The Science Behind Million Mile Engines

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Interesting video. The creator reviews an SAE paper (link here) showing that engine wear is inversely related to the temperature of the engine. He points out that all of these "million mile" engines are from people who put a ton of miles on them per cold start, so the vast majority of the miles are when the engine is at operating temperature, usually at highway speeds. So the fact that he reviews a technical paper puts him in the 99th percentile for most oil-related content on Youtube to start. Specifically in this study, they use radioactive piston rings and then measure that radioactivity in the oil as a marker of piston ring wear.

He then does a nice experiment where he runs his car normally and does a UOA. Then he uses a block heater and oil pan heater 100% of the time, has zero cold starts (even minimizes time at the grocery store, etc. so he doesn't have a cold start), runs another UOA, and then goes back to normal use and runs a third UOA. He cuts his wear metals in half with the block heater, and they go back up when he returns to normal use without a block heater. Obviously, we don't need to rehash the discussion about UOAs not a perfect surrogate for wear and only running a few samples etc etc etc for the millionth time here (although I suspect we will hear about it regardless). (LSJ has addressed this and said he can show that UOA wear particles correlates directly with measured engine wear, FWIW. But I don't think we're going to settle that debate here.) So to be clear, it's an anecdote, but it is interesting.

He points out in the paper that the oil brand did not make any difference.

 
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Old MB small diesels ran in taxi service for 2-3 decades and well over a million miles (1.6 million Km) without a rebuild. In those years 15w40 was the norm and all these vehicles were short trippers. Engine build quality and the materials used plays a huge role, eg thrust needle roller bearings under the valve springs, camshafts that were as hard as a coffin nail, forged internals with normal tension rings, high volume oil pump, all sorts of nice stuff. No block heaters or oil additives. Magnificent engines in possibly one of the best cars ever made the W123. Some old Volvo engines were legendary for being long lived with nothing special just regular maintenance.
 
Old MB small diesels ran in taxi service for 2-3 decades and well over a million miles (1.6 million Km) without a rebuild. In those years 15w40 was the norm and all these vehicles were short trippers. Engine build quality and the materials used plays a huge role, eg thrust needle roller bearings under the valve springs, camshafts that were as hard as a coffin nail, forged internals with normal tension rings, high volume oil pump, all sorts of nice stuff. No block heaters or oil additives. Magnificent engines in possibly one of the best cars ever made the W123. Some old Volvo engines were legendary for being long lived with nothing special just regular maintenance.
I have to wonder why manufacturers do not follow this recipe? Of course, I doubt the rest od the vehicle can last 1M miles, so there's that. But still...
 
I have to wonder why manufacturers do not follow this recipe? Of course, I doubt the rest od the vehicle can last 1M miles, so there's that. But still...
In the German market owners manual for a W123 it stated the life expectancy for this vehicle is 30 years. This was mine at 25 years old still in wonderful condition inside, outside and underneath. No cheap chrome plated zinc crap on this one all stainless, this is the day I sold it to my friend because I was leaving.
 
Irv Gordon finally fessed up. He used Castrol 10W-30 in his P1800s. How could a man drive 3.2 million miles plus 450K on another car have a job and a normal life? His story is inspirational to those wishing for high mileage from their vehicles. He offered to sell the car back to Volvo at a dollar/mile.

They declined.

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Old MB small diesels ran in taxi service for 2-3 decades and well over a million miles (1.6 million Km) without a rebuild. In those years 15w40 was the norm and all these vehicles were short trippers. Engine build quality and the materials used plays a huge role, eg thrust needle roller bearings under the valve springs, camshafts that were as hard as a coffin nail, forged internals with normal tension rings, high volume oil pump, all sorts of nice stuff. No block heaters or oil additives. Magnificent engines in possibly one of the best cars ever made the W123. Some old Volvo engines were legendary for being long lived with nothing special just regular maintenance.
An overbuilt 3.0L engine that only makes 120 hp and 180 lb*ft of torque. That's part of the recipe. Keep power levels low enough that they can't hurt themselves. Kinda like ford 7.3 diesels. The rest of the drivetrain then lives an incredibly easy life.
 
Old MB small diesels ran in taxi service for 2-3 decades and well over a million miles (1.6 million Km) without a rebuild. In those years 15w40 was the norm and all these vehicles were short trippers. Engine build quality and the materials used plays a huge role, eg thrust needle roller bearings under the valve springs, camshafts that were as hard as a coffin nail, forged internals with normal tension rings, high volume oil pump, all sorts of nice stuff. No block heaters or oil additives. Magnificent engines in possibly one of the best cars ever made the W123. Some old Volvo engines were legendary for being long lived with nothing special just regular maintenance.
This, and the fact that most taxis pretty much run 24/7 or rarely have a cold start.
 
In the German market owners manual for a W123 it stated the life expectancy for this vehicle is 30 years. This was mine at 25 years old still in wonderful condition inside, outside and underneath. No cheap chrome plated zinc crap on this one all stainless, this is the day I sold it to my friend because I was leaving.
Did you mean to attach some photos?
 
Irv Gordon finally fessed up. He used Castrol 10W-30 in his P1800s. How could a man drive 3.2 million miles plus 450K on another car have a job and a normal life? His story is inspirational to those wishing for high mileage from their vehicles. He offered to sell the car back to Volvo at a dollar/mile.

They declined.

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New York car. I think it’s most impressive it went that long without rusting out.
 
Did you mean to attach some photos?
Sorry, I got doing something and forgot.
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An overbuilt 3.0L engine that only makes 120 hp and 180 lb*ft of torque. That's part of the recipe. Keep power levels low enough that they can't hurt themselves. Kinda like ford 7.3 diesels. The rest of the drivetrain then lives an incredibly easy life.
59 HP but was still perfectly driveable even in Germany, it sort of kills the "I need 400 HP to go to the grocery store" thing.

This, and the fact that most taxis pretty much run 24/7 or rarely have a cold start.
A lot of German taxi wait in a line for pickups like at train stations and airports, sometimes they can wait a few hours and running the engine for more than a short time standing is illegal.
 
Sorry, I got doing something and forgot.
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59 HP but was still perfectly driveable even in Germany, it sort of kills the "I need 400 HP to go to the grocery store" thing.


A lot of German taxi wait in a line for pickups like at train stations and airports, sometimes they can wait a few hours and running the engine for more than a short time standing is illegal.
My grandmother had one of these when I was a young child. I learned to associate the sound of a diesel with her, and whenever I heard a diesel idling I used to shout “grandma’s car!” 😂 Good memories.
 
Already the topic of another BITOG thread.

You may continue the conversation there ...
 
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