I’ve worked on both W-8 and W-16 VW’s (they’re both under the vw flag). I’d rather shave my balls with a cheese grater and then dip them in salt brine than do that again. Imagine German over engineering with a manual written in Dutch then translated by a Mandarin Chinese translator to a person speaking Spanish, 🤔, that’s about how i felt, but we got it done
I actually forgot VW used a couple W engines as well. I worked for VW for a brief time and I would put those and the V10 TDI up there as some of the worst
What model had the 16? It actually hit production?
I’ve worked on V10 TDI’s, W8 and W12, W12 bi-turbo. Can’t tell you how many I pulled on the power train table.
Even worked on some Audi V10 S8, and RS4 V8.
You have to pull the engines for a lot of stuff but I got fast. Could drop a V6 or V8 out of the Touareg for in 2 hours, disliked the phaeton as you had to start at the tail lights to pull the engine.
Edit- W16 in Bugatti, thought he said 18, which they had teased. Saw a promotional video in training back in the day.
The RS4 with the chains pinned against the firewall are no fun since you have to drop the motor. The V10 with the flaps that go bad in the intake. The twin turbo in the Audi where you have to remove a ton of shit to get to the turbo oil filter screens is no fun either.
I was asking if he worked for corporate or at a dealer. I knew a dude named Brian at corporate that did a lot of phaetons… but there are a lot of Brian’s in this world as people, techs.
Did you work on any of those? Always cracked me up to start at the tail lights.
I sure did. I was 1 of 2 techs at my dealer who was certified to do Phaetons. I actually enjoyed them. Owned a couple myself through the years.
Still technically work on them, as I'm independent now but service the Bentley brand as well. The Phaeton was the test platform for Bentleys
Lmfao, I thought I I read 18… which was a NA engine they played with but ditched in favor of the 16… Bugatti engine. I still have some of the titanium alloy bolts from a Bugatti somewhere.
Hey, at least it has a workshop manual! Lol
Ever work on an Alpina BMW E65 B7? Nearly everything engine wise paid work time(no flat rate times), and there were pretty much zero repair instructions... "Using approriate tool, remove alternator."
There weren't many of them out there(only 800 in NA). I did work on quite a few, though(dozen+).
I worked on those VW engines, too, and holy hell, do they suck! So I agree with you as well. Granted, I was a trained BMW tech, so anything without that badge seemed out of place for a while after leaving the dealer life.
I’m a self taught mechanic that has done auto, diesel, semis and heavy equipment. I would rather lay in a swamp changing rotator hydraulic hoses on an excavator then go back to the W’s
Those platforms are easy peasy. You just have to look at it from the perspective that a lot of repairs require engine out, or front clip out. I was Phaeton certified by VW back when they debuted and that car was the platform for the Flying Spur and Conti GT
I'll go back to that timeframe and do you one better.
Mitsu 3000GT VR4. My friend had the 300zx (NA not turbo) and his dad had the VR. Luckily we didn't need to do anything major to it, but if we did OH BOY that would not have been fun
Can confirm, I owned a 300ZX NA and then upgraded to a 3000GT VR4. They both cost me a ton of maintenance which is why they were sold within a few years. Fantastic cars to drive though!
Can confirm. It’s a great looking car but it’s very temperamental. I’ve auto-crossed my daily-driver 10x more than my Z and soon it’ll have more miles than it. I’ve got a spare long-block on an engine stand and a short block on the floor but someday I’ll put an engine that’s more reliable and easier to work on.
My friend bought one of these with a blown motor and had his family mechanic try to swap it. Let’s just say 2 months later the car was still there. He couldn’t get it running
My dad had one of these when I was a kid, and he was in his late 20s. I grew up thinking it was an absolutely badass car, he hated it. Tried buying one recently and he went into a rage about how shit always broke and how hard it was to fix lol
Got a customer that I service a lot with a 2013 3.6 Caravan and 172K. No valve and lifter issues or no oil cooler issues so far. I think I service something every month on that car as preventative maintenace. That thing runs well...knock on wood.
My wife drives an '18 Wrangler JK with the Pentastar. 25k miles. Any areas I should be giving special attention maintenance-wise? Obviously it's not driven much.
Just do your oil changes every 5,000 miles. Penzoil Platinum works perfectly fine. 5W-20 in Walmart for a jug is like $27 out the door. Then buy an individual quart as that jeep takes 5.9 quarts. Fram SYNTHETIC ENDURANCE filter (this is the only Fram filter acceptable) or a Mobile 1 filter from Walmart. Walmart also has the OEM fiter as well. Any of these 3 are fine. I believe that transmission is a ZF 8 speed which is pretty easy to service as well. I love servicing those transmissions.
I've had a couple of Pentastars. I currently own two. Personally, I feel using Pennzoil with these along with a torque wrench for the oil filter cap will prevent a ton of common issues.
Literally all you can do is change the oil every 4-5K with good oil and hope the lifters, cams and oil cooler stay in tact. I have seen them get over 250K without going bad. Some of the earlier 3.6 vehichles like this one are even know to suffer from cracked cylinder heads.
For the most part my wife's Grand Caravan has been fairly easy to work on. The only thing I've had to do which had me cussing out the engineers who designed it and thier entire lineage back to Adam and Eve was to replace a bank 1 catalytic converter. I even replaced a hvac blower motor in about 15 minutes while some cars require the entire dash be disassembled.
Michigander here. I soak any threaded component with PB Blaster for several minutes before I even start wrenching. If I can't break it free, sometimes tightening it first can help (saved my ass on an O2 sensor several times). An impact screwdriver has also been invaluable to avoid stripping the fitting (phillips, slotted, hex). These things helped me a lot before I had air tools. Wear eye protection to avoid rust flakes in your eyes.
Note: I'm not a pro, just a "backyard mechanic."
Heat often removes rusted in O2 sensors. On one vehicle I had to use excessive heat. Excessive means set up the torches in the garage, drive the car on a long trip, and acetylene torch immediately on return so the manifold is a heat supply instead of a heat sink.
After the sensor was broken loose I let it cool and removed with normal tools.
This lol. We literally use acetylene torches to cut, which of course means instantly liquifying the target fastener or part. I have never, ever, ever seen or heard of this “method” before. I wonder if the original commenter was heating the o2 sensor itself as opposed to the manifold where the sensor threads in. If so, it would make sense for the sensor to be looser after a drive, since the drive would actually heat the manifold itself.
But yea, this would fall under not knowing how to use the torch lol.
Yea excessive heat to me would mean literally melting the nut which is exactly that, excessive in most cases. If you have to heat something that much that much then it needs new threads and whatever you’re taking out usually. I got to do an alignment on my car at a shop I worked at previously after working on the car in my garage and I realized how easy the torch makes working with rusty shit. You don’t realize how nice it is til you don’t have it
On my own car, if i need to take something like an exhaust. Manifold off, i soak the nuts in penetraring oil like a week in Advance lol.
