Most reliable consumer automotive engine. Your opinion.

[kastein]

Long time forumite Rich P reported some time ago that he had an S-10 with a 2.8 that went well over a half million miles. I can't remember the exact figure, but it was ridiculously high - six hundred something, I think. As I recall, he said he could have gone further but he messed with it trying to fix the oil leaks, and apparently disturbed its chi or something.

Where is Rich anyway? Anybody heard from him recently?

Haven't seen him in a while. He and Joe Peters both fell off the face of the earth around the same time. Hasn't been on since September 11th of last year and hasn't posted since the same day.

 

[volaredon]

Chrysler slant six was a good one too.

that and the 318 get my vote along with the Jeep 4.0

 

[ChevelleSSLS6]

i dont remember the last time i cared about mileage. well maybe i can... i think it was when my civic spun a rod bearing at 54k. at that point, i decided mileage didnt mean a damn thing. several 200k plus mileage vehicles later (which i still own and drive), i stand by that decision. and i wont buy jap crap again.

civic slushbox fail @ 175k. I changed the fluid (with that expsensive Honda-special crap) and it looked good, filled it to spec.

No reverse... well, it worked just like it should sometimes, and othertimes it'd grind and sound horrible, putting it into neutral the grinding would continue and slow like it was attached to a flywheel of some sort. A little shove (or parking on an incline) and it would ALWAYS shift into reverse.

I want to drive something roomier (but gets good economy and I won't cry when it rots away) but wife said 'NO!'. I know the in-laws love their Hondumbs, so I'm trying to get the 'fleet' to be all American cars/Jeep...

I liked the 1992 Accord I had, it was a stickshift with the 2.2. Tired, yes, but it still ran and got me where I needed to go on the cheap, and sacrificed its own sheetmetal for my Jeep. Everyone said I "needed" something newer, and I ended up with a 2007 whachamacallit that the wife drives. Sucks as it costs $$$ to insure (I had the Accord and her Civic on PLPD. Nice. Left $$ for Jeep fund) and having a long commute, I got the wife's Civic (I hate that car).

I miss that 257k mile Accord. After trading it in, I left a note to 'future owner' to contact me, and I found that it was in a pik-a-part junkyard a couple weeks later. I think it's a lot better CAR than the Civic. Maintained, I think the engines are great, the manual gearboxes are great (tired synchros and linkages are understandable for the miles on the Accord), but the stupid Civic makes funny noises and squeaks compared to the only real Accord complaint of needing pliers to open the door. I chalked that up as a "thief entrapment device" if some sorry soul were dumb enough to do such a thing.

 

[N8N_99xj]

With the exception, perhaps, of the last generation of pancake bus engines with sodium filled valves (the one shared with the Porsche 912), I would be pretty hard put to rate any aircooled VW in the "most reliable" class. I did once take one of those over 150K miles. They were great engines in their own peculiar way, but their tendency to suck valves and blow up into little pieces puts them pretty far down my list.

They got a reputation for reliability back in the days when the standard life expectancy of a car was a hundred thousand miles, and their competition, Renaults and Fiats and the like, were hard put to make it past 30. But by any current standard I think any engine that needs a valve job every 40K is out of the running.

However the *watercooled* veedubs are unstoppable... Have had a whole mess of them and never opened one up ever save for one 16v that burned a valve (no idea why/how, ran fine after putting a junkyard head on) my scirocco with 250k miles still compression tested within spec for a new engine...

 

[N8N_99xj]

I daresay the man was being sarcastic...although my Mom and I had an 86 2.8 that ran us over 350k before we sold it. The only issue we had was the brakes and horrible rust being in NY. This was in an S10.

I hate those things just because they sound like a flatulent boxer. Seriously, I can't think of a worse sounding exhaust note, and that includes cart canned civics.

 

[bjoehandley]

I hate those things just because they sound like a flatulent boxer. Seriously, I can't think of a worse sounding exhaust note, and that includes cart canned civics.

Those did sound odd with a bad muffler, then again the one we had was pretty lousy, car and all.

 

[Milford Cubicle II]

243,000 on my 98 Accord V-6 and it still averages 27mpg and doesn't use oil between changes.

:bs:

 

[volaredon]

sorry; being born in the USA lived here all my life furthest I have ever been out of the US was a visit on a family vacation to Canada when I was like 5, I wont consider Honduh toyota nissan or the like. and I hate front wheel drives with a passion. Never owned one but have worked on plenty.
that said if longevity is king over anything I have to say that inline 6s are "it"
V8 wise gotta go with 318 first and 302 next.... V6 wise I have seen tons of 3.9 v6's (most commonly found in Dodge Dakotas) with 200K+ and still going strong now if economy is king the 318 commonly outdoes it; even though the 3.9 is only "3/4 of a 318" it is no better on fuel; so having my cake and eating it too, says to take the 318 Like Tim taylor says "more power" with no mileage penalty; best of both worlds

 

[Vanimal]

civic slushbox fail @ 175k. I changed the fluid (with that expsensive Honda-special crap) and it looked good, filled it to spec.

