try changing plugs in a v-8 chevy monza.you have to loosen motor mounts and jack the engine.or glowplugs on the pass side of a gm 6.5 turbo diesel.

The only V-8's I've owned were/are easy - '71 Chevy Cheyenne - '01 F250 7.3. The inline 194 ci ChevyII is by far the easiest to work on of anything I've ever owned.

__________________
Brad
1981 300TD - daily driver
1963 Chevy II
2001 F-250 7.3 Power Stroke

I vote for the venerable slant six in an A body.

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Kevin

1978 300D
1979 240D

Dodge caravan V6 spark plugs, have to be done by feel, and you of course get all scraped up and injured in the process. You have to essentially lay on the engine, and shove your whole arm up to your shoulder back behind everything to get at the plugs. NOT fun.

Now, the M103 in our new 300E....thats a dream to work on! So much room! I love it. I'd argue that its even easier to work on than the 617 since there's pretty much nothing but the exhaust on the passenger side of the motor.

All three of our cars are inline. Inline 4 in the Rav4....Inline 5 in my SD, and Inline 6 in the 300E.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I like my 90 deg Vee that my delorean engine has. makes changing the spark plugs easy.

I bet doing spark plugs on the W8/12 engines are fun

I seen a inline 8 turbodiesel, but it was for a shuttle train, sounds like a typical V8 diesel but more smoother. Just imagine what would be like in a W126 . ZOOM!!!!!!

__________________
Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

I wish they had made a higher displacement version of the 617, same engine, but everything bigger. With like a 5 liter displacement, 1 liter per cylinder. Imagine the torque on that beast! That'd be a lot more like a truck engine....

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Remove inner fender, then it's a piece of cake. As long as you change the rest, the one one under the turbo can be forgotten about



Murph
DD is a 6.5 'burb

Even inline engines can be a pain. Remember the Chevy Chevette OHC four, with it's oversized distributor caged under the AC compressor bracket, and ignition-coil buried under the intake manifold!
For me, todays really irritating car-fad is 'cab-forward' styling. Originally introduced on Chrysler's early-90s FWD cars, it has now spread to minivans, pickups, and imports. Even the inline-four on my friend's new Civic looks impossible to reach the rear or change the valve-cover gasket without unbolting part of the cowl-panel.
Except for maybe aerodynamics (and possibly the manufacturer trying to further discourage DIY repairs) this silly styling gimmick is worthless, as the cabin isn't really moved forward. Only the windsheild, aided by an extra foot or so of extended dashboard.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Ok,

The issue really is the transverse packaging. If you want to work on the Malibu you really need to put the car on a lift and pull the engine-transaxle off the car. It takes something like four bolts and the entire assembly will drop out!

I would HATE to work on one of the transverse V8 Impalas!

My favorite engines to work on were

1) 1974 Jeep 323ci six Damn thing is like a lawnmower engine in simplicity. You have to love the placement of the spark plugs, oil filter, and how easy it is to change points and adjust the carb!.

2) 1957 Chevy 283 V8 It was low inthe hood, but had acres of room around it

3) 1967 GTO Pontiac 389 V8 and 1971 Buick GS 455 V8 both were nice to work on, but the 455 was a BIG engine

4) 1981 300SD OM617 It was another Ag engine like the Jeep, but I think it was harder to work on all those hard injector lines and the stupid air cleaner.

5) 1992 Subaru 2.3 Pretty easy to get to everything except the timing belts had to go to the dealer for that one...

Engines that were crazy to work on are:

1) 1984 BMW M20 six -- too many emission and fuel injection parts. God help you if you have a vacuum leak!

2) 1999 Chevy Suburban 5.7 V8 Plugs and PCV are easy Replacing all 8 injectors because 1 failed and they cannot be done individually is a *****
Doing the oil filter is a PITA because of the position it is in right above the left front axle U-joint. You can always expect to get a nice shower of black oil down your arm when doing this and you have to install the new one by feel alone. Also forget getting a filter wrench in there. I always buy the Purolator filters with the grippy bottoms so I can take it off by hand alone.

3) 1896 300SDL OM603 Pretty easy for most things, but what a PITA to get to the ALDA and the shut off valve! That intake manifold is ridiculous

4) 1985 Ford Escort 4 banger -- pretty hard to get to the timing belt and the computers only lasted two years before giving up

5) 1963 Corvair 145CI flat six - You have to jack up the car to get to the spark plugs and balancing the two carbs was a bi-weekly treat! Oh, and don't forget to carry at least two spare fan belts for when it decides to throw one!

and the worst one...

1987 Chevy Corsica 2.8 V6 You cannot get to ANYTHING on that one. Even the oil filter was smack up against the firewall!


Wow, I have worked on some funky stuff!

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

All engines have their pain in the ass jobs, so doesnt matter which engine type in the end, gotta deal with it.

having a lift helps on some engines

__________________
1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)

Have done both through the suspension opening in the pass side inner fender. Tedious but not that bad.

RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I don't find 617's a joy to work on. Heres a list of PITA jobs on them:
-motor mounts
-oil lines
-PS pump mount (to remove head)
-turbo/intake/exhaust manifold
-turbo oil line
-turbo drain line seals
-oil separator drain line seals
-vacuum pump (leaves ALL the paper gasket behind, very difficult to scrape off due to location)
-etc, etc.

I've worked on lots of stuff and ALL have their good and bad points. If you want a real challenge come work on the Universal (marinized Kubota) diesel in my sailboat. You need to be the stature of a garden gnome to do anything.

RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I hate mercedes diesels are now V6 and aluminum alloy.I'm old school and remember the horrible Chevy Vegas.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

I went to replace a water pump on my wifes Lexus. You know its going to be tough when the first line of the instructions is :

#1-Disconnect hoses/wire harnesses & Remove Engine