I am looking at getting a second generation cav for commuting and have read some about these cars having a lot of head gasket problems. Are there good years and bad years?
I never had a problem with mine. I guess its more about how you treat your motor as opposed to how long you've had it. If the guy's beaten the hell out of the motor, then you're probably going to have problems. If not, you should be fine. If you're mechanically inclined, there's no reason you can't just pre-emptively swap in some new head gaskets...but if its a 3.1 make sure they don't give you some 2.8 gaskets. Very important.
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1997 Cavalier Z24
1992 Cavalier Z24 - *RIP*
"I consistently feel like something's missing out of the new cavvy. I'm pretty sure its 2 cylinders."
Do all 2.2 engines have an aluminum head on a steel block?
2.0 and 2.2 both have the head gasket problem. They all go bad around 160k-200k miles, so i wouldn't call it a "problem" you will only have to change the gasket maybe once in the cars life. The problem is caused by a water jacket that runs really close to the edge of the gasket on the corner closest to the battery.
Yes they are all aluminum head/iron block, 1.8, 2.0,2.2, 2200, are all the same engine design just slight changes.