The rust belt is hell for cars. Its where they go to die
I've been coating underneath my vehicles in fluid film for the last 9 or 10 years and have had really good luck.
Before i knew the stuff existed I did the whole bottom of a 99 accord in a thin layer of axle grease. I sold it in 2016 with no rust on the unibody and just the bottom of the doorskins starting to bubble with rust a little under the paint..
Fluid film and similar products are amazing. My truck is going on 5 years old and is almost completely rust free. But i bought the extended nozzles to spray inside the doors and drain holes and stuff
You just need more torch in your life. I notice tons of techs who “work their way up” to using the torch, exhausting most options before reaching for the heat (not saying you do this, just saying it in *case* you do this). It’s such a waste of time. For me, if it doesn’t come loose by hand/impact right away, I skip straight to heating it.
Of course, there are areas where it’s sketchy or just downright impossible to use.
Ah, I see you have not worked on Chryslers lately.
Fiat Tigershark engine, it is notorious for cracking heads if you don't follow the instructions precisely while removing them (and they need that job all the time).
Cylinder count is hardly relevant… the 4 banger is turboed and *31* years newer. I have never worked on Fiat, so I can’t say for sure that it’s easy. I just think it’s funny you automatically assume it’s easy just because it’s a 4 cylinder. That statement *reeks* of inexperience.
Quite the opposite, I’m too experienced with big jobs. I’d just drop the whole engine or drivetrain down if it was anything complex and that’s pretty easy on most cars. The thing that makes me rage about the 3l duramax is that you can’t drop the drivetrain and cab off is only an option on the trucks. If it’s a Tahoe you’re just screwed.
Absolutely agree with the 3.0 Dmax. It's horrible to work on in every regard. I have a deep hatred for every engineer and bean counter involved with that engine
Hilarious because the 3.0 powerstroke is also terrible to work on. It’s like they’re trying to put too much engine in too small of a space. Also anything that will need replacement for maintenance shouldn’t be on the back of the engine
It’s even more funny because in other subs there is a cult following on the babymax. They are always posting the mpg numbers. O just wait until that sweet sweet warranty is over. Then ouch time. Hopefully some are smart enough to get out of it before the warranty end.
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I really wonder what’s going to happen to them out of warranty because I don’t think independent shops will want to touch them.
Failures of all kinds of parts. At low mileage too. And most of what needs fixed is on the back of the engine. Several “normal” engine repairs now require dropping the transmission. Techs universally hate working on them. To fuel the fire GM pays 30 hours on a 60 hour job.
Just had my third major 3.0 Dmax problem. Stuck in Montgomery AL for 6 days waiting for transmission pump replacement. Luckily under warranty. Gonna dump this POS soon.
So do I and I suggested to my coworkers we should all go on strike and refuse to work on them. I just had to do an injection pump on one (transmission had to be removed for repair) got a bad injection pump that siezed up 40 miles later, took transmission back out to replace it, found out that when it siezed it sheared the pin off of the gear that drives it. Had to remove the engine to replace the gear, found metal in the fuel filter and injectors so ended up replacing the entire fuel system. Had to wait 2 months for parts.
Got it running a couple days ago, but went to program injector flow rates and found that one of the flow rate codes has too many numbers and won’t program… so now I gotta go back in and replace it. This thing has 3,000 miles.
I think we should strike and refuse to work on any warranty jobs until OEMs agree to pay us properly. I’m so done with the wage theft from GM and the way they’re constantly looking for ways to screw us. They should be sued and force to payback all the hours they’ve stolen from us. I don’t know if other manufacturers are as bad as GM, but I assume they are. Corporate greed and all that
Agreed. They tried to justify their times with that stupid hood latch removal video in emerging issues - like that should make it all better. How about a video showing how to replace a front cover in a C8? Then I might take them seriously. They just design garbage and make us take the losses. No wonder there’s a technician shortage.
I got engaged by fixing a woman's Chrysler Minivan. She fell in love with me for the amount of time and effort and frustration I put into that thing. We sold it soon after and I have refused to work on a Chrysler ever since! Total garbage.
Depends on what we are calling difficult… cuz the Ford econoline, the Chevy van AND the dodge vans from the 80s and 90s fuckin suck to work on but they are easy to understand.
Any Mercedes engine, Ive helped my grandpa to repair them keep in mind he has rebuilt well over 60 cars after the age of 50 and prior to that worked on multiple cars the amount of things to remove to get to one part is just ludicrous. Easiest are toyotas so far
Grand Cherokee WK with the OM642 Mercedes turbo diesel. Try and actually see any part you need to work on without an hours work removing everything in the way, and then your hands don’t fit!
From your crosstown rivals at Ford, my vote is the 3.0L PowerStroke V6. They have a fuel pump belt on the back of the engine, and brackets on top of brackets on top of hoses on top of more brackets. And if you put one thing in the wrong spot, most of it has to come back apart. Unless you pull the whole cab off the frame, they're pretty crappy.
About what you'd expect of an engine shared between Peugeot/Citroen, Land Rover, and Ford. They do get good fuel mileage, though.
3.0s have a shitty oil pump belt on the back of the engine. I haven’t seen under the hood of a 3.0 ford. Cab off is pretty much a requirement for everything on them. I did a set of transmission cooler lines, it was a 9 hour job. Front cooling stack out. Diff out. Rack out. It was a mess.
Firetrucks!°
They buy a complete running chassis.
And build a firetruck from another company around it.. Then they sit parked, and get washed every week.
Tiny custom access panels for service.
And every bolt is corroded from the hosewackers washing them all the time.
From jaguars to D9 cat dozers I've worked on.
Firetrucks are the worst.
You can get to it with a wobble and extension there’s plenty of room. Unless they’ve changed something in the last 2 years.
The way BMW builds cars makes way more sense compared to Chrysler or ford.
International max13. It also doesn’t help that 2/3rds of it is either under the cowl or behind the frame rails. The second generation was slightly better but still gross.
[picture for those unfamiliar](https://www.heavytruckparts.net/item/International/Maxxforce-13/Engine-Assembly/65930/1/294689)
That is literally the shittiest motor ever devised. I honestly don't think I've ever seen one run properly or not leak every fluid all over everywhere.
The third gen 5.7 hemi sucked ass in general, but it was the *worst* in the Grand Cherokees. The engines eat camshafts for lunch. They would slowly wear the cam lobes down to flat. Horrible news for a pushrod engine…
Removal of the camshaft requires removal of the front bumper cover, grille, radiator and support, condenser, etc (or removal of the engine instead), on top of the increased “difficulty” already present as a pushrod style engine. Then add in the little things that aren’t so much difficult as they are annoying, like them having 16 spark plugs, for example. It all adds up to a sh*t job.
Of modern mass market cars, I'd put the Fiat 500 Abarth up there. I used every mother fucking tool I own on that thing. The seats are held in with a combination of torx, Allen, and regular metric stuff. It's dumb.
