any inline 6 battle stories?
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There's a video of a Jeep 4.0 surviving Cash 4 Clunkers. It threw a rod, dumped it's oil ... kept running until the electronics got fried! I think there's also the same for a Ford 4.9L.
Love the old I6s ... It's too bad none of them could be updated to pass emissions
Always loved the sound of an inline 6. I've been tempted more than once to put one of those boy-racer style intakes on my cherokee for that cool intake sound! Guess if I own a BMW that'll be why.
Love the old I6s ... It's too bad none of them could be updated to pass emissions
Always loved the sound of an inline 6. I've been tempted more than once to put one of those boy-racer style intakes on my cherokee for that cool intake sound! Guess if I own a BMW that'll be why.
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I have too many stories of both the 4.0L and 2.5L. I would tend to think the 4.0L is the most rolled over engine in the world.
Toyota 7MGE in a 92 cressida. What an ill-engineered pile of junk! Blows head gaskets all the time. The way they shoved it in and piled all sorts of linkages on top of the valve cover made it less than fun to work on. The rest of the car had Toyota's legendary (now a step down) levels of quality. But the engine dragged the poor car down.
my family had an old 1974 Duster with a 225 slant six.
It had started life as a boring tan 2-door but my mom's husband did some plumbing work in exchange for a Plum Crazy paint job and similarly acquired some 14" Crager S/S wheels....It looked mean. It couldn't get out of it's own way but it looked mean.
It was passed from kid to kid to grandkids. Never needed anything except for ballast resistors. (and a water pump once, I barely got my hands dirty it was done so quickly)
On the ballast resistors: We tried everything from Borg Warner, Wells, Echlin, Mopar....and they would still blow within a few months. One day we stuck another cheap Wells ballast resistor in there and it miraculously stopped happening.
I do not know what the oil change interval was. I changed it whenever I had to borrow it. Exxon SuperFlo 10W30 and the cheapest filter I could get. Maybe once a year.
It got passed on to my nephew who quickly traded it for a 2nd gen Prelude Si. I'm still mad at him for that. I would have bought him the [expletive deleted by poster] Quaalude if he had let me keep the Duster. I'm 6'3" and I didn't fit in the Duster at all (deep dish steering wheel felt like it was in my chest) and it didn't have air conditioning. but I would still like to have it.
It just kept going and going and going (and then it doesn't start so you replace a ballast resistor) and going and going....
It had started life as a boring tan 2-door but my mom's husband did some plumbing work in exchange for a Plum Crazy paint job and similarly acquired some 14" Crager S/S wheels....It looked mean. It couldn't get out of it's own way but it looked mean.
It was passed from kid to kid to grandkids. Never needed anything except for ballast resistors. (and a water pump once, I barely got my hands dirty it was done so quickly)
On the ballast resistors: We tried everything from Borg Warner, Wells, Echlin, Mopar....and they would still blow within a few months. One day we stuck another cheap Wells ballast resistor in there and it miraculously stopped happening.
I do not know what the oil change interval was. I changed it whenever I had to borrow it. Exxon SuperFlo 10W30 and the cheapest filter I could get. Maybe once a year.
It got passed on to my nephew who quickly traded it for a 2nd gen Prelude Si. I'm still mad at him for that. I would have bought him the [expletive deleted by poster] Quaalude if he had let me keep the Duster. I'm 6'3" and I didn't fit in the Duster at all (deep dish steering wheel felt like it was in my chest) and it didn't have air conditioning. but I would still like to have it.
It just kept going and going and going (and then it doesn't start so you replace a ballast resistor) and going and going....
I have the Jeeps 4.0 inline 6. Mine had the not all that uncommon piston skirt failure. Now its got a reman engine. When they pulled off the oil pan to swap it, the piston was not attached to the wrist pin in one cylinder.
My parents bought a '77 Mercury Monarch brand new with the 4.1L (250 cu in.) inline 6. This was built during the initial heyday of the emissions [censored] when engine horsepower was drastically reduced over the '60's muscle car era. It put out about a whopping 98 hp, which basically meant the car was a total dog! Not only did it handle very poorly but acceleration was virtually nonexistent (14 to 15 seconds from 0 to 60 or something like that). The engine was very reliable though, never had any trouble with it although I think the radiator was replaced once. The car had about 75 or 80K on it when they sold it after 10 years and still ran great. That 6 would have been a decent engine if it had about double the power.
