The V6 engine. Is there such a thing as a good one?

[warren t claim]

Is there such a thing as a reliable and economical V6 engine that is cheap and easy to fix with no inherent faults?

[Sloth in a bowl]

yes, but it's probably in a light aircraft.

[Christine]

Are you a buyer for McLaren?

[Honey Badger]

Honda J series in Accord Coupes and later Legends are great engines, reliable, pull like a train and sound good at full chat.

 

They countered these qualities in the coupe by bolting it to an autobox made of cheddar.

 

The Toyota MZ V6 are pretty good from my small sample size as well, it makes the lard arse Lexus RX get a shift on if you give it some stick, used in Camrys and other assorted Toyotai.

[Guest Hooli]

They fitted one to the XJ220...

[Schaefft]

Why wouldn't there be? The V6s design isn't more prone to failure than any other conventional engine type. And the level of difficulty to repair it depends on the cars design, not the cylinder layout.

[Christine]

Slightly off topic ,  

When i were a lad , the boss had a V4 mk1 Transit .My job every morning ,"check the oil and water boy"..

I understand now that engine was a "V6 with 2 cylinders sawn off" and had an awful reputation... We didn't have any trouble and it pulled like a bloody train. The Eight track in it was terrible..

[HH-R]

Rover KV6 beta as fitted to the 800*

[Asimo]

Yes.

 

 

http://6066gmcguy.com/gmcv6a.html

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The V6 petrol used in Mercs from around 1996 inwards is a superb unit, virtually unbreakable. Alfa V6 is another good one.

[warren t claim]

The V6 petrol used in Mercs from around 1996 inwards is a superb unit, virtually unbreakable. Alfa V6 is another good one.

Are they cheap to repair?

[Asimo]

Actually I think Schaefft has the key by mentioning accessability.

 

Transverse V engines are usually the very worst for engine access. They are nowadays 4 cam engines with complex timing and accessory drives crammed into a tiny space between cylinder and chassis rail, plugs down deep holes, invisible coilpacks and injectors etc, etc, etc.

 

And then the V6 version is often just an upspecced afterthought of a four cylinder design for extra compromised accessability.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I've always liked the sound of the Cologne V6.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Maserati Biturbo engine

[Mr A Lawrence]

The Essex V6.

 

Didn't princess Anne have one??

[Lacquer Peel]

The PSA V6 is reliable, you can DIY the cambelt if you're a mentalist.

 

Actually, it doesn't look that bad - http://www.406coupeclub.org/Files/HowToGuides/Cam%20Belt%20-%20Change%20on%20an%20ES9J4S%20V6%20engine.pdf

[warren t claim]

The Essex V6.

 

Didn't princess Anne have one??

Chocolate timing gears?

[M'coli]

I've not heard any complaints about the V6 in Lexuses.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

The V6 is a good idea really. It has much of the refinement of a straight six, but without the inherent packaging problems for manufacturers. The straight six in my Jag is a nice thing to have, but the damn thing is the better part of three feet long. It wouldn't fit in many modern cars, especially with FWD.

[Junkman]

Most V6es are good, but not good enough, since they are merely 3/4 of a real engine.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Most V6es are good, but not good enough, since they are merely 3/4 of a real engine.

 

 

Literally in some cases!

[Pete-M]

The V6 in my Golf is rather nice. Smooth, quiet, grunty. 230ish bhp from an NA 2.8.

 

Only issue with them is the timing chains can rattle a bit after a few hundred thousand miles. Engine out to sort as the chain in gearbox end.

[Lacquer Peel]

200ish bhp, the R32 is 230ish. 

 

The VR6 isn't a true V6 with separate cylinder banks anyway, more like a staggered in-line 6.

[PiperCub]

^^ Used this description (and Not-a-proper-V6) of the engine when pissing off a rather obnoxious ex-colleague dubber-type who used to bore everyone in earshot senseless banging on about his VR6 Corrado. He also really hated it when I called it a 'Staggered in-line six'. 

 

The Alfa Busso V6 is lovely, pretty strong and reliable, great power and sound, OK, mpg sucks but you can't have everything. But in transverse form in say a 156 - it's a whore to work on. 

 

I know some don't rate them but I've liked all the cars that have housed Cologne V6's.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

The Mercedes OM642 3.0 V6 diesel, don't know how cheap they are to repair because in 700, 000 miles over 3 different cars I never managed to break one. But 150mph and almost 40mpg ( not at the same time) is not to be sneezed at.

Only problems I ever had were swirl flap actuators,which can be bypassed for no cost and glow plug modules which fail at about 150,000 miles and cost £150. Turbos seem indestructible and injectors aren't fragile like the 4 pots.

[eddyramrod]

Most V6es are good, but not good enough, since they are merely 3/4 of a real engine.

The 231ci V6 in my 1980 Buick Century was literally that, 75% of a small-block Chevy.  It was strong and simple, and in that model, even RWD which is always good.  For years it was offered with a turbo in the legendary Buick Grand National and I believe the 3.8 in the FWD Impalas that took GM into the 21st century is a development of the same engine.  If we were across the Atlantic you'd find no shortage of them, and mechanics with long experience of them, so caring for it would be a doddle.

[gordonbennet]

Slightly off topic ,  

When i were a lad , the boss had a V4 mk1 Transit .My job every morning ,"check the oil and water boy"..

I understand now that engine was a "V6 with 2 cylinders sawn off" and had an awful reputation... We didn't have any trouble and it pulled like a bloody train. The Eight track in it was terrible..

 

Low compression version which seldom gave OMGCHG headaches, unlike the 2 litre HC versions in Zephyr Mk4's which could fail monthly till you ignored the head bolt torque figures completely and just did them up as tight as you could with a bloody great Britool torque wrench.

 

What i could never fathom is why the stupid oil pump drive seemed reliable on low comp V4 Trannies but were known to fail on the 3.0 V6's or was that just coincidence.

[twosmoke300]

The accord v6 is a cracking motor ( gearbox less so )

[Spottedlaurel]

The 3-litre, 12-valve VG-series V6 engines in the three Nissan 300Cs I had did a good job. Low level of tune at 150-155bhp compared to the 300ZX but free-revving and smooth. I had no reliability issues with them.

 

The V6 in my 1991 Camry was a lovely thing too. That was a 24-valve job and people said they had HGF issues but I had no problem and it lives on in the back of an MR2. Possibly the comment above about Honda's V6 applies about the auto 'box however (but again mine was fine, even after several intensive trackdays when it had already done 130-140k miles).

[twosmoke300]

Yeh sorry I was referring to the autobox in the v6 coupe . The only other Honda v6 we got in the uk was the nsx.