The biggest misconception is relating what a heavy vehicle diesel engine will achieve and thinking the toy diesels in the car type utes will do the same sort of heavy work for a million kms ...... they just won't because they are tying to extract big torque and HP out of an engine that's design base was for maybe 1/3rd of what they are extracting out of them these days.
Do you think the Cummins engines and 6BDT Isuzu used in a racing truck would give the million kms plus before needing a rebuild? That is about as close a comparison as I can give to what they are doing with the little ute diesel engines, they are race tuning them to extract the maximum power.
The CAT3208 is a great example, in the 210hp trim they last for ever just about, the 3208T is the same motor with a turbo and develops around 260hp to 320hp. Add an intercooler and multiple turbos, the same engine in a marine application can deliver 710hp, do you think they will deliver that sort of power for the same hrs as the standard 3208?
One of the passenger service busses we converted from 466 Bedford diesel to a 351 Cleveland with a 4 sp Alison clocked up 500,000kms before the company was taken over by another mob and the bus was sold off. The original 466 Bedford engine clocked up around 250,000kms but the fuel to oil ratio was even poor for a 2 stroke by the time it came off the road for a refit. This particular bus was bought up by the mob I bought to end of service life 500 Bedford diesel bus. They removed the 351 Cleveland and fitted an Isuzu 6BDT after one of the drivers manage to get a freeze burn when refueling the bus .... no idea how that could be done but that was their reason or pulling the still working 351 out.I asked the workshop foreman if the bus went as well with the turbo Isuzu as it went with the 351 on LPG .... his reply was they hadn't receive and speed infringements since the refit ...... For it's 1 million km celebration, the Isuzu through a leg out through the block, so the dropped another brand new crate motor and sent it back out to work.
The commuter bus engines in the smaller buses didn't ever get big miles before they needed a rebuild, it requires the long haul highway work to get the big mileage out of the older diesel engines. The newer wizz bang truck engines that develop big torque and power out of a much smaller capacity engine don't see the big kms either and when they do break they are a throw away item most times because the block and crank have stress fractures so not suitable for rebuilding. Many went back to the bigger capacity engines so they didn't have to work so hard and the longevity returned.
NP, the big mileage (well kilometer-age but it just doesn't roll off the tongue eh) on the Prius is because it was a Brisbane taxi in its previous life. I did put a timing chain and guides in it thinking that was the high rev engine noise, but that actually didn't need replacing and the noise was still there. Turned out to a blocked catalytic converter and the noise was the exhaust engine pipe compressing the mounting springs to release the exhaust pressure built up and then the pipe banging back against the exhaust manifold. Cost me $125 for an after market cat and as i bought the car for under $2000 in the first place because the taxi company owner thought the engine was stuffed, I reckon I did ok
T1 Terry