truck engine

[Larry Baker]

Looking for another truck and have been looking at the Freightliners.I have found one with the C7 CAT engine in it,the question being is how good,how long do these engines last.Common problems,bad things,etc.Havent never owned a small one so it is news to me got a Cummins in a Freightliner now but thats another story
 

[uncle henry]

i don't know about the small cats but my grandfather had a 94 kw with a 3406 cat that the rad stopped up because you had to put conditioner in the there every six months
 

[bigboreG]

I would stay away from a smaller one. Course it depends on what your doing with it i guess. I put alot of miles on a 02 pete with a C10 cat. For being a smaller engine it did very well and was great on fuel. But it ran at the top of the pyro gauge quite often , i think a 13 spd would have helped that. All in all, that is the smallest Cat engine i would want.
 

[the haulin harris]

i run a cat everyday, if i was buyin a class 7 truck it would be a cat or nuthin.
 

[VicS]

I guess no one has a 7L Cat. Where I worked for 27 yrs they had about everything for bob trucks. The one I loved was a L800 Ford with a 534 gas motor. But the 466 IHC was really the best. And the later electronic ones were even better! They had a 7 speed and no two speed rear. Like you can change a water pump in 15 minutes or less. I think the new ones are 500 plus. Vic
 

[d beatty]

Vic the 38 year I drove we had Ford L8000 powered with 3208 Cat. and they were gutless. We also had Ford L800's powered with 370v4. When the 370's went bad they put in 427 Chevys that held up better than the Ford motors. My last tractor before retiring was a late 80's IH single axle with the old style DT466 with the straight 7 speed trans. It would out run the new Freightliners with a Cummins and 9 speed roadranger.
 

[scotc]

I've heard the tappet cover or something on them have a tendency to leak. And typical Cat they like their fuel.
 

[Sako]

I had the 230hp C7 in my last Freightliner school busses, loved it. Out ran the mercedes, IH 466's, and cummins motors.
 

[ASEguy]

I replaced one in a bus 5 years ago. It threw a rod through the block. Guy who dropped off the reman short block said he has seen that before. I don't know how common it is.