Canada Farmer
Member
If its the 4D56 ,its origins actually go back into the mid 70's, main problem with head gaskets and cracked heads was down to heat from being turboed, timing belts were never a problem if replaced every 80,000 km and never run low on oil.The good thing about the 2.5 is when the timing belt goes - 9 out of 10 times it only needs followers as they are designed to break in the event of pistons making contact with the valves - cheap and easy fix
They will also run fine without the balancer belt, had one for years where it was not on. Bit lumpy on tick over, otherwise barely noticeable
Prone to HG's as others have said, but if caught early enough the head will not need skimming, and its not abad job to do.
Overall, they are reasonably good engines given their origins can be traced back to the late 80's