First, I am new to the whole j-body scene. I kind of like cavaliers but I've heard a couple horror stories about motors blowing after the 100k mile mark. Dont know what year/motor. I've looked around a bit on these forums and it seems that the 2.2 is a decent motor, but thats all i've found. I like the 95 & up cavaliers, what years had good motors & transmissions, and what years should i avoid? And how do they do with some bolt on aftermarket goodies? Or a turbo setup?
Just trying to decide if I want to buy one or not. And prepare myself for what repairs they may need.
Thanks
Just don't buy one with the 2.4, and you'll be fine.
The engines and trans in these cars hold up quite good-well past 100k....
The body itself? Not so well, or the interior......
There is a decent amount of stuff out there, anywhere from supply guys like Karo to a few things you could buy at AutoZone.
(though I would go with the guys on this site)
It also depends on what you want to do with your car-add on or build up.....
The Ecotec Engine (02-05) is a lot of fun with a turbo or s/c'd.......
Overall, if you can get past the interior/body issues, like the look, they are a pretty good car....
Motors blowing after the 100k mile mark? lol. My 99 Sunfire (2.2 ohv) has over 130k miles and has never given me much trouble. In my opinion Jbodies are very reliable cars.
Dave Z wrote:Just don't buy one with the 2.4, and you'll be fine.
*sigh*
177,600 miles, completely original parts. 7 PSI.
2001 Olds Alero (LD9)
650 whp / 543 ft-lb
@turboalero
99 sunfire 2.2/3spd new-115K miles...o2 sensor and battery
04 cavi ls sport eco/auto...new-104K miles...nothing gone wrong at all
99 malibu 2.4/auto poorly maintained (mother in law) till 115K miles...now at 133K...runs great
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That could help.Aside from the few here and there that had a bit of problems they are great cars.I had a jbody,my sister has one,my cousin had a Z24(got hit) and now has a sunfire.I know a few guys with one that are running great.I almost just bought one with 147k on it but someone else got to it before me.
Right now i'm contemplating a 2.2 with 115k.Many of these cars run well into the 160k range on miles if you take care of it properly
Rememeber kids... spell check is your friend
So what years had the 2.2? And what years had the 2.4?
Thanks for the info, its changed my opinions on GM 4 bangers. I had previoulsy only heard good things about the eco, but I'm kind of leaning towards something older than 02 just for pricing, and this has made me a little more comfortable with doing that.
[ion wrote: C2]Dave Z wrote:Just don't buy one with the 2.4, and you'll be fine.
*sigh*
177,600 miles, completely original parts. 7 PSI.
*nods*
That's beacuse you know how to take care of it...
I BEAT THE @!#$ out of my 2.4, and i have never had a problem. Regular maintainence and such, but nothing at all too expensive or time consuming to fix.
My odo has 100k on it now, and ill let you know if it breaks anytime soon.
I'm back from the dead.
Currently Driving: RSX Type-S.
My Cavalier Burnt up :-(
Shifted wrote:2.4's were available from 96-02
2.2 OHV were available from 95-02
2.2 Eco was available from 02-05
Ok. So after looking at MSN autos it looks like the z24s were the only ones with the 2.4. Is that correct? And I saw something on there where they mentioned a 2.3. was that a type-O? Or is there a 2.3 also?
my 98 z24 has 145,000 on the clock and I beat the living hell out of that thing, and the motor purrs like BRAND NEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2000 Z24 (2.4) with close to 126,000 miles on it. I've never had anything worse than an O2 sensor with the engine, and that happened when the car was still under warranty. Other than that it has just been normal maintenance stuff (oil changes, belt, spark plugs, etc) It still runs great. I've owned it since it had 3039 miles on it.
Shifted wrote:No, you could order base models with the 2.4's.
The 2.3 only came in 95, and was only available as an automatic.
The 2.3 came in a manual as well. A friend of mine had a 95 Z24 and thats what it came with.
Meanwhile the 2.2 is a pretty reliable motor. My 98 has 202,xxx on it and runs like its 5 years old...not new but pretty good.
Shifted wrote:No, you could order base models with the 2.4's.
The 2.3 only came in 95, and was only available as an automatic.
:squint:
Cavalier LS sedans and convertibles could have been optioned with the 2.4L, as well as base Sunfire coupes. Base Cavalier coupes were all 2.2 OHVs.
The 1995 2.3L was most certainly available in a manual, and around half of the 1995 2.3L 5Ms were OBD-I to boot. (LG0 drop in.....mmmmm
)
C'mon Ron, you slipping on us?
1989 Z24 Convertible - Dust Covered
2006 tC - Dust Covered, but driven more
i got a 98 z24 2.4, 5spd with 144k on it and it's still runnin like a champ. ive replaced the motor once but that was strictly by choice
im 100% sure that my old engine would still be running fine right now. hell it wasn't even sludged up after 132k. so yeah id say theyre
pretty reliable. the only down fall to em is the interiors are @!#$. theyre too fragile.
