It’s really unfair to single out any engine as one of the top worst engines of all time. A lot of circumstances can affect how an engine is viewed by the public in general. And every automaker has produced their share of duds, especially the first car diesel engines. Of course there are some engineering anomalies that managed to get into production and sold to the public for short periods of time.

The Ford Edsel is probably the most famous example of a highly touted, super futuristic, beyond imagination car, that was an flop and total embarrassment to the Ford company. Even today, it was one of the worst car disasters of all time.

I will arbitrarily choose a few of the worst engines that made the production line in the past 50 years.
1. In my time it has to be the diesel engine Generous (General) Motors made in the late’70′s. Contrary to popular belief, it was not a beefed up 5.7 liter gasoline engine. That rumor was nonsense, based on no proof. The engine was a diesel pure and simple, just a crappy design. Everything about it stunk, from the placement of the injector pump, to the questionable beefiness and the integrity of the structure of the engine.

Now that I think of it, we had a ’79 Oldsmobile Toronado with the 5.7L diesel engine. Most of you probably don’t even know what I’m speaking of. It was a luxury car. When the engine ran right, it was a wonderful car. Diesel fuel was not as plentiful then, but it was really cheap and the car got about 22 miles per gallon on the road.

We had the car for few years and the only problems we had with it were: Number one, the injector pump had to be rebuilt. Because the injector pump is located between the two cylinder heads in the engine valley, it gets very hot. Heat will damage the main internal seals in the pump and cause a failure. So, we put a pump on it, and, 2. It needed to have the transmission rebuilt, which has nothing to do with the engine at all.

Since I am a transmission man by trade, I fixed that myself.

I lost my focus there for a minute. I can’t really think of any more engines to pick on right now. For the most part I think a lot of the ”worst” engines ever made were a victim of circumstances. Meaning that some engines were in the wrong car or truck application. Lots of problems are due to lack of maintenance to every part of car owners cars. Disrespectful if you ask me.

Most people don’t have an opinion if you ask them what engine they dislike the most. I bet they have an opinion if the engine in their car had to be replaced. I bet they would say that that is the worst engine made in the last 50 years. So, If you need a replacement engine, for a 1979 Oldsmobile Toronado, or a 1995 Chevy 1500 pickup truck, trust the experts at GotEngines.com, we have an engine for sale that will soon become your favorite engine of the last 50 years. 1-888-344-8044.