Great Engines

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Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: SubyRoo
My vote goes only to ones I have personal experience with:

Nissan Sr20DE & DET
Honda B Series


Both fantastic.
I really have a soft spot for the SR20. Have always wanted a last generation Infiniti G20 (Primera) Too bad they're all beat now. Great cars.


I really like the G20 too. I had a 240sx hatch I swapped an SR20det into and man that engine was a beast with bolt ons and an engine tune. I later sold it to a friend and built the bottom end for him to withstand more boost and upgraded the turbo and it really suprised some people at the local strip. Really miss that car.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^That used to be a standard before we went to aluminum heads.

An all iron motor can be surprisingly resistant to overheating!


I've seen some Jeep 4.0s that were badly overheated to the point where the motor stopped. Freed up the motor with a breaker bar and they ran afterward.

I still don't quite understand how people can see steam coming out of the hood and just keep driving. This one lady drove her '95 Grand Cherokee for a couple miles with no coolant after it had blown a coolant hose and the engine overheated. She only pulled over when the engine stopped. There is no guess as to how long the temp gauge was pegged at 260*.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^That used to be a standard before we went to aluminum heads.

An all iron motor can be surprisingly resistant to overheating!


I've seen some Jeep 4.0s that were badly overheated to the point where the motor stopped. Freed up the motor with a breaker bar and they ran afterward.

I still don't quite understand how people can see steam coming out of the hood and just keep driving. This one lady drove her '95 Grand Cherokee for a couple miles with no coolant after it had blown a coolant hose and the engine overheated. She only pulled over when the engine stopped. There is no guess as to how long the temp gauge was pegged at 260*.


Good one.

Way back in the mid 60's my Mom's dad died suddenly and a friend came to our house to take us to the airport. Just as he pulled his brand new Mustang into the driveway you could hear the hose blow off and steam went everywhere. He said **** this and drove us to the airport!!!

His car was so hot he just barely made it! Had to tow it to the stealership for repairs, but it was a straight six and needed nothing but water and a hose to get back on the road.
 
Originally Posted By: oldhp
300 6cyl Ford/ 327 V-8 Chevy/ 230 L-6 Chevy/ 318 V-8 Mopar/
289 V-8 Ford/ 258 I6 AMC/ to name a few off the top of my head.


Don't forget the Chevrolet 283cid. Bullet proof!!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^That used to be a standard before we went to aluminum heads.

An all iron motor can be surprisingly resistant to overheating!


I've seen some Jeep 4.0s that were badly overheated to the point where the motor stopped. Freed up the motor with a breaker bar and they ran afterward.

I still don't quite understand how people can see steam coming out of the hood and just keep driving. This one lady drove her '95 Grand Cherokee for a couple miles with no coolant after it had blown a coolant hose and the engine overheated. She only pulled over when the engine stopped. There is no guess as to how long the temp gauge was pegged at 260*.


Good one.

Way back in the mid 60's my Mom's dad died suddenly and a friend came to our house to take us to the airport. Just as he pulled his brand new Mustang into the driveway you could hear the hose blow off and steam went everywhere. He said **** this and drove us to the airport!!!

His car was so hot he just barely made it! Had to tow it to the stealership for repairs, but it was a straight six and needed nothing but water and a hose to get back on the road.



Not sure what you are getting at...

The above story really happened to a lady I worked with. She claimed "she didn't really look at the gauge". It might be why my newer Jeep has a "Check gauges" light. Its really sad that cars today need a freaking light to tell you to look at the gauges.
 
Jeep 4.0s are Definitely a Top Motor Contender. Yes some 1999 Grand Cherokee and All 2000 and 2001 4.0s did have the No Good 0331 cylinder head. I believe the 1st Year 4.0, 1987, are some of the best.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^That used to be a standard before we went to aluminum heads.

An all iron motor can be surprisingly resistant to overheating!


I've seen some Jeep 4.0s that were badly overheated to the point where the motor stopped. Freed up the motor with a breaker bar and they ran afterward.

I still don't quite understand how people can see steam coming out of the hood and just keep driving. This one lady drove her '95 Grand Cherokee for a couple miles with no coolant after it had blown a coolant hose and the engine overheated. She only pulled over when the engine stopped. There is no guess as to how long the temp gauge was pegged at 260*.


Good one.

Way back in the mid 60's my Mom's dad died suddenly and a friend came to our house to take us to the airport. Just as he pulled his brand new Mustang into the driveway you could hear the hose blow off and steam went everywhere. He said **** this and drove us to the airport!!!

His car was so hot he just barely made it! Had to tow it to the stealership for repairs, but it was a straight six and needed nothing but water and a hose to get back on the road.



Not sure what you are getting at...

The above story really happened to a lady I worked with. She claimed "she didn't really look at the gauge". It might be why my newer Jeep has a "Check gauges" light. Its really sad that cars today need a freaking light to tell you to look at the gauges.


I think he's saying your example was a good one, and then gave one of his own
21.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: afoulk
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I've been sticking to gasoline engines, so I really need to throw in:

International Harvester 345/392. That block makes a Mopar RB, Cadillac 472, or a Ford FE look just average in comparison. LOTS of iron in those blocks:

http://www.remanufactured.com/images/International.jpg

some of my favorite engines, they were tough to kill. I miss the days when they used to overbuild stuff.


That implies you might have actually seen a 345 or 392 killed. I haven't. I've seen a 345 run with a broken water pump/fan belt until it was so hot it seemed to have seized up (starter could barely rotate it after it stalled). Cooled off, started up like nothing ever happened, and the dang thing stayed in the fleet at least 6 more years. Circa 1977/78.

I've also seen a similar thing happen to a Chevy 292 straight six, but it didn't recover as completely and was taken out of service shortly afterward.