Engines:
The 2200 is arguably the most reliable motor offered in the J body. Aside from some head gasket issues in the mid 90's that were quickly addressed, the 2200 doesn't have any known issues or defects. I have two of these motors, one is ten years old with 99K mi, the other is six years old with 116K mi. Both run smoothly and start easily. With good maintenance, they'll last damn near forever. If you want a motor that's cheap to buy, cheap to run, decent on gas and very reliable the 2200 is great. If you care about power, pick something else.
The 2.4/Z24 motor suffers from lubrication issues and spinning bearings seems to be fairly common.
The ECOTEC is more powerful than the 2200, and more efficient than both motors above. It's been around for about 5 years, and so far, it seems very reliable.
Transmissions:
3 speed auto: It's slow and the fuel economy sucks, but it seems pretty strong.
4 speed auto: Better than the three speed, has TC lockup and better ratios so fuel economy can be good, even excellent on the highway. The same transmission was used in midsize GMs, so it's obviously overbuilt for the J body.
5 speed Isuzu: Used in the earlier cars.
5 speed Getrag: Used in the later cars. Takes automatic transmission fluid. People seem to prefer it over the Isuzu.
2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd
ZlineDavid wrote:Shifted wrote:No, you could order base models with the 2.4's.
The 2.3 only came in 95, and was only available as an automatic.
:squint:
Cavalier LS sedans and convertibles could have been optioned with the 2.4L, as well as base Sunfire coupes. Base Cavalier coupes were all 2.2 OHVs.
The 1995 2.3L was most certainly available in a manual, and around half of the 1995 2.3L 5Ms were OBD-I to boot. (LG0 drop in.....mmmmm )
C'mon Ron, you slipping on us?
I always mix up the auto or manual on the 95 2.3...
And by "base model" I meant non-Z24 and non-GT models, convertibles were included in my "base model" group. But there are cavalier base coupes with 2.4's. and convertibles with 2.2's.
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Buy stuff from CarCustoms Ebay! Won't be disappointed!
Solid Snake wrote:
Aside from some head gasket issues in the mid 90's that were quickly addressed, the 2200 doesn't have any known issues or defects...
...
The 2.4/Z24 motor suffers from lubrication issues and spinning bearings seems to be fairly common.
...
5 speed Isuzu: Used in the earlier cars.
5 speed Getrag: Used in the later cars. Takes automatic transmission fluid. People seem to prefer it over the Isuzu.
What years were the headgasket issues?
With a 2.4, would synthetic oil help? Or are there any ways to help better lube it? And what exactly does it mean to "spin bearings'? Is that reffering to the crank bearings failing?
What years had the Isuzu trannys & the Getrags? Why do people prefer Getrags?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^You my friend, were fed MIS-INFORMATION!!!!! DO NOT believe what people tell you, people have had just as many issuses with the getrag trans as the isuzu trans.The 2.4 DOES NOT have a headgasket issue, people are confusing the 2.4 with the older QUADS, and the 2.4 is technically not a quad four.
Quote:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^You my friend, were fed MIS-INFORMATION!!!!! DO NOT believe what people tell you, people have had just as many issuses with the getrag trans as the isuzu trans.The 2.4 DOES NOT have a headgasket issue, people are confusing the 2.4 with the older QUADS, and the 2.4 is technically not a quad four.
" 10PSI OF BOOST A DAY, TO KEEP THE RICERS AWAY..."
If you read my post, you'll see that I made no comments about the reliability of the manuals, just that people around here SEEM to prefer the Getrag based on feel. Also, the fact that it takes plain old ATF is nice. I don't think you'll find too many people here who like the Isuzu better. Most "issues" from manual transmissions (specific synchros going out) are due to abuse from ignorant drivers. I believe the Getrags replaced the Isuzus in 2000.
Also, I never said the 2.4 had head gasket issues, I said the early base engines did, which were actually the 2.2, not 2200. A 2200 motor built in the last ten years should be perfectly reliable if it was maintained properly, but like I said before, if you're looking for speed, look elsewhere.
From what the Z24 guys say, the 2.4 has a habit of spinning a specific rod bearing. It starts as a ticking or knocking and gets worse. Keeping an eye on the oil level is very important on that motor, and even overfilling a bit might be wise. There have also been reports of the oil pump failing to maintain pressure near redline due to a design flaw. Do a search on this bearing issue to find out more. More than a few of these things have self destructed.
2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd
CrAzY Z24 wrote:The 2.4 DOES NOT have a headgasket issue, people are confusing the 2.4 with the older QUADS, and the 2.4 is technically not a quad four.
Define "quad four". Whats the difference between that and other GM 4's? Were the quads just for a couple years or what?
