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So, how long does the 4.0 last vs others?

C

cherokee4fun

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bend, Oregon
OK,

I have about 266,000 on my 90 cherokee, so I started to wonder how many engines actually last this long. I have experience with Datsun/Nissan L series motors, lasting to 200,000, but not much information on others.
So, what other motors are as reliable as this?

Thanks,Bob
 
my xj is at 186k, my camry is at 226k and my last scout 800a was over 500k. school busses and scouts can hit over 500k-1 million miles from what ive seen
 
How long does a 4.0L last.....let me put it to you this way. I live in Newfoundland Canada, the land where they use thousands of tonnes of salt on the road each year. Things do not last to long up here. I had an 88' Cherokee chief with 509000 and it still ran. We decided the old rig had enough...so we drained the coolant and oil, put a brick on the pedal, put it in neutral and let it go. Reving what ever it could do, that 4.0L still lasted another 5min and 22 seconds before she finally seized. Funny enough, once it cooled, we started it again and it lasted another 48 seconds before it blew a connecting rod. I have had 19 Cherokees to date and that is the only one I blew the motor on. YOU CAN"T KILL THEM.....through normal driving. Hope thats of help.
 
my 93 trail rig has 290,000 + miles on it and it still is running like a top. Other then regular maintenence and a cracked header, it has had no major problems (knock on wood). I have a back up motor in the shop for it when it does decide to blow, but so far I have not needed it. As far as other makes, I have an 89 Ford F250 w/ the 460 in it (gas guzzling old farm truck). It has 240K on it, but has had its fair share of problems. We also have a 91 Nissan 4x4 that we use to run around the farm and run fences with and it has over 200K on it and has only had regular oil changes and the clutch replaced a few times. Rust is it's worst enemy.
 
SHO's (yamaha V6)
Volvo's
Saab's (B201/202/234) sans turbo
BMW's (M10 to S38 motors)
Lots of motors can make it over the 200K mark, it comes down to maintance and upkeep in my opinion.
 
I ran my 89 Cavalier with the 2.0L for 235,000. It got an oil change between 7,000 and 10,000 (twice a year, once in the spring, once in the fall). Dad bought it new in 89 and that was its oil change regiment from day one. I replaced the spark plugs 3 times, wires 3 times, one water pump and 3 alternators. Ran it overheating for almost a year. When I sold it, it'd have 0 oil pressure at an idle once it warmed up, but it never knocked, missed, or gave a moments trouble. I'd still have it if the clutch hadn't have gone out. The car was rusted so bad you could see through it and I didn't feel it was worth $100 for the clutch and my time to put it in. Sold it for $150 to some dude from South Carolina. Hope he made it home!
 
A good friend of mine with a bone stock 95 XJ with a 4.0 is just about to tick over 400,000. He bought it new and the motor still has good compression no knocks or rattles. It is on its 2nd AW4 because of a leaking tranny cooler line, and ran the wrong fluid for almost a year.

My first car was a 78 diesel VW Rabbit, good car for a teenage boy! Only 65 HP but it handled my youthfull torture, sold it to a family friend who drove it on a paper route for many years.The body finally rusted out at about 450,000 I think. Those are the two highest milers I personally know about.
 
I have an 87 with the Renix 4.0 in it with 280,000 on it. I just bought it a few weeks ago with a rod through the block. The VALVOLINE oil filter came apart and dumped all the oil out of the engine while running down the interstate. I guess the PO couldnt hear it knocking over the tires or what but he drove it long enough for a rod to let loose before he realized what had happened. When I bought it, it still ran, just had a rod slapping around stabbing holes in the oil pan and block. Never siezed up. I just dropped in another 4.0 with 180,000 on it and it runs like a top.
 
I have an older Mercedes in my yard on its second speedometer/odometer and the combination has over half a million miles on them. Routine maintenance and synthetic oils have helped to get that mileage but the poor thing is going to rust itself to death.
 
