Let’s have a rational discussion about the reliability of old school (pre-cascadia) frieghtliners

Honestly I have a Peterbilt and a Freightliner and I prefer the Freightliner. Peterbilt is just way overpriced and you're mainly paying for a name. I only bought mine because I got an outstanding deal and it had a big cam Cummins in it.

I have done a lot of mechanical repairs in my life and I just really like the way that the Freightliner is made. I like The Airliner suspension I like the way the front end holds the road I just like the whole thing of it.

I prefer the FLD model and if you can find one there are so many of them on the road and in the junk yards right now that parts abound for them. The FLD models do not have the junk plastic interior either. If you are on the road a lot, there are freightliner dealers all over the place.

I myself prefer having a mechanical engine, but as far as electronic engines go the series 60 was really a good engine. The n14 also was a really good engine although they had a lot of electrical problems with injectors and that type of thing. Always remember that an electronic engine can cost you a lot of money if it has a problem. Think easily five or six thousand dollars.

I always think that someday I will find an n14 and convert it to Mechanical. We'll see. It's basically the same engine as the big cam which really is the greatest of all time. If you find something with a big cam that's in good shape you struck gold.

That's the best advice that I can give you my friend. Good luck

 

They actually made a mechanical N14. My 1993 T800 quad dump has one. I don't think they used them much in OTR trucks. It is rated at 410hp and is an awesome engine. I agree with you on the simplicity of mechanical diesels.

To the OP, I agree with a few others, I would pass on a mid 00s Columbia and go for an older FLD or Classic, powered by a 12.7 Detroit or N14. They are solid trucks and the engines made in the 90s (into the early 00s) are the absolute pinnacle for reliability and simplicity

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This one is still bleeding oil....

 

"old school (pre-cascadia) frieghtliners"



Cascadias didn't come out until just a handful of years ago...pre-dating them is not even CLOSE to "old school".

 

When I joined Ronnie Dowdy in Arkansas, his shop had a room. Inside that room was three complete walls of three ring binders on every tractor and every trailer by unit number in his ownership across the entire fleet.

When I asked for and got the road trip truck to call my own, after discovering the 120 was a very good engine and transmission match for me (They had T2000's which I did not know too much about that year. I was to be introduced to those wonderful new trucks later with McKesson running million dollar medicine. They are good tractors. Very good.

Back to the 120. I found the three ring binder with it's complete history, every possible work order ever generated on that rig and anything that was done to it.

Sum total, front end weaknesses (Alingment etc) go through a alternator once in a while, batteries to keep an eye on and a couple of relatively minor hot stuff with coolant. (It was to have more of the coolant problem which three heavy truck dealership shops could not diagnose and fix properly. It turned out to be a simple metal probe inside the engine itself where the liquid coolant flows by in the block. That had rusted out giving the computer crazy information enough to shut down)

All of my freightliners had to go through some sort of alingment and front end work at some point. Baltimore had a shop called Peters Springs which was a premier big truck shop with the stuff needed to get them done right. I never really had to go anywhere else for it.

Fast forward to the Century that we had in 2001. We put 7000+ hours on that Detriot and I think changed the alternator twice, A complete set of 10 tractor virgin tires before winter once (Close to 5000 dollars) replaced the defective sidewall on the new steer once with associated front end work twice. Batteries were replaced and inverter installed by dealer at our cost.

The biggest problem with that Century was the Rockwell automatic. If you never shut it off (The engine) as a team, husband and wife which we never ever shut off) in a certain amount of days beyond the 10th day the transmission will literally brick. Essentially a windows Blue screen of death. And when that happened to us twice, it was necessary call out a heavy wrecker and get towed back to the FFE shop. (VP was not happy, less so when it's his birthday and we never did get to stop long enough to fix that bag of laundry on the pax seat. Eventually orders went to Dispatch to stop us half a day every 6 or 7th day weekly and leave us alone to shut truck off at least two hours and allow us half a day at least to do what we need doing to maintain hygiene it's more difficult for two people)

As far as the reliability of freightliners all the way to Century, If I had a posey pocket of money unlimited I would buy the Freightliner SD 122 tractor. The one problem with it are two. First its strictly a day cab design. Second it will need a longer frame, a little more horse and torque (Closer to 700 and 2000 if at all possible) on a 13 underdrive and 3.80 rears) plus a larger frame for a medium sleeper that is at least a midroof. And a third drive axle underneath to make three total. I could compromise and have a lift tag axle in the back behind the drives but I would have to think carefully on that.

That particular type and model of tractor is the closest to some of the older iron freightliner monsters I have had the honor to run from time to time and never forgot them. When you crank em, they are just bursting with ready to go to work. Nothing wrong anywhere unlike half the trucks they were giving me in those days.

I keep thinking most of my first 5 years was a utter and unnecessary waste because every company I hired on in those days insisted on hand me down crappy #### trucks that wont do a day's work without breaking down and requiring even more money, lost time and angry customers demanding their load wtf?

So I think many of you will excuse me when I gush over newer trucks that wont break down and those that are very good but not handed to children fresh from trucking school. (I remember the opposite problem as a temp in the auction house dealing with big truck sales. I told my big boss that if he has trailer trucks to get into that barn, get me in there. I am not using all my skill set and experience adequately just kicking a few bobtails around. And true enough he started sticking sick trailers on me with the idea I make everything look good at the barn sale. (Ignore that giant hissing air loss back there =) He was a very good boss who understood me. One of the few bosses I would not forget all my life. If all my bosses were that good then half the issues would not exist at all.

 

First truck was a '96 FLD 129 with a 3406E and a 10spd.
Very reliable, easy to work on and never broke.

 

My Cousin has a 2000 Freightliner FLD120 with a 3406E Cat in it.

The engine is bulletproof and incredibly strong, gets fantastic fuel economy (8.5 average @ 60mph average)

Truck is pretty decent quality, but those classics hold their value better than most trucks.

I'm buying one as soon as I can and having it restored/customized to work out some of the original quality issues.