dieselweasel
SDD Junior Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2006
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Just turned over 250,000 and running at 24+MPG highway. Engine life shouldn't really be judged by mileage but by engine hours. 3000 rpm at 15mph causes as much or more engine wear as 3000 rpm at 75 mph. Diesel engines are generally designed with much greater strength to handle the high compression ratio compared to gasoline engines. GMs terrible experiment in the 80s to build a 5.7L diesel based on a gasoline engine design proved disasterous for the reputation of diesel reliability by consumers, a result that still lingers despite its undeserved affect on modern diesels with no such flawed engineering.
The cynic in me sees how automakers might prefer to have gasoline engines designed to break at 100K miles, instead of diesels that go 500K, so building a terrible diesel in limited quantities to kill off the interest in diesels isn't much of a stretch to imagine. The use of cam timing belts and chains instead of gears might be another example of engines designed to break at intentionally low mileage, particularly with valves that will hit the pistons when they break. Consumers have been conditioned to think that engines should only last 100K miles.
The cynic in me sees how automakers might prefer to have gasoline engines designed to break at 100K miles, instead of diesels that go 500K, so building a terrible diesel in limited quantities to kill off the interest in diesels isn't much of a stretch to imagine. The use of cam timing belts and chains instead of gears might be another example of engines designed to break at intentionally low mileage, particularly with valves that will hit the pistons when they break. Consumers have been conditioned to think that engines should only last 100K miles.