Hello: Does anyone know much about this engine? the good, the bad, or the ugly? it has an automatic transmission, with a 411 rear end ratio, current owner stated that it was only getting 6.75 to 8 mpg. Is that about an average mpg? Is this a high maintenance motor? or should I be looking at a truck with a Cummins ISC, or are the Mercedes a better choice? Just checking 2 see if anyone has any thoughts or opinions on this type of truck. thanks
I am looking at buying an 07 FL M2 with a Cat C9 engine
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tenntrucker
Expert Expediter
I have a 05 M2 106 with the C9 in. It has 826,000 on it with no rebuild. The Acert engine is a different animal and takes some getting use to, but all over I think its a improvement over the cat 3126-c7 engine. My fuel mileage is better than what you stated, but I have a 4:30 rear. It is a powerful engine for this size truck and allover am very happy with it. The only real problem has been with the Acert system itself, the heli pump and injectors.
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We've got an 06 with the C9 and I will never have another Cat unless they pay me to take it. Cat does not stand behind their warranties. At about 470k it had to have an in frame due to injectors washing out the cylinders. The extended warranty went to 500k. First they said zero and then went to 25% and finally went to 40% coverage knowing that would make what they stole too low to sue them for it. Cummins is a better engine and a better company. Cat is the Obama of corporations. If you get a good one then good for you but if you ever need anything they will totally screw you.
I have an '06 C9 with 982,000 miles never cracked open although it has always used oil. Just fueled up in JAX FL at 10.57 mpg, 4:30 gears, original Allison auto 6 spd, we run 58mph in 5th. Sub freezing temps, economy drops as low as mid 8's but never lower. Overall avg 9.5 long term. 65mph expect 8.9 avg. I service the trans annually with transynd fluid.
I have had good luck with the engine and trans compared to most. Before I learned to do overheads myself, I took it in for it's first, and Freightliner warrantied a turbo around 100,000, sd it was pumping oil but I did not see any evidence of that in charge air cooler, nor did they clean it out, me thinks they pumped the CAT warranty for some Christmas money instead. 1st HUEI pump failure I blame myself for getting in too big of a hurry and not letting the motor warm up to at least 140 as a pressure valve blew off and spewed oil out for a few miles. I am on my 3rd HUEI pump but the second only lasted 80,000mi.s or so the dealer said. CAT warrantied the 1st and the tow in, then warranty expired. CAT dealer may have missed diagnosed 2nd pump as the tech told me he had problems linking to the ECM. Also dunned me for a set of reman injectors for good measure. The HUIE pump is a precise instrument with pin bearings, electronic solenoids and valves thus the need to keep the oil clean. The ACERT technology in the C9 does not recirculate exhaust gases and does not have EGR, which I like, I would take a HUIE any day over any EGR set-up out there today.
Old school tech did tell me it likes clean straight 30W oil, but I run 5W15 Dello Synth, works better then Rotella Synth which seemed to clog the injector nozzles quicker. I like to pull injectors and gingerly clean the tips every 100-150,000 mi.s under a magnifier, replace with new o-rings. I attribute the injector tip clogging issue to oil consumption. I have learned to do the injector r&r myself with minimal tools. Had one injector cup leak coolant slightly and when I removed it, some trash was spotted in the o-ring seats on this particular cup. I assume this was cause for leak, probably that way from the factory. I did all new cups as a precaution, made my own tool using a large diam tap and steering wheel puller.
Other then regular maintenance, hoses, belts, thermostats, I have replaced a water pump twice and injector harness twice. Exhaust manifold started showing some leakage on side of head, torqued the nuts one ping, painted up the CAT yellow head and hasn't leaked since.
I ran into an owner of an '05 C9 with 1.4 million and no rebuild, but he said he was on his 8th??HUEI pump. He had no oil purification system. He sd he changes the pumps himself now, not too hard to do. He recommended I replace the regulator on top of air brake pump every so often, a small cheap enough part easy to do.
I will say CAT is proud of their parts, but haven't needed much in nearly 1 million miles relatively speaking, and I offset this by doing my own labor when I can. I find the motor easy to work on and plan to drop a CAT reman long block in it when this one fails. That said, it is running too smooth to think about a reman for now. I like the way this motor pulls the hills, much better power and fuel economy then a 3126 we drove for a year, but it had 5:11's if memory serves me, RPM's ran too high to me. We'll see what the future holds.
I have had good luck with the engine and trans compared to most. Before I learned to do overheads myself, I took it in for it's first, and Freightliner warrantied a turbo around 100,000, sd it was pumping oil but I did not see any evidence of that in charge air cooler, nor did they clean it out, me thinks they pumped the CAT warranty for some Christmas money instead. 1st HUEI pump failure I blame myself for getting in too big of a hurry and not letting the motor warm up to at least 140 as a pressure valve blew off and spewed oil out for a few miles. I am on my 3rd HUEI pump but the second only lasted 80,000mi.s or so the dealer said. CAT warrantied the 1st and the tow in, then warranty expired. CAT dealer may have missed diagnosed 2nd pump as the tech told me he had problems linking to the ECM. Also dunned me for a set of reman injectors for good measure. The HUIE pump is a precise instrument with pin bearings, electronic solenoids and valves thus the need to keep the oil clean. The ACERT technology in the C9 does not recirculate exhaust gases and does not have EGR, which I like, I would take a HUIE any day over any EGR set-up out there today.
