2.3 problems?

[PontiacGA]

My friend just bought a 92 2.3 GA. He took it to someone who owns a garage to have him take a quick look and he said he hated those engine. Something about if the water pump goes out, ya have to tear the timing chain and all this off. Then he tried to say they had problems with the coils, because they are under the cover and subjected to a lot of heat. The car only has 86K on it. So, any known problems with these engines?

[Ralph]

Well the water pump you do not have to tear apart the time chain thats the 2.4. The Coils is true if he still has a black coil housing I would replace it with a white one. The heads are subject to cracking but an easy way to avoid this is to not let it over heat. Take care of the coolant levels and if the water pump is leaking fix it asap because where it is it could easily leak into the timing housing and then into the oil.

[Matt95GT]

^Correct. The water pump is easy up to and including 1995 Quads.

Additionally, the 92 SOHC head was prone to cracking, which was almost guaranteed. At this age, it has probably been at some point though. This doesn't affect the DOHC or DOHC HO though.

[Ralph]

I thought the 92 SOHC head was the worst and the 93/94 was 'ok'

[Matt95GT]

I thought the 92 SOHC head was the worst and the 93/94 was 'ok'

I sausage-fingered it. Fixed.

[Nighthawk243]

He's thinking the 2.3L Quad 4 and the 2.4L Twin Cam are the exact same engine on the water pump, which is not true.

Anyways, the 2.3L is kinda a hated engine to work on since it can be a bitch to get to certain things on it in the GA.

[nukkinfuttz]

although i am not a professional auto mechanic, and therefore have never worked on ANY import car, my opinion may be slightly biased. i have worked on most every GM FWD motor except those 3300's. All and all, I'd rather work on a quad 4.

Is the quad a bad motor? no, it just has its know failures, such as head gaskets, and rod bearing #3, and occasional timing jump. Just like any other GM engine, such as 3100 series with its LIM gasket issue, coolant burping nonsence, clogged EGR passages, etc. Every engine is a bad engine by design. Did you know auto manufactures design engines that fail? They constantly ask there engineers... "what parts NEVER fail?" If they can identify a part that never fails, they re-engineer it with an inferior part, to save money. They would work themselfs right out of a job if they didnt. Henry Ford first developed this approach, and it has stuck every since. Look it up. its a damn shame.

With that being said, I think the only reason professional mechanics "hate" quad 4's is becuase of its timing chain structure. Its radically different from any pushrod engine. all they need to do is learn a new skill set to quickly R&R this setup. I think they are lazy, not lazy to do the job, but lazy in the mind, to lazy to learn to do it, and the little tricks that make it go faster. ask around, somewhere about the age of 30ish, people just decide they are no longer going to learn anything new. What they know, is what they know, and thats just it. Im telling you. ask around. its nutz. (disclaimer: of course theres always exceptions to the rules, but in general, my argument stands)

I'll challenge anyone to a race... I bet I can change a head gasket on a quad 4 faster than you can change head gaskets on a 3xoo series motor. :)

Quads have more space in the bay with which to work in, unlike the 3x00 series, where you have to attach a come-along to the motor mounts and jack it forward so you can get your hands back on the firewall.
you can disconnect a quad downpipe from the top, unlike most 3x00's ive worked on. you must get those from the bottom.
I'd take working on quad 4's timing area over disassembling 12 pushrod/rocker assembles.
water pump is definatly a lose the battle over the 3x00 series structure. ill give ya that one.

so, from my gm fwd biased opinion, i think the quad 4 should be a mechanics dream. why would a mechanic hate a motor? they are getting paid book time no matter what they have to do that day. so, whats the problem? they would have to learn something new. i donno. it must be bad, becuase i know if i call most any shop around here and ask them to work on a quad 4, they will say NO. even the dealership. amaizing. I'll take em, forward my number please. :)

*end rant*

[Matt95GT]

^I think "book time" is most of the issue... I have a hunch the old-timer mechanics that don't want to learn DOHC timing chain setups end up running over the book time, and angrily blame the engine design.

Just to add/comment on your list...
-I still disconnect the downpipe from underneath... I find that a lot easier when you're trying to break free those crusty bolts.
-I slightly disagree about more room in the engine... the serpentine belt and timing chain area is pretty tight. Wish the engine was centered slightly more towards the drivers side.
-I hate how there are so many bolts/nuts in hard to reach places. There are so many common-failure parts that you have to remove several other unrelated things to get to. (my extensions and swivels are my most valuable tools) I don't think GM put much thought into that... especially compared to working other cars. (My Sentra is cake to reach everything)

[ENGGUY]

Funny thing, on my 96 with a 2.4, it has the same setup for water pump that my 95 does. And yes it is a 2.4. Must be a very early one.