User Panel
Cummins 5.9 has one of the most solid reps for pickup motors followed by the 7.3 Power stroke. This is based on my experience and that of my son who works on diesels for a living.
Outside of the auto industry type diesels I do have some first hand experience with marine diesels, Yanmar (JD) and Beta (Kubota). Both have a high reliability. Kubota is my first choice. Cheapest for parts compared to one of the most expensive diesels to own, Volvo . |
|
Depends we have all three common diesels in our fleets for “Medium” Duty. They all tow daily and honestly as far as the engine/trans goes, haven’t been any issues that stick out.
|
|
Quoted: What manufacturer produces the best diesel engine. "BEST" means most reliable , longest lasting, ease of maintenance , etc. VS ( and not interested in ) highest HP, easiest to modify/tune , ultimate performance etc. Don't care about vehicle type / platform. Car, SUV, truck..... doesn't matter. Don't care about high tech features , fancy interiors , etc. Just who puts the best diesel engine in their product to get from point A to point B reliably with as little fuss or concerns as possible. View Quote |
|
From your criteria, assuming a "normal vehicle", a 6BT is hard to beat. The Mercedes OM606 is supposed to be a pretty sweet little engine, too.
|
|
View Quote Plus boost! Driving with the Turbo |
|
A lot depends on the maintenance that the engine gets!!! Good maintenance and they last a LONG time!
|
|
Quoted: What years and models should I be looking for, if I was thinking about buying a used car, pulling the ALH engine out to put in something else, then either parting the car out or selling it to a salvage yard? My experience is limited to the 1.6 normally aspirated diesels used in the Rabbits and Jettas in the 1980s. View Quote 99 to 04 they're super simple, kermatdi can do an immobilizer delete so you don't have to worry about keys/cluster. my only concern at this point is lots of them haven't been maintained in years, and lack people keeping the fuel filters drained of water is starting to screw up the injection pumps. I've had more problems with the low milers and intown drivers then the ones who put big miles. this might be worse if its been sitting in a yard. |
|
I vote the 71 series Detroit's with Yanmar a close second. Those ThermoKing refrigeration units are extremely reliable if maintained.
|
|
Old school MB220 4cyl they used in German taxi cabs for many years.
|
|
Quoted: 6.2 / 6.5 Detroit Diesel found in mid 80s CUCVs and HMMWVs seem pretty robust. I've also heard good things about the 4BT and 6BT engines. View Quote Uh..maybe I have the wrong generation but the 6.2 and 6.5 TD were GM engines and SUCKED ASS. I had a 93? 3500 with that engine, stranded me at least 5 times in less than two years. Went to the mechanic after the 3rd time instead of me replacing all the electronic injection wiring. He worked on it twice and had the same result. He couldn't find anything wrong either. I moved the injector harness away from the top of the motor and everything. I said fuck it and got a cummins, "so far" never left me totally stranded in 13 years (I put in quotes because my luck sucks and I opened my mouth...). I did have to drive without a clutch, no power steering, and blew a radiator but it did last long enough to get me home. Has almost 300k on it, chevy didn't have more than 150k. |
|
View Quote This gave diesels a bad wrap ..... thanks GM.... |
|
I have experience with Fairbanks, Paxmans, DD, cummins, Manns, MTU's and Yanmar. MTU's and Yanmar for sure.
|
|
Quoted: 99 to 04 they're super simple, kermatdi can do an immobilizer delete so you don't have to worry about keys/cluster. my only concern at this point is lots of them haven't been maintained in years, and lack people keeping the fuel filters drained of water is starting to screw up the injection pumps. I've had more problems with the low milers and intown drivers then the ones who put big miles. this might be worse if its been sitting in a yard. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: What years and models should I be looking for, if I was thinking about buying a used car, pulling the ALH engine out to put in something else, then either parting the car out or selling it to a salvage yard? My experience is limited to the 1.6 normally aspirated diesels used in the Rabbits and Jettas in the 1980s. 99 to 04 they're super simple, kermatdi can do an immobilizer delete so you don't have to worry about keys/cluster. my only concern at this point is lots of them haven't been maintained in years, and lack people keeping the fuel filters drained of water is starting to screw up the injection pumps. I've had more problems with the low milers and intown drivers then the ones who put big miles. this might be worse if its been sitting in a yard. Thanks. I saw injection pump problems with the 1.6 NA engines, though it's hard to say if they were due to miles and maintenance, or the changes in the fuel to meet EPA standards (the early 1980s injection pump seals apparently don't like something in the newer fuel). Didn't have any problems after I swapped the injection pumps for fresh overhauled pumps. I've been debating whether to go 1.9 VW or 3.0 M-B to replace my 4.0 straight six, and I think I've dealt with the existing electronics long enough to ease up a bit on my desire for 1980s diesel simplicity. The lighter engine will also help offset the weight of the winch, when I get it mounted. |
|
12 or 24 valve 5.9L Cummins Diesel.
