Lesser known i6 4x4 (1 Viewer)

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So I was playing with the carguru search and searched for i6 4x4 and found some unexpected results. I was unaware of the GM L88 / Vortech 4200 and also i6 Land Rover LR2. Most i6 engines are inherently pretty robust but these engines go in cars I don’t normally think of as good or reliable. Are these overlooked reliable gems?
I know a great engine means nothing if the rest of the car is sh**....
 
The inline 6 that the GMC Envoy and Chevy Trailblazer came with by most accounts is a very robust, reliable engine. As you stated, the rest of the vehicle....? But the 4200 is a great motor from my experience.
 
So I was playing with the carguru search and searched for i6 4x4 and found some unexpected results. I was unaware of the GM L88 / Vortech 4200 and also i6 Land Rover LR2. Most i6 engines are inherently pretty robust but these engines go in cars I don’t normally think of as good or reliable. Are these overlooked reliable gems?
I know a great engine means nothing if the rest of the car is sh**....

The new Rover I6, debuting this year, or did they have an earlier one? New one is said to be very high tech. No thanks.

Heeps used to have I-6 engines with fairly good reps.
 
Here in Australia we have the Ford "Barra" 4L turbo I6 that every man and his dog are sticking in Landcruisers and Patrols. Some patrols came with a TB48-DE, Nissans answer to the 1FZ.

The LR2 engine is from Volvo.
 
The ford 4.9 I6 was a good engine as well, and decent on fuel. Id rather have one of those than a 3FE and maybe a 1FZ.
My father in law had an old Ford 4.9 F150. It was not very reliable. He owned it since new and it had had at least 3 ECU replacements among other electrical gremlins over the years. It was basically used as a backup farm truck and only had about 100k miles on it. Totally stock and only ever worked on by the dealer. I think the engine might be pretty solid. The electronics were definitely not very reliable. Also the rest of the truck was typical early 90's Ford - so not exactly the pinnacle of quality manufacturing.

The engine never had any internal issues, so it might have been a really good starting point with a better EFI system. Some versions used fiberglass timing gears that were occasionally known to have catastrophic failures (of the gears, not the engine). If I were swapping one I'd swap in some metal timing gears for peace of mind.
 
My father in law had an old Ford 4.9 F150. It was not very reliable. He owned it since new and it had had at least 3 ECU replacements among other electrical gremlins over the years. It was basically used as a backup farm truck and only had about 100k miles on it. Totally stock and only ever worked on by the dealer. I think the engine might be pretty solid. The electronics were definitely not very reliable. Also the rest of the truck was typical early 90's Ford - so not exactly the pinnacle of quality manufacturing.

The engine never had any internal issues, so it might have been a really good starting point with a better EFI system. Some versions used fiberglass timing gears that were occasionally known to have catastrophic failures (of the gears, not the engine). If I were swapping one I'd swap in some metal timing gears for peace of mind.

Huh, my dad had one when I was a kid and put a couple hundred thou on it, it never skipped a beat and was decent on fuel.
 
My father in law had an old Ford 4.9 F150. It was not very reliable. He owned it since new and it had had at least 3 ECU replacements among other electrical gremlins over the years. It was basically used as a backup farm truck and only had about 100k miles on it. Totally stock and only ever worked on by the dealer. I think the engine might be pretty solid. The electronics were definitely not very reliable. Also the rest of the truck was typical early 90's Ford - so not exactly the pinnacle of quality manufacturing.

The engine never had any internal issues, so it might have been a really good starting point with a better EFI system. Some versions used fiberglass timing gears that were occasionally known to have catastrophic failures (of the gears, not the engine). If I were swapping one I'd swap in some metal timing gears for peace of mind.



We had these at a courier company I worked for. We had about 300 vans with the 4.9. The gears only had issues over 250,000 miles and at high speeds they would occasionally fail due to backlash. I am guessing the ecm failure are due to a lack of diagnostic skills or over voltage. Some years had a wiring mounting tab that would short the alternator wire and cause smokey unhappiness They were simple and crude but rarely failed. They used to every once in a while sheer the distributor drive gear pin. Also they had fuel deposits on the intake valves on high mileage engines when we took the head off. We sold the trucks to a used truck dealer who sold a lot of them off shore. Often with over 400,000 miles on the original engines.
 
The new Rover I6, debuting this year, or did they have an earlier one? New one is said to be very high tech. No thanks.

Heeps used to have I-6 engines with fairly good reps.

Apparently 2008 freelander
Wikipedia:
The new Freelander was first marketed in the U.S. in 2007 as the LR2. The 2008 version is called the LR2 HSE. The limited run HST had added side trim, front valance, and 19-inch wheels. A Ford 3.2-litre inline six-cylinder engine producing 230 hp (170 kW) is standard, with a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
 

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