I had a '95 F-150 with the 4.9L six and automatic. I bought it with 129k miles on the clock, and ran it out 'til about 265k. Transmission died, but the engine was running fine. Unfortunately, it leaked a lot of oil by then. The only major repair I did to it was when the fiber timing gear let go at about 250k.
I think this engine was rated at 140 hp, and it felt like it. Certainly not an over-abundance of power, but it hauled anything I asked it to.
I think this engine was rated at 140 hp, and it felt like it. Certainly not an over-abundance of power, but it hauled anything I asked it to.
My parents had a 1977 Chevy Van with a straight 6, I believe it was the 250ci. That thing took us everywhere and back but not without troubles. In about 1984 (I was 12) we went camping and about halfway to our destination a fuel line broke starting a fire under the hood, flames were shooting out from the plastic cowling inside the van! Thanks to the quick action of a pickup driver nearby with a fire extinguisher the fire was quickly knocked out. Dad walked about a mile to a auto parts store and then fixed it on the side of the road. About three days into that trip we were literally in the middle of nowhere and the alternator went out. My dad hitchhiked 15 miles to town found and alternator and a very generous person that gave him a ride back to the camping spot. This was my first experience working on a vehicle, helping him put the new alternator on in the piney woods of east Texas. In 1986 the timing chain broke one night when dad was coming home from work. That weekend he and I tore down the motor and rebuilt it in the driveway. It finally kicked the bucket at around 180k and went to a graveyard having left me with tons of memories!
Originally Posted By: raffy
My parents bought a '77 Mercury Monarch brand new with the 4.1L (250 cu in.) inline 6. This was built during the initial heyday of the emissions [censored] when engine horsepower was drastically reduced over the '60's muscle car era. It put out about a whopping 98 hp, which basically meant the car was a total dog! Not only did it handle very poorly but acceleration was virtually nonexistent (14 to 15 seconds from 0 to 60 or something like that). The engine was very reliable though, never had any trouble with it although I think the radiator was replaced once. The car had about 75 or 80K on it when they sold it after 10 years and still ran great. That 6 would have been a decent engine if it had about double the power.
I had the same 250 in my '71 Mustang. It was a total dog even without 95% of that emission equipment. But it didn't break. Even trying to push my fat-boy big bodied Mustang around.
My parents bought a '77 Mercury Monarch brand new with the 4.1L (250 cu in.) inline 6. This was built during the initial heyday of the emissions [censored] when engine horsepower was drastically reduced over the '60's muscle car era. It put out about a whopping 98 hp, which basically meant the car was a total dog! Not only did it handle very poorly but acceleration was virtually nonexistent (14 to 15 seconds from 0 to 60 or something like that). The engine was very reliable though, never had any trouble with it although I think the radiator was replaced once. The car had about 75 or 80K on it when they sold it after 10 years and still ran great. That 6 would have been a decent engine if it had about double the power.
I had the same 250 in my '71 Mustang. It was a total dog even without 95% of that emission equipment. But it didn't break. Even trying to push my fat-boy big bodied Mustang around.
Originally Posted By: Donald
I have the Jeeps 4.0 inline 6. Mine had the not all that uncommon piston skirt failure. Now its got a reman engine. When they pulled off the oil pan to swap it, the piston was not attached to the wrist pin in one cylinder.
Chrysler did an awesome job of ruining a pretty stout design ... the 99-01 WJs, 00-01 XJ/TJs had a lot of problems with piston skirts breaking. And the heads cracking.
I have the Jeeps 4.0 inline 6. Mine had the not all that uncommon piston skirt failure. Now its got a reman engine. When they pulled off the oil pan to swap it, the piston was not attached to the wrist pin in one cylinder.
Chrysler did an awesome job of ruining a pretty stout design ... the 99-01 WJs, 00-01 XJ/TJs had a lot of problems with piston skirts breaking. And the heads cracking.
My (future)inlaws had a 1980 GMC 1/2 ton truck with the 250-6. Girlfriend borrowed it to move out of her apartment and it blew the radiator on the Maine turnpike. She drove it with the temp needle pegged (easy to miss the gauge on that style truck) until it wouldn't move anymore.
