Buying used truck from Freightliner

Would you to hear from a real live person that has actually done this?

And knows other real life people doing the same?

 

I've got a modern used 2014 emissions truck. LOL....

Go ahead and believe what the dealers telling you.

Good luck.

 

I had a used 2011 truck it was a disaster and it had special warranty on engine parts and labor. Usually labor is not included in the warranty. It was detroit engine. I stopped in shop for a small oil leak since it was under warranty. Heck why no what could go wrong ?

First they said it was air compressor. Then said that was not it. They said the head gasket was leaking. Simple fix they said and it all under warranty. They pulled the head off and found rust in cooling ports. They said the Piston liners were set wrong. They never seen this before on truck with only 550,000 miles. They had to call detrDet to see what they wanted to do. They also found fretting I think I was called or a burnt piston.

It took Detroit 3 days to decide. The said pull the engine apart down to the block. Clean the block. Put in 1 new piston kit and put all back together. It took like 2 weeks to get put pu the shop. Detroit did all the warranty for free.

I drove 150 miles and had diesel over everything. The fuel pump was now leaking or lose connections.. that truck was one repair after another till the emission box went they wanted $12,000 to replace that. Don't buy any truck from 2002-2013.

 

Two in frames, in two years, almost to the day. $80,000+ not including down time.

I fought the emission battle as long as I could, over a year, multiple shops, tens of thousands of dollars in non fixes and down time...

When I was told the DPF and DOC cans were bad, another $8,000 at the time. I chose to get rid of that issue with some help from a friend. I own a Cummins, so I bought the Inline 5 unit and took care of the emission monster in my driveway with my laptop and few common household tools. I could no longer afford the downtime and expenses, so I took a shot, best thing I ever did to this truck.

But, when that issue was taken care of, the real fun began. Which is what I was soon to discover.

My first in frame, 800,000 miles, a liner fretted, or broke lose on my 2008 Cummins CM-871. I nursed the truck for a year like that, until the exhaust pressures actually blew apart my radiator. I could no longer nurse the motor, and had saved the cash by then, so into the shop she went. I took the truck to a licensed certified Cummins repair facility, I interviewed three shops and was considering dropping in a long block, but Cummins jacked the price on me at the last moment to $38,000. So, I went with this licensed certified Cummins shop, a dealership. They did a lot more than just the in frame, went through the transmission, clutch, seals, all sorts of stuff, new pulleys, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and royally screwed up my motor.

They were supposed to machine the block and set the liners as per Cummins Quickserve, they lied and did not machine the block and or set the liners at the proper heights. They just through the new ones in and called it a day... They also did not use Loc Tite 609 on the camshaft pulleys, big no no. They also neglected to adjust the injector camshaft pulley/scissor gear, another big no no. I discovered all of this on the second in frame at 950,000 miles. The motor was doomed to grenade, if the liner had not failed, that scissor gear only had a few more miles left on her before she cut lose. So, in a way, it was a good thing they lied to me about machining the block. The motor was toast, I just did not know it yet.

Anyhow... The second in frame, one year and 350 days to the day... I had a two year parts warranty...

I did the in frame myself in my buddies driveway. Rawze called me, said bring it down to Atlanta, he had the tools needed to machine the block and set the liners, etc. So, I took him up on it, grabbed my tools and off I went, bobtailed to Atlanta with a rag zip tied to the coolant jug opening.

Upon tearing the motor down, we ran over to Mr Haggai's to order the new in frame kit... Well, come to find out the licensed Cummins shop up here in Michigan, installed parts for a Cummins CM-2350 450hp ST into my factory 600 hp CM-871, which explained a lot... I have been a customer with this particular dealer since 2005... I thought I knew these guys... Imagine if I had just walked in off the street? Chew on that.

That took a month to sort out, the dealer came through, sent a new in frame kit, 6 new injectors, two new cams and other parts. I bought a new head through Mr Haggai. But, it still took a month+ to get the parts from the dealer, $14,000 worth, so there was a little pushback. Then a solid month of rain... LOL!

All in, this second in frame, out of my pocket was still $20,000 + not including lost revenue. Started putting her back together, break out the credit card... Found the exhaust manifold needed replacing, turbo was on its last leg, my third, replaced that, power steering cooling system shot, air compressor, air dryer, new coolant lines, new thermostat, new fan clutch, new injector cam gear, new ECM as it was reaching its end of life, new sensors, new Jake harness, and many other little things. Oh, exhaust pressure took out the seals in the air compressor and loaded the air dryer with oil... All systems are interconnected.

We did the clutch at the last in frame, along with the front and rear main seals, engine mounts, damper, etc., so that was out of the way. I had also just replaced the radiator and CAC, along with new brakes, brake chambers, slack adjusters all the way around, new brake air lines, new tires, etc... Ownership of these used emission trucks can be very expensive.

