4 cylinder engines

[bucketmouth64]

Wondering how does one know if a vehicle has a good 4 cylinder engine? I've heard some engines whine when accelerating. Is this normal for 4 cylinders? What liter size should I stay away from? I am looking for one that has some zip (non-turbo). Do I look at horsepower, special engine features (for example dual overhead cams, no idea what this means).

[Scott K]

DOHC= 2 cams instead of one, more power! What model and year are you most interested in. There are many 4 cyl out there, to many to coment on!

[Jeremy airjer W]

Depends on the manufacturer, size of the car, new or used?

The best for cylinders in my opinion are in no particular order

1. Suburu, new and old

2. Any Honda vtech - lots of fun to drive, very dependable!

3. Saturn 1.9 DOHC found in the SL2's, Very fun to drive, very simple cars, easy to work on.

4. Toyota 1.8 liter found in the Corolla, Another very dependable motor and vehicle!!

5. New GM 2.2 ecotech, So far it seems to be a pretty good.

[bucketmouth64]

Looking at vehicles the size of calibers, focus, vibe. I am just trying to get an idea what things in a 4 cylinder engine I should look for. For example, if I find three vehicles I like what should I be comparing engine wise other than how many liters it is. Does the higher liter mean a better engine?

[Pooh]

i was told by a chevy mechaninc to stay away from the GM 4s. (he wasnt talking this eco-tech it he didnt knw much about that yet) if that helps. why a 4 my fiances malibu with the v6 does good on gas if thats what your looking for

[Jeremy airjer W]

The Pontiac vibe depending on the model year will have either a 1.8 or a 2.4 liter built by Toyota. Actually the whole car is built by Toyota. The nice thing about these two engines is that both of them have a timing chain not a timing belt. A timing belt will need to be serviced ruffly every 90 to 100k. A chain will practically last the life of the engine. Its not uncommon for Toyota's to still be running well after 250K!

The focus will have a timing belt. We see a lot of issues with the focuses. Tire wear is huge on some models. Broken rear springs and wheel bearings are also popular.

The Caliber 1.8 or 2.4 is a belt I think and the 2.0 is a chain. I have not serviced any of these yet!

The Liter rating is the amount of cylinder displacement using the metric system. The American counterpart used to be cubic inches. If you still think that way you can multiply liters x 60 and get a ruff idea of the cubic inches.

Liters mean nothing as manufacturer continue to evolve new technology that squeeze more and more horsepower out of smaller engines. One manufacturer might offer an engine with more liters of displacement but that engine may have considerable less horsepower/torque than another or the same manufacturers smaller engine(s). What it boils down to is just because it is bigger doesn't always mean its better!!

[bucketmouth64]

Good info. airjer. Thanks.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Something else on the focuses. We are starting to see the older models come in for A/C services. Currently Ford is on there forth update on the evap core/airbox assembly. Yes the evap core is being replaced as an entire airbox assembly to address issues that arose in Florida. Along with replacing the airbox assembly (as needed) the receiver drier has also been updated and no longer works with the stock a/c hoses so they need to be replaced when that is serviced as well. What does this mean for the customer? potentially thousands of dollars for some cold air!

[slipperybob]

I drive a Toy Celica 94. It has a 2.2 liter 4 cylinder. It also has short gear 5 spd manual, shorter cylinder stroke and wider cylinder bore. It outputs on the flywheel 135hp peak at 5800 rpm and 142 lbs torque peak at 2800 rpm. The zip in this car is its high end torque at a low rpm. Mostly city driving, a person would rarely go much over 3000 rpm, that's when I shift gear. EPA MPG 22/27 but my driving habits gets me 25/30, if I stretch it maybe 32 mpg city.

[zamboni]

Don't get a GM Quad Four.

[jwhjr]

Don't get a GM Quad Four.

I'll second that. I had one and although plugs were a breeze on it, pretty much everything else was a PIA. The starter kept going out (never did figure out what electrical gremlin was roaming through the system to take it out), and it was not fun to replace.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Don't get a GM Quad Four.

I'll second that motion! Do they still make the quad 4?

[jwhjr]

According to Wikipedia the Quad 4 was replaced in 2001 by the Ecotec.

[DTro]

I tell ya what.

I had a Beretta GTZ Quad 4 that had a 2.3 I think.

God was that car FAST!

I think that was part of the problem with these engines. The tolerances were so tight and the compression was so high, it wasn't a good engine for long term

Boy was it fun though.

100mph in 3rd gear

I miss that car

[Jeremy airjer W]

Thank god there's only two of those left on the road!

Unfortunately they show up at the shop one a month!!

[Macgyver55]

The new Ecotec motors are pretty impressive. Through rigorous testing and modifications, GM engineers have been able to pull more than 700HP and nearly 800HP out of these motors. Thats over 6 hp per cubic inch! Most of the parts needed to do it are available through GM performance parts. 500hp is attainable without major machine work. They have been dubbed "The Ultimate Import Fighter" by many racers.

Of course this isn't something that you would do with the family grocery getter, but it would be kind of fun to pull up to a new Challenger or Shelby and "school them" in a Chevy Cobalt!

[zamboni]

My Quad 4 was an Olds Achieva. I have NEVER owned a vehicle that was in the shop more than that thing. My ex-fiance had a Corsica, that was a close second place

[bucketmouth64]

Airjer, how expensive is it to have timing belt serviced? Is this something you do preventive maintenance at about 90K so it doesn't snap? I was at Ford today getting an oil change and asked about the timing belt and salesman/service guy both said many vehicles (not just ford) are going to timing belts. Even in the 6 cyl. suv/trucks. I believe my 8cyl explorer has a timing chain so I just may stick with it. Vehicle is running good. As far as cars go, I am interested in the Vibe now.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I think the opposite is true. A lot of manufacturers are going to timing chains. The 1.8 and the 2.4 liter options for the new Vibe are timing chain driven as well as the 5.7 liter in the Tundra. Honda has a timing chain on there 2.4 liter (I never saw that coming).

Timing belt cost depends a lot on the vehicle. On the low side they would start at around $300. Then you start to add water pumps, coolant flushes, accessories drive belts and components like tensioners and idler pulleys and you can be looking at over $1000. On average most timing belts run around $800.