Most reliable engine, independent of oil used?

[Alcibiades]

I think my Toyota 1.8 7A-FE should be on the list. Maybe not at the top, but on the list somewhere.

I also remember driving from Tallahassee to Los Angeles on I-10 in a Datsun 210 that might have seen an oil change as much as once a year. We did this several summers in a row, usually in July, and hence in temperatures in the 110 range in the desert around Blythe, or Needles on I-40. No AC; boy was that fun. Anyway, we cruelly beat and neglected that engine to death and it still ran to over 200k.

 

[Anduril]

Toyota 22R/Es are definitely still reliable by modern standards.

 

[JHZR2]

OM617 MB diesels. I wouldnt be far off to say that more of these have hit 500k than any other passenger vehicle engine.

JMH

 

[GOPHER FREAK]

For Gasoline motors....
Chrysler 318.

In service from the late 50s until 2003. I have one with 266,000 miles on it and it's pretty tight. It now uses about a quart of oil every 1500 miles. A steady diet of Trop Artic 10W30 was it need to get this far. Never had drop of synthetic in it, But was changed at 2000 miles on the dot. I'd drive it anywhere tomorrow without a bit of worry.

 

[BillionPa]

BMW M30 engine, bulletproof as long as it doesnt overheat due to radiator/hose failure

 

[PT1]

Chevy 230 I-6
VW Beetle aircooled 4cyl
Chevy 283 V8

 

[psudaytona]

I have to chime in with the Chrysler 2.2/2.5 I4 engines. They are certainly NOT great on performance but they last nearly forever. Even when they get older, they simply develope "the chrysler sound". Mine has lifter tap like a baby diesel from her #1 cylinder, but it still launches me through traffic like my Daytona's tail is on fire

 

[Jim Cissell]

My vote would be the Jeep (AMC) 2.5L engine - mine has been going strong in my 1986 Comanche since I bought new. The ONLY parts I have swapped are the starter and PCV valve, and normal plugs, belts and hoses! Still drive it to work, although the body looks like heck...

My next choice would be the 4.0L as it is only a larger vesion of that dependable rascal.

I used many brands of oil in the 2.5 through the years, and many filters, but have relied on Castrol and Mobile 1 filters for the last few years now in both vehicles...

Jim

 

[Carmudgeon]

Quote:

---

BMW M30 engine, bulletproof as long as it doesnt overheat due to radiator/hose failure

---

... or the banjo bolt in the cam oiler doesn't back out.

I'll add a vote for the Volvo red block. Not the most powerful, and certainly not the most refined, but very durable.

 

[Greaser]

Another vote for the Jeep 4.0L engine...but then it's a tractor motor anyway.The Chev "Iron Duke" 230&250 straight six's ran forever also.

 

[sw99]

Jeep 4.0L

 

[Max_Wander]

Some legendary notables:

Mazda B and moreso F series 4cyls. - can withstand long periods low oil pressure, overheating etc
Toyota 22R
MB 603.961
Over-displacemented, underworked GM V8's

 

[Zaedock]

Another vote for the Jeep 2.5L/4.0L (I have one of each).

 

[yohan]

Honda D17...153 000 KM and run like new...

 

[Crashbox]

Quote:

---

I've heard many people refer to the Chrysler Slant 6 as the best engine.

---

Indeed. My brother told me a story many years ago about a New York City taxicab company that ran slant sixes with oil changes at 1,000-mile intervals. Average life between rebuilds: 300,000 miles!

Drove them myself for about 25 years; the engines outlast the remainder of the vehicles!

But I must add that the inline-6 design is inherently balanced so they don't wind up vibrating themselves into dust. This may well explain why most engines of this configuration seem to do very well regardless of who manufactured it. But the slant six most certainly proved itself.

Quote:

---

For Gasoline motors....
Chrysler 318.

In service from the late 50s until 2003. I have one with 266,000 miles on it and it's pretty tight. It now uses about a quart of oil every 1500 miles. A steady diet of Trop Artic 10W30 was it need to get this far. Never had drop of synthetic in it, But was changed at 2000 miles on the dot. I'd drive it anywhere tomorrow without a bit of worry.

---

Another very good engine, lots of low-end torque but top end left a lot to be desired. I much preferred the polysphere 318s from '57 to '66 or '67 in Canada (sometimes called "wide blocks")- IMO greatly superior to the wedge-chambered design that replaced it. Again, lots of torque but was not a high-revver; and every person I knew who had one claimed very good gas mileage as well. It was probably made from the factory with a very conservative cam and used the polyspheres' combustion efficiency to squeeze out fuel economy. Just hypothesizing here...

 

[Trondos]

Another vote for the red block Volvos. I`ve heard that they have larger surface area on their main bearings than a Chevy 350.

Also, the Mopar slant six: I knowabout a guy here in Norway who drove a 69 Barracuda 1 000 000 kms. He used is as his regular car until the mid 80-s, then he used it as his summer commuting vehicle only. He owned it since 1970, and decided to go for the million since it was over 800 000 anyways. The engine used some oil the last 100k, but it made it. Now it`s under restoration, it was featured in a magazine here. The top had never been off it, it only saw regular servicing. That`s what I call durable.

 

[cos]

Mopar slant 6 & Jeep's 4.0 straight 6

 

[ccdhowell]

I have a real darkhorse...Land Rover aluminum V8. LR bought an Olds design back in '64(I think), moved the tooking to Solihull and started building, using and updating the engine until 2004, that's 40 years. The engine grew in displacement, went from carbs to fuel injections, but the fundamental all aluminum, iron sleeve, pushrod engine is unchanged. And it is bulletproof, made to face the rigors of life far from paved roads and routine maintenance. Long-live the old LR V8!!!!!!!

 

[Terry]

My 1952 F1 Ford pickup trucks 239ci flathead V8. Was my first ride, paid $100 and a hay wagon frame for it, Yeehaa!

No oil filter either. Ran the finest rerefined ND SAE 30/40 oils I could find and wound wind that thing up as tight as I could....heading down the narrow and winding Southern Indiana ( mostly gravel) roads ( to avoid the State Police ) because I did not have a tag, a drivers license, or insurance, ( hey I was a poor farm boy) and I had a need for speed and to practice drifting for the Sprint car races.....: )

At about 300,000+ miles on teardown, I could not rebuild it because bearings and rings etc were literally falling to pieces in my hands. One of my first tribo experiments..

 

[Al]

Quote:

---

Toyota 22R/Es are definitely still reliable by modern standards.

---

In 1993 or 94 they went with plastic parts in the cam chain assembly. They are almost guaranteed to fail within 100K miles. Not sure if they went back to origional or other. Mine went out at 87K miles.