How many hours is a lot?

[sasada]

One of the holy grail questions! Yes we all know it depends on maintenance and type of use. So out of pure curiosity I decided to look at one of our work trucks. Keep in mind we barely change oil in these things and the only other maintenance we perform is if something is broken. Other than that they have an exterior wash every now and then and that's it! 2005 Chevy-1500 4.8L 2wd loaded with a few hundred pounds of equipment and ONLY city driving. VERY rarely do these trucks see 50mph. At 51,000mi it's got 3000 engine hrs. Granted its not a motor being lugged its whole life but makes me feel okay about having nearly 500hrs on my 5.7L Volvo Penta. There are plenty of guys that run over 1000hrs on the original motor. So the question remains....how many hours is "a lot" of hours? Whats all of your thoughts???

 

[rbh]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

Follow the recomandations in your boat/engine manual, boats do not change gear so your always in 1st gear and if your running 2500-4500 +- rpm all the time, thats alot of wear.

 

[sasada]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

Follow the recomandations in your boat/engine manual, boats do not change gear so your always in 1st gear and if your running 2500-4500 +- rpm all the time, thats alot of wear.

True. In therory (not at all typical) there is no wear if perfect lubrication is always available. Hypothetically speaking a motor should be able to run at 5000rpm for an eternity if absolute perfect lubrication is always there.

 

[BonairII]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

It seems that very few marine engines actually "wear out". Normally, owner neglect or abuse prematurely ends their lives.

 

[rbh]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

True. In therory (not at all typical) there is no wear if perfect lubrication is always available. Hypothetically speaking a motor should be able to run at 5000rpm for an eternity if absolute perfect lubrication is always there.

No such thing as perfect!
Change your oil as recomended, this is the real world.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

In Another Thread we argued that based on equivalent fuel used, One Boat Hour was roughly equal to 100 road miles.
But let's not open that can of worms again.

 

[ricohman]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

It seems that very few marine engines actually "wear out". Normally, owner neglect or abuse prematurely ends their lives.

This is the answer I agree with.

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

I'll start by saying I'm an outboard man...

I was taught by people (shop teachers, friends who built cars and family members) that a given engine, with proper maintenance, (for argument's sake; lets just say ALL manufacturer's recommended intervals were followed!) will produce a given amount of horsepower. It was further explained to me that a given engine can produce x amount of horsepower over it's life, the examples that were given to me were that of dragster (funny cars and top fuel) can produce 3,000HP but only for about 2-3 races and then needed rebuilt, that same engine producing 500HP would run for 100,000miles (I know that's a overly simple explanation, but that was the take away point.

Diesel engines are another example given, in stock form a well maintained motor can run in excess 400,000 miles, start messing with EGR's, Injectors, fuel mapping...the horsepower (and torque) go up and the reliability and longevity go down. I would not say it's a direct equation, but the stresses placed on the motor increase with HP which equate wear (I wouldn't use the term premature given that it produces more horsepower/torque)...Pay me now or pay me later! I have friends that want their money NOW!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

51,000mi 3000 engine hrs
Seems like a lot of hours for that milage. Personally I'd rather see highway miles than city miles on an engine, the stop and go is a lot harder on the motor.

For contrast my 09 Ram has 68,000 miles and 1682 hours.

Can't really compare truck hours to boat hours though.

 

[sasada]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

it seems that very few marine engines actually "wear out". Normally, owner neglect or abuse prematurely ends their lives.

agreed!

 

[sasada]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

51,000mi 3000 engine hrs
Seems like a lot of hours for that milage. Personally I'd rather see highway miles than city miles on an engine, the stop and go is a lot harder on the motor.

For contrast my 09 Ram has 68,000 miles and 1682 hours.

Can't really compare truck hours to boat hours though.

Totally. That was kinda my point...only 51000mi yet 3000hrs. Gotta say I don't want one of our trucks when we are done with them...typically around 100k mi. Add up those hours!

