4x4 PROFESSOR
No engine is indestructible, but that doesn’t mean you can’t preserve it so you get your money’s worth.
Words
There’s a saying among motorcyclists that goes along the lines of there being only two kinds of bikers – those who have fallen and those who have yet to fall. But there are also two kinds of motorists – those with mechanical sympathy and those without.
Now, you could argue that there’s no such thing as being sympathetic towards a machine made of metal, motor oil, gears and glass – though you are certainly able to abuse it. There’s the obvious kind of abuse, including redlining the 4.0 petrol V6 engine of your FJ Cruiser up and down dunes three times a week ever since you bought it three years ago, or not adhering to the service intervals that’ll keep your Navara 2,5 dCi ticking over.
But the subtleties of driving styles also affect the wear and tear on an engine over time. Person A, living next to person B and driving the same BMW X5 over the same distance and parking right next to each other at work, might experience completely different issues with the same model vehicle.
Case study
Reader Roland Barnard from Benoni recently sent some interesting questions to the Drive & Camp inbox. An acquaintance of his had bought a used Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van and converted it to use as an icecream truck. This gentleman had bought the Sprinter at around 300 000 km and used it until the engine went bust – according to Mercedes-Benz a turbo replacement was on the cards.
Some internet sleuthing later led Roland to the conclusion that the low-speed driving typically of an ice-cream van is a big no-no for this vehicle.
That made Roland sit back and think about his own driving habits. He told us that he bought an extended-cab bakkie in 2011 so that he and his wife could visit our national parks and nature reserves – particularly so that they could enjoy their favourite pastime of birding together. Roland usually shifts into second or third gear, with the engine ticking over at idle, so that they can move along at a snail’s pace while keeping a beady eye out for wildlife.
According to Roland’s GPS unit, this results in speeds of 11 km/h and 17 km/h respectively. So far, he’s had no issues thankfully, and he services his bakkie every 15 000 km.