My roommate bought a new truck to help us in our move, and we took it to our mechanic’s shop to trouble shoot a probable vacuum leak. Upon arrival I couldn’t help but spot this classic old American truck getting some finishing touches. The sheer openness of the engine bay stood in stark contrast to his Japanese rig.
Not only does this Chevy six have 50% more cylinders than Jerry’s Nissan, but the amount of wiggle room around it is exponentially higher. To wit:
Along the troubleshooting way we took the cap and rotor off for an exam (which we subsequently replaced). The view of the cap:
I had mostly forgotten about the 10-plug cap on these Nissan Z24 rigs, compared to the four on the Toyotas I am so familiar with. Getting the order correct on any cap is always paramount, and even more difficult when you have so many leads to connect. On the converse:
In any event, you could rent a room in the available space around the cap on this rig, non-smoking recommended. I marveled at the simplicity of the old truck compared to the slightly less old Japanese pickup, and thought back to the dozens of cars and trucks and vans I have owned regarding the ease or difficulty of doing DIY repairs. Re-brushing the alternator on my 87 Integra involved removing the driver’s side wheel and cv axle, whereas I replaced the alternator on my 84 Camry (the first time I had ever done such) in about ten minutes.
So I’d like to hear from the CC Commentariat: what are you most memorable DIY dreams and nightmares?
Easiest? Hudson Hornet with 308 six. Flathead, generator, accessories bolted on. Bit of discomfort when setting the valves, but with the proper tools, and a Uni-Syn for the carburetors, you’re golden. Hardest? Cadillac Catera/OpelOmega. Not intuitive. About anything. Lifetime transmission fluid. Oil cooler between the cylinder head “V”. Thermostat under intake manifold, which is two-piece, with plastic valve covers. There is a reason even low milers are cheap.
Best: Holden HQ (1971-74) with 202 cid six. Enough room to dance under the bonnet.
You could do the oil filter under from under the bonnet.
But………add a V8, factory AC, power steering it gets harder. Some mechanics used to
take the back LHS plug out from underneath. All of us let a hot engine cool down first.
Worst. Escort Mk II with that gutless slug 1300/1600 ‘Kent’ engine. Brake booster
halfway down the engine bay. Ign coil under the battery so it copped any acid residue.
No reccess in the inner mudguards so everything, battery, screen washer bottle, etc,
was in the way, not tucked into corners. Dizzy buried under the inlet mainfold.
Took real genius to make a car that basic & simple such a pooch to work on.
Worst for changing engines, 1975 Mustang ll with V8. No room to get at exhaust or bell housing bolts. After getting the old engine out and scaring my knuckles in the process and trying to install the new motor; I gave up and pulled the transmission, put it together with the engine then re-installed the two. I have heard the mustang ll was not designed with the V8 in mind and I believe it.
I had a 75 Monza with the vega mill under the hood, was really easy to work on. That’s good b/c they needed to be worked on!
I had a 75 Monza 2+2 myself, but with the 262ci V8. They didn’t leave any clearance between the heads and inner fenders to change your spark plugs. At all. Not coming out. Eventually, I cut 4 holes in each inner fender, strategically placed, and it gave birth to all eight plugs. Likely originals, and 27 years old at the time.
Lots of bitching about plastic covers. I’m always impressed when I pop the hood on my newer Buick (once a year) and see just how clean it is under the hood. I literally don’t even have to wipe DUST away. That is not the case with the previous car that lacked covers. Road grime/corrosion everywhere. I drive serious mileage and I can say those covers are awesome. Can’t please everyone, damn.
easiest was my 72 Z28, plenty of room, parts easy to get and it was a simple car.
The worst was probably my 97 Jetta just because everything was so cheap on it. Bolts would snap, plastic cracked, a piece of metal that had a bolt hole on my water pump snapped off when I had to replace my thermostat. The front wheel bearings were a royal pain. It had rust everywhere underneath.
