name brand impact will take off just about anything.

Its on tight, but with the pulley holder (not expensive) and an impact, you're good to go. The crankbolt shouldn't be a determining factor for the kind of car you buy.

The previous generation F-150 dash is alot of fun too. Mostly 7mm's if I remember.. Far worse than any GM/Honda/Toyota dash..

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sounds like the feedback carburetor on my '89 Festiva the EGR system is pretty complicated - EGR valve, EGR moderator valve, EGR solenoid the distributor has vacuum advance, centrifugal advance, and computer advance it has two air injection system - Ford's pulse air and something else I cant' recall whatever happend to KISS? cars designed by government regulation.

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Oh Yeah, like my 1990 Integra that needs the drive axle removed to replace the alternator! I love the car but this was unbelievable!