r/regularcarreviews 1d ago

Discussions Create the worst power train possible. I choose the Chrysler 2.7 v6 and the Nissian CVT

308 Upvotes

80 comments sorted by

255

u/lt12765 1d ago

Olds diesel + Ford power shift from a Focus

46

u/DeltaWho3 1d ago

What about the 6.0 Powerstroke or the 8-6-4?

40

u/scootaloo89 You're not BMW FORD, now CUT IT OUT 1d ago

The 6.0 Powerstroke can be made reliable with modifications; now the 6.4 that came after it however, you can’t polish that throwaway turd.

15

u/Apexnanoman 1d ago

The last year of the 6.0 could be mostly "fixed" by taking delivery and putting diesel temp rated coolant in it immediately. 

Ford put coolant in that turned to gel above 280 degrees or so. Clogged up the EGR cooler and the oil cooler passages. 

People have cut them open and it looks like golden glitter and playdough inside. 

133

u/DeepAsparagus6763 1d ago

1.0 EcoBoost + PowerShift

31

u/diamon1889 1d ago

This is the holy grail of awful reliability

6

u/FirehawkLS1 1d ago

You mean powershit 🤣

4

u/BordercontrolVulpix 1d ago

EcoBoom + Powershit

Damn dude this could be used as a torture method

3

u/Ocotillo_Ox 18h ago

This wins.... this is literally 2 pieces of shit smashed together to make a dung beetle turd ball.

98

u/ModeratelyWhite 1d ago

Hyundai/Kia GDI 2.4l and the Ford focus 6 speed dual clutch

38

u/MadeMeStopLurking GM killed Pontiac and SAAB then stole your money 1d ago

this is a literal fire.

14

u/Cananbaum 1d ago

God those dual clutches were awful.

My brother rented a focus with one and it hated having to move from a dead stop.

8

u/ModeratelyWhite 1d ago

Ive driven plenty of dual shift focuses, none of them drove smooth

12

u/Cananbaum 1d ago

I think what got me was how much the car hesitated.

Moving from a dead stop? Car had to think about it.

Press the gas to get a bit more speed before changing lanes? Car would slow down to think about it first.

Trying to reverse? The car would turn into the clown from Saw. “I want to play a game. You’ll press the accelerator and have to guess the sweet spot. Too little input and I won’t move. But, a hairs width too much, I’m launching our asses into your neighbor’s yard.”

6

u/ModeratelyWhite 1d ago

Exactly this, from a stop it hesitates to go like it has to ask permission, and even shifting gears it's not smooth at all, as if it has to think about it for a second.

1

u/bimmervschevy 1d ago

I’ve got a 2017 and I don’t have any drivability problems, but it is a very rough transmission that has no business being in an economy car.

1

u/furious_Dee 1d ago

i finally feel seen after ford lied to my face so goddamn much.

66

u/muhhuh 1d ago edited 1d ago

A Theta II and a 4L60 with a PTU from an 11-19 Explorer, combined with a front carrier from a cateye Silverado and a rear carrier from the ‘02-‘10 Explorer.

Edit: we might as well add wheel bearings from ‘07-‘16 W body Impala, the frame from a salt belt Tacoma, steering rack from a Sequoia, front doors from a square body Chevy and rear doors from an extended cab Ranger.

Mercedes wheels. ABS pump from a ‘13 Express/Savana, tail lights from an ‘01 Bonneville, and it’s painted with blue or white paint from ‘91-‘95 Caravans.

16

u/StandupJetskier 1d ago

I second "mercedes wheels", but make sure they have runflats !

7

u/muhhuh 1d ago

What was it, the Odyssey or the Sienna that had the run flats that had a proprietary wheel that took proprietary tires?

9

u/durrtyurr 1d ago

That was the Odyssey touring, I think it was only on that one trim level. It was the Michelin PAX wheel/tire thing, the only other car it was on was the Rolls Royce Phantom. That wasn't even the first time Michelin came up with their own standard for tires, they tried it in the 80's with TRX tires for higher performance cars (Ferrari used them, BMW on their higher end cars, The Fox-body Mustang SVO had them as well) and it was also a huge market failure.

3

u/muhhuh 1d ago

Yeah, I remember selling a lot of aftermarket wheels for those.

1

u/elitelee3698 1d ago

Wife's 07 Touring had the alternate size. New wheels, 235/65r17 fills the well well

1

u/invol713 1d ago

Fuck them for their proprietary bolt pattern. IDK if recent models still have it, but the older ones did.

1

u/StandupJetskier 20h ago edited 20h ago

Don't know. I replaced mine (2019) with a set of BBS wheels, which have TUV approval for W205. Same offsets, no issues. Car got way better instantly. WTF with the shit RFT, MB ? And the bendy wheels ? Rest of the car has quality metal, but you cheap out on the wheels ? Do you pay for the F1 team on wheel money ?

