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The Quad 4 - READ ONLY

17 messages,  Last post on May 21, 2003 at 7:29 PM

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Grand Am, Engine

Messages Page 2 of 2

#8 of 17 all i am saying... by ziegman

May 19, 2003 (6:47 am)

i am not saying it is a big deal. i just don't wanna get a car with a problem like this and have nothing but problems with. my cousin bought a 97 acura and it blew a head gasket, he ended up paying a little more than $2000 on it. sure it is a foreign but a head gasket is a head gasket and it will cost money.

#9 of 17 Well... by isellhondas

May 19, 2003 (7:26 am)

When you find a make or model that won't ever have a problem after 96,000 miles, please let the rest of us know what it it!
 
My point was...today's cars are pretty reliable compared to what they used to be.

#10 of 17 there prob aren't any by ziegman

May 19, 2003 (8:57 pm)

there probably aren't any cars after 69k that won't have problems. but the best way to go about buying a car is to be informed about the car and the problems it can have. i don't know if you remember the 305 IROC that came with the camaro in the late 80's but that thing was a piece. at 100k it was done. so people would sell them at 95k to a person who knew nothing about it. well a little while later the engine stops working so well and they find out that the engine is shot. i am not asking for a perfect car when it is used but i would like one that isn't going to be a pain in the ass all the time

#11 of 17 by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 20, 2003 (7:59 am)

I remember hearing stories that the Quad 4 was characteristically a rough engine, that is, vibrated a lot, etc. Is that true or just a car mag's one-time complaint?

#12 of 17 by wain

May 20, 2003 (5:25 pm)

wonder how much GM tested that engine before they released it?

#13 of 17 The problem nowadays though... by andre1969

May 21, 2003 (5:55 am)

is that when something breaks, it's a big hassle to fix. Head gaskets didn't used to blow out that frequently, unless you neglected the engine, and if they did, it was usually just because of the gasket. The head was usually still fine.
 
It's one thing for a head gasket to blow, and only have to pay a few hundred bucks, or even $700 or so. That's no big deal. But when you start getting into the thousands or, worse, needing a whole new engine, then we have a problem! A guy at work recently had the head gasket in his '98 Windstall blow. Took out the whole engine, and it was something like $5,000 to replace!

#14 of 17 by mullins87

May 21, 2003 (6:40 am)

My girlfriend at the time, she's now my wife, has owned two of them. The first one was a '90 Grand Am. That car didn't last very long as it was smashed in a wreck at only 4,500 miles. I do remember it running extremely high oil pressure at anything over 2k rpms. The second one, a '91 Grand Am, was ok for 55k miles. It blew a head gasket. Luckily for us, GM had an extended 60k warranty on that part. Funny thing, it took a non-Pontiac dealership service manager to tell us that, we had no idea it was covered. We traded it in at 67k miles. Both engines were rather "raspy." IMO, I think they are "wound" too tight. That is a peppy little engine, but I think they hot-rodded it just a little too much at the factory at the expense of long term reliability.
 
Just my experience and $.02 - I agree with everyone else. If you buy something with that many miles on it, don't pay much, because most likely you will have some problems with it.

#15 of 17 by ziegman

May 21, 2003 (6:43 am)

it is a characteristic of the quad 4 to blow a head gasket. it has to do with different expansion rates and then you can get antifreeze in there and you can't compress antifreeze. the parts aren't what kill you to replace it only around $200 to get the parts and everything you need but almost around $1000 for labor because it can take up to 15 hours worth of work. if you have cruise and a/c it raises it because they have to reconfigure it and remove them and then replace them again. the worst part about nowadays when things break is that there is the damn computer which can either be helpful to find problems but can be a problem if it is messed up.

#16 of 17 Quad 4 Info by burdawg

May 21, 2003 (7:06 am)

For a short but good technical discussion of the variations in the quad 4 from inception, try:
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ar/ar40032.htm

#17 of 17 91 Grandam Quad by dracos95z

May 21, 2003 (7:29 pm)

I am looking to buy a 2.3lHO I was woundering if the 91 Grand Am 2.3HO came as an Auto? Does anyone know?

Messages Page 2 of 2

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