Chevrolet Citation
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Chevrolet Citation
Does anybody remember the Chevrolet Citation, Oldsmobile Omega, Pontiac Phoenix and Buick Skylark from the early 1980's, I hear that they have the worst reliability records in automotive history, especially the 1980-81 models.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
We had an '82 or '82 pheonix that had the iron duke motor (pontiac 2.5 4 banger) it finally got sold when the tranny started to slip with over 200k on it...... The only thing we ever did to it was a set of lifters, a whole whopping $14......
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I hear that the Iron Duke engines were more reliable than the 2.8 sixes, those were troubleprone.
Originally Posted by pfogle
We had an '82 or '82 pheonix that had the iron duke motor (pontiac 2.5 4 banger) it finally got sold when the tranny started to slip with over 200k on it...... The only thing we ever did to it was a set of lifters, a whole whopping $14......
Post Fiend
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From: Eastern WA
I drove those cars when they were new and at the time, given the technology, they were decent running cars. As for reliability, how about the GM 350 diesels, the Fiero 4 cyl, the Caddy V4-6-8, mid 80's chevy truck with 4 spd OD tranny (guaranteed to fail, just a matter of when).
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From: Metro Detroit
My uncle has/had several Citations he uses on his mail route. All of them went 300,000+ with only brakes, tires, oil, and gas. Down to 1 or 2 right now. I have much respect for the Duke. The earlier 2.8's were known for eating up the rear main seal around 80 to 100k. The one in my 93 s-10 was enough for a 20 over speeding ticket (90 in a 70...not any more) and knocked out 30 mpg at 70 mph. Didn't burn any oil when I sold it with 150k on the clock.
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Never owned one, but I do have a funny Citation story. Back in the late 80's, I worked at a gas station as a full-serve attendant. One of our customers was the local PA State Police Barracks.
Guess what one of their un-marked cars was?
Yep! A gold, 4-door Citation. Fully equipped with radio, and removable light. Funniest car I've ever seen.
Guess what one of their un-marked cars was?
Yep! A gold, 4-door Citation. Fully equipped with radio, and removable light. Funniest car I've ever seen.
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From: Northern PA
They had a safety recall for a faulty/improper rear brake proportioning switch. People were having accidents because the rear wheels were locking up in hard stops.
Other than that, they seemed to be fairly reliable, nondescript cars. Hmm, describes most of Detroit's 80's offerings. Iron Duke was a good motor.
Other than that, they seemed to be fairly reliable, nondescript cars. Hmm, describes most of Detroit's 80's offerings. Iron Duke was a good motor.
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I hear that the Citation's were really popular back in the early 1980's, there is one parked a couple blocks north of where I live and it seems to be in decent condition, are the transmissions automatics or manuals? The Iron Dukes are pretty good motors.
Originally Posted by Lectrocuted
My uncle has/had several Citations he uses on his mail route. All of them went 300,000+ with only brakes, tires, oil, and gas. Down to 1 or 2 right now. I have much respect for the Duke. The earlier 2.8's were known for eating up the rear main seal around 80 to 100k. The one in my 93 s-10 was enough for a 20 over speeding ticket (90 in a 70...not any more) and knocked out 30 mpg at 70 mph. Didn't burn any oil when I sold it with 150k on the clock.
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I remember the 350 Diesels, those were troubleprone, same thing with the Cadillac V-4-6-8 engines, how good were the 2.8 Liter V6 engines?
Originally Posted by CowboyBilly9Mile
I drove those cars when they were new and at the time, given the technology, they were decent running cars. As for reliability, how about the GM 350 diesels, the Fiero 4 cyl, the Caddy V4-6-8, mid 80's chevy truck with 4 spd OD tranny (guaranteed to fail, just a matter of when).
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From: Tampa Bay, FL USA
We had an '81 Skylark that was one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. Sold it at 120,000 miles and all I ever had to replace was one fuel pump. The guy I sold it to was still driving it at 200,000 miles! Typical GM, though- the early models were known for problems, but once they got the bugs worked out the reputation caught up with it and then they couldn't give them away.
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Was the '81 Skylark an automatic or a 4 speed? My guess is that it's an automatic, you don't see too many early to mid 80's Buick Skylark's and Oldsmobile Omega's around anymore, was the engine a 4 cylinder or a V6? The Skylark was Buick's first front wheel drive car.
Originally Posted by 1956MarkII
We had an '81 Skylark that was one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. Sold it at 120,000 miles and all I ever had to replace was one fuel pump. The guy I sold it to was still driving it at 200,000 miles! Typical GM, though- the early models were known for problems, but once they got the bugs worked out the reputation caught up with it and then they couldn't give them away.
Hotshot
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From: Marengo, Iowa
they were available with 4 speeds behind the 2.8, don't know about the 2.5. The 2.5 is the early version of the tech 4, not really the Iron Duke, it wasn't overhead cammed. It shared the same cubes, but that was about it. I had an 80 that had been parked due to a bad radiator, sitting in the field for 3 years just dropped a battery in it and a little gas down the carb and it ran just fine. I ran it out of desperation, I had to have wheels, it was cheap and available. It got around 21 mpg with an automatic, wasn't too bad a driver, other than being completely fugly. It had some bodywork done to it, and after sitting that long, it really showed. The X-11 was the "high performance" version, with the hood scoops and all, which had the V-6 and manual transaxle. Kinda neat looking at the time, but still basically ugly.
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From: Willis, Texas
jeez...no one here is brave enough to mention the nastiest of the nasties?
How 'bout a 'vette?
Chevette, that is.
I remember getting a lot of them in and having to put aftermarket A/C's in them....almost like the air conditioning in the super-beetles...if you were getting onto the freeway, you had to turn it off. lol
DB
How 'bout a 'vette?
Chevette, that is.
I remember getting a lot of them in and having to put aftermarket A/C's in them....almost like the air conditioning in the super-beetles...if you were getting onto the freeway, you had to turn it off. lolDB
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Originally Posted by Dariand1
Does anybody remember the Chevrolet Citation, Oldsmobile Omega, Pontiac Phoenix and Buick Skylark from the early 1980's?
