N14 Volvo

my truck is a 99 volvo vnl64t with an N14. truck has over 800,000 on it. i bought it used. has gone this many miles without a rebuilt or new rods and mains. thats amazing as far as truck engines go. i belived the guy at cummins who said the n14 is the best engine we ever made. idk if there is a good n14 and a bad n14. i think theyre the same. as far as a rebuild goes, i believe the guy at cummins said im looking around 15,000 but im not gonna get it rebuilt because that would cost almost double what my truck is worth

 

Not sure about now but in 07 when I rebuilt mine parts were $4800 now if you want turbo, injectors, oil pump, water pump, ect prolly add $4000-$5000 Labor is charged at 40 hrs, might be a little higher with half the engine under the dash

 

Have an 02 N14 Bought it with 1mil16k on it. Had always been well maintained (saw records) I shut it down when the rings/liners started pushing oil past and presurizing the case causing oil leaks. Felt best not to hurt it. I plan to rebuild it in the near future, had some setbacks. What I can say is that every mechanic has said "Rebuild it and run another 1.+mil have aslo had people offer to buy the truck just for the engine. Never heard any real complaints (cept from kitty lovers) never had any real problems. Have been told by many that while its not the strongest or the best in fuel milage, it is the best overall engine they have seen. My $.02

 

N14 in my opinion was the engine they should of never gotten away from, from a reliability stand point. There are ways of tweeking it for better mileage and I've never been one that needed 5 trillion HP. I know of a 2001 460hp that's consistently running 7.68 mpg

 

If you are interested in leasing without being in-slaved to a company check out http://www.lonemountaintruck.com/inventory/ They run a #### good program! Several different makes and models to compare. Just a thought

 

I am (was) a Cat guy. I have 1.6 million on a Cat without an overhaul or any major repairs. I've had great luck with my Cat. I guess I'm what 7mouths would call a kitty lover.

All that being said, I love the N-14. My dad has a fleet of trucks with the pre-EGR N-14. He had problems with injectors when we went to the 15 ppm sulfur diesel, but started running a lubricity additive and hasn't had a problem since.

I'm ticked off at Cat right now and considering that they're not building engines any more, the parts issue that has me ticked off at Cat right now, and the abortion that is the ACERT engine, I'm thinking of a glider kit with a Cummins or Detroit.

Everybody says that a Detroit is the most efficient engine, but Dad's pre-EGR Cummins engines all have the capability of being driven in such a way to get 7mpg, and they've all gone over a million miles before an inframe.

 

I just bought a 01 VNL 660 with and N14 celect +. In all the research I've been able to dig up, the N14 is a good runner with great dependability. I've heard it will get slightly less fuel mileage than a D60 and they will have injector issues once in a while. Other than that is a pretty cost effective engine to run with little down time.

 

2 Million mile motor . Driveway rebuild . Just How many times have you seen one on the shoulder ? I seen LOTS of YELLOW motors , About 3 N14's .

 

I'll do my best to answer your question...

The N14 is the last of the BIG CAM Cummin's engines, except its electronic.
They quit producing them in 2002 because there was now way to feasibly make it CARB compliant, thus your ISX.
You can find a complete rebuild kit for about $2600, that's just pistons, liners, bearings and gaskets.

For whatever reason, I used 2 gal of oil 15,000 miles, but some is seepage, but it always been this way.
There weak spot is the oil pan at the ends... They have a stiffener kit that goes across the ends that applies equal pressure across the pan.
Other then oil, I've not had any other issues... I replaced all the injectors at 830,000. Of course several mechanics tried to convince me that injectors only last 500K miles... I say BS ! But then again I idle very little b/c I use a APU and although people always refer maint issues to miles... its actual running or operating hours that count. If it turns, moves... it will wear.

I've had my original N14 select + for 8 yrs and basically all I do is drive it.
Pound for pound you cannot beat a N14.

One problem that you should be made aware of that has nothing to do with the engine maker... but rather the state of California.
This engine isn't allowed in the ports and the truck/engine will not be allowed in the state without retrofitted particulate filter after 2014