Cars that are easy to work on

Definitely +1 for the Subaru on the ease-of-wrenching front. Another +1 for Subaru on the interchangeability of the parts across model and generational lines.

I like my Escorts! As I progressed through various years I noticed that they were designed to be easier to work on. My 86 EXP had a water pump fail. Due to frame rail placement, I had to pull the engine to get to the damper bolt. Then my 89 had a hole cut in the frame for access to the bolt. My 91 had a kick up in the frame that made any work in this area a breeze!! A timing belt replacement went from a 2 day ordeal to a 20 minute job that can be done in a parking lot.

Bruce

Jeep wranglers with the 4.0 straight six.

My son had a Saturn SC2 and I thought it was terrible to work on - there was no space. Seemed like it was more often thatn not easier to get to the engine bay through a fender well than the hood.

+1 on Scoobys. (except for the front cover on an H-6 VDC Outback, guess what I've got) E30s, 1G Eclipses, 6G Galants.(Add AWD, subtract maintainability!) But those are ancient.

2.2 and 2.5 liter 4 cylinder Mopars. Lebaron, Omni, Charger, Shadow/Sundance and of those 1984-1994 pre-Neon econocars.

My Shadow was so ungodly easy to work on...I fixed the timing belt, alternator, miscellaneous other problems all in my parking lot.

You could practically sit in the engine pay of my Shadow and work on the engine.

If it were not for the bad suspension, quirky looks, and FWD, I would seriously consider making a Turbo Mopar a project car. Even with those "cons" it is still very tempting.

+1 to Civics, Metros and Escorts. Interior work was especially very easy on my Escort. Seats and passive belts swapped out for upgrades on both in a few hours.

My shelby charger was not very easy to work on at all, it was a turbo though.

92dxman wrote: +1 to Civics, Metros and Escorts. Interior work was especially very easy on my Escort. Seats and passive belts swapped out for upgrades on both in a few hours.

Please help me find the info for the passive belts...

Bruce

Aircooled Volkswagen

Not a VG Maxima.

Definitely Saturns. Except for changing the oil filter.

PHeller wrote: 2.2 and 2.5 liter 4 cylinder Mopars. Lebaron, Omni, Charger, Shadow/Sundance and of those 1984-1994 pre-Neon econocars. My Shadow was so ungodly easy to work on...I fixed the timing belt, alternator, miscellaneous other problems all in my parking lot. You could practically sit in the engine pay of my Shadow and work on the engine. If it were not for the bad suspension, quirky looks, and FWD, I would seriously consider making a Turbo Mopar a project car. Even with those "cons" it is still very tempting.

I like thelooks of the Charger, Omni and Daytona. The suspension isn't that bad. It is similar to the A1 VW chassis. Heck, even the first gen CRX had a twist beam rear axle. It was typical for the times. They have MacPherson struts like most other small cars.

E30's the winner so far. Though an old Beetle pretty much takes it in terms of ease of working. So simple.

GM A/G body, B-body, D-body, X-body, and the C4 Y-body are simple ones. Fox body Mustangs are pretty easy, but a little cramped for things like exhaust and heads.

S-10s, full size pickups up through about 98 or 99, all super simple. (and dirt cheap. You can pick up alternators for $25 at the parts store)

A1 VWs are simple. Probably the most simple fuel injected car around.

MODERN cars that are easy to work on? Acura TLs are right up there.

88-00 full size Chevy trucks are a piece of cake also, especially with the inner fenderwells removed on diesels and big block trucks.

Fox Mustangs. Plenty of room under the hood, all the suspension bits and fasteners are easy to reach, no weird tools required. A few jobs are less fun, like anything involving the disassembly of the center console or installing an SN95 brake booster (ask me how I know!), but overall, they are a piece of cake.

I also have to throw in a mention of my 2000 F-150. I recently did a plug/coil change on it, a job that's reputed to be a real bear, but I didn't have much trouble. Took me 2 hours, taking my time. Much easier than a plug change on an LT1 F-body I once did.....

Tom_Spangler wrote: Much easier than a plug change on an LT1 F-body I once did.....

Just did one for a friend.

My god, the horror, the horror.

curtis73 wrote: S-10s...super simple.

You should clarify...2wd S10s are a breeze to work on. I hate working on 4x4 S10s, S10 Blazers in particular. My least favorite part on those is the bellhousing bolts. The path of least resistance is lifting the body off the frame a bit, but on most cars (especially rusty ones) that's easier said than done. Without doing that, it takes a lot of patience, a fancy socket, a loooong extension, and a bit of grunting and cussing.

Generally speaking (without getting into very specific vehicles), IMO the most wrencher friendly vehicles are Subarus, older Hondas, GMs, older VWs, and older Volvos. Again, generally speaking, all makes have some gotcha! moments.

Bryce

Tom_Spangler wrote: Much easier than a plug change on an LT1 F-body I once did.....

Having known several of those, I can say that the majority of them get traded in before anybody ever manages to replace all 8 plugs. And the congenital distributor failure that requires pulling the engine...

My E30, E36, Mk1 Rabbit and EG hatch, even though i hated the EG hatch.

ddavidv wrote: Yep, Subarus. Some stupid designs (why oh why are the brake lines attached to the struts so you have to bleed the brakes when they are changed?)

shudder my FX16 has this stupid design as well. i used a dremel to open up the brackets so i wouldn't have to go through that nonsense again.

92dxman wrote: +1 to Civics, Metros and Escorts. Interior work was especially very easy on my Escort. Seats and passive belts swapped out for upgrades on both in a few hours.

Info on passive belt swap, plz!

I will +2 to the Escort, EXCEPT: God forbid you have to change the alternator on a GT. Why the berkeley would anyone put it where it is?

Aire cooled Type 1 VW. changed an engine in 20 minutes in my driveway with minimal tools.

jmthunderbirdturbo wrote: 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbocoupe. Awesome car to work on. everything is easy to get to, and changes fast. timing belts can be done on the side of the road with 5 tools. the oil pan can come off and replace all 4 pistons without removing the engine. the head job takes all of 3 hours once youve done it once, and even for first timers its 6 at most. any idiot with a feeler gauge and some nickels can set up the valve train geometry. alternator, water pump, power steering pump and rack, a/c compressor, all easy to do with cheap hand tools. the down side: this stuff is all easy to do cause its fails repeatedly...stupid Ford. My TC is an un-proven 12 second car, and God knows i love it, will never sell it, and may very well be buried in it, but DAMN is it a POS! -J0N

+1 on TurboFords in general, HGs like J0N said take a while the first time cause you want to be careful, after you realize how easy they are, they become a few hour job. In fact I changed the headgasket on the XR4 faster than I can do an alternator job on my Cadillac, can't wait to sell it...

ddavidv wrote: Yep, Subarus. Some stupid designs (why oh why are the brake lines attached to the struts so you have to bleed the brakes when they are changed?) but nothing I've found is at all hard to get at.

Remove the clip slot the bracket and bend to get the line out. Installation is reverse of removal.

Much more than 10 years old. & I've never touched one,but when Ford introduced the Maverik wasn't ease of maintainance featured in some of the advertising?