Worn out an Engine? What miles? What failed?
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Honda CVCC bought brand new at around 71-72K miles. Have no idea what all was worn out - it barely had enough compression to start and smoked like a tire fire. In fairness, by that time, if there was a part on the car that could bend, break, burst, corrode, leak, peel, rip, rust, short, squeal, or fall off, it pretty much did. It was just a tragically miserable excuse for a motor vehicle.
Had a Tecumseh toss a rod.
Had a couple of guys that worked for me wear out the cheap two stroke engine on a chinese gen set in about a week of use. I suspect they were not very particular about mixing oil in the gas.
Had a Tecumseh toss a rod.
Had a couple of guys that worked for me wear out the cheap two stroke engine on a chinese gen set in about a week of use. I suspect they were not very particular about mixing oil in the gas.
To add to engines wearing out... My father and I wore out...
Misubishi 2 stroke on a line trimmer. Had almost no compression after about 25 years of use.
8 HP Briggs and Stratton, on a Wheel Horse yard tractor, burning oil and losing power after over 20 years of use.
I just see it being very rare to wear out a car engine.
A guy I work with drives 130 miles a day, has over 230,000 miles on a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5 (4cyl) that is doing well. But this is almost all highway miles. He uses whatever oil that is on sale with cheap oil filters like (STP, Purolator White Can, basic Fram.) He is on his 2nd Catalytic convertor and like 5 sets of tires.
Misubishi 2 stroke on a line trimmer. Had almost no compression after about 25 years of use.
8 HP Briggs and Stratton, on a Wheel Horse yard tractor, burning oil and losing power after over 20 years of use.
I just see it being very rare to wear out a car engine.
A guy I work with drives 130 miles a day, has over 230,000 miles on a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5 (4cyl) that is doing well. But this is almost all highway miles. He uses whatever oil that is on sale with cheap oil filters like (STP, Purolator White Can, basic Fram.) He is on his 2nd Catalytic convertor and like 5 sets of tires.
In my experience the engines that fail from cam lobe wear or lifter failures have been subject to boy racer abuse on a regular basis and that includes cold start wear factors.
A well maintained engine should suffer main bearing failure first, followed by valve seating problems and then broken rings.
Many old engines are finished off by overheating or head gasket failures(Coolant contamination of the oil), although turbo failures are often a reason to scrap a car and they are caused mostly by bad oil.
A well maintained engine should suffer main bearing failure first, followed by valve seating problems and then broken rings.
Many old engines are finished off by overheating or head gasket failures(Coolant contamination of the oil), although turbo failures are often a reason to scrap a car and they are caused mostly by bad oil.
I don't consider a engine worn out unless it has bad rings, pistons or loose bearings causing oil pressure and/or knocking... In my book cams, valves, timing components, etc are just general wear parts... A sudden failure(say broken cam belt) at high mileage that may destroy the engine, isn't worn out... Running without oil pressure due to improper filter install, forgot the oil etc, isn't worn out...
The 428CJ in my '69 Fairlane Cobra has had two valve jobs(second one due to unleaded fuel) and a cam replacement(wiped lobe) in approx 100K mi... Pistons never out of the block, rod and main bearing caps never removed, runs quiet has good oil pressure and doesn't use much more oil than it did at 38,000 when I got it in '73... She ain't worn out yet..
The 428CJ in my '69 Fairlane Cobra has had two valve jobs(second one due to unleaded fuel) and a cam replacement(wiped lobe) in approx 100K mi... Pistons never out of the block, rod and main bearing caps never removed, runs quiet has good oil pressure and doesn't use much more oil than it did at 38,000 when I got it in '73... She ain't worn out yet..
Know Toyota Landcruiser 100series owners with over 300k miles normal service and not babied, engines use no oil and run like new. But I think that Landcruisers and the Lexus LX470's are in a class by themselves.
Originally Posted By: Gabe
A really good friend in high school had a 2 door '96 Geo Tracker. The Tracker died at 165K with a rod thrown through the block.
IMO, throwing a rod (or dropping a valve seat) isn't wearing out an engine. It's a catastrophic failure. When you wear out an engine, it has lost enough compression so as to not be drivable any more. And since I have done both, I know the difference:
1985 Ford Escort GT 1.6L engine which I drove hard and wore out (as in low compression) at around 160K miles over a period of about 11 years. My 1995 Escort with the 1.9L dropped a valve seat at 72K, punching two holes through the engine block and making a really big mess. Both engines used Mobil 1.
A really good friend in high school had a 2 door '96 Geo Tracker. The Tracker died at 165K with a rod thrown through the block.