AAA towed it to my apartment parking lot (closer to the breakdown) and her dad put a new rad in, over my landlady's objections. It fried a couple spark plug wires from the heat, which they fixed with random wires found on a junk motor they had banging around the property. It ran fine after that but was (and always was) a gutless wonder. Had the cast-in-one intake/exhaust manifold monstrosity.
They also had a 69 chevy nova with SBC 307 and the car rusted out so the engine moved over to the pickup. It had some weird exhaust crossover they didn't make anymore so it got true duals. With 3.50 rear gears meant for the 6 cyl the truck moved okay after that.
AAA towed it to my apartment parking lot (closer to the breakdown) and her dad put a new rad in, over my landlady's objections. It fried a couple spark plug wires from the heat, which they fixed with random wires found on a junk motor they had banging around the property. It ran fine after that but was (and always was) a gutless wonder. Had the cast-in-one intake/exhaust manifold monstrosity.
They also had a 69 chevy nova with SBC 307 and the car rusted out so the engine moved over to the pickup. It had some weird exhaust crossover they didn't make anymore so it got true duals. With 3.50 rear gears meant for the 6 cyl the truck moved okay after that.
Once had a 49 Ford pickup with the L-head 6. Oil filter was a cartiidge type that liked to leak if you didnt get the gasket installed exactly right. First time I learned about that was driving it across town and began noticing the engine rod noise getting louder then no oil pressure.
Walked back home following the oil trail on the street. Picked up 6 more quarts of oil and reseated the gasket. The old thing started up and still ran fine for several more years till I finally sold it. Wish I had it back now.
Walked back home following the oil trail on the street. Picked up 6 more quarts of oil and reseated the gasket. The old thing started up and still ran fine for several more years till I finally sold it. Wish I had it back now.
had a 68 mustang with either the 200 or 250 i-6. ran it up to 200,000 miles in 1987. had the c-4 auto rebuilt once (for $275).
i sold it because i was afraid it was going to break down. my thinking then was "who has 200,000 miles on original engine?" it still sounded great when sold. today i know better! i could have gone alot farther in it!
i sold it because i was afraid it was going to break down. my thinking then was "who has 200,000 miles on original engine?" it still sounded great when sold. today i know better! i could have gone alot farther in it!
My first car was a 138 ci six, which was severely undermaintained, and I used kerosene as an engine flush, to apparently no detriment...Like many boy racers, I modded it with an air cleaner, and thought I was some sort of Genius.
Next car had a 161 ci six, that I over-revved in the pine forests, and built arguably the best engine I've ever done, a 186, 23/59 cam, exhaust, and triple S.U. Carbs (like the one in the photo below). Got very good mileage with the jets leaned out a half turn, but could get ridiculously low when playing.
Next car, had a Holden 202 six, which my brother had flogged, cracking #2 piston skirt (not uncommon), so I built a replacement with 0.060 overbore, high comp hyper eutectic pistons, 28/58, 24/64 cam, V-8 valved head...78,000km in one year, with girlfriends interstate and 150km round trip commute.
A few more Holden sixes, then got my dream car, a Holden XU-1 Torana, came from the factory looking like
Was a disappointement after my home built 186, but if I'd have kept that car, 20 years later, it would have been worth $150k.
Next car had a 161 ci six, that I over-revved in the pine forests, and built arguably the best engine I've ever done, a 186, 23/59 cam, exhaust, and triple S.U. Carbs (like the one in the photo below). Got very good mileage with the jets leaned out a half turn, but could get ridiculously low when playing.
Next car, had a Holden 202 six, which my brother had flogged, cracking #2 piston skirt (not uncommon), so I built a replacement with 0.060 overbore, high comp hyper eutectic pistons, 28/58, 24/64 cam, V-8 valved head...78,000km in one year, with girlfriends interstate and 150km round trip commute.
A few more Holden sixes, then got my dream car, a Holden XU-1 Torana, came from the factory looking like
Was a disappointement after my home built 186, but if I'd have kept that car, 20 years later, it would have been worth $150k.
In 1975 I had a 1964 dodge dart with a 225 slant six, 4 speed trans VERY rare. I custom fitted a 318 2 bdl to the stock manifold. It was like adding a second engine. At that time vw just came out with a car caled scirocco as a fast small car. I came on to a new one. I cleaned his clock 5 stop light in a row. You could see the smoke coming out his ears. What? An old beat up dodge faster than a vw. I really dont have room to say what it think about vws.
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