Jeep 4.0, especially the first 4 years(1987 thru 1990), GM 350, Toyota 20R, Subaru 1.8, Ford 300 All get my vote because Ive driven the heck outta them all.
Most Reliable Engine(s) Ever Made - Poll
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Originally Posted By: artificialist
There are so many great Nissan engines, I have a simple explanation:
Anything made before 1995 was good, and certain engines made afterward were good too. After 1995, the Nissan Sentra had various problem engines, and the Nissan VG33 variants was often a problem. The fact that the VG33 was often a problem bothers me because the VG30 variants were rock solid as long as the timing belt was replaced when due. The QR25 engine burned far too much oil.
Sentra four poppers are well known for having the pre-cats disintegrate and get drawn back into the cylinders causing excessive oil consumption. Not really the engines fault, and easily avoidable by installing an aftermarket y pipe with no pre-cats.
The VQ30DE/K was in Wards top ten for every year of its production, but I am biased at 294,000 miles.
There are so many great Nissan engines, I have a simple explanation:
Anything made before 1995 was good, and certain engines made afterward were good too. After 1995, the Nissan Sentra had various problem engines, and the Nissan VG33 variants was often a problem. The fact that the VG33 was often a problem bothers me because the VG30 variants were rock solid as long as the timing belt was replaced when due. The QR25 engine burned far too much oil.
Sentra four poppers are well known for having the pre-cats disintegrate and get drawn back into the cylinders causing excessive oil consumption. Not really the engines fault, and easily avoidable by installing an aftermarket y pipe with no pre-cats.
The VQ30DE/K was in Wards top ten for every year of its production, but I am biased at 294,000 miles.
the more conservative design the more reliable, if a 3.0 generates 150hp then it is reliable.
if a 2.0 generates 250hp, then it is pretty stressed.
if a 2.0 generates 250hp, then it is pretty stressed.
Nissan KA24- my dad bought a new truck in 93 with that motor, drove it 200+k miles before it taught me and my brother to drive, still had the original clutch and all! Only died cause my brother wrecked it 3 times!!
Nissan SR20DE- my wifes first car was a sentra SER it had well over 230k miles and ran hard every day! Still ran beautiful the day we sold it and didn't lose a drop of oil.
Ford 302- abused so many in my mustangs over the years, ran the pi$$ outta them and watched all my buddies do it too! Couldn't kill them things unless you were dumb like me and spray them with a 150 shot of N2o and 150k miles on the stock bottom end...
Ford 4.6 and 5.4 2V- just bullet proof! The one in my 01 F150 has 213k miles and has never had anything done to it except one coil pack and a set of plugs. Does not lose ONE drop of oil between OCI's...
Nissan SR20DE- my wifes first car was a sentra SER it had well over 230k miles and ran hard every day! Still ran beautiful the day we sold it and didn't lose a drop of oil.
Ford 302- abused so many in my mustangs over the years, ran the pi$$ outta them and watched all my buddies do it too! Couldn't kill them things unless you were dumb like me and spray them with a 150 shot of N2o and 150k miles on the stock bottom end...
Ford 4.6 and 5.4 2V- just bullet proof! The one in my 01 F150 has 213k miles and has never had anything done to it except one coil pack and a set of plugs. Does not lose ONE drop of oil between OCI's...
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Originally Posted By: racin4ds
Ford 302- abused so many in my mustangs over the years, ran the pi$$ outta them and watched all my buddies do it too! Couldn't kill them things unless you were dumb like me and spray them with a 150 shot of N2o and 150k miles on the stock bottom end...
Weird, my buddy had a 150 dry kit on his 302, thing had to have 400,000Km on it and it took it like a champ for years. He had to have put a few hundred bottles of spray through it.
He ended up having a mouse eat his injector harness and had a flaky #8 injector, which, on spray, destroyed a valve. We pulled the heads, and he ended up putting the heads off my engine (which I still had kicking around) on it and putting it back together.
It eventually got retired due to low oil pressure (20w-50 yielded 13psi at idle) and the bearings were pretty beat in it when we tore it down, but I was impressed as to how well it held up.
Ford 302- abused so many in my mustangs over the years, ran the pi$$ outta them and watched all my buddies do it too! Couldn't kill them things unless you were dumb like me and spray them with a 150 shot of N2o and 150k miles on the stock bottom end...
Weird, my buddy had a 150 dry kit on his 302, thing had to have 400,000Km on it and it took it like a champ for years. He had to have put a few hundred bottles of spray through it.
He ended up having a mouse eat his injector harness and had a flaky #8 injector, which, on spray, destroyed a valve. We pulled the heads, and he ended up putting the heads off my engine (which I still had kicking around) on it and putting it back together.
It eventually got retired due to low oil pressure (20w-50 yielded 13psi at idle) and the bearings were pretty beat in it when we tore it down, but I was impressed as to how well it held up.
I have 3 of them in my stable. See below.
