Is the old 2.0L L4 FI engine reliable???

[american_revolution_2005]

I keep on admiring a 91 Sunbird LE sedan at a used car dealer in my town. It was a trade-in one owner car and it has only 128kms on it. It has been sitting there for about 6 months so the price has been lowered. They send I could have it for $200. I did the free history report on it and it turned up 0 records. It was owned by a little old lady lol. The paint is rough but the rust isn't bad. THe powertrain is in excellent condition. The car has a turn off though. The floor boards are getting soft and rotting. Can this be prevented before they open or can new floorboards be put in? The kms are legitimate as the car has a 6 digit odometer unlike the Aries. Nothing mechanical is too bad. The condition of the body isn't that great. Just paint though. How reliable is the 2.0L LF FI engine from GM. It was apparently in all of the older Cavaliers and the Cimarron. Is the 2.2L a much better engine or are they alike? I just want to know long-term reliability before I start looking deeply into it. For you guys down south, 128,000 kms is about 79,536 miles. Please tell me the major problems with this engine or with the entire car. Thanks.

[ocnblu]

The engine in the Sunbird and Skyhawk is an OHC, the Cavalier had an OHV engine, different entirely. I think the OHC engine was sourced from GM Brazil. They stuck a turbo on that engine for a couple of years.

I looked at a '91 Sunbird LE with the engine. The car had 171k miles on it. It ran ok, with a bit of a miss. You could tell it also had an oil leak recently repaired at the cam cover because they didn't clean the oil off below it completely. I ran it for about half an hour in town and on the highway and no new oil leaked.

Don't buy a car with rotten floorboards unless you want to be like Fred Flintstone.

Edited November 21, 2006 by ocnblu

[Buickfosure]

Not to make it sound bad at all but its a decent get around car good mpg but its not as peppy as I like cars to be. Some things to look out for the head gaskets on those 2.0L engines kinda are known for blown head gaskets at least in my neck of the woods. My sunbird went through one and I threw on a new head since I had it apart. But I wouldn;t worry about that it still has low mileage. Some things to look out for is next to the blower motor on the passenger side look in that little water drainage area since in mine it rusted through and it would leak under the dash and soak the carpet. Other then that I would say go for it theres not much to lose for $200 and it would make a great around the town beater and when it breaks down pop the vin and say good bye...

[american_revolution_2005]

My biggest concern are the floorboards. They haven't rotted through yet but they are getting worse than they should be. I just want to know if I can replace those or fix it beforehand. Most older cars seem to have head gasket problems anyways. That can be replaced.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

I think you can find a car a bit better than that if you wait for it. From the sound of it, the floorboards would really come back to bite you in the ass down the road. It may be only $200 bucks, but you want to make sure you get your money's worth. I'd probably give the floorboards about a year before they really start to get bad, if that. But, then again, I'm not a bodywork expert like Ocn is nor have I looked at the car.

[Buickfosure]

Well are you any good at welding or know someone that can weld somewhat good since that would be the way I would go. You get sheet metal and weld it over the rusted spots cheap to do yourself but a shop will cost some cash.

[capriceman]

Well are you any good at welding or know someone that can weld somewhat good since that would be the way I would go.  You get sheet metal and weld it over the rusted spots cheap to do yourself but a shop will cost some cash.

218087[/snapback]

be sure to epmty the gas tank and run foam tape over the gas lines before welding and grinding on the underneath of the car.

You could mig it if your good but if your god like me you can tig the whole thing so its done right.

[american_revolution_2005]

I actually know a mechanic who could do it. My friend's dad has his own shop at his house and he was replacing the floorboards in my friend's Suzuki Sidekick. He is apparently an expert at it because he used to built sheetmetal for aircraft. He said it wouldn't be much and he would be glad to help me out.