IMO, throwing a rod (or dropping a valve seat) isn't wearing out an engine. It's a catastrophic failure. When you wear out an engine, it has lost enough compression so as to not be drivable any more. And since I have done both, I know the difference:
1985 Ford Escort GT 1.6L engine which I drove hard and wore out (as in low compression) at around 160K miles over a period of about 11 years. My 1995 Escort with the 1.9L dropped a valve seat at 72K, punching two holes through the engine block and making a really big mess. Both engines used Mobil 1.
The first 305 in my truck died with ~200k miles, lost compression in one cylinder.
My 2003 Saturn ION had compression below spec in cylinder #3. That car was such a pain that I didn't bother to find out why, I just put some oil additive in the engine and sold the car. It somewhere between 90,000 miles and 100,000 miles.
My dad once had a completely different situation. He had ~110,000 miles on a 1987 Hyundai Excel and the engine still worked. When he traded it in, the appraiser invited all the dealership mechanics to take a look, and they were all stunned. None of them ever saw one last that long.
My dad once had a completely different situation. He had ~110,000 miles on a 1987 Hyundai Excel and the engine still worked. When he traded it in, the appraiser invited all the dealership mechanics to take a look, and they were all stunned. None of them ever saw one last that long.
Dad's 1965 Plymouth Fury. 318/727 trans and about 370k miles before it was parked.
Never had any major engine work. Numerous water pumps, alternators, and belts, and hoses though. It still ran, and ran ok, when he finally parked it, but oil consumption was way up and power was down. Transmission was original as well.
Never had any major engine work. Numerous water pumps, alternators, and belts, and hoses though. It still ran, and ran ok, when he finally parked it, but oil consumption was way up and power was down. Transmission was original as well.
Never worn out an engine. Ever.
As an example: I put over 200K on an Olds 350 V-8, flat tappet hydraulic cam and youthful exuberance (foot to the floor, often) notwithstanding...several starters, water pumps, alternators, but never anything inside that sturdy V-8...running on dino 10W40...the one thing that engine had going for it was the 3,000 mile OCI...
Every car that I've sold was running great:
1977 Olds with 210,000 miles on it.
1985 Trans-Am with 95,000 on it (flat tappet 305 V-8)
1985 Volvo Turbo with 160,000 (OHC Turbo 4 cylinder)
Every car that went to the crusher because of rust had a perfectly running engine:
1970 Ford Fairlane (302 V-8, 130,000)
1981 MB 240D (235,000)
Even the cars I've lost had perfect engines:
1993 Volvo 850 (totaled at 185,000 miles NA 5 cylinder DOHC)
1995 Explorer (4.0 V-6 -150,000, ex wife kept it)
2000 Expedition (5.4 V-8, 75,000, ex wife kept it)
and the ones that I own now?
The Packard has 62,000 on it.
The XC has 165,000 on it.
The T-5 has 140,000
The MB has 61,500
The Corolla has 106,000
The 300E has 115,000
the 4 Runner has 237,000
In all of those cars, I have never worn out an engine (lost compression, ring failure, bearing failure, valve failure, cam failure). The proper oil and an appropriate oil change interval have kept every engine I've owned to last the life of the car.
For me: accessories come and go. Rust kills them. Accidents kill them. But engines last forever...
As an example: I put over 200K on an Olds 350 V-8, flat tappet hydraulic cam and youthful exuberance (foot to the floor, often) notwithstanding...several starters, water pumps, alternators, but never anything inside that sturdy V-8...running on dino 10W40...the one thing that engine had going for it was the 3,000 mile OCI...
Every car that I've sold was running great:
1977 Olds with 210,000 miles on it.
1985 Trans-Am with 95,000 on it (flat tappet 305 V-8)
1985 Volvo Turbo with 160,000 (OHC Turbo 4 cylinder)
Every car that went to the crusher because of rust had a perfectly running engine:
1970 Ford Fairlane (302 V-8, 130,000)
1981 MB 240D (235,000)
Even the cars I've lost had perfect engines:
1993 Volvo 850 (totaled at 185,000 miles NA 5 cylinder DOHC)
1995 Explorer (4.0 V-6 -150,000, ex wife kept it)
2000 Expedition (5.4 V-8, 75,000, ex wife kept it)
and the ones that I own now?
The Packard has 62,000 on it.
The XC has 165,000 on it.
The T-5 has 140,000
The MB has 61,500
The Corolla has 106,000
The 300E has 115,000
the 4 Runner has 237,000
In all of those cars, I have never worn out an engine (lost compression, ring failure, bearing failure, valve failure, cam failure). The proper oil and an appropriate oil change interval have kept every engine I've owned to last the life of the car.