Just a cheaply made car. It was one of the Mexican ones, I’ve heard the German ones were more solidly made.
Simplest to work on 1969 Coronet with 318. Most intuitive/relaxing to work on 1987 Mercedes Benz 300E. Worst/frustrating to work on 1997 Honda Accord.
Due to time and physical constraints I only wrench on my own cars about one-third of the time, but here goes:
Hardest: Hands down, a 1984 Porsche 944; replacing simple rubber hoses would require removal of major components. I know I put a mechanic’s kid through a year or two of private school with that one, through no fault of his. It’s as though the engineers never fathomed that wear items would ever actually need to be replaced.
Easiest: Probably my 1993 F-150XL with the 300 c.i. (4.9L) inline six. I can see and identify everything when I open the hood, and the only reason I don’t do all of the work on it is because it’s usually so inexpensive that I simply pay someone to repair it. The only things I’ve seen as a challenge is the oil pan gasket, which requires raising the engine so the pan can clear the front crossmember for removal. But even the A/C and emissions equipment is easily accessible and simple to diagnose.
SOME things on my 1995 Dodge Intrepid (3.3L OHV V6) are SO easy. Spark plugs, for one; I can have them all out in ten minutes with only a ratchet and socket and one extension, which isn’t actually necessary; it just means I don’t have to reach so far. Easier, in fact, than on a 1968 Valiant with a Slant Six (the coil gets in the way on those). The water pump is the easiest I’ve ever done; four bolts hold it, and the belt that has to come off is a plain V-belt, not a serpentine that drives everything. Hoses are a breeze.
I’d credit the ease of doing these things to the 3.5L SOHC engine that the car was designed for. The 3.3, being an OHV engine, is narrow and leaves lots of space at the sides; the intake plenum is slim and fits in between the 60° cylinder banks. When the valve cover gaskets started to seep oil, replacing them was as easy as
on a 1955 Chevrolet with a small-block V8.
As in any FWD vehicle, I don’t want to think about a transmission job.
the 94-01 Dodge Rams are surprisingly easy to work on, at least the gas engines are. Lots of room and they are simple, classic LA-based Chrysler V8s (and the six is even easier) with a modern induction system. Even though the distributor is under the firewall, you can still get at it pretty easily. Plugs only take about 10 minutes, I did a water pump in under two hours, even with AC, and I put headers on before lunch one Saturday. I have a 1996 1500 with a 360 and I love its simplicity for an OBDII-era vehicle.
Just about any pre-1980 GM or Chrysler is pretty easy to work on and its not that the Fords aren’t easy, its just those shock towers…
As for difficult, Id say just about anything with FWD and a transverse V6 or V8.
The worst for me so far is my beater 2001 Sonoma (4.3l). While the engine/trans is pretty reliable, basic servicing is a true pain. Spark plug replacement is fine for 4 out of 6 ( you have to remove the intermediate steering shaft for plug #3). I have a squeaky blower fan (in order to get to it, I have to remove the inner fpassenger fender, ecu module, windshield washer tank and then try to remove 8(?) bolts holding the fan to the firewall. Except two of the bolts are impossible to get access at). I finally just gave up and lived with the racket. I truly think GM just shoehorned the engine it with no regard to actual servicing. Oh and forget replacing the heater core.
As an aside, my next door neighbor has a 1st gen Tundra and I am impressed at the sheer packaging of the v8 in that engine bay.
My worst were only found when I came to the UK:
1. Citroen CX- starter motor failed; suspension was in ‘down position’ so I couldn’t get the jack underneath. It couldn’t even be towed because of the lack of clearance. Whatever wasn’t inaccessible on that car was rusted and snapped off at the very thought of a wrench.
2. Citroen GSA- like the CX, but with a boxer engine and the most complicated exhaust manifold system ever. It also had the C-matic automatic/manual gearbox that used its own long since discontinued fluid.