No reverse... well, it worked just like it should sometimes, and othertimes it'd grind and sound horrible, putting it into neutral the grinding would continue and slow like it was attached to a flywheel of some sort. A little shove (or parking on an incline) and it would ALWAYS shift into reverse.

I want to drive something roomier (but gets good economy and I won't cry when it rots away) but wife said 'NO!'. I know the in-laws love their Hondumbs, so I'm trying to get the 'fleet' to be all American cars/Jeep...

I liked the 1992 Accord I had, it was a stickshift with the 2.2. Tired, yes, but it still ran and got me where I needed to go on the cheap, and sacrificed its own sheetmetal for my Jeep. Everyone said I "needed" something newer, and I ended up with a 2007 whachamacallit that the wife drives. Sucks as it costs $$$ to insure (I had the Accord and her Civic on PLPD. Nice. Left $$ for Jeep fund) and having a long commute, I got the wife's Civic (I hate that car).

I miss that 257k mile Accord. After trading it in, I left a note to 'future owner' to contact me, and I found that it was in a pik-a-part junkyard a couple weeks later. I think it's a lot better CAR than the Civic. Maintained, I think the engines are great, the manual gearboxes are great (tired synchros and linkages are understandable for the miles on the Accord), but the stupid Civic makes funny noises and squeaks compared to the only real Accord complaint of needing pliers to open the door. I chalked that up as a "thief entrapment device" if some sorry soul were dumb enough to do such a thing.

the accords may very well be better, however i just will never go that route again. plus the money many hondas cost for what you get is retarded. i can get a much newer domestic car for half the price, and it will last just as long. my saturn is 2005, was WAY cheaper than even a 2000 honda, and the ecotec 2.2 is also a damn good reliable motor. plus with a manual trans, it should be just fine for a long time. gas mileage is decent for an SUV at near 30mpg to boot.
plus it still smells like the hot soccer mom who owned it inside :shhh:

 

[87manche]

sorry; being born in the USA lived here all my life furthest I have ever been out of the US was a visit on a family vacation to Canada when I was like 5, I wont consider Honduh toyota nissan or the like.

that's a pretty narrow view, especially given that foreign manufacturers have actually increased their manufacturing presence in this country, while our own domestic manufacturers were forced to move heavy industry out of the country to be competitive.

Way to go UAW.

seriously, Honda and Toyota employ more in my state than the big three do now. Ford is the only one to bring back anything, tey just announced a new line up at the old Lorain plant, and they paid dearly to do it. Were it not for some pretty big tax breaks I don't think it would have happened. I found it humorous that a bunch of laid off workers demanded signing bonuses before they would return to work. Really? Just be happy you're going back to work.

anyway this thing has gotten way sidetracked.

inline sixes for the win.
4.0
M20/25
slant six

 

[Vanimal]

that's a pretty narrow view, especially given that foreign manufacturers have actually increased their manufacturing presence in this country, while our own domestic manufacturers were forced to move heavy industry out of the country to be competitive.

Way to go UAW.

seriously, Honda and Toyota employ more in my state than the big three do now. Ford is the only one to bring back anything, tey just announced a new line up at the old Lorain plant, and they paid dearly to do it. Were it not for some pretty big tax breaks I don't think it would have happened. I found it humorous that a bunch of laid off workers demanded signing bonuses before they would return to work. Really? Just be happy you're going back to work.

anyway this thing has gotten way sidetracked.

inline sixes for the win.
4.0
M20/25
slant six

so what makes outsourcing ok for other countries? Saying it's ok because it happens to benefit your state/country is a bit narrow viewed as well. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Japan who could use the work too. They're only doing it because it's profitable in some way/shape/form, so still greed driven just like everyone else.
Ford's the only one i have even a little respect for at this point, even though their hands aren't spotless either. If i were to buy a new car, it would likely be Ford, and probably another Mustang (modular 4.6 is another tough motor, think about all the cabs, police cars, and town cars using the same motor or a variation of it).
Remember, honda and toyota humpers, just because it doesnt have enough torque to break stuff, doesnt mean it's a well built car. I bet even a gm quad4 would tear those poor things apart.

 

[87manche]

so what makes outsourcing ok for other countries? Saying it's ok because it happens to benefit your state/country is a bit narrow viewed as well. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Japan who could use the work too. They're only doing it because it's profitable in some way/shape/form, so still greed driven just like everyone else.
Ford's the only one i have even a little respect for at this point, even though their hands aren't spotless either. If i were to buy a new car, it would likely be Ford, and probably another Mustang (modular 4.6 is another tough motor, think about all the cabs, police cars, and town cars using the same motor or a variation of it).
Remember, honda and toyota humpers, just because it doesnt have enough torque to break stuff, doesnt mean it's a well built car. I bet even a gm quad4 would tear those poor things apart.