Hm...

I had a rod try to leave the side of the block on my 87 ~220K. Patched up the hole (I found the piece - had a hole big enough to put my fist thru,) put in a new crank/lifters/#6 rod, and put another 50K on it.

My 88 is up somewhere around 300K - the odo quit working at around 280K. And, I've flogged it around pretty good - it's just downchecked right now for a new transmission and replacement of engine management sensors.

For "other engines," my Bug was done by a German mechanic who specialised in German cars - did some Volvos as well. He had a Volvo that had a million mile plaque in it, and a Benz that had two (and was working on a third.) Both he bought new in Europe. (Million Mile Plaque - award for one million road miles without major service. Minor stuff like seals, sump gaskets, and the like OK - but no major engine or transmission work. It's as much a safety award as maintenance - since getting in an incident causes the sort of work that disqualifies you for consideration. I'm not sure if they're giving them out anymore, and I don't recall who did.)
 
As long as you change the oil, a long long time. Longer than the majority of other motors.


The 6 quarts of oil may have a little something to do with it....
 
the AMC 6 is a badass motor, off the top of my head some others that'll last damn near forever...toyota 22r, ford 300, just about any diesel, had a buddy with a 91 fullsize waggy w/the amc 360 and about 200k and still ran strong with good compression but only ran on 6 at idle because a couple lifters wouldn't pump up till it hit some rpm and got the oil pressure up :roflmao:he flogged the crap out of that thing and it just wouldn't quit, he had to quit driving it tho cause it wouldn't pass smog
 
rysam said:
my 92 just turned 175000 last week and i had an 89 ranger (2.9) thats well over the 250000 mark and it is still running strong.
Click to expand...

I had a 2.9 Ranger and I couldn't MAKE the POS run right. I finally had to GIVE it away...
 
Any in-line engine will last longer. But, sometimes they have engineering flaws like the first diesel Ford produced, when the block would split right at the mains. Or the BMW 318's that lost nearly all their coolant and the engines would seize. Or the early Toyota's, Nissans/Datsuns, Subarus and pretty much all early Asian imports.

The best motor to date has to be the aircooled Volkswagen/Porsche rear engine, rear drive, horizontally opposed engines.

Horizontally opposed engines are in theory, the best engine design to date. The service life and durability prove it.

The 4.0 IMO is the best north american inline gas engine ever made.
 
My 2000 XJ has 270,000 miles on it and still runs perfect without burning any oil. The only non maint. part replaced on the whole Jeep was the A/C compressor somewhere after 200,000 miles. I didn't put the majority of miles on it but I know the guy that did and all he did was change the fluids when it was time.
My 87 XJ had about 250,000 miles when I replaced the engine, it still ran fine but I got tired of the rear main and valvecover seals leaking non stop. I just couldn't get them to seal. It was my first vehical and I was very hard on it and hardley ever changed the fluids.
 
Yes,

Every time I drive my Xj, I am impressed by how well it runs. The motor makes noise, lifters and stuff, but even my '04 WJ does make noise with on 74k on it.

A motor that runs 266k seems to be pretty amazing. I keep thinking I should be looking for a later model, but maybe this thing will keep running......

I do change the oil every 3k, but still, with this many miles, I am very impressed by the quality of the motor. I drive this thing skiing all the time, and I am not even worried about it all. Hopefully it will continue......

Enjoy,
Bob:woohoo:
 
I've only owned two XJs, my old '90 Renix and now my '96 Classic, and both eventually experienced oil pump issues, one at 100k and the other at 150k. I'm beginning to believe however that if you run a good 40-weight based synthetic and change the oil pump every 120k miles, these motors will last forever...
 
My 89 had just under 200k when the #6 piston came apart. I dropped in a 130k used motor 6 months ago and it has developed a rod knock. I just took motor #3 to the machine shop yesterday, so I will be starting with a fresh rebuild this time.
 
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