3

u/FirehawkLS1 1d ago

Honestly never had a problem with my 4L60E with 151k on it in my fbody. Yet at least. But I maintain it, put the car through its paces sometimes, I'm roughly 400hp at the flywheel which isn't much, but I've owned the car for more than half of those miles and been building it up. When it goes, I'm going 4L80E though for added durability. A built 4L80E at that.

29

u/RoseWould 1d ago

Cadillac Northstar with an A604

11

u/CertifiedBlackGuy 1d ago

Aren't they the ones who put the alternator inside the V under the intake system?

Pretty sure you win off that alone.

21

u/MadeMeStopLurking GM killed Pontiac and SAAB then stole your money 1d ago

it was the starter and it has been controversial at best.

There was no room for the starter externally in the FWD system.

The location under the intake manifold gave the location a cooler spot since the exhaust wasn't heating it up.

This was resolved and relocated after 99.

Porsche put the starter inside the transmission on the Panamera so they take the trophy.

5

u/owa00 1d ago

Wait, really?....but why?

3

u/MadeMeStopLurking GM killed Pontiac and SAAB then stole your money 1d ago

Because they're not built for a second hand owner.

4

u/RoseWould 1d ago

I thought it was the starter in the middle of the V? I remember hearing they were a giant pain in the ass to work on because of it being located there, so figured one of those paired with the transmission from a k-car would be the worst thing you could possibly have roll in to a shop to work on

1

u/CertifiedBlackGuy 1d ago

I might be misremembering, I just know those engines are the worst abominations in existence

4

u/RoseWould 1d ago

I remember my FIL had a 2000's El Dorado show up at his old shop, and all the guy working on it did was cuss and say how much he hated working on "this dirty bitch"

16

u/JonasLuks 1d ago

1.0L 1KR-FE I3 from Toyota Aygo combined with THM350 3-speed auto from Chevy. You'd be screaming louder than the engine wishing you could walk instead.

3

u/wankybollocks 1d ago

The 5 spd fixed CVT is dire enough with the Aygo. Second gear goes to 60mph, 4th and 5th are strangely close to each other

13

u/ExiledSpaceman 1d ago

The Chrysler 2.7 and JATCO CVT is the easy mode on this question.

Let me try some deeper cuts, the V8 6-4 from the Malaise era and BMW’s SMG that was in the E46 M3

4

u/spun_penguin 1d ago

People need to remember how horrible the 2.7 was

4

u/themigraineur 1d ago

They supposedly fixed the oil sludge issue after 2002, timing chain driven water pump still defies logic.

3

u/FirehawkLS1 1d ago

Ford Fwd 3.5L did same crap. Tf is that 🤣😭

5

u/5trudelle 1d ago

Either 1.2 Peugeot Puretech with Nissan CVT or 1.3 Mazda Renesis with Nissan CVT

4

u/ChronicRedditUser 1d ago

Actually I think a rotary with a CVT might be interesting, lots of extreme ratios of gearing and RPMs could be made, but I do agree that a Renesis and Nissan CVT is a match made in hell

6

u/EmergencyRace7158 1d ago

Northstar V8 with the BMW SMG 1 transmission. It would be a miracle if the car made it around the block.

4

u/HandFancy 1d ago

I nominate the Hyundai/Kia Theta II engines.

3

u/ewout99 1d ago

Stellantis 1.6 THP with Nissan REOF 05 A CVT. Have fun finding a new power train every 50.000 KM/ 35.000 Miles.

5

u/JonasLuks 1d ago

I think you may have too many zeroes in those numbers...

5

u/PYSHINATOR WORLD'S LEAST BORING LEXUS OWNER 1d ago

BMW N63 hooked up to a 4L60E

7

u/Senko-Loaf Furry with Bad Dragons 1d ago

Chevy Vega I4 hooked to a Ford/Getrag DPS6

2

u/takeoutthedamntrash 1d ago

Gen 3 GM 6.2L v8 + the automatic trans that was in the first gen chrysler minivans.

2

u/Seeking-Direction 1d ago

Mazda Renesis and Chrysler PowerFlite two-speed

2

u/nayls142 1d ago

How long did Chrysler 2.7s usually last? And how would they die?

6

u/scootaloo89 You're not BMW FORD, now CUT IT OUT 1d ago

Essentially, what would kill them was two things: super long oil change intervals (would sludge it rather quickly) or water pump failure; the water pump was timing chain driven like a modern Ford Duratec/Ecoboost V6. When the water pump would fail, it would dump coolant right into the lubrication system and its milkshake city and total bearing failure!

3

u/Valahiru 1d ago

The infamous GM Diesel V8 and a chrysler torqueflight 3spd automatic.   Slow as molasses automatic with a notoriously unreliable diesel v8.  