Best Light Truck diesel engine ever produced for reliability. |
|
|
|
For pickup trucks, I'd say cummins.
When I drove fire trucks, the 60 series detroit was by far my favorite, as opposed to the 92 series detroits, old cat, and newer cummins engines. Just getting into diesel boating, but in the smaller stuff, cummins seems to be the gold standard, followed by Yanmar, then Cat. My current boat has Hino engines, and by all accounts they are reliable however not very common. For the older stuff, 6-71 detroits were probably the most common and seem to run forever as long as you keep putting the oil back in them... Your best bet is anything pre-emissions that's not a cat 3208. |
|
Big truck engines? Pre-emission the Detroit 60 Series/Caterpillar 3406E and the Cummins N14 were some damned great engines, capable of lasting 1 million miles.
Those DD 2 strokers were lucky to get a half million miles out of them. But they were rather simple too to rebuild. |
|
Quoted: Thanks. I saw injection pump problems with the 1.6 NA engines, though it's hard to say if they were due to miles and maintenance, or the changes in the fuel to meet EPA standards (the early 1980s injection pump seals apparently don't like something in the newer fuel). Didn't have any problems after I swapped the injection pumps for fresh overhauled pumps. I've been debating whether to go 1.9 VW or 3.0 M-B to replace my 4.0 straight six, and I think I've dealt with the existing electronics long enough to ease up a bit on my desire for 1980s diesel simplicity. The lighter engine will also help offset the weight of the winch, when I get it mounted. View Quote the seals still leak since the change to ultra low Sulphur. they really aren't hard to replace. did some yesterday 350k plus on that one. getting belt 4. however plugged manifolds have virtually vanished. |
|
Quoted: John Deere 6.6L found in the 4020s. CAT C15 6NZ. Either will make 5.9 Cummins look unreliable. View Quote I cannot disagree. I got to estimating hours on our old 4020’s once. Before we sold them I estimated they both had over 30k hours. Heads never off. Them c15s were sweet. Only ever got to drive 1. They never broke down is why I never got to run very many. |
|
|
I can’t believe GM 6.5 or 5.7 diesels even got mentioned in a reliability thread. That’s the joke right?
Good hell them things were awful. Start like shit, change glow plugs and check the oil. Always a good time when some poor sap gave her the ether bunny treatment. Bent fucking rodz fo days.......lol. Can you tell I don’t miss them fucking things? |
|
I can’t believe GM 6.5 or 5.7 diesels even got mentioned in a reliability thread. That’s the joke right?
Good hell them things were awful. Start like shit, change glow plugs and check the oil. Always a good time when some poor sap gave her the ether bunny treatment. Bent fucking rodz fo days.......lol. Can you tell I don’t miss them fucking things? |
|
Quoted: under current production? impossible to say. none of them have been around long enough to know. historically. this little motor. https://cdn.drivingline.com/media/2323598/bosch-ve-injection-pump-volkswagen-alh-diesel.jpg I see these things with 300k plus miles, all the damn time. weekly. I have one in the shop now getting a window regulator. View Quote My last one went 502,000 miles (no major engine or transmission repairs, all original internal parts and turbo) before my starter stuck and burned the engine bay. I have another that has well over 300,000 and still runs strong. |
|
|
Quoted: Those weren’t Detroit’s they were GM engines. They broke cranks and mains for the power they made. The 6.5’s ate pumps. The military version of that engine was a 6.7 a 6.2 with a stroked crank in it. The military 6.7 had a straight mechanical pump in it. View Quote They also blow head gaskets left and right with any kind of load and are huge pieces of shit |
|
Quoted: did someone say 'diesel engines'? https://external-preview.redd.it/DPToOuH4153nnncbwhMVG0ZFbXBCq1NZsG34VdObPYU.jpg?auto=webp&s=2b708a0d067f093a53b904d3614da31ed6c06ad0 View Quote I thought the fuel those things ran on was closer to road tar than diesel. |
|
Professional diesel mechanic. Gotta go with Cummins. Seen quite a few million miles motors (semis). Easy to get parts, lots of I formation on them for some diy repairs. Everyone works on them, so it's easy to get them worked on.
|
|
Anything with emission stuff is about even anymore.