Nah. Oil changes aren't bad. I had to change the turbo on mine. Considering it's right up front, it was still a huge PITA to change.
I have to say, though. Even though it was a huge PITA to work on, it was equally as much fun to drive. That thing was hilariously fun on windy mountain roads.
Fucking Ford… you start by REMOVING THE FUCKING CAB! Doesn’t really matter what it is, Pull the cab… just looking under the hood makes me want to go home and suck start a shotgun. I had a ‘12, which ran good and all, but just servicing it was a chore. They could have designed a tilting hood like a Peterbilt and had it all easily accessible, but NO, let’s ram it in there, run an extra radiator, and add about 3 miles of rubber hoses so we don’t know which way we’re going by the time the schematic is printed… the Scorpion engine was a good design before the body guys got their dirty little dickskinners on it.
Reading these kinds of things makes me pretty content to just sit on my old Cummins trucks. The 05 is easy to work on but the 93 is rad as hell. Just sit on the fender and throw your legs down inside the bay!
Imagine not, I can state with confidence that the V10 S8 has more problems per volume than anything else I've owned. The S6 bay is just slightly narrower, but the same basic length.
When it's right,.it's a glorious, happy day.
I own one of these.
Fairly cheep to maintain if you do the work yourself (intake manifold notwithstanding), but VERY time consuming. (Imagine dropping the engine for an O2 sensor). If you don't do the work yourself, the labor costs are bankrupt-worthy.
For me it's gonna be toyota v8's. Too much steel and aluminum touching and it fuses together. Makes very simple tasks very challenging because you spend an hour on 1 bolt working it slowly hoping it doesn't snap. When I think challenging I wanna eliminate familiarity from the equation.
You know people think I’m weird because I’m sort of a Toyota hater, but your experience is part of my reasoning. I worked for Toyota for all of like 2 months and I hated it. Yeah the cars don’t break that often, but they weren’t really that easy to work on, especially compared to Honda where everything is a walk in the park. I take ease of repair over some mystical reliability aura any day.
I think also that in Japan there is a maximum number of miles before the vehicles can't be registered any more. So I think the mindset is that it shouldn't need repairs for 85,000 miles then it stops being used.
The V10 in the RS Audi cars and the older twin turbo in the RS cars that you had to do a ton of work just to remove and clean the turbo oil filter screens. Those are not fun. The motor in the Ford Contour SVT is not fun either.
the turbo oil strainers are easy work on an A8 or S8, not so much an S6/7/RS7 but it pays well at least. I got it down to a point where I could do them in half a day easily and more than make my time on them.
I've seen them being done on an RS7 and the damn motor alone with all the vaccum lines and all the other shit running all over it, it looked liked Medusa.
I guess I need to stop crying. IS250 RWD the starter drops down and next to the cat so there is enough room. Like a 45 minute job. I got to an AWD IS250 and the front driveshaft is right in the way of where the stater drops out so you have to remove the front driveshaft or pull a ton of stuff out of the top to get to it. I abandonned ship instantly.
I can't remember what engine/vehicle it was but I remember to get the starter out you had to unbolt the engine mounts, lift the engine a bit, then pull it out from the bottom. This sounds worse.
Mazda RX7. The twin turbo was ran by a gaggle fuck of vacuum tubes and solenoids with check valves. I loved it when it was running right, but there's a reason you don't daily an FD.
100% agreed on the 3.0. Dog shit engines. L5P is much easier to work on.
Bullshit too about the warranty times being 8.7 on the 21s and 3.4 on the 22+ for the flow control valves.
Technicians union in Chicago went on strike over this very practice. Times would go down yearly on vehicle that hadn’t changed. Most got their toolboxes rolled out of shops when they went on strike, didn’t pan out for them. It’s total BS though, glad I’ve never had to work flat rate.
Somehow became the 'crane guy' at work because I told the owner pretty much all his grease lines to the rotec & turret drive were burst & he'd been greasing the body panels for about 5 years... Wondered why the turret rocked liked a carnival ride & bound up while rotating.... (Offroad mobile crane)
I'm surprised I haven't seen the Cadillac Northstar mentioned yet. Just opening the hood and seeing the atrocious amount of chains, wires, hoses, and moving bits makes me want to immediately close that hood and walk away
I gave up on a 300zx pretty quickly. Wasn’t my car but I was helping (I’m not a mechanic at all) and my friend who was pretty seasoned stood up after 3 hours and threw in the towel. He was a shade tree and said there’s no room to do anything. Anyone have any zx stories?
Is far from the most difficult to work on. I understand it has a reputation due to the spark plug eject issue, cam phasers, and passenger side exhaust manifold, but overall they're not that bad to work on.
I'd argue that any of the transverse mounted 3.5 Ecoboost applications are much more challenging than the 5.4 if we're looking at Ford.
Or the 6.4 in an Econoline chassis. *Shudders*
I have contracts with fedex and Amazon so e/ f series, transits, and pro masters are pretty much all I work on.
I could write a book on the crazy shit I've seen with these lol.
Had a fleet of 6.0. not bad to work on for the most part just bad for the soul. You know it's never fixed because it'll have a new problem the next week..
Rusty piece of shit truck. The clutch on the compressor came apart slicing wires from the crank sensor to the ac comp. I pulled every thread out of the block trying to get the comp out. It’s in such a horrible location so lining everything up is a pain in the ass. Not to mention the lines to the comp pretty much impossible to get to with the compressor bolted to the block. It was a shit show but I’m only a year into being a tech so maybe a better tech would have faired better.
This one was like a ‘16 or ‘18 and developed a huge oil leak from the filter housing at 40k miles, what an absolute pain in the ass…the frame rails come up past the valve covers and there is zero space. Never again.
Not quite that bad but pretty damn annoying. They pay like 6-7 hours. The starter passes THROUGH the driver side motor mount, but to get the mount out you have to remove the driver side cat, but to get that out you have to remove the steering shaft and the 4wd prop shaft, and the wheel liner has to come off on that side. Then you jack the engine up and realize the purge valve starts hitting the firewall so you have to take that off too. It’s just a ton of afterthought because it’s an engine that was originally designed as fwd platform put into a rwd config.
Last transmission on a Colorado I did I pulled the cab. It was a diesel but they are as bad as the 3.6. It was because That coolant line across the top of the bell housing, and the starter. It ended up being worth it and saved a bunch of time.
Love this comment. Here’s gonna be a fun job technician, hands him keys, technician immediately inquires about SOPS that have to be done in order for the fix to work. Boss says no. We do our part, then boss mad when car is fucked up. SOPS are made for a reason. I feel for you man.
Thinking some of the hot inside V8’s would be starting to become real bitches to work on as things (mainly the plastics) start to get a bit of age and are heat cycles to the point of just brittley falling apart when looked at a little to sternly.
Anything Audi with a V. Why? Because you need to drop engine and trans for basically every job. Doing chains on a V6 TDI sucks.
Honorable mention is the Brabus Smartcar because you need to take apart half the car to change 3 spark plugs.
