Also gonna represent the often underappreciated 1MZ-FE. Not the most powerful engine of its day, but it’s tough as nails (so long as you’re at least somewhat dilligent with oil changes). Plus it sounds pretty decent.
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There are not many great candidates. There is only one candidate, the Detriot diesel and associated Oldsmobile diesel.
A true engineering triumph this was at the time. Despite what people say, they are remarkably reliable, and the 22:5:1 compression ratio was WAY beyond what any gasoline engines were capable of at the time. It made full sized American cars capable of 30+ MPG, again, numbers nobody could match at the time, and would still be a struggle even today. These engines even continue to see use in gasoline racers today. Had it not been for the fuel crisis, this is what we would all be driving in America.
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Mercedes 190D. Nuff’ said.
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I dont know but in my opinion i like the pentastar engine and some people say its not built right
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22.5 compression is way beyond what any gas engine has EVER been capable of
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Problem with the Oldsmobile diesels, they were not reliable and made no power(no power even for the era), rolled coal like mad, and had terrible NVH. The engines had alot of major issues. It had no water separator for the fuel system, in which diesel at the time had alot of water in it, so the fuel system failed often. Head gasket issues, as it had the same 10 bolt head pattern as the gas 350 so the bolts broke due to the increased pressure. It had a class action lawsuit against it and was only made for 8 years.
Overall, it was an engine ruined from the start due to cost cutting measures by GM.
That said, the best engine that is best at being an engine nominees for me are:
Gen 3 small block chevy (LS) Gen 4 LS based engines have alot of issues relating to the displacement on demand(active fuel management)
GM 3800 Series II and III
Chrysler Slant Six
Ford 300 inline 6 and 4.6L 2 valve only
Toyota 4A and 22RE
Honda K Series
Mercedes M113
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Air does not boil. Air does not freeze. Mechanical simplicity. Used on anyting, from cars, planes, boats, helicopters, industrial pumps, truck pumps,race cars, etc. Created in the 30’s and still usable. Can run with any oil, even kitchen oil. For sure the best damn engine ever created by humankind. Just don’t mind the 100k km overhaul. If you want to skip it, it will keep on running.
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The freezing point of air is somewhere below -210°c
The boiling point of liquid air is -194.35 °C
Yes it does, not under normal circumstances, but it does.
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If absolute reliability and longevity is your thing, you can’t really do any better than an old truck diesel, especially those from the 1960s-1980s. Built before the headaches that come with modern electronic engine management systems and additional emission reducing equipment, this general type of engine is almost entirely mechanical, very simple in its construction, yet produces good power and efficiency thanks to direct injection and turbocharging. These engines are built for a service life of a million miles, and most of them can easily exceed this with maintenance and some minor rebuilds here and there (piston rings and bearings, mostly). Furthermore, engines like this can sit for years on end, and will generally fire right up with little more than a service and some fresh diesel. Combine these attributes in one package and you can see why these old engines still serve regular duty in lesser regulated parts of the world.
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The Jaguar XK6 is forever the right answer. 40+ years in production and it’s longevity is no fluke. smooth, torque-y, reasonably reliable, and outperformed the competition for years to come after it debuted in 1949
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I have a soft spot for the AMC straight-6 engine.
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And pretty much the norm for naturally aspirated Diesels.
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Wait… DOHC in 1949?
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yeah, and not the first. Lagonda did it in 1948, and Bugatti and Alfa Romeo in the 1920’s/1930’s
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My top engines, based on miles derived, only receiving basic maintenance.
First. At my station in life, that’s all I can afford anyway.
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2000 Volvo V70 XC (B5244T) Turbo 5. We just had to scrap this. We bought it with 250k miles (400k km), and in 3 years, it was up to 380k miles. The engine was still fine; except the valve cover gasket was going, and oil was getting into the cylinder heads (would’ve been an easy enough fix, but parts are getting scarce for this car). The real problem was a convergence of small issues that ended costing more to fix than the car was worth (brakes, cv joint, fuel line)
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2004 Buick Century (LG8) V6. see also Kids! Man! (Farewell Buck). I bought this car with only 70k miles (impressive as it was 10 years old at the time), and drove it for approximately 180k miles longer (between myself, my niece, and my daughter). When we scrapped it, the engine was still running quite strong, as was the transmission. After an accident, and quite possibly a 2nd (still don’t know how she broke the strut), I had to get rid of it.
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It’s not actually a reliable engine per se, but the CVH I4 of 2nd gen North American Ford Escorts, were incredibly easy and cheap to fix. No repair ever costed more than $500 (blown clutch), with most repairs being $35 at a U-pull lot; or in one case (actually, it happened on all 3 that I owned) with a pcv hose, that oddly enough autozone doesn’t carry, $1.25 and a little creativity. All 3 got me to 200K miles. The 2 stick shifts averaged 30+ MPG delivering pizzas! The automatic, not so much.
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It was an ad catchphrase.
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Mercedes Benz diesel engines from mid 70’s to early 00’s Especially OM603 and OM606 3.0 straight sixes
While there was 2.0 inline fours that made measily 55hp up to the “high power” 174hp 3.0 Turbo mojority of these engines lasted easily 500.000km (310k miles) if they were reasnably well maintained during this time. and the really well maintained engnes pushed close to 1m km (621k miles) and some lasted beyond that before completely giving up, Usually the car was giving up other more or less minor problems before the engione gave up.
80’s and 90’s mercedeses were often used as taxis where I live, majority of them cloking over 700k km before being replaced, and my friend used to own one with full service history that had over 1.170.000 km driven before the engine was overhauled first time. I dont know is that car alive anymore, my last knowledge of it was when he sold it 1.400.000km driven. although by that point almost everything had been changed, only the original engine block and head remained. and that was back in 2009.
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My grandfather bought a 1971 220D in 1973, when it was retired in the late 90s, it had passed 1100 000 km…
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174 isn’t terrible for a 3.0 in the 80’s/90’s, especially for a diesel. Idk. Maybe I’m too used to American 7.0 V8 diesels with 300 HP and 1000 lb-ft of torque. (Not an exaggeration BTW)
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Assuming it hasn’t been mentioned already, I’ll voice my support for the Toyota 2GR V6. Fantastic engines, 3.5 liters, up to 300 horsepower, and with Toyota reliability. I’ve spent a lot of time driving a Sienna with the engine, and it’s an excellent piece of kit.
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