THE most reliable engine ever built?

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I would have to put in my vote for the old dodge slant 6.

I drove a ford escort with the 1.8 mazda I4 engine for over 200K frequently towing motorcycle trailers with it - never had any problems.


The most impressive engine I've seen lately would have to be a BMW. A buddy of mine has been driving the same old 1985 BMW 325e since the car was new. It is a 2.5L I6. The odometer stopped working at 380K that was before he moved to the mojave desert about 6 years ago. He works in el segundo - about a 2 hour trip each way. he has no idea how many miles are really on the car but the automatic transmission has never been apart, and the valve cover has only been removed for valve adjustments. He drives the car like a maniac, but the engine was low compression from the factory, only makes about 120hp, and redlines below 5K. He has done a lot of work to the car to keep it running, but nothing to the engine or tranny. He has no plans to replace it any time soon. He uses mobil1 oil in the engine, and dino ATF. The Air conditioner even still works, although the power windows have broken many times.
 
4.0 Jeep and its predecesors.

240 Ford L6 (and I imagine the 300 that it evolved to). This was one of the most "servicable" engines that there was ..side covers for the lifters. High volume oil flow.

The Iron Duke - excellent 4 banger ...but just not accepted by the public.

Same with the 2.5 AMC/DC jeep engine.

I'll go with the 225 slant six as well.

318 - clean running engine.

But these tend to be "boring" engines.

SBC- versitile and reliable if well maintained ..timing chains and water pumps (older ones anyway on the belt drive end of it) were the weakness that I experienced.

Most of the Euro engines (excluding the French and Italian -and some qualifications for the Brits) were very long lived ..but reliable? The maintenance was prohibitive. Most of them (Merc, BMW, etc.) could be owned for 20-25 years regardless of mileage if properly maintained by the right mechanic.

POS engines?

2.9 Ford V6 - cracked heads on demand

4-6-8 Caddy absolutely.
 
quote:

Originally posted by TallPaul:

Hey, anybody remember GMC pickups in the 1960s had a 305 cubic inch V6? I heard it was a brute and very durable. Anybody have first hand experience?


actually it was a 307 V6.... a neighbor of mine had one back when I still lived at home ('bout 10 years back). he loved that truck... I always found the trailing arm and coilspring setup in the rear of those trucks to be quite intriguing.

as far as the most durable.... it'd have to be any of the carb'd I-6s (GM 250/292, Ford 300, Mopar slant six) or the Toyota 22R. I've seen alot of those motors with some crazy high mileage on them.


-Bret
 
quote:

Originally posted by Oldswagon:
The 4.1L V8 that replaced the old big Caddy V8 engines, now that was a POS!

That was the one they called HT4100? Oh yea, I remember that one too. Two real winners right in a row for GM.

My father had a '75 Eldorado convertible with a 501 C.I. v-8. Man, what a smooth and hard pulling motor. Hard to believe it was basically the same engine as the 4-6-8.

Very interesting info on the 4-6-8. I enjoyed reading your breakdown of it.

Mikep
 
quote:

Originally posted by Gary Allan:
POS engines?

2.9 Ford V6 - cracked heads on demand

4-6-8 Caddy absolutely.


I think the biggest POS engine ever is the 3.8 v6 used in '95 Windstars.... there are headbolts on only ONE side of the cylinders!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Gary Allan:
4.0 Jeep and its predecesors.

...

Same with the 2.5 AMC/DC jeep engine.


Actually, the 2.5 was the predecessor of the 4.0! The 2.5 uses some of the same architecture as the earlier 4.2 inline 6. AMC monkeyed around with that and developed the 2.5. The 4.0 was then developed off of the 2.5! Sounds bizare, but the 2.5 and 4.0 are very closely related.

My votes for long term durability:

The Jeep 4.0 Inline Six
Ford 300 (4.9l) inline six

Both very hard to kill!
 
A predecessor of the Jeep 4.0 is the Hemi 6 that was available in Australia back in the very late 60s, and through to the early 80s.