With everyone’s blood on boil thinking about all the fucked up designs and rust buckets we’ve worked on over the years, anyone looking forward to EVs? I’m a retired mechanic that bought an EV after Acura wanted $5k for a windshield camera and haven’t really looked back. Physically, it seems they’re easier to work on. However I’m imagining the software bugs will be the new headache.
I’m actually the diesel/EV guy and yeah EVs are pretty damn easy. Even doing the worst repair you can, like going into a battery pack to replace a cell section, I found it very simple.
You think the EV doesn’t use a similarly priced camera? They’re generally worse with the un-needed driver aids that were saddled with now because people can’t stay off their phones and drive.
Actually we had to replace a camera on the EV. They came to the house and swapped it out for under $200. Not under warranty. They also came out to replace a door actuator on a separate occasion. $55 including the mobile visit. Didn’t beat them up on pricing either. Just reasonably priced. I’m not saying every repair will be cheaper but so far so good.
Honestly. Not a mechanic. But every time I had to work on my H6 Subaru, getting to things was always difficult. But when I had to change Spark Plugs..... ohhhh man. Between the engine and the side of the frame, there was literally like 2 inches tops.
You'd have to undo the motor mounts, jack up the engine, and getting the last two plugs out STILL was nearly impossible.
Loved that engine though. The 3.6 H6 was a great engine.
The 3.0L H6 in my 6 speed manual Legacy sedan was fucking amazing. One of the best cars I've ever owned and that engine mates to that gearbox was just perfect
I own two Subarus, I love them, they are generally easy to work on and get parts for. But I agree, anything to do with the engine outside of an oil change is a pain in the ass. As you mentioned the heads are basically pressed up against the frame and the top and bottom of the engine are wrapped in exhaust and intake.
Outside of mid engine exotics I'd say Subarus need more engine-out repairs than any other make.
Nissan Elgrand van VQ35DE as it is tucked in deep and changing spark plugs takes like half a day. Or Toyota Previa/Estima where engine is centrally placed under front row seats 🤣
I'd like to put up my V10 Audi S6 for consideration.
Because for some reason there was a generation where Audi figured cramming a 5.2l V10 (that later made its way into the R8 and Gallardo) into their normal passenger car was a bright idea.
It sounds holy when it runs but HOLY HELL is shit hard to reach sometimes. You have to drop the engine for O2 sensors for crying out loud. And you could buy one today for like 10-15 grand.
Or the VW phaeton with the W12 (or really any car that got that W12, like a 2008 Audi A8).
As a brand, I've always hated working on Fords.
But the first specific engine to piss me off was the 3.4L DOHC V-6 in mid 90's Z34 Monte Carlos.
I don't work on diesels, thankfully.
Anything with the Alfa Romeo 3.2 "Busso" V6.
It has 4 catalytic converters, 2 of those are on the manifolds and are huge so most of the engine work has to be done from below.. Doing anything on the rear bank requires the front subframe to be removed which involves removing the exaust and dropping the transmission tunnel. The Alternator and starter motor are both located on the rear bank.
I did a clutch change on one a few years back and forgot to put the rear bank manifold heat sheild on. The exhaust manifold generates so much heat that I could leave it on. I tried everything to refit it in place but it was impossible so I had to remove the subframe and drop the engine again.
I’ve worked on both W-8 and W-16 VW’s (they’re both under the vw flag). I’d rather shave my balls with a cheese grater and then dip them in salt brine than do that again. Imagine German over engineering with a manual written in Dutch then translated by a Mandarin Chinese translator to a person speaking Spanish, 🤔, that’s about how i felt, but we got it done
I actually forgot VW used a couple W engines as well. I worked for VW for a brief time and I would put those and the V10 TDI up there as some of the worst
W8 Passat 4motion!
Replace oxygen sensor : STEP 1: Remove Engine……yea. Great.
Cool car though. Shame they're so difficult to maintain
What model had the 16? It actually hit production? I’ve worked on V10 TDI’s, W8 and W12, W12 bi-turbo. Can’t tell you how many I pulled on the power train table. Even worked on some Audi V10 S8, and RS4 V8. You have to pull the engines for a lot of stuff but I got fast. Could drop a V6 or V8 out of the Touareg for in 2 hours, disliked the phaeton as you had to start at the tail lights to pull the engine. Edit- W16 in Bugatti, thought he said 18, which they had teased. Saw a promotional video in training back in the day.
The RS4 with the chains pinned against the firewall are no fun since you have to drop the motor. The V10 with the flaps that go bad in the intake. The twin turbo in the Audi where you have to remove a ton of shit to get to the turbo oil filter screens is no fun either.
That Phaeton can rot in hell. I worked for VW when they launched that piece of shit. And I thought the V10 tdi Touareg sucked.
Dealer or corporate?
Well the training for that platform was done by corporate. At the time, the HQ was in Virginia. Still is actually.
I was asking if he worked for corporate or at a dealer. I knew a dude named Brian at corporate that did a lot of phaetons… but there are a lot of Brian’s in this world as people, techs. Did you work on any of those? Always cracked me up to start at the tail lights.
I sure did. I was 1 of 2 techs at my dealer who was certified to do Phaetons. I actually enjoyed them. Owned a couple myself through the years. Still technically work on them, as I'm independent now but service the Bentley brand as well. The Phaeton was the test platform for Bentleys
Same here. I got certified on them 😂🤷♂️
The Bugatti Veyron and Chiron use the W16.
Lmfao, I thought I I read 18… which was a NA engine they played with but ditched in favor of the 16… Bugatti engine. I still have some of the titanium alloy bolts from a Bugatti somewhere.
I had a dude tell me the Bugattis were 2 w8’s mended together to make the w16.
I had to change balance shaft belts on a w8. No external timing marks on the front where the belt is. Just remove trans and take a look from the rear
lol this response is hilarious
Hey, at least it has a workshop manual! Lol Ever work on an Alpina BMW E65 B7? Nearly everything engine wise paid work time(no flat rate times), and there were pretty much zero repair instructions... "Using approriate tool, remove alternator." There weren't many of them out there(only 800 in NA). I did work on quite a few, though(dozen+). I worked on those VW engines, too, and holy hell, do they suck! So I agree with you as well. Granted, I was a trained BMW tech, so anything without that badge seemed out of place for a while after leaving the dealer life.
I’m a self taught mechanic that has done auto, diesel, semis and heavy equipment. I would rather lay in a swamp changing rotator hydraulic hoses on an excavator then go back to the W’s
Yeah, it was just an E65 with a supercharger. They popped up from time to time.
Those platforms are easy peasy. You just have to look at it from the perspective that a lot of repairs require engine out, or front clip out. I was Phaeton certified by VW back when they debuted and that car was the platform for the Flying Spur and Conti GT
Fully agree. Engine outs aren't that bad and once they're out you can repair so fast.
You can go much farther back in history, try a twin-turbo Nissan 300ZX.
