1985 AMC Eagle 258, six cylinder
Summary:
Very nice car, but the lack of power ruins it
Faults:
I had trouble getting the belt for the air conditioning and alternator to seat properly, I have had to purchase two new ones already.
The door latches tend to stick at times, most likely from lack of use as the car had been stored for a long period of time prior to purchase. One time I went around the corner and a door flew open. Also the lift gate tends to not stay up in cold weather and slowly drops other times as the car is jostled loading items in.
Another annoying problem is that the seat belts don't retract very well. This is repairable though.
The heater core leaked.
General Comments:
The car seems quite underpowered in my opinion. Accelerating up hills is impossible even with it floored, and I don't try passing because I can never overcome the car I'm trying to pass. The engine in the car is in excellent shape too, the car had low mileage when it was purchased.
The interior appointments and styling are very nice, the woodgrain is a nice touch. Slightly cramped in the back seats however. The transmission hump in the floor is huge however, making it seem small.
The exterior styling is nice and tasteful, but the car's 13" ride height and over-assisted power steering make driving it tedious. The steering is very responsive however. The driver needs to take care going into corners in this car as opposed to a passenger car.
The car is however very solidly built, much like a Volvo and the suspension is very tight, no rattles or strange noises.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 8th June, 2002
11th Nov 2002, 00:08
My Eagle, which is an '83, has adequate power. I admit it seems a bit slow from a a stop and hills can sometimes slow me down if I don't approach them right. It does fly by many of the other cars out there though, unless I'm watching my speed. I got a ticket the other day for 80 in a 65 so I've slowed down considerably.
13th Dec 2002, 22:13
The lack of power can be any number of things, but it's not that engine. It IS possible that, even with low mileage, something is stuck or worn on the engine, it happens; try running an engine flush through it next time you change the oil. Check your carb. too, give it a GOOD THOUROGH cleaning, a full rebuild, or, at very least send some cleaner through it (even clean, mine needs a little cleaner once in a while to run well, they're garbage). Most Eagles also came with gears that just aren't appropriate for them. In my opinion, only the heavy trailering package ones would be reasonable in stock configuration. Mine (not trailer package) came stock with 2.73 gears, meaning at 60mph I run at about 2200rpm that engine wants to run at about 2800rpm. I believe they did this to help gas mileage, and to compensate for the lack of overdrive in the transmission. It'll still dog down from a stop without new gears.
-Greg Z.
9th Aug 2002, 08:58
I have had three AMC Eagles, two of them station wagons and the other one a two door short wheel base version. My first one had no power. It was okay until it got to about 45 miles an hour and then it had no acceleration. And then It kept on getting worse. There would be a great deal of hesitation when accelerating and hills were a challenge for it. I retired the car because of rust issues. My next Eagle was a four cylinder, which after a few simple mods, was actually faster than the big six cylinder wagon. It climbed up hills and could gain speed as I went up them. I could even pass cars better than the first wagon. The last Eagle I bought was tons faster than the other two despite having a gear ratio of 2.35
It passed cars like nothing. One time I passed two cars and a semi in about three seconds. I think that the first car had a dead computer. The computer controls the carb and the ignition timing. If it is malfunctioning it will drastically reduce the amount of acceleration, especially after 3000 rpms. I have since then replaced the problematic computer controlled system with a much better performing parts that bypass the need for the computer.