Ok now let's talk about the worst you had to deal with. Not a bad engine. But a horriable design/maint. I'll start to give ya an idea.

4- Saab. 900 or some shit. Belts. All I can say is wtf. The fucking engine is in the car backwards? Maybe its just me.......

6- 3.1 Corsica. (Sorry Sam). Anything on the backside of the engine. I did a head gasket job. If I could find that engineer.....

8- LT1 94 Z28. Oh god where do I start. Install long tube headers, thoughts of suicide. Change plugs, thoughts of homicide. Change wires, thoughts of genocide.

So what ya got?

4 - anything front wheel drive, with a timing belt. Getting to anything under a manifold that is on the firewall side of the engine, is a pain in the ass. Timing belt and water pump jobs are frikin ridiculous with all the stuff you have to remove just to get to the parts, all within an inch or so of the fender wall.

6 - Nissan 300zx VG30DE(TT). One of the nicest Nissan V6's ever made in my opinion. Hands down the worst V6 engine ive ever had to work on. Ive rebuilt 2 VG30DE out of 300zx's, and on the second rebuild, i just got rid of the car because they are a fucking nightmare with 1 billion pieces to the engine.

Im sort of shooting myself in the mouth here by currently doing a VG30DETT swap into a 1990 n/a 300zx. Im an idiot that likes to go through hell.

8 - 351w in my 99 Expedition. The fucking spark plug holes in the heads only have 4 threads, and Ford refused to acknowledge and fix the problem. Spark plugs can blow out of the head under normal operation, taking the threads with them. The cost to fix is $$$. Not to mention all the fucking pain in the ass coil-over-packs and position of the plugs down in the holes and the low firewall that make it an 8 hour tune up job. I still love the truck though.

BTW jeepdave. I did MAC headers on a 94 Z28 and it wasnt that bad. I think our biggest problem was deciding WTF to do when we couldnt hook the EGR back up. I believe we stuck a bolt in the hole, lol.

These were cheap and ill fitting design. Still tight. Lol last thing I put headers on before that was 76 Camaro.

4- Ford Zetec as found in Ford Contour/Mercury Mistake. Just. Plain. Shit. Generally when they stop running, if you pull a plug out to check compression, you get blasted with coolant.

6- Ford Duratec 2.5... as found in Contour/Mistake/Mazda MPV. FUUUUUUCK. Remove engine to do any service or replace any accessories. Thanks.

The 4.3 in the Astro van should get an honorable mention here too... good motor, pain in the ass to do anything on.

8- A TBI 454 jammed in a '91 Winnebago. Nothing against the engine itself, but christ, what a horror show to work on. Ended up having to yank the engine out of the Winnie through the driver's door, since there was no hood, and the engine sat about 4 feet back in the vehicle. Engine removal is also required to replace the rad. We replaced the rad while the engine was being rebuilt JUST IN CASE...

I have tiny girl hands so I really don't mind doing stuff on the GM V6s... plugs and stuff are super easy with the car on the hoist.

4 cyl on Ford Escape - have to remove drive axle to do the alternator

Duratec 2.5 in the Escape is the same deal. Plus every bolt generally breaks on the alternator mount.

Modular ford and the stupid spark plugs on a 3v engines.

Posted by Xanadu Modular ford and the stupid spark plugs on a 3v engines.

4.6L Ford... the heater line runs through the intake.
duh

Here's a really stupid one:

early 90's big 4 cylinders (2.5L K engine I think?) in the Caravan. Various hoses running near hot spots on the engine. My mom's van ('92 Voyager) had new hoses running to and from the AC every summer.

Edit: Details.

my father had an 83 j2000, the main cable out of the alternator was attached to the valve cover with a small metal clip. of course clip rots, cable falls on exhaust manifold, insulation burns, shorts to the manifold, car stops..........in the middle of the jersey turnpike on a family vacation.

Posted by nostra-YOUPPI! my father had an 83 j2000, the main cable out of the alternator was attached to the valve cover with a small metal clip. of course clip rots, cable falls on exhaust manifold, insulation burns, shorts to the manifold, car stops..........in the middle of the jersey turnpike on a family vacation.

Sounds like an episode of Married With Children.