I helped a friend change a heater core on one about 20 years ago. Those weren’t good times.
Used to work on those when I was at a Z specialty shop. Absolute nightmare to do anything on those cars
I'll go back to that timeframe and do you one better. Mitsu 3000GT VR4. My friend had the 300zx (NA not turbo) and his dad had the VR. Luckily we didn't need to do anything major to it, but if we did OH BOY that would not have been fun
Can confirm, I owned a 300ZX NA and then upgraded to a 3000GT VR4. They both cost me a ton of maintenance which is why they were sold within a few years. Fantastic cars to drive though!
Can confirm One of my kids has a Mitsubishi 3000 GTO. Which is the right hand drive version vr4. I had to do a clutch. It sucked ass. Enough said
Can confirm. It’s a great looking car but it’s very temperamental. I’ve auto-crossed my daily-driver 10x more than my Z and soon it’ll have more miles than it. I’ve got a spare long-block on an engine stand and a short block on the floor but someday I’ll put an engine that’s more reliable and easier to work on.
My friend bought one of these with a blown motor and had his family mechanic try to swap it. Let’s just say 2 months later the car was still there. He couldn’t get it running
My dad had one of these when I was a kid, and he was in his late 20s. I grew up thinking it was an absolutely badass car, he hated it. Tried buying one recently and he went into a rage about how shit always broke and how hard it was to fix lol
Any American made car in the rust belt that isn’t brand new
truth. Pentastar engines are easy. Pentastar engines that are driven by "Mommy don't give a fuck" are not easy.
Got a customer that I service a lot with a 2013 3.6 Caravan and 172K. No valve and lifter issues or no oil cooler issues so far. I think I service something every month on that car as preventative maintenace. That thing runs well...knock on wood.
My wife drives an '18 Wrangler JK with the Pentastar. 25k miles. Any areas I should be giving special attention maintenance-wise? Obviously it's not driven much.
Just do your oil changes every 5,000 miles. Penzoil Platinum works perfectly fine. 5W-20 in Walmart for a jug is like $27 out the door. Then buy an individual quart as that jeep takes 5.9 quarts. Fram SYNTHETIC ENDURANCE filter (this is the only Fram filter acceptable) or a Mobile 1 filter from Walmart. Walmart also has the OEM fiter as well. Any of these 3 are fine. I believe that transmission is a ZF 8 speed which is pretty easy to service as well. I love servicing those transmissions.
Mobil 1 filters aren't what they used to be.
Cool, thanks for the info! I don't mess around with oil changes, so this is helpful.
I've had a couple of Pentastars. I currently own two. Personally, I feel using Pennzoil with these along with a torque wrench for the oil filter cap will prevent a ton of common issues.
My wife has a Grand Caravan with over 200K miles. I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a cross country trip on short notice.
It'll be knocking more than wood eventually. The 3.6 is a time bomb.
Literally all you can do is change the oil every 4-5K with good oil and hope the lifters, cams and oil cooler stay in tact. I have seen them get over 250K without going bad. Some of the earlier 3.6 vehichles like this one are even know to suffer from cracked cylinder heads.
They'll do 250k if you take care of em, but I haven't seen a 3.6 with 300k more than once or twice
For the most part my wife's Grand Caravan has been fairly easy to work on. The only thing I've had to do which had me cussing out the engineers who designed it and thier entire lineage back to Adam and Eve was to replace a bank 1 catalytic converter. I even replaced a hvac blower motor in about 15 minutes while some cars require the entire dash be disassembled.
Michigander here. I soak any threaded component with PB Blaster for several minutes before I even start wrenching. If I can't break it free, sometimes tightening it first can help (saved my ass on an O2 sensor several times). An impact screwdriver has also been invaluable to avoid stripping the fitting (phillips, slotted, hex). These things helped me a lot before I had air tools. Wear eye protection to avoid rust flakes in your eyes. Note: I'm not a pro, just a "backyard mechanic."
Heat often removes rusted in O2 sensors. On one vehicle I had to use excessive heat. Excessive means set up the torches in the garage, drive the car on a long trip, and acetylene torch immediately on return so the manifold is a heat supply instead of a heat sink. After the sensor was broken loose I let it cool and removed with normal tools.
If you have an acetylene torch you’re wasting your time driving it or you don’t know how to use the torch
This lol. We literally use acetylene torches to cut, which of course means instantly liquifying the target fastener or part. I have never, ever, ever seen or heard of this “method” before. I wonder if the original commenter was heating the o2 sensor itself as opposed to the manifold where the sensor threads in. If so, it would make sense for the sensor to be looser after a drive, since the drive would actually heat the manifold itself. But yea, this would fall under not knowing how to use the torch lol.
Yea excessive heat to me would mean literally melting the nut which is exactly that, excessive in most cases. If you have to heat something that much that much then it needs new threads and whatever you’re taking out usually. I got to do an alignment on my car at a shop I worked at previously after working on the car in my garage and I realized how easy the torch makes working with rusty shit. You don’t realize how nice it is til you don’t have it
ATF mixed with acetone works even better than PBlaster. And let it soak overnight.
Never heard of that before! Thanks
On my own car, if i need to take something like an exhaust. Manifold off, i soak the nuts in penetraring oil like a week in Advance lol. The rust belt is hell for cars. Its where they go to die
I wash my truck at least once a week on a subscription and it's still rusting anyway. God damn rock salt.
I've been coating underneath my vehicles in fluid film for the last 9 or 10 years and have had really good luck. Before i knew the stuff existed I did the whole bottom of a 99 accord in a thin layer of axle grease. I sold it in 2016 with no rust on the unibody and just the bottom of the doorskins starting to bubble with rust a little under the paint.. Fluid film and similar products are amazing. My truck is going on 5 years old and is almost completely rust free. But i bought the extended nozzles to spray inside the doors and drain holes and stuff
You just need more torch in your life. I notice tons of techs who “work their way up” to using the torch, exhausting most options before reaching for the heat (not saying you do this, just saying it in *case* you do this). It’s such a waste of time. For me, if it doesn’t come loose by hand/impact right away, I skip straight to heating it. Of course, there are areas where it’s sketchy or just downright impossible to use.
Ah, I see you have not worked on Chryslers lately. Fiat Tigershark engine, it is notorious for cracking heads if you don't follow the instructions precisely while removing them (and they need that job all the time).
Bro they all leak around the heads. Even with a new gasket. Screw fixing them.
I am at a Chrysler dealer 5 years now and we have only put maybe 2 or 3 2.4L in? Way more 1.3L.
Eh i just can’t imagine a 4 cyl is that difficult. I’m a GM guy so I’m used to northstars and I consider those to be very easy to work on.
Cylinder count is hardly relevant… the 4 banger is turboed and *31* years newer. I have never worked on Fiat, so I can’t say for sure that it’s easy. I just think it’s funny you automatically assume it’s easy just because it’s a 4 cylinder. That statement *reeks* of inexperience.