In my experience with GM, the 5.0 TBI (L03), and the 5.7 TBI (L05). These engines seem to run forever on little to no maintenance.
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
226/260/289/302 Ford. Installed in about every Ford car/truck until the 1990s.You might see tons of Chevy SB engine swaps due to them blowing up,but most vehicles that had the SB/"challenger"/Fairlane V8,still posess the original.
3.3 Chrysler.Chrysler's first FWD V6.Basic pushrod engine,but will last to 300K+ in a heavy minivan.
Ford 300-6.A big truck only engine.Could take huge amounts of abuse and not complain.Rarely ever see a 300 blowing blue smoke,even with 100s of thousands of miles.Ford refined it with EFI while GM and Chrysler phased out their straight 6s.
Chrysler Slant 6.An engine designed to an aluminum block,but got a cast iron one instead.Made for very thick castings,and a tough/rigid unit.Serious de-tuning,emissions strangulation,and frequent mechanical valve adjustments doomed the engine in the 1970s against up and coming V6s.However the engine lasted until 1987 in trucks,and longer in industrial applications.Low end torquey,but seriously underpowered in the 70s,nonetheless a reliable engine that skin flints loved.
I've had some type of experience with with every engine you've listed there and totally agree. My first car was a 71 plymouth scamp with the "leaning tower of power"
I miss that car everyday. Had 198,000miles on it when we sold it. Would have kept it longer, but the subframe was beginning to rust through. I credit that car for getting me into working vehicles for a living, I still remember watching my dad adjust valves on it when I was a little kid. Also where I learned how to swear
226/260/289/302 Ford. Installed in about every Ford car/truck until the 1990s.You might see tons of Chevy SB engine swaps due to them blowing up,but most vehicles that had the SB/"challenger"/Fairlane V8,still posess the original.
3.3 Chrysler.Chrysler's first FWD V6.Basic pushrod engine,but will last to 300K+ in a heavy minivan.
Ford 300-6.A big truck only engine.Could take huge amounts of abuse and not complain.Rarely ever see a 300 blowing blue smoke,even with 100s of thousands of miles.Ford refined it with EFI while GM and Chrysler phased out their straight 6s.
Chrysler Slant 6.An engine designed to an aluminum block,but got a cast iron one instead.Made for very thick castings,and a tough/rigid unit.Serious de-tuning,emissions strangulation,and frequent mechanical valve adjustments doomed the engine in the 1970s against up and coming V6s.However the engine lasted until 1987 in trucks,and longer in industrial applications.Low end torquey,but seriously underpowered in the 70s,nonetheless a reliable engine that skin flints loved.
I've had some type of experience with with every engine you've listed there and totally agree. My first car was a 71 plymouth scamp with the "leaning tower of power"
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
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Originally Posted By: afoulk
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
Some of them also had Nissan diesel engines in them, but I don't remember how good those diesels were. IH trucks were nearly extinct by the time I entered the car business. If they were like the other 70s and 80s Nissan engines, they would have been great.
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
Some of them also had Nissan diesel engines in them, but I don't remember how good those diesels were. IH trucks were nearly extinct by the time I entered the car business. If they were like the other 70s and 80s Nissan engines, they would have been great.
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: afoulk
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
Some of them also had Nissan diesel engines in them, but I don't remember how good those diesels were. IH trucks were nearly extinct by the time I entered the car business. If they were like the other 70s and 80s Nissan engines, they would have been great.
As far as I know they were a very reliable engine, just didn't set the world on fire power wise. They were pretty rare though, I've only seen two in person in my 32 yrs.
Originally Posted By: afoulk
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
Some of them also had Nissan diesel engines in them, but I don't remember how good those diesels were. IH trucks were nearly extinct by the time I entered the car business. If they were like the other 70s and 80s Nissan engines, they would have been great.
As far as I know they were a very reliable engine, just didn't set the world on fire power wise. They were pretty rare though, I've only seen two in person in my 32 yrs.
JMO, but I think the most overall-reliable engines in recent history are the small 4-cylinder engines made from the late 1970's to the mid-1990's by Toyota and Honda, specifically.
Honda: 1.5L Civic, 1.6L Civic, 1.8, 2.0L, and 2.2L Accord engines;
Toyota: 1.5L Tercel, 1.6L and 1.8L Corolla, 2.0L and 2.2L Camry engines.
I've seen these engines run without oil, overheated, revved way past redline over and over and over again in all sorts of abusive situations, and they still go 250k miles plus without even trying!
Honda: 1.5L Civic, 1.6L Civic, 1.8, 2.0L, and 2.2L Accord engines;
Toyota: 1.5L Tercel, 1.6L and 1.8L Corolla, 2.0L and 2.2L Camry engines.
I've seen these engines run without oil, overheated, revved way past redline over and over and over again in all sorts of abusive situations, and they still go 250k miles plus without even trying!
All the Toyota engines under 2L.
This is kind of like asking "what's your favorite color"?
So, if I know someone that had X motor -- that went over 100K mi w/o issues, that gets on the list? In that case, Chrysler 2.7 -- which would be the worst on most people's list.