I went through 12 air compressors yesterday to find one that didn’t have an emissions fault Although those little 25hp Kubota diesels will run until the end of the world. |
|
|
Quoted: The last year of the DT466 with the mechanical pump was a great engine. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Not even close. The 6.0 Powerstroke and all subsequent Navistar "Maxxforce" engines are a crime against humanity. The last year of the DT466 with the mechanical pump was a great engine. 1997 and that was IH's "New Generation Diesel". Then the DT466E came out in 1998, still a decent engine. |
|
Quoted: 1997 and that was IH's "New Generation Diesel". Then the DT466E came out in 1998, still a decent engine. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Not even close. The 6.0 Powerstroke and all subsequent Navistar "Maxxforce" engines are a crime against humanity. The last year of the DT466 with the mechanical pump was a great engine. 1997 and that was IH's "New Generation Diesel". Then the DT466E came out in 1998, still a decent engine. While I like CAT engines more, I really had nothing against International diesels during that time frame. The International DT466 engine had proven itself in International equipment such at the TD-15 dozer and 412B scraper in the 1970s and 1980s. It also was well-received in the ag market. I remember at least one tractor that used it. We ran a number of International diesels in our equipment. Most of them started well in the cold and had good longevity. One dozer had over 15,000 hard working, full throttle, hours on it when it was traded. The engine had never been rebuilt. The DT466 set itself apart from other engines in the medium duty truck market by featuring such things at wet sleeves. For example, the CAT 3208 lacked wet sleeves. |
|
Quoted: That's not saying much though. Buddy of mine just traded off a '19 Ram 3500 diesel because it was in the shop non-stop with emissions issues. It was in limp mode or on a rollback as much as it wasn't. ALL new diesels are garbage. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Typically the Cummins engine will last longer than the shitbox it's installed in. That's not saying much though. Buddy of mine just traded off a '19 Ram 3500 diesel because it was in the shop non-stop with emissions issues. It was in limp mode or on a rollback as much as it wasn't. ALL new diesels are garbage. I was a fleet guy that worked on all manner of diesels. We rarely had any issues with the actual engines it was all the exterior junk that caused problems. The first generation emission systems were fucking horrible pretty much across all makes.... |
|
Quoted: I thought the fuel those things ran on was closer to road tar than diesel. View Quote Diesel engines are named after the Diesel engine cycle. Those ship engines are Diesel cycle engines. They are compression ignition engines that burn fuel oil. Large ship engines tend to burn residual fuel oils like Bunker C or Number 6 fuel oil in American terminology or Six Oil. Diesel fuel is the common name for number 2 fuel oil and is a distillate fuel oil. Residual fuel oils are dense, viscous, and cheap fuel oils that are the remaining byproducts after all the lighter fuels are distilled away in atmospheric distillate towers and then in vacuum distilling towers. You get to a point where you have something called vacuum tower bottoms or coker feed. That stuff has to be heated pretty hot before it is a liquid and some of it is almost like glass at room temperature. So large ships that consume massive quantities of fuel burn cheap and energy dense fuels like residual fuel oils that must be heated prior to pumping them and smaller diesel engines are designed to operate off of more expensive and refined distillate fuel oils that are easier to handle and burn. |
|
|
|
|
Quoted: What manufacturer produces the best diesel engine. "BEST" means most reliable , longest lasting, ease of maintenance , etc. VS ( and not interested in ) highest HP, easiest to modify/tune , ultimate performance etc. Don't care about vehicle type / platform. Car, SUV, truck..... doesn't matter. Don't care about high tech features , fancy interiors , etc. Just who puts the best diesel engine in their product to get from point A to point B reliably with as little fuss or concerns as possible. View Quote EMD Starting a Locomotive engine Full Sequence: EMD SD40-2 Engine Start up and Shut down |
|
|
Quoted: Diesel engines are named after the Diesel engine cycle. Those ship engines are Diesel cycle engines. They are compression ignition engines that burn fuel oil. Large ship engines tend to burn residual fuel oils like Bunker C or Number 6 fuel oil in American terminology or Six Oil. Diesel fuel is the common name for number 2 fuel oil and is a distillate fuel oil. Residual fuel oils are dense, viscous, and cheap fuel oils that are the remaining byproducts after all the lighter fuels are distilled away in atmospheric distillate towers and then in vacuum distilling towers. You get to a point where you have something called vacuum tower bottoms or coker feed. That stuff has to be heated pretty hot before it is a liquid and some of it is almost like glass at room temperature. So large ships that consume massive quantities of fuel burn cheap and energy dense fuels like residual fuel oils that must be heated prior to pumping them and smaller diesel engines are designed to operate off of more expensive and refined distillate fuel oils that are easier to handle and burn. View Quote Good info, thank you |
|
The old 3 cylinder Ford used in their tractors from about 1965-on.
|
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.