Quote:
Originally Posted by 66Submarine
Reason seems to suggest that just jacking up a 4BT to 300HP and beating on it will greatly shorten its lifespan; the marine 250HP versions that supposedly have lots of reliability problems also hint to this.
So you ran @ 200HP for 2,500 miles and actually messed something up, but you plan to beat on it @ 300HP and have it last?
Anyway, do you mean you want a 300HP engine you can tow a 500lb 5'x8' utility trailer with once a year, or a 300HP engine you can actually hook something heavy up to and hold it wide-open climbing a steep hill with regularity? Not really the same thing.
BTW, you mention:
Well, an old guy from Texas on another board used to run a '59 (IIRC) GMC tandem axle road tractor with an Oldsmobile 371 V8; he said he pretty much ran wide open all day and kept it @ 3,800-4,200RPM. He also said he went 100,000 miles between rebuilds running like that, and it was still a good running engine when he later wrecked the truck.
One last time; I'M NOT HATING ON DIESEL ENGINES!!! All I said is that I think the modern lore embellishes on reality to some degree. I actually do like them, but they are not some kind of magical mechanical unicorns that are beyond human comprehension. Is that not OK? Really?
If you want to have a 300HP 4BT just to say you do/can, great! Nothing wrong with that, and I never said there was.
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I'm not disagreeing with you. 401/478 v6's and 637 v8's and 702's were advertised to run 200,000 miles between overhauls. They pull fantastic and drink like an alcoholic.
As for towing, I only tow about 15% of my driven miles. When I do tow, it is always at least 25,000 lbs. I am going to try to make it so I can hold it to the floor and never let up.