3. Saab 900- Tough one this- some bits were insanely easy, but of course these weren’t the parts that broke. The water pump and pulleys had about 3 microns of room between them and the firewall, the clutch which was very easily accessible had a concentric slave cylinder that would often fail, rendering clutch removal impossible, amongst other insane jobs I’ve long since repressed.
4. Volkswagen 412 Variant. Hideous. Awful. Should be exterminated. Keyhole surgeons have more access than the tiny ‘ice fishing hole’ that counts for the engine lid. Removing the right rear spark plug according to the manual starts with the line ‘refer to chapter 3, engine removal procedures.’ It also had early fuel injection that was as needlessly complex as it was unreliable.
Easiest? Everything else.
Hands down to the Lada Riva. This car was designed to have nearly everything repaired wearing thick gloves in -50 weather. From the priming lever for the fuel pump to the fact that the car was designed specifically for every bolt to have at least 90 degrees of wrench room, meant that any repair it needed could be done in an hour. I should also say it rarely needed any work, such was its reliability.
Chevrolet Corvair- unconventional, but easy and fun to work on, as the ignition and fuel bits were on top, and the oily bits were on the bottom. Much more room to play with than a VW.
Volvo 240- very easy- I even did an auto-to-manual transmission swap in a day. Bleeding the radiator was a pain though for some unknown reason- it involved standing on one leg while patting my head and holding the expansion tank in the air until it burped.
Rover p4- like a giant Land Rover but without the complicated 4×4 components. The worst part was the transmission which had to come out by removing the interior and the floor pans, as it was about 4 feet long.
Mercedes w201 and w124- generally very easy and logical. High quality metals on screws and bolts made most jobs very easy even after 20 years of salt. Only a few PITA jobs such as the pre-diagnostic fuel injection system on the 190. The 250 was a breeze to work on and never went wrong- but changing the oil was very messy on diesels.
Austin Allegro- this is a Mini, but with tons of space around the engine. Easy to work on, except a few jobs on the suspension that require specialist knowledge to get the ride height right.
Anything American from the 60s with an inline six or small block V8. After living in the UK and working on our very interesting cars here, I have come to appreciate the simplicity and ruggedness of classic American engineering. I promise never to complain about the ‘inaccessible’ distributor on a Slant-six again.
Some tough ones I’ve seen over the years were—Ford Aerostars (extra charge to remove doghouse), 89 Thunderbird Supercoupe (intercooler was in the way of everything), A Monza with 5.0l engine(rumours are most spark plug changes were only 7 plugs changed), Big Block Mopar B and E bodies(back spark plugs) and a Pacer(the rear plugs were way back of the trans bump)
The easiest was my wifes 1986 Dodge Charger with the 2.2–last Chrysler engine designed to be user friendly
My 1990 Eagle Premier ES Limited with that damned PVR V-6. I should never have attempted to do anything myself with that thing. Its was a great thing my dad’s friend was a European car mechanic.
My ute is a pain with the intake manifold wrapping over the top and down beside the distributor, which is at least still accessible unlike the coil mounted further back on the block and only accessible from under the car – not helpful at the side of the road when it failed
My 1987 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo with 2.2 was a really pretty decent set up. You could change most anything on the motor or in the engine bay. There were few critical things hung on the back of the motor, most everything was upfront or on the sides and plenty of room to get to it all. It had one of the easiest coolant pumps I’ve ever changed on any engine. I miss that car in so many ways…
To add to splateagle’s comment above, I had a couple of Yugos that had a similar arrangement of the engine bay as his Fiat Panda, even down to the placement of the spare tire. Again, once you got the spare out of the way, almost everything you needed was right there, easy to access.
I had buddy in HS who had his grandfather’s early 70’s AMC Ambassador with the 390 ci V8 with A/C and all the accessories. We went to change the water pump on that thing, there was virtually no room between the fan and the radiator. IIRC we took the radiator out and then were able to disassemble everything else from there.
