What engines would you say are "bad"

[lolsteve]

So thinking about this the other night, when im reading peoples thoughts on a certain engine they always have something good to say like the xud is bomb proof and a fun engine with easy tuning. Or the rover k 1.4 series being high powered for the displacement and bar the headgaskets there isn't much else that goes wrong with them.
My point is are there any god awful engines, the types where you wonder how the engineers made such a cock up. The worst I have had contact with is the 1.4 16v zetec-se in the mk6 fiesta, underpowered to hell, not impressive mpg against similar engines, my hdi is much less in tax and the noise is more of a soft whine than anything else. Which although makes for a poor engine it's not enough to condemn it as bad.

[bigcheez2k3]

The engine they put in the Mk4 Fiesta Zetec-S? I think I heard they don't last long if you push them.

[Ricky]

Two engines that stand out for me are the audi 2.0 tdi 140 and the vw 2.0 115hp(?) Engines. Both crap imo.

[ozonehostile]

1.4 tdci in the mk6 fiesta, absolutly woefully underpowered with barely any torque, cant even get up a hill without constantly changing between 1st and 2nd.

and somebody please correct the thread title lol

[Toms306]

All engines are bad, none have a billion horsepower with a trillion MPGz....

[Rippthrough]

Any naturally aspirated diesel. (And imo, all the rest of them too, but....)

[ozonehostile]

those 3 cylinder diesels in some older Hyundais are absolutely tragic

[lolsteve]

Sorry for title, final end of year uni party yesterday so a little dead in the head

1.0L Corsa engine

[Kezzieboy]

the 1.4, or 1.6 that's in the Mk4 golf, apparently they have a common habit for blowing up, as my sister found.

[Toms306]

Tbh, there aren't any engines that are actually 'bad' though, they all have a place for different cars/people.

[declantg]

306 Hdi

[Poodle]

The 1.4 hdi/tdci engine has more than it's fair share of problems, as does any TU engine.

The 1.3 ford engine (can't remember the current designation, but it's the same one they've been using since the 80s) - there is little outside of america that will make a lower power:mpg ratio, but then again it is bombproof.

Tbh anything that goes in really cheap cars is a pretty major risk, as most owners won't look after them, simply because "they're cheap, it's not worth the money to fix".

[pug_dturb]

So thinking about this the other night, when im reading peoples thoughts on a certain engine they always have something good to say like the xud is bomb proof and a fun engine with easy tuning. Or the rover k 1.4 series being high powered for the displacement and bar the headgaskets there isn't much else that goes wrong with them.
My point is are there any god awful engines, the types where you wonder how the engineers made such a cock up. The worst I have had contact with is the 1.4 16v zetec-se in the mk6 fiesta, underpowered to hell, not impressive mpg against similar engines, my hdi is much less in tax and the noise is more of a soft whine than anything else. Which although makes for a poor engine it's not enough to condemn it as bad.

The k series engine is actually a good engine. They just get a bad rep due to hg and shite waterpumps.
Imo if you look after a car it will last, if your constantly tthrashing it, not changing oilits gunna wear quicker.

[Danny2009]

Mk2 punto 1.2 8v the amount of them that I've fixed due to came seizing /snapping and chucking the belts off not to mention the head gaskets!

[lolsteve]

The 1.3 ford engine (can't remember the current designation, but it's the same one they've been using since the 80s) - there is little outside of america that will make a lower power:mpg ratio, but then again it is bombproof.

The endura-e I think it's called, used in the ka's/ fiestas ? Friend had one incredibly tappy but then he did reline it from cold etc

[the milkman]

Pretty much any engine in the corsa C has a 98% chance of hg or water pump between 80-100K fact

[306carter]

Eco-Tech engines full stop.

Rover k-series engines epic head gasket failures.

VW PD140 2007 engines, oil lift pump failure!.

[Ruan]

The 2.0 8v and 16v PD TDis are very poor IMO...

GM 1.7Td lowblow non Isuzu engine...

[Danny2009]

I've had 5 k series's powered engines now and gave them death every day not had a single problem with them great engine imo

[aaronshort]

K series engines are a great design ruined by penny-pinching.

Endura-e is the main engine that comes to mind when i think bad, Never has an engine made so little power and torque with so much fuel and noise (ignoring american v8s, they have torque)

[Dum-Dum]

Ford's old 1.8td. The power of a 1.6 petrol and the economy of a 2.0 petrol all accompanied in a typical early 90s noisy rattly unrefined IDI package

[r3k1355]

Renesis rotary engine out of the RX-8.

Seemed ace when it was released, 10 years later it turns out it's so f*cking expensive to rebuild them that when they die (at 80k) the car is scrap.
You can buy a 10 year old RX-8 for like 1500 quid these days because of it.

[Dum-Dum]

You can buy a 10 year old RX-8 for like 1500 quid these days because of it.

Try £700 (ask Dan!)

[Rippthrough]

's fine, 1k on a good RX-8, 1600 for the engine rebuild, and you've got a whole shitload of car for 2.5-3K that'll do another 60-80k...

[Ruan]

's fine, 1k on a good RX-8, 1600 for the engine rebuild, and you've got a whole shitload of car for 2.5-3K that'll do another 60-80k...

This!

The rotaries aren't bad engines... They're incredibly simple to work on also!

K Series are f*cking quality engines, yes they've got a bad reputation, but the fact is they're a GOOD engine...

Oh yeah, 2.0 8v Turbo XU10J2TE engine... What a wet fish... Not strong, not powerful, not light, not economical... It's not unreliable I suppose, but it's nothing special... Definitely the worst engine Peugeot made, maybe along side the 2.0 8v NA "XSi" engine...

[ozonehostile]

there ain't 'nout wrong with a k series, the ones that got a factory recall when new are still going strong as they replaced the failning headgaskets with steel laminate, its just the ones that didnt get recalled that gave the engine such a bad rep, although saying that i have personally blown up 4 of the things lol, but so cheap to replace its not really an issue.

there was one k series they got spot on, 1.8 vvc uk200 edition that was put in the very last production run of the mg tf, have only heard of one of 200 blowing up and that was the one in my old lotus before the honda b16 engine was put in, which in a related note is the same engine as the k series just developed further and with more head work before it was released.

il shut up about k series now......

[lolsteve]

Good to hear some positive stuff about the k series ...

[THE_Liam]

Ford Cologne 2.9 V6 - 150bhp isn't worth an average of 16mpg, head gaskets fail regularly, they weigh about a ton and burned oil from new.

Vauxhall X20XEV - the "Ecotec" 2.0 16v found in late Calibras and Cavaliers, and Vectras. The C20XE "red top" was an amazing engine, and they replaced it with this sack of shit which is 20bhp less powerfull, crippled by sensor issues and not actually any more economical.

Ford CVH - underpowered, torqueless, loves to blow head gaskets, loves to crack water jackets, has auto adjusting tappets that don't, and is quite possibly also the harshest most unpleasant sounding engine at over 4k revs that I've ever heard.

[darrenjlobb]

Any naturally aspirated diesel. (And imo, all the rest of them too, but....)

For performance yes....but for reliability and economy, to this day, they are some of the most reliable engines in the world....

[THE_Liam]

Any naturally aspirated diesel. (And imo, all the rest of them too, but....)

For performance yes....but for reliability and economy, to this day, they are some of the most reliable engines in the world....

Yeah, the older ones especially. Transit 2.5DI engines just don't break, ever. VW Umwelt engines are the same.