High mileage engine

[NSDQ]

So my truck currently has 117k miles, still on stock motor and tranny. There's been no issues as of yet, the thing cranks, runs, and is doing just fine. It has even taken a few passes on the dyno and 1/4 mile and endured a 1100 mile road trip.

At any rate, I'm not going to pretend I know a ton about engines. So my question is, as my miles keep going up, what could I replace now to ensure that the engine keeps going? For instance, what could I expect to fail internally in the engine due to it having high mileage? Should I just go ahead and drop some forged pistons and rods in? I know the simple answer would probably be to get a engine rebuild, but is that necessary? I'm not necessarily looking to make any moves at the moment, just curious as to what I should keep an eye on for the future. Thanks guys!

 

[JeffBoyette]

If you are the first owner or got it at low mileage... And you have ensured that all the oil changes were done on time, you know how much oil it burns, it has never overheated, or had any odd events, I would keep driving it confidently. The engines are solid. As long as the tune is safe, no detonation, clean fuel, it will ride till the wheels fall off.the injectors could probably use a good cleaning along with throttle body. It would be worth it to get a cleaning done with BG products. Change out the front O2 sensors. It's hard to get a good reading on compression test. But it could tell you how your rings and valves are seating. you can send the oil off after 3k miles and have it analyzed if your curious. As far as curiosity goes, after you perform said maintenance, maybe take it to a dyno and compare past runs or other trucks with similar mods. If you still have the stock cats, maybe swap in some replacements.

I wouldn't go into rebuilding the engine unless you plan on making more power or the truck starts showing signs of bearing or ring wear.

 

[Dom426]

NSDQ,
If you are the first owner or got it at low mileage... And you have ensured that all the oil changes were done on time, you know how much oil it burns, it has never overheated, or had any odd events, I would keep driving it confidently. The engines are solid. As long as the tune is safe, no detonation, clean fuel, it will ride till the wheels fall off.the injectors could probably use a good cleaning along with throttle body. It would be worth it to get a cleaning done with BG products. Change out the front O2 sensors. It's hard to get a good reading on compression test. But it could tell you how your rings and valves are seating. you can send the oil off after 3k miles and have it analyzed if your curious. As far as curiosity goes, after you perform said maintenance, maybe take it to a dyno and compare past runs or other trucks with similar mods. If you still have the stock cats, maybe swap in some replacements.

I wouldn't go into rebuilding the engine unless you plan on making more power or the truck starts showing signs of bearing or ring wear.
Here to help,
Dom

 

[FastRam]

I would just keep the normal maintenance going. Oil and filter changes, trans service, rear diff service, etc. Rebuild timing on a stockish V-10? Use and duty cycle are first indicators. How hard do you run it, day in, day out? Stock programming? Other mods? If your local dealer doesn't have a Viper Tech or you don't feel comfortable there, I'd contact Arrow Racing and ask their advice.

 

[NSDQ]

Thanks guys. Mine is a daily driver, has the Roe 93 Octane tune on it, but is otherwise stock. It was a Florida truck, I'm the second owner that I know of, has had regular synthetic oil changes since I got it and a tranny fluid flush. Has seen the Viper tech numerous times for other issues not related to the engine or tranny but during his checks he never indicated anything. First dyno run before the tune it made 403hp/426tq (it's a QC), which seems to be inline with other stock QC's. That was when it had about 105k miles. Around 112k miles it ran a 13.9 1/4 mile with the tune. So performance-wise it seems to be where it should. Haven't dyno'd it since the tune.

 

[BecauseRacetruck]

Sea Foam | Motor Treatment | General Content - Motor Treatment

This s***'s great! Seriously I swear by it. Once a year I get a can and add it to a full tank of gas to keep my fuel system clean. Also I put about 1/3 of a can in my oil about 50-100 miles before I plan to change it to clean out any gunk build up.

Other than that it's all about regular upkeep, no need to rebuild your engine, just keep up on the fluid and filter changes, do your spark plugs and wires every two years, flush your radiator if you haven't in a while, stuff like that...

 

[Chuck B]

Mine also has 117K. Runs as good as the day I drove her off the dealers lot. Continue to do what I've been doing...no worries from me at this point.

 

[yellowfever#154]

NSDQ,
If you are the first owner or got it at low mileage... And you have ensured that all the oil changes were done on time, you know how much oil it burns, it has never overheated, or had any odd events, I would keep driving it confidently. The engines are solid. As long as the tune is safe, no detonation, clean fuel, it will ride till the wheels fall off.the injectors could probably use a good cleaning along with throttle body. It would be worth it to get a cleaning done with BG products. Change out the front O2 sensors. It's hard to get a good reading on compression test. But it could tell you how your rings and valves are seating. you can send the oil off after 3k miles and have it analyzed if your curious. As far as curiosity goes, after you perform said maintenance, maybe take it to a dyno and compare past runs or other trucks with similar mods. If you still have the stock cats, maybe swap in some replacements.