Old school tech did tell me it likes clean straight 30W oil, but I run 5W15 Dello Synth, works better then Rotella Synth which seemed to clog the injector nozzles quicker. I like to pull injectors and gingerly clean the tips every 100-150,000 mi.s under a magnifier, replace with new o-rings. I attribute the injector tip clogging issue to oil consumption. I have learned to do the injector r&r myself with minimal tools. Had one injector cup leak coolant slightly and when I removed it, some trash was spotted in the o-ring seats on this particular cup. I assume this was cause for leak, probably that way from the factory. I did all new cups as a precaution, made my own tool using a large diam tap and steering wheel puller.
Other then regular maintenance, hoses, belts, thermostats, I have replaced a water pump twice and injector harness twice. Exhaust manifold started showing some leakage on side of head, torqued the nuts one ping, painted up the CAT yellow head and hasn't leaked since.
I ran into an owner of an '05 C9 with 1.4 million and no rebuild, but he said he was on his 8th??HUEI pump. He had no oil purification system. He sd he changes the pumps himself now, not too hard to do. He recommended I replace the regulator on top of air brake pump every so often, a small cheap enough part easy to do.
I will say CAT is proud of their parts, but haven't needed much in nearly 1 million miles relatively speaking, and I offset this by doing my own labor when I can. I find the motor easy to work on and plan to drop a CAT reman long block in it when this one fails. That said, it is running too smooth to think about a reman for now. I like the way this motor pulls the hills, much better power and fuel economy then a 3126 we drove for a year, but it had 5:11's if memory serves me, RPM's ran too high to me. We'll see what the future holds.
I have a brother inlaw that has one in an 05 m2 and it has 1.3 million on it. One set of injectors and replaced 2 more by themselves. I personally own two 06's with c9's and so far on one, no problems. The other I have not had long enough to pass judgement but I do like them better than the small Mercedes or the cummins. The big Mercedes is great as far as I am concerned. We just started building a small fleet of 05 to 07 year trucks and they will all have the big Mercedes or the c9.
Hello Retidepxe: Thank you very much for all the great detailed information. It will help me and many others. If I may, I would like to ask a few more questions. What are the signs the HUEI pump is getting ready to fail? or is it just an immediate shut-down? Does it throw an ECM code? What does a HUEI pump cost? I am not a mechanic by any means, but I am capable of doing some minor work. Is this a part that should be carried with me? can this be fixed road-side, if needed in an emergency? I agree about the EGR and I am trying 2 avoid all the emissions stuff that I possibly can.
I am a long time OOIDA member. Thanks again for all the very useful information. It is good when you have someone willing to help out and share valuable information to other drivers, and hopefully this info will answer someone else's questions as well.
I am a long time OOIDA member. Thanks again for all the very useful information. It is good when you have someone willing to help out and share valuable information to other drivers, and hopefully this info will answer someone else's questions as well.
When the 1st pump failed, I was running 65 mph with relatively cold engine and the red "oil" light came on. Pulled over and found it blew most of the crankcase oil out of the oil pressure safety valve that broke off (about the size of a 3/8" dia bolt but hollow). Freightliner dealer said pump failed and replaced it under CAT warranty. There was no metal filings in the injector oil galley so makes one wonder if replacing safety valve would have fixed. These pumps create 5000 lbs/ft of oil pressure to activate the injectors.
Second pump truck started bilging out white smoke for about 30 miles then quit. Again, tech said no metal filings in oil galley or injectors so may have been an electrical solenoid failure of some sort, he had problems linking the CAT tech software to the ECM at first. Not sure about codes but I would imagine it thru something.
I forgot to mention I did have an injector go out on the road and thru using the cruise button in a certain sequence, I retrieved the codes that pointed to number six injector, replaced in the parking lot and it ran great afterward. You have to take to dealer with a CAT ET to set the injector trim code tho, just be sure and get all the numbers off of injector first or snap a photo of it.
I am just an admitted shade tree mechanic, but by researching this engine, using parts CD and anything else I can find online, I have a fairly good understanding of what makes the C9 tick. If you put me under the hood of a DPF multi cooler trans flexer 1000 sensor truck built after 2008 my knowledge would be nil.
Second pump truck started bilging out white smoke for about 30 miles then quit. Again, tech said no metal filings in oil galley or injectors so may have been an electrical solenoid failure of some sort, he had problems linking the CAT tech software to the ECM at first. Not sure about codes but I would imagine it thru something.
I forgot to mention I did have an injector go out on the road and thru using the cruise button in a certain sequence, I retrieved the codes that pointed to number six injector, replaced in the parking lot and it ran great afterward. You have to take to dealer with a CAT ET to set the injector trim code tho, just be sure and get all the numbers off of injector first or snap a photo of it.
I am just an admitted shade tree mechanic, but by researching this engine, using parts CD and anything else I can find online, I have a fairly good understanding of what makes the C9 tick. If you put me under the hood of a DPF multi cooler trans flexer 1000 sensor truck built after 2008 my knowledge would be nil.
Tentoes, sent you a pm, if you didn't get it pm me the name of who owned the truck you are looking at. May have some valuable info.