Cummins not highly thought of in OTR trucks

[Sageair]

Due to having three kids in out of state colleges I have been driving cattle truck on weekends. I am driving a 2001 Peterbilt 379 with a Cat 3406E. In speaking with other drivers every one of them has told me that both the Cat and Detroit Series 60 are great engines but they unanamously say the big Cummins especially the ISX are junk. Any thoughts or observations?

 

[rblomquist]

I'm around the big trucks now and then with my job and that's generally what I've been hearing as well. People like to have the option of being able to break out the Cat nip.

 

[csevers]

The N-14 is one of the best engines out there, the ISX is much like the 6. 0 not that great. It has some cool features but I have seen some problems with them at a previous job. It has good power but it's fuel system is not smooth, the engines vibrate at idle to the point drivers can't get any sleep. Cat's are EXPENSIVE to buy and maintain when you do have to fix them and Detroits have come a long way in my opinion with a good performing engine and good drivability but also have there flaws. Cummins engines are fleet engines light,cheap to buy and maintain. Cat's are Owner/Operator engines, good for resale in a late model truck, more expensive to buy up front. They all can get good mpg. I think 03 and up ISX's have EGR Cats went to cat convertor mufflers and dual exhaust , Twin turbos to meet emissions. Detroits whent to VGT and EGR in 04 I think, very strange sounding engine.



Craig

 

[juicedcummins]

The biggest piece of scrap out there is the 60 series Detroit. Just say out- loud the words wind or hill and they fall flat on their face.

That is on a good day, the rest of the time is spent changing out bad injectors.

 

[Truckie]

Originally posted by juicedcummins

The biggest piece of scrap out there is the 60 series Detroit. Just say out- loud the words wind or hill and they fall flat on their face.

That is on a good day, the rest of the time is spent changing out bad injectors.

I cant agree on that I ran a 60 series Detroit for 2 years and never had a problem. I cant remember the exact size but it was like 430hp and I use to run Pittsburgh, Pa and in and out of West Virginia and never had a power problem. Average gross weight was always between 79,000 and 82,000. lbs

I also ran a Cat 3406e and it was 475hp and was worked over a little bit.

MIKE

 

[DGFoster]

Does Mack still make a diesel engine?

I use to own a couple of Macks when I lived in Florida hauling rock,and both were great engines,but I have been out of the game since 95 when I got hurt,but back then Cummins was the gospel.

 

[jerrethomas]

for all the cat lovers, wait till you have to replace that gasket in between the bellhousing and the engine. where i work they have 6 cats and 1 cummins which happens to be a 444 step timing(not the greatest engine made) but we rarely have problems with it. we did replace the gasket on one of the cat's 3 months or so ago and now we have to do another truck that is leaking too. what a pain to do considering all the trucks have wet lines on.

 

[C. Harlan]

Series 60 motors are great! You never have to change the oil!!!! It all leaks out the side and down the block, coating your underside of the rig, preventing rust, as well as making a nice observation for Mr. DOT man!! Just keep adding new oil, and you are set!



-Chris-

 

[Will24]

60 series detroit? Someone point me to where there is a 60 series made after 1995 that went more than 515k before it needed an in-frame... everyone I know of has holed a piston somewhere right around 500k, local company just lost a motor in a 99 International 9200 at 370k! It's funny, you always hear the guys that run cat motors say cummins are junk, but the guys with cummins love them!



-Will

 

[Will24]

Also, speaking of EGR motors... anyone have the privledge of looking at the plumbing on a new EGR Mack E-tec motor? Wow... that looks like no fun to work on

 

[Andy Perreault]

The company I work for contracts with Swift to do some longhaul trucking for us. Swift is the largest trucking company in the country. I saw on the local news that they placed a huge order with Kenworth trucks (built here in Renton, WA), and it was one of the biggest orders Kenworth has ever gotten. I asked a Swift driver at work about the order, and he said that Swift wanted to buy Freightliners, but you can nowadays you can only get the Cummins and Mercedes engines in Freightliners. Swift wanted Detroits, like they have in their existing fleet of Freightliners, but since Freightliner told them no on Detroits, they went to Kenworth instead so they could get trucks with Detroit engines. I have no opinion on which big truck engine is better, but I think it's interesting that the nation's largest trucking company switched truck manufacturers because they wanted Detroits.

Andy

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"I have no opinion on which big truck engine is better, but I think it's interesting that the nation's largest trucking company switched truck manufacturers because they wanted Detroits. "



Maybe a hint to DC, if they ever wanna consider dropping the Cummins in their truck line...



Might create a mass exodus of long-time customers...

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I have heard nasty things about the Signature 600 and the ISX Cummins'.



One guy allegedly has to tear down his Signature 600 every year and ends up with two weeks of downtime.



Cummins makes mistakes - just like everyone else has.



I'll never get rid of my Cumaparts...



Matt

 

[ndurbin]

Where I usto work they had 2 N14s with 750,000 and 1,000,000+ miles on them with no overhauls.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

My only experience with an N14 was at Englishtown, NJ's Raceway Park @ the truck race...



The local tech college had one on an engine stand that was all hooked up and ready to run.



The guy took one look at me and said: "You want to use the Jake Brake, don't you?"







Matt

 

[GTop]

The company I work for has 1 pre-emissions Cummins ISX, 2 EGR Cummins ISX's,1 Signature 600,and 1 of the '04 emmisions C-15's.



The only thing I dont like about the EGR Cummins ISX I drive is that they run alot hotter than the pre-emmisions engines. The fan has to kick on alot. Other than that it runs really good. It idles smooth,it's quiet,tons of low end torque,and pulls great. I dont think they're junk. I'd buy one.

 

[MrWinkey]

I think your looking at it wrong for the reason Swift bought Detroits.....



All the wrenches(mechanics) they have know how to work on detroits..... if it breaks down more or not the downtime/lost labor/worker retraining would cost far more than a few rebuilds early because something pukes.....





They are all mechanical devices subject to failure... .

 

[Will24]

Swift also gets rid of a lot of trucks at 400k, before warranty is up, so longevity is kind of irrelevant...

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by DGFoster

Does Mack still make a diesel engine?

Yes.



It is very hard to find a Mack truck without a Mack engine. I was told that Mack has Cummins as the only optional engine. He said that Mack dropped the Cat as an optional engine. The E-7 is the most common "series". Anywhere from 300-460hp. E-7, 350hp, backed by a 9spd transmission, is the most common combo.



Mack makes reliable engines for the most part. They don't have as much torque as an equally size Cat or Cummins though. We have 2 Macks at work. The '95 CH 613 has almost 800k. Still doesn't use any oil. To my knowledge, it has never been opened up for an overhaul.

 

[E7mack96]

Id have to disagree,



My mack is a 460 XT - 1760 ft. lbs. tQ and 487 hp. It is a blast to drive with a 13 speed.



It out runs my truck with the kitty, and the one with a 500 detroit.



As far as Cummins in a class 8 - I'm scared. My buddy has had all 3 of his isx 550-600 hps rebuilt 2 times in 3 years. Under warranty - yes, but who can afford that downtime.



So far Mack is #1, then CAT, then Detriot series 60. Only Cummins for me is the 5. 9 in the Ram