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Are you positive its a 3-speed auto? Kind of rare for a 1997. I owned a 93 corolla and if I'm not mistaken, it had a 4-speed auto.
Yours must have been a "DX". The DX trim had a 4-speed auto, the lower trims surprisingly had a 3-speed auto in them which sounds very wierd! Their engines also had less power than the DX's did.....
well the same motor (1.6 L) on this year had a 5 speed manual transmission that revved around 2300 at 60 mph. so, if 2 cars, with the same motor, 1 revving at 3000, one revving at 2300, would the lower revving engine last longer?
My engine is still in very good condition, Im just wondering about the excess rpms. I have nothing to complain, I bought this car for 1250 cash 4 years ago, only spent about 150 on parts to fix.
All else equal, the lower revving engine should last longer. All of the moving parts in the engine are spinning slower in the lower rpm engine. Fewer ignitions, fewer camshaft rotations.....That means less heat, less parts wear, etc.
But the differences are probably very small assuming you take care of it. It isn't as if you're comparing highway use to race car use.
If it's any indication, a 3 speed was used all the way up to around 2000 in the Neon and Caravan. So there are probably some others around from a different make.
Though I had an '83 with a 4 speed OD, which nowadays are being phased out. But for the usual city driving I still think I prefer the 4 spd OD vs a 6.
The rule of thumb is an engine has excessive wear when it sustains RPM's that are 75% of maximum for extended periods of time. Your nowhere near there so you'll be OK. My wife's 84 Volvo lost it's overdrive and turned 3500 at 70 also. It had 186,000 miles on it and ran great when she decided to sell. Now, one of the sixes in one of my Mavericks for instance, which has a HP peak at around 3200 rpm would not last long at 3500 rpm's. However my 2.3 Pinto, which peaks at 5000 rpm runs 3200 at 70 and has over 100,000 miles and still does not use any oil.
3500 at 70mph, on a four cylinder engine is high. I would ck the transmission, make sure there is no dragging there, also, make sure your brakes are not holding or catching. This could force you to higher rpm's to move the car down the road. I had a 98 Ford, 5 spd manual, that started higher rpms, and the catalytic converter was clogging. 02 sensors also can cause this. Just cause its old doesn't mean it has to run at higher rpm to do same work. if the tranny cks out, brakes, catalytic converter and 02 sensor. then drive it. My other was a 91 Toyota SR5, had 250000 when I sold it. 75mph was at 2500 to 3000
In theory, any & all engines only have so many "turns" in them. So the higher the RPM at highway speed, the shorter the life of the engine. In theory...
In reality, there are a lot of factors & variables that come into play.
I had an older VW Golf that ran 4000 RPM at 70 mph. That always bugged me. But when I sold it, with 350,000 miles on it, it was still running fine. Go figure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano
All else equal, the lower revving engine should last longer. All of the moving parts in the engine are spinning slower in the lower rpm engine. Fewer ignitions, fewer camshaft rotations.....That means less heat, less parts wear, etc.
But the differences are probably very small assuming you take care of it. It isn't as if you're comparing highway use to race car use.
I wouldn't worry about it at all.
This is my attitude as well. All things being equal, more RPM's = more wear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
There was a study done years ago that showed most engine wear occurs at start up. I have no idea how much truth there is to that.
I remember when most small cars had no overdrive, I didn't think much of it back then, but Im not sure I could stand it now.
From what I've read start-ups are less damaging than before due to tighter tolerances, and advances in metallurgy and motor oil.
If your concerned about doing harm by driving on the highway then you might as well not even drive the car. Braking and Accelerating would be just as bad if not worse than running a car at 3.5K RPMs.
Thats just my $0.2. You can't be THAT worried about it. Its meant to be driven.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big George
In theory, any & all engines only have so many "turns" in them. So the higher the RPM at highway speed, the shorter the life of the engine. In theory...
In reality, there are a lot of factors & variables that come into play.
I had an older VW Golf that ran 4000 RPM at 70 mph. That always bugged me. But when I sold it, with 350,000 miles on it, it was still running fine. Go figure.
Yes, higher RPM gets old on a 'road trip', ... but I have MANY VW's that perform as above... 300k+
I highly recommend using a full Synthetic Oil and 5000 mile filter changes (I go 1 yr on oil changes (every fall), but change filters and add fresh qt every 5k)... (I use 15W-40 Amsoil, Heavy service diesel).
Synthetic oils have much lower friction and much better heat stability and longer service life (ALL are issues with high RPM engines)
well the same motor (1.6 L) on this year had a 5 speed manual transmission that revved around 2300 at 60 mph. so, if 2 cars, with the same motor, 1 revving at 3000, one revving at 2300, would the lower revving engine last longer?
My engine is still in very good condition, Im just wondering about the excess rpms. I have nothing to complain, I bought this car for 1250 cash 4 years ago, only spent about 150 on parts to fix.
if you dont maintain the engine properly, always drive like john force in his company car, etc. then yes your engine wont last as long as one that had better maintenance, ran at lower rpms, etc. that said however, your engine is not revving out of the ordinary, and given proper maintenance, your engine will last just as long as one that had an overdrive trans behind it.
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