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

51,000mi 3000 engine hrs
Seems like a lot of hours for that mileage. Personally I'd rather see highway miles than city miles on an engine, the stop and go is a lot harder on the motor.

For contrast my 09 Ram has 68,000 miles and 1682 hours.

Can't really compare truck hours to boat hours though.

51,000 miles / 3000 hours = 17 miles per hour. Actually not unreasonable for a work truck with all City miles.
68,000 mile / 1682 hours = 40 miles per hour. Almost lives on the interstate.

A personal vehicle with typical City/Highway miles will average around 30 miles per operating hour.

 

[sasada]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

51,000 miles / 3000 hours = 17 miles per hour. Actually not unreasonable for a work truck with all City miles.
68,000 mile / 1682 hours = 40 miles per hour. Almost lives on the interstate.

A personal vehicle with typical City/Highway miles will average around 30 miles per operating hour.

Word!

I Read your post about 1000hrs = appx 105000mi via fuel consumption. Makes a lot of sense!

 

[rbh]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

Equate your boats engine hours to generator hours under full load.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How many hours is a lot?

commercial boaters can wear them out. But I'm talking about outboards.

Anyway comparing engines in boats and cars is like comparing tires on bicycles and on motorcycles. Not much equivalent there to make the comparison have any meaning.

 

[sasada]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

commercial boaters can wear them out. But I'm talking about outboards.

Anyway comparing engines in boats and cars is like comparing tires on bicycles and on motorcycles. Not much equivalent there to make the comparison have any meaning.

Hmmm...not sure what kind of bikes and motorcycles they have in your parts but that is like compairing apples to rainbow unicorns. With trucks and I/Os they can atleast share the same long block.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

In an ideal world if proper pm is done and there are no mechanical failures an internal combustion engine can run forever. That's why you see an occasional story of cars with 1 million miles. Rare but possible. Same for boat engines. If it is always operated within specs, cooled, lubed, fueled, and allowed to breathe properly it should never fail. This isn't going to happen. Every mechanical failure, over rev, spec of dirt in the oil, or mystery overheat causes damage that increases wear and once it starts it never ends. Each occurrence increases that wear factor. This is what makes engine life so unpredictable. Have you ever noticed all those 1 million mile stories are always one owner vehicles? Those folks know the history of that engine and how it has been taken care of.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

To actually try and answer your question, I am going to assume all preventative maintenance is done on schedule (100 hour type) and forgo any catastrophic failure of standard components.

Typical small engine (under 350 ci) with normal use should be able to hit 4,000-5,000 hours before needing a rebuild

Typical larger engines (above 350 ci and high HP) with normal use would be between 3,000-4,000 hours

Typical O/B in the 150 HP range would be in the 1,500-2,000 hours range as they are normally run at a higher RPM (2-stroke)

Typical diesel engines are in the 8,000-10,000 hour range.

This is assuming all things are equal and you didn't get a lemon or do major work on it yourself. Also assuming you don't beat the crap out of it on a regular basis and good lubrication has been maintained.

 

[sasada]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

To actually try and answer your question, I am going to assume all preventative maintenance is done on schedule (100 hour type) and forgo any catastrophic failure of standard components.

Typical small engine (under 350 ci) with normal use should be able to hit 4,000-5,000 hours before needing a rebuild

Typical larger engines (above 350 ci and high HP) with normal use would be between 3,000-4,000 hours

Typical O/B in the 150 HP range would be in the 1,500-2,000 hours range as they are normally run at a higher RPM (2-stroke)

Typical diesel engines are in the 8,000-10,000 hour range.

This is assuming all things are equal and you didn't get a lemon or do major work on it yourself. Also assuming you don't beat the crap out of it on a regular basis and good lubrication has been maintained.

Not arguing your points whatsoever and appreciate your input but out of curiosity where are your numbers derived from?

 

[SDSeville]

Re: How many hours is a lot?

that is like compairing apples to rainbow unicorns. With trucks and I/Os they can atleast share the same long block.

I love it!! Rainbows are the worst!