Flow Below Added

Facts.

 

My Macks (Volvo D13 with red paint) have a warning on the visor not to rev past 1400 until the coolant temp is up to 130º. The few minutes it takes to get the ELD and route squared before pulling out, it's there already. Under 5 minutes in sub-freezing. Ease out and keep the rpm's down and the loaded truck will hit the mark even faster. Summer time, just go. The only reason to "warm up" a modern engine (last 30 yrs or so) is to insure oil is fully circulating before putting a load on it. The last two trucks had never been overhauled and were ready for inframes when I traded them, both C15's one at 1.35M and the other closer to 1.5M.

I too am in the 500k and trade it group now. However, I'm potentially looking at an exit, either when the current leases are done or some time after. So I may buy one or both out, or not. I'm not willfully negligent on maintenance because of the lease. They still need to remain fully reliable and safe until the last day, whether that happens around 500k or much later.

 

Tha

That's is easier to be said, than to be done. Not many drivers are patient enough these days.
Not all engines are made equal, some are better than others.
C15 is one of the best engines ever made. If not the best.

 

C15 is a reliable engine but it's not very efficient.

 

Reliability is the most important requirement. That's how I rank engines.
The last 4000 miles my C15 did 7.42 with more than 50 hours of APU and almost a 1300 miles load of 46 000 pounds.
That's not too bad.

 

I know some guys get decent mileage out of them but they work hard to do it. You don't just hop in and and go without a thought in the world on a C15 and average 7.42. Now a Detroit you can just drive it and get 7.42 without even trying. Detroit's better bang for the buck but I also would rather have a CAT between the two.

 

CAT is a better engine with more power. Then I drive 57-61 mph, I don't get paid per a mile. Therefore I don't have to work harder at all.

 

Get some EternaBond tape and the spray primer that goes with it. Maybe some 3M VHB tape under the lip too, for good measure. Neither are cheap but they will stay stuck, provided you carefully prep the mating surfaces.