falling apart piece by piece

all that your comment shows is that people are holding onto these great freightliners and selling those junk macks.....ill take my freightliner anyday.....as for getting a upgrade to a durable truck...whats that they are trucks they ALL break at some point. while true every truck make has its lemon in the mix. none are truely better than the rest...

to the op yes you can get new panels. look around online. i think its heavytruckparts.com they have all kinds of panels

 

i had a freightliner i just sold with 4.5 million and still running strong...the guy that bought it parted is 2005 w900 kw to run as you call it junk freightliner....a truck is a truck most will last if you take care of them i dont care what make it is...and yes peterbilt is just a name like a harley an over priced truck

 

They are junk. They will get the job done, but they are a cheap truck that comes apart easily. And save the lecture. I used to be as blind as you. Now I am actually driving a 379 on BAD oil roads and an amazed at how much tougher they are. Used to drive Shaker on road from TX to UT/ND/WY/CO other states hauling oil field tanks and other parts. Even final short 1-5 mile trip down well road always made something else fall off/rattle/other aggravating deals. Have not had to sleep in a wet bunk once since driving Pete. Have not had to seal windshields and put towels on dash to catch leaking water. No tie rods snapping off in Stanley at 5PM. What maintenance is required is easy. One recurring problem is steering box. Has been rebuilt 2 times in 8 months and within couple of months leak reappears. Seems to be common as several others in our fleet and others on jobs seem to have same small problem. Top it off every week or so with a cup or less of Rotella and done. Overall no comparison. Do wish I had set back axle occasionally to make maneuvering on pad easier. But you are guided in anyway so it takes as long as it takes. Yours sounds like it is doing well in WA. Take it off road and see how long it takes the abuse.

 

Last time I checked tie rod ends and steering boxes weren't freightliner parts..?

You are also comparing two totally different trucks against each other. I most certainly wouldn't defend these junk Columbias or century's either!

The funny part of this is the fact that any truck not maintained properly will rattle shake and fall to pieces. But I do enjoy when guys come and tell everyone how great their Paccar product is, especially when I know what it's like to rebuild doors and dashes on them also...lol

 

Falling Apart Piece by Piece: Replace parts but don't settle for what the mfg. put on, your dashboard assembly is eroding: 1), Shocks: replace with Nitrogen Gas Shocks, Steers, Drives and the small cab shocks. (Monroe sells Nitrogen), replacing with nitrogen gas and your tires should find increased length of life. 2), Leaf Springs-replace both steer leaf springs with a Composite Leaf Springs. while replacing the lf.sprg's, replace all u bolts, eye bolts & bushings, check shackles for any wear. (LiteFlex.Com makes these & sold over 15 million. using composite and your steer tires should be able to see 200K.) 3), Tires, use balancing beads in all tires & make sure air pressure is up, also, same treads are on one axle 4 tires, at a min. 2 tires side by side the same style tire. 4), Grease drive shaft (all of it, front and back drive axle) and steering knuckles once a week. Preference goes to a premium style grease one that reduces friction. 5), anti friction additives: Motor, Transmission, Rear Axles, Power Steering Fluid. (friction and vibration are the same, reduce one reduces the other.) 6), Replace all wheel bearings with a special anti friction coating. Bearings with a Moly-b coated can decrease friction so much that your mpg increases by .3-.4 MPG per gallon. (Micro Blue is a company whom sells stuff like this. if, you realize the MPG perhaps you maybe encourage to replace the differentials as well...the gears will remain the same...only difference the new differential will have a special anti friction coating...do both axles.)

 

Guess you've never been in a Western Star then. Frame, and suspension is much better than that of any PACCAR product. And to be honest, the Freightliner FLD120 was prob the best truck ever built. Freightliner actually quit making them because they just didn't break...

 

If I would have kept my 1997 Fld I would probly have an extra $500, 000.00 laying around now.