I had a conversation very much like this with my father about 30 years ago,
comparing the wearablilty of the engines of the '20s '30s to the engines of
the '70's. Few engines would go 50,000 miles without serious, perhaps
multiple overhauls. Pop was of the opinion that metalurgy had been good for
a very long time, but that lubrication had improved immensly over the past
twenty years. He marked the introduction of detergent oils as the turning
point in lubrication. Dad was a pretty good machine repairman (industrial
machines) and a good machinest, so I figured he knew what he was talking
about. Fast forward to today, and the oils we had back in the '70s do not
compare well, almost as bad as the comparison dad was making to the oils of
the 20s and 30s.
I also worked a few years with a guy that was involved in field testing and
developing Cummins Blue. This is an oil developed by Cummins Engines as an
extended drain oil for heavy Diesel use. He was in complete agreement with
pappy.
So I would say yes, you can probably see an extended bearing life compared
to the original. As far as I can tell, bearings are made pretty much of the
same way and with the same materials for the last 50 years. But I cannot
cite any specific data to back any of this. Any bearing experts or oil
experts out there?
Bill
Original Message -----
From: "William Lewis" <william.lewis@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu>
To: <alpines@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 8:16 PM
Subject: engine rebuild
> My understanding of why newer motors can go 200,000 plus miles (like my
> Jeep Cherokee) is in part that metallurgy has improved over the years.
> This includes better bearings, but also includes the realization that if
> rings wear, then using thicker rings will allow for a longer engine life.
> If any of this is true, does anyone know if the bearings, etc. that I put
> into my recent engine rebuild have benefited from any of the new
> technology. I doubt I will get 200,000 miles out of my Sunbeam motor, but
> 100,000 miles trouble free would be a dream.
> Bill (FrankenSeries II) Lewis
|