Which is better engine -- Cummins or Volvo?

I get over 7 mpg and mine is no locomotive. I will upgrade in a year or two to a new truck but not until they have worked out all the kinks. From what I understand, maybe wrong, but I believe Europe now has the same emission standards as the U.S. - EGR, DPF, DEF. So with two huge markets employing the same technology standards the quality of the products should improve greatly. However, that means nothing if your service technicians are not fully up to speed on what to do when things go wrong. Right now I find investing in a new trailer with a full aero package much more appealing and far less expensive.

 

Hi! I'm new in the business (only 2 years). I going to buy a truck. My chipper option ia a Volvo 2007 w/12.7 Volvo Engine. I need opinions if buy that truck is a good decision.

 

The Europeans are ahead of us when it comes to diesel technology, and the biggest difference is the fuel that they use. We have garbage compared to them; lower cetane rating, and even though the sulfur levels are lower compared to what we used to get, the fuel is not refined to the same degree. The EU gets fuel so clean and clear it's like water, and consequently pollutes less. I am curious if other markets around the world are having the same problems we are having, and my suspicion is that they are not.

 

Depends on what you are hauling, distance, weights of loads, type of trailer, and the list goes on and on. You didn't say which Volvo model, but regardless of what truck you decide to buy think along the line of you having to live with her for tons of hours and have to foot the bills for your choice ( might as well and say your truck is your lady ). Do research on the engine and find the most common failures ( with the Volvos, make sure the injector cups have been done; I had mine crack and fuel started mixing with the antifreeze, computer shut the engine down, 750.00 tow bill, 1700.00 to fix, plus food and lodging while the dealer fixed it. Spent almost 3000.00 in a weekend. And this is on a NON Emission VED12! ) Since you are talking about an EGR equipped engine, making sure that the pollution control components have been replaced at some point and that paperwork can back it up because it isn't inexpensive to get right. If you are buying the unit from a dealer, get a warranty to cover that thing for 3 years or so; it'll be money well spent. Keep at least 5000.00 or more in an escrow account to take care of repairs and downtime. The best thing that you can do is to buy the lowest mile truck that you can afford with records and documentation of everything that has been done. Finally, understand that ALL the engine manufacturers have struggled to get engines to run properly and be reliable in the US market and they all cost about the same to fix. Just do your homework and be very thorough when inspecting a truck. I myself personally go to Dieselspec for advice about different engines and what can be done to uprate and upgrade the engines so that they don't break as often. The prevailing theme seems to be that the factory calibrations for the ECMs are causing most, if not all the problems. Except for the Mercedes MBE4000 ( which has 6 seperate heads and a poor head gasket design ), all the engines on the market are sound designs with components ON the engine causing the problems, and most of these problems stemming from higher operating temperatures and soot contamination.
So what is the solution to our modern problems? Either program out the EGR system, which can be done by adjusting the protocols so that EGR is turned off; remove the equipment, recalibrate the ECM and put a fixed geometry turbo on ( this is a common fix for the Cummins ISX and the Series 60 Detroit but it's not cheap ), buy a glider kit with a pre-EGR engine already installed or finally, buy an older. non emissions style truck and basically rebuild the whole thing as you go.
If it were me, I'd go with whatever Volvo that I liked and as soon as I was able to do it, do the following mods: recalibrate the ECM ( like I mentioned before, go Dieselspec ), add a quiet but high flow muffler(s), a FS2500 bypass oil filter ( gets rid of the soot and will save you 2000.00 in oil changes per year ), synthetic lubes front to back ( Schaffers or Amsoil are my preferences ) and Evans Coolant ( never change it again, has a 375 degree boiling point and does not get affected like standard coolant )

 

What is ironic is that the best engines have already been built. but they are all pre 2003. I have a 99 Freightliner Classic with a Cummins N14 Redtop. I get over 6 mpg hauling heavy and driving like I have some sense. It burns nice and clean, and the only time you'll see smoke out the stacks is if I am in the wrong gear. The electronic diesels from late 95 to 2003 were all pretty good. Of course there were some bad apples, but by and large you could get after it day after day and not worry too much about them. Even the older mechanical jobs, if they were maintained properly, just kept going and going. I've owned a Cummins Big Cam 400 and a 3406B Cat ( they were in 80s era Kenworths ) and one 95 Volvo with a VED12 ( I call them Swedish Series 60s )

 

Dont get too excited about mpg with the new trucks cause i just got a 2010 780 with 450 cummins and i have enough problems with the dpf and the mileage is only around 5.5 mpg averaging 60-70000 lbs and only gets about 6.2 mpg empty. older trucks have less mechanical problems and much better on mpg. Its the the new trucks that are piece of junks and the old trucks thats the gold. Do a research on dpf problems on dpf problems with all engines if you dont believe me, im sorry i didnt do that research and listened to a friend instead before i bought it

 

The unfortunate thing is that we as truckers and owners have not gotten together to go after these folks because they have cost us untold amounts of money in downtime and reverse engineering just to make these late models run properly. Unless you know someone who knows how to reprogram these engines, they hurt you everyday. I believe that there are solutions to these aftertreatment systems, but it just costs $$$$$$$ to fix.

 

I personally like Cummins, but I can settle with the Volvo engine as well. They're both great.

 

after how many miles do volvo and cummins engine start failing?

 

You want Cummins. Guaranteed.