Just wondering why you guys think a ford 300-6 lasts so long. i have my own reasoning but, would rather not **** any of you guys off by telling you it lol.

 

Probably because it has low output per cubic inch and it doesn't spin very fast.

 

I would tend to think it's because it has less moving parts for one,which also makes it simpler. Then you have 7 main bearings for strength. Plus I believe that inline is inherently a better design. Look at Europe, most of their engines are 4 cyl. and inline sixes.

 

yah i was going for the same reasoning as silver but, worded differently. Couldn't figure out how to post it not being offensive in my mind but, i agree low out put and low rpm. 7 main bearings does help but, the extra long turning assembly probably needs the extra strength as opposed to most v8s with 5. (i think 5 i barely know jack about anything im 16 lol).

 

Mine lasts because my driving makes your grandmother look like richard petty Seriously, I have really taken a liking to inline designs. I have a honda and a tacoma, both with fours. Look at the dodge cummins- I6. And chevy went back to the I5 and I6 for the canyon. They are just a good design. I think it is because there is less side force on the crank.

 

I don't think the bearings have anything to do with it. The bearing area per cubic inch is barely above the 351W on the mains, and the rod bearing size is the same as a 302 but must support almost 30% more displacement per bearing. It does help that the I6 is naturally balanced unlike other engines.

 

yeah i was wondering why it lasts so long too

 

Jim Croce said it best when he sang:

" 'cause it's a bad, bad, inline six. A the baddest mill in the whole damn town. Badder than ol' king kong, meaner than a junkyard dog!"

And of course he also sang:

"You don't walk on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger and you don't outlast a big Ford six."

Or something like that.

 

You can't bust a timing chain on the 300 either, it doesn't have one. Can you buy a new truck today with a gear drivin cam?

 

You can bust the plastic gear, though. Bu with a steel gear, you have nothing to fear.

 

it's actually fairly simple...with a v-style engine, the cylinders are on a slant, which allows gravity to pull on the piston, gradually allowing the piston to wear cylinder wall material off of the bottom side of the cylinder....with an inline engine, the cylinders are positioned vertically, with no "bottom side" do the cylinder, so gravity has basically no effect on the wear of the cylinder...

MontanaFord

 

I wish mine went past 149500 miles. It was hurting, It had a leaky head gasket for years, I think that helped wreck a couple of cylinders and bearings. The engine sounded like it had a handful of ball-bearings in the oil pan, and she had terrible blow-by and oil leaking out every gasket. The engine could have made it 200,000 miles though, it would have been a mess, but I think it would have made it.I had the money and initiative, so I put a Reman in the truck and this new engine better get more than 150,000 miles!!!

 

There are probably several reasons that combine:

1) Makes all the power it's gonna make by about 2400 rpm. (stock) There is no REASON to wind it up to 4 grand before every shift.

2) It's not so much the bearing support area, but the interval between the support. The unsupported length of crank between 7-main sixes is much shorter than between 5-main v-8's or some of Fords old 4-main 6's. It is a LOT harder to turn a 240-300 crank into a jump rope than the others, both for this reason and reson #1. And once you actually flex a crank, it is structually much weaker, even if you never wind it that high again.

3) well, it's a FORD! DUH!

My brother worked at a concrete plant that had half a dozen pick-ups that were free for anyone to use to run out to construction sites. 89-92 F-150's all with 300's and t18, with 4.11 rear-ends. ALL of them had over 200k without ever having a wrench on the motor. One, had well over 300k. Ask anyone who has ever maintained any kind of a fleet how rare that is when you have any one of 20-30 ppl driving a truck on any given day. They all looked like work trucks, but were finally sold off when they got a big hail storm through Shreveport. My brother is still kicking himself for not buying one for $1200 when it was offered to him.

 

One of the main reasons I can think of off the top of my head is that there is no timing chain,just gear on gear!!!

 

I think it was built to last. its a heavy duty industrial/tractor motor. that stuff is built to take a beating all day for years. then some ford guy got the idea to drop it in a full size and give ford a good reputation for being long lasting trucks, and i think it worked out.