2007 Freightliner Columbia MBE 4000

Mercedes: JUNK! 700k and its due to overhaul. Inframe is fine. Crank and cam shouldn't have to be turned. They are pricey for their lifespan. Me personally.......Id never buy one! Much better service out of Detroit and Cat. Stay away from ISX as well!

 

Have you ever driven one? Worked on one? I'm guessing not.

With a handle like yours, what else could you possibly say?

 

LOL....I worked on Mercedes for 3 years! I was never so glad to get away from them. Head gaskets on them are a daily failure. Look up the stats on the life of them. They are fleet engines. Better yet, Call Western Branch Diesel in Portsmouth Va and ask what common issues are on them. They have more Mercedes sitting in the shop for heads and overhauls than Detroits.

I have also driven them. They lack serious power as well!

 

Hmmm, I had a set of HG's under warranty at @300k miles, then that was it IIRC.

Martin

 

Oh yeah Freightlinerbob......Catmechanic is not a handle......its a screen name! Further more, I chose that just because. I work on anything and everything. Cat, Cummins, Detroit, Mercedes, International, Mack, Volvo, You name it......Ive probably been inside it! Thanks for your know it all attitude there....."driver"!
Stick to the driving and leave the mechanical side to the mechanics!

 

I don't have a KIA attitude, but after 8 virtually trouble free years of owning an MBE4000 I'm far more qualified to comment on them than most posters here. I make no excuses for its shortcomings and concede that the two major issues with them should have never happened, namely head gaskets and fuel lines. However both were fixed properly at Mercedes' expense and if done by QUALIFIED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE MECHANICS, the fixes were permanent.

My total out of pocket repair costs up to rebuild were $500 over an 825,000 life. Then I opted for a rebuild because of two cracked heads.
Stack that up to any EGR or ACCERT motor.

And a handle is the same thing as a screen name. FYI.

 

I saw cracked heads and seems to me it happens becouse of low coolant. really cant understand why? engine protection usually does not let it happen

 

I lift the hood every day and my coolant never went below the " min cold " line. I was adding from time to time because the bunk heater leaked a small amount when the truck cooled off.

825,000 is still 25% better than my last two S 60 that only lasted 645,000 miles combined! My second 12.7 dropped a liner and went BOOM at less than 100,000 miles.

 

I saw broken rods twice.... a mess inside engine..

 

I've read this thread with great interest. I drive an '06 Shaker Columbia with a MBE4000. I'm thinking of getting the truck to show level for this August and will more than likely purchase it from my company when they decide to let it go. They are so impressed with what I have done with it, I think they are going to let me hang onto it well past it's trade cycle.

As a side note, I drive a 1992 Mercedes 190E ( Baby Benz ) which to me is engineered so well, it blows most stuff out of the water that is in it's age range. So, I'm happy with German engineering.

I've been in the game for 34 years and have had a lot of different iron under the hood in front of me. Cat's ? Explain the never ending water pump failures, and why the one piece head design. ISX's ? Garbage. The Series 60 is a good motor, but yes, prone to liner failures. Is the MBE a ground shaking powerhouse? No. Do we need 800+ HP to make a living? No.

My 450HP engine with just shy of 700K on it pulls 142,000 lbs. on a regular basis. Never in-framed, no head gasket work, no coolant leaks. It will work it's little heart out right down to 1050 RPM. 6.8 - 7.2 MPG on singles, and when I run doubles, it's 4.9 with loaded trailers. Our PeopleNet system will crunch mileage numbers on the fly as we drive, so I track it.

Some questions I have for you, Bob. I've seen a lot of your other posts and I guess if you can't answer them, you can point me to someone who will.

1. We are governed at 65MPH. That's not going to change until I purchase and I'm okay with it in the meantime. My issue is it seems like the ECM kind of naps from time to time. It will drop to 63, loaf around for a bit and then pick it back up. It's an annoying habit of the engine, and I'm wondering if there is a "response parameter" in the software that can be changed.

2. Threw my first check engine light since I've had it in the last year and a half (135K ). Comes and goes, shuts off when restarted. I'm super attentive to fluid levels, like yourself. Our diagnostic interface is in for repair, so can't pull codes as I type this. Seems a little sluggish on power since the light came on, but I could be imagining it.

3. Smart pass. Like the DDEC's, is it capable?

4. Oil pressure range. I get the oil temp up to 200* easily on a doubles pull and it will hover around 40 PSI at 1300 RPM. Typically 50 PSI at cruise with cooler temperatures. We do pull oil samples.

5. Cranking. Sometimes it fires right away, other times not and will crank for quite some time. We are going to change the guts behind the ignition key and see if that alleviates the problem.

Let me know your thoughts. Appreciate it.