Recently became interested in this make/model, and am going to go look at an '89 next week with about 100k miles. Is this 4 cyl turbo engine fairly reliable and maintenance free, or would I be better off with the V6? Not interested in speed or power, but rteliability cost to maintain and operate mpg, etc.
Thanks,
Jack
the turbo1 4cyl with auto tarans is very reliable, im not a fan of the 3.0 v6 because its usually the tranny computer than fails in them. the best performance wise is the 16v 5spd turbo but also the most work if anything breaks
Jack,
None of these cars are Camry/Accord reliable because they are approaching 25 years old! The 8V SOHC are very durable and reliable motors. The electronics are a bit prone to fail, but carry a couple spare parts and the tools to swap them out and it should never strand you. Parts for the 8V motors are dirt cheap. As cheap as any vehicle you can think of. Body parts for the vehicle itself, not nearly so cheap, but are available. Headlights, taillights, parking lights, corning lights, the stuff that breaks first when in accident, command premium dollars. Pretty much no body parts are available from Chrysler anymore, but a few vendors that deal strictly in obsolite parts, will gladly thin your wallet (lol). Hold onto your hat when requesting pricing from these guys.
The Teves anti-lock brake system is probably the most troublesome area on the TC's. Instead of a power brake booster, the TC used a hydraulic pump and accumulator in lieu of the brake booster for power assist. It also incorporated the anti-lock into the same unit. Very compact, very complex, very expensive to repair. When they fail, they can make the car pretty much undriveable. FYI- if you want to do a little web research on this system seach for Buick Reatta (remember those)? The 89 Buick Park Ave (w/anti-lock) also used the Teves system. Another chief complaint is the tops, both hardtop and softtop are prone to leaking. This can damage the floorpan if water is allowed into vehicle. Odometers are also prone to quit working. Find a TC with really low mileage and be suspicious. The speedo keeps working but the odometer stops. Replacements parts are available. Not real tough to fix, but speedo cluster removal is required.
The 8V SOHC TII was detuned from Chrysler in the TC. Chrysler was concerned about auto transmission longivity so they detuned the intercooled motor to little more output than the turbo I motor. This is easy to remedy, with vastly increased performance at no cost in fuel ecomomy. The a413 auto tranny is very basic. Three speed without a lock-up converter. Many vehicles from this era had 4 spd with lock-up. This really hurts mileage compared to a 5 spd manual transmission w/overdrive. I typically see +5-6 MPG (hwy) with a manual transmission car vs. the automatic. Much better performance with the manual too. Unfortunately the 8v SOHC was only offered with the automatic in 89. Of course you know the DOHC 16V came only with a manual transmission. These are pretty reliable, but are crazy expensive to repair because they are so rare (500 made in 89-90).
The Mitsubishi 3.0 V6 has proved to have lots of valve guide problems. This involves removing cylinder heads and machine shop repairs. They do offer reasonable performance. Mileage as you can imagine is a bit worse with the 3.0 vs the 2.2 turbo. IMO, the V-6 is probably the least sought after, but should be the cheapest to buy.
Couple forums out there. AACA, and Yahoo Chrysler TC by Maserati, as well as TC pages. Will give you more info.
Hope this helps,
Todd
Thanks for the information. Very helpful!
Jack
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