One thing too, when we tore this thing apart, there are quite a few hidden areas of the truck/motor that you cannot just get to. Only upon tearing things apart do you find these issues. I did not do my first in frame, but this second one, if I could not clean, remove rust and paint, I replaced the part. And there were quite a few of those on this truck. More so than I even realized. And I went through a lot of RED PAINT, primer, Por 15, sanding discs and Coroseal. Everything new that went on that was exposed to the elements was sanded, primed, and painted or sealed. It was a long process, especially in the crap weather we were having, but I am glad I took the time to do it. A shop would never do what I did.

Anyhow...

When I bought the truck used at 700,000 miles, I believe most of the damage was already done. I was clueless on these emission motors, none of my previous 7 trucks had this stuff. You did regular PM's, general maintenance, brakes and tires on those, and they just ran, like mom's Honda.

Emission truck, very different monster. The emissions hide many things. Carbon packing internally. Soot accumulation of roughly 6 pounds between oil changes that just loves to eat away at camshaft lobes and rollers, along with plugging oil galleys and DPF/DOC filters.

EXTENDED OIL CHANGES BAD.

SCR systems that have urea running through them, urea likes to crystalize, and will give you all sorts of issues, and few dealers ever check that system. It is easier for them to install a new turbo, as that is the symptoms it gives. Meanwhile you are cooking your motor and that new turbo... That heat has to go somewhere, and it heads right back to the motor, the new turbo being the first stop because they are to lazy to properly diagnose the SCR system. A system that does require regular inspection and maintenance.

Then we have the EGR Tuneups, those should be done yearly, along with inspecting the Doser. You need to visually inspect to insure the diesel fuel injector (Doser) is clear and functioning properly. They normally need to be replaced every 150,000 to 200,000 miles, around $400.

The EGR Tuneup will run around $400 to $800 for parts, not including YOUR labor.

SCR inspection if you do yourself, free plus the cost of the SCR filter. Dealer, could be upwards of $1,500+, deepening on how they feel that day.

DPF and DOC cans, need replacing around 400,000 or there about miles, unless they crack, which they do. Best luck has been found to just replace with new OEM units, I think those are now running around $4000 installed, been awhile, just going off the top of my head from what I have heard.

Also, the overhead (valve adjustment), I like to do one yearly, I have the tools and it is easy to do. Most any truck you purchase will have never had the overhead done.

All of these components are normally on their last leg when the dealer gets that particular used truck from their fleet customer. They are selling the truck for a reason, not because it is making them money.

Here are a few things to look for...



Typical of all used trucks, mostly. Much worse than mine, but still had the same outcome within the first year of ownership.

Fleets get rid of trucks for many reasons. They do not get rid of them if they are making money. These emission trucks have a 500,000 mile life span, after that the very expensive costs of ownership and true reality of these systems rears its ugly head. The reason you see so many on the market with low miles, under that 500,000 mile mark. Many with fresh in frames or other major parts replacements, like turbos and EGR Coolers. There is a very good reason for that as I hope you are figuring out.

Another thing to look at, the ECM. If the truck you find has had the emissions eliminated, walk away. No, RUN AWAY! Everyone and his brothers are doing these, most just butcher the programming. They turn everything off, set the motor to operate in high altitude to trick it, never touch the turbo or fuel mapping and rarely do a proper job on the cans. Others install their crap programming and remove the OEM turbo and replace with an old single stage Holset, That rarely works either. The results are never good. If you want to learn about emissions, Rawze.com is the place.

If you take the plunge, really go over the motor and emissions. If I knew what I know know, I never would have bought my truck, it was shot when I pulled it off the lot, but she sure did look pretty! The only reason I keep it, is that it is a known quantity and I still own it free and clear, as in paid for, clear title. I do not like truck payments. If I were to do it again, I would look for an older non emission truck, go through it, in frame it and put her into service and not look back. If I would have done that the first time around, I would be $80,000 richer and have money in the bank.

You may get lucky, some guys do, and that is great! I would not wish this mess upon anyone, not even an enemy. Just be prepared for bad news and possible financial hardship if you do not have the means to fix one of these trucks. I have done most of the work on mine, I have tools and diagnostic equipment that would make more than a few diesel mechanics jealous. I'm not saying that to brag, I did fine for many years with some old craftsman tools in a canvas bag, rarely had to ever even use them... I miss those days. Good luck, and Happy Motoring!

 

I know FL buys back all of Ozarks old used trucks. By the time we get rid of them they are past their used by date. All I know is when they leave the lot tons of drivers are saying good riddance.