> I remember reading some time ago that the legendary long life
> of Diesel engines was not the fuel type but rather that truck
> manufactures built Diesel engines to very high tolerances and
> designed the basic engine, at much higher cost, for long life
> given the high mileage and type of use it will receive.
I guess the factors I see would fall under that category as well. Big truck
motors have a miniscule power output for their weight, bigger bearings,
better filtration, etc.
But I do believe that the lubricity of diesel fuel compared to gasoline
plays a part too.
> are the diesel engines used in cars as
> long lived as the tractor-trailer engines?
Evidence I've seen is that they are somewhere in-between. Of course it's
hard to compare apples to apples, as modern car engines seem to last far
longer than those of a few decades ago. And the way they are used plays a
big role, too. If you measure lifetime in number of starts (for example) or
better yet, number of revolutions, rather than miles driven, I suspect the
gap becomes much smaller.
Randall - probably 10,000 starts on a Chevy 350
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