Sick 02 and thoughts on R50 vs R51

[saskapath]

My 2002 has used oil at an amazing rate since I bought it used 4 years ago. The burn rate is approx 1 quart per 500 miles. Needless to say the cats are throwing codes and at times there is a amount of smoke. A couple of weeks ago it developed a miss in cylinder #4. I have had a new set of plugs for it for quite some time so finally took the time to replace them. 5 of the 6 old plugs were worn like you would expect for having been run for a long long time but nothing out of the ordinary. The plug from #4 however was coated in carbon and dripping wet with oil. Obviously something terminally wrong in there and likely where all the oil is going. I'm thinking either rings or valve seals, both of which are beyond what I want to try and do anything about. If the body was in better shape I'd think about swapping in a different engine but this one is starting to rust badly over the rear wheels so sadly I think this pathy and I are going to part ways.

The strange thing is that after replacing the plugs the miss is gone and you wouldn't really notice anything wrong with the engine. Runs smoothly, no noise, starts fine etc.

I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts on how the R51 compares as a replacement? Are they better or worse on gas? What are the items to watch for in a used one?

Thanks in advance!

[barnaclebob]

My brother just replaced his 2006 R51 that had about 150k on it with a 2012 with 70k on it because he hit a deer which messed up the bumper and caused a power steering or transmission fluid leak. That combined with several other small issues meant it wasn't worth fixing.

They seem to be pretty good and reliable as long as you make sure it is after the radiator recall period. The early years had an issue that would cause the transmission fluid to mix with coolant in the radiator and fry the transmission. That stigma along with questionable styling (I don't mind it, wife hates it), along with old technology really kills their resale value but that good for anyone looking to buy one.