Fact is that Honda contributes more to my state and my location than any of the big three. Thats in property taxes, payroll taxes and wages. all of those people contribute to my local economy as well. I have no loyalty to a company just because they're headquartered in Detroit.


greed is not evil. Greed is responsible for the modern world we live in and pretty much all of the technological advances made in the last 200 years. Capitalism freed men to make things and make themselves rich. Don't act like it's such a terrible thing.

 

[Vanimal]

Fact is that Honda contributes more to my state and my location than any of the big three. Thats in property taxes, payroll taxes and wages. all of those people contribute to my local economy as well. I have no loyalty to a company just because they're headquartered in Detroit.


greed is not evil. Greed is responsible for the modern world we live in and pretty much all of the technological advances made in the last 200 years. Capitalism freed men to make things and make themselves rich. Don't act like it's such a terrible thing.

it just happens to benefit you, but it's still screwing over somebody somewhere else.
As someone who owns a manufacturing business and worked in the trade for my entire working career, i think outsourcing is an evil greed. There's no need for it if you operate efficiently, on both blue collar and white collar sides of the fence. That's something we're generally not good at, which is why we're scrambling to half-ass implement Toyota's Lean Manufacturing techniques in almost every plant in the states. And as a former Manufacturing Engineer, i stress half-assed.

 

[Milford Cubicle II]

Fact is that Honda contributes more to my state and my location than any of the big three.

Talk about greedy.

What about the rest of the US?

 

[ChevelleSSLS6]

so what makes outsourcing ok for other countries? Saying it's ok because it happens to benefit your state/country is a bit narrow viewed as well. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Japan who could use the work too. ...

Japan has it's own manufacturing plants for the local (Japanese) market; and most/all their cars are about the size of a Honda fit.

For the Jap-haters, gotta give them kudos for putting together good engines, but to the jap-juice drinkers: a girl I know had a Grand Prix with over 300k on it's 3100v6 (yes 3100) before it got into an accident which finished it off, and it's not uncommon for me to see a Jeep in the boneyard (normally XJs) with 250k+ miles, and some with 300k+.

With the whole nation debate, I'd rather drive an American engineered car with American made parts assembled here in America. However, if they don't have any that suit my needs, I'm not afraid to look elsewhere.

That's why I have a Kawasaki vulcan 900. Sure, HD (average 55% USA parts) has the 883 and 1200 with a small 2.5 or so gallon fuel tank, but I want a cruiser of 800-1200cc with a fuel tank that offers some range. Thus I found the Kawasaki and it's 5.x gallon fuel tank. Sure, it's made in Japan (many Kawasaki products are built here for the US market so it made me feel better), but it meets my needs. I thought about Victory and Indian, but neither company offers a mc in my cc range, price range (I was looking $10,000 or less new), and both have much larger engines. Even though their USA part content is 92 and 95% for Victory and Indian, their offerings didn't meet my needs.

percentage numbers from a buddy of mine who works at the local Indian/Victory/Toro/JD dealership.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Since I'm not a communist, I try to distinguish between greed and profit, even though it's hard to do so the way some corporations are run these days. However, we need to remember that profit is not necessarily just greed, and companies which succeed and continue to build the cars we like have done so by continuing , or at least trying to continue, to be profitable.

Ford makes cars for other markets in other countries too. Part of the reason Ford is practically the last company standing is because they made enough money outside the US to cover their US losses, and were smart enough to do it before the axe fell. I give them props for good management, and I'm happy my Focus was made in Michigan by UAW workers with decent wages and benefits, but I'm not betting that Ford's management will sprout halos and wings any time soon.

Like Chevelle above, I prefer when I can to buy a car made in the US by a US company, but only if they are making something I want. They're getting a little better at it, I think. Let's hope they can hold on.

 

[tbburg]

Not sure how a reliability conversation got sidetracked to a discussion about greed,.. but:

There's nothing evil about greed. Greed is why I go to work in the morning. Most of you are the same. How many of you would still go to work at the same job for no pay? How about 1/2 pay? 3/4?

I don't think I'm way out in left field on the forum here, and I own 4 Jeeps. I could live happy and fine with less pay and fewer vehicles, a cheaper(smaller) apartment, and a LOT fewer guns.

A lot of problems here and abroad are the result of excessive greed, but more problems are caused worldwide, and more people die every year, by policies put in place that don't take into account the fact of human greed. Face it, communism in it's many forms fails so spectacularly because it fails to answer or even acknowledge the question, "What's in it for me?"