Is there bullet proof engine out there

[dirky dirk]

I seem to be having bad luck lately
We got given a mini and it was never right,
And we bought a beetle with the 1.4 and it needs an opening up and rebuild
Two grand seems to be the ave


We all know about wet belts and dsg boxes etc etc
But is there anything at all thats largely pain free?

Seems to me that everything has its weak point

Budget 3 to 8 k

Thanks

[EVOTECH3BELL]

Honda K20 or K24

Found in Civics, Crvs, Accords etc

[Monkeylegend]

Petrol or diesel?

The Mercedes 4 pot 2.1 diesel is almost bomb proof with the 5g box.

I can personally vouch for this having driven approx 1.1 million miles collectively in one C220CDi and three E220CDi's, each of the E classes doing well over 300k miles with no issues.

The last is still running around with nearly 340k miles on it.

The down side of the older C and E classes now is rear subframe corrosion, but Mercedes will replace FOC normally as part of their 30 year corrosion warranty.

I bet whoever authorised the 30 year corrosion warranty in Mercedes is not very popular

[Smint]

3 cyl Toyota lump as found in Aygo (and PSA group sisters) and Yaris, annual oil change and a set of spark plugs at 50k these things rarely give any issues.

1.4 Diesel as found in Auris/Yaris, again looked after they don't give trouble.

Never had any trouble with the 3 litre 4 pot Toyota Diesel as found in Landcruiser/Hilux/Hiace, been running this engine in 4 different Toyota 4x4s since the 90's, none have given me any trouble, cambelt driven but easy peasy DIY belt change in 1 hour the first time you do it.

Yes i'm a fan of the marque, don't always get it right but they do most of the time.

[stevieturbo]

dirky dirk said:

I seem to be having bad luck lately
We got given a mini and it was never right,
And we bought a beetle with the 1.4 and it needs an opening up and rebuild
Two grand seems to be the ave


We all know about wet belts and dsg boxes etc etc
But is there anything at all thats largely pain free?

Seems to me that everything has its weak point

Budget 3 to 8 k

Thanks

Obviously everything has it's weak point, some can be from the factory, some can be from poor maintenance.

My van had 660k on it, 1.7 cdti Isuzu engine ( Vauxhall and Honda ), before I had to change the engine, but will everyone get that ? Likely not.
had I not been lazy, it would have done more, but I had seen the signs of a minor issue but just ignored it and it turned into a little more one day. No biggie as had a spare vehicle to get an engine from anyway.

Old VW 1.9tdi engines, before all the fancier stuff, circa mid to late 90's are fairly bullet proof. Or the more mundane SDI.

And I'm sure some old Toyota Corolla, Carina. Older Volvo 940's too

More modern stuff ? mmmm

[A500leroy]

TCE Renault and (honestly) the fiat F.I.R.E engine, mainly because its old tech.

[Nickp82]

The 2.0 petrol in the Mazda CX-5 / 6 / 3 etc

I’ve had a few leggy ones, no issues at all

[stevemcs]

Something like a hybrid Auris, dull but very rarely go wrong.

[Retroman]

Peugeot 106 / Saxo with the 1.5 Diesel.
Barely enough power to pull your foreskin back, but if maintained runs almost forever.

I got mines at 140k miles, with a top end rattle and it lasted 3 years worth of burnouts and red lining it from cold every day

[Old Merc]

Retroman said:

Peugeot 106 / Saxo with the 1.5 Diesel.
Barely enough power to pull your foreskin back, but if maintained runs almost forever.

I got mines at 140k miles, with a top end rattle and it lasted 3 years worth of burnouts and red lining it from cold every day

All old Peugeot diesels are bullet proof, particular the XU 1.9 non turbo.
We had a 306 GLD that kicked around our family for over 20 years. It ended up as my workshop hack and customer loan car. It was thrashed, abused but refused to die. I finally gave it away, still running well, with best part of 200k on the clock.

[helix402]

BMW M57.

[Heaveho]

Older petrol Lexus stuff is incredibly reliable. Not a fan of the diesels so much.

[Marc p]

Most reliable in my opinion:

Honda D15/D16
Honda B16/B18
BMW M52/M54
Toyota 2JZ
Chevy LS2

All can take massive abuse and still run great for 200k+ miles with little issue.

[trickywoo]

A Suzuki swift wont give you any bother and in sport form is great fun.

I’m surprised you have a mini and a vw without expecting them both to give you grief.

[AC43]

JRHartless said:

I've never really understood why bigger engines are generally more fragile and require more care and maintenance than smaller engines.

You'd think a bigger engine would be less stressed and therefore more robust than a smaller engine, but generally the reverse is the case.

BMWs V8s seem very troublesome. The MB ones are generally fine I've had 4 in a row. One starter motor, one crank pulley and one minor oil leak in 20 years.

[AAaltered]

AC43 said:

JRHartless said:

I've never really understood why bigger engines are generally more fragile and require more care and maintenance than smaller engines.

You'd think a bigger engine would be less stressed and therefore more robust than a smaller engine, but generally the reverse is the case.

BMWs V8s seem very troublesome. The MB ones are generally fine I've had 4 in a row. One starter motor, one crank pulley and one minor oil leak in 20 years.

Bought an '87 Corvette back in 2004 to use as a daily commuter. Retired now but still running the Corvette. Its 5.7L L98 motor has never missed a beat in over 200k miles. Starts and runs perfectly in any weather.
in that time its had an alternator, starter, waterpump, basic routine maintenance and removal of most of the vacuum/eco stuff. I pulled the valve covers to clean and paint them for the first time this year, and was amazed at how clean the valve gear was and the inside of the covers. Been using Mobil 1 annually since the start.

[BoRED S2upid]

A500leroy said:

TCE Renault and (honestly) the fiat F.I.R.E engine, mainly because its old tech.

Second vote for that Fiat engine good solid unit.


Volvos are still pretty bullet proof.

[bearman68]

Amazes me that people are thinking 200k is big mileage, but hey, there you go.

Almost all the Toyota petrol engines are fantastic beasts. As is the 1.4 diesel unit.
The Volvo 5 pot engines are brilliant. The Euro 3 D5 engine is in my opinion the best engine ever.
HD 10 engines in the Peugeots are fantastic, as are the XUD units. The later 136 bhp units look as if they are pretty rugged as well, though the early 16v DV6 was and remains a nightmare. The 1.4 is pretty good as well.
No experience of Honda.
Some of the Fiat diesels are pretty good as well, the 1.9 seems pretty decent, though sometimes reluctant to start.
1.7 Izusu is decent.
Renault 2.0 M9R engine is superb. Very very good engine.

Most of the real rubbish occurs in the 'Prestige' brands. Ironic that.

[stlol]

Any early Tvr Speed 6 engined vehicle, known to run for miles...

[vikingaero]

It's a Venn diagram of Japanese reliability and lots of rust and Euro bodywork durability and less reliability with a range inbetween.