Which motor would you prefer?

[CRAFT]

2 stick ... the A models from what I understood they were more costly to rebuild because of the one piece head .... if it was cracked or otherwise OUCH ! .....but what an awesome engine ......
My truck had a Big Cam 475 twin turbo when I first got it .... Loved the power nice to drive ...BUT ..... in 9 years, 39 injectors, 2 major fuel pump rebuilds, 4 water pumps, 12 pistons and liners ( cracking and electrolocis), and every year wether I wanted to or not $2,500.00 tune job including the jake spools set-up and valves set and the MVT re-built, 2 sets of turbos (ouch) and cracked cam followers needing a rebuild ....the final straw was it cooked its self when a liner went ..... in my second truck almost a twin to the first for specs, it had about the same amount of hrs and milage ...it was powered with a 425B model cat, it had none of the above issues like the Cummins, one bearing roll-in (prev.maintainance) it found its way into my first Truck which is another long story how/why ....but not now .....CAT all the way

 

[2stickbill]

2 stick ... the A models from what I understood they were more costly to rebuild because of the one piece head .... if it was cracked or otherwise OUCH ! .....but what an awesome engine ......
My truck had a Big Cam 475 twin turbo when I first got it .... Loved the power nice to drive ...BUT ..... in 9 years, 39 injectors, 2 major fuel pump rebuilds, 4 water pumps, 12 pistons and liners ( cracking and electrolocis), and every year wether I wanted to or not $2,500.00 tune job including the jake spools set-up and valves set and the MVT re-built, 2 sets of turbos (ouch) and cracked cam followers needing a rebuild ....the final straw was it cooked its self when a liner went ..... in my second truck almost a twin to the first for specs, it had about the same amount of hrs and milage ...it was powered with a 425B model cat, it had none of the above issues like the Cummins, one bearing roll-in (prev.maintainance) it found its way into my first Truck which is another long story how/why ....but not now .....CAT all the way

A CAT with a two piece head?Cummins and Mack got two piece heads but I think all CATS are one piece.I don't think the 3406A had the spacer plate.The rest do have it.

 

[Drifter]

N14 cummins.

 

[MACK-KID]

Older engines rule!!!

Well I might go with "older" engines as they are more reliable than most of today's electronic and E.P.A ruined nightmares.

On the CATERPILLAR side I have to say that I really like the CATERPILLAR 3208 V8. Love by some and hated by others. I know is not a HIGH HORSEPOWER engine, I even call them "slow engines" or "dirty engines". I had work with a few of them in mostly older FORD TRUCKS (F7000) If I had to get an "in-town" light load say on a SINGLE AXLE DUMP TRUCK a 3208 works fine. Is how you spec it or how your POWERTRAIN is combined. Lots of friends here couple FULLER transmisions to 3208 V8 engines. I have driven a CUSTOM BUILT TWIN TRUBO CATERPILLAR 3208 V8 on a FORD F7000, a tandem axle truck with MACK REARS and a FULLER 10 SPEED. It runs pretty good up to 60 MPH. Now I know I can not pull a LARGE or BIG LOAD with a 3208. But is how you work it that will tell you how reliable an engine is. i KNOW I can not go 80-90 MPH on my CATERPILLAR 3208 neither on my old IHC DT 466. CATEERPILLAR 3406 MECHANICAL engine is a stout performer, great pulling power. 10 years on a KENWORTH T800 with this engine and NO MAYOR issues until a mechanical mal-practice by an technician that do not know anything about CATERPILLAR engines.

MACK engines I have to say are the most impresive and reliable ones I have worked on. I will allways still working with E6, EM6 and E-7 series engines for they are UNBEATABLE. From ratings of 237 to 470 HP this engines are true PERFORMERS they never know when to quit. I love the BIG 998 cubic inch MACK E-9 V8 but the only draw-back is that they are EXPENSIVE to rebuild and OVERHAUL KITS are not easy to find and are over-priced.

DETROIT DIESEL and CUMMINS , hummmm not to much knowlege on them since they are my least favorites. We had so may troubles with our DETROIT DIESEL SERIES 60 engine. It spilled oil and blowed turbos on a common basis. CUMMINS well we have no issues with our CUMMINS 444, maybe we got that one right.

 

[Greg]

Look at it this way:

A Detroit screams (at least the old two cycles did)
A Cummins whimpers
A Cat purs
and a Bulldog (Mack) well, she just plain GROWLS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[amscontr]

A CAT with a two piece head?Cummins and Mack got two piece heads but I think all CATS are one piece.I don't think the 3406A had the spacer plate.The rest do have it.

I thought I was the only one who had a Cat with one head. If it were a 2 headed Cat it would be in Ripley's Believe it or Not.

 

[amscontr]

This thread was started over a year ago I hope he found what he was looking for.

 

[TRR23]

I have a Bias opinion due to the fact that I'm a CAT guy, but the 3176 was a good engine. biggest thing to worry about with them is getting them hot. They have an aluminum spacer between the head and the block, bad design. (cast iron head, cast iron block, steel head bolts.) If you blow a head gasket, good chance it is because a head bolt broke. If you run across a C12, this is the replacement engine for the 3176, its one tough engine. also depending on what your hauling, a c10 is a good engine to. a 3116 is also a good dependable engine, biggest issues with them were injector tip seals. they blow, you get air in the fuel, then it smokes and runs like crap, but its a simple fix. Im a CAT mechanic and they any of these engines are good ones in my opinion.

 

[ilovdieselsmoke]

I've had best experience with older Cummins & CAT. I owned a few Detroit diesels when the 71 & 92 series were the only choice. I even had a V12 detroit or two at one time but nothing stands up to the elements like CAT or Cummins. Stay away from the old Cummins 903 V8's or the big KT(one head per cylinder)series. The 855 big cam Cummins is the toughest engine they ever produced. At present I own an older triaxle Western Star lowboy tractor with a 3406B 425hp CAT. It does a fine job pulling whatever is loaded behind it. I have owned many of these CAT diesels in past trucks mostly in older Peterbuilts. The CAT uses a little more fuel than Cummins but has more torque. When comes time to overhaul this engine I plan to experiment with some newer pistons & larger turbo options to increase power & fuel mileage. No thanks, nothing electronic for me. I see the expense some of these guys go through without the option of working on them with a simple box of hand tools. You can also boost the horse power on these older engines without the expensive electronic headaches & without worrying about hurting the mechanical diesels as long as you drive them correctly. Of course that's the life of any engine depending on what kind of cowboy is behind the wheel:cool2