xsubarudude
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- NC coast
What do you think has been the most reliable consumer automotive engine? For example the Jeep IL6 190hp HO4.0. Or Toyota R20. Or other Etc etc etc
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Most reliable consumer automotive engine. Your opinion.
- Thread starter xsubarudude
- Start date
souske
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The land of competition
4BT
forged
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Georgetown
283 chevy !!! 3 inch stroke, just can't blow em up.
- Location
- Wasatch Range
Been a SB Chevy fan from my youth, but having owned 3 XJ's, one that is still running strong with 240,000+ miles and my current rig with 181,000.....have to place the I6 as a leading contender.
- Location
- Aransas Pass, Texas
Jeep I6 and older Mercedes I5 deisel.
1985xjlaredo
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Kansas City
Toyota 22r, AMC 242, Ford 300
Darky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 29 Palms, CA
Suzuki 1.6L circa 94. The only vehicle I've ever owned that didn't have recurring issues. The only engine repairs it took in the 9 yrs it spent in our family were a bad spark plug wire in the first year and a half and a bad EGR after 7 yrs. Little thing made 3-5 2200 mile trips between NY and AZ, taught me to drive a stick, learned to wheel, my first car at 16. Finally died when I assaulted a Kia at 55...although I bet the engine would still have started if I had tried at the JY...
My XJ has been great, but it's had more issues than my old Tracker did, with fewer miles being driven.
We had a 79 Peugeot 504 with the diesel. It lasted quite well. As did the 72 Fleetwood. I forget what engine that thing had in it...
My XJ has been great, but it's had more issues than my old Tracker did, with fewer miles being driven.
We had a 79 Peugeot 504 with the diesel. It lasted quite well. As did the 72 Fleetwood. I forget what engine that thing had in it...
1985xjlaredo
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Kansas City
Chrysler slant six was a good one too.
xjsnake
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Nashville, TN
GM 3.8 V6
Between my family and I we've had 5 or 6 that were over 200K with no major repairs needed.
The alternators sucked however...
Between my family and I we've had 5 or 6 that were over 200K with no major repairs needed.
The alternators sucked however...
Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
- Location
- Vermont, land of big clay
Mercedes 4 cylinder normally aspirated diesel is probably pretty near the top. I believe there are some documented cases of these going a million miles. My 78 240D was running sweetly at 325K miles when rust claimed the body around it. It's just about impossible to wear one of those out.
I think some people would add the old Volvo "B" engines.
The Jeep 4.0 must be pretty high on the list though.
And of course there's the Chevy 350.
I think advances in manufacturing and lubrication technology in the last couple of decades have made it possible to keep a basically good engine going almost forever. Forty years ago, it would have been astonishing to be driving a car with over 200 thousand miles on it whose engine doesn't burn oil. Now it's routine.
I think perhaps as a class, it's hard to beat a traditional American I6 with pushrods and a cast iron head.
I think some people would add the old Volvo "B" engines.
The Jeep 4.0 must be pretty high on the list though.
And of course there's the Chevy 350.
I think advances in manufacturing and lubrication technology in the last couple of decades have made it possible to keep a basically good engine going almost forever. Forty years ago, it would have been astonishing to be driving a car with over 200 thousand miles on it whose engine doesn't burn oil. Now it's routine.
I think perhaps as a class, it's hard to beat a traditional American I6 with pushrods and a cast iron head.
joejeep92
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Beloit, KS
Liking the slant six...
- Location
- Columbus, In
xjsnake
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Nashville, TN
Well its not a Subaru EJ25d, I can tell ya that!
I think that's the engine that was in my buddies WRX that blew up 2 days after he bought it...
tbburg
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Scottsdale AZ
X3 on the slant six. Not a powerhouse by any stretch, but would last forever.
Also a fan of the BMW 3.2/3.5L(again, a slant six,..)had one with 225K on it, needed a valve when I sold it(too short by about 3 thousandths to adjust into spec)
Seems like any straight six design was pretty good, the Chevy 250, the various incarnations of the AMC -6, the Cryco slant motor, even the Ford, which never seemed to gain popularity, the BMW, they just run and run and run.
I'm personally a fan of the late '60s/early '70s Chrysler 318. 'Tough little motor, but if I had to pick one for longevity, I think the slant six would outlast the LA small block.
Boatwrench
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Petaluma, CA
Absolutely.
