Which engine lives the harshest life?

Originally Posted by sloinker
Everyday uses at home or on the job. Wood chipper? Compactor on new asphalt during summer? Tunnel boring machine.....I'm thinking hot weather, heavily loaded, dusty, continuous use like a bulldozer/grader/tractor scraper.


Trash truck. City bus. Concrete mixer truck.
 
Originally Posted by gman2304
OTR class 8 trucks. The company I retired from would often have a driver coming on duty waiting for a tractor as the driver going off duty was doing their post trip inspection. The fresh driver would then perform a pre trip inspection on the same tractor then leave for another 12 to 15 hour duty cycle. Rinse and repeat 24/7 364 days a year. They would mostly shut down Christmas Day. A new tractor was essentially worn out after 4 to 5 years.


That's actually pretty easy service...they never cool down!
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Gensets for sure, dead stop cold to WOT and full load.


Many have oil and/or coolant preheaters. The ones at the office where my mother worked were always warm to the touch, even in winter.

Running under load, you could feel them through the whole complex...I recall it was a 12V-71 Detroit Diesel. You could hear that engine clearly across the parking lot.
 
Originally Posted by NormanBuntz
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I would say any outdoor landscaping equipment.

And that would be because many employees misuse the equipment and it often ends up with the incorrect fuel. There are many seized two cycle blowers, trimmers and chainsaws that die a quick death from using the incorrect fuel or fuel mixture.


And I bet most people never change the oil in lawnmowers,etc.
 
Originally Posted by simple_gifts
any owned by Arcographite. lol



This is the best/funniest answer so far
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by simple_gifts
any owned by Arcographite. lol



This is the best/funniest answer so far
lol.gif



LMAO!!!
lol.gif
That is GOLD!
 
Originally Posted by OilReport99
Originally Posted by sloinker
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
Marine engine.. With the sea salt water

I don't know, unlimited cooling water, usually fixed loads while cruising through a standard medium, water. True the salt water is tough on the metals but it takes many years to cause actual harm if maintenance is maintained.


But Harbor Tug Boats must live a miserable life. All "short trips" and variable RPM.


I thought diesel boats or at least some have their own closed loop cooling system and that it's the sea water that actually cools that?
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A tug imo would be about the same thing as a tractor minus the dusty conditions. I'm sure you can get thousands and thousands of hours easily out of them.
 
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
watch deadliest catch.. there seems to be engine troubles throughout the season

Typical written in drama you can expect on a "reality" show.
 
The world of "work boats" is switching to Z drive … where a VFD controlled AC motor powers a Z shaped driveline with only the thruster in the water. Now these vessels can seriously maneuver on an azimuthal thruster or two or ——.
A diesel gen set running at steady state feeds the system.
Some will have a small standby gen for the "hotel load" only when on anchor … or several gens to bring on/off the PMS depending on operational needs.
 
The engines in 10-15 year old cars owned by single women, age 17-90, especially those above age 50 who are "frugal" and don't drive more than 10 miles a week, sometimes more than 20 miles a month.

The ones that won't develop a relationship with the local, trustworthy garage so that they can go have the air filled/checked for free between semi-annual services, etc. Also the ones that will only go to a dealership for service.
 
1. Any engine that is owned by someone who neglects maintenance.

2. Of that group I would say anything on a construction site that is neglected. Those are usually left out in the rain, mud, dusty/dirty conditions, run for hours on end, dropped from forklifts, etc.


I've seen a lot of neglected engines, and the worst have always been job site generators.
 
I think a 125cc two stroke dirt bike, while riding in the sand dunes lives a hard life...
smile.gif


However, as far as cars/trucks go, engine load and subsequent lifespan may not be self evident. A turbocharged 4 powering a large vehicle would seem at first to be working hard. However, using boost for power vs. RPM for power, create very different loads.

In very general terms:

High RPM stresses every component, cams spin faster, chains wear faster, piston rings travel much more distance over their lifespan, and so on. RPM can place far higher loads on rod bearings than boost. BMW's rash of rod bearing wear issues are proof positive of this. Continuous high RPM operation generally equals high rod bearing loads due to the inertia of stopping and starting the piston so rapidly.

Boost allows generally lower RPM operation, therefore the increased ring loading and valve + head gasket sealing are the issues to be addressed. Rod bearing loads are certainly higher at low RPM vs. a normally aspirated engine. This is rarely a problem, as those loads are often less than the rapidly cyclic loads of say, a 7000 RPM engine. Furthermore, most modern turbocharged engines have torque curves that drop off markedly at high RPM, managing rod bearing loads.

I'd say a vehicle with a very undersized, normally aspirated engine lives the hardest life in normal use.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet

I'd say a vehicle with a very undersized, normally aspirated engine lives the hardest life in normal use.

Usually those small engines are pretty simple and not really tuned up enough to hurt themselves if something does go not too badly wrong, usually you notice the problem early as the meager power has now disappeared!. Most of the engine failures I've been around are caused by carburetor problems causing things to go lean...
My little 2001 300 kingquad plowed our 1/4 mile driveway for 8 years and in heavy snow the exhaust would be dull red for an inch or two out of the engine, but its been the most reliable thing I've ever owned. Not too many of the bigger quads live that long it seems but I'm not drowning it every weekend for fun either...
 
Originally Posted by gman2304
OTR class 8 trucks. The company I retired from would often have a driver coming on duty waiting for a tractor as the driver going off duty was doing their post trip inspection. The fresh driver would then perform a pre trip inspection on the same tractor then leave for another 12 to 15 hour duty cycle. Rinse and repeat 24/7 364 days a year. They would mostly shut down Christmas Day. A new tractor was essentially worn out after 4 to 5 years.


That's how it is on the sleepers and day cabs where I work. They'll typically have ~500K miles on them in 3yrs.

The ones that live the harshest life are the old ones we keep for yard horses to shuttle tanker trailers around the plant They never get warmed up, never get beyond 4 or 5th gear (10spd Eatons) and tend to get started cold and held to the boards until aired up enough to release the brakes. I don't think the oil ever gets changed on them. Just checked and topped up.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
I think a 125cc two stroke dirt bike, while riding in the sand dunes lives a hard life...
smile.gif



No, sohc Japanese dirt bikes from the '80's. They destroyed cams, rockers, and flogged out the non existent cam bearings in the cyl head. And cam chains, I've seen Honda's wear right through the chain tunnel and resultant oil leak. Thrashed by teenagers, and the poor oils of the time were never changed.
 
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
1. Any engine that is owned by someone who neglects maintenance.

2. Of that group I would say anything on a construction site that is neglected. Those are usually left out in the rain, mud, dusty/dirty conditions, run for hours on end, dropped from forklifts, etc.


I've seen a lot of neglected engines, and the worst have always been job site generators.


Good point. A good friend of mine is a heavy equipment mechanic. He does make it seem like the machines have poor lives.

Lots of idling, which leads to clogged diesel particulate filters. In the cold, apparently the snot and mucus in these can freeze? The cold spell we had last winter was funny. Operators get in their machines expecting to not have to glow the engine in -20* F weather and crank and crank until the battery was dead.
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humvee

Heh.
The good ones are the ones that make it through the lakes, bogs, sand, rocks, etc.

*note im not knocking the HMMWV but the abuse they go through sometimes is astonishing. Im talking days, weeks on end idling. I remember the times it took 3 days running, fueling as you go, to drive 60 miles down the road, just to turn around and do it again. Man was that a fun ride.
 
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