Worst vehicle to work on?

[Van]

Whats your all time worst car to work on just to do normal garage stuff like change spark plugs or do a brake job?

Canadian 96 dodge grand caravan LE 3.3L V6 for changing the number 1 spark plug, this plug is on the passenger side and to change it you have to remove the serpintine belt as well as the alternator and spacer bracket for the alternator/tensioner bracket to get to the plug. Plug 3 sits at the middle and requires you to stick your arm behind the engine to pop the boot off and then blindly remove the plug and do the same for the new one. Plug 5 is a bit easier as its infront of the driver side and has a large ( grapefruit size ) opening to get to.

 

[airyanne]

My old ford ranger was a pain, you practically had to take the engine apart to get to the spark plugs.

But really my first car, because I was ALWAYS working on it, LOL. (79 Mustang)

 

[raymo721]

In 1980 I had a 1975 Volvo 244GL. (Canadian made, I think) To change the oil pan gasket, you had to lift the engine off the front axle. $300 electronic fuel pump pushed me back to US made, although the heated drivers seat was nice for the Colorado winters. My 1962 Ford Falcon Custom (first car) was the easiest.---Ray

 

[Claude Greiner]

My neighbor bought a Honda 4x4 mini station wagon. Looked like a honda civic, but the back was a station wagon.

Anyways, he thought he got a great idea until the clutch went bad. It was like $1500 to replace since they had to remove the entire engine to replace it!

 

[cdru]

Ouch. The entire engine is a little much. I thought my Montana minivan was bad having to get to the rear sparkplugs.

 

[korsjs]

any car is to hard to work on for me.

 

[hancox]

Easy. My old 85 Fiero. Had to lift the engine for an ALTERNATOR

 

[stevelite]

Do manufactures purposely make easy job difficult so that car owner would take their car to dealership for service work? or Back then manufactures didn't know better when designing cars.

 

[vurbano]

87 Toyota MR2. you couldnt even get your head under the car. Engined has to be jacked up to do many repairs.

 

[Frank Jr.]

Dodge Omni. Was my 1st wifes car. Had to replace the timing belt. Just to get the belt off I had to remove the a/c compressor, alternator, and vacuum pump. Shortly after that got rid of the car and the wife.

 

[mdonnelly]

I can tell you my easiest. My 1990 GMC Sierra. V6, with so much room around it I can practically stand between the motor and the wheelwell. My first car was a 1951 Pontiac with a straight 8. That was easy too.

I know that my 2000 Explorer V8 will be a pain now that it's out of warranty.

 

[DRGingras]

Other than portering, I haven't worked on cars for years. But the worst one I remember was my brother's '76 Chevy Monza V8. Had to break the motor mounts and lift the engine a few inches to change the rear spark plugs. Through the wheel wells, if I remember right.

He talked me into helping once - then I talked him into getting a different car . But he's paid me back many times over since then. As a 25-year GM tech, he's done most of the work on my wrecks over the years. Can't wait to tell him about the Fiero one of my co-workers is trying to talk me into :dev

Dave

 

[Van]

I had an 86 fiero SE V6 that I changed the plugs on easier than my caravan, damned thing caught fire and blew up 8 months later though. All my older (77 and down ) v8 cars have been great to work on including my 66 newport and my 65 new yorker and my 77 camaro. The cravan is the worst for me to work on for tune up work but for brakes it was my 91 escort gt and my 86 626 for brakes and the trans having to be rebuilt 3 times in 60,000 miles.

 

[Kaluyen]

1998 Chevy Venture....beside the fact of GM knowingly shipping with faulty intake manifold gaskets on those engines....you have to take half the stuff off the top of the engine compartment to replace the BATTERY...

Pile of garbage!

 

[Van]

Do manufactures purposely make easy job difficult so that car owner would take their car to dealership for service work? or Back then manufactures didn't know better when designing cars.

Pretty much its true, I used to work for mazda, toyota, and volvo as an apprentice mechanic and if it wasnt by way of engine and engine compartment design it was also by tools specificly designed to work only with certain engine parts and these tools not being available to the public. Theres also the dealer only replacement parts such as the plastic strut top bearings the size and thickness of a silver dollar that run $195 through the dealership.

Getting to the oil filter on certain mazda's required you to nearly be double jointed even with the use of a hoist, changing spark plugs on some would require raising the car and removing the tire and side engine shroud to get to the sides of the engine. On a limited edition 929 or millenium that was intercooled you had to take off the intercooler to get to the spark plugs and plug wires, in 97 the tune up charge was more than the monthly payment on the car loan.

 

[dfergie]

Easy. My old 85 Fiero. Had to lift the engine for an ALTERNATOR

I had one of these as well with the V6...Spark Plugs and Oil filters were hell...