Engine life expectancy

[dgorila1]

HDT's are designed to run over one million miles before a major drivetrain overhaul is needed. What is the drivetrain life expectancy of the MDT's available from Ryder, Hertz, etc? I notice they sell them with around 200,000 miles on them. If they are designed to last for 400,000 miles with regular maintenance then they are worth looking at in my opinion. Thanks for all feedback and info.

[geofkaye]

....200k is the turning point for most mediums....300k is about it and 400k is a miracle of sorts....cuz when it starts to break up it is going to be expensive....at least from my experience.....a medium duty engine is about $6k and a rebuild is going to cost at least $4k....transmissions are either good or bad.....how lucky do you feel?...rears are good for 500k....other than gambling is there anything you really like to do?....From my point of view-and many will disagree with me-it's about the same as a car.....200k is selling time or be prepared to spend some money....wish I had a better experience with the mediums but I've had a bunch and they all start to go down hill really quick at 200-250k.....you can nurse them along and take it easy and you will get more out of them...your driving style will dictate the trucks life-but if you crank it like a HDT It will start to cost major bucks....But when I got to go I prefer a HDT because of repair issues and easy of service on the road....down time is usually a day or two at the most.....geofkaye

[geofkaye]

...one other issue and that is driver usage.....when I had P/U's the trucks were dead at 200k and with the MTD the trucks were cheaper and went 300k till it was time to unload-but the cab was rusted off the frame[years vs. mileage issue] and it was a matter of how much I wanted to drop into cab steel work to keep them on the road....with the 2 steps for a MTD my Workers Comp was up with falls from cab to ground and mad drivers....with the P/U's -never had the problem......before my HDT....I used to laugh at the drivers when they told me about falling on their butt.....then, I fell in Florida 2 weeks ago....NOT SO DAMN FUNNY NOW!......three steps....in front of a group of people....NOT FUNNY AT ALL ......the group learned a few Military Terms for trucks and laughing people in general.....didn't think I could get mad like that anymore.......my pride wasn't hurt[that went a long time ago]... but my back is killing me still...geofkaye

[dgorila1]

Thanks Geof. Good info. Explains why the dealers unload them at that certain mileage range.
All roads keep leading me back to HDT's :-)

[Radman]

That is kinda what we found too...

But it is still important to do your own research. You learn sooooooo much along the way.

Rad

[wedooit]

I totally agree with geof.....my FL freightliner had 300,000 miles with a 3126 250hp cat.....started to have a little blowby...only put in one injector and one wheel seal in 300,000 miles....run it everyday pulling 12,000 lb trailer.....trans was tight and so was rear differential. Cat master shop told me that this engine operating life was 30,000 gals of fuel....10 mpg....equals 300,000 miles. Some will go 500,000....but they are expensive to overhaul!!!!! They are great trucks some of the newer business class with newer engines may go longer, as am not sure, but they get better fuel mileage.

Good luck to you!