I have to agree on the underpoweredness of the 400 Ford, they really did not get what they could of from the 400. Main reason being government laws and smog regulations, it was a heavily choked down motor as were the newer 460s. Both engines were very durable and would take a beating, yes so will that good ole 300 I6 even more so I think. The Mopar 318 is tougher than a lot of people think, it is definately Chrysler's best motor. 305 Chebby... yep nothin but a boat anchor!

 

I read an article about the mazda rotary. Its redline is in the 22-24,000 rpm range. The tach would say 8 or 9 grand. But it was spinning away. It was run through a gear reduction. To reduce it down to a reasonable rpm for a tranny to accept. And you wonder why they were so fast. The chevy 250 the dodge slant 6 and of course the cummins. Its not totally on even ground because the cummins is the only medium duty rated engine put into a light duty vehicle.

I have put some thought into it. Im not saying its the best so put the knives away. The cummins may go down in history as one of the most reliable engines ever put into the light duty pickup market. Now here is my reasoning. Name all the engines ever built that has been documented to exceed 1 million miles. I have heard of four. A I-5 mercedes. A I-5 volvo, actually just hit 2 million on the original tranny and rear end, but the engine had been rebuilt at 600k. A Ford psd. And the dodge cummins. But the distinguishing factor is. The dodge has several over one million, without so much as a head gasket. The cummins engine is rated from the factory for 1.8 million miles on the block. And as the years go on there will be alot more. The mercedes and the volvo are both very old. The oldest cummins powered dodge is about to have its 15th birthday. There are not near as many mercedes volvos or fords over the million mile mark. Although the PSD is very young in comparison. But a few of the IDIs should have made it by now. In the severe duty industries. But I may be mistaken. In another decade all the dust will have settled and the diesel engine will have been killed off by the epa. The difficult thing with getting a diesel to have that many miles is that the ones putting on the excessive miles are being worked very hard. So they earn every mile. Its not like a passenger car making it to one million. Because a passenger car will never have a 20k load attached to it.

 

I have a 2.8 s10. It is alright. Not a powerhouse. But its got a few miles on it. I hate the 305. Had one and it sucked. Ive seen 4 bangers move quicker.
I give the subaru 2.2 an honorable mention in the reliablility department. Mostly because the car is very well built. What good is a great engine if the fenders and axles fall off.

As for the jeep 2.8. I seen one the other day that was incredible. Supercharged putting out somewhere around 200 hp. It was a mean bugger. The gentleman driving it was taking it to australia for some kind of extreme 4x4 outing. The jeeps 4.0 is a solid engine. Its one of the longest production engines that is still in production. You know the epa keeps killing the old ones off. But that 4.0 is hanging on. I think its working on 21 years. They are at 195hp. Quite spunky for an I-6. It accelerates like a V-8. Durn jeep makes that pedal a little too sensitive to increase the perception of power. If you offroaded in the V-8 you could get into trouble quick with that pedal. Not cool. Tap it and she lunges. No room to milk it. If your ever hanging by a thread and need to ease into it. You are a dead man.

 

Since Ive never owned but only one big block..a 390 and it caried that 60 Panel right down the road... my vote has to go for the 289/302s. Ive revved them beyond my own imagination, stomped enough booty in a few races--'cept against a 340 MOPAR which gave me a run for my money fer sure.
2nd choice fir great engine has got to be for the 300-6. Strong, torquey - real winner up against V-8s on the circle tracks, but back then they broke cams racing in a circle.
3rd Chioce is the 460 - torque .

bad engines? since I'm not a mechanic I will avoid too much comment. But my brother hated the Ford small V6 for some rebuilders reasoning--guess they had to be sleeved rather than rebored. He consideredsleeving to be a pain.

 

I personally like the 289 better than the 302. 460 heckuva workhorse, same for the 300 I6 I got one and love it. Tons of bottom end torque and they last forever!

 

300-6 definetly high on my list. But most isuzu motors are also realy good, for a 4 banger they pull realy hard and will work vary hard (thier whopping 85 HP and 95lbs-ft in the 1.8L, and my luv regularly pulls a 2000lbs trailer whithout problems).

 

Not only do they work hard but you just flat out can not kill those little Isuzu motors! A friend of mine had one he ran the heck out of that stinkin thing, he took it places I would think twice about taking my 4wd ( he was only 2wd). I can't count how many times he ran that thing with no oil in it, and it still ran good!

 

"The Ford 5.8L 351CID-M pushrod V8 280HP"

Mattsbox99, where did you find those specs for the 351m??

 

These are the best engines based on My experience and general knowledge.

Best:
4Cyl: Mitsubishi 2.0L Turbo 4G63 (6bolt)
This motor takes a beating and then some. Ive run 25 pounds of boost on this motor stock. Over boosted briefly to god knows how much boost and it took it all with over 175,000 miles on her. I eventually detonated her to death with high boost and Low octane racing a supercharged BMW M3 on the highway with 205,000 miles on her( I won the engine lost).