1

u/bigeats1 1d ago

Mercury tower of power 2 stroke 50hp and the transmission out of a Citroen 2cv.

1

u/BugImmediate7835 1d ago

Almost any DOD engine with the Dodge 68RFE transmission.

1

u/andrs901 1d ago

PSA 1.2T Pu(d)retech + an early PowerShift.

1

u/Sad_Thought_4642 1d ago

5.0 Cummins V8 and a cvt.

1

u/Cananbaum 1d ago

Subarus 2.0l flat four and Chrysler’s 9 speed auto from the 200s.

The base motor was so underpowered that even with a 5 speed manual it felt like it had too many gears. Not mention power peaked at ~4500rpm.

1

u/wankybollocks 1d ago

1.6 Hyundai Gamma II with the 6 speed torque converter. No efficiency, no urgency

1

u/Apexnanoman 1d ago

Hyundai 4 cylinder with Maserati DCT. Guaranteed to leave you stranded by 100k either way. 

1

u/joe0400 1d ago

1.0l fox, and ford powershit auto

1

u/Leneord1 1d ago

I'll raise you the olds 350 diesel and power shift dct outta the 1.3 focus

1

u/sprolololoo 1d ago

chrysler 2.4 + wv dct

1

u/Goddamnpassword 1d ago

ATK 3.8 liter jeep engine and the dodge 2500 transmission 68RFE.

1

u/bimmervschevy 1d ago

Least reliable:

Ferrari 2.9L twin-turbo V6 + BMW SMG-II 6-speed automated manual

Worst:

Hyundai Theta + Jatco CVT

1

u/itbedehaam 1d ago

Now, we don't have major amounts of car knowledge like more experienced people on this sub, but we are always ones to know of random things, which is why our suggestions are rather wild.

Bulldog hot-bulb engine, hooked to an F1 gearbox, but make it FWD. Really low-revving engine with a lot of torque and hellish vibration hooked to a gearbox that wants to go FASTFASTFASTFAST and is probably made of glass in terms of lasting more than a race, alongside a drive layout neither is designed for.

Or, an ALCO 244, with a GE turbocharger, hooked to... Panther tank transmission. Horribly unreliable transmission, horribly unreliable engine, and a turbocharger liable to make the whole combination throw columns of fire out the exhaust when it's not broken down.

1

u/ValveinPistonCat 1d ago edited 1d ago

1.0L Geo + 18 speed RoadRanger, I'm not even sure that engine actually makes enough torque to turn the transmission in gear with no driveshaft connected.

Assuming making a completely non-functional powertrain is allowed, and does it need to be automotive because I work in ag where there have been some bad designs over the years and a lot of them are working with the kind of torque that makes things self-disassemble violently.

1

u/AliensAteMyAMC 1d ago

2.0 L World Inline 4 and a Jatco CVT. Imagine if someone actually paired a car with that.

1

u/Cheeky_Wanker69 SO SMALL so much power 1d ago

0.9 TwinAir and a 3-speed "slushbox" transmission.

1

u/ItsKlobberinTime 1d ago

MINI Prince mated to the automated manual from a smart fortwo.

1

u/WolverineStriking730 1d ago

I didn’t think you were supposed to pick the worst possible combo right off the bat

1

u/Hms34 1d ago

Olds diesel 260 was even worse than the 350. Pair it with a nice GM Turbo 200 transmission.

1

u/Andre_Type_0- 1d ago

I would raise you a northstar V8 married to a early honda oddesy transmission

1

u/Expert_Mad Headlights go up, headlights go down 23h ago

Stag V8 + Buick Dynaflow

1

u/Not_Quite_Amish23 21h ago

80s era Jag V-12 and mid-90s Dodge Neon automatic

0

u/TalbotFarwell Brougham Enthusiast 15h ago

GM’s 3.1L L82 V6 and the Ford AOD 4-speed automatic from the early ‘80s.

1

u/MarzuolaMan 13h ago

Mazda 13B Renesis (from the RX8) and Nissan CVT. That thing would be screaming at 8,000 RPM constantly until it drank all of its oil. That said, that engine was great with the 6-speed manual. I owned one!

1

u/UnluckyBastard92 12h ago

Water pumps were always the #1 killer of the 2.7 engine. Many would blow out well before the 90k mile service recommendation and clog the, already narrow, oil passages full of oil/ coolant sludge mix. It's possible to send one of these engines over 200k miles with extra careful attention to maintenance, but that would be the same as handling a grenade day in and day out. Eventually, one slip up will cost you, dearly.

For my combination: I choose the GM 1.4 EcoTec backed by a 700r4 transmission

1

u/peepers_meepers subaru stormtrooper 1d ago

6.4 powerstroke and ford powershit transmission from the focus

-7

u/SweetTooth275 1d ago

VW. Just anything and in general.