As far as common gasoline engines go, the 2 valve Ford modular engines are among the longest lasting when "real work" is required of the powerplant. Toyota V8's also last. It was very common for local modular powered delivery vans to reach 900K abusive miles. The best 5.4 I know of was 1.2 million miles.
I know there is a lot of love for the classic six cylinder engines, but they did not really last as long in actual use as the modular engines did. In our ladder, work and small crane trucks, the six cylinder classic engines really struggled to make the miles. And in our sister company's delivery service, the replacement of the sixes with the modulars was a huge step forward in engine lifespan.
Something to keep in mind, the Ford modular truck version of the engines had more robust connecting rods, with full floating piston pins and much tougher pistons, equipped with thin, full tension, hard chrome faced rings. The block is a unique very high quality cast iron (very low wear rates) and was designed to be very dimensionally stable with it's deep skirt design. It's no surprise they last so long, they are very, very well made to do so.
The secret to long modular engine life was really simple, regular oil changes with a quality oil of sufficient viscosity. It should come as no surprise the 1.2 million mile van used 10W-40.
So, that's my vote, Ford's 4.6 and 5.4 2 valve, modular TRUCK engine.
I know there is a lot of love for the classic six cylinder engines, but they did not really last as long in actual use as the modular engines did. In our ladder, work and small crane trucks, the six cylinder classic engines really struggled to make the miles. And in our sister company's delivery service, the replacement of the sixes with the modulars was a huge step forward in engine lifespan.
Something to keep in mind, the Ford modular truck version of the engines had more robust connecting rods, with full floating piston pins and much tougher pistons, equipped with thin, full tension, hard chrome faced rings. The block is a unique very high quality cast iron (very low wear rates) and was designed to be very dimensionally stable with it's deep skirt design. It's no surprise they last so long, they are very, very well made to do so.
The secret to long modular engine life was really simple, regular oil changes with a quality oil of sufficient viscosity. It should come as no surprise the 1.2 million mile van used 10W-40.
So, that's my vote, Ford's 4.6 and 5.4 2 valve, modular TRUCK engine.
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