Engine Longevity ? How far can they go ?

[Katmandu]

Nowadays we are routinely seeing cars go 150,000 - 200,000+ miles.

Given proper routine maintainence (oil type, changes etc..), how far can car gasoline engines (bearings, rings, cylinder walls, valves etc...) go before giving up the ghost ?

 

[bk111]

Google million mile honda.

 

[Trav]

Million mile Honda? Thats a low miler!

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/...million-miles/1

 

[Bluestream]

For the average person; 1-2 million miles is very doable. Most people get sick of the car before that time..

 

[Nyquist]

Or corrosion gets to it before that time and makes the vehicle unsafe.

With some of the newer vehicles and multiple (several) body control modules I'm not sure I'd want to keep them that long. You'd likely have to replace each one at least once. That'd be a pretty hefty chunk of change on a Lexus, Cadillac, Lincoln, Infinity, etc.

 

[tig1]

The most we have seen in my family is 354K on the 91 Ranger. The body was getting rough but the engine was still very sound when my son sold it.

 

[BeerCan]

I have an F350 with 270,000 + miles. It has the 7.3 Navistar so its still a baby.

 

[hardcore302]

I've seen a few cab/taxi drivers around the corner from me in NYC go 500k on the cheapest fluids they can find! all panther platforms. (town cars, crown vics, grand marquis)

They dread the day when they can't use them anymore!

 

[Spazdog]

We have a Mazda B2200 with over 300,000 miles.

It leaks as much oil as it consumes. Smokes continuously.

I wonder how well it would run if it had received regular maintenance. If it had the leaks fixed when they were Class 1 or 2.

 

[KernelK]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
For the average person; 1-2 million miles is very doable. Most people get sick of the car before that time..


This might be overstating the case slightly when you consider the average motorist drives 12-15,000 miles a year. At 15,000 miles a year it would take over 66 years to drive a million miles.

Driving a million or two in the same vehicle is an outstanding achievment, not an average one.

 

[Dakota1820]

The engine itself can last over 1 million miles. Everything else will probably have been replaced though. You wouldn't ever keep a car that long though. Also depends on the car but you could keep an engine indefinetely if you just keep replacing stuff and do proper maintenance. A guy had a 91 silverado 350 went over 1 million. Never had a timing chain or even a valve cover gasket. Didn't leak or smoke at all. Had 5 trannys though.

 

[Katmandu]

Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
The engine itself can last over 1 million miles.
On the otherside of the coin is engines that seem to self-destruct early.

I know many 4.3 GM engines that tend to get spun connecting rod bearings after they reach around 125,000.

Ford also had issues with their newer 6.4L diesel. They had crankshaft issues starting around the 150,000 mile point.

 

[Dakota1820]

Ive heard of that with the 4.3 but never seen it. Mine had 207,000 and is fine

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Katmandu
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
The engine itself can last over 1 million miles.
On the otherside of the coin is engines that seem to self-destruct early.

I know many 4.3 GM engines that tend to get spun connecting rod bearings after they reach around 125,000.

Ford also had issues with their newer 6.4L diesel. They had crankshaft issues starting around the 150,000 mile point.


Technically that would be International having issues with the 6.4L, since that engine is Navistar-sourced. Ford's new engine is the 6.7L "Scorpion" diesel and the issues with the 6.0L and then the 6.4L are the reason it exists.

 

[cb_13]

A lady brings her 96 F150 with a 5.8 into the shop I work at for service and had 411k on it last visit. She has owned it since new and keeps up on ALL needed maintenance. Still has original engine and transmission.

 

[Katmandu]

Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
Ive heard of that with the 4.3 but never seen it. Mine had 207,000 and is fine
I've had (2) 4.3s that went South early. One spun a bearing at 129k. And another 4.3 that froze up (locked up rod/crank bearing(s)) at 125k. I was simply backing up out of my driveway when the engine just froze.

I had recently (within months)purchased both vehicles and did not know the previous maintainence or oil change history of them. I highly suspect both vehicles did NOT have regular oil changes.

 

[Chris B.]

The [censored] is deep in this thread. Many life long truck drivers never hit that kind of mileage driving all day 7 days a week and you guys think an average person is going to see that kind of mileage in their daily driver car?
My coworker has 3 million miles and it took him almost 30 years on the road every day to get there.

 

[SteveSRT8]

having routinely exceeded 250-300k miles in extreme heavy duty service I can easily see someone with patience and time driving to 400-500k miles.

I'm not really believing many of the million mile stories. A couple are well verified but most are a bit sketchy on details.

Our one van has over 400k miles and works every day, no smoke, leaks, or consumption at all. It could easily make it to half a million.

 

[MarkM66]

The rest of the car will become of money pit before the engine is an issue.

 

[chestand]

My '95 Toyota T100 has 429k currently and runs very well. Head gaskets were replaced at 252,000 under a Toyota recall and a new short block was installed then bc of the coolant pitting the cylinders on the drive to the dealer after the blown HG. All this work was done on Toyota's dime. I paid for ancillary parts (timing belt, tensioner, etc.) necessary for the reassembly of the engine. Probably around $500.
I've replaced one injector, one fuel pump, one fuel filter, a couple of sets of plugs and one new set of plug wires.
That's it.
At this point, this is a project truck. I'm going to see just how far it will go.