Looking to buy a Volvo

Newer cummins engines are really bad compared to their older versions, the Volvo is definitely superior although I'd make sure you know a shop that can maintain these , knowledge of modern engines is very poor over here I find. If you get a volvo engine get the I shift - volvos own auto box, it's really good and reliable, best auto box at the min!

 

Bigkev1115.
If I was you I would take back almost everything you said, you are so far off it's unreal.
The older automatics that Volvo used 10 - 15 years ago was not made by Volvo, they where made mainly by Eaton Fuller and they where not very good.
The I-Shift that Volvo makes is the finest transmission that is made, there is nothing close to compare it too.
When Volvo first came out with the I-Shift they put it to test in the worst conditions a truck goes, in the forest in mud and snow hauling wood and if you have seen the logging trucks they use in Sweden then you would understand that your argument about automatics in snow don't hold water for a minute!!!
I used to own 2000 Volvo 660 with a Eaton Fuller 10 speed automatic, I ran the truck to 1 250 000 miles before I sold it, now I did have problems with the transmission, problems that Volvo or Eaton Fuller could not figure out, seven different Volvo dealers in the U.S. and Canada could not find the problems, every one of them told me they knew right away what was wrong, they tried shifting out parts to see if they could find it, but I would not allow them to replace parts until they could show what was wrong and why it needed to be replaced, what they did not know was that I am a mechanic and if you don't know what is wrong you don't start replacing parts in hope to find the problem.
Every time I came in to a shop I was loaded with fault codes and how the problem was acting up, they always cleared the codes and told me they had fixed it, took it for a test drive and came back and everything was working fine.
One time at a Volvo dealer in Chicago I was there for two days, the mechanic was a very young boy with lots of computer knowledge took over the job on the second day, he told me he was not going to give up until he found the problems and fixed it, he contacted Volvo, he contacted Eaton Fuller, they could not help him because they did not know how, but he tried everything, finally he tried to replace parts to see if that would do it, but he finally gave up and the shop foreman said to take it for a test drive and if it worked fine to let it go, so he did, came back after a 30 mile test run, I left and made it 32 miles and it happened again, called the shop and they told me they would tow me in and fix it again, I told him that I would go on since they hadn't fixed it right in the first place.
I can name dealer after dealer around the country that did not know how to fix it right, It took me 1 1/2 year to find it, I found it myself after sitting almost right outside the gate at the Volvo factory in Virginia broke down again, called the factory told them who I was and they found the truck history on the computer, they told me they would arrange a get together of experts at Volvo and they would have an answer to me very shortly, I waited for 1/2 hour, no call back so I climbed up under the truck and on top of my transmission and fiddled with all the wires and contact points of the electric wires, came back out and started the truck up and went down the road.
I called Volvo and the man I talked with the day before, he felt bad since he didn't call me back, I asked him if they had worked all night on my problems, of course he went home at quitting time and left me hanging, I told him I had found the problem myself and he asked and I told him it would be a cold day in hell before I was telling them since they could not figure it out them selves.
I later did find the problem on my own, it was a very bad ground between two components that was the culprit all along, after I got it fixed it was like I had a brand new transmission, at this point I was almost at 1 million miles, but no thanks to Volvo or Eaton Fuller.
I personally think that a lot of the problems with the earlier transmissions was Eaton Fuller problems, but they did not know how to fix them and that is a very good reason that Volvo came out with their own auto transmission, and also Volvo did not have mechanics that was properly trained on them.
That 2000 Volvo 660 was driven in the northern states and Canada most of the time, winter time I requested to be kept up north the entire winter and I never had any problems with my truck or transmission due to the cold and or snow.

Udar.
If you have not already made up your mind or have purchased your truck, I would suggest to listen to " scania man" , he knows his stuff about trucks and the different ways to put them together.
I feel the same way he does, Volvo 780 with a 3,55 or 3,58, Volvo motor. I - shift transmission and your set to go.

 

TO MUCH ELECTRONICS... sigh

 

would you rather Cummins or a MaxxForce D engines from Navistar Defense?

 

Not really, the problem as I see it is that nobody took the salt conditions in to consideration when they built the transmission, the road salt ate some parts that could have been protected better, everybody went for the wrong parts and said here is your problem which was easy for them to replace and they made good money on them too.
When the metal was eaten up, there was no more ground, it shorted out different circuits which gave you different fault codes which led the mechanic in the wrong direction and the technicians at Volvo or Eaton Fuller could not make any sense of the fault codes.

 

What year is your truck? I have seen some '08's listed with NO DPF included in the ad...wondering if that might be something to consider.

 

I don't know what to say, but 08s should have dpf, I purchased the truck in July 07,but is 2008 model , I have DPF and 1 EGR ; I didn't have problems with the DPF ; the original one lasted over 900k miles and cleaned it twice only and when I took it for 3rd cleaning was burned , they found big hole in it.I got a reman dpf was about 3000$ installed.

 

Sorry, it's a 670, D12....Arrow in Chicago has several of them listed with no DPF. http://www.arrowtruck.com/docs/search.details.aspx?invstkno=193764

 

Ya got right... the wiring is not made like it was at one time.
At least many decades ago it was made half ok.
Now a days it may last a year if your lucky.
All wiring on a heavy truck sould be water proof, acid proof and fire proof
both inside and outside of the cab.
It may cost more but it would cause less problems in the long run.
Well I can dream, right.

 

GREAT! REXMANNO! you are among the good creative thinkers! "DON'T NO THE FAULT NO PARTS REPLACEMENT", A GOOD GUIDE!