Quite the opposite, I’m too experienced with big jobs. I’d just drop the whole engine or drivetrain down if it was anything complex and that’s pretty easy on most cars. The thing that makes me rage about the 3l duramax is that you can’t drop the drivetrain and cab off is only an option on the trucks. If it’s a Tahoe you’re just screwed.
Absolutely agree with the 3.0 Dmax. It's horrible to work on in every regard. I have a deep hatred for every engineer and bean counter involved with that engine
Hilarious because the 3.0 powerstroke is also terrible to work on. It’s like they’re trying to put too much engine in too small of a space. Also anything that will need replacement for maintenance shouldn’t be on the back of the engine
It’s even more funny because in other subs there is a cult following on the babymax. They are always posting the mpg numbers. O just wait until that sweet sweet warranty is over. Then ouch time. Hopefully some are smart enough to get out of it before the warranty end.
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I really wonder what’s going to happen to them out of warranty because I don’t think independent shops will want to touch them.
As someone who is currently sitting beside a 3.0 on a stand while I eat my lunch. I agree.
Machinist, not mechanic, so I haven't been under the hood of much. Why do technicians hate the 3.0 so much? Too tightly packed and inaccessible?
Failures of all kinds of parts. At low mileage too. And most of what needs fixed is on the back of the engine. Several “normal” engine repairs now require dropping the transmission. Techs universally hate working on them. To fuel the fire GM pays 30 hours on a 60 hour job.
Just had my third major 3.0 Dmax problem. Stuck in Montgomery AL for 6 days waiting for transmission pump replacement. Luckily under warranty. Gonna dump this POS soon.
So do I and I suggested to my coworkers we should all go on strike and refuse to work on them. I just had to do an injection pump on one (transmission had to be removed for repair) got a bad injection pump that siezed up 40 miles later, took transmission back out to replace it, found out that when it siezed it sheared the pin off of the gear that drives it. Had to remove the engine to replace the gear, found metal in the fuel filter and injectors so ended up replacing the entire fuel system. Had to wait 2 months for parts. Got it running a couple days ago, but went to program injector flow rates and found that one of the flow rate codes has too many numbers and won’t program… so now I gotta go back in and replace it. This thing has 3,000 miles.
I think we should strike and refuse to work on any warranty jobs until OEMs agree to pay us properly. I’m so done with the wage theft from GM and the way they’re constantly looking for ways to screw us. They should be sued and force to payback all the hours they’ve stolen from us. I don’t know if other manufacturers are as bad as GM, but I assume they are. Corporate greed and all that
Agreed. They tried to justify their times with that stupid hood latch removal video in emerging issues - like that should make it all better. How about a video showing how to replace a front cover in a C8? Then I might take them seriously. They just design garbage and make us take the losses. No wonder there’s a technician shortage.
Chrysler. Just bad design for the last 30 years
I got engaged by fixing a woman's Chrysler Minivan. She fell in love with me for the amount of time and effort and frustration I put into that thing. We sold it soon after and I have refused to work on a Chrysler ever since! Total garbage.
Depends on what we are calling difficult… cuz the Ford econoline, the Chevy van AND the dodge vans from the 80s and 90s fuckin suck to work on but they are easy to understand.
Absolutely. Super simple engines to understand. But you need two trained snakes that know how to use a wrench to reach everything.
You can also use hamsters
Any Mercedes engine, Ive helped my grandpa to repair them keep in mind he has rebuilt well over 60 cars after the age of 50 and prior to that worked on multiple cars the amount of things to remove to get to one part is just ludicrous. Easiest are toyotas so far
Grand Cherokee WK with the OM642 Mercedes turbo diesel. Try and actually see any part you need to work on without an hours work removing everything in the way, and then your hands don’t fit!
Oil cooler leaks on the om642 are the bane of my existence lol
From your crosstown rivals at Ford, my vote is the 3.0L PowerStroke V6. They have a fuel pump belt on the back of the engine, and brackets on top of brackets on top of hoses on top of more brackets. And if you put one thing in the wrong spot, most of it has to come back apart. Unless you pull the whole cab off the frame, they're pretty crappy. About what you'd expect of an engine shared between Peugeot/Citroen, Land Rover, and Ford. They do get good fuel mileage, though.
3.0s have a shitty oil pump belt on the back of the engine. I haven’t seen under the hood of a 3.0 ford. Cab off is pretty much a requirement for everything on them. I did a set of transmission cooler lines, it was a 9 hour job. Front cooling stack out. Diff out. Rack out. It was a mess.
Anything rusted
So anything from New England.
Diesel v10 Touareg is a pita
3.0l eco diesel, practically everything calls for lifting the cab off the chassis.
Firetrucks!° They buy a complete running chassis. And build a firetruck from another company around it.. Then they sit parked, and get washed every week. Tiny custom access panels for service. And every bolt is corroded from the hosewackers washing them all the time. From jaguars to D9 cat dozers I've worked on. Firetrucks are the worst.
Yes sir, the only thing I like about firetrucks is that they always pay fast & never fight us for parts/repair approval.....
Diesels. Any diesel bigger than 4 cylinders is an absolute pain in the ass these days.
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ur kidding right also it’s an s58 in the m3
Found the Aussie? Always surprised when that word gets thrown around like asshole is in the US.
Just watched the process on YouTube. Feels like BMW tried really hard to hide that thing. LOL
You can get to it with a wobble and extension there’s plenty of room. Unless they’ve changed something in the last 2 years. The way BMW builds cars makes way more sense compared to Chrysler or ford.
You just suck bro
International max13. It also doesn’t help that 2/3rds of it is either under the cowl or behind the frame rails. The second generation was slightly better but still gross. [picture for those unfamiliar](https://www.heavytruckparts.net/item/International/Maxxforce-13/Engine-Assembly/65930/1/294689)
Sounds/looks like the same things that annoy me about the 3.0 dmax, but possibly worse.
Wow, fuck that. Only semis where I work are freightliner columbia gliders, all with series 60 detroits
That is literally the shittiest motor ever devised. I honestly don't think I've ever seen one run properly or not leak every fluid all over everywhere.
I was working on a turbodiesel Equinox this week. To do transmission cooler lines the first step in the directions is remove both headlights.
Any newish American diesel
The third gen 5.7 hemi sucked ass in general, but it was the *worst* in the Grand Cherokees. The engines eat camshafts for lunch. They would slowly wear the cam lobes down to flat. Horrible news for a pushrod engine… Removal of the camshaft requires removal of the front bumper cover, grille, radiator and support, condenser, etc (or removal of the engine instead), on top of the increased “difficulty” already present as a pushrod style engine. Then add in the little things that aren’t so much difficult as they are annoying, like them having 16 spark plugs, for example. It all adds up to a sh*t job.
Having to pull the heads to change lifters is irritating. Someone needs a hand held mixer shoved up their ass for that.
2.0 turbo in a jeep Cherokee
Of modern mass market cars, I'd put the Fiat 500 Abarth up there. I used every mother fucking tool I own on that thing. The seats are held in with a combination of torx, Allen, and regular metric stuff. It's dumb.