- Location
- Roanoke VA
1) Ford 300 I6
2) Jeep 4.0
3) Toy 22RE
2) Jeep 4.0
3) Toy 22RE
- Location
- Rainy side of Washington
Jeep 4.0L... I have done horrible, horrible things to mine and never blown one up.
96XJ: drove it for like ten hours pulling a trailer in 2nd gear on the rev limiter. I don't even remember when I had last changed the oil in it. still ran great when I grenaded the transmission a few months later 300 miles from home and had to part ways with it. It had ~150k on it when it left my collection, oil pressure still good, no issues.
91MJ: bought with 207k on it, a bad oil leak included. Ran it out of oil dozens of times and drove it for at least a hundred miles with no oil in it, pressure at 10psi at highway speed and the lifters rattling on every corner. Hit the rev limiter for several minutes at one point with about 2qt of oil in it, going up a 1/8 mile long hill in 6" of snow with bald mismatched tires, no locker, and no 4wd. It rattled like death for a few minutes and then went back to normal. Motor still ran great when I swapped it out due to the motor mount breaking off the passenger side from a horrible case of death wobble...
88MJ: only put like a hundred miles on this one so far. No issues
91MJ, new motor: still has the previous owner's oil in it (did he change it? I don't know, I don't care, I'm not even certain I checked the level), he got it with 198k on it iirc, did tens of thousands of miles in his jeep all year round with either no air filter or a dirty torn tube-sock as an air filter. A few months ago the fan clutch died while I was wheeling and then the thermostat stuck closed, resulting in it overheating past the 260 degree mark and then exploding the upper radiator hose. Still runs and drives great
On the other hand:
98XJ: got it with 150k on it. Ran great. Babied it and only drove it on the road (it has never seen more than a forest service road) and it blew the head gasket between cyls 3 and 4 while I was trying to fix it up enough to pass inspection. Every time I'd show up at the shop something else would break and I finally gave up and just drive it as-is now. Since then I've been beating the bag off it and it gets 15mpg with 30psi compression readings on the middle two cylinders. I guess it just wanted to be treated badly :dunno:
96XJ: drove it for like ten hours pulling a trailer in 2nd gear on the rev limiter. I don't even remember when I had last changed the oil in it. still ran great when I grenaded the transmission a few months later 300 miles from home and had to part ways with it. It had ~150k on it when it left my collection, oil pressure still good, no issues.
91MJ: bought with 207k on it, a bad oil leak included. Ran it out of oil dozens of times and drove it for at least a hundred miles with no oil in it, pressure at 10psi at highway speed and the lifters rattling on every corner. Hit the rev limiter for several minutes at one point with about 2qt of oil in it, going up a 1/8 mile long hill in 6" of snow with bald mismatched tires, no locker, and no 4wd. It rattled like death for a few minutes and then went back to normal. Motor still ran great when I swapped it out due to the motor mount breaking off the passenger side from a horrible case of death wobble...
88MJ: only put like a hundred miles on this one so far. No issues
91MJ, new motor: still has the previous owner's oil in it (did he change it? I don't know, I don't care, I'm not even certain I checked the level), he got it with 198k on it iirc, did tens of thousands of miles in his jeep all year round with either no air filter or a dirty torn tube-sock as an air filter. A few months ago the fan clutch died while I was wheeling and then the thermostat stuck closed, resulting in it overheating past the 260 degree mark and then exploding the upper radiator hose. Still runs and drives great
On the other hand:
98XJ: got it with 150k on it. Ran great. Babied it and only drove it on the road (it has never seen more than a forest service road) and it blew the head gasket between cyls 3 and 4 while I was trying to fix it up enough to pass inspection. Every time I'd show up at the shop something else would break and I finally gave up and just drive it as-is now. Since then I've been beating the bag off it and it gets 15mpg with 30psi compression readings on the middle two cylinders. I guess it just wanted to be treated badly :dunno:
Wallyman
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Wichita Falls, TX
Whatever diesel motor they put on those old ford tractors from the 40s and 50s that i still see clunking through the fields. Granted you arent talking a street vehicle application but its an internal combustion engine none-the-less. super simple, powerful enough to do the hard work and last forever.
Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
- Location
- Vermont, land of big clay
Most of those old Ford tractors you see aren't diesels. I don't think they made diesels until the mid 50's. From the 40's through 52 it was a flathead four, not much different from a Model A. After that it was a pushrod OHV four. I have one of those, a '54 NAA. And yes, it still runs. I use it these days as a stationary power source for my emergency generator.