Also, my brother’s AMC Eagle was a royal PITA to work on, partially because that big AMC six was so long and all the extra drivetrain stuff for the AWD system. May they both rest in peace.
One of the worst was my former girlfriend’s 1978 Honda Accord (with Hondamatic!). The vacuum hose routings are legendary along with the feedback carb. I can remember spending H O U R S trying to trace down a vacuum leak, checking hose after hose, breaking some of the tees and losing track of which hose went where. I’m freakin’ amazed I ever got that thing to run again.
DougD mentioned the Mercury Topaz as a real “treat” to work on, I concur wholeheartedly. My 1990 version was a brittle, fragile POS that really came close to the sobriquet “Fix Or Repair Daily”. Stuff broke on that car that never broke on any others (and I’ve had some super cheapo cars). Even the factory repair parts didn’t work well. The folks who proclaimed quality was Job One were definitely phoning it in on that car. I felt like the guy with the boat: What are the two happiest days of a boat owners life? The day he buys it and the day he sells it. I sold that car to a broke Mexican guy for $300 cash. I later had seller’s remorse thinking I may have condemned him to an early grave for his $300. I’l never know…
For me the easy cars to work on were:
1979 Toyota Corona Wagon – valve adjustments took less than half hour, plugs, wires, hoses, and belts easily accessible.
1970s and early 1980s GMC full size vans – oil changes easy to do, crawled under van without having to lift. Plug changes not bad – half the plugs from inside the van with dog house removed. The others from the front.
1976 GMC full size pick up. Everything easy accessible.
1987 Volvo 740 Everything easily accessible.
1994 Suzuki Swift GTi – replaced starter motor in less than half hour and that is saying something becaus it is wedged between the firewall and the engine block.
Worst:
2004 Ford F150 Harley Davidson – rear plugs impossible to get at since they are under the cowl and no space to get at them.
1976 Buick Century with 350 V8 – Could only access half the plugs.
1972 Imperial – rear plugs only accessible from under the car with the car on jackstands.
Honorable Mention goes to my 1998 Safari – Oil changes piece of cake everything else goes to my mechanic and that includes replacing the battery.
The one thing I have not heard from anyone so far was the Mercedes W124 that required the dash and parts of the interior to be removed in order to replace the a/c evaporator. Any one have any experience with this one?
Yes, all Mercs were like that- ditto for the heater core. Mine never had air conditioning so I never had the fun of that job. Volvo 240s are the same- it is said that they travel down the assembly line with a heater box floating in mid air and the entire car being built around it.
To be truthful however, most cars are the same now- even those simple Panthers require the dashboard out to remove the hvac units.
No experience with the Benz or the Volvo, but you are right about Panthers. The son’s 89 MGM is not fun to do work on. The Autolamp switch in the dash turned out to be one of the more miserable jobs of my life. What you can see you can’t reach and vise versa. However, the multiplicity of sharp metal pieces in that area make up for it (if you are masochistically inclined).
Actually none of my cars between 1965-1973 are really that hard to work on. Small blocks in small spaces and big blocks in big places and you are fine. My 91 Mazda 626 is easy. The 98 Sable is a little intimidating until you have been through it once and it isn’t bad. Now my 2004 Focus is a tight engine compartment. Thankfully it has never had a problem. For me the worst car was my mother’s 1974 Audi 100LS. Roomy car for it’s time and not really bad but like seemingly all German cars a real pain the a$$ to work on and repair engine/tranny wise. I loved the inboard disc brake calipers up front. Body wise the quality was great.
Easiest? Probably my long-gone ’72 F100 which had a 250ci straight six, followed by my also long-gone ’79 3.3L powered Fairmont. The worst? By far my ’89 Sedan DeVille with the 4.5L, had to jack the damn engine off the subframe just to replace the water pump. And that was probably the easiest repair on that damn car…
Easiest…BMW E28 body cars, especially the M20-powered ones. 80s era Mercedes are pretty straightforward too, except that damn R107 body 560SL beater…who decided that the fuse block belongs in the passenger footwell?!?
Hardest to work on…85 Lincoln Continental (fox body)…that 302 is a TIGHT fit, and when you couple that with the hydroboost brakes, there is only room for a tiny little battery, and very little room to work. A close second would be the 98 Audi A4 1.8T…try getting that massive oil filter out without hot oil running down your arm…never did figure out how to get to it except on a lift.
I have owned a whole bunch of sub-$1000 beaters over the years, but they are becoming hard to find at that price point. I’m also getting older, and the thought of crawling around under a rusty hulk sounds less and less entertaining to me.
My 80 Scirocco was pretty easy…transverse engine canted toward the firewall making the plugs totally accessible. The oil filter could be removed from the top and even the drain plug was easy to open
Well, I’ll quote what Brian said about his Saab, only in reference to my 1st gen Scirocco: “some bits were insanely easy, but of course these weren’t the parts that broke”
Easy Ones: Mid-70s Corollas were put together in such a way that virtually everything reassembled PERFECTLY, the first time. I had a dealer friend who bragged he could do a valve job on the 3K_ engines in a matter of minutes (I forget the exact number). He would set his stopwatch and each time try to beat his old record.
The L and R model Internationals that I owned were dead simple, but they fought you.. (the devil must like it simple).
Mid-80s Toyota pickups generally very easy and, of course, bullet proof. But engine front oil seals would leak prematurely and that was a job.
Toughies: Of all the cars I have owned and cursed, perhaps the blue ribbon goes to a ’76 English Ford Capri with 1600 engine. Also, ever rebuild an early Saab (96,95) transmission? Must have had hundreds of spacers and washers inside that you had to get just right. My 60 Lancia Appia, beautifully designed, but no room for even my small hands. A 68 Fiat 128. Any attempt to remove the tiny bolts (in rust country) meant a snapped bolt. (There were many others, but the trauma each time was so intense that mercifully, I can’t remember them).
Those of you who do not live in salt country please take a moment right now, to give thanks.
Current rigs. My 86 Nissan pickup distributor cap is held by two screws. Upper screw no problem. Lower screw (nearest the salt mist) took weeks of patient work with vise grips, solvents and heat, to finally loosen up without breaking it off in the distributor.
My 96 Aerostar. Just praying it does not need engine work. (otherwise, very impressive and trouble free even at 167K)
That replace that in line 6 with a 307 V8, and that’s the same sight I looked at for 30 years. And never will that amount of room and simplicity be built new again.
Hardest,
1987 Mercury Tracer (AKA Mazda GLC/323). Changing the front brake discs required removing the steering knuckles and taking them to the dealer to press out the spindles. The discs were BETWEEN the wheel flange and the knuckle, not between the flange and the wheel like on every other car. Dumb. The rear suspension and rear disc brakes were equally bad. I gave up on changing rear shocks in pairs. The lower bolt was extremely difficult to remove due to its location and orientation. The mounts between the strut and the body rusted out or broke. I worked out a way to change these without removing the strut.
Easiest
2000 Saturn LS-1 4 Cylinder 5 Speed Manual. When you open the hood you think that there must have been a mistake. The engine sits in the middle of the compartment with space all around. Lots of space. The exhaust manifold is on the firewall side, which means that all the other service items are towards the radiator, still with lots of room. The suspension is easy to work on. The instrument cluster can be removed in less than 10 minutes after removing only 8 screws. You can also do certain tasks in the doors by removing the outer (plastic) skins.
I noticed that about Saturns at the Houston Auto Show the year they first came out. It sold a new 97 and 2K to the wife and I. Several more to some of our kids. Never sorry about the SL. Then I bought a 2002 Vue (Opel)…..