What Motor?

I run highly stock '06 pre-DPF 565 ISX with only modification being 514 000 miles counted over 9481 engine hours. Most of that time we spent starving for oxygen in various left lanes of The West. I'd love to introduce you to real world mpg numbers but due to lack of interest on my part let me just provide ECM version at flat 6.5. The number I'm really trying to keep track of is number of nights I slept in various motels of Rocky Mountains parted with my cozy sleeper because of truck/engine breakdowns over my little journey.

And the number is: 1
This is just plain-jane starter truck, I wonder whats the BIG D O G S numbers?

Poor man dyno, RR4 Diagnostic Mode

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1.3406B
2.3406C
3.3406E
4.C15 (Single Turbo)
5.C15 (Twin Turbo)

 

What are you guys going to do now that Cat is no longer offering an engine for the OTR trucks?

 

Keep buying Cummins...They're better motors anyway!

Cat hasn't built a decent engine since the 3406 went away.

 

From the factory the best motor right now would have to be the Cummins followed very closely by Volvo from what I hear. I have to agree that from the factory the ACERTs are nothing to speak of, but with aftermarket mods the ACERT will out pull and outlast every engine that is being produced currently. Many of us with CAT motors are planning on running and rebuilding the current motors we have...at least the handful of o/o I know and myself are doing this.

 

Ive ran a 3406 Cat and a 60 series Detriot both are pretty good. The Detroit is quiter. But im now running a 500+ ISX Cummins and its no contest.

 

The question that I would pose is this: Why would I want to buy a motor that will not do the job "right out of the box"? If I have to spend a bunch of money to make it run right then it's simply not a good motor! I had a C15 and it was a pretty sorry specimen! Lot's of warranty issues and it didn't pull nearly as well as my previous CAT did with a lower horsepower rating.

Admittedly there were some minor issues with the early ISX motors with regard to the EGR in particular but over all they will stock for stock pull circles around an equally rated cat and get better fuel economy in the process. Cat has been living on their PAST reputation for a long time and it just doesn't hold up anymore under close scrutiny.

I very reluctantly switched to Cummins after many years of CAT motors (My first was a 1693T/A) and seeing what has ultimately become of CAT I'm glad now that I switched!

 

What do you mean "do the job"? You mean to tell me for the last 300k miles my C15 Acert hasn't been working? Same for the 475k my C13 has? Wow, that means my trailers have been pushing these yellow boat anchors around really well.

Look man everyone it entitled to their opinion but for you to lump every Cat engine in one big junk category is idiotic. Heck we ran Cummins in every truck for over 20yrs before buying the first Cat in '90. Every truck since except for one I got used has been yellow ever since. If every thing they make is "junk" then I'd really like to see what a good engine is. I've got an '01 and an '02 C15 that would run circles around even the precious KT Cummins we had in the '80s. The last Cummins I owned was an N14 which cost almost 25k in maintenance costs in the 5yrs I had it. Electrical issues, numerous injector issues one of which melted a piston and required a total overhaul with just over 400k miles. Now that particular engine was a POS however unlike you I can see beyond my own personal experiences and and am smart enough to know that everything mechanical can, and will have issues. Now I guess since I had ONE bad experience with a Cummins I should be leading the anti-Cummins club. Especially since the only major issue I've had with a Cat in 19yrs and 8 trucks was that "B" model that cracked a piston with 200k miles which Cat completely paid for no questions asked when it was out of warranty. But I can see beyond my own fleet and admit if Cat, Cummins, Detroit ect didn't build a good product they wouldn't be in business. Only Harley can build junk, chrome it and still manage to stay afloat.

 

Which lead me to reply with the won't do the job right out of the box...etc, etc.

 

Because the EPA has made sure no motor will do the job "right out of the box". Their clean air mandates are ridiculous and require technology that doesn't work properly, hurts fuel mileage and increases both purchase costs, repair costs, maintenance costs and downtime.

This is also why Caterpillar is exiting the on-highway truck engine market. They simply could not keep up with unreasonable demands from the EPA.

It has gotten to the point where, if an engine does the job "right out of the box", that engine is now banned in the United States of America.