Water pump at 90,000 miles.
Windshield wiper motor at 95,000 miles.
Alternator at 130,000 miles.
Replaced driver's side axle/CV boot at 145,000 miles.
Timing belt at 151,000 miles.
Misc interior components (annoying).
Surprisingly, that's it!
Well, for starters the only reason the wiper motor failed is because I forced the wipers with about 4 inches of snow on the windshield in the dead of winter.
As for the CV boots, you need to check these regularly for cracks, especially in dry climates (I live in Colorado). I let one go and had to replace the axle. Most FWD cars are like this.
The timing belt was a real pain to replace, but I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did! The previous owner put one on at 60,000, so that's almost 100,000 miles! I've been delivering pizzas in this car and drive up in the mountains regularly (often unpaved rough roads), all of which is hell on the timing belt. As an added BONUS, this particular engine is a "non-interference" engine, so you don't even have to worry about bending the valves when the belt snaps! Follow the steps in your manual for replacement and then fire it right back up! Just keep some band-aids, rags, and beer around if you're going to do the belt yourself for the first time. And, remember to always do the water pump if you're replacing the timing belt, and vice versa.
This car is basically a Toyota Corolla, as was my 88 Chevy Nova. So, my next car will either be another Prism or a Corolla... if this car EVER dies!
I had a 1990 Geo Prizm it lasted until 258,000 miles on the original engine and transmission. The transmission is what finally went out in it.
You're mistaken, Geo Prizm and Toyoto Corollas are absolutely interference engines. http://www.alignmentandbrakesplus.com/Timing.htm.
The link you posted took me to some repair shop in Washington (???). And, I didn't see anything about timing belts. Both engines offered in the 90 Geo Prizm (4A-FE & 4A-GE) were NON-interference. Go to www.gates.com and click on "Timing Belts". Tells you all about interference vs. non-interference engines with a list of makes and models. I've even verified this with Toyota.
The link I provided works if you don't copy the period at the end. Just a habit of mine. The page has a full list of vehicles and marks which are interference. I couldn't find your reference right away, but stumbled on Gates.com's pdf file of the interference engines.
And yes, it IS listed as interference:
Prizm 1989-92 1.6L 4-Cyl. (DOHC, VIN 6) * - The star indicates an interference engine. This plain listing should be for the LSI model which is the subject of the review listed.
The difference is the GSI says it's non interference in that list: Prizm GSI 1990-92 1.6L 4-Cyl. (DOHC, VIN 5).
On the other hand, there is no consistency. Checking it's twin Toyota, they DON'T list the interference and some websites are quite sure it's NI. Why the heck do so many sources list the Geo at interference? They're the same motors, the listings make no sense. The belt part number is the same so I'll have to abide that the rule that a Toyota mechanic goes with on Toyota vehicles is true: If it's a belt, it's NI, if it's a chain, it's an interference.
I would've saved my money had I known that. One of my first repairs was the timing belt "just in case." I hate the web sometimes, answers can be impossible to chase down in some cases. I should've cross checked the Toyota info when I was looking for the interference listing of the Geo.
Yeah I know what you mean about the internet. I ran into some of the same problems during my initial research. When I tore everything apart I manually turned the crank/camshafts and found that there was still plenty of clearance. Not a FUN job to do, but it could be worse. It's good to see that Toyota has gone back to timing CHAINS on most of their '98 & up engines. The chains might not be as "smooth" running, but will generally go well past 200,000 miles.
According to the gates. com pdf file available at
http://www.gates.com/downloads/download_common.cfm?file=428-1466_web.pdf&folder=brochure
BOTH the VIN 5 (4A-GE) engine and the VIN 6 (4A-FE) engine are NON-interference.
The same goes for the listing of these same engines for Toyota Corollas. Check it out--no asterisks designating interference engines.
I am about to go on a BC to VT road trip in my 1991 Geo Prizm (VIN#6) with 109K on it. I bought it for $400 with 84K and all that has gone are the brake lines and the long exhaust pipe on the bottom. In all it cost about $200 to fix. I think there was a wheel bearing in there too. Anyways, I was about to get the timing belt done, but it looks like that won't be necessary. I have AAA and plenty of time to kill, so a breakdown wouldn't be a disaster. Thanks for verifying this model amid all the confusion of the Internet. I'm glad I looked it up before asking a mechanic.
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