1.3 smokes

[cal058]

I have 4 Metro 1.3's.
95 with 320,000 miles
98 with 182,000 miles
99 with 119,000 miles
00 with 202,000 miles

My question is my 95 has been used for delivering newspapers from the time it had 81,000 miles. lots of hard miles, but it does not smoke and only uses less then a 1/2 quart of oil in 3500 miles.

All my other Metros smoke quite a bit and use a fair amount of oil.

In 98 when Chevy took over, did they change something in the motor to make them not so good, or did I luck out with my 95 and just get a good motor.

Also, does any one have an idea on cost of parts to rebuild a 1.3?

Thanks

[Woodie83]

The engine was changed substantially in 98 but I doubt it was specifically to make it less reliable. :-) It was changed by putting on a head that Suzuki already was putting on the G16 engine. The reason these cars are so good is because GM had nothing to do with the design or manufacture, besides making some requests to the design team.

I've heard of people having valve seal problems, but that usually just smokes at startup and doesn't consume that much oil. Maybe your smoky engines were mistreated before you got them, without question your 320K engine is a fluke. I'd expect a four cylinder to need a rebuild between 150 and 200. An automatic transmission slashes those numbers dramatically.

[doug2060]

Yep, My 1998 1.3 has 212,000 miles and runs great but blows a big blue cloud at start up after sitting overnight. Other than that I can't tell it uses any oil and that's the only time I see smoke. I agree, it is a good thing GM stayed away from these motors. I love America and I love the older American cars but you have to admit they really made shit after the mid 90's. I bought a new Cavalier in 2002. I had it in the shop 12 times in the first year and actually put more miles on the dealerships loaner car than the Cavalier before I finally sold it. Now the big 3 don't know why they're going under...

[Hugemoth]

Classic sign of leaking valve seals. My 1.3 did the same thing after I got a defective set and several came apart. Fortunately it's not a huge job to replace the seals.

Q

Originally Posted by doug2060

Yep, My 1998 1.3 has 212,000 miles and runs great but blows a big blue cloud at start up after sitting overnight. Other than that I can't tell it uses any oil and that's the only time I see smoke. I agree, it is a good thing GM stayed away from these motors. I love America and I love the older American cars but you have to admit they really made shit after the mid 90's. I bought a new Cavalier in 2002. I had it in the shop 12 times in the first year and actually put more miles on the dealerships loaner car than the Cavalier before I finally sold it. Now the big 3 don't know why they're going under...