Those 345 IH engines are tough engines. I've seen a few conversions done where they were fitted into old IH Farmall tractors.

5232998970_627851fef2_b.jpg


a204.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Zako2
I rarely hear of any issues with Ford Duratec 3.0 V6engine, the old one.


I have one in a Mazda MPV... bought at 100,000 miles, now at 175k.

Issues I've experienced are failing coils (one per cylinder), PCV hose rotting, oil leaks. These seem to be pretty common problems. I'm also noticing at lot of what seems to be timing chain noise at some cold startups. Otherwise, these engines are smooth and last a long time. I'd call it a Good Engine, not great, though.

I had a VQ30DE in a Nissan Maxima from 60,000 miles to 210k. Had to do a fuel injector clean once and replaced an EVAP valve -- that was it. I don't own the car anymore, but it's still running strong. VQ30 is a Great Engine.
 
Originally Posted By: Zako2
I rarely hear of any issues with Ford Duratec 3.0 V6engine, the old one.


Quite a few folks were dropping the Duratec 3.0 into Ford SVT Contours a few years back (as an upgrade from the standard 2.5). A number of them had oil starvation issues in high lateral G situations.....mind you, they were never intended for that application.
 
Originally Posted By: CougarRed
What are some great engines that either:

1. Are known to last forerver with easy maintenance? and/or
2. Have consistently great UOAs with low wear?

I think the Toyota/Lexus UZ V8 family qualifies. Others?

The Honda Insight ECA engine qualifies. 1L 3 cylinder, a configuration that in other cars like the Suzuki Swift is prone to early demise. Honda's version lasts 500,000 miles. It has a timing chain, maintenance is only a valve adjustment using a feeler gauge every 150,000 miles or so, and plugs around the same interval, plus oil changes as necessary. Too bad they didn't build the battery to last as long.
 
Originally Posted By: brages
Originally Posted By: Zako2
I rarely hear of any issues with Ford Duratec 3.0 V6engine, the old one.


I have one in a Mazda MPV... bought at 100,000 miles, now at 175k.

Issues I've experienced are failing coils (one per cylinder), PCV hose rotting, oil leaks. These seem to be pretty common problems. I'm also noticing at lot of what seems to be timing chain noise at some cold startups. Otherwise, these engines are smooth and last a long time. I'd call it a Good Engine, not great, though.

I had a VQ30DE in a Nissan Maxima from 60,000 miles to 210k. Had to do a fuel injector clean once and replaced an EVAP valve -- that was it. I don't own the car anymore, but it's still running strong. VQ30 is a Great Engine.


If using m1 try a different oil. My fords are louder with m1 than any other oil.
 
Originally Posted By: ABCarr
Originally Posted By: Zako2
I rarely hear of any issues with Ford Duratec 3.0 V6engine, the old one.


Quite a few folks were dropping the Duratec 3.0 into Ford SVT Contours a few years back (as an upgrade from the standard 2.5). A number of them had oil starvation issues in high lateral G situations.....mind you, they were never intended for that application.


Some of the early Mazda6 MZI/Duratecs had PCV problems which would consume all the oil and take out the engine.

The old one is kind of a throwaway engine. If you do have to do a head gasket, by the time you buy the torque to yield headbolts, head gasket set, any machine work and the amount of labor involved in repairing it, you are pretty far past a used engine price.

My Duratec had coil pack problems. One original coil left. All the rest have been replaced

But as far as lateral acceleration? Not a problem with the Mazda, and at one point it generated higher lateral acceleration on the skidpad than every competitor. Accord, Altima, and Malibu SS included
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: afoulk
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I've been sticking to gasoline engines, so I really need to throw in:

International Harvester 345/392. That block makes a Mopar RB, Cadillac 472, or a Ford FE look just average in comparison. LOTS of iron in those blocks:

http://www.remanufactured.com/images/International.jpg

some of my favorite engines, they were tough to kill. I miss the days when they used to overbuild stuff.


That implies you might have actually seen a 345 or 392 killed. I haven't. I've seen a 345 run with a broken water pump/fan belt until it was so hot it seemed to have seized up (starter could barely rotate it after it stalled). Cooled off, started up like nothing ever happened, and the dang thing stayed in the fleet at least 6 more years. Circa 1977/78.

I've also seen a similar thing happen to a Chevy 292 straight six, but it didn't recover as completely and was taken out of service shortly afterward.


Those 345 IH engines are tough engines. I've seen a few conversions done where they were fitted into old IH Farmall tractors.

5232998970_627851fef2_b.jpg


a204.jpg




Gotta love a Model M. we had two at the ranch. one was on the hydro fork and the other on the beaver slide. I have never seen one with an SV in it before. Seen plenty of Ford 9Ns with flatheads and 302. Pretty sweet.
 
2.6 Mitsubishi, 2-valve.

Run without oil more than once, overheated multiple times, has a stick of wood lodged inside the timing chain cover, ran with a stuck closed thermostat for years, run with the wrong heat range of spark plugs causing horrendous detonation, run with massively too much ignition advance, causing even worse detonation, run with a leaking carburetor causing it to ingest antifreeze and vast quantities of liquid fuel for many years, pcv didn't function for who knows how long, didn't have an air filter for about two years, never used anything but the absolute cheapest oil, gas, filters, and other maintenance items, driven more than 100 miles a day, stop and go, short trips, for over a decade, more than 400,000 miles total ...

It's spotless under the valve cover and runs better than ever after some minor maintenance. Has been averaging 25 mpg around town, which is 5mpg better than its EPA highway rating.

That's a great engine in my book. Now that I'm actually taking care of it, I expect the unibody to fall apart before the engine dies.
 
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