There are good engines, bad engines, and great engines that are virtually indestructible assuming adequate maintenance.
If you had to pick one American, one Japanese, one German, and one Italian/French engine to represent an indestructible engine, which 4 engines would you choose?
Ok I'll play.
1. American - Ford 4.6L 2V V8
2. German - Agree with Doc...911 air cooled
3. French - None
4. Italian - None
Japanese?!
Would this be all air cooled Porsches? Or up until a certain generation?
Well I forgot that. I'll go with the 2JZ engine. For the 911, the early '70's 2.0L - 2.4L.
I think the Porsche 911 engines started going down hill in the later 70s when they started to have to add smog controls and particularly from 1978 on when they went to the CIS fuel injection system that really took away the performance of these engines.
Yes I agree completely. I hate dealing with the later CIS models. I REALLY hate working on the current ones though....literally a whole different animal and so much more complex. That's why I like the old school ones so much.
Yeah, the early ones were so easy to work on. And with 8 main bearings, and engine rebuild meant just replacing the cylinders and pistons. 20 minutes to take the engine & trans out, 4 hours rebuild time and 20 minutes to put it all back. What a car!!!
Whoa cool. Thanks for the heads up!
German: 80s mercedes 1.4 liter turbodiesel engines
Japanese: Toyota 1uz and 2uz v8 engines
American: Chevy small block v8
I can think of the most destructible Italian and French engines:
Italian: Fiat 1.4 I4 engine
French: every make and model available
Winner winner chicken dinner!
You could have picked the Ford 7.3 diesel, but the Chevy small block is also a solid choice (legendary)
This is so false, I had over 180,000 miles (300,000 km) on two french engines (K9K diesel, K4M petrol).
Also I've ridden in a cab with over 300,000 miles (500,000 km) on the original engines (It was a DV6 diesel).
Also the R9N/R9M can last over 200,000 miles even if you go by the recommended oil change interval (12,500 miles)
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French engines refuse to die,
especially the small ones. (mine were 1.5 turbo and 1.6 na, and the cab was a 1.6 turbo)
@dan since Renault is not being sold in U.S., opinions are quite logical. I hear parts for Renault are not cheap when something breaks.
@g-t
Any good professional should say “I do not know” when he doesn’t know something instead of making assumptions.
i like only one
chevy , carburated 350 hooked up to a TH400 tranny.
if i had to choose a 6, it would be the Jeep 4.0 l. inline 6
I would opt for the 700R4 to get the overdrive gear.
Yep, sold my TH350 out the Impala, guys building me a 700R4 for it. And machine shops only charging me 120 bucks take 3” out my driveshaft to.
TBH Along the chevy Small blocks, the 4.3 V6 is pretty bulletproof. So are the original Jeep 2.5 I4 and 4.0 I6 engines.
The original VW motors run for ever. Can’t think of anything Italian of French. 🤣
Honda has had some ring issues with their 2.4 I4, but they still seem run forever. If Honda ever learns make a dependable AT tranny as well as they make engines Toyota is in trouble.
Although the nationality is not on your list, Swedish engines of the past (both Volvo and Saab) had a reputation for being long-lived. You have to work really hard to wear out a Volvo B18 or B20 engine, or a pre-GM Saab 2.0 or 2.3.
I’ll take it!
American - Chevy SB 350.
German - Early (1970s) air cooled 911 2.0 - 2.4L
Japanese - Toyota 22R and 22RE
Sorry, I can't think of any indestructible French or Italian engines.
Haha in the French/Italian.
I was t even considering the air cooled. Interesting choice!
The 911 Porsche engines I rebuilt were an absolute joy to work on. And with 8 main bearings, their bottom ends were practically indestructible.
Japan had the Toyota 1uz 2uz and 3uzs. I’m sure they had better engines but those are the 1st family of v8s that Toyota made and they are way overbuilt. Those are some of the ones that were in the million mile tundras, and you’ll see the smaller aluminum ones in race cars getting abused all the time and still going super high mileage. Maybe the most reliable gas engine?
I have a slight obsession with I6’s, so here is my list.
American: AMC 4.0-L straight-6
Japanese: Toyota 2JZ
German: BMW M30
Italian/French: ???
Good choice on the inline 4.0, the I4 2.5’s lasted forever to.
Carbureted engines are the best to go with because they are not that hard to fix and there is no computer to worry about
The most indestructible motor is the 5.9 Cummins.