One's I've personally seen in my family:
Chrysler 2.2
Chrysler 2.7
Ford 302
Ford 460
Neither my immediate family, nor myself have ever run one much over 100K. (115k max). At that point, you used to get around $2K trade-in value.
So, if I know someone that had X motor -- that went over 100K mi w/o issues, that gets on the list? In that case, Chrysler 2.7 -- which would be the worst on most people's list.
One's I've personally seen in my family:
Chrysler 2.2
Chrysler 2.7
Ford 302
Ford 460
Neither my immediate family, nor myself have ever run one much over 100K. (115k max). At that point, you used to get around $2K trade-in value.
If I made a list myself, it would include : Chrysler's 318 V8, GM's 350 V8, Ford's 300 Inline 6, and the Chrysler Slant 6.
I drive a 225 slant 6 powered Ram daily. Underwhelming as far as performance goes, but will man handle 5,000 pounds behind it, and runs like a sewing machine.
I have seen the 318 and 300 first hand, being put to work and keep going well into the 200,000 miles. The 350 is just a great motor, starting the day it was put on paper, thus deserves on the list.
Now this engine may be overlooked, and be as unbalanced as they come, and get 17mpg on a good day, but Chryslers 3.9 V6 developed for the Dodge Dakota has proven its worth to us.
My father had a 88', 93', and 00' Dakota. He drove those for business before gas prices skyrocketed
. The 88 had right at 280,000 miles when traded in. The 93 had 325,000 miles, but needed new lifters mid way through. The 2000 had 202,000 miles when retired, and my uncle still drives it today.
My 2 cents
I drive a 225 slant 6 powered Ram daily. Underwhelming as far as performance goes, but will man handle 5,000 pounds behind it, and runs like a sewing machine.
I have seen the 318 and 300 first hand, being put to work and keep going well into the 200,000 miles. The 350 is just a great motor, starting the day it was put on paper, thus deserves on the list.
Now this engine may be overlooked, and be as unbalanced as they come, and get 17mpg on a good day, but Chryslers 3.9 V6 developed for the Dodge Dakota has proven its worth to us.
My father had a 88', 93', and 00' Dakota. He drove those for business before gas prices skyrocketed
My 2 cents
Originally Posted By: afoulk
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
I've got a 392 sitting in my garage for a Scout project I'll prolly never do.
As far as Jeep 4.0's you either get a good one or a bad one. Many tick and knock then break a piston. my 02 is very quiet with the exception of the ticking injectors
Since I Havn't seen it listed here yet, and they are some of my personal favorites, how about the International Harvester V-8's they used in the scouts and their pickups? The 304/345/392's. Those things were virtually indestructable. Heavy cast iron blocks and heads, deep skirt blocks, and gear style cam drives. I hope to own a pickup or scout II someday with a 345 or 392. I had a 72 3/4 ton pickup my senior year of highschool with the 304. 4 wheel drum brakes, manual steering and brakes, 4spd with the creeper first gear. I can't believe I never passed out in that thing, the gas tank, which was behind the seat, leaked if you filled it over 3/4 tank, used to get all kinds of fumes in the cab from the dry rotted or non existant firewall grommets, and the coolant shutoff valve for the heater core was broken and stuck in the open position, so I was getting heat all the time, even in the summer. But I loved trucks and was in heaven in that thing
I've got a 392 sitting in my garage for a Scout project I'll prolly never do.
As far as Jeep 4.0's you either get a good one or a bad one. Many tick and knock then break a piston. my 02 is very quiet with the exception of the ticking injectors
I think the little Mazda B engines were pretty good. 1.3L in the festiva 323, 1.6 in the miata, 1.6 Turbo in the AWD 323's
KIA put them in everything in their early years too.
Non-interferance, and capable of making some decent HP in the miata's with a turbo added.
The BP's were used in every mazda and some fords again in the 90's. We had an 91 Escort GT with the BP 1.8 and the ford automatic designed for their anemic 68hp 1.9L. At 30mph you could mat it, and the trans would take a second to get to first by which time the motor would be near redline and give the tires a decent bark which was a bit of surprise for an econo car going city speeds already.
The old gas tractors impress me too. Long piston skirts, and low rpms and low hp/L made them pretty bomb proof. Some are 60+ years old now and may have never been rebuilt...
KIA put them in everything in their early years too.
Non-interferance, and capable of making some decent HP in the miata's with a turbo added.
The BP's were used in every mazda and some fords again in the 90's. We had an 91 Escort GT with the BP 1.8 and the ford automatic designed for their anemic 68hp 1.9L. At 30mph you could mat it, and the trans would take a second to get to first by which time the motor would be near redline and give the tires a decent bark which was a bit of surprise for an econo car going city speeds already.
The old gas tractors impress me too. Long piston skirts, and low rpms and low hp/L made them pretty bomb proof. Some are 60+ years old now and may have never been rebuilt...
ford 302
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