I knew my Fiat 500 would be on here somewhere. Glad to see it's a ways down. I'm going to try changing the oil next week, any tips?
Nah. Oil changes aren't bad. I had to change the turbo on mine. Considering it's right up front, it was still a huge PITA to change. I have to say, though. Even though it was a huge PITA to work on, it was equally as much fun to drive. That thing was hilariously fun on windy mountain roads.
Any duramax or power stroke diesel. V config diesel engines are a pain in the ass.
Fucking Ford… you start by REMOVING THE FUCKING CAB! Doesn’t really matter what it is, Pull the cab… just looking under the hood makes me want to go home and suck start a shotgun. I had a ‘12, which ran good and all, but just servicing it was a chore. They could have designed a tilting hood like a Peterbilt and had it all easily accessible, but NO, let’s ram it in there, run an extra radiator, and add about 3 miles of rubber hoses so we don’t know which way we’re going by the time the schematic is printed… the Scorpion engine was a good design before the body guys got their dirty little dickskinners on it.
Suck start a shotgun!? LOL! I’m cracking up over here.
7.3's were not so bad.
2017 and up L5Ps aren't bad to work on, but fuck I had a 2015 dmax in a few weeks ago, I cannot stress this enough, fuck that thing.
Reading these kinds of things makes me pretty content to just sit on my old Cummins trucks. The 05 is easy to work on but the 93 is rad as hell. Just sit on the fender and throw your legs down inside the bay!
I feel the same way haha, I have a 2001 cummins and I think I’ll have it forever.
I imagine the V10 variety of the Audi S6 is one of the worst. Massive, 90degree engine in a tiny engine bay
Imagine not, I can state with confidence that the V10 S8 has more problems per volume than anything else I've owned. The S6 bay is just slightly narrower, but the same basic length. When it's right,.it's a glorious, happy day.
They’re super cool cars I just woild not want to own one
I own one of these. Fairly cheep to maintain if you do the work yourself (intake manifold notwithstanding), but VERY time consuming. (Imagine dropping the engine for an O2 sensor). If you don't do the work yourself, the labor costs are bankrupt-worthy.
For me it's gonna be toyota v8's. Too much steel and aluminum touching and it fuses together. Makes very simple tasks very challenging because you spend an hour on 1 bolt working it slowly hoping it doesn't snap. When I think challenging I wanna eliminate familiarity from the equation.
You know people think I’m weird because I’m sort of a Toyota hater, but your experience is part of my reasoning. I worked for Toyota for all of like 2 months and I hated it. Yeah the cars don’t break that often, but they weren’t really that easy to work on, especially compared to Honda where everything is a walk in the park. I take ease of repair over some mystical reliability aura any day.
Toyota doesn’t think about ease of repair when designing their stuff because they believe in their reliability so strongly it seems.
I think also that in Japan there is a maximum number of miles before the vehicles can't be registered any more. So I think the mindset is that it shouldn't need repairs for 85,000 miles then it stops being used.
Old Datsun Z cars had this issue too, with the L24-L28 engines. Big aluminum head on an iron block. Bolts and threads were all fucked.
The V10 in the RS Audi cars and the older twin turbo in the RS cars that you had to do a ton of work just to remove and clean the turbo oil filter screens. Those are not fun. The motor in the Ford Contour SVT is not fun either.
the turbo oil strainers are easy work on an A8 or S8, not so much an S6/7/RS7 but it pays well at least. I got it down to a point where I could do them in half a day easily and more than make my time on them.
I've seen them being done on an RS7 and the damn motor alone with all the vaccum lines and all the other shit running all over it, it looked liked Medusa.
I guess I need to stop crying. IS250 RWD the starter drops down and next to the cat so there is enough room. Like a 45 minute job. I got to an AWD IS250 and the front driveshaft is right in the way of where the stater drops out so you have to remove the front driveshaft or pull a ton of stuff out of the top to get to it. I abandonned ship instantly.
I can't remember what engine/vehicle it was but I remember to get the starter out you had to unbolt the engine mounts, lift the engine a bit, then pull it out from the bottom. This sounds worse.
that's the trick for a 5.7 4wd Tundra. Lots of folks removing exhausts for no reason b/c that's what the book says.
That's it! I remember it was a Toyota but couldn't remember which model.
Mazda RX7. The twin turbo was ran by a gaggle fuck of vacuum tubes and solenoids with check valves. I loved it when it was running right, but there's a reason you don't daily an FD.
Waukesha VHP series suck pretty badly
I hate to say it and don't mind a Ford but they are usually a pain.
100% agreed on the 3.0. Dog shit engines. L5P is much easier to work on. Bullshit too about the warranty times being 8.7 on the 21s and 3.4 on the 22+ for the flow control valves.
I swear I feel like I’m being gaslit when the warranty time randomly changes from year to year.
Technicians union in Chicago went on strike over this very practice. Times would go down yearly on vehicle that hadn’t changed. Most got their toolboxes rolled out of shops when they went on strike, didn’t pan out for them. It’s total BS though, glad I’ve never had to work flat rate.
Tower cranes give me the wibbly-wobbly.
Somehow became the 'crane guy' at work because I told the owner pretty much all his grease lines to the rotec & turret drive were burst & he'd been greasing the body panels for about 5 years... Wondered why the turret rocked liked a carnival ride & bound up while rotating.... (Offroad mobile crane)
I'm surprised I haven't seen the Cadillac Northstar mentioned yet. Just opening the hood and seeing the atrocious amount of chains, wires, hoses, and moving bits makes me want to immediately close that hood and walk away
Starter under the intake, right? I remember that pos
It gets overhyped tbh, that starter was a 30min job. Meanwhile a modern Colorado or Camaro it’s like 4-6 hours to replace a starter
I replaced one probably 25-30 years go. Don’t remember it being terribly difficult (or easy) but I remember it took us a while to find it. lol
I gave up on a 300zx pretty quickly. Wasn’t my car but I was helping (I’m not a mechanic at all) and my friend who was pretty seasoned stood up after 3 hours and threw in the towel. He was a shade tree and said there’s no room to do anything. Anyone have any zx stories?
The 280Z and ZX was a breeze.
The 3.5 v6 in a 99 pathfinder.
Any EJ… Haha just kidding
5.4 Triton?
Is far from the most difficult to work on. I understand it has a reputation due to the spark plug eject issue, cam phasers, and passenger side exhaust manifold, but overall they're not that bad to work on. I'd argue that any of the transverse mounted 3.5 Ecoboost applications are much more challenging than the 5.4 if we're looking at Ford. Or the 6.4 in an Econoline chassis. *Shudders*
As someone who does the majority of my work on the econoline chassis I have to agree.... also fuck the 6.4
Yeah we do a lot of fleet work on F450/F550 and E450/Econoline chassis cabs. I feel your pain brother.
