The Heartbreak of Plastic Fatigue
- Thread starter greeney
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JZiggy
Senior Member
Yes, but plastic parts near a hot engine have a rough service life. Heat cycling will embrittle them much more quickly than sitting around inside.
habanero
Senior Member
Your next junkyard run might get you some in decent shape.
There are a few bits and pieces that are failing on our 3rd gens but seeing as mine turned 23 last month I'm not complaining. Some things like grille clips and hood prop holders and retainers and the panel clips and more are still available new so that's a good thing.
If it were a like-year'd Volvo you wouldn't have an interior door pocket anywhere because they'd have all disintegrated by now.
Also hahahaha [MENTION=67251]Jungoes[/MENTION] .....farting too hard.....
There are a few bits and pieces that are failing on our 3rd gens but seeing as mine turned 23 last month I'm not complaining. Some things like grille clips and hood prop holders and retainers and the panel clips and more are still available new so that's a good thing.
If it were a like-year'd Volvo you wouldn't have an interior door pocket anywhere because they'd have all disintegrated by now.
Also hahahaha [MENTION=67251]Jungoes[/MENTION] .....farting too hard.....
Mudeprived
New member
Can't be as bad as a gm 3.8. That motor has plastic cooling system elbows attached to the engine. They have like a 90% fail rate and before 100k. Sometimes they crack and break in a way that pieces fall into the coolant chambers. My mother's monte carlo's elbows burst on Christmas day.
I don't have any plastic issues on my 99 yet but the rubber hoses are cracking at the ends.
I don't have any plastic issues on my 99 yet but the rubber hoses are cracking at the ends.
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It's true! I have 2 90s volvos and I have to be super cautious when it's time to remove trim. To be fair, the Toyotas have better plastic, but the volvos have way better steel
habanero
Senior Member
My husband's 93 and my son's 94 sure sound more satisfying when you close the doors. The 63 doesn't have much good steel left underneath, but it is a 65 year old car in the salt belt and the body's hanging in there so we'll give it a break.
badattitude
Member
I was similarly disappointed when I had the valve cover gaskets replaced by the dealer. They broke all that stuff and then the gaskets leaked again in two years. I did them myself that time and taped some of that broken/brittle plastic up while in there and felt better.
Understandable to be disappointed but those things just happen, no fault of the mechanic.
Understandable to be disappointed but those things just happen, no fault of the mechanic.
badattitude
Member
I was similarly disappointed when I had the valve cover gaskets replaced by the dealer. They broke all that stuff and then the gaskets leaked again in two years. I did them myself that time and taped some of that broken/brittle plastic up while in there and felt better.
Understandable to be disappointed but those things just happen, no fault of the mechanic.
Understandable to be disappointed but those things just happen, no fault of the mechanic.
octanejunkie
Elite Member
Yes, but they should know this and disclaim, advise you ahead of time.
FWIW, the plastic wire loom cover over my valve covers was basically disintegrated before I touched it. I replaced it with engine-bay wire loom tape when I did my VCGs. I have been harvesting engine bay plastics from the junk yards to replace mine as they break. Eventually I will need to buy new from the dealer as all the plastics in the field will fail over time.
All the newer autos these days have some kind of component made out of plastic. Plastics gases out over time and become brittle. Only way to escape this to get a new car every 2 years.
I'd rather keep my 18 yo 4R and deal with the broken plastic pieces as they come up, which is not that bad.
I'd rather keep my 18 yo 4R and deal with the broken plastic pieces as they come up, which is not that bad.
