07 pete 386 or 06 fl century

Take the freightliner. Cheaper to repair, easier to find parts, better fuel mileage, and it's not a Pete!

 

I'm assuming the Pete he's looking at is an Ol Wal-Mart truck..... I would go for the Pete

 

is that a stevens truck ?

 

Tough call. The Freightliner seems to be the better option. But since it has no APU on it, it may have idled those 200000 mls already. Go and get readouts from both trucks. You're getting a better fuelmileage from the Freightliner for sure. But a worn out engine which needs to be rebuilt soon will kill you before you get propperly started.

 

Lots of variables in those questions.

I can't speak to the parts availability for an RT-series 10-speed transmission (what the Freightliner undoubtedly has, 2.62 rears are geared for running with a direct transmission, which means your final drive ratio, the last hole, in the transmission is, is a 1:1 gear ratio).

Detroit's do great for fuel mileage out of the box, but, I'd be hesitant about an ex-fleet truck from a mega-fleet. Just take a look at how all of the CDL-mill rookies drive those trucks and think about what it can do to the driveline. Sure, the transmission was serviced on a regular basis, but, that doesn't tell you the internal condition of the gears themselves after thousands of terrible shifts performed by steering-wheel-holders.

3.55s on the 386 are great gears, extremely flexible. On 11R24.5s they become high-speed gears, allowing about 60-mph in 9th-direct and 70mph in 9th over right around 1400rpm. Put low-pro 22.5s on them and you've got a truck that can start 100,000 on a grade. And don't discount the Cats for fuel mileage. I've squeezed an average of 7.4 from a 6NZ backed by a 13-speed. Fuel mileage is largely determined by how YOU drive it. I could get that Detroit to be down around 4.5mpg if I drove it in a fashion with no concern for fuel usage.

Another thing to think about with the Freightliner: what is the availability for those ultra-high ratios like 2.62s?

That being said, by running in direct gear you'll get better fuel mileage because of reduced parasitic loss of power. By running in a direct gear you essentially create a solid shaft from flywheel to diffs and lose less power.

Dig up what paperwork you can on the trucks. Maintenance records, if any overhauls have been done, or rods and mains, overheads, etc. If one of them lists an overhaul, check how complete of an overhaul. "Overhaul" does mean different things to different people. For some, it simply means gaskets, pistons, and a few other internals, versus, a "Platinum" CAT overhaul which includes new pistons, liners, gaskets, even a new head assembly, and much more.

Which is the better buy?

Which has the better history.