245, and 265 c.i., apparently Chrysler Oz bought the design off head office when they wanted an engine to replace the slant 6.

It ended up with a 265 Hemi 6 pack, with triple webers, putting out over 300hp, and turning 14.1 second quarter miles.
 
My vote goes to Volvo 4-cylinder gasoline engines, specifically the B230F motor. I got 256,000 miles out of that engine before the car was totalled (no my fault). The only thing I did was regular maintenance: oil, coolant, some spark plugs, and valve adjustments. That thing just kept on going.
 
quote:

Originally posted by MNgopher:

quote:

Originally posted by Gary Allan:
4.0 Jeep and its predecesors.

...

Same with the 2.5 AMC/DC jeep engine.


Actually, the 2.5 was the predecessor of the 4.0! The 2.5 uses some of the same architecture as the earlier 4.2 inline 6. AMC monkeyed around with that and developed the 2.5. The 4.0 was then developed off of the 2.5! Sounds bizare, but the 2.5 and 4.0 are very closely related.

My votes for long term durability:

The Jeep 4.0 Inline Six
Ford 300 (4.9l) inline six

Both very hard to kill!


I doubt the 4.0 would have been developed off of the 2.5...the 4.0 is almost exactly the same as the 4.2 except it has a different head and fuel injection. The early 2.5's were carbureted, and the fuel injection was the main "development" involved in the 4.0.
 
quote:

Originally posted by mikep:
That was the one they called HT4100? Oh yea, I remember that one too. Two real winners right in a row for GM.

My father had a '75 Eldorado convertible with a 501 C.I. v-8. Man, what a smooth and hard pulling motor. Hard to believe it was basically the same engine as the 4-6-8.

Very interesting info on the 4-6-8. I enjoyed reading your breakdown of it.

Mikep


Yes, I am refering to the HT4100. Not only was it a POS, it made very little power. The engines only pumped out 135hp and 200ft-lbs of torque, and they put these engines in the big 4200+ lb RWD Cadillac Broughams! Good thing GM wised up and put the Olds 307 in these cars in 1986 (they were still underpowered, but it was a improvment in performance and a huge jump in dependability).

That's right, that 4-6-8 6.0L V8 is the same basic engine block design as the 500ci Caddy. This block design was introduced in 1968 as the 472.

The 368ci was actually offered in 1980 with out the modulated displacement. No one ever hears about this engine because it was just another run of the mill, reliable, underpowered gas guzzeler V8 from the dark ages of automotive history. It was available with a 4bbl Q-jet or Caddy's EFI system. The modulated displacment 368 (4-6-8) was offered in 1981 and it only came with EFI. The only real difference to the engine itself was the the solenoids that controlled the rocker pivots, the unique valve covers, and an auxillary vacuum pump. The rest of the system was controlled by the ECM.
 
My vote is for the Volvo B16-18-20 class of 4 cylinder engines. I had the pan off mine recently and the bearings are larger on it than they are on the 429 cid V8 Caddy I also have. The block is high nickel content Swedish iron which likewise lasts almost forever.

Last time I checked, Irv Gordon had over 2 MILLION miles on his 1966 Volvo 1800 with the original engine. Irv Article On VCOA Website

In 1998, The Guinness Book of World Records honored Gordon's car as the vehicle with the "highest certified mileage driven by the original owner in non-commercial service."

According to various reports Irv's engine ran at least 1.2M miles since it's last rebuild.

All he seems to have ever said publicly about oil and filters is:

quote:

· Change your oil and filter regularly. “If there is any one maintenance activity that will extend the life of your car’s engine, this is it.”
· Use factory equipment parts. “They are definitely more compatible with your car. I believe in keeping my Volvo a Volvo.”
· Use one brand of oil. “Using one brand of oil assures uniform quality.”

Nothing said about synthetics, and since he has been the only owner of the vehicle since 1966 I doubt he ever used synthetic oils.

I met him at a Volvo meet once. Really nice guy.

John
 
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