Expected engine mileage

Dusty

Dusty

Well-known member
Hello people, I have done a lot of reading here but I was unable to find a definitive answer. I know there are a lot of variables but if you have an engine rebuilt and it was done right, if you didn’t beat it to death and maintained it in a proper way how many miles out of the engine would you expect to get?

thanks
dusty
 
I've seen babbit last from 200 miles or as long as 45k miles. Babbit life relies on who pours it, and who puts it together. Theres no telling how long it will last. It will either last a lifetime, or fall apart right after you get it in the car. (not trying to start anything with people who love babbit)

I've personally never seen inserted bearings wear out on an A block. (doesnt mean it hasnt happened) With inserts in the block your more than likely going to need new piston and rings or valve job first. at around 50k miles or so.
 
Thank you! I now have about 6000 miles on a rebuilt engine( I assume) The car was completely restore about 10 to 12 years ago and when I picked it up it had 1100 miles on the speedo. I guess(or hoping) it was zeroed after completion, again this is a hopeful assumption but it does run very quite and smooth. I guess my next question would be after putting 6000 miles on it can the expection be that the babbitt was properly poured or a bad pour still might rear its ugly head?

dusty
 
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Dusty thats a good Question. My son asked the other day how many miles would the old vw bugs from the 60's would go before a rebuild? I have no idea?
Wick
 
My friend put 65K on his Ron Kelly engine that had inserts, modern pistons and rings and modern valves. He tore the engine down at 65K due to a worn bronze timing gear and found mild burning of the exhaust valves and too much clearance on the center main. He did a mechanic's overhaul at that point and was back on the road. He now just turned over 100K.
 
Dusty said:
Thank you! I now have about 6000 miles on a rebuilt engine( I assume) The car was completely restore about 10 to 12 years ago and when I picked it up it had 1100 miles on the speedo. I guess(or hoping) it was zeroed after completion, again this is a hopeful assumption but it does run very quite and smooth. I guess my next question would be after putting 6000 miles on it can the expection be that the babbitt was properly poured or a bad pour still might rear its ugly head?

dusty
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After 6k miles i would say the babbit is done correctly. The important part is to just keep up on your maitnance, and check the clearance on all the mains and rods around every 12-15 thousand.
 
I know of an original engine, never removed or rebuilt, with over eighty thousand on it. Same family since new and three generations learned to drive on it.

Wondering why would an original go so long and a rebuild with modern techniques not have as much life?
 
Wick said:
Dusty that's a good Question. My son asked the other day how many miles would the old vw bugs from the 60's would go before a rebuild? I have no idea?
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As My dad owned a VW dealership in those day's ( apart from A Ford Dealership ) As a youngster helper I co-overhauled hundred's of the 1200 and 1300 cc engines . In general you could say they lasted about 60 thousand kilometers
in average. The later 1600 cc did a bit better but not much
 
Commander Toasty said:
I know of an original engine, never removed or rebuilt, with over eighty thousand on it. Same family since new and three generations learned to drive on it.

Wondering why would an original go so long and a rebuild with modern techniques not have as much life?[/QUOTE]

I too have seen original un-rebuilt engines run over 80k miles. My theory as to why the new rebuilds dont last as long today, is because we simply drive them harder than when they were new. We have better roads, so therefor we can drive faster and harder.
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I expect 90,000 out of a VW air-cooled engine, treated right, with oil changes and 3000 mile valve adjustments. Single best thing you can do for them is install a dipstick temp gauge because you can easily run the oil above 230 degrees and then you no longer have oil.
 
Logan I think you have a reasonable theory there. If you consider engine wear in terms of RPM rather than miles driven. On today's roads we can get a lot more total RPM on an engine with say 50,000 miles than in the old days they might acquire at 80,000.
 
Here in the Northern Ca. foothills our tours seldom get up to 50 mph. I expect my engines to last a lot longer than the 10-12 thousand miles I used to get on the SoCal. Freeways.
 
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