old magna or camry

[murcod]

If the EBII had "mild headwork" that would mean the head was removed to do that; and a new gasket fitted??

Steer clear of old BMW's- you don't need those problems. I driven a couple of they're piles of poo (you'll get the odd exception, but it will cost more than you're willing to pay.) A friend has an early '90s one and has spent stacks of $$$ on everything from a new gearbox to a new engine! Apparently it hasn't done many kms either!?

[AussieCJ7]

EB Falcon = head gasket replacement almost every service.

And yeah, like Grimbo said, "general 4x4 Tech" ?????

And you have actually owned one or talking crap from I heard from so and so

Put 220,000Lkms on a EB11 4.0L complete with cam exhaust and mild head work, was looked after but was also driven damn hard not a single head gasket issue, even after overheating the sucker due to a mechanic screwing up the thermostat install

while i have heard of soeme EB11's without the problem, majority of EA, EB cars i have known have had at least one headgasket problem, and these were very popular cars amongst our family and neighbours, and among the kids i went to school with as a first car.

is it usually just the head gasket, or is the head at risk? i have heard both from different sources. would the head gasket replacement be a similar job to doing a head gasket on a toyota diesel?

Any engine particualy one with an alloy head will warp or crack if not maintained correctly (including correct torque of bolts) put this in perspective how many old falcons have done well over 200.000Klms with only minor/cheap work needed

Now how many Jap engines have done well over 200,000 klms that havent needed a full engine rebuild

Ford and Holden 6's are not the best engines in the world but they will outlast most and are by far the cheapest to repair in Australia and IMHO the fords have the edge over holden when it comes to surving high Klms (ask why the majority of taxi's are ford 6's)

It is not that hard to pick an abused car so I reckon search around find a good example falcon or commodore and they are cheap motoring, anything in the 4k price range will not be completely free of needing a bit of work

The only advantage a Jap car has is they are cheap to through the whole engine away and drop a new one in

[AussieCJ7]

If the EBII had "mild headwork" that would mean the head was removed to do that; and a new gasket fitted??

Yeah once in 220,000Klms + and it was not needed at that time

thats pretty good

most Jap engines would have needed 3 to 4 cam belts in that time based on 60-70,000klm recommended replacement for the family11 based engines that is a similar cost but had to be done 3 times

[bad_religion_au]

my only concern over EA's is that no one can corner it and say, this is what to look out for. have heard of the occasional one that has been abused without too much drama, have heard of the low milage, bought new, always serviced and driven with mechanical sympathy (next door neighbours car) that has done 3 head gaskets and a head in 200 000 k's.

we had an old Xd with an alloy head that did over 600 000 k's, and had a slight oil leak, that's it, engine is still running in another car (floor rusted right through), so any sign of unreliability in the newer models scares me a little.

those 626's are looking interesting, gotta see if mum sees it that way.
how do the early/ mid 626's stack up reliability wise? just narrowing down the field.

the 626 that my room mate just blew up was nice to drive, except every time i drove it it blew the indicator fuse, never did for anyone else...

[RaginRover]

those 626's are looking interesting, gotta see if mum sees it that way.
how do the early/ mid 626's stack up reliability wise? just narrowing down the field.

the 626 that my room mate just blew up was nice to drive, except every time i drove it it blew the indicator fuse, never did for anyone else...

83 - 87 was a 1998cc carby - only get a superdelux (electric everything - very reliable) drive well, do well over 200K, all parts are the wreckers
literally - watch for rust in the tailgate/hatch below the window seal and around the fuel filler. They can break engine mounts and tear cv boot seals - both simple to fix. Front wheel bearings are a bitch because the ususally weld themselves in and it is easier to buy another hub and change the bearings in that and slap it on.


after 87 2.2L EFI Good car - very similar - never had a huge amount to do with these, service a couple now and again - very similar cars

Engine SOHC 12 valve 4 cyl. 2.2 litre EGI. 5 speed manual (std.), 4 speed ECAT (opt.). Optional Turbo engine on Hatchback. Facelift model with new grille and wheel covers. Optional 100Kw Turbo engine on Hatchback.

Tom

[Bitsamissin]

Well let me tell you about Rovers

If you go the Smegma make sure it is an 88 onwards they changed the block castings late in 87 which stopped the dreaded cracking problem.
Get a 5sp (KM210) which are way better than the 4sp auto.
Obviously go the EFI 2.6 and don't even think about the carb version.
Check timing chain adjustment as they can get rattly and run out of adjustment and slowly disentegrate.
My missus had a 88 TN wagon 2.6 EFI 5sp until she stacked it I did all the servicing myself and it had 260,000K's on it until then the timing chain was rattly and needed a replacement. I was just about to start buying the bits when she rode it off. She has a 97 TH Magna now 3.0 V6 which is a vastly superior car in every regard.