When did piston engine quality zoom?

My car is just run-in at 104k. Not bad for a teenager.
I’m about to change the Gearbox oil, supposedly “Sealed for life” but life in BMW manuals means 100k. I’m beginning to feel Gear changes, which should not happen in a 7 unless I use kick down or REALLY FAST kick down. Problem is, it needs changing twice within 100 miles, to ensure that most of the residues have come out of the torque converter. You can never get all the old Gearbox oil out, unless I put it on the Fuselage turnover fixture at Warton LoL. The GB takes 10 litres at £15 per litre, so it’s a £300 job!
I change lump oil and oil filter every 10k (Should be more freq. but money is tight). I run a magnet through my old oil, see what’s in it. Touchwood, nothing “Feelable” yet. As my Sparky plugs are only £2.30 each (OK, probably now £4.00 each after the 3% rise in VAT in Rip Off Britain) I change all 8 twice a year. It takes a few hours as the rear ones are back-breakingly hard to reach. I’m expecting to get minimum 250k miles from her, the lump will do it, it’s the electrics that need nursing. It’s built after the end of real solder (With lead in it) so the old “Dry joints” problem is possible. I still have a few meters of real solder (1mm diam) left and a meter of real plumbers solder rods. Remember when lead pipes were mended by that massive swolen bit LoL.
By the way, dry joints can often be overcome by a quick waft of the circuit board with a heat gun. Obviously not too close! I believe some Wii’s are already being repaired in this way, anybody confirm?

The day of messing with sticky SU carbs, split hoses, and Lucas electrics on a daily basis are thankfully over, unless you still dabble in old vehicles.

I can’t agree with this. Poor maintenance, and the influx of building things so cheaply meant that they failed on a regular basis – if you maintain things as specified most of those things listed don’t crop up much – certainly not daily.

SU’s shouldn’t stick, and if serviced regularly, don’t. You can’t really argue parts aren’t available to service them as everything’s available new, from SU themselves.

Split hoses applies to any vehicle even today.. and more so now that a lot of people don’t know how to check their own antifreeze. Half the reason the hoses go is because they’re run with water in rather than coolant; and rot as a result.

Lucas electrics, well, we all know the jokes – but they only really became known for how bad they were during the dark days of BL and the 1970’s. Yet look how long the company has been going…

Just to add to the longevity part of things.. the engine in my car was the original 40 year old one. I lost it due to a mechanical failure of a major component, at 179,000 miles.

Regards

Rich

Ahhh – Lucas…Prince of Darkness :diablo:

😉 An automotive thread wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the evil one:D

http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

Precisely Baz, preecisely!:D

Lucas electrics

Ahhh – Lucas…Prince of Darkness :diablo:

I should have pointed out that I mean that it was just the engines that I think were tougher.
Cooling, fuel, timing/management, and ancillaries are far superior now of course, and these obviously help the perceived longevity of the actual engine.
The day of messing with sticky SU carbs, split hoses, and Lucas electrics on a daily basis are thankfully over, unless you still dabble in old vehicles.

Metals have improved, fuels have improved, Oils have improved.
But I reckon the biggest Engine prolonger is the improvement in cooling systems. In the 60’s, a day trip to the seaside inevitably meant a steam cloud! (Not for us, we had the working mans Rolls Royce…a REAL Rover. (90). 🙂
I would suggest late 70’s Early 80’s was the start of the improvements in these areas.

As for new cars changing engines……it’s probably easier to swap a lump than mend it…especially since the demise of proper apprenticeships and decent training schemes generally.

I remember when I was a kid that if an engine qot 100,000 miles on it, it was done….just throw it away. Now it’s not uncommon on to see engines with 200 t0 400 thousand on them. they’re running trouble free.

I can’t agree with that premise at all, the old engines would go on forever if you looked after them, Rover, Jag, Volvo, & Merc motors would run well into their 100,000s miles if looked after, indeed Mercs famous for covering a million miles on nothing more than oil, filters, and chain changes.

Conversely I’m amazed at how many recent cars you see advertised that have had a new or replacement engine fitted, which I can never understand. Had to look at a 08 Mitzi L200 the other day for the boss with 64k miles on the clock but had a new engine just fitted. Alot of comparatively new motors seem to be residing in scrapyards aswel.

Things seem a lot more ‘throw away’ these days, especialy when you consider how straightforward the old stuff was to maintain by the owner, beyond the mechanics it is almost impossible now once the electrics and electronics start playing up.

I agree that looking after your engine with at least basic maintainance is the clincher for making them last though, and flicking through classifieds it seems like 150k on an eight year old car is average now.

I agree that if you look after them engines have always had long lives. I had a 2.3 diesel Ford Sierra estate with, at best estimate, 193000 on it and that engine was still going strong even though the body work was on its way out. I didn’t worry too much about taking any special care of it but it still never let me down.

Not sure about the neglect thing, I suppose as long as you don’t neglect the bits that matter the thing will last for ages, take for example my daily usage chariot, it’s an S reg Ford Mondeo, rough as guts, done over 120,000 miles now, yet it only gets worked on if something breaks or is totally worn out to the point of illegality or MOT failure* (*which ever is soonest)
It gets a fairly regular oil & filter change, usually at no fixed mileage, just when remember or think that it needs doing.
The car does not get washed, well, it does, but only when it rains, it is not cherished as I see some folk do, & unlike the time of my parents it most certainly is not an investment.

When the wonder shed dies, it’ll be replaced with younger example & the cycle will repeat itself.

The Mustang of course is a different matter;)

Back to the original question, I believe that engine tech is far better these days, electronic fuel injection prevents bore wash that was a big killer with carb engines, as mentioned before, modern oils probably help also, so you could say it is a combination of elements that have progressed engines to the higher state of reliability we see today.

There are of course a few dogs lying in wait out there to catch the unwary, it would be unfair to highlight too many individual cases, but special mention must go to the Ford Probe (Mazda engined) both the 4 & 6 cylinder versions are cack, my 24v effort died spectacularly at 74k miles with full service history.

It’s all down to the top quality oil and filtering if done regular like every 8k it will run for starship mileage.

With cars it’s neglect that kills them they get serviced for 3 yrs from new then maybe another 3yrs if your lucky then it’s hit and miss from then on, not everybody of course but many.

Isn’t the car with the highest mileage a 1960’s Volvo? Something over a million miles.

neither!
look after an engine and it will run for ever.