What is the most dependable truck engine of all time?

[Old Doug]

Some of you guys need to start working on a time machine . . .

Maybe you can power it with a Detroit!

It would need to be a non turboed one that didnt leak to bad i think the 6 71 i just got would be a good candidate . I would gladly donate it .

 

[Delmer]

Madison WI and Pierce came up with a battery powered fire truck, and claimed it worked great. Most calls being a half hour with less than five miles of driving, it probably did work fine. Seems to me that a fire dept should not prepare to handle day to day business in the easiest manner, but a big enough dept can probably afford to leave their big trucks parked most days? It did have a B cummins for the pump.

 

[Acoals]

Madison WI and Pierce came up with a battery powered fire truck, and claimed it worked great. Most calls being a half hour with less than five miles of driving, it probably did work fine. Seems to me that a fire dept should not prepare to handle day to day business in the easiest manner, but a big enough dept can probably afford to leave their big trucks parked most days? It did have a B cummins for the pump.

Of course Madison bought a battery electric fire truck . . . lol.

 

[92U 3406]

Madison WI and Pierce came up with a battery powered fire truck, and claimed it worked great. Most calls being a half hour with less than five miles of driving, it probably did work fine. Seems to me that a fire dept should not prepare to handle day to day business in the easiest manner, but a big enough dept can probably afford to leave their big trucks parked most days? It did have a B cummins for the pump.

I know this is an apples to oranges comparison but how great would those trucks work in a Ft Mac or Lytton scenario where fire literally overruns an entire town? Total infrastructure failure and its an all out assault to protect what you can.

 

[Delmer]

Exactly why a fire dept should not get complacent running a battery truck to cat in a tree calls ten times a day and say it works great.

 

[chidog]

Battery fire truck? So funny when folks find out its named correctly, that is when the fire truck is on fire, you know a nice hot Li Battery fire that is.
If they are moving into electric fire trucks that should tell a thinking person that the goal is to not put out fires. I see the whole EV craze as helping skyrocket insurance rates so the average working person can't afford to own his/her own home. I think some won't let you park an EV in your garage.

 

[92U 3406]

My latest ride has 2 carbs. I think I'll be continuing that trend going forward.

 

[walkerv]

I personally dont feel like there is one great one of all time , what we are considering great today all had teething issues when initially released for use . The stand out for over the road are 12.7 early series 60s despite the painbin the butt diamond seal leaks and injectors filling crankcases with fuel , several cummins models of the same time period despite needing a ton of specialty tools , medium duty use IH and the dt466e despite huei and some electrical problems , 3126b i put in same class as the are basically the same in operation . Vocational uses im a bit of a cat 3406 fan boy mechanical and the older pre emmision electronic models with single turbos only, despite them liking fuel . And mack in dumptrucks and garbage trucks grey motors not the volvo engines .despite cam shaft issues and other varying issues they have ,although not being real powerhouses they did and do get the job done . Now the mp7 engine (volvo d11e? I think ) it runs well and get way better fuel mileage then the e7 etech and acert engines .this should be more whats your favorite engine per application .

 

[cfherrman]

Idk the mp7 but the mp8 gets about half the fuel economy of the e7

 

[walkerv]

Idk the mp7 but the mp8 gets about half the fuel economy of the e7

The mp7s in the fleet get about 5.5ish mpg , my etech last time i was in the laptop in that much detail was around 3.75 , dont remember if that was one of the manual trucks or allison automatics . We have manual , auto shift and allison behind mp7s theyball seem to get very similar mileage .these are all in local dump truck use , quad axle dumps . The garbage trucks were lucky to get 3 on the etechs , not sure about the mp7 powered ones .

 

[Truck Shop]

From my years-you really see what's what working a large fleet. Owning and repairing
a smattering of different one offs in many cases doesn't reveal much.

 

[Birken Vogt]

medium duty use IH and the dt466e despite huei and some electrical problems , 3126b i put in same class as the are basically the same in operation

Old mechanical 466 pretty good but ancient and low power now. HEUI ones have HEUI problems and 3126 in the same boat. Can't see any reason to prefer those two over the Cummins 8.3

 

[cfherrman]

The e7 water truck I drove got around 5, the mp8 water truck I drove got around 3

 

[Truck Shop]

Old mechanical 466 pretty good but ancient and low power now. HEUI ones have HEUI problems and 3126 in the same boat. Can't see any reason to prefer those two over the Cummins 8.3

And the 8.3 is becoming passe.
*
The standard was set in 1982 with the B Model Cat. Even though a full mechanical It was and
still is touted. Had Cat produced it in 525 hp form for trucks, in some respects it would still be
king today.

 

[walkerv]

Old mechanical 466 pretty good but ancient and low power now. HEUI ones have HEUI problems and 3126 in the same boat. Can't see any reason to prefer those two over the Cummins 8.3

Ok a little back history on me , 4 years at a mack dealer that was also a sterling dealer , 4 years at an Ih dealer rest of my time has been in construction or garbage , in my area cummins were not common place it was cats in everything unless meduim duty , ih were the most common class 6 and 7 trucks around also . The next most common engine was the series 60 . Cummins were around but we didnt see alot of them . Demo company i worked at was cat everything , garbage is usually mack everything , company I work at now is mack dumps and a few pete tractors with cats and one cummins . I think its regional just like track loaders. . Im sure around major shipping hubs there is alot more medium and heavy duty cummins.

 

[Truck Shop]

around major shipping hubs there is alot more medium and heavy duty cummins.

The one thing that sold Cummins out west-was the Jake. Jacobs had the valve timing right
on a Cummins, the B models always lacked in that department until Jacobs built the 349A
Jake-it was expensive with allot more valving, but the timing was correct. Problem was it didn't
arrive till near the end run of the B model.

 

[Birken Vogt]

The 8.3 lives on, it's a 9.something now, all the "small" engines are getting bigger like the 5.9 became a 6.7. My guess is to keep within emissions, bigger cylinders=less high pressure to generate NOx and stuff.

Speaking of Jakes, the 8.3 and its successor got good Jakes once it turned into a DPF engine. Before then they had the exhaust flapper valve option, better than nothing but not very strong and had to run the engine at well over high idle RPM to get good braking effect from it, it was allowed to run it that fast in the operator manual under braking but had to watch it like a hawk to keep from going too fast. When the Jakes came out that all went away, it held back just like a real truck engine even at low RPM and hardly any noise through the giant DPF/muffler.

 

[OzDozer]

I don't hear any kudos for the old genuine Allentown Mack Maxidynes - particularly the 237HP ENDT-673.
I ran one in an F-785 Mack in the 70's and 80's and that engine was a pearler. Had the 6 speed Maxidyne with the massive OD, and you had to lug it down to 1300RPM minimum before you could change back to 5th.
Previous owner ran a home-built exhaust system that exited right in front of the RHF set of duals.
On a hot night on a long grade, pulling a tandem dump trailer, grossing 38 tonnes (83,750lbs), as the revs pulled back down, that pyrometer needle would climb and climb, and you'd gradually see a tongue of flame in the rear view mirror, out the end of that long exhaust!
Couldn't do that with many truck engines, without melting valves. Never had a skerrick of problems with valves or anything else on that engine.