How long has your built motor(s) lasted? Post here!

[tsitalon03]

Ok so a well maintained oem 6/7 bolt can last you over 100k, so how long have you gone on your built motor(s). Of course you have to factor in how it was driven/maintained Post your experiences!
Me: 2.3 10k by previous owner....I currently have added 4k on it. BTW its my dd.

 

[ilco187]

last engine was a fully built low 10 second car, now its a stock engine with bolt on's, last engine lasted 40,000 miles till the piston melted to the wristpin and then skipped over ruining my head and my ss valves, along with that the trans center diff, exploded horribly it took out the entire bottom of the trans, so i had to start over back stock it blows im going to push the limit to 400-500hp on the stock long block.

 

[JayRolla]

I like oem motor because if stay within the limits it will last a ling time. Built motors with alluminum pistons seem to ware bearings quicker due to piston slap on cold starts. Good thing is when u tear it apart u can just freshen up the bearings and it's ready to go.

 

[tsitalon03]

I havent really heard of any built motors going over 75k.......anyone wanna chime in?

 

[krkline2gdsm]

This thread fails in so many ways.

First of all, most people who have built motors are pushing limits where as most OEM short blocks usually around 300hp, well within the limits. Also, alot of "built" motors are hacked. For instance taking the cheap route out by doing a ball hone/bearing swap. You have to measure clearances when putting a motor back together and if your not in spec (most engines are not) then it will fail early.

This is going to turn into one hell of a debate but you cannot argue one thing, your tune. It all comes down to your tune, knowing the limits of your parts, etc. Example, my 6bolt had 200k on it. I ended up doing a head gasket which turned into inspecting the bottom end. I had the rod ends line bored for ARP rod bolts, put some fresh factory rings in it, some ACL rod bearings, and called it a day. The walls still had cross hatch marks on them. Did a quick refresh and put it back together. Measured PWC, end play, oil clearance,s etc. and all was in spec. I pushed that bottom end to 28psi on a 16g, 0 counts of knock, 11.8ish tune and I managed to crack all the piston ring lands after beating on it for months. Thats all that was wrong... stock cast pistons with 200k couldnt handle it. So I installed some wiseco 9.1 pistons on a fresh bore, leaving everything else alone.

Its all about knowing each parts limits and checking everything so its in spec. Then you have to manage your tune correctly and actually know how to tune your own car. if you think for one second you can have your car tuned once and your done, your high! My tune is constantly changing.

Just something to think about.

 

[JayRolla]

Well when I consider a built motor failiing its not from a melted piston caused by a bad tune. More along the lines of a failed bearing or other part due to ware. If it fails due to a bad tune excessive power than thats a different story. Thats the Owner failing!!

 

[Jed_Atreides]

15k, till the turbo start to burn oil. To be safe, took the head apart and replaced gaskets and cleaned up a bit.

 

[DSM nOOb]

This thread fails in so many ways.

First of all, most people who have built motors are pushing limits where as most OEM short blocks usually around 300hp, well within the limits. Also, alot of "built" motors are hacked. For instance taking the cheap route out by doing a ball hone/bearing swap. You have to measure clearances when putting a motor back together and if your not in spec (most engines are not) then it will fail early.

This is going to turn into one hell of a debate but you cannot argue one thing, your tune. It all comes down to your tune, knowing the limits of your parts, etc. Example, my 6bolt had 200k on it. I ended up doing a head gasket which turned into inspecting the bottom end. I had the rod ends line bored for ARP rod bolts, put some fresh factory rings in it, some ACL rod bearings, and called it a day. The walls still had cross hatch marks on them. Did a quick refresh and put it back together. Measured PWC, end play, oil clearance,s etc. and all was in spec. I pushed that bottom end to 28psi on a 16g, 0 counts of knock, 11.8ish tune and I managed to crack all the piston ring lands after beating on it for months. Thats all that was wrong... stock cast pistons with 200k couldnt handle it. So I installed some wiseco 9.1 pistons on a fresh bore, leaving everything else alone.

Its all about knowing each parts limits and checking everything so its in spec. Then you have to manage your tune correctly and actually know how to tune your own car. if you think for one second you can have your car tuned once and your done, your high! My tune is constantly changing.

Just something to think about.

I agree with this. It is impossible to judge any sort of built motor for how long it will last. I know a guy that excessively overbuilt his motor i.e crower bottom end je's jam head etc just to make 450 whp. hes been running it like that now for like 4 years it is his dd and probably has over 60k on the motor with no signs of wear.

Now on the other hand I had a built motor very similar to that setup but i pushed mine to 700 whp and only ended up lasting about 10k. Trying to judge how long a built motor will last is virtually impossible

 

[tsitalon03]

This thread fails in so many ways.

First of all, most people who have built motors are pushing limits where as most OEM short blocks usually around 300hp, well within the limits. Also, alot of "built" motors are hacked. For instance taking the cheap route out by doing a ball hone/bearing swap. You have to measure clearances when putting a motor back together and if your not in spec (most engines are not) then it will fail early.

This is going to turn into one hell of a debate but you cannot argue one thing, your tune. It all comes down to your tune, knowing the limits of your parts, etc. Example, my 6bolt had 200k on it. I ended up doing a head gasket which turned into inspecting the bottom end. I had the rod ends line bored for ARP rod bolts, put some fresh factory rings in it, some ACL rod bearings, and called it a day. The walls still had cross hatch marks on them. Did a quick refresh and put it back together. Measured PWC, end play, oil clearance,s etc. and all was in spec. I pushed that bottom end to 28psi on a 16g, 0 counts of knock, 11.8ish tune and I managed to crack all the piston ring lands after beating on it for months. Thats all that was wrong... stock cast pistons with 200k couldnt handle it. So I installed some wiseco 9.1 pistons on a fresh bore, leaving everything else alone.

Its all about knowing each parts limits and checking everything so its in spec. Then you have to manage your tune correctly and actually know how to tune your own car. if you think for one second you can have your car tuned once and your done, your high! My tune is constantly changing.

Just something to think about.

Well I'm not trying to JUDGE how long a built motor will last, I want you to post how many miles you currently have on your built motor. Weather its dd/autocross/full blown drag. Yes a full blown engine used to run up and down the track wont last as long as a dd engine...obviously. And yes, a tune has ALOT to do with the life of the engine. The bottom end of my engine is fully built but I'm DEF not trying to push it to its limits as this is my dd. Just post how long your built motor lasted/ing dd/autocross/drag....its that simple.

 

[tenn-gsx]

My Eagle Weisco 2.3 made it 882 miles. It wasnt the motors fault tho. The asshat who assembled the rotating assy decided to take a couple shortcuts he didnt inform me about.

 

[bigdukk2]

SCRIBED..... i would also like to see the avg 2.3 DD motors mileage....

 

[tsitalon03]

Around 14k total on my block.....mind you the car is not fully tuned and I'm driving it like a 90 yr old lady.....no boost but I can def feel the difference in torque.