How many miles is a diesel good for?

[Tineca]

Hi

I am thinking of moving from my diesel Fiat Ulysse to a Volvo V70 or S80 2.4 diesel. My wife is a bit concerned as the ones in our budget have 150K upwards on. If i get one with with FSH, will these cars last for another good while? Is there any pitfalls i need to look out for.

Many thanks

Jed

[Clan]

There is no defined life for any volvo engine , as you will read on here they go indefinitly unless they are neglected ... Engine wear isnt a problem ..

[MartinK]

Just to bump this thread...

Anyone got a really high milage Volvo Diesel? Especially a D5 would be interesting.

I have a 2002 Land Rover (TD5 engine). Now 162000 miles. Still going strong, and expect many more miles.

I was in a S80 D5 car used as a Taxi a while back. 260000 miles, and still going really strong (drove like a new car).

We also have a 2009 D5 in the family, and keen to hear any long-term ownership experiences?

[Rubic cube]

Originally Posted by Clan

There is no defined life for any volvo engine , as you will read on here they go indefinitly unless they are neglected ... Engine wear isnt a problem ..

i agree there's a v70 on autotrader d5 engine with 288000 miles its 206 so must have been serviced properly that's going some in 4 years what do you guys think?

[Bernard333]

I have driven a V70 D5 for six years and 139k miles and so far its cost very little although you dont know whats going fail next . I feel comfortable enough with the reliability that I dont bother with breakdown cover although there have been a few failures that with hindsight could have been avoided. the only thing that annoys me is that if you want to keep everything working as original (which I tend not to) then it can get expensive . For example the DIM unit ( small driver info module ) can cost a lot if you have it fixed at a main dealer , last week I saw a complete D5 engine sold on ebay for less than the cost of a dim unit so for me the engine itself would be the least concern its all the other stuff around the engine a lot of which is not made by Volvo that worries me .

[turkish]

I have driven many Volvo Diesels with over 150,000 miles, as long as they have been well maintained then there should be little to worry about. Just remember with this mileage perishable items to need replacing if they have already not been.

With the S80's there are a few 1 owner airport / chauffer cars around, most of these have just sat at 75 MPH while the engine is warm, so are quite good buys.

[charlotte001]

Theres a 740 in Brussels close to my office that has 630.000KM on it and it's still going strong.

[opentoffers]

Hi I have 2 volvos 760 GLE Turbo Diesel Auto.
1986 409,000 No Trouble. car is on Sorn.
1989 200,000 No Trouble. Every day car,it drives really well,i change the oil
every 4,000 miles,also Oil Filter and Fuel Filter .
The cars need driving,i always run the engine until,normal temp,i use 2 keys
if i am going local to the shops. I leave the engine running,and lock the doors
with my spare key. Not a good idea if you live in London.

[Jim314]

Originally Posted by opentoffers

The cars need driving,i always run the engine until,normal temp,i use 2 keys
if i am going local to the shops. I leave the engine running,and lock the doors
with my spare key. Not a good idea if you live in London.

I don't think idling the engine while you are in a shop is a good thing for the engine. The motivation for that practice would be to avoid a cold start. But if you are not gone long then the engine would be warm not cold. And the engine wear in a cold start does not occur just at the instant of starting, but rather during the entire warmup, which for a diesel could be lengthy.

But more directly, a diesel at normal slow idle will not produce enough waste heat to keep the engine temperature in the proper running range. This is a manifestation of the high efficiency of the diesel cycle. If a diesel engine at normal operating temp is slow idled for an extended period (which can be a little as 30 minutes) the engine temperature can drop to the point of engine damage. The Mercedes 5-cyl diesel used in their tall commercial vans had a 'fast idle' option to allow idling for extended periods without engine damage.

Most authorities agree that modern oils do not need changing at a 4000 mile interval in a diesel unless the vehicle is using a horrible fuel or in very severe service.

[Jim314]

See this http://busbuilding.com/bus-conversio...etroit-diesel/

. . . recent post on one of the bus boards, “How long should a diesel engine be warmed up before driving off?”

Among the many considered answers is Ed’s post with a great explanation about diesel idling in general, from someone who oughta know: Detroit Diesel’s Mike Meloche, Senior Reliabilt Sales Manager:

Your question ranks right up there with the most commonly asked questions we receive. It is also, at least in my opinion, the most commonly misunderstood aspect of the operating parameters of a diesel engine. The short answer is we have always recommended that if the engine is going to be idling, low idle, longer than five minutes, that it be shut off.