For me: accessories come and go. Rust kills them. Accidents kill them. But engines last forever...
Picked up a $300 1996 chevy cavalier 2.2 for my BIL back in 2007 ish. (Just put him in an 04 ecotec-- deja vu). Car had 195k and a rattly timing chain. We decided to run it and at 205k the chain came apart and the whole shebang conked out.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Picked up a $300 1996 chevy cavalier 2.2 for my BIL back in 2007 ish. (Just put him in an 04 ecotec-- deja vu). Car had 195k and a rattly timing chain. We decided to run it and at 205k the chain came apart and the whole shebang conked out.
Wonder how long it would have run had you replaced the chain?
I am sure the previous owner never did much to maintain it...and it still went to 205 despite the decision to let ir run with a bad chain...
Picked up a $300 1996 chevy cavalier 2.2 for my BIL back in 2007 ish. (Just put him in an 04 ecotec-- deja vu). Car had 195k and a rattly timing chain. We decided to run it and at 205k the chain came apart and the whole shebang conked out.
Wonder how long it would have run had you replaced the chain?
I am sure the previous owner never did much to maintain it...and it still went to 205 despite the decision to let ir run with a bad chain...
When the cylinder head on my Integra warp due to overheating from a fan relay dying in a heat storm in the desert (between Nevada and So Cal). The mechanics that rebuild the top end measured everything and all is within spec (valve, cam, bearing, rocker follower, spring, etc) at 190k miles.
It is really hard to wear out a well designed engine these days unless it is neglected or abused, or it has a design flaw.
It is really hard to wear out a well designed engine these days unless it is neglected or abused, or it has a design flaw.
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Picked up a $300 1996 chevy cavalier 2.2 for my BIL back in 2007 ish. (Just put him in an 04 ecotec-- deja vu). Car had 195k and a rattly timing chain. We decided to run it and at 205k the chain came apart and the whole shebang conked out.
Wonder how long it would have run had you replaced the chain?
I am sure the previous owner never did much to maintain it...and it still went to 205 despite the decision to let ir run with a bad chain...
Would have lasted lots longer, but in a "teach a man to fish" moment I got the car legal and inspected, mentioned something should be done to the chain, and the car left my hands. It's only in hindsight that everyone agrees something should have been done in time.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Picked up a $300 1996 chevy cavalier 2.2 for my BIL back in 2007 ish. (Just put him in an 04 ecotec-- deja vu). Car had 195k and a rattly timing chain. We decided to run it and at 205k the chain came apart and the whole shebang conked out.
Wonder how long it would have run had you replaced the chain?
I am sure the previous owner never did much to maintain it...and it still went to 205 despite the decision to let ir run with a bad chain...
Would have lasted lots longer, but in a "teach a man to fish" moment I got the car legal and inspected, mentioned something should be done to the chain, and the car left my hands. It's only in hindsight that everyone agrees something should have been done in time.
This is more of a catastrophic failure than wearing out, but my parents had a 1995 Caravan with the 3.0L Mitsubishi V6. Toward the end of its life it would burn oil on start up. Also, every once in awhile it would make an awful grinding noise on startup, but turning it off and restarting would go back to normal. One time this happened and was immediately followed by a rod going through the block. It had about 190,000 miles on it.
When I graduated from high school, my parents bought me a '68 VW from a friend who owned a junkyard. It had been repaired (fresh paint job) and had 35K miles on it (so it said). It was good basic transportation for a college kid, and I could fill it up for around $5 (which was my weekly allowance). I was pretty good about oil changes (QS Super Blend) about every 3K miles, or when I had enough money, whichever came last. After about 2 years and 35K miles later the engine just fizzled out (that's what it sounded like) while I saw sparks flying out through the rear view mirror. I was doing 70-75MPH on I70 in PA. So I called my dad to pick me up. I left the car on the side of the road and never saw or heard about the car again.
After that, I started buying new cars. My first was a '74 Pinto. That was a whole different story. A loose air filter wing nut allowed sand to get ingested, scoring the cylinder walls. I liked that little car, but it never ran right after that.
Those are the only two cars that I can remember having engine problems with, unless you include emissions or electrical gremmlins that cause the engine to not run properly. You can confirm this by asking a dealer to inspect it, and they tell you it's "normal".
After that, I started buying new cars. My first was a '74 Pinto. That was a whole different story. A loose air filter wing nut allowed sand to get ingested, scoring the cylinder walls. I liked that little car, but it never ran right after that.
Those are the only two cars that I can remember having engine problems with, unless you include emissions or electrical gremmlins that cause the engine to not run properly. You can confirm this by asking a dealer to inspect it, and they tell you it's "normal".
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