Tornado 230 failures

[rpgdeity]

I'm trying to conduct a non-informal survey. I'm trying to identify and put together a list of weaknesses of the stock Tornado 230. I know a lot of people pull the stock engine due to lack of power, but I'd like to hear from people who have personally had something fail or break in the 230. If you don't know exactly what happened, but it didn't work or you couldn't get something to work anymore, please tell me what the symptoms where and any other information related to it. Thank you, any info is appreciated.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

the main reason these engines go bad is folk drive them too fast. second is the oil line in the back of the head to the passenger side of the block fails from age, heat etc. i,ve put 47,000 + miles on my original truck with no failiers.
just my opinion

[kwai]

Another common failure is for the fuel pump to leak gas into the crankcase. You can guess the results.

[dhood]

I've read and seen alot about the 230 Tornado. Every article in Military Vehicle Magazine says something like "weak engine" or "It's not a bad vehicle (M715) except the engine". The 230 Tornado is a 1960's production engine and like all engines of that period, they don't take a beating. You have to do maintenance basically all the time. Thats just the way it is.

I guess we (most of us) have got used to driving modern cars that don't need the constant service due to technological advances. Heck, my 2002 Jeep Wrangler doesn't even have a distributor or carburetor. I don't have to check the timing or idle mixture when the seasons change. Even the modern coolant only needs to be changed every 5 years! All this and I can drive down the highway over 65MPH.

It basically comes down to knowing what to do with maintenance. If you adjust the valves, timing, torque engine bolts, clean or replace spark plugs, points and condenser and change the oil regularly, any engine of the 60's will do fine.

Yes, the 230 Tornado doesn't have the horsepower of a Chevy LT1 engine and it needs routine check-ups at least every month, but it is a servicible power plant original to the M715. But if you want more power or hate looking for parts, change out the engine. However, if you like an all original Jeep, take the time to learn about the 230 Tornado. It is a decent engine.

[dhood]

Timing chain tensioner, valve train are the weak points.

[rpgdeity]

Good info so far, thank you very much.

Dhood: Here is my thinking...I've been trying to keep as much stock on my 715 as possible, while modifying what I can to bring it up to modern spec and improve it, all the while keeping a "line drawn" in my head as to how far I plan to go with modifying the stock equipment. I don't plan on spending over zealous amounts of money just to keep it stock. I don't understand though why everyone keeps saying the 230 is such a weak engine. Maybe in absolute stock form, but just the very few mods I've done so far has made a vast improvement as far as I can tell. I have several further mods that I am planning on doing to the 230 that should get much more power out of it. My worry though is that I am missing some fundamental weakness of this engine, and I'd hate to waste money on something that just won't work. So far I don't think that is so, and as long as I treat it right and maintain it, I should be fine.

So my goal here is to learn more about the 230 by finding out problems with it, and then seeing if I am able to address those issues for a more powerful and reliable engine.

Thanks for the info so far, keep it coming.

[berkahna]

I remember reading in the manuals that the oil pump drive gear can slip on shaft and mess up the timing though havent heard of it happening.

[2ndA]

Alert: Thread Hijack!

The 230 Tornado is a 1960's production engine and like all engines of that period, they don't take a beating. You have to do maintenance basically all the time. Thats just the way it is.

Are you serious? Or would you like to qualify that "all"? I sell cars. My old stuff gets an occasional tuneup and we're done. New stuff is a neverending hassle of electronics and broken plastic and lousy, over-complicated, often government-mandated, rube-goldberg "design".

Just my .02. I'll go away now.

[vrod02]

Lol's as well on the 60's comment. Also how does a fuel pump issue fill the crankcase?

[Elwenil]

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Are you serious? Or would you like to qualify that "all"? I sell cars. My old stuff gets an occasional tuneup and we're done. New stuff is a neverending hassle of electronics and broken plastic and lousy, over-complicated, often government-mandated, rube-goldberg "design".

Just my .02. I'll go away now.

I think he just means that newer cars go a lot longer without heavy maintenance than the older engines and we have gotten somewhat used to that. I just checked a '65 Factory Service Manual and it lists a tune up every 12 months or 12K miles, oil changes every 3 months or 4K miles, etc. New vehicles can go 6K miles between oil changes and 60K to 100K miles between tune ups. A lot of people don't own a vehicle long enough to do a tune up these days. We might be used to thinking that we replace the cap, rotor, plugs, wires and maybe points on an old 60's model and we are good to go for a long time, but the actual maintenance intervals when new were much tighter and way more often than a modern vehicle.