Which American Engine Will Last The Longest

[Dehaka]

Running a little experiment. I bought 4 vehicles with low mileage. I am running and repairing them (trannys and all) until the engines give out. All the original owners are elderly people who are all dead now.....all cars had thier lives begin and will end in California so rust isn't a factor....all cars have long carfax or repair orders showing proper intervals for maintenance. All but one were made in the engines last production year. Oil changed with synthetic blends at 3k intervals and OEM or better parts for maintenance. All repairs will be done by a professional shop. Which order do you think the engines will go out in?

Ford 5.8 351 Windsor 1996 f250
Ford 4.6 Modular 2 valve 2011 Grand Marquis
GM 4.3 Vortec 1998 GMC Jimmy
GM 3800 Series 3 2008 Buick Lacrosse

 

[gman2304]

2
1
3
4

 

[Skippy722]

2-1 and I’d tie 3-4

 

[4WD]

2007+ 4.3L before AFM …

 

[joekingcorvette]

4321 Those GM 3.8 and 4.3's were great engines.

 

[demarpaint]

I'm with @4WD . Of the choices above, the 4.3L prior to them messing with active fuel management.

 

[Gus_Mahn]

I’ve owned 3 Of 4 engines on the list. Has the 4.3 had its intake gaskets replaced? They
used to fail fairly often and sometimes leaked coolant into the oil. Luckily mine failed to the outside of the engine. I’m not sure if the 3800 also has this issue, but is common to Gm V engines for a bit. Otherwise it’s pretty much a crapshoot. With its huge fleet service history, I’d probably put the 4.6 at number one.
4.6
351
3800
4.3
You might live a long life, and some of these cars will still be on the road. They’re all great options.

 

[Dehaka]

No it hasn't but I check fluids weekly so I'd hope I catch it early if it does.

 

[Dehaka]

I’ve owned 3 Of 4 engines on the list. Has the 4.3 had its intake gaskets replaced? They
used to fail fairly often and sometimes leaked coolant into the oil. Luckily mine failed to the outside of the engine. I’m not sure if the 3800 also has this issue, but is common to Gm V engines for a bit. Otherwise it’s pretty much a crapshoot. With its huge fleet service history, I’d probably put the 4.6 at number one.
4.6
351
3800
4.3
You might live a long life, and some of these cars will still be on the road. They’re all great options.

No it hasnt but I check fluids weekly and would hope I catch it early if it does.

 

[supton]

What is the criteria for end of life? low compression, oil burning above a certain amount, repair exceeding value of vehicle?

All four seem likely to last—but random stuff happens randomly. Good luck, and it will be interesting which lasts longest—well, I predict it will be a boring and long wait.

 

[dadto2]

The L-head 6 in Dad's Plymouth DeLuxe sedan has been going strong since 1933.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Those will all outlive me, so after that it doesn't matter.

Good for you on keeping them going.

 

[dnewton3]

I'd say the 4.6L. I do have to acknowledge the GM3800 in it's non-force induction types. Those are renowned as well.


However, if we open the concept up past those four listed, I have to say either the 4.9L I-6 Ford and the old Slant-Six Mopar. Those take longevity to a whole new level.

 

[demarpaint]

However, if we open the concept up past those four listed, I have to say either the 4.9L I-6 Ford and the old Slant-Six Mopar. Those take longevity to a whole new level.

Having owned a few of both those engines, hands down the 4.9L I-6 Ford. It wins in power, longevity, and reliability imo.

 

[SC Maintenance]

The Ford 4.9l AKA 300-6 was excellent, but it did have a couple problems. If they were over-revved they would break the piston skirts. Amazingly they would run a real long time with broken piston skirts, I bought one that was knocking like crazy under load when I was a kid but ran for many years after. I eventually rebuilt it and the skirt pieces were still in the oil pan for 2 cylinders and the walls were scored pretty good, but a 0.030 ovebore cured it.

The later years also used a fiber timing gear that would fail. However it was not an interference engine so it was an easy fix - replace the gears.

 

[Dehaka]

What is the criteria for end of life? low compression, oil burning above a certain amount, repair exceeding value of vehicle?

All four seem likely to last—but random stuff happens randomly. Good luck, and it will be interesting which lasts longest—well, I predict it will be a boring and long wait.

Thrown rod, seized engine. something that just can't be fixed.

 

[Chris142]

Thats a tough one. All of those engines if properly cared for will last longer than you will want to keep the cars.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Even though I had one lose compression in cylinder 5 before I bought the car at 123000 miles, the 4.6 will definitely outlive the rest of them. For some reason the 4.3 seems to need head gaskets and intake gaskets regularly?

For engine / transmission reliability as a package

2 - 4.6 attached to a 4R70/75 is Ford's most reliable powertrain in the last 40 years. Period.
3 - 4.3 backed up with a 4L60 is pretty good, I don't buy into the Internet hype of them being bad transmissions but I guess the rumor comes from somewhere
1/4 are in a tie. The 3800 will probably need intake gaskets a few times. With the 351 you run the risk of pulling a .003% grade and blowing the pump seal out of your E4OD causing it to hara kiri itself on the side of the road. If it's backed by a manual transmission, it wins 3rd place.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The Ford 4.9l AKA 300-6 was excellent, but it did have a couple problems. If they were over-revved they would break the piston skirts. Amazingly they would run a real long time with broken piston skirts, I bought one that was knocking like crazy under load when I was a kid but ran for many years after. I eventually rebuilt it and the skirt pieces were still in the oil pan for 2 cylinders and the walls were scored pretty good, but a 0.030 ovebore cured it.

The later years also used a fiber timing gear that would fail. However it was not an interference engine so it was an easy fix - replace the gears.

I've been in a few Jeep 4.0s that had "lifter tick" and then found pieces of piston skirt in the oil pan. FWIW, with the Jeep 4.0s the pre-91 engines had better pistons that didn't break the skirts off.

 

[thastinger]

Running a little experiment. I bought 4 vehicles with low mileage. I am running and repairing them (trannys and all) until the engines give out. All the original owners are elderly people who are all dead now.....all cars had thier lives begin and will end in California so rust isn't a factor....all cars have long carfax or repair orders showing proper intervals for maintenance. All but one were made in the engines last production year. Oil changed with synthetic blends at 3k intervals and OEM or better parts for maintenance. All repairs will be done by a professional shop. Which order do you think the engines will go out in?

Ford 5.8 351 Windsor 1996 f250
Ford 4.6 Modular 2 valve 2011 Grand Marquis
GM 4.3 Vortec 1998 GMC Jimmy
GM 3800 Series 3 2008 Buick Lacrosse

Those are all very good, low power density engines....but 2/3/1/4