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OT; opinions wanted Freightliner with cat motor

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Topic: OT; opinions wanted Freightliner with cat motor
Posted By: Larry W.
Subject: OT; opinions wanted Freightliner with cat motor
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 1:12pm
Hey guys, Im looking for opinions and thoughts. I am going to upgrade from my IH s1900 that i currently pull my trailer with. I found a Freightliner 112 with a cat C10 motor and a 9 speed. Truck has higher miles but its been very well maintained, motor has 200,000 on a overhaul. What are some thoughts on the C10, are they a good engine? Thanks



Replies:
Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 1:54pm
So you have a DT 466 now and want to go to Cat C 10 ?
Seems the 466 is a good motor also - might be better off doing some upgrades on present motor. Look at transmission change for the IH


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Faith isn't a jump in the dark. It is a walk in the light. Faith is not guessing; it is knowing something.
"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."


Posted By: Larry W.
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 2:22pm
Our truck has hyd. Brakes, and is getting rusty and needing a fair amount of work. The Freightliner is a lil longer wheelbase, it was a tandem they changed to single rear axle, but it still has the semi fifth wheel, so this truck gives me more trailer options, like a small corn hopper, or enclosed van for the pulling tractors. And I like the 9 speed better then the 6+1 the IH has.


Posted By: BPM75
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 2:23pm
The biggest issue on C10 and C12s they were prone to have cam followers go bad and take out the cam and head gaskets leaking water in oil, seemed like every 5-600k wed put head gaskets on and change followers whether they bad or not just to prevent future failure. Other than that they are a good little engine. If that one has been OH in the last 200k then you should be good for awhile.

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59 D17 gas nf, 66 XT 190, 69 220.


Posted By: Acdiesel
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 9:47pm
We run two freightliners with C12, both have over 800,000 + miles, did have one with a bad cam follower about 3 years ago. We put about 25k on them a year. Other then that good engine.
You can ask for an opinion about any thing and 1/2 the people will like it and the other 1/2 not. So go with your gut feeling

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D19 Diesel,D17 Diesel SER.3
2-D14, 2-D15 SER.II WF/NF
D15 SER.2 DIESEL
D12 SER.I, D10 Ser.II
2-720'S D21 Ser. II

Gmc,caterpillar
I'm a pharmacist (farm assist) with a PHD (post hole digger)


Posted By: Jwmac7060
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 9:51pm
Cat C10 is a throw away motor...I would rather have a DT 466 with a million miles on it...stay away


Posted By: littlemarv
Date Posted: 27 May 2014 at 9:51pm
Work on C-10s and 12s quite a bit. 3 common problems-  water pump leaks coolant into oil, headgasket leaks coolant into oil, and cam followers go bad. Get those three out of the way and they are a fine engine.

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The mechanic always wins.

B91131, WC23065, WD89101, CA29479, B1, Early B10, HB212, 416H


Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 28 May 2014 at 5:37am
Cat C10-C11-C12-C13 are wet sleeve engines and certainly NOT a "throw-away" engine. They also are bigger than a DT466 as they start at 629 cubes and get bigger from there. Compare to an L-10 and M-11 Cummins.


Posted By: Jwmac7060
Date Posted: 28 May 2014 at 6:37am
Dr.....the L10 and M11 were junk in my opinion too. When cat went to the acert motors they started manufacturing junk. I actually had a Peterbilt dealer tell me he would not sell me a truck with a cat acert motor in it. He knew after running Cummins isx motors that I would not be happy. Look at the resale value of any truck with an acert motor compared to an isx or ism..usually 15 to 20 grand difference.


Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 28 May 2014 at 6:41am
Well my friend, a Cat C-10 is a bit prior to the Acert generation, and actually came from the 3176 series. You didn't defend your claim of "throw-away" engine, which was definitely wrong. I can see you and I will agree on very little here. Have a nice day.


Posted By: Dave Everett
Date Posted: 29 May 2014 at 2:37pm
Buy a Volvo


Posted By: Mactractor
Date Posted: 29 May 2014 at 5:18pm
Guys, is there a line of C12 engines in a certain range of serial numbers that are more reliable than others like truckers tell you about C15 engines?


Posted By: BPM75
Date Posted: 29 May 2014 at 5:44pm
Originally posted by Jwmac7060 Jwmac7060 wrote:

Dr.....the L10 and M11 were junk in my opinion too. When cat went to the acert motors they started manufacturing junk. I actually had a Peterbilt dealer tell me he would not sell me a truck with a cat acert motor in it. He knew after running Cummins isx motors that I would not be happy. Look at the resale value of any truck with an acert motor compared to an isx or ism..usually 15 to 20 grand difference.



The company I work for has 4-500 trucks with ISX and a few day cabs with ISMs and I do most of the engine work on our trucks and I will tell you this we have more trouble from those engines than any of the cats or Detroit's that we used to run. We buy used fleet trucks with 4-500k miles on them one try to get to 1.2 million and very few have made it without major engine work and countless egr problems, and a year ago we bought 75 2010 pro stars with aftertreatment and those are in the shop with regen issues as much as there on the road. The accert cats may have had issues but you can buy a single turbo setup for them that alleviates a lot of problems. So like I said earlier I would not be afraid of the c10 with only 200k on an oh.

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59 D17 gas nf, 66 XT 190, 69 220.


Posted By: GM Guy
Date Posted: 31 May 2014 at 1:44am
Originally posted by Jwmac7060 Jwmac7060 wrote:

Dr.....the L10 and M11 were junk in my opinion too. When cat went to the acert motors they started manufacturing junk. I actually had a Peterbilt dealer tell me he would not sell me a truck with a cat acert motor in it. He knew after running Cummins isx motors that I would not be happy. Look at the resale value of any truck with an acert motor compared to an isx or ism..usually 15 to 20 grand difference.


The ISM is a continuation of the the M11. updated and upgraded, yes, but fundamentally along the same lines. I dont believe it can go from absolute garbage to awesome in one series refresh, so I question your theory on why the L10 and M11 are "junk" in the first place.

we have a friend with some 856? Versatile's with the L10 and he loves them, awesome GPA and still have plenty of guts.

to the OP, to save some money look at something like this: http://www.ddtrucksonline.com/single-axle-tractor/m.directory/46/view/121

normally i am against volvo's, but if you are going to live in it at a show for a week, a volvo is decent rig to sleep in. they drive easy (can train the significant other to drive, or buddy that has never drove truck before) with big mirrors and tight steering cut. and best of all, they are cheap. :)

the one i linked above will have EGR, and likely a VGT, both are higher cost items that can and will fail, so keep that in mind when truck shopping. Oct. of 2002 is when the mandate went in, and I personally wont have anything on the yard new enough to have EGR, as IMO it is a matter of when it will fail, not if.


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Gleaner: the properly engineered and built combine.

If you need parts for your Gleaner, we are parting out A's through L2's, so we may be able to help.


Posted By: Josh H
Date Posted: 30 Mar 2018 at 10:00pm
my c10 just lost a follower and cam, not good as my other truck needs an engine. Not good for me saying how great cat engines are anymore, but they all break


Posted By: DanWi
Date Posted: 30 Mar 2018 at 10:51pm
Wow A person I used to drive for had freightliners with L10s and M11s With a million and a half miles on them with not that many problems, although I do think one batch had some bad pistons. But I do know when I would talk to him after he got some newer trucks. He would always say those old trucks were making him more money, easier and cheaper to repair.



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