I wouldn't go into rebuilding the engine unless you plan on making more power or the truck starts showing signs of bearing or ring wear.
Here to help,
Dom

Where'd you copy and paste this from?

 

[yellowfever#154]

A liter or so of ATF in the fuel tank will clean up the fuel system too. I have used it to revive injectors that are doing crazy **** on bigger diesels in the past.

 

[viperhauler]

i bought mine with 15k and have 112k on it now... i say that because i know how the last 100k miles have been on her...

i don't drive it any different now than i did when i bought it... in fact, going to the track on thursday... :burnout:

i keep up with the maintenance, and drive the piss out of it...

 

[500H V10]

Modern Fuel Injected Engines will easily go 250,000 miles IF normal maintenance is done as needed. Me personnaly, I would change the Timing Chain and Gears at 200,000 just to be Safe. If it was to jump timing you would bend the valves at the very least and more than likely damage the pistons.

 

[jman08]

Wow 117k that makes me feel really good and confident about buying a truck of course taking care of it helps..

 

[NSDQ]

awesome thanks guys.

 

[ViperPete]

Ive got 78k on my truck. Ive been wondering the same things. I always thought an engine that was basically designed in the 50's would probably be built pretty stout

Glad you made this tread. Normal maintenance it is

 

[lightningKILLER]

I just bought mine with 55k and was wondering what I should look for, and or do to the truck to ensure im taking all percautions. The truck runs and drives great. Im glad there are trucks out there with 100k plus miles! Makes me excitied!

 

[NSDQ]

I just bought mine with 55k and was wondering what I should look for, and or do to the truck to ensure im taking all percautions. The truck runs and drives great. Im glad there are trucks out there with 100k plus miles! Makes me excitied!

Even though my engine and tranny still work and function pretty well, that's not to say that mechanically the rest of my truck has held up. Since purchasing it I've discovered uppper and lower ball joints that need replacing, had the oil lines leak (common issue), rear diff leak (very minor, but it's there), and a host of other things. Granted, these are wear and tear type things, but just keep in mind that while the motor and tranny should hold up, there's some other problem areas in the support systems of the truck that you need to keep an eye out for that seem to break with regularity on these trucks, ie., power steering motor and lines, A/C, and the oil cooler lines, among others.

 

[Chuck B]

I just bought mine with 55k and was wondering what I should look for, and or do to the truck to ensure im taking all percautions. The truck runs and drives great. Im glad there are trucks out there with 100k plus miles! Makes me excitied!

I'd suggest you flush your clutch fluid on a regular basis. Even simply sucking the old fluid out of the tiny resv and refilling every oil change will go a LONG ways. When your trans yoke begins to leak pull it and simply sand the yoke where it contacts the seal. I got an additional 20K miles or so. Seal is easy to replace but tough to get the part from Dodge. Napa has a similar part in stock so fyi.

 

[lightningKILLER]

I'd suggest you flush your clutch fluid on a regular basis. Even simply sucking the old fluid out of the tiny resv and refilling every oil change will go a LONG ways. When your trans yoke begins to leak pull it and simply sand the yoke where it contacts the seal. I got an additional 20K miles or so. Seal is easy to replace but tough to get the part from Dodge. Napa has a similar part in stock so fyi.

Thanks! I will flush the clutch fluid when I change the oil this month.

 

[eddie102870]

when i bought my 2nd truck to modify it has 85K on the clock, when we pulled it i snatched a head off just to see what it looked like. you could still see the cross hatching in the cylinder walls. point being, take care of her and she should last you a while, it is still a machine and stuff will break.

 

[NSDQ]

Some information from Sean Roe. I asked him what his take was on installing a full header back exhaust, possibly heads, and a cam on a high mileage engine. Some on here had expressed that a shop like Roe wouldn't touch a high mileage engine for a cam install. So I asked him. I'm sure a lot of you on here already know this information, but for less mechanically inclined people like myself, this knowledge helps. Here's his response:

"For the most part, what wears out are rings and bearings.

If you’re not using a lot of oil, I would consider doing a leak down and compression test to determine the condition of the cylinders.

For bearings, you can both look at the internals of the oil filter and have a diesel shop do an oil analysis.

The above items are what we always did with race engines to determine when the rebuild was due.

If your values are within spec, you should be good to add up to 150 HP or so.

If anything is weak, consider repairing or limiting your mods.

The exhaust (and heads to a degree) won’t have any detrimental impact on the current engine condition, except if you change your driving style and start running higher RPM and full throttle all the time.

The camshaft makes power by increasing flow into the chamber and overall cylinder pressure. That’s where you’d want the bearings and rings to be in good shape."