6Cyl: Mopar slant 6
I had this baby in my moms '77 Plymouth Volari. It didn't make much power but I overheated that thing more times than I could count. I think we changed the oil once or twice in her life, It kind of developed a permanent sludge on the inside of the motor. The oil cap used to stick when you tried to take it off it was so thick, but she didnt seem to care. Just kept on running. She was 234,000+ miles(odemeter stopped working in '83, she died in 88) when a frontal collision finally sent her to the grave yard.

8cyl: Toyota 4.0L 4cam 32valve V8
This is by far the smoothest V8 I have ever known. It is in the 1990-1997 Lexus LS400. You can pop the hood on her, put a Quarter on top of the motor and rev it to 6400RPM. The quarter will not vibrate off. No BS. She makes decent power for the size, just 247ci: 260lbs/ft torque and 250hp. I have had her for over 10 years and 245,678 miles, she has never failed me. I know of two other 1990 models with over 400,000 miles on the original motor.

Honorable mentions:
8Cyl: Ford 5.0L 302 V8
This motor is a tried and true work horse. I loved it in my '83 stang convertable. Lasted 165,000 abusive miles before growing tired.

Chevy 5.7L 350 V8
A marvel of longevity that keeps getting better and better.

6cyl AMC straight 6
I had this motor in a '73 postal Jeep my dad bought at an auction in '85. This thing had TORQUE. I could get the front wheels off the ground with the posi-traction and a trans drop from N to D. Smoked the Monte Carlo SS' of the day. Still sits in my dads garage (for over a decade now). I still go over once and a while to start her up. She's way to rusty to risk driving.

Worst motors
4Cyl: anything pre-Millenium domestic. If you had a good experience you are the minority. nuff said.

6cyl: Ford 3.8L V6
I worked at a ford dealership and most anything they put out with this motor lived at the shop. Expecially the ThunderBird SC. They snapped cranks like they were plastic, plus the pistons slapped enough to scuff the cylinder walls.

8cyl: Chevy 350 diesel and 8,6,4.
My neighbor had the Dielsel, and it stank in more ways than one. It died with the temporary tags still on it. Classic. Poor Old lady had the 8,6,4 too. I just remeber my dad taking her to work a lot while the car was down. I think it got stuck in 4cyl mode once and couldn't make it up her drive way. It was in a Cadilac.

 

Worst: Anything with a blue oval on it, period, end of story.

 

Hey Chevysrock,
Did you miss the sign on the door ?

Ford vs The Competition
Technical discussion only. Emotional threads, flame wars and trolls will not be tolerated.



I see you had nothing intelligient to add to this discussion!

Bye!

 

My lil old 302 is still truckin, and I rag hell out of it, seeing as how i get to stroke it to 347 soon But my sisters Toyota corolla SR5.... what a peice!!! 5 head gaskets since it was new in 87, 3 of which were still under warrenty and done at the dealership. The 300-6's do great untill they overheat. A buddy of mine had a 94 F150 and he had a wreck that punctured the radiator, and the thing ran hot. It still ran, but not too well. Another friend has a 90 that blew the bottom radiator hose, and at 80 on the freeway, it was too late before he realized it. Cracked the head, so he bought a new one. It ran for a while, and still will for about 20 min. Never had a ford leave me stranded. Same guy has a 78 Malibu with a 305. No problems with the motor, but it has had 3 transmissions.

 

Mil1ion ... Nicely put.

The Ford I6, yep... Bullet proof!

The Ford 3.8V6 an I6 rival..... 225K - Strong and still running.

The Ford 3.024V..... Spunky lil'engine, don't let them swap out the (what I call) throttle body.... It's smaller and will decrease your HP. It's too late for me

The new 4.6 and 5.4...... I'm not impressed, maybe time will tell!

The Ford V10............... A 460 Wannabe!

The Ford Diesel.......... Gobs of power but is it worth the $$$?

The GM 305......... Someone took a boat anchor and made it an engine!

My all time favorite..... It's still the 351C. It's like an artist, it only got good after it died

 

For the most part all the Ford truck engines were good except the 3.8 V6 of course ( leave it in a car!)

My personal favorites:
Ford
300 I6 - never die, dependable as an ox, lots o torque
2.9 V6 - peppy, dependable, long runner
351W - Easy to build, good power band, good all around
400 - Torque torque torque
460 - moves mountains

Chevy
283 - last forever, very durable, lot's of potential
250 I6 - strong, last forever
292 I6 - just like a 300, I call "Chevy's 300"
327 - hot rod motor, strong, very fast
350 - just a good all around motor
454 - moves mountains too, but not as good as the 460

Mopar
225 slant 6 - long lasting, never die, dependable
318 - just a good durable long lasting engine
340 - lots o torque, very fast

 

Ya know how long I looked at this, trying to come up with an appropriate response without lowering myself to his level? I found it to be a physical and mental challenge, too great for my feeble mind at this hour and after a day of working with the mentally ill. But its obvious... the saying holds true, I guess...
IGNORANCE IS BLISS.