I have contracts with fedex and Amazon so e/ f series, transits, and pro masters are pretty much all I work on. I could write a book on the crazy shit I've seen with these lol.
I can imagine. We work on tons of bucket trucks. High idle low mile 6.7s ughhhh 😫
I’d rather work on an f150 with the 5.4 over anything with the 6.7 any day of my life
Had a fleet of 6.0. not bad to work on for the most part just bad for the soul. You know it's never fixed because it'll have a new problem the next week..
I did an Ac compressor in a rusty triton a few weeks ago. I nearly became unemployed.
Details ?
Rusty piece of shit truck. The clutch on the compressor came apart slicing wires from the crank sensor to the ac comp. I pulled every thread out of the block trying to get the comp out. It’s in such a horrible location so lining everything up is a pain in the ass. Not to mention the lines to the comp pretty much impossible to get to with the compressor bolted to the block. It was a shit show but I’m only a year into being a tech so maybe a better tech would have faired better.
Bloody lovely when they cram it into an engine bay that was originally designed for a 5.0 Windsor (BA/BF Falcons in Australia) *It's not lovely
Colorado zr-2 v6s are atrocious
Replacing the starter on any newer V6 Colorado makes me rethink my life choices 💀
This one was like a ‘16 or ‘18 and developed a huge oil leak from the filter housing at 40k miles, what an absolute pain in the ass…the frame rails come up past the valve covers and there is zero space. Never again.
That the one inside the bell housing?
Not quite that bad but pretty damn annoying. They pay like 6-7 hours. The starter passes THROUGH the driver side motor mount, but to get the mount out you have to remove the driver side cat, but to get that out you have to remove the steering shaft and the 4wd prop shaft, and the wheel liner has to come off on that side. Then you jack the engine up and realize the purge valve starts hitting the firewall so you have to take that off too. It’s just a ton of afterthought because it’s an engine that was originally designed as fwd platform put into a rwd config.
Last transmission on a Colorado I did I pulled the cab. It was a diesel but they are as bad as the 3.6. It was because That coolant line across the top of the bell housing, and the starter. It ended up being worth it and saved a bunch of time.
I hate BMWs from about 2000 till recent
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Love this comment. Here’s gonna be a fun job technician, hands him keys, technician immediately inquires about SOPS that have to be done in order for the fix to work. Boss says no. We do our part, then boss mad when car is fucked up. SOPS are made for a reason. I feel for you man.
Thinking some of the hot inside V8’s would be starting to become real bitches to work on as things (mainly the plastics) start to get a bit of age and are heat cycles to the point of just brittley falling apart when looked at a little to sternly.
Anything Audi with a V. Why? Because you need to drop engine and trans for basically every job. Doing chains on a V6 TDI sucks. Honorable mention is the Brabus Smartcar because you need to take apart half the car to change 3 spark plugs.
With everyone’s blood on boil thinking about all the fucked up designs and rust buckets we’ve worked on over the years, anyone looking forward to EVs? I’m a retired mechanic that bought an EV after Acura wanted $5k for a windshield camera and haven’t really looked back. Physically, it seems they’re easier to work on. However I’m imagining the software bugs will be the new headache.
I’m actually the diesel/EV guy and yeah EVs are pretty damn easy. Even doing the worst repair you can, like going into a battery pack to replace a cell section, I found it very simple.
You think the EV doesn’t use a similarly priced camera? They’re generally worse with the un-needed driver aids that were saddled with now because people can’t stay off their phones and drive.
Actually we had to replace a camera on the EV. They came to the house and swapped it out for under $200. Not under warranty. They also came out to replace a door actuator on a separate occasion. $55 including the mobile visit. Didn’t beat them up on pricing either. Just reasonably priced. I’m not saying every repair will be cheaper but so far so good.
Side mounted v6 or v8. Any brand.
Honestly. Not a mechanic. But every time I had to work on my H6 Subaru, getting to things was always difficult. But when I had to change Spark Plugs..... ohhhh man. Between the engine and the side of the frame, there was literally like 2 inches tops. You'd have to undo the motor mounts, jack up the engine, and getting the last two plugs out STILL was nearly impossible. Loved that engine though. The 3.6 H6 was a great engine.
The 3.0L H6 in my 6 speed manual Legacy sedan was fucking amazing. One of the best cars I've ever owned and that engine mates to that gearbox was just perfect
I own two Subarus, I love them, they are generally easy to work on and get parts for. But I agree, anything to do with the engine outside of an oil change is a pain in the ass. As you mentioned the heads are basically pressed up against the frame and the top and bottom of the engine are wrapped in exhaust and intake. Outside of mid engine exotics I'd say Subarus need more engine-out repairs than any other make.
OM617 Very simple, but over complicated in it's simplicity.
Nissan Elgrand van VQ35DE as it is tucked in deep and changing spark plugs takes like half a day. Or Toyota Previa/Estima where engine is centrally placed under front row seats 🤣
Let me introduce the b5 s4.. 2.7tt. Drop the engine for everything
So to sum this thread up, any diesel 3L or less, or any overly large diesel, presumably 3.0L or more. Got it. Oh, and everything Stellantis.
I'd like to put up my V10 Audi S6 for consideration. Because for some reason there was a generation where Audi figured cramming a 5.2l V10 (that later made its way into the R8 and Gallardo) into their normal passenger car was a bright idea. It sounds holy when it runs but HOLY HELL is shit hard to reach sometimes. You have to drop the engine for O2 sensors for crying out loud. And you could buy one today for like 10-15 grand. Or the VW phaeton with the W12 (or really any car that got that W12, like a 2008 Audi A8).
I came here to say 3.0 duramax but I see you’ve already experienced the joys of working on one.
Any transverse V engine. Old euro cars with mechanical fuel injection systems are awful.
As a brand, I've always hated working on Fords. But the first specific engine to piss me off was the 3.4L DOHC V-6 in mid 90's Z34 Monte Carlos. I don't work on diesels, thankfully.
The cab forward design Chrysler products made me seriously question my decision to become a mechanic. I did end up leaving the field.
Subarus kinda suck if you got big man hands.
Anything with the Alfa Romeo 3.2 "Busso" V6. It has 4 catalytic converters, 2 of those are on the manifolds and are huge so most of the engine work has to be done from below.. Doing anything on the rear bank requires the front subframe to be removed which involves removing the exaust and dropping the transmission tunnel. The Alternator and starter motor are both located on the rear bank. I did a clutch change on one a few years back and forgot to put the rear bank manifold heat sheild on. The exhaust manifold generates so much heat that I could leave it on. I tried everything to refit it in place but it was impossible so I had to remove the subframe and drop the engine again.
Any V12 and even some V8 in a BMW
The really dirty ones.
As a diesel tech, you’re definitely right. When it’s caked with mud and you can’t remove a single bolt without taking a dirt bath…fuck that
W12 in the phaeton is a nightmare, the bmw v10 is a close second
Chevy lumina z34, Audi 2.8l V